You like me. You really, really like me. Eh, not so much.

Spammers have  embraced the art of the suck-up.  Whereas a few years ago, spam in the comments here mostly consisted of links to Nike shoe sales and the occasional XXX link, today’s version is much more sophisticated. Another blogger has termed these “affirmation spam,” and that just about says it all.  In a twisted version of your grandmother’s advice to “catch more flies with honey than with vinegar,” spam comments now begin with the most enthusiastic opening lines. “Gosh!” I think.  ”Why don’t my regular commenters ever gush like this:”

“Wow! Fantastic blog layout!”

“This piece of writing is truly remarkable.”

“Excellent content provided!”

“The overall look of your site is wonderful, as well as the content!”

Heh. Too bad these lines are followed by such phrases as “I urgently need info about retina-a dosage.” And “related with viagra price and all related info.” The commenters’ log-ins use revealing monikers: “cheap vacation packages,” “retina dosage,” “viagra price,” etc.

Crap. Spammed again.

Day 30: Self Portrait

So, last year (yes, last year) I started this 30 Day Photography Challenge. Nobody ever said they had to be 30 consecutive days, and so it has taken me a while to complete the challenge with this final post.  Yes, I am in there somewhere if you look really hard:

Now, here’s the other thing. I have found it very difficult to focus my writing here at the blog, and after much reflection I realize that the interconnected, networked, facebooked, twittered world in which we live is kinda giving me the heebie jeebies. I really want to focus my writing, and I once read advice that a writer should treat the endeavor like they would dieting: either tell everyone about it, or tell no one.  I lean toward the telling no one, myself, and this instant publishing to the world of my blog posts that are not necessarily my best and brightest work is pretty intimidating.  I know many writers who thrive on it. It seems to have the opposite effect on me.

So here’s the deal. If you’ve read this far, you are likely to have been a follower of Nailing Jello to the Wall for a while, and are likely to make the slightest of effort to click here again. I mean, you’re still reading, right? After today I will be taking my link to Facebook off of here, so that new posts will not show up in my Facebook feed. Yes, I’m getting off the Zuckerberg train, as far as this blog goes. That means if you got here via Facebook, you won’t be doing that in the future. You can, however, still get an email notification of new posts here, by clicking over there on the left where it says “Email Subscription.”

I hope you’ll follow along in this less brave new world I’m working on here. Your thoughtful comments are always welcome.

Day 29: Black & White

I used to take lots of black and white photos, back in the day of 35 mm film. It was interesting to go out on a sunny day today and do this with my new camera — I haven’t really thought too deeply about f stops and shutter speeds since I went digital point and shoot, I must admit. Getting a digital SLR gives you a lot more control, which of course means you need to know a little more. After all the photography classes I’ve taken, all the hours spent in the darkroom, I do know this stuff — it’s just a little cob webby. But because I had so much fun with this one, I thought I’d give you a few shots. Especially since you’ve been so patient as I get my blog off life-support. I’m just fiddling with these, but thanks for taking the time to look. (Click for a larger look — the current blog layout isn’t really optimal for photography.)

A Brief Intermission

Despite my best intentions, the 30 days of consecutive posting just ain’t gonna happen. We’ll pick up where we left off after Christmas, how’s that sound? In the meantime, please enjoy your family and friends and whatever holidays you celebrate at this time of year. Try to get some rest in there, too, my friends. 2012 is looking to be an interesting year, to say the least!

If you care … and I know you do

I haven’t actually given up the blog, I just need a break. I will be back, and when I am I sure hope I find better spam comments than “I saw many websites but nailingjello.wordpress.com is best ever.”

That’s just lame, people.

See you in a few …

(image from http://www.upgradetravelbetter.com/)

New look, new effort

Sometimes you need a new outfit in order to get motivated, you know? And sometimes you really need to change your look in order for it to make a difference. Hence the new design here at the House of Jello. (The falling snowflakes are courtesy of WordPress, and are just temporary.)

Unnamed Partner and I are busy getting the house in order for her family’s visit on December 26. And in the general state of things, we’ve got a lot to do. We’re finishing up some painting and finally putting back some floor casing, as well as the million and one old house projects that are never simple. Replace a light switch? Too bad the hole that was cut into the plaster is bigger than the faceplate. And too bad the wood that’s holding the plaster is splintered so the electrical box is holding on by 2 screws!

We’re thoroughly enjoying a programmable thermostat that we installed this fall. It really makes a huge difference in my outlook on the day when I arise at 5:15 to warm radiators throughout the house.  Bit by bit, the house comes together. Hopefully, life will follow.

Just add water!

Generally I believe in quality over quantity, but in blogging  maybe not so much. Don’t get me wrong — I love to write those long and thoughtful posts — but who has the time? And the longer I take to write a “really good” post, the more pressure I put on myself to make it brilliant.

Brilliance is overrated. Hence:

This morning I drove to work in a thunderstorm. I mean, a zero visibility-thunderbooming-lightening crashing-no right  lane int he road because it’s a river of water -   type of thunderstorm. I made it safely into the parking garage, and for some insane reason I decided that I should soldier on through the downpour to my office. Five minute walk on average.

Umbrella in hand and laptop safely tucked away in my bag, I decided for extra safety to throw the dog blanket around my shoulders and over the bag. A few shakes in the garage, and the blanket was practically hair-free. Good to go.

Cue the little voice saying “What the hell are you doing? Just wait it out for a few minutes in this dry and comfortable spot!”  Except, that little voice never spoke up, so I went on my way.

Long story short, I’m sitting in my office now, dry from the knees up.  Knees downward consists of cold damp jeans. The dog blanket worked wonderfully, absorbing all that extra rain that was driving sideways at me as I walked along the road, crossing in crosswalks full of six inches of water. Most of my co-workers have dogs, so I’m hoping they won’t mind the damp dog smell that is surely emanating from my office from said blanket — and will be for the duration of the day.

I feel kind of like Indiana Jones today.

Pardon out dust …

If you’re a long-time reader here, you’ve no doubt noticed the more than usual sporadic nature of this blog. I’ve been sort of torn about this blog for a while now, meandering around, looking for a focus. It’s impossible to maintain a blog that is about all things all the time.  I enjoy writing a blog, though, and for some unknown reason, people seem to enjoy reading it.

But the reality has become that I spend way more time thinking about what to write than I do actually writing. And then after all that thinking, sometimes I don’t even write anything.

I have decided to actually have a focus to this thing, albeit a broad one. Pretty much, the focus is going to be “life as I see it.” Meaning, I’ll be writing a lot more about our house projects, our garden projects, our animals, our pond ….

I can’t not write about politics — it’s something that’s in my DNA.  From the age of 2 I grew up inside the beltway, and I’ve followed elections since I campaigned for George McGovern in the sixth grade. But I’ve honestly burned out on tracking the insider games of Washington. I mean, I could focus on one subject — which is something I thought about. I could focus on the Iraq War, for example, since no one seems to be paying much attention to that. But I honestly do not have the energy to do that consistently.

So, as I struggle to get this blog under control, please brace yourselves for more information about the famous “Bathroom Project” (no, it’s not finished yet), regular updates on the first tomatoes of summer, the pros and cons of using corn gluten rather than RoundUp, and the joys of eating a salad from the garden.

I’m sorry, did you say something?

I swear, some days I don’t know how I get anything accomplished.  Most of the time my mind is like a black hole, a place where thoughts go — but never return. Instead, another thought — almost random but for the tiniest thread tying it back to my original thought — takes it place. Until it, in turn, is replaced by another tenuous idea.

Although I’ve never been never diagnosed, I’m sure that I have some level of attention deficit disorder. No hyperactivity, I can assure you of that. But what a lot of people don’t understand about ADD is that it is not really the inability to pay attention, it is the inability to stop paying attention. In other words, it is the state of paying attention to way too many things all at once.

Take earlier this week, for example.  Our visiting vet came to the house to check on Isaac, our 18 year-old cat who has been losing weight despite eating every morsel of cat or dog food in sight. Upon examination, she said that he most likely has thyroid disease, which is common in older cats. I was following along just fine up to this point, but when she tried to further explain by saying “It’s like Graves disease in humans,” I immediately pictured Barbara Bush’s face. (Maybe you have to be of a certain age to remember that time in the late ’80s when we all learned about Graves disease because Mrs. Bush’s eyes were freaking out the nation.) As I tried to follow along on the prescribed treatment in cats, all I could see was Babs’ face — specifically her bulgy eyes on Isaac’s face.

Fortunately, the vet followed up with written directions.