Uses for Binder Clips - Fixing a Knitting Mistake

Zoom made a huge mistake just as she was finishing a sweater. She didn't know how to fix it, but her knitting guru did. Among the ingredients, 2 binder clips.

You can read all about it on her blog.

It turns out that there are many uses for binder clips in the field of knitting. For example:

• Britt uses one in her Row Counter;
• According to Nicky Epstein, in Knitting Never Felt Better, you can add texture and interest to "regular" knitting by pleating the knitting with binder clips;
• Terryd says they are useful additions to a homemade cast-on comb;
• I gather they can be used in blocking (someone might want to update the Wikipedia entry to mention the possible use of binder clips); and
• SL Beeson suggests using binder clips along with a pillow case to keep big projects clean during the lengthy time it takes to complete them:

When knitting (or crocheting) a large item, such as a baby blanket or afghan (especially when working with a light color), once I have completed several inches, I put the item inside a pillow case, leaving only the last few rows outside. On each side of the case opening, I then clamp a small hair "claw" to secure the project inside. This then goes in my knitting/crochet bag, along with the needle, directions, etc. Simply release the clamps whenever you have worked several more inches, dropping more of the item into the pillow case, then replace the clamps. This keeps the project clean! You could use clothes pins or binder clips instead to secure your work inside the pillow case.

Of course, you don't have to use binder clips. You could use clips especially designed for knitting like knit klips only $15.49 for 10 (plus $14.50 shipping to Ottawa).

[Did you know that Mike Binder is writing the screenplay for the Friday Night Knitting Club? There doesn't seem to be a clip yet.]

Uses for Binder Clips - Dealing with a Razor Blade

Mark Frauenfelder at Dinosaurs and Robots cut his thumb on his "shaving razor"¹ at the airport.

I don't ever want to cut my finger on the razor again, so I put a binder clip over the blade. Since I am a firm believer in resistentialism (the theory that inanimate objects demonstrate hostile behavior towards us), it gives me great pleasure to imagine my razor crying out in pain from being pinched by the binder clip. It's a just punishment, wouldn't you agree?

¹ A shaving razor? Or a handy way to travel with a blade in your carry-on?

Purge toxins, learn about happiness, see something cute

One-day depot for household hazardous waste May 3

Get rid of household hazardous waste including energy efficient light bulbs, turpentine, aerosol containers, fire extinguishers, pool chemicals, insecticides, stains, wood preservatives, barbecue starters, propane tanks, oven cleaners, disinfectants, herbicides, fungicides, furniture stripper, gasoline and window cleaner. May 3, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Parking lot between 405 Rochester Street and 550 Booth Street (just south of the Queensway)

Daniel Gilbert on Happiness

"People who are clinically depressed often seem to lack the ability to reframe events. That suggests that if the rest of us didn’t have this, we might be depressed as well. "

"Another thing we know from studies is that people tend to take more pleasure in experiences than in things. So if you have “x” amount of dollars to spend on a vacation or a good meal or movies, it will get you more happiness than a durable good or an object. One reason for this is that experiences tend to be shared with other people and objects usually aren’t. "

Cute story for the week: Pierre's Penguin (Wet)suit

Pierre was too cold to swim so they made him a wetsuit.

More Photos at the Skatepark

I've been taking more shots of the action at Legacy Skatepark. On Friday, one guy said in a loud voice, "anybody takes a picture of me, I'll slap him." I looked over to the group where the voice came from but none of them were looking at me.

A biker in a white t-shirt who'd been doing a lot of stunts in front of me said, "polite people."

"Who doesn't want their picture taken?" I called out. Nobody answered so I shrugged and went back to snapping away.

There are several things I wondered about as I took these pictures.

1. Shouldn't these lads be wearing helmets? and maybe other protective gear?
2. That really young looking kid... is he on his lunch break too or is he playing hookey?
3. Is it possible that when they see a photographer they'll try a trick that is too hard for them and hurt themselves?

I don't actually worry about whether they mind me taking the photos. If I made any money from the shots, I'd be happy to share it with them and my experience is that people doing things like this like to have pictures of themselves in action.

Just as I was leaving the skatepark, a rough-looking older guy walked through it. He called out to the biker in the white t-shirt and told him he should do a series of moves that would finish with going up one side of a steep slope, doing a back-flip, down the other side of the slope up the opposite wall, "...and then lock your handlebars.... Or do something else f--ked up. I'd do it myself, but I already got brain damage."

He then went on to describe one of the stunts he'd pulled that had wound up with him cracking his skull.

So, yes, a helmet might be a good idea.

Skatepark Flickr Set

A Postcard from Beyond the Grave

When I lived in Sri Lanka in 1992, I published the first issue of Scribbles. It contained an article called "The Quest for Arthur C Clarke" detailing how close I came to meeting the famous science fiction author.

The next issue of Scribbles was published in Ottawa. I talked a bit about how I missed Sri Lanka and that all I had to remember Arthur C Clarke by was a pen that Doug Graham stole from Clarke's dive shop. It was a cheap ballpoint pen with "This pen was stolen from Arthur C Clarke" printed on the side.

I figured that those words meant that the wealthy author encouraged the theft of his pens, but shortly after my publication of Scribbles #2, I began receiving postcards from Arthur C Clarke asking about his pen and requesting its return. The postcards came from all over the world. None of them gave a return address, but I found an address for him in Sri Lanka and sent him a letter with a replacement pen. He must not have received it because I continued to receive postcards from him for several years.

They finally stopped coming.

Arthur C. Clarke died on 19 March. But look what arrived today.

I found a poem in my Google Reader

The Legacy Skatepark in Nepean

When I left work today, it was a beautiful sunny evening and I didn't have to rush to a meeting or a practice, so I did what I've been wanting to do since the snow thawed and wandered over to the skate park.

I took a bunch of photos and nobody seemed to mind. One fellow might have been disappointed that I didn't get a shot of him wiping out. All I can say is that with everything going on, and the sunlight washing out my view screen, it was hard for me to get the action shots I did get.

If there is tension between the boarders and the bikers, or any sort of territorial squabbles, I didn't see any while I was there. Just a bunch of young guys working at improving their skillz.

Links:

All the shots I got on Flickr

• List of Skateboard parks in Ottawa
• Reviews of the Legacy Skateboard Park

Welcome Back Global Warming

Two days ago, that water was snow.

I've read some fun legal decisions recently.

In Chuang v. Manning, 2008 CanLII 14175 (ON S.C.), Justice Corbett shuts down a vexatious litigant:

"Mr. Chuang should understand, now, that the justice system has decided his case and will not permit him to re-try those issues, now, or ever. It is over. Finished. It is time for Mr. Chuang to move on. "

I was also happy to see in two short decisions from Justice Lemon in the Central-West Region of the Superior Court that documents go missing there like they do in the courthouse in Ottawa some times. Justice Lemon had the courtesy in both of these decisions to apologize "on behalf of the administration of justice." A search for that phrases on CanLii turns up only those two decisions [1 2].

A few things

(1) I'm a big believer in criminal sentences that keep people out of jails. So, I am not into the latest campaign that makes it seem like people sentenced to staying in their homes are not being punished.

But I have to admit, when I walked past the parking for the Provincial Court House and saw this, I thought it a bit inappropriate to replace the old paddy wagon with a vintage Corvette. Even if it is orange.

(2) Our young friend Kay just blogged a bike repair adventure. [2023 edit: no longer online] She blows my mind because (a) all that work to repair the bike; and then (b) she does such a detailed blog posting. It makes me tired to think about it. Kaye spares no expense to tell a story.

(3) I've posted photos from Saturday night's Ball and Chain honky tonk gig at the Elmdale. I'm glad I sat up in front of the pedal steel player, Al Bragg. Because (a) he was great, and (b) I could see the set list. When it came time to play the Lover's Waltz, Michael said "Let's Skip this One."

"No," I called out, "don't!" and for a change, they listened to me.

Isn't it strange how certain melodies played in the right way can make you cry every time you hear them? Even when there are no words that go with the tune? If I had stayed in cognitive science, maybe I would have tried to research why that is.

New Horizons for Boredom

Over at Unclutterer, Erin Doland says she saves money by buying small bottles of shampoo because when she buys big bottles she gets bored with them and switches to another before finishing the bottle:

Although it usually isn’t the best bargain, I’ve found that buying smaller bottles of these items works best for me. Yes, a gallon jug of shampoo at Costco is the most cost effective option, but after six months of using the exact same shampoo I get bored, buy alternatives, and then have three bottles of shampoo in my shower.

I used to think that I get bored easily, but it never occurred to me to get bored of a shampoo. I suppose this also means you can get bored of soaps, toothpastes and deodorants. Mindboggling.

When I find my showers are getting boring, I put a new set of song lyrics in my plastic songsheet holder.

Do other people out there get bored of shampoos? If so, does the problem extend to conditioner and other bathing products?

Would a new song help?