11.14.05: Operation Olkon ‹ Blog « Without-Feathers.com

If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.
George Bernard Shaw

Operation Olkon

November 14, 2005

Here’s irony for you: My neighbors have taken to practicing the piano (loudly and badly) every night at 11 PM. The song? Silent Nigh. Oh, the irony, she is making fun with them. (Still, it’s better than drunken parties.)

For those who so kindly inquired and offered assistance on the Thunderbird thing, I did finally resolve my issues—I resolved, that is, not to bother with the damn thing. I spent the better part of three days trying to get it to work, and all I managed to do was lock myself out of my e-mail account. I might have done even more damage, although I’m not really sure; while I was trying to install it on the desktop computer, the monitor suddenly went *ZZZAPPP!* and shut off for a moment before flickering wobbily back to life. I figured I’d better stop installing and delete the whole mess before my mistakes started affecting nearby stoplights. Still, I’d like to thank everyone who offered their help. I may be an idiot, but I’m an idiot with a posse. ;-)

It’s supposed to snow later today. That’s good, because we haven’t had a single flake yet this year, and not having snow in Minnesota is like not having sun in Florida: it negates the whole point of living here, and it gives us Minnesotans an identity crisis. Of course, I will be eating these words later on this year, when the snow has reached my third-floor windows and we’ve all been stuck inside for weeks. If we do end up snowbound this year, I’m thinking of inviting all our apartment neighbors over for a Donner Party—we’ll have a nice chat, and then we’ll draw straws and eat the loser.

Studiously avoiding that last morbid reference, we turn now to my latest project: an online family album. My mother, the Official Family Historian, recently passed the genealogical crown and scepter on to me, along with several generations’ worth of family photos and memorabilia. Right after that, we had to replace our printer, and my husband and I upgraded to an all-in-one with scanning capabilities. Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Throw in my family’s encouragement and some major genealogical discoveries, and BAM! Suddenly, I’m Official Family Historian and Official Webmaster of the Digital Familial Archives. So I’ve been scanning and planning and working and... and smirking (not really; I just wanted to carry on the rhyme scheme), and right now I’m starting on the layout for what will be the premiere resource for my family’s genealogical info. When it’s done, it’ll go up at Unweeded Garden, my project portal. (Of course, I have to finish the Unweeded Garden layout first...)

If there is a heaven, I hope it has internet access, because my grandpa would so want to see this. :-)