Ada Lovelace Day

Filed under: Feminism, Technology on January 28, 2010 @ 9:19 pm

Just a quick post to let you know that I will be participating in Ada Lovelace Day on March 24th. I will be writing a blog post about a woman in technology or science who I admire, adding my voice to thousands to celebrate the achievements of women in those fields. If you would like to do the same, go to Finding Ada and add your pledge!

As a feminist, a gamer, and someone who is planning on entering the field of Information Technology, the role of women in technology is important to me. I hope to help bring attention to the accomplishments of women in tech and to let the world know that women are just as capable as men in any field.

If you’re wondering who Ada Lovelace was, her Wikipedia page can tell you better than I could. In simple terms, she was the first computer programmer, female or male. She wrote programs for Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine, a prototype of a computer that was never built.

I have a few ideas of who I’ll write about since there are several women in tech I look up to, but I haven’t settled on anyone yet. This is the first time I’ve participated in anything like this, being a newbie blogger, and I couldn’t be more excited!

I guess I should note that I identify as a feminist, and gender issues are important to me, so it’s inevitable that I will mention things in relation to gender issues on this blog every now and then. This is a personal blog, so I’ll write about things that are important to me. However, I don’t plan to discuss gender issues on a regular basis, especially when there are plenty of people who can do a far better job of that than I could.

Still Around

Filed under: Interwebs, Lists on January 22, 2010 @ 4:49 pm

I will be back to blogging and commenting shortly. Life is busy! I just started a new semester at school and I’m taking more classes than I should be. Lately I’ve been running around like a crazy person, trying to get my textbooks and supplies and figure out my classes and get all of my assignments done at the same time. But I think once I get settled into a routine I’ll be able to blog regularly again.

To make this post less empty, I’ll share some links to some of the various things on the interwebs that I’ve been enjoying lately:

The Book Seer – A quick and easy tool for book recommendations.

Star Wars Weather Forecast – Much more interesting than “slightly cloudy with a chance of rain.”

Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer’s engagement photo – Two of my favorite people…getting married!

Google Image Search for ‘angora rabbit’ – I want my very own fluffy ball of fur!

The Boston Globe’s “The Big Picture” Column – News stories in photographs. WARNING: Some pictures, such as those of the earthquake in Haiti, might be hard to look at.

The Guardian’s Books Blog – This has been one of my daily reads for a while, actually.

Atlas Obscura – A collection of strange, curious, obscure, and wonderful things the world has to offer.

This trailer for Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief – I can’t wait!

Edge Online’s Keynotes Section – Great video-game-related blogs.

This trailer for Edge of Twilight – A game I’m looking forward to.

Anything related to Uncharted 2 – I just played this game in the spare time I’ve had since school started, and it was incredible! I wish I was still playing it.

Happiness Is…

Filed under: Happiness, Lists on January 10, 2010 @ 1:24 am
  • Hearing that an expansion for Dragon Age: Origins has been confirmed! It’s called Awakening and will be released on March 19. So excited!
  • Seeing the look of childlike glee on the boyfriend’s face when I gave him a late Christmas present: a New Jersey Devils jersey. He’s obsessed with hockey and the Devils are his favorite team.
  • Udon from my favorite local Japanese restaurant.
  • Tempura Udon

    Tempura Udon (via Wikipedia)

  • Seattle’s Best Cocoa Trio at Borders. It’s hot chocolate made with three kinds of chocolate — white, dark, and milk — and covered with whipped cream, chocolate syrup, white chocolate shavings, and a dark chocolate stick. TO DIE FOR.
  • Terry Goodkind’s The Sword of Truth series, which I just started reading. The writing isn’t the best, but it isn’t bad either and the plot keeps me hooked. I’m also addicted to Legend of the Seeker, which is a TV show that’s loosely based on the series. It’s kind of a guilty pleasure for me because it’s super cheesy and a total turn-your-brain-off-and-just-have-fun type of thing. It’s directed and produced by Sam Raimi, who did another fun guilty pleasure of mine — Xena: Warrior Princess. He also did the Evil Dead and Spider-man movies, and Drag Me to Hell.
  • Richard and Kahlan from Legend of the Seeker

    Richard Cypher and Kahlan Amnell, the main characters of Legend of the Seeker

  • Working out every day and having more energy as a result. I’m doing Wii Fit Plus along with a wimpified version of this workout (I’m only doing 180 reps instead of 500 because I’m a weak beginner).
  • Thrifting. Guilt-free shopping and I always find nice stuff.

Goodbye, 2009!

Filed under: Books, Gaming, General, Holidays, Jude, Movies, Music, Television on January 4, 2010 @ 6:52 pm

Can you believe 2009 is already over? It seems like it flew by. Looking back over the year, there are really only two highlights that stick out for me personally:

me in the snow1. My trip to New York with the boyfriend. Adam is from Syracuse, NY and most of his family still lives there, so in early February we packed up his car and drove 13 hours to visit them. It was freezing cold and there was so much snow! Being from the south, I hadn’t seen that much snow in…well, ever! I did two things for the first time on that trip: rode a snowmobile (so much fun!) and went ice skating (and spent more time on my butt than my feet). The trip is also memorable and important to me because it’s when we got our dog, Jude. We adopted him kind of on the spur of the moment, but we both wanted a puppy and we had been researching breeds for a while. Plus, it was Adam’s birthday, so we decided it would be a gift for him. Jude has turned out to be the best, sweetest little dog we could have asked for and I’m so glad we brought him home with us.

Batman jack-o'-lantern2. The entire month of October. I spent that month making sure I got the most out of it. Halloween is my favorite holiday and I wanted to go all out for it in 2009. So I recruited Adam, my sister, and her fiance as my Halloween buddies and planned all sorts of fun stuff for us to do. We went to a haunted corn maze, picked out the perfect pumpkins at a pumpkin patch, saw a midnight showing of Paranormal Activity, made Halloween cookies and caramel apples, attended a fall festival, went on a ghost tour, and listened to spooky stories around a bonfire. The best part? When it was all over, my sister told me that she and her fiance had a blast and they wanted to do it again next year. I have high hopes for October 2010 now. It’s going to be even better!

Aside from those two things, 2009 has been a fairly run-of-the-mill year. Nothing too exciting or major happened to me.

For the fun of it, here’s a list of entertainment I got the most out of in 2009:

Most Watched TV Show: Dexter, without a doubt. I went through all four seasons of it in just a few months.

Inglourious BasterdsMovie I Enjoyed the Most: Inglourious Basterds. Characters like Aldo Raine and Donny “The Bear Jew” Donowitz are not easily forgotten, and neither are Quentin Tarantino’s dialogues. Star Trek, Up, Coraline, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince are worth mentioning too.

Book I Couldn’t Put Down: Most of the books I read were actually released earlier than 2009, but the one that springs immediately to mind is Boneshaker by Cherie Priest. It’s a steampunk/sci-fi book with a strong female lead and it was definitely a page-turner for me.

It's Blitz! album coverMusic Albums That Got the Most Plays from Me: It’s Blitz! by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, 21st Century Breakdown by Green Day, The Listening by Lights, The Fall by Norah Jones, Monsters of Folk by Monsters of Folk, Dragon Age: Origins Soundtrack by Inon Zur featuring Aubrey Ashburn, and Give Up the Ghost by Brandi Carlile

Video Game I Put the Most Hours Into: Dragon Age: Origins. I think I’ve put close to 200 hours into it. That’s probably more time than I’ve put into any game, not counting MMORPGs. I’m still not done with it either. I’m hoping for an expansion!

December 31, 2009 also marked the end of a decade, and the internet is overflowing with “best of the decade” lists. I feel like recapping an entire decade would take forever, so I won’t do that. I’ll just say that ten years ago I was only 11, and I was probably playing Final Fantasy IX on my PlayStation or Commander Keen on my computer, or at soccer practice or reading books like The Hobbit and Ella Enchanted. It seems like such a long time ago, but while I’ve definitely grown and matured, I don’t think I’ve changed all that much. I’m still looking forward to the next Final Fantasy game, still playing Commander Keen using DOSBox, still playing soccer with my cousins whenever I can, and still reading fantasy books.

Here’s hoping that 2010 will bring us all we wish for and more!

The Christmas Entry

Filed under: General, Happiness, Holidays on December 29, 2009 @ 12:05 am

I was so busy last week that I don’t think I even got on a computer once. Well, maybe once or twice, but not nearly as much as I usually do. The first half of the week was spent frantically running to and from various stores, trying to catch last-minute sales and get all of my Christmas shopping done. I waited way too late to do my shopping this year. I’ll blame it on final exams and money-related stresses. Surely it wasn’t any procrastination on my part. ;)

The latter half of the week was much more relaxed. Despite the fact that I wasn’t looking forward to it this year, I really enjoyed Christmas. I got to spend it with my family and Adam, something that doesn’t often happen since Adam and I usually go our separate ways to our respective families on Christmas. This year, we did Christmas together, and we’re going to do it that way from now on.

I also scored pretty well in the presents department. I got everything I asked for and more!

Everything I asked for:
- an external hard drive (320GB!)
- clothes (a sweater, a pair of jeans, and a $25 Gap gift card)
- Borders gift cards (totaling $45 — all to be spent on books!)

More:
- two movie passes (free movie night for Adam and me, alright!)
- Monopoly: Here & Now Edition
- seasons 1 & 2 of Friends on DVD
- The Hangover on DVD
- Inglourious Basterds on DVD
- a comfy blanket
- a Gooseberry Patch calendar to hang in my kitchen

Plus, Adam got me something I’ve been wanting for a long time but totally didn’t expect to get: a Nintendo Wii! And three games to go with it: Animal Crossing: City Folk, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, and Wii Fit! Best boyfriend ever? I think so.

I meant to hook it up and start playing it the day after Christmas, but I got sidetracked by a nasty sickness. On Saturday and Sunday, I felt like my head was going to explode, my throat was sore, and my entire body was aching. I spent most of those two days in bed, sleeping and watching Lord of the Rings. I feel better today. My body is no longer aching, but my throat is still sore and swollen, and I’m still clogged up in the nasal area. I think I have a bad case of sinusitis.

How was your Christmas? Did you get everything you wanted?

Something else has been keeping me busy lately, occupying my mind, and all that jazz. It’s pretty huge, but it’s not set in stone. I don’t want to jinx it, so I’m not going to say what it is yet. I just wanted to let you know that if I go days, or even weeks, without updating or commenting, it’s because of this big awesome thing that’s happening in my life right now. And if, and when, it’s set in stone, I’ll let you know what it is. ;)

Now, enough talk and onto pictures!

(more…)

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Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my humble home on the 'net! I'm Alyssa, a 21-year-old university student, bookworm, and gamer from the United States. I'm one of those people who get excited about the little things in life, like mugs of hot chocolate and new plushies. Among the many things I love are animals, Halloween, morally gray characters, roller coasters, and a good adventure. Read more.

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