I just found Dinosaur Comics. I'm having trouble reading the site, because it makes me laugh, but there are people all around me under the false impression that I'm hard at work, and making little snorty noises is the surest way to smash that illusion. So if you're not at work, (or if you have no sense of humor) check it out. Start with this one, because it has a matching T-shirt. How kewl is that? This one is pretty funny too. OK, discover the rest on your own. Go on, scoot.

I'm almost done with my second pair of socks! Voila, the ever-popular Go With the Flow sock from the Summer 2005 issue of Interweave Knits. What, you wanted two socks? I said I was almost done, not totally done. But here's the second one anyway. I really like the way the colors blend on the bottom of the sock. Of course, no one will see this part of the sock unless they are giving me a soul-restoring footrub, or are being kicked in the eye by me for refusing to provide a soul-restoring footrub. I will have to work on my Billy Blanks skillz if I plan on kicking that high anytime soon. Overall, I really dig this pattern. The leg and instep pattern involves an easy 4-row repeat, and 2 rows are just plain rib. However, this sock is not boring. It's pretty similar in difficulty to the Broadripple sock, so I'd recommend this pattern to anyone who enjoyed knitting Broadripples. My main complaint with this (and most) sock patterns is that the instructions attempt to defy the laws of physics. For example, sock patterns often instruct you to place a marker at the end of a needle. Now, unless you hold your needles parallel to the ground at all times, that marker is going to fall right off. And these patterns always dictate how many stitches should be on each needle, but that just invites pesky ladders to invade the sock! Plus, I use 5" sock needles, which makes things tricky too. Look at me, trying to pass myself off as a sock expert, when I've only made 3.75 socks in my entire life.

OK, lame post title. But I'm strapped for time, people! I just had to take a second and welcome anyone who found Pensive Frog via the Crochet-Pattern-A-Day Calendar! I have a little crocheted scarf pattern featured on today's date! Although I'm more of a knitter than a crocheter (crochet is too hard!), I often pull out my mad hooking skillz (not that kind of hooking!) when I need a little cord or embellishment or a cute little flower. So to those of you who are looking for Miss January 25, here I am! I wish my day were later in the year, because my posting habits suck right now. There's a big govmint agency that needs a progress report from me, and frankly, my dears, I'm not worth a damn. So be patient. Would you rather have new, content-rich posts every day, or a cure for cancer? It's up to you. Don't be selfish, people.

OK, I know the holidays are over, but this made me laugh out loud. And not many things do that. Maybe a giggle or a snort, but the full-on LOL is a rare creature. Pimp My Nutcracker. Fo shizzle. 'Twas the night before Pimpmas, and all through the crib, all the pimpies were primping, and the pimpin' was BIG! Their fur hats all hung by the chimney with care, and soon they'd be perched on that flowing pimp hair. The bi*ches were nestled all snug in their beds As visions of bling-bling danced in their heads. Oh, I could go on, but I'd just get in trouble. And now you see where the quest for anonymity comes from.

Some bloggers post photos of themselves on their blogs. Some don't. I fall into the latter category, only offering tantalizing glimpses of the back of my head once in a while. When a blogger chooses to remain anonymous, it is usually due to one of four reasons: 1. Bad eyebrow dye job 2. Already on "Do not sell Kureyon to this woman, she won't know what to do with it" flyers at several LYSes 3. Feeble attempt to maintain an air of mystery 4. Incognito = incoolgnito I'll leave it up to you to decide which reason I'm using. Anyway, if you're interested in what I look like, I'll share some data from my results from MyHeritage. This is a geneaology site, which has a fun feature that matches an uploaded photo of you (or anyone!) to their database of celebrity photos. I tried several photos of myself, and they all hit on photos of Renee Zellweger, Cate Blanchett, and Camilla Parker-Bowles. My English accent is almost as good as Renee's, too! We should all get together for tea. Freaky quadruplet tea. It's all very ego-boosting to read about the celebrities one resembles, but no match was closer than my 64% similarity with Matthew Perry. Just call me "Ms. Chanandeler Bong". If you understand that reference, you watch too much TV. Could I be any more pleased?

It's 9:30 pm, but 8:30 am in the 24 universe. Did I just see Jack Bauer punch his way through a car door window? First he punched, then he kicked. That's bad ass. I would have kicked first, then punched, but I'm a big pansy. And hey girls, if you're ever in a position to punch or kick your way through a car window, be sure to remove all the extra broken glass from the window frame. That way, you'll just look like you're enjoying the breeze with the window rolled down, not like a felon on the run picking glass shards out of her hair. Or like a suddenly alive ex-CTU agent on the run from the FBI. Whichever. Oh, I love TV. I love it.

Conversation with clerk at J. Crew: Me: I'd like to return this shirt, if I can. I have the tag, but I lost the receipt! I just can't make the shirt work with anything else in my wardrobe, so I hope you'll take it back. Her: I'll just have to give you store credit. Me: Oh, that's fine. And I bought the shirt right after New Year's, when you were having a promotion, so it was an additional 20% off. Her: Well, I need the receipt to give you... wait... why are you telling me that? Just to be nice? Me: Uhh... That's the price I bought it for, so... Her: Well, thank you for your honesty. Me: Well, it hurts everyone in the end, doesn't it? [smug smile] Besides, it's only a dollar or so difference. My morality is worth a dollar, I think. Her: Yeah. [thinks: weirdo] Me: [thinks: I almost looked like a hero, the one customer who could have given her faith in humanity again. But then I had to go and suggest that my ethical principles work on a sliding scale. ]

When I was a kid, eating at the school cafeteria was a sure way to scuttle any chance at popularity. At a middle school in Oklahoma city, eating at the school cafeteria this week was sure to evoke some fond memories. Memories like, Say, don't these burgers taste familiar? Perhaps, like those burgers we had for lunch before school let out for Christmas break? You can read all about it and feel nauseous here. Speaking of food safety, a recent string of wind-related power outages in my neighborhood got me wondering about the health hazards of eating food left in a refrigerator or freezer when the power's out. I know that foods aren't supposed to be left at room temperature for more than 2 hours, but I was stumped as to the fate of goodies in my Frigidaire. I looked it up on the Intarweb (something you can't do when the power is out, I found!) and was surprised to discover that food in a full refrigerator will stay good for 6 hours with no power, and food in a full freezer is good to go for two days. So the next time the lights flicker and you find yourself nose-deep in a pint of Ben & Jerry's, you may be overreacting. But eat that Brown Cow cream top yogurt in a jiffy! Time's a-wastin'!

I have a severe case of a common knitting-related malady - Gotta-have-itis. At last night's meeting of LFP knits, I decided I'd have to make a cabled handbag. This morning, I came across this pattern for a knitted gastrointestinal system. I think this is the only pattern in existence that I can pass off as work-related. Ever since I saw the pattern for the knitted uterus on Knitty, I have been mulling the idea of designing a knitted pancreas. My dissertation project is on pancreatic cancer, so a knitted pancreas seems apropos. But why stop with a pancreas, when you can knit a tongue, anus, and everything in between. I already cleared a space on my bookshelf. Now I have to call my LYS and ask if they have any esophagus pink in stock.

Ok, I'll make up for that last post that's only relevant to 20% of my readers (Hi, Katy!) with a potpourri of things that have caught my attention in the past few days. 1. If you liked, "How Stella Got Her Groove Back", you might also enjoy... 2. Alas, poor Chantico, I knew him well! 3. Now that's what I'm talking about. Sweet sweet yarn sale. 4. Everything you'd ever want to know about the Sago Mine accident 5. Batboy, the Musical.