Woohoo, LJ is back

OK, yesterday I wanted to post this:

I need to learn how to cook a good steak. I find myself with two lovely cuts of filet mignon. (Yes, this is my own fault.) I can do some veggies and a bearnaise. But I don't know how to avoid ruining the meat in an attempt to cook it.

Friday Five

Last seen in the journal of: redgrrl

1. Where are you right now? At home, using the computer Rick left behind, at the desk gs helped me assemble.

2. What time is it? 11:32 PST.

3. What are you wearing? Someone was hard up for questions today, I see! Jeans, a T-shirt with Chessie on it, The Prettiest Watch in The Whole Wide World, scruffy black Ecco shoes, socks with holes in them, basic cotton undies, a brand new bra whose stitching is still sharp enough to require moleskin on my back.

4. Any people or animals around you? Describe them. jackiecat is sitting on the chair next to me, deciding whether she wants to push her way underneath my elbows to get on my lap. She's a smallish black longhaired cat with yellow eyes. She's been VERY affectionate since my return from my holiday trip; I think she missed me. My other cat, Duchess, is nearby, curled up next to the couch. She's gotten over missing me and is back to her standard pattern of being content as long as she's in the same room with the human.

5. What are your plans for the weekend? Square dance. Maybe fly, if I can convince myself it's okay to spend the money. Organize a bit. Exchange some holiday presents.

Murphy strikes again

Yesterday I tried to use my PalmPilot for the first time since I left it behind on my holiday trip. It told me in no uncertain terms that it needed new batteries Right Now, and shut itself off.

I made a grocery-store run, and batteries were the ONE item I forgot.

The ONE SIZE of batteries I didn't already have lying around the house in great quantities was the size I needed.

Today, I finally replaced the batteries... and the PalmPilot has forgotten everything it ever knew. Yesterday, it hadn't yet; by today, it had. GRRR.

Now I have to see whether all that HotSyncing was worth anything. But first, I have to install the right software on this computer, and bring the saved data over from my CD. I had been doing everything on the machine at work, see...

This ought to be interesting, she said sarcastically

( Where were you when...? )

Barter

With no cash income, I am musing more strongly lately on the idea of trading goods and services for other goods and services directly, with no actual dollars involved.

If I have A and want B, while you want A and have C, we need to find a third party. Is that really sufficiently daunting that few trades are done? Or do people have enough varied wants that a bargain can usually be struck?

When does the government get a cut? If I trade my red pencil for your blue one, the IRS probably doesn't give a hoot, even if we're both happier that the deal was made. But if I'm trading a month's labor for, oh, I don't know, a motorcycle, they might care. Where's the line?

What do I have that I'm willing to trade AND that is in demand? I am great at plunging into big hairy organization-and-cleanup tasks, like sorting old photos, and breaking the problem down into manageable chunks. It takes time, but it gets done and done well. What else? I will catch a spelling error in just about anything, but computers can do that too. What else? Must ponder.