News! My dining room is lined with this 1970s wallpaper complete with fluorescent-orange flowers.

It’s a Christmas miracle!

Another favorite from Flight of the Conchords.

Next time I complain about my birthday, slap me. I have been getting surprises all week. One of the biggest was this lovely flower arrangement from Troy and Krista. I love getting surprise flower arrangements in the mail that say my name!

And last night, Kyle surprised me with the much-desired peacock dress. I am going to wear it on Saturday when I go to an art museum and out to delicious food with friends. But first, I have a fancy-pants holiday party to go to.

My life is good, no question.

The view out my office window a minute ago:

Now how did that happen?

On Saturday, I had some people over to trim my tree. We had hot apple cider and christened my house with Christmastime.

Leona took some pictures of the event:

Creative camera angles

Marcia

Quill was into the tree.

I don’t really understand this picture.

A picture with my guests properly posed. (I took this one.)

And finally, the tree:

Good times.

The sequel to Kyle’s best-selling tech book Knoppix Hacks is now in stores. The new book has many many more hacks and all the new information about the most recent distributions of Knoppix.

Book Description: If you think Knoppix is just a Linux demo disk, think again. Klaus Knopper created an entire Linux distribution on a bootable CD (and now a DVD) so he could use his favorite open source tools on any computer. This book includes a collection of tips and techniques for using the enormous amount of software Knoppix offers-not just to work and play, but also to troubleshoot, repair, upgrade, and disinfect your system without having to install a thing.

Knoppix Hacks is just like the distribution it covers: a veritable Swiss Army knife packed full of tools. Scores of industrial-strength hacks-many of them new to this second edition-cover both the standard Knoppix CD and the feature-rich DVD “Maxi” distribution, which is included with this book. Discover how to use Knoppix to its full potential as your desktop, rescue CD, or as a launching point for your own live CD.

Yay Kyle!

Buy Knoppix Hacks Second Edition by Kyle Rankin here.

Last week, we had two big projects around here. One was putting in the tankless water heater, thanks to my wonderful father who came down and taught Kyle how to plumb in three days time.

We went from this:

To this:

Why? Well, first of all, we have a tiny laundry room and needed more space. The tankless takes up maybe a quarter of the space that the old water heater took up.

Beyond that, the tankless is extremely efficient. With most water heaters, 40 gallons of water sit in the tank and are heated up again and again when someone uses hot water. With the tankless, the water that is being used is drawn directly through a coil of copper pipes and heated up as needed. So it uses less water and less energy, and therefore, is more environmentally friendly and less expensive to run.

On top of that, if you put one of these suckers in during 2007, you get a $300 tax rebate. That, coupled with the savings we will make on our utility bills, made it a smart move economically. (But oh, what a taxing weekend it was, putting it in. That thing is complicated!)

Then, there is my office, which I painted. It tried taking a picture of my desk to show you what it looks like now. The picture doesn’t exactly get the tone of the green, but you get the idea:

The thing on my screen desktop, by the way, is Keri Smith’s How To Feel Miserable As An Artist list, which I am really feeling this week.

Next projects! Finish the closets, fix the fireplace, and start painting the guest room. Remodeling can feel endless sometimes.

Since I have no expectations for myself as a jewelry designer, I am absolutely thrilled when I sell something off my Etsy store. There’s nothing like getting money for something you would do anyway.

Something I haven’t sold yet:

Quartz Pendulum Necklace

Wow! Scientists found a mummified dinosaur in North Dakota.

A newly found “dino mummy” has exquisitely preserved bones, skin, and possibly muscle and internal organs, scientists have announced.

The duck-billed dinosaur, named Dakota, is already changing theories of how the extinct creatures looked and moved—and may contain preserved ancient proteins that could better reveal the dino family tree.

Artist rendering:

Read more in National Geographic.