There is a Splog out there, using a bot to scrape content from my site (et al.) and post it randomly as its own. This is also known as stealing. If you are reading this on any domain other than knittinginterrupted.com, then you are reading stolen content on a splog. I’m not going to link to the splog, because that just makes the splog appear legitimate and we don’t want to do that. Splogging and blog scraping is apparently a growing problem in the blog-o-sphere and there really isn’t a lot we can do about it. I am going to file a DMCA notice with the splog’s host and hopefully they will take the splog down. I know there are other knit blogs that have been scraped by this splog and I encourage all of them to file a DMCA notice as well.
Category: off topic
What Master’s Monday?
Sadly, I have no new swatches to show you today. Enjoy this recipe instead.
Sausage Soup
1 package (of 5 links) Sweet Italian Chicken Sausages
2 boxes Kitchen Basics chicken stock (MSG free)
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 lb new potatoes (I like the red, white, & blue mix from Trader Joe’s), cut into about 1 inch pieces.
1 cup (or 2) fresh spinach
1 Tbsp fresh chopped basil (or 2 or 3 cubes of the frozen stuff)
Squeeze the sausages from their casings, crumble and brown (discard the casings). Dump in the chicken stock, the diced tomatoes, the potatoes, the basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes are done (tender, but not crumbling). Top with the spinach and cook until the spinach is wilted.
2/21/08 update–I forgot to mention to brown the sausages in about a tsp or so of olive oil.
Super WTF Tuesday
Something happened to me today that has never happened to me before. As I was standing in line to get my ballot, a sudden realization struck me–I still hadn’t decided who I would be casting my ballot for. I got very nervous; my heart leapt into my throat. I took my ballot to the booth and I stared at it like I was from another planet, not knowing what to do next. Their names burned on the page. I took a deep breath and closed by eyes, searching my heart. I strained to hear a single name, rising above the cacophony of internalized political adverts and talking heads, the answer to my question. I looked again at the ballot and my eye was drawn to a name. I sighed, relieved, and bent over the page with my pen to fill in the oval and cast my vote. But then I was overcome by another moment of indecision. If I’d had a coin I would have flipped it.
Did you vote today? Was your decision easy or difficult?
PS–>my Totally Awesome Sister has a great post today about the primary vote. Check it.
Geek Out Instead
I was going to offer you a long post describing, in somewhat painful detail, the process I am going through as I struggle to decide who I will cast my ballot for in tomorrow’s primary. Hillary? Obama? Obama? Hillary?
But then Boing Boing posted this link for all the Macophiles out there. I’ll think about the election tomorrow.
Hear that? It’s my teeth grinding.
Our local mall recently underwent an upgrade. I guess the idea was to attract a more “upscale” clientele, by making the mall more “upscale” looking. Honestly, I’m not even sure what that means, but they did put in a nice a family restroom with a large, less industrial sitting area inside. This is makes bringing small children to a public restroom a lot less stressful. They also put in a few of these:
Can anyone guess what bothers me about this?
The View From Here
This* is what my Wednesday nights look like. I play with the local community orchestra, and we are rehearsing for our upcoming November concert.
Can you tell what instrument I play by where I sit in the orchestra?
*Sorry for the crappy Photoshop panoramic. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to Kinnear an entire orchestra when you are supposed to be counting measures? (click the image for a larger view)
An Open Letter
To the person driving the white sedan:
I understand that you must have been in a tremendous hurry. Perhaps you were late for a dental appointment, or to pick someone up at the bus station. Perhaps your alarm clock didn’t go off and you were late for work. Believe me, I understand what it’s like to be in the car, late for something. It’s annoying. Or, maybe you were just having a bad day. I understand that, too. However, I would just like to politely remind you that pedestrians in the crosswalk always have the right-of-way. The next time you have to make a left turn and a mother with her two small children are crossing the street in front of you, DO NOT TO HONK AT THEM!!!
Safe travels!
Jen in CT
Chained
There is a “no screens after 8 am” rule in my house, mostly to keep the children from watching too much TV, but it also helps keep me from looking at the computer all day.
Today (and much of this week) is different. I volunteered to do the church newsletter for our church secretary who is going on vacation this week (lucky woman!). Before I had children, I did a lot of work with Quark Xpress, but St. James’ uses Microsoft Publisher, so “doing the newsletter” means I also have to “learn a new layout program”.
First impressions: I prefer Quark. And not just because I am more familiar with Quark. Quark is a much friendlier application for working with multiple pages of text boxes.
Also, this is cutting into my knitting time so I am feeling a little grumpy. Hear that? It’s my teeth grinding. *grr*
I Am Sad
Robert Jordan died yesterday afternoon after long struggle with amyloidosis. His series, The Wheel of Time, consumed many, many hours of my reading time and I am grateful he shared this story with the world.
Go in the Light, RJ.
Newsday Tuesday
Here’s a new feature on my blog rounding up the news stories I’ve been following this week. What news have you guys found interesting this week? (Thanks to Rachel for the great idea!)
Senator Craig tries to put the cat back in the bag.
Incident at Applebee’s in KY sparks nurse-ins in other states.
Doctor Who Series five postponed until 2010.
General Patraeus presents his report to congress on the progress in Iraq.
Knitting Interrupted 
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