Apocolypse Job

I've always been interested in disaster planning, and what would happen to me if our civilization collapsed. Well, I think I've found my true calling, one I could do after the world fell apart — professional nit picker.

I got "The Call" Wednesday — my 7 year old son was found scratching his head in class. Yup, the school nurse gave me a 15 minute lecture on what to buy and how to pick nits. We dashed home, grabbed my daughter, drove her to an emergency orthodontist visit (yet another popped bracket) and went to the pharmacy while she was in the chair.

When we got home, I sat my son down, took out my contacts, and started my new job. My, those eggs are small!

Fortunately, my son seems to have gotten off lightly. We've been doing picking 2-3 times every day, and this morning I had to hunt long and hard to find only 3 nits. It looks like he'll be back in school tomorrow.

But I realized ... this is a job I'm suited for. If the world fell apart, my gas-perm contacts would only last a few years, then I'd be semi-blind. [I'm very, very myopic.] What use could I be to a small community of survivors? Sure I can design and teach knitting, am learning to spin, have made a weaving loom (and would travel with loom plans), and can sew, but none of this is that unique. I can do lots of other things as long as I can care for my lenses, but after that I would be dead weight.

Except ... I can pick nits. And see them, and do a thorough job. And in a low-tech community, without modern sanitation, lice are likely to be a much worse problem. I know they don't spread disease now, but can they? A talented nit picker would be an asset to a small post-apocalypse community.

So, I will add to my polymathic list of skills ... nit picker.

Opening Friday — The Splash Inn

I've been avoiding cleaning the house this week, in preparation for Splash.

For those who don't know, Splash is a weekend full of short classes for middle and high school students, put together by MIT undergraduates. Lots of fun, and this will be our third year going. My daughter has taken classes in cookie baking, duct tape design, manga, and the odd math or science class.

We're having another family staying with us, stacked like cordwood in our already too small house. I'm expecting lots of chaotic fun ... at least I don't have to cook!

It's not too late to register for Splash, if you are in the Greater Cambridge, Massachusetts area.

Splash Home Page

New Store!

Today I started a new store to sell (I hope) my crazy products.

It's at Zazzle, which offers a nice set of complementary products to the shirts I sell at Printfection. I've added baby and toddler shirts, coffee and travel mugs, buttons, stickers, magnets, and such. Adding products is slow, but I'll keep at it.

Here's a cool Flash panel from my new store:



buy unique gifts at Zazzle

Or use this URL: http://zazzle.com/cartesianbear*


Zazzle also offers something special I don't have at Printfection — you can make money by promoting my products! Here's how it works:

1. Go to my shop (they call it a gallery) and click on the Promote This Gallery button

2. Choose any of the options on the page you go to.

3. If you want to make 7% on whatever sells through your marketing efforts, check out Zazzle's Associate Program. The link on the Promote page seems to be broken, use this link: http://www.zazzle.com/mk/welcome/associates

Where I've Been

It's been a busy fall ... and my blog has suffered for it. Apologies to the few readers I have so far.

What have I been doing?

- 2 kid birthdays, one a preteen sleep over
- Halloween
- Sewing: my quest to make a t-shirt pattern that fits is stalled at the paper alterations stage
- beginning of religious school. Since my kids attend on different days, this means my half-hour drives have doubled.
- jujitsu continues
- knitting projects continue. Time to make sure my family has enough warm woolies
- we are in the beginning stages of a house remodel
- we will be having house guests for Splash in less than 2 weeks

I'm tired. Can I go to bed now?