Tigra

Post Birthday Thanks

2009-07-16T16:35:28Z

*hugs* Thank you guys for all your birthday wishes yesterday! It made my day. Matt has a surprise cooked up for me in a couple of weeks and he won't let me know what fun things are going on. *wiggles*

I'm a grown up lady now. My years on this planet say so. You can tell when you can't count your years on fingers and toes. If old ladies bake cookies and old men wave canes and yell at people to get off their lawns, then can I throw cookies at people on my lawn?

Yesterday was fun, I feel a lot like Garfield :D

It's my Birthday :)

2009-07-15T07:01:48Z

Yay Cute Xmas Interweb Toys

2008-12-06T17:45:45Z

Christmas Gift Toy & MySpace Layouts at pYzam.com

Textbook Discounts

2008-08-18T20:08:40Z

Hi everyone,
I'm sharing the love once again.

BIG SAVINGS ON PEARSON TEXTBOOKS

Save 25% instantly plus get free shipping when you purchase Pearson textbooks for the fall semester and use the special “Friends and Family” discount code below. Simply go to www.myPearsonStore.com and search by author, title, or ISBN to find your textbook and everything that goes with it.
25% Off Your Purchase
Plus Free Shipping

Visit www.myPearsonStore.com and enter the Friends and Family code PearsonFamily08 at checkout.

Website Project Question

2008-06-18T21:13:02Z

Hi All,

I have a long-term website project I would like to begin, but it's been a while since I've played in the web development world, and, well, things have changed since last we met. Coding is simpler, apps slip into each other like butter, and none of it makes sense because I came from a world of hard coding and reams of it. In my heyday it was Frontpage for ease of use and HTML for the rest o.o Remember those days? Well, what I want to do is far beyond those days.

The basics:
I'd like to make an interactive website, user generated content, with a heavy database back end. *Not a Wiki* Sure there is Dreamweaver and Flash, but I'd prefer to start with something that has a bit more free-ware and a bit less building from the ground up. In terms of building things I'd rather begin with a prefab design and all the nails already counted for you IKEA style, instead of cutting down my own trees and spending hours peeling the bark off.

The question:
So I don't want to waste my time chasing my own tail. If I'm going to sit down and learn some program inside and out I want it to be the right one. Right now I'm looking at Ruby on Rails as a possible option. Any opinions on it? And suggestions on better/other web development apps? Most importantly, anything with lots of user friendliness and still being able to do rather complex things?

9 Nobel Virtues in LOLcat

2008-06-03T13:46:54Z

I know you're probably all tired out with lolcat this and can has that, but I just had to post this. When you take the serious face out of deep wisdom, somehow it just seems so much more wise (probably because it's easier to learn and smile when virtue takes the stick out of its bum).

The Odinic Rite lists the 9 Noble Virtues as Courage, Truth, Honor, Fidelity, Discipline, Hospitality, Industriousness, Self-Reliance, and Perseverance.

Courage
Dogz may bark, n flash feerful fang
but honor-stiffnd Kitteh standz firm.

Truth
Knowing Kitteh knowz. Knowz self,
knowz trooth, an clingz with claws of WANT.

Honor
Catnip mousies rip, an nomnomnoms evenshully come 2 bottm of bag
But I knowz wun thing wut never runz out:
the name-fame wut comez when honrable cat is honrable.

Fidelity
CAN HAS, sez Kitteh. But Kitteh must keep:
Keep word, keep faith, keep clawz sharp.

Discipline
Mai strong will. Let me show u it.
I honez it regyoolurly on the bonez of temptashun.

Hospitality
Sharing cat is sharing, strong in guest-frendship.
If I had 2 catnip mousies, I wud give u wun.

Industriousness
I see wut you did there. Ur latchez n doorz, I skoff at them.
I'm in ur precaushuns. An I has ALL DAY.

Self Reliance
I has a flavor. Mai flavor iz bein able 2 depend on mahself.
SPACE AND TIME ARE NO OBSTACLE TO CATTANK. CATTANK IS STRONG.

Perseverance
Oh hai, I upgraded ur everything. Or I will.
Just give me time. Perseverance. I has it.

The Nine Noble LOLvirtues is copyright Elise Matthesen 2008; please do not reprint or repost without written permission. Permission can be gotten pretty easily by sending e-mail to elise@lioness.net. (I almost always say yes, but I love to find out how far it's spreading, and the permissions thing is good as a device to satisfy my curiosity on that.) Thank you. (And if you do reprint or repost without asking me, please please please include this paragraph so that my name and contact info go along with it so that the next person can ask, and I can find out how far it goes. If you see it out there anywhere uncredited, please tack this paragraph on. My catly curiosity thanks you.)

Despacho

2008-05-01T20:25:22Z

So I posted in Furs Unleashed about the Despacho Ceremony I intend to do during the camping trip. If anyone is curious about it feel free to read:
http://community.livejournal.com/fursunleashed/4423.html

Get your Gaming Geek On

2008-04-30T14:16:45Z

Yesterday Matt got GTA and I pitched a fit because I've been wanting Overlord. No fair him having uber fun destruction time and none for me. So now I have Overlord and he has GTA and we spent the night decompressing to the sounds of car chases, hooker fights, and minion worship. So far the top things I like from watching GTA are the insane talk radio and the fact that the NPCs are not as cookie cutter as they used to be. Looks like a real town now, neat.

On the other hand, Overlord is right up my alley with equal parts cute, funny, and evil. Having little gremlin creatures do my bidding and call me Master is surprisingly ego boosting. Now if only I can stop killing my peasants, but you know, they are in front of me, and I have an Ax. It's hard to resist.
I'm not really into gaming, so it's rare for me to find one I can really sink my mental teeth into. So far Overlord is ranking right up there with Bard's Tale and Fallout.

*This message brought to you by the makers of No-Dose. Who needs sleep when you can work all day, game all night, rinse repeat.*

Love in Comic Form

2008-04-25T18:26:10Z

What love is to me:

From: http://www.xkcd.com/

The Green Movement

2008-04-24T15:56:28Z

By about now just about every person out there has had some contact with this whole Green movement, and my question is, what do you think about it?

I keep having mixed feelings about the whole shtick. On one hand, YAY for people (including myself) finally taking a better stance against all the poisons in our waters/food/household chemicals. And YAY for hybrid cars with better gas mileage and people taking better care of the earth with recycling and lowering your carbon footprint and all that jive. Maybe if we're lucky this can also bring about a comeback of the local community farmers and small businesses.

On the other hand, why does it all feel so fake? So corporate? I mean, I'm glad companies are on board with all this because frankly 100 wannabe-hippies can't make much of a difference, but a 30,000+ corporate juggernaut can do a good job cleaning up its act. Yet somehow, I don't know. I don't trust something about it all. It feels like another way to sell us all crap we don't need a a price that's mindbogglingly high. Hybrid cars could be getting 100+ miles to the gallon, but they don't. Why not? Food and gas prices are skyrocketing, and as necessary commodities, that just emphasizes the gap between rich and poor. Yet, we aren't going the self-sustaining hippy route. The green movement isn't for everyone, just those who can afford the designer recycled jeans. People aren't ripping up their lawns to put in vegetable gardens, because then they can't walk into a Starbucks showing off their manicures and 100% organic cotton canvas Whole Foods shopping bags. Maybe that's what's bugging me. The people that shout GREEN at the top of their lungs, looking down from on high at all the stupid Americans who eat McDonalds out of disposable containers, are just too clean. You can't be that clean if you're revolutionizing the world. You can't push to save the polar bears from drowning while waving a plastic water bottle around. Why not push to clean the tap water so we don't have to buy flavored Britta filters and drink other people's prescription pee?

Ok, now I'm just ranting, but I'm wondering how other people feel about this issue. I mean, maybe it's just the little nook I live in with the cookie-cutter pod people I work with, but does anyone else feel a not quite right feeling?

On a totally unrelated note, I had a great weekend just chilling and getting to know some fun and sweet people. I need to get out more :) Thanks Kamber, Leandra, and Eryth! I'm glad I got to finally spend some quality time with you guys and Roxy and Astor :) Huh, now I'm wondering if we can improv some Live Action Role Playing in the woods. Just an idea. Oh, and I gotta get a copy of that soup recipe. I've been craving it ever since!

Unleashed Camping Trip!

2008-04-14T19:51:53Z

Hi All! I am unlocking this post, so sorry for the repeat, but now we have a LJ community to share :)

Ahhh, spring. After that long winter hibernation, the woods are calling to shake off the same old, same old, with an alluring song of fresh air, laughter, campfires and new memories! Snowie and I got the ball rolling so that, about 1 month from today a bunch of us are going camping and whitewater rafting!
Want to come?

Basics:
May 7th-11th, you can come for that whole time, just the weekend, whatever you want.
Hickory Run State Park & Campground, White Haven, PA
White Water Rafting on the Lehigh River Sat (May 10) morning!
Check out fursunleashed for more info on what is being planned from fishing expeditions to horseback riding!

Hickory Run State Park
The 15,500-acre Hickory Run State Park, Carbon County, lies in the western foothills of the Pocono Mountains. This large park has over 40 miles of hiking trails, three state park natural areas and miles of trout streams. The Boulder Field, a striking boulder-strewn area, is a National Natural Landmark.

Activities:
Picnicking- The large picnic area is near Sand Spring Lake, which has a swimming beach.

Swimming- A sand beach is open from late-May to mid-September, 8 a.m. to sunset, unless otherwise posted. Swim at your own risk.

Fishing- Anglers find excellent sport in many of the streams and lakes within the park boundaries, especially Fourth Run and Sand Spring Run. These streams are stocked with brook and brown trout. Mud Run is a delayed harvest, artificial lure only stream. The lower 2.9 miles of Hickory Run, from near the Saylorsville Dam to the Lehigh River, is a catch and release fishing only area.
The Lehigh River, which flows along the western boundary of the park, has warm-water game fish, trout and panfish.
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission laws apply. For complete information on fishing rules and regulations in Pennsylvania, visit the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Web site. http://www.fish.state.pa.us/

Disc Golf- There is a course in the day use area.

Hiking- 43 miles of trails!

Camping:
*Note* You are responsible for yourself.
Sites-
Current sites filled are: 295, 296, 297, & 298.
When you make your reservation please look at the campground map to make sure you are nearby. I suggest sites: 298-304, 315, 316 & 335. Right now a lot of the sites are available, so it should not be a problem to get one close. 5 people to a site max.
Pets are allowed in designated campsites. I’m bringing Alani!
Let me know what site numbers you reserve :D

Cost- It’s about $21 a night per site. PA residence get a cheaper rate.

Facilities- The large tent and trailer camping area has modern restrooms with hot showers, a sanitary dump station, a forested section and a grassy, more open section. A camp store has general camping supplies, ice, firewood and food.

Alcohol- Alcoholic beverages are prohibited. So, you are all adults and know what’s in your Snapple bottles. *wink wink*

Attention All Campers- Because of an active bear population, overnight guests are required to store all food and any scented items such as toothpaste, deodorant, and dish soap in their vehicle while away from their site. This includes when leaving the site for even a short period of time, day or night. Park staff will enforce these rules and failure to comply may result in a citation.

Directions- From I-80, take Exit 274 at the Hickory Run State Park Exit, and drive east on PA 534 for six miles. From the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, take Exit 95 and drive west on PA 940 for three miles then turn east on PA 534 for six miles. The park is within a two or three-hour drive from Harrisburg, Philadelphia, and New York City and one hour from Allentown, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre.

Reservations- You can reserve your site right from the website!!!
http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/hickoryrun.aspx

White Water Rafting
Our Whitewater trip is our most popular...It is a wet and wild 13 mile trip that runs through the breathtaking scenery of the Lehigh Gorge State Park. Hang on tight for class II and III whitewater. Experience the thrill of rapids like snaggletooth and cookie monster. With 18 action packed rapids this ultimate whitewater trip is a day to remember.

No experience is necessary and children as young as 10 years old can paddle this section of the river. You will be accompanied by a professional guide who will escort your raft from his kayak. The scenery is spectacular and you might catch a glimpse of a bald eagle soaring overhead or other wildlife grazing along the river banks. One thing's for sure, at the end of the day you'll be dreaming of the day when you can return to the river that we call home. The great thing about this trip is you get to navigate your own raft with your friends and family.

Cost- $52.95 a person

Bonus- May 10th is a scheduled dam release date, which means the rapids will be AWESOME!

Reservations- Let me know if you want to join on May 10th at 11am, so we can add you to the reservation.

Note- I will be receiving more information on this so I’ll update you guys on the fursunleashed community as I get more info. Don’t be afraid if you’ve never done it before, and there is no weight limit for those that might have that concern. :D

Websites:
http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/hickoryrun.aspx
http://www.lehighwhitewater.com/
State Park Map:
http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/hickoryrun/hickoryrun_mini.pdf
Campground Map:
http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/hickoryrun/hickoryrun_camp.pdf

Don’t forget you have to make 2 separate reservations, 1 for camping and 1 for the whitewater rafting.

Flaming marshmallow love!

Good campgrounds anyone?

2008-03-04T19:55:00Z

Hi hi! I need help! This is mostly aimed at you PA folk. So here goes:

I want to find a campground in the eastern PA area (not too far out there please) that fulfills these requirements:

1) Doesn't have quiet hours (or willing to stick us off somewhere that it's ok to drum all night)
2) Has good tent camping
3) Preferably has stuff to do like swimming lake, canoing, hiking, etc.
4) Not necessary but it'd be cool if they have cabins for rent too

That may not seem like such a hard thing to find, but there are SO many campgrounds in PA that I don't know where to start and most of them seem to be geared towards kids and quiet hours. I want a place that won't mind us howling at the moon n such. I'm also ok with a place in NJ, but I figured PA might have better pickins.

If you know of a good campground please let me know. I want to get a giant camping trip together, but finding a good place is hard. HELP!

Happy Valentine’s Day

2008-02-14T19:15:49Z

So, it’s that time of year when the birds sing in the sub zero temperatures and millions of flowers give up their lives in service to the big L. Don’t worry I won’t say the scary word. I know how it can affect some of you. We wouldn’t want the whole LJ community swooning over their keyboards or trying to attack their screens with pitchforks and daggers. I gotta say, for a Hallmark creation this day sure does inspire some pretty amazingly powerful emotions.

There are the gun-toting kind that get up on their soap box to do a groovy tapdance and tell us all how evil it is to sell out the big L to the corporate bastards in cupid outfits.

There are the wounded, burned too hard in the past types who see this day as a gauntlet that must be run, because no matter how hard we try, cutting the number 14 out of the calendar does not make the day go away.

Then there are those in my category. The hippy peace type that wonders why Rodney King’s statement doesn’t win out over all. Yes, I know Valentine’s day is a ruse to sell more chocolate than Jabba the Hut could eat in a lifetime. Yes, I know it can really suck to be reminded just how single you are while it seems like all the people around you are making in-your-face-kissy noises with their SOs. But that doesn’t change the fact that this one day a year is entirely devoted to the concept (if not the actuality) of the big L.

If I had a billion dollars I would give each one of you a Valentine to share my heart with you. Since I don’t have the billion I’ll just share my heart. Whether you have someone to kiss today or not, you have friends. Friends who care very much for you and wish you nothing but happiness and joy on this day and everyday.

Oh, and I lied. I am going to say the scary word.

I love you.

And I hope you love you too!

PS: I got flowers at work today from a secret admirer and I know who it is! *hugs tight* Thank you you wonderful man you :D

Random thought on the Quechua Language

2008-02-06T21:15:41Z

Can anyone explain to me why the Quechua language would have 6 different words for elbow?!

kuchus
kukuchi
makikukuchu
muqlli
uyun
rikra muqu

This I Believe...

2008-01-15T20:25:42Z

I just want to share an amazing podcast with everyone. NPR has a podcast called "This I Believe"

They are little 5-10 minute essays of Americans from all walks of life describing their core personal beliefs. Most make me want to cry in hope. Definitely worth the download.

Work is becoming surreal

2008-01-09T19:05:50Z

My boss and I just had a rather long conversation about stress and our fears of conflict (we both went to a conflict management meeting) and we came to a rather interesting conclusion...

We both wish we were Amish.

O.o

Lost and Found

2008-01-08T17:02:17Z

I have quite a bit of stuff left over from the Christmas party. Everyday it seems I find a new thing someone left behind and my Lost & Found box overflows. A lot of it is Red's, but I keep forgetting to give it to you when I see you :D

There is also:
2 shirts,
a zip-up sweatshirt,
ummm, a bunch of other stuff,
and an air-mattress

If you left it behind leave me a message so I know who belongs to what. Especially the air-mattress, who's is that?

Ok, back to work!

New Years Alcohol List

2007-12-31T04:06:13Z

Quick post on the booze for Furball PA New Years Party. Since people asked here is the list of what we've got:

Vodka
Light Rum
Dark Rum
Tequila
Triple Sec
Apple Pucker
Champagne
Sparkling Cider (for those that don't want Champagne at the ball drop)
Whiskey
Bailey's
Jaeger
Frangelico
Peach Tree
Heineken
whatever is leftover from the Christmas party
and Rikki is bringing all the stuff for the Sangria again! YAY!

Have a Happy New Year!
Drink Responsibly!
Leave an offering at the Altar of the Porcelain God!

Present Wrapping Reflections

2007-12-21T14:31:09Z

Thought: Never wrap presents for your friends at the same time as you wrap presents for your boss & coworkers. Trying to explain why the from label says Tigra instead of Kristy is a strange strange thing.

For everyone who loves dogs

2007-12-05T18:31:51Z

This is just too too funny:

http://littera-abactor.livejournal.com/7748.html

Want something to do for New Years?

2007-11-05T15:08:15Z

I know it probably feels like 3,000 days away, but if you are looking for something fun to do for New Years where you can really ring it in with fun amazing people then come along with me to the New Years Furry Ball 08!

http://sk1p.com/furryball/index.php

Props on the website Skippy!

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T13:35:25Z

So I'm sitting here at work wondering what is wrong with people? No one does mischief night anymore, no one dresses up for Halloween with out an awful lot of complaint, kids only go trick-or-treating during daylight hours, schools are banning Halloween costumes, at best the people I work with are using today as an excuse to dress business casual... Business Casual!?! Are you serious?! The sense of conformity is stifling in this world.

Remember when Halloween used to scare you a little? To go up to complete strangers' houses with just a bunch of other kids, no parents to guide and protect you, long after dark, playing pranks on each other, all in the name of sugary loot?

Well, keep the traditions alive! I came to work in my new Furfright t-shirt and a glittery spider sticker on my face, and I'm taking a 1/2 day to go home early enough to give out candy to the pussy kids that go out only while the sun is shining. Then I'm going to spend the rest of the night watching horror movies and doing a little old-school magic :D There are all kinds of divinations that only work on Halloween.

So what are you doing tonight?

Have a Happy Halloween!

NaNoWriMo in just 5 days!

2007-10-26T18:41:05Z

YESSSS!!!

Man, talk about down to the wire, but I finally just came up with an idea to write about for the novel! I love it and it's perfect and I'm not tellin cause it's gonna be a surprise. I hope it comes out even a little bit good. *crosses fingers* Ohhhhh, I was getting nervous because all my ideas up till now were either fizzling out in a mud puddle of meh or sounding an awful lot like a 50,000 word blog. Bleck! YAY!!! Now I can actually work on developing some plot and story ideas beyond "I'm gonna write." Ohhhh this is gonna be fun!

*WARNING* For all the month of November I will be MIA. Please don't take offense, I am aiming to write 10 pages a day. Also, if you do happen to see/talk to me in November please don't mind whatever I say. I fully intend to be quite a bit insane. It's going to be the only way to get my ideas out onto paper. *Squeals in glee* I wonder if I'll need therapy after this? O.o I'm gonna dig deep :D

I have just one thing to say...

2007-10-18T20:28:21Z

AHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

States!!

2007-10-09T19:29:06Z

3m 39s

Click here to try the quiz.

Connecticut is hard to spell and I apparently don't remember those middle states very well. But not bad! I think it helps that I've been to a lot of them.