Inhuman Work Conditions Alert!

We had no internet at work today and probably will have no internet tomorrow. Something about a massive vulnerability in Internet Explorer. Apparently the real world has known about this for weeks but the Federal government (or, at least, the agency where I work) just caught on. Actually, it may have just taken this long for the decision to be made to shut us off from the Web until a patch is made. But it was awful. Not only because I do (I'll admit it) cruise the internet sometimes when work is slow or at lunch...but also because there is a lot of stuff we need to get to for work...Library of Congress, the House and Senate...

It also made today one of those days when I feel exceptionally stupid because I was constantly doing that "Let's Google that....doh!" and five minutes later, "Let's go to Thomas....doh!" and five minutes later, "I can send you a link....doh!" sort of double-take stuff all day long.

I think they should just give us time off until it's all fixed.

(Oh, I know. I shouldn't joke about this when there are children slaving in sweat shops. But seriously people....no INTERNET!)

On the neckwarmer front...I think I spent more time today ripping out than knitting but I also found the error that was throwing everything off, so that was good.


Here is Duncan, posing rather reluctantly, with the object. I have just started the final twenty rows.

And I got a co-worker, E., started knitting. She wanted to learn and came into work today with yarn and needles and we sat at lunch, knitting together. I showed her how to knit and purl and she was off and running. She did a little eight-row, twenty-stitch swatch and then wanted to get started on something "real." So I wrote up a simple pattern for a checkerboard scarf and she set to it. She's very bright but also a little neurotic (she'd admit that). I've told people she will either get fed up within a couple of days and set her needles on fire or get completely obsessed and be designing sweaters in 3 months.

And I came into work today to discover that the other young woman I work with got us all desk calendars for Christmas (I was told that these women didn't exchange presents...and then J. went and did this and threw us all in a loop). Anyway, she got me the Never Not Knitting calendar with daily messages from Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. How perfect (and how thoughtful) a gift is that!?