Geek in Heels - Page 78

Aug 28, 2011 • In Books, Geek, Personal

Harry Potter Facts [Tumblr Site of the Day]

Today I stumbled upon a neat Tunblr blog called Harry Potter Facts and spent a good portion of the morning reading through all its archives. Here are some of my favorites (most have to do with what happens to Harry and the gang after book 7):

I’m not sure if there will be another book series in my lifetime that will be as loved as much as Harry Potter. I can’t wait until my children are old enough to start enjoying J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world! J’s friend tells us that his kids shout things like “Crucio!” and “Impedimenta!” to each other when they fight. And while I can’t say that the use of an Unforgivable Curse on your sibling is good behavior, you can’t deny that it’s stinkingly cute. 🙂

P.S. — Hurricane Irene (downgraded to Tropical Storm Irene by the time it hit us) has passed by without inconveniencing us with even a blackout. J even went out for lunch today and tells me that the roads in our neighborhood aren’t flooded at all. However, I know that others were not so lucky. My parents tell me that a large tree fell in their back yard, but that it fell away from the house so there was no damage done aside from a few flattened bushes. As far as I know, all my friends and family who were in the hurricane’s path is safe, and for that I am thankful.

I had written the post before this one — The Art of Clean Up — yesterday and scheduled it to post today because I was afraid that we would be suffering a blackout…but obviously I had nothing to worry about!

I hope that none of my readers was hit too hard by Irene, and that you all remain dry and safe!

The Art of Clean Up

The following images are from Swiss artist and comedian Ursus Wehrli‘s new book, The Art of Clean Up, due out next month, where the compulsively tidy designer takes everyday objects and situations and organizes them in the most…amazing (well, at least to this neat freak) ways possible.

Be sure to also check out Wehrli’s Tidying Up Art books, where famous masterpieces of beloved painters are “tidied” up by carefully organizing them into component pieces, or by creating clever infographic-like variations. For example, Seurat’s pointillism gets reduced to a bag of candy while a Jackson Pollock is returned to all its original paint cans. 😀

Via Colossal.

Star Wars Alphabet Game [Gotta Get ‘Em All!]

I really need to brush up on my Star Wars trivia, because I couldn’t get everything! *hangs head in shame*

I will post the answers in the comments section right after publishing this, so fret not!

Via Neatorama.

P.S. — According to Gamma Squad, the creator of the game, the chart was made “liberally using titles, first and last names and the occasional starfighter” so I don’t feel too bad about not being able to get everything. 😛

Hurricane Irene

A snippet of the conversation I had with my mother yesterday —

Me: The governor has declared a state of emergency and we’re in a potential flood zone. But don’t worry, we’re stocking up on bottled water, food, and batteries.

My Mother: (horrified) Does that mean I can’t see Claire this weekend?

Geez, thanks for being concerned for our safety, mom. 🙄

J and I aren’t too concerned about Hurricane Irene. We feel that the media is probably blowing it out of proportion, and we’re hoping that the damage it leaves in its wake will not be too severe.

If it weren’t for Claire, we would probably have just gotten a couple of gallons of bottled water and called it a day. But as parents, we decided that it’s better to be safer than sorry…

All the stores in our area have been sold out of bottled water and batteries since the middle of the week. Luckily, J arrived at our local grocery store right after it received an extra shipment of bottled water:

I THINK we’ll be safe on the water front.

Our neighbors have been complaining that they could not find batteries anywhere, but with an infant in the house — one whose toys and equipment require tons of batteries — we always have a crapload of batteries on hand and so we didn’t need to worry about that.

We were also relieved to remember that we have a portable stove with extra cans of butane (thanks to our love for hotpot), as well as a portable generator we purchased last year when our car battery died. (It can be charged via an electric plug, and has other emergency features like a floodlight, emergency siren, and even an USB adapter!)

Additionally, we are currently doing laundry, charging all electronics that can be charged, and will be filling the bathtubs and sinks with water before we go to bed.

And for once we are happy for our condo’s lack of a view — no trees, just the adjacent apartment building that is less than 20 feet away — because we will not need to board/tape up our windows.

I am not too worried about flooding either, since our building is well above sea level. Once again, we feel very fortunate, because practically the entire city of Hoboken, which is literally just 5 minutes away, is in danger of severe flooding.

So I think we’re in pretty good shape…at least for now.

Are you, or will you be affected by Irene? If so, how are you preparing for the hurricane?

(And isn’t it crazy how the northeastern U.S. is getting an earthquake and a hurricane within just days of each other?)

Bierbitzch

The best name for a beer…or no? 😛

Via Reddit.

$50 Sephora Gift Card Giveaway!

Update: This giveaway has now come to a close. Congratulations to Irene, who entered via the Facebook giveaway page! Please be on the lookout for an email from me soon!

A few months ago, the famed Urban Decay Naked Palette — which had been getting regularly sold out everywhere since its release last year — came back in stock at Sephora online and I immediately snatched one up.

And you know what? It is just as good as all the online reviews say…and more! In fact, I would go as far as to say that for the everyday woman, this is the only eye shadow palette you will need!

I even convinced my SIL to get one herself, and she loves it just as much as I do, if not more. 🙂

Why the long background story? Because you see, I had originally planned on giving away the Urban Decay Naked Palette as this month’s giveaway…

…only to realize that due to its popularity, many of my readers may already have it!

So I decided to use the money toward a gift card from the mecca of beauty stores: Sephora!

That’s right — I am giving away a $50 Sephora gift card!

Running low on your favorite product? Been itching to try the latest and greatest? Need to purchase a gift for a friend?

Well, you may just get lucky and win!

Now, for the rules…

Each reader is eligible for up to three entries via the following methods (each method will grant a separate entry):

Leave a comment to this post about how you would spend the Sephora gift card.
If you haven’t done so already, go to the Geek in Heels Facebook Page and “Like” the page. Then click on the Sephora Gift Card Giveaway link (located right under the profile picture, or just use this link) to enter the sweepstakes.
If you haven’t done so already, follow @geekinheels on Twitter and tweet exactly the following: I just entered for a chance to win a $50 Sephora gift card via @geekinheels at http://bit.ly/rigo5Z and you can too!

Please do not leave extra comments here if you enter via Facebook or Twitter.

You can increase your chances of winning by using all three methods of entry. There is only one entry allowed per person, per method — for a total possible number of three entries — and any additional entries will be promptly deleted. (Yes, I have ways of checking this. And yes, this will only cause me to get annoyed at you.)

For the complete list of rules, go to this link.

The giveaway begins as soon as this entry is published — August 26, 2011 @ 12:00pm EDT — and will run until September 1, 2011 @ 11:59pm EDT. The winner will be announced here on September 2 and will also be notified by email (so please use a valid email when entering so that I can contact you if you win!) or via a Twititer DM.

Good luck, and thanks for reading! (I love giveaways, don’t you? :-D)

The Golden Ratio of Apple

I have no idea if the designer(s) of Apple’s famed logo had this in mind when at the drawing board, but considering Apple’s attention to detail, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was meticulously planned out. 🙂

Via I Love Charts.

They Will Not Take No for an Answer

Remember how earlier this year, we canceled cable in addition to our land line?

Since then, our cable company has been trying its darndest to win back our subscriptions.

When we first moved into our home, we had signed up for their Triple Play package, which included cable, internet, and phone for about $100/month for the first year.

After the first year was up, our bill went up to about $160/month, which we had continued to pay faithfully until we canceled cable and phone.

Now, we are paying about $50/month for just the high-speed internet.

The first few months after we had canceled cable and phone, we regularly received notices that they would reinstate the $100/month promotional price for a year.

Four months ago, that price went down to $90/month for a year.

Three months ago: $80/month for a year.

Two months ago: $70/month for a year.

Last month: $70/month for two years.

And this month?

A snapshot of the flyer we received in the mail…after Claire got to it

In case you can’t make out what it says (you probably can’t, as it was taken with my crappy phone camera): $70/month for two years, plus a free DVR rental for a year, plus a free iPod Touch!

😯

Now, I have no idea if the iPod Touch is an older model, but seeing as the lowest-end iPod Touch currently retails for $229, I’m pretty tempted.

Nevermind the fact that we would only be paying $20 more (or $30 after taxes) a month for two additional services.

And as much as I love our cable-free life, there are some shows whose networks have not caught up to the 21st century and do not air full episodes online. Yes, I am sorely missing my guilty pleasure, aka the only reality show I enjoy: Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

What do you think? Should we go for it?

Should we wait until next month and see what else they would offer? 😛

P.S. — Stay tuned for a giveaway tomorrow!

If Web Browsers Were Celebrities [Infographic]

I used to be a huge fan of Firefox, but made the switch to Chrome two years ago and have not looked back. 🙂

I continue to use Firefox and Safari for certain secret agent web missions, and am consistently reminded over and over again why Chrome is a better fit for me (faster, lightweight, and handles my bazillions of open tabs better) — but I certainly understand how others may prefer Firefox, Opera, or Safari over Chrome.

What I don’t understand is the large number of internet surfers who are still using IE7, nevermind IE6! (I have had hundreds of visitors browsing this blog with IE6 in the last month alone.)

The below infographic is pretty funny and accurate, if I must say so myself. I can see how some people may get a bit offended at the death references, but hey, it’s all in good humor, right?

Which web browser is your favorite? Do you agree with this infographic?

Via Bit Rebels.

When I Am Granted an Evening Out Among Adults…

…blogging takes a back seat.

For today, I met up with this lovely lady…

To attend a fancy bloggers’ reception hosted by this tech company…

Wherein we learned about a bunch of new products and ways to share media, met some cool people, grubbed on yummy catered food, and enjoyed an open bar (but only Sprite for this preggo).

More on what I learned later — I promise!

Then I grabbed some take-out Korean fried chicken to bring home to the hubs, only to discover while waiting for my order that there had been an earth-shattering (well, at least to us geeks) announcement made in the few hours I was away from home…

We’ll miss you, Steve, you patron saint of perfectionists.

Harry Potter Facts [Tumblr Site of the Day]

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The Art of Clean Up

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Star Wars Alphabet Game [Gotta Get ‘Em All!]

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Hurricane Irene

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Bierbitzch

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$50 Sephora Gift Card Giveaway!

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The Golden Ratio of Apple

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They Will Not Take No for an Answer

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If Web Browsers Were Celebrities [Infographic]

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When I Am Granted an Evening Out Among Adults…

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