Mrs. Fixit

I can now call myself a computer geek! Who'd a thunk it? I finally fixed a problem I've been having with my Wacom Graphire pen tablet that I've been suffering with ever since I got my new computer. The pen (which I use more than a mouse) was going wonky on me. It was "sticking" as I moved the cursor and the button wouldn't work properly, pretending it was the mouse scroll button instead. And the problem wouldn't happen all the time. Right after booting up it might act correctly for awhile and then later revert to bad behaviour. I couldn't find out what the problem was. But for some reason, I had the inspiration to look (again) for a new driver and there she was! Just out in October for Windows XP. First I had to uninstall my old driver, reboot, and install the downloaded new driver and it for a miracle worked fine. Ah, comfort. Anybody who hasn't used a pen tablet should try it. It's like using a pen on paper. Once you get used to it, it's so much more comfortable for most things than a mouse. It also comes with a tail-less mouse anyway, just in case you want to switch back and forth. This mouse only works on the tablet but it has a scroll wheel which makes it nice for reading long emails or blogs. I love this thing even though people look at me funny when they notice me using it!

I did some spinning yesterday but I'm waiting until I have it finished and plied before I share it here. I had some lengths of roving that I dye-painted and it only makes about one bobbin full in total. Have no idea what I'll use it for but it seems to coordinate with some dark brown-red skeins I have that are waiting for inspiration. They used to be a big bright red 1980's vest but I frogged it and overdyed the yarn. I have 5 1/2 skeins for something new when they decide what they want to become.

So I guess I can't chicken out on getting my hair cut even though it's still raining like crazy. I made an appointment for 1 pm today in spite of the weather. Then it's off to the Circle Craft Christmas Market with Thom just to oggle the wares. Since I don't give presents, I won't be buying. But I really like to see what the artisans are making and if there's anything new and innovative or whether it's just the same-old same-old. Report tomorrow.*

* Well, don't hold your breath. No report will be forthcoming. We both decided that $10 each entry plus busfare was too much to bother — even though it did stop raining. Call us lazy. Or cheap. Back to spinning...