Blogs

Grandfather Thorn Hedge What sharp lessons you teach to Unwary children. Here's the final, approved version of the Two of Wands. This card will appear in The Giants' Tarot to be published through Asphodel Press. The Jotun featured in this card is Bolthorn, whose name means "Terrible Thorn." He is the father of Bestla and the grandfather of Odin. He was a rather nonconventional subject for the Two of Wands, but he was quite a lot of fun to paint.

May 25, 2007

GypsyFae's Blog

Switch Witch Help (Or the crazy long wishlist that wouldn't end!)

BPAL Wishlist Trading Post Wishlist Misk U Soap Carnival Dibolique Scent Locket BPAL Ouija magnet explorers Society or Carnival Dibolique T-shirts. Jewelry: Tartx Wishlist Also, the Pins and badges can't be wishlisted, so here're the ones I like: Butterfly Emily Dickenson Gypsy Snake Charmer Gypsy with Ouija Herald Rabbit Lady Shalott Memento Mori Mermaid Jones Mona Butterfly Oscar Wilde (Either) Paris Flapper Pandora's Box Persephone Poe Raven Rose Fairy Voodoo Queen (And magnets don't even show up unless you get them with a mirror or necklace, but magnets are always good!) Bath stuff Toadstool Soaps Soap, Body Butter, or Body Lotion: Witches Potion Chai Tea Greenhaven Soap Puck - LE Avebury Dragon Faerie Quest Sherwood Warrior Wench Wylde Ivy Soap, body lotion: African Vanilla Bean Little Shop in Salem Rasberry Lemonade Sandcastle Villianess soap: Antihero Asphyxiate Byzantium Crushed Arcana Either Soap or Oils Absinthe Buresque Byzantuim Dia de los Muertos Filthy Viking Mutany Murder Ballad Blues Shambhala Shipwrecked Sleepy Hollow Swashbuckler Fairy Made Soaps Gypsy Spice Patchouli Rose Lush Bubble Bars Flosty Glitter French Kiss Temple of Truth My Lip Stuff OMG, I don't even know where to start here. I'd like to start with some of the weirder stuff, to that end: Tube Lip Balm Cannoli Cat Pee (?!) Chai Cheese Pizza clove * coconut Lime Lemon Meringue London Fog Pomegranate Pumpkin Pie Other Candles Dark Candles Cain Dark Grove Falling Leaves Haunted House Lilith Mage Nosferatu Dice http://q-workshop.com The Dragon or Celtic dice, any color combo, 10 sided or 20 sided Or (under special) the D20 or D10 in Mystic, any color. AND http://www.rpgshop.com Any glitter, marble, satin, silk, frosted... heck, any pretty dice! Cross stitch Also, some cool cross stitch patterns are here And here Books Amazon

GypsyFae

May 24, 2007

The earnestness of being important

How can I be lost? North, South, East, or West, I am Where I need to be. I'm feeling a bit better than I was two days ago. That isn't really saying a whole lot, as two days ago was a pretty low point for me. Still, it is something. I have always felt that I am meant to do something truly important. And ironically, I've never had a clear idea of what that something is. Writing, music, art, these are all pastimes that I have enjoyed, but all of them, at one time or another have been stripped of their joy by obligation: this internal struggle to find what I am meant to be doing. It's time to set aside this notion of doing something important. It strangles everything I love. Instead, it's time to go back to doing things I love simply because I love them. And as for importance, if the universe needs me, I'm sure it will let me know.

May 24, 2007

elbow's scentblog

In Bed with Two Mages: Theodosius, St-Germain

Last night before I went to bed, I dabbed a little Saint-Germain on my left wrist and a little Theodosius the Legerdemain on my right. I thought it would be interesting to compare the two most masculine scents in my possession, especially because they're both named after magicians. As it turned out, I had insomnia (too much caffeine and popcorn!), and so I had plenty of time to consider both. Saint-Germain has a really strong personality. He's used to getting his way, and doesn't much care how that affects other people. He's outspoken and impossible to ignore. This is the smell of a powerful man, probably physically and definitely intellectually. He's arrogant, though admittedly not without good reason. I admire but don't really like him. Theodosius is quieter and more introverted. Where Saint-Germain has power, Theo has subtlety. He's got a flair for the dramatic, because legerdemain (sleight of hand) relies on misdirection and distraction, but you never know what he's really up to until it's too late. He's much smoother than S-G, more polite and pleasant to be around. But you can't trust him. As for the scents themselves: I actually like S-G at first, but as it dries down, the lavender note just gets louder and louder and LOUDER. Theo is much easier to live with; his scent may have a little lavender in it too (I'm still not clear on this whole "fougere" thing), but the most prominent notes on me are vanilla and white musk, which combine to smell a bit like sweet pipe smoke. I like that, but there is something about Theo that I just don't like, something I can't put my finger on. It's probably just my chemistry clashing with his... anyway, I won't be keeping company with either of these gentlemen in the future. I'd still like to test both scents on a guy, if I can get one to hold still long enough. I. seems like he'd be a good guinea pig, aside from his total lack of a sense of smell. Aaand today, in the mail, I received another package of imps... from Finland! Amazingly, it got here in less than a week. I tried one of them (Yew Trees) this morning, but my shirt smells like the random imps that I left sitting on it, and my jacket smells like Green Tree Viper, so I can't actually tell what it smells like. Written 5/21/07.

elbow

May 23, 2007

circe_blue's Blog

Urg.

Dudes. My mom called and was mad at me becuase I missed one of her calls! I was out getting lunch and left my cell phone in my apartment by mistake. I didn't check it when I got back so I had no idea she even called in the first place. Also, she is mad at me because I've decided to stay at my apartment after I took my last exam and start packing a bit (we're moving out Saturday), instead of returning home right away. I can't stand this. This is completely ridiculous, and I have no idea how I'm gonna live with her for 2-3 months when I move back home (my lease wasn't renewed because they're renovating etc). Also, a couple weeks ago, I transfered $8,000 from my savings to hers becuase she wanted her account to look good (she's applying for to own part of a franchise). She wasn't going to use it, it's just gonna sit there until they/she gets all the papers in order and then she'll transfer it back. Well, it's been a couple weeks, and it's still not back in my account. I don't think she'll actually use it/steal it, but I'd like my savings back now please. I'll ask her about it in a subtle way, after she stops being pissed at me for no reason. It was going to be my "Texas" money (which brings me to my next issue). My bf of more than two years might be moving to Texas (or Ohio) depending on if he gets the internship (residency?) he wants after he's done with med school (spring '08). I refuse to do long distance relationship that is MD to Texas long, so most likely I'll be moving with him. I won't be living with him, but I'll get a job and an apartment in the area. I'm kind of looking forward to it, so I can get away and become more independent of my parents. This is my issue. My parents are super conservative and overprotective to the extreme. I cannot imagine how they are going to react when I tell them. In fact, this is the thing that I worry about the most. It seems that every serious conversation we have, ends with them yelling at me, becoming angry, and me in tears. I'm 24, and I can't believe I'm still in this situation with them. What should I do? How do I tell them?

circe_blue

May 23, 2007

Tarot Card

Sharp-toothed beggarman: Hungry thistles growing through Cracks in the pavement. I've been working on a tarot card for a joint project, and while it still needs a bit more work, I thought I would share it with those of you who are interested.

May 23, 2007

Diplomatka

Confection's Travel Tips

Hit the road! Since it is almost time for all Americans to travel for the Memorial Day weekend, I thought it was time to pass on the knowledge I have gained in my travels. On the road: 1. Check your tire pressure and fluids before you hit the road. Take a cell phone and make sure your ipod is charged. 2. Time your trip to avoid rush-hour traffic in urban areas. While this usually means 5:00 pm, take into account lunch traffic and church-goers heading to buffet restaurants on Sundays. 3. When your tank gets to ¼ full, pull over and get more gas. You never know when there is going to be a slow-down on the interstate and you definitely don’t want to be the dumbass who ran out of gas and is stuck on the side of the road. Use your fill up as an opportunity to powder your nose and replenish your supply of Diet Coke, Camel Lights, Rold Gold pretzels and Ephedrine. 4. Only pass in the left-hand lane, even if you are the only one on the road. 5. Use your turn-signals, even when changing lanes. Truckers appreciate this. 6. Truckers also appreciate if you blink your lights to let them know they can pass. 7. Scan stations when you hit college towns. There are usually good college stations out there, or at the very least you can catch some NPR. 8. If you turn off and the next gas station is over a mile away, get back on the interstate and go to the next exit. Trust me. In the air: 1. Before you check in, call the airlines and let them know your seating preference. Ain’t no need being in the middle if you can have the window! 2. If you have a small bladder, take the aisle seat. 3. If you are on a short flight and have only carry-on luggage, be the first one on the plane. This way, you can guarantee that your carry on is in the bin above you and not somewhere in aisle 55, thus ensuring you can jump up as soon as the plane hits the ground, grab your shit and muscle your way to the door. (By the way, all of that blather about people traveling with children boarding first is bullshit. They never check.) 4. If you are on a long-haul flight and have checked bags, be the last one on the plane. This way, if there are extra seats on the back of the plane, you can take a few and stretch out. 5. Order a special meal. Special meals come first, so you can eat, take your Xanax, drink your wine and be ass-out before the rest of the plane has gotten their meals. 6. After meals everyone goes to the bathroom. Be first to avoid the post-meal rush: when you hear the food cart a rumblin’, get up and pee. Having a special meal makes this easier. 7. If you are traveling on an African airline, be sure to confirm your ticket at all stages of the process—when booking, prior to departure, at check-in and at the gate. African airlines sometimes have trouble accounting for their passengers, so these steps are necessary (perhaps Afghan airlines should take a lesson!). 8. Wear shoes that you can slip on and off easily. Danskos are ideal. Crocs might cause an international incident. 9. Be sure to bring your eye mask and earplugs if you plan on sleeping. The airline knows how much you hate screaming babies and will place you directly behind one without fail. 10. Never get behind Russians in the security check if you can avoid it. Russians will NEVER remove any article of clothing without explicitly being told to do so and they always wear lots of spangly, bedazzled items that set off the metal detector. You will know they are Russians because the men are wearing off-white, pointed, fake crocodile shoes and have tucked in shirts. The women have bleached hair, high heels, egregious eye make-up and tight pants. It will take them and their requisite two children at least 15 minutes to be cleared by security, all the time bitching at the security people in Russian and acting like they don't understand what is going on. 11. Getting schnockered before a flight originating outside of the US is perfectly OK and flight attendants are usually more than happy to facilitate this process. However, no more than two drinks before you board in the US. (Haven’t you all seen the TV show “Airline”?) 12. Xanax. Never fly without it.

Confection

May 23, 2007

Squash Soup

More aquatics!

Ava Luxe: The Beach - This is so close to what I'm looking for. It's beautiful and very much like a day at the beach but it's not quite IT. God I'm so picky!! Nocturne Alchemy: The Nile - This is all sweet melon. I LOVE it but it's not what I'm looking for. I'll have more later but I have to get back to work!

jessiesquash

May 22, 2007

once I felt like a bard...

Beautiful blank page What unforgivable sin My pen now commits! For days now I've been lurking in the 'Confessional' and 'How Are You Feeling' threads. I offer my support, my condolences, my advice if I feel compelled to intrude. About myself, I have been saying little, or nothing at all. For weeks, it seems, I've come—sometimes several times daily—to stare at this very page. Prepared to craft a journal entry: microphone poised near slightly parted lips; dictation software listening, attentive and loyal as Border Collie. Sometimes there are no words to be said. Sometimes there are, but they crack and crumble in my throat and are gone. Hastily, I return to the forum and caring for the bright, brazen, funny, frantic, scintillating, sad, moving, moody, happy, hyper, decadent, dulcet, bashful, beautiful souls that grace this board. In that, at least, I find comfort. Once, I called myself a writer, but I do not write. Staring numbly at folders of fragmented, unfinished stories, I wonder where that joy went. I called myself a composer, too, but the notes come hard and ring hollow now. My instrument is broken; I am lost without it. I have lost all sense of living for myself. I no longer understand what I am meant to do. If this was the lesson meant to be imparted by Saturn when it began its return three years ago, then I congratulate it. It has succeeded. I am decimated. Who I was is gone. Who I am now? How ironic that I named this journal The Furnace of Inspiration when I seemingly have none. Hubris, or a plea for help? I leave that as an exercise for you, dear reader.

May 22, 2007

Wishlist Pimpage

Just pimping my Wishlist Wishlist Highlights: Fire Pig Enraged Groundhog Musk Cheshire Cat Eat Me March Hare

May 21, 2007

IGMO, Tenochtitlan & PC Bits

I Got My Order! W00t, my 29th April order came! My Mum, rather bemused by the sudden avalanche of boxes, parcels and packets for me, called me and told me. I asked her to open it and put the Bloody Mary upright somewhere dark. I can't remember what she said the frimps were (although her pronunciation of Shub-Niggurath was amusing), but I'm pretty sure one of them was Phantom (maybe Phantasm). The Imps that I ordered were: 2 x Brown Jenkins, 2 x Vice, Imp and Shub-Niggurath. Can't wait to get home on Saturday now Tenochtitlan Wow, I can finally spell that right! In my package with the 5ml of Ventriloquist Dummy (see previous post for the tragedy of that one ), lorajc kindly included a frimp of Tenochtitlan. My review of it is here. To sum up, it's not unpleasant, it just doesn't quite work on me. Oh well . New PC Components I really shouldn't start squeeing about this until I get home, but oh well I got a call from my Mum earlier today: All my computer bits have arrived at home! I'll be building it next Sunday, after I go and get a monitor (I already have an AWESOME keyboard - the Logitech G15 Gamer - and a great Razer Diamondback mouse). My poor Mum sounded very bemused when she said "There are four large boxes here for you - one says 'X-Cruiser Chassis' on it. Are you building a car?"

May 21, 2007

Ventriloquist Dummy: As Evil as the Namesake

Well, in good accordance with Murphy's Law, the missing bottle of Ventriloquist Dummy was waiting on my doorstep for me this morning! So I'm happy about that (annoyed at Royal Mail though!). The problem came when I first wore the Dummy. I don't usually go for hyperbole, but this is just: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH! The Dummy really hates me most woods and things go lovely on me but with this one all I can smell is dust, decay, rot and a pile of ancient, rotting potpourri. And the worst part is, I'll have two bottles, as I ordered another one thinking the first one was lost. So now I'll have to sell or swap them both, which always makes me feel guilty, as I put other people to effort packing and sending them to me, and then I'm just getting rid of them. I always stay well under the price caps in the swap forum, though. Whyyyyy ETA: Oh no! I have a decant on the way as well! I'll feel soooo guilty about putting 2 bottles and a decant up for sale at once, it looks like I'm trying to profit, but at the same time I don't want to hang on to them for six months then sell them, for the same reason

May 21, 2007

elbow's scentblog

Florence and Kumiho: amber and ginger

So I wore my last untried scent, Florence, to work on Thursday. It went on pretty nice, lightly sweet, almost the way a marshmallow smells. But as it dried down, it began to smell distinctly granny-ish. I felt self-conscious about how granny-ish I smelled. The throw was like department store perfume. I might try it once more, but I'm thinking it's definitely not for me. I'm quickly coming to the conclusion that most amber scents are not for me (though I still love Aglaea). I don't like the fuzzy way amber hits my nose when it's on my skin. Florence is described as containing "velvety spices," but I think it's the amber note that gives it the really fuzzy/velvety texture, and I don't like it. Ironically, I do like fuzzy/velvety textiles. Just not odors. Friday I wore Kumiho again. This was the ginger/white tea scent that I said smelled like something you'd find in a mall shop. Not a crappy mall shop, I want to add; maybe Bath & Body Works or GAP or something. Anyway, I've concluded that I don't really like Kumiho, and that maybe I'm just not into scents that are heavy on the ginger. Small amounts, like in Bengal and The Apothecary, are fine. But scents that rely on it as a major note are just so sharp, so spiky in my nose, that they're not fun for me to wear. Again, this is ironic because ginger is one of my very favorite things to eat. So that probably sounds like I'm complaining, but actually I'm thrilled (thrilled!) to have learned to identify these two notes, amber and ginger, and what they do on my skin. It's like learning the landmarks in a new town. The more you know.... And then Friday night I went to a party, and wore Green Tree Viper again. And this time I really liked it. It didn't smell like Mom's perfume at all. It's still not a smell I'm 100% comfortable with; it's sensual in ways that I'm not. But it's a good smell, and it's happy on my skin, and I look forward to wearing it again. I think maybe another factor in how I perceive scents (especially new scents) is how I'm feeling when I wear them; if I'm relaxed and enjoying myself, I'm usually enjoying my perfume too. If I'm tense and worried, my scent can get all tangled up with my discomfort so that I confuse the two a little. And maybe my chemistry actually alters the perfume to some degree based on how I'm feeling? Anyway, that's how I explain the difference between my experience with the Viper at the work-related banquet, and at the party the other night. I realize that my favorite non-BPAL scent, a Tenzing Momo oil labeled "Pomegranate" that C. gave me a few years ago, is one I save for occasions when I know I'm going to have a good time. I always felt like it was too special to wear when I wasn't pretty sure I'd enjoy myself. And now I think that was a really good instinct, because I always associate it with feeling happy and sexy and having fun. I finally gave E. her BPAL birthday present yesterday: R'lyeh for creatures of the deep, Calico Jack for pirateyness, and Miskatonic University for mad scientists (all three things she loves). I included the descriptions on little slips of paper, so she'd know what they were meant to be. She sniffed them and said appreciative things about all of them. When she opened the box and said "Oooh," her wife asked what it was, and E. said gleefully, "It's perfumes for evil people!" She had already heard of BPAL, and said she'd been wanting to try their stuff. So of course I was happy to have provided her with the opportunity!

elbow

May 21, 2007

The Poor Lost Dummy

ETA: SEE MORE RECENT POST! I think I may have to bite the bullet and admit that, for the first time in all my BPAL buying, selling and swapping, the Royal Mail has lost one of my parcels. I had a bottle of Monsterbait: Ventriloquist Dummy on the way from lorajc. She shipped it on the 8th of May - nearly 2 weeks ago - and it still hasn't shown up. Every other purchase I made from the 7th - 10th of May has turned up apart from that one. That is in no way her fault or my fault, just the stupid Post Office losing packages I haven't had a problem before, but as I've bought literally hundreds of things off the Internet in the past few years, statistics indicate that at least one or two of them would be lost. Why oh why did it have to be a bottle of BPAL though especially a discontinued LE! I'm going to go and cry have a big cup of hot chocolate now

May 20, 2007

Feeling Miserable

This is just a general post whingeing about exams and end of term stuff that's bringing me down. I noticed this because, even though I personally don't get stressed out the way some people do, my body does! My insomnia has been worse in this past fortnight than it has been for a year, plus I have three lovely mouth ulcers and a cold sore, all brought on by my general tiredness. I felt a little coldey and fluey yesterday but thankfully it just seemed to be a bad day rather than illness. I was a little worried as my boyfriend's housemate currently has the flu, poor chap. Another lovely side-effect is a mild depression and aching/tired muscles. At this point, I just want to go home I have one week of University left, with two exams - one tomorrow and one Friday - which I know I'll either scrape past or fail completely. To make matters worse, my father is coming to pick me and all my stuff up on Saturday morning so not only can I not go out on Friday night to celebrate with my friends, but I somehow have to pack an entire year's worth of stuff, including books, folders, bedding, saucepans, plates etcetera (not to mention my BPAL, securely bubble-wrapped!) while I'm revising for my last exam. My father has to pick me up then as it's the only weekend in about a month when he's home. I know it's very selfish, but sometimes I wish the office would stop sending him overseas all the time, especially over the weekend He's been working for them for thirty years and is retiring in December, give him a break! I didn't see him very much when I was home, and now I can barely see him at all. Mum resents all his trips too, but she knows he gets paid extra for it so she can live with it. I have a bad feeling about my father's imminent retirement. I'll be happy to see him stop working and be less stressed, however I also know he's the kind of person who needs something to do in their lives. I predict my Mum will be able to put up with him under her feet for a week, tops, before they start screaming and shouting at each other. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he goes and gets a part-time job or goes and works in the Library on his book or something. Sometimes I wonder how they're still married.

May 20, 2007

I smell glorious

I have a tea set!

I am very pleased with myself. I managed to find a tea set that I like and that didn't toally break the bank. Between Mom (for my birthday present) and I, I have a teapot, two teacups, three mugs (which don't quite match but whatever), a cream and sugar set, and a tea caddy. Yaaay materialism!

myoubi

May 19, 2007

Esscentual's Blog

RAMBLINGS possibly rated "R"

O.K., let's get one thing clear; I came out of the closet YEARS ago. Right in front of EVERYBODY. My staff, clients, Mom, adopted daughter, next door shopkeeper, suppliers, the whole shebang. I told them, loud and proud; I'm here, I'm STRAIGHT, get used to it. ................It took about 5 seconds for everyone to shrug their shoulders and say, "yeah, so?"........ And I thought it was a big deal to come out of the closet. I don't have any closets. Maybe I will try another subject next time I come out. Maybe that I became a Christian. That could create a little excitement, considering my "oh so bad girl" past. Or that I don't like clowns in any form or fashion. They scare me for some reason. AHHHHH< I KNOW what to come out with next! The guy I am supposed to marry? I am not ready for it. Might never be. How's that for a screamer . ========================================================================== In order to blog here, the rules are; You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not use this Blog system to post any material which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise violative of any law. Now, what fun is that? What if you don't know you are being inaccurate or profane? Didn't George Carlin do a bit in the seventies about the words you couldn't say on T.V? That's not a valid list anymore anywhere, is it? And the certain words you could say in one way, but not another? Something about pricking your finger... Ok, I understand not threatening, hateful (although I have seen some of that on the forum threads), harassing, illegal, but it IS a blog, which could mean a little levity would be nice. You know, let off a little steam? And all the above listed may be one thing to one person, and another thing totally to another. Am I being a rabble rouser? Sorry. Guess I will get another warning (BAD GIRL!! baad baad!!). Maybe I could put a rating on my blog, like the movies. PG for the kiddies, R for the adults, X for someone elses' blog. ======================================================================== I hate being broke. I am not used to this amount of brokeness. I am not good at poor. I am good at giving things to people. I enjoy making people smile. I can't do this at this level. It is very depressing. ==============================================================================

impadua@aol.com

May 19, 2007

circe_blue's Blog

Exams etc.

I feel like doing this Just calculated my grade and I need to do very well on the final (at least 95%) to get an A in Virology. Arrrrrhgggh! I don't think I can.....I've got a project for this class too, and ...just.....there's too much stuff going on Now I just feel like not putting in so much effort into the project and studying if I'm just going to get a B anyways. I'm not this grade-grubby usually, I swear. I just liked this class a lot, put a lot of effort into it so I wish I did better. On top of that, I've been running around trying to find a moving truck for the apartment becuase while it was *implied* that we reserve the truck when we reserved the storage space, it is not so. I miss my friends, and I miss my bf. I'm tired of being cooped up in my room studying or writing papers/projects with no one to talk to. I am burnt out! And obviously I don't handle stress well. All I wanna do snuggle up in bed with hot cocoa, turn down all the lights watch my new Pan's Labyrinth DVD and take a nap.

circe_blue

May 18, 2007

Starfish & Coffee

This Winter and Spring.

My mother died in early January. I've been a little out of the loop online. I've dealt with a great deal of family and administrative stuff since then, and am ready for a breather. Next weekend I'm heading down to Portland with Brumbjorn's group for Convergence XIII. This will be my first road trip in over two years. Last year I tried to schedule a visit with family in L.A. during a May BPAL open house ... which was cancelled. Here's hoping that I have better luck this year.

byrdie

May 18, 2007

Graphics Cards, Frames per Second, Memory, Core Clocks, oh my!

W00tage! I have found the graphics card I want The XFX 8800GTS 320MB. The brand is XFX, a reputable brand, and as mentioned in this article on MadShrimps, the XFX 320MB 8800GTS gives the best "frames per penny" rate of the bunch of similar cards they tested. This means that I'm paying the best money/performance ratio for it, which can't be bad! It's also under £200 on Scan, which I should be able to afford at some point this year There is also another article on the same site, testing the 320MB and 640MB versions of the same card. To be honest, people, there isn't really that much difference at all, and certainly not £100-worth of difference. The 640MB can run at a few more frames per second (i.e. single-digit amounts more) on higher settings than the 320MB, and that's about it. The core clock speeds are the same and they overclock (if that's your thing) the same as well. Besides, very few games use more than 300MB of memory, let alone 600MB. I get the feeling this is just another attempt, and probably a successful one, judging by the sales, to appeal to the "mine is bigger than yours!" market of teenage computer nerds. Y'know, the kind who run their games on the highest possible resolution with 16x Anti-Aliasing because it makes them feel big and important.* Now, I'm not too fussed about AA above 4x (there's no discernible increase in image/texture quality above that), and I game at the most convenient resolution for my monitor. As said new monitor will be no bigger than 19", I think the 320MB will be fine. My current card, a 256MB laptop version of the 6800, manages to run most things pretty well. It can manage The Sims 2 on mostly high settings with a couple of mediums, and it can run Half-Life 2 with no problems. It's in games like Oblivion and F.E.A.R. that the age of the card begins to show. It just can't handle AA at all, and only by turning the physics and detail settings down to minimum can these two games be played at framerates of more than about 10fps**. However, it should be noted that Oblivion is notorious for being a very demanding game graphically: It was released last year, before the 8800 chips were developed for consumer use, and very few gamers were able to manage it on the higher settings. It also uses a complicated rendering/shadow engine that, again, is notorious for being very demanding. F.E.A.R. is also quite demanding, for the physics and texture detail, and both of these games are often used in benchmark tests such as in the articles above. Tomb Raider: Legend is another benchmarker, a rather newer game that actually runs quite well on older systems thanks to an options/setting set that's a bit more customisable. I could run the demo of that with no problems on the lower or medium settings. I think my processor may have something to add to this as well: It's a Centrino (Intel, uuuurgh) 1.8GHz single-core. Veeery slow and a bit clunky at times. It can't be bottlenecking the system, as the rest of the components are about the same standard, but it isn't helping. Thank the almighty that my new PC will be a dual-core! Having said that, I am quite attached to my laptop. I've had it nearly 2 years now, and for a laptop, it's done very well. When I bought it (or rather, when Daddy bought it for me ) it was the bees' knees, now it's a crap-but-still-above-par-for-a-laptop rig. It will do for work, the Internet and World of Warcraft, but for newer games I'll be using my new system. Watch this space for more rants, musings, thoughts and comparisons of hardware Oh, and a review of Windows Vista, coming soon! *I know, I used to date one. **Which is a pain in the behind because when played on a good rig, F.E.A.R. is a beautiful game.

May 18, 2007

Pending Orders

Pending Orders ------------------------------------- None ------------------------------------- Past Orders ------------------------------------- 8th May 2009 5ml Strawberry Moon 5ml Velvet Nudie CnS: 15th May Received: 22nd May 18th November 2008 5ml Candy Phoenix 5ml Snake Charmer CnS: None (Was sent during USPS weirdness period) Received: Dec 20th 24th October 2008 (Trading Post) Clockwork Scent Locket Samhain Room Spray CnS: 4th November Received: 10th November 3rd September 2008 5ml Lilith Victoria 5ml Graveyard Dirt Resurrected 5ml Pumpkin II 5ml Pumpkin IV CnS: 20th September Received: 26th September 29th July 2008 (Trading Post) Explorer's Society Tee Imp Case: Witches Dancing on the Sabbath 2 Notepads Keychain: Triple Dagger Goblin Squirt: Dungeon CnS: August 13th Received: August 19th 29th July 2008 5ml Schwarzer Mond 5ml Inez 5ml Doc Constantine Imp Pack: 1 Antique Lace 2 Fae 3 Tweedledee 4 Nostrum Remedium 5 Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener 6 Eden CnS: 2nd August Received: 9th August 18th May 2008 5ml Hand of Glory 5ml The Illustrated Woman 5ml Pickled Imp CnS: 10th June Received: 17th June 22nd May 2008 (Lab eBay Auction) 5ml Geek CnS: May 24th Received: May 30th 22nd April 2008 5ml Rangoon Riptide 5ml The Antikythera Mechanism CnS: May 7th Received: May 13th 18th April 2008 (Trading Post) Dragon Moon tee Phoenix Steamworks tee Hell's Belle Claw Polish CnS: May 17th Received: May 22nd 17th April 2008 5ml Te Po 5ml Theodesius, the Ledgerman CnS: April 25th Received: May 1st 25th March 2008 5ml Tiki King 5ml Upa Upa 5ml March Hare CnS: April 20th Received: April 28th 15th February 2008 5ml Love's Philosophy 5ml Ebisu Making Love as Two Octopuses Look on 5ml Mme. Moriarty, Misfortune Teller 5ml Severin CnS: March Received: March 19th January 2008 5ml Khajuraho 08 5ml Luperci 08 5ml Smut 08 CnS: February Received: February 7th November 2007 5ml Samhain 2007 5ml Plunder CnS: November 30th Received: December 14th 25th October 2007 5ml Ivanushka 5ml Samhain 2007 5ml The Perilous Parlor 5ml Gingerbread Poppet 2007 5ml El Dia de Reyes 5ml Vampire Tears 5ml March Hare Imp pack #1 1. Schrodinger's Cat 2. Katharina 3. Event Horizon 4. Embalming Fluid 5. Iago 6. Sudha Segara Imp pack #2 1. Bastet 2. De Sade 3. Fire of Love 4. Goblin 5. Whip 6. Incubus CnS: November 14th Received: November 20th 30th October 2007 5ml Black Forest 5ml The Lurid Library 5ml The Snow Storm CnS: November 14th Received: November 19th 13th July 2007 5ml 13 5ml Eat Me CnS: July 28th Received: August 4th 11th June 2007 5ml March Hare 5ml Saw-Scaled Viper CnS: June 25th Received: July 3rd 10th May 2007 5ml Imp 5ml Brown Jenkins Imp: The Red Queen CnS: June 6th Received: June 13th 29th April 2007 5ml Monsterbait: Bloody Mary Imp Pack: 2 x Brown Jenkins 2 x Vice Imp Shub-Niggurath CnS: May 11th Received: May 21st -------------------------------------

May 18, 2007

Layering Thoughts

This isn't turning into a blog so much as an extension of my BPAL database. Oh well! Layering Vice & Velvet/Candy Butcher I recently started experimenting with layering my BPAL. It started with Vice - I liked it, but it didn't really wow me, just a simple (if a little plasticy) cherry scent. After receiving Velvet and finding the same thing only with chocolate, I had the bright idea of layering them. The result? Sweet cherries rounded off by chocolate. The resultant blend can be a little too sweet sometimes, so I swap in The Candy Butcher (a slightly more bitter cocoa) for Velvet when that happens. With the Butcher and Vice I smell like a box of those hellishly expensive dark chocolate cherry liqueur chocolates. Yum yum! I'm also going to try it with Bloody Mary when I get home on the 26th. As that's a cherry scent too this could work quite well! I will post how that goes. Shub-Niggurath & Xanthe This one's a bit more tricky to pull off. While in theory the scents work very well together, the sweet fruit of Xanthe drawn to Earth by the herbal ginger of Shub, the two scents have such radically different strengths and throws that it took me a whole day of experimenting, and I'm still nervous about doing it! My basic finding was that ginger AMPS on me. A LOT. The people in the opposite block of flats could smell me when I wore Shub. So, I apply a tiny, tiny bit of Shub first - using an Imp wand or a toothpick or something - and rub that in. I let it sit for about 30 minutes or so, and then I apply Xanthe as liberally as I do when I wear just that. That's a dab from the cap on one wrist, rub wrists together, re-soak cap, a small dab on each side of the neck, and rub wrists on neck. Quite a lot for some scents, but just the right amount for the shy clown. After the Xanthe enters the drydown stage, the ginger of Shub comes back into play, and wowee! A gorgeous, fruity blend with spicy ginger in the background. The sweet sexiness of Xanthe with the uniqueness and individual spice of Shub. Just like me really As an aside, I have an Imp of Shub coming from the Lab in the Bloody Mary order. I might (since I have two bottles of Xanthe) try putting a custom Imp together of 1/4 Shub, 3/4 Xanthe and see what happens. Just a thought