Monday, December 25, 2006

Merry Yule!

Yeah, I do Christmas in the secular sense, but we're a pagan household.

My haul: One Wii, Sudoku for DS, some long underwear, a blanket, a sweatshirt, and a long-sleeved T-shirt from a University that shares our name. Oh, and $15 in gift cards from my managers, and some awesome socks from my secret Santa (thanks!). The kid's haul: Every toy in the Western world plus a few books and some clothes.

Happy Christmahanukwaanzakuh to you!

Also, Io, Saturnalia!

And, XKCD wishes everyone a Merry Christmas

Friday, December 22, 2006

You Don't Know Jack is back on the web! W00t! I used to spend many, many hours on the Bezerk Games site--does anyone know if there's still a webhost for Acrophobia? Someone brought it back a few years ago, but it only went up to five letters, not seven, and the environment just wasn't the same. Man, I miss the old site, though.
The Boy Who Lived Before
This is mellow-fun but requires math. Do not play it with a six-year-old over your shoulder saying "put the number there!"

An interesting twist in perspective from The Onion.

For the romance fans

Slate just reminded me that the annual It's a Wonderful Life airing will be Sunday night... Nay, nay, I must celebrate the last week of our cable with the annual marathon of A Christmas Story. My fiendish plan is to drive everyone else into bed annoyed with it by 11 or so Sunday evening, then, umm, fall asleep on the couch until Santa comes and help him arrange the treats for the family in stockings all over the living room. I'm not usually the last one up, so I will have to chase everyone off to bed to do mom's Christmas-Eve work. In real life, this translates to dozing lightly while watching the marathon, then getting breakfast on early.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

I accidentally grabbed some adware, which wants me to reboot the computer *before* an uninstall. The problem is, my computer doesn't work after a reboot. Gah!! Maybe I'll try a Windows reboot.

So, while I screw around with the computer, enjoy the ten dumbest deaths in history (veracity of this list is not guaranteed by this blogger, feel free to hit Snopes).
If this article on free will doesn't give you something to think about, you may be closed-minded.

I'm not sure I posted this article on the goodness of the shrooms, so just in case... and they're talking about massively upgrading the warnings on OTC meds today, to go along with the war on cold medicine and the war on pain patients... isn't it time to start rethinking this whole thing?

To the abstinence-only idiots: duh. (You know what was different in the past? If you knocked her up/got knocked up, you were expected to get married. Also, that the teenagers were more likely to hook up with one partner and be stuck with them forever--but that horse has left the barn, folks. Sorry)

Baby Jesus = garden gnome?

I'm amazed I didn't hear about this before, but apparently an Austrian girl was kidnapped and forced to live under someone's garage for eight years. From age ten to age 18--and she said she complained to him that he ignored her. I wonder if he had a tumor. And I hope she can get disability to help her get back to society.

Side note: My Google weather says it's warm and snowing (hey, 32 and going up to 38F is warm here!) in North Pole, but cool (still ten above--I'll check the sign across the road and unplug the car!) and going down to cold (like 10 below, anyway) in Fairbanks. Usually they're identical. This makes no sense.

Some days I feel like there's not enough of me. I didn't sleep--well, only a couple hours. I tried. Couldn't calm my mind enough even to meditate, which can lead to sleep when I am tired. Also, I have been getting angry and misdirecting it--I don't really even know what I'm angry at sometimes, but I am angry because I have trouble standing up for myself at home--if I want to watch a movie or play a game or fuck or have Spirit come to bed to snuggle and fall asleep I can't say anything most of the time. It's getting to me and I can't fix it without getting bitchy. They're shutting our cable off in two weeks (less!), which I found out yesterday because I happened to look at a newspaper, and that's going to make it worse by giving Spirit a reason to be on XBox 24/7. He got on my ass about getting it taken care of, which I had already said I was going to do, by "warning" me that I wouldn't be able to get him to do anything else. WTF can I do, with 12 days until our cable goes to static and having to wait on the apartment complex to secure a new cable? And why can't I explain that tag-teaming in to someone else's game, when I can't even establish a profile on that game and use it to play with someone else, feels totally useless to me, like he'd be better off just playing with the computer and I'm an intruder? Why do I always feel like an intruder in my own life?

I love the M&Ms commercial this time of year. (He IS real... They ARE real!)

Monday, December 11, 2006

Rant: "Preppie, we just lost our girl to a NERD!"

Why do I watch this show? It's sort of funny, but it portrays the worst in stereotypes and all the reasons I hated (HATED!!) high school. I might find something else, but we get about 20 channels, and I don't feel like finding a DVD every morning.

There would be nothing, I repeat NOTHING, wrong, or even unusual, about the hot head cheerleader going for the geek tutor. Awww, she went more for a guy with brains and a real personality than for the jock or the super-popular class clown with money and a reputation for getting around more work than he does.

(OK, yes, Screech is a giant dork besides being a geek, but only on a show like Saved by the Bell
would all the geeks be giant dorks).

Yeah, I realize this rant is as outdated as SbtB itself, that the hawtness of the geek has been recognized and celebrated now--yet, on Heroes a couple weeks ago, the geeks were still a large group of walking stereotypes.

Then, maybe I'm just jealous, because my school totally lacked a geek subculture, so I didn't fit in with, well, anyone, until college.

20 days without it

I thought about this article, 20 Days Without a PC, for a while. I decided I could live for 20 days without the email, the blog, even without AskMeFi and little time-wasting computer games. But I could not deal with having to pay bills and budget by hand.

(I have gone 20 consecutive unwired days this year, incidentally--at a time when there were no bills to budget because we were between places, had no money because we were waiting on Uncle Sam to pay us back cost-of-living expenses, and it fell right between the truck payments--which is the one bill I have to pay by hand anyway).

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

The tenets of Condomism?

From the so-called "liberal media" comes this tripe.

I wanted to work myself into a good rant about the lost liberalism of a media that probably never had any and how this piece illustrates that. But I'm too tired, so a point-by-point comment on a list in the article:

Here are some of the tenets of condomism:

  • Every person capable of giving meaningful consent is entitled to unlimited sexual activity.

  • What's entitlement got to do with it? Biology dictates that sex will happen. Do we (the Condomists, I mean) have to go through individual records to prove that sex happened as long as there have been records (at least), or do you stupid abstinence-only fucks believe that poor nutrition caused that high percentage of children to be born seven months after their parents' marriages? The difference now is that the stigma on sexual activity has dropped so we're not forced into marriages with people with whom we'll have no relationship at all, or a one-sided or forced or abusive relationship, within a couple years (and still be stuck, because the divorce taboo dropped with the sexual revolution, too).

    By the way, this is what happens when people place a high priority on abstinence. It doesn't happen, and the people who have had sex become convinced that they have done something horrible and dirty, and will hide it at any cost.

  • All negative consequences of sexual activity can be controlled through the use of contraception. Sexual Transmitted Diseases can be controlled through the use of condoms. The probability of pregnancy can be eliminated through contraception, properly used.

  • Eliminated? No, but reduced more than abstinence-only programs have managed. Because those programs get the wrong ideas in the heads of young, unmarried people who are, in fact, likely to have sex, and who were almost as likely to go have sex sixty or two hundred years ago, and those who become sexually active do so with no idea how to protect themselves, in the event of sexual activity, leading to higher disease rates and more abortions (or more children left in garages because their mom's can't admit to them).

  • No one is required to give birth to a baby in the event of pregnancy. Abortion, for any reason or no reason, at any time during pregnancy, is an absolute entitlement.

  • Some of us have noticed that making abortion illegal or difficult to get does not reduce the number of abortions significantly. It does, however, increase the risk of women dying of infections after unsafe illegal abortions. It also decreases the risk of fully-formed babies dying, neglected by mothers who can't care for them (emotionally, financially, or otherwise).

  • Any negative consequences of sexual activity that cannot be handled by contraception or abortion are not worth talking about.

  • Anything is worth talking about. Liberals who would silence those who disagree with them aren't worthy of the name. However, we don't feel as though those who express those opinions, promoting ideology over facts, need to be in top policymaking government positions on sexual education and policy.

    Tuesday, December 05, 2006

    Well... duh.

    (Mari-jew-ana's baad, mm-kay?)

    Friday, December 01, 2006

    Any Fundamentalist or other Biblical literalist who is outraged by this, take note: Your Bible is all for this practice. Read the Torah again. I'll wait.

    On a cuter note, the kid went to see "Babes in Toyland" at the local dance theater company today. "How was the ballet?" we asked him. "OK, but it didn't really have Babe in it." I try not to just collapse in giggles when things like that happen, but sometimes, I can't help it.

    Wednesday, November 29, 2006

    I liked the old Technorati better. Why do we have to "improve" everything?

    The easiest way to handle the money thing is to change the sizes.

    Ummm YEAH!

    This stuff makes me want to check out Second Life, but I don't think I have the hours to spend in a game right now.

    The real Gay Agenda

    Yay!

    Loving your work is awesome. RIP.

    Random thought: It's scary how much the Saved by the Bell/Good Morning, Miss Bliss (anyone else remember when SbtB: The Early Years was on The Disney Channel as GMMB, back when Disney was a pay channel?) kids looked the same at 24 as at 12. (OK, maybe not Dustin Diamond, but definitely the other two who were on the first and last episodes).

    Um, dude? FCC-enforced codes of conduct are not voluntary.

    Australia to pay for the HPV vaccine. The ages are a little older than for the recommendations here. Is that a cultural difference in the children, or the government and researching doctors?

    DUH.

    Saturday, November 25, 2006


    You scored as Character Player. The Character Player enjoys creating in-depth characters with distinct and rich personalities. He identifies closely with his characters, feeling detached from the game if he doesn't. He takes creative pride in exploring different characters, often making each new one radically different than others he's played. The Character Player bases his decisions on his character's psychology first and foremost. He may view rules as a necessary evil at best, preferring sessions in which the dice never come out of their bags. For the Character Player, the greatest reward comes from experiencing the game from the emotional perspective of an interesting character.

    Character Player


    100%

    Storyteller


    75%

    Casual Gamer


    40%

    Power Gamer


    40%

    Weekend Warrior


    20%

    Tactician


    20%

    Specialist


    5%

    What RPG Player (Not Character) Type Are You?
    created with QuizFarm.com

    Tuesday, November 21, 2006

    Re: Wil Wheaton, Less than you think

    I wanted to respond to this, well, anywhere; I'm sure page hits tell Mr. Wheaton how many people are reading the blog, but I would like to point out that going by the number of people who comment, at least on his blog at its current location, is a false indication as to his readership. The blog is set so that only Typepad members can post comments--and Typepad memberships are only free for a 30-day trial. I haven't been able to find an option to register as a reader/user but not as a blogger. And there's not even a clear email address on the site--many times I'd like to comment, then realize again that I can't and hope that he'll move the site back sometime. Whether it ever happens or no, though, WWdN or WWdNiE will stay in my homepage list. Thanks, guy!

    P.S. had a nice birthday present... Spirit got the day right... that's it, that's the present... but what you have to understand is he doesn't know when it's his own birthday most years if not told.

    Friday, November 17, 2006

    I wanted to write a proper parody of this, but to write the way I want right now, I'd have to quit my job. I just almost fell asleep doing web surveys... So, just a headline for you.

    Breaking News: Feds Ban Human Saliva
    Spit Contains a Drug "Six Times More Powerful Than Morphine," say Scientists

    Tuesday, November 14, 2006

    Short one

    An update on the connections in the Borat-AskMeFi issue (the plot thickens)

    Voyeurism for the literate
    in the 21st century

    I'm watching Heroes, so not going to stay on here. I wish I had a treadmill to walk on while watching. It's too goddamned cold to walk outside.

    Monday, November 13, 2006

    A food post

    It's late at night, and I've had a snack, which is contrary to my usual habit, but a couple pieces of sausage that were in the fridge allow me to surf without fear of getting hungry when I run into a bunch of food news.

    By the bye, if the weather forecast says it's going down to -15F, just go ahead and plug in the damn car, or it'll just go down to -30 and let you panic about the fact that your car isn't plugged in. It's fine, thank you for asking. But still.

    Now, on to news of the comestible...

    Well... umm... thanks for clearing that up.

    Is it REALLY double the Stuf? (from)

    While we're at Tasting Menu, this was too funny

    Not food but service-related: Waiter, as usual, serves up an awesome story; I can't wait for his book.

    (The above is crossposted to my other blog, there followed by some chatter about my job)

    Not food related, still cool: This shirt rocks

    This, oddly, is food/service related. It's a theme today. And also the first time I can remember getting really annoyed at a PVP storyline. I am sure Mr. Kurtz is going to have Jade punished for what she and Sam are about to do here, but skipping out on your check is (1) probably a theft of goods and services worse on a dollar level than a regular shoplift (yet people see it as a prank and not on the same level as stealing) and (2) likely to really screw a server as well as the restaurant. I've had a friend fired because of a table skipping out on the check and known servers at some places who had to cover the cost of the meal--you're going to skip out and possibly have someone who in most states is making $2.13/hr plus tips have to spend her entire day's tips paying for your lunch? There's a special place in hell for you, then. (Where "you" is anyone who purposely skips out on a check, not anyone in particular).

    Well, bedtime again. I'm trying hard to keep positive. There are a lot of thoughts. I don't always know how. I'm happy and grateful for Spirit. But I really don't want to live in this area and I knew moving away from the doctor I had would be hell, and I've had some very upsetting thoughts rattling around in my head. But I'll get through.

    Sunday, November 12, 2006

    Owwwwwwwwwwww. (heh.)

    This is nice of them. And a belated Happy Veteran's Day to my favorite vets (you know who you are. If you're a vet who's stumbled by, then I wish you the same).

    Here's a nice debate. I wouldn't want my polling place in a church, synagogue, mosque, or any other inherently-religious place. Legally, I'm sure the sign is the bigger issue. There were some campaigners a legal distance from the poll here on the street corner, and I was annoyed and uncomfortable that they started hassling me post-vote about who I'd voted for; even had I voted for their candidate, my response ("I'd prefer not to discuss who I voted for") would have been the same, though of course they assumed from the response that I had voted for The Other Guy.

    Sometimes, the internet is a small world. This article immediately reminded me of this AskMeFi (I'm sure not coincidentally--the back stories are too similar--but read them both and then draw conclusions if you're going to). (The link to the article on this weekend's edition of Clicked refers to blaming racism on drunkenness, reminding me of the song "Your Racist Friend"--"He let the contents of the bottle do the thinking/can't shake the devil's hand and say you're only kidding").

    Bwahahahaha

    Wednesday, November 08, 2006

    An addendum

    Read this.

    This is why I have trouble with the Republican Party, and generally would vote independently rather than vote Republican unless I am very convinced of an individual.

    Many, many Republicans--even those in power--do not believe this way, or at least not in political terms. I have had deep conversations with several, even in the heart of the Bible Belt, who were Libertarian at heart and would have welcomed a return to the Republican ideals of old, of small government socially as well as economically, and I respect that.

    But these same people always ended those deep and respectable conversations with a comment that they cannot be seen on the record as having the beliefs they do, because their party no longer believes in the freedom of the individual rather than the rule of the word of God, to be enforced by law where individuals do not choose to live a life according to a certain brand of Christianity's interpretation of proper moral living.

    And half the country believes that way.

    I don't think the sort of mood I've been in should have been leading up to an important midterm election. I've taken 3 pepcid already tonight and my throat is still burning with acid.

    Reason #432 I don't want to deal with anyone any more

    "I voted."

    So, how'd you vote?

    "Republican."

    Wha-- um, don't you hate the current administration? Why are you voting to give them power and votes?

    "Well, I didn't know anything about the candidates, so I voted for the party I signed up as."

    Why. Would you. Sign up. For a party. That's running on supposedly moral stances you disagree with completely and who puts people in power that you loathe and who do things you disagree with personally, morally, and politically?

    "Well, because I was signed up as a Republican in Florida. My aunt [who per previous conversations told her who and what to vote for in every election she's voted in] told me I was."

    !

    I'm avowedly independent, people. I try to research candidate by candidate and issue by issue to the best of my ability and I freakin' refuse to sign up for a party. I think that people should be willing to vote third party, because if they were willing to vote what they really believed, it wouldn't be throwing a vote away and might exact real change in this country. Washington warned us about a two-party system over two hundred years ago. And we let it happen.

    But if you're going to vote:
    Along a party line regardless of platform because it's "the party you are"
    What someone else tells you to vote without having any idea who the candidates are or what the issues are
    or
    Just because you think you should,

    Stay. The. Hell. Home.

    Also--single-issue voters suck almost as much as single-issue candidates. But that's another year's rant.

    Saturday, November 04, 2006

    I have a serious problem with this test. Namely--how does knowing about an individual and his policies have anything whatsoever to do with being able to recognize them by look? I read up on the issues, and I could match the names with the jobs correctly with over a 95% success rating--but would lose twice by not being able to match the portrait to a name and job (if I had one I'd have both), so barely squeaked by with a 70%. Are you really going to tell me that being informed about our political leaders means being able to judge them in a beauty contest? If we all voted blind--on policy and fact and ignorant of what these people looked like--we'd be a much more informed electorate. And don't get me started on what this means for blind voters--they'd all score zero on that test, and I'd be willing to bet that some, at least, are far more informed than the average voter (some in almost any group, after all, are far more informed than the average voter).

    Friday, November 03, 2006

    Books

    Wisdom from the office.

    Too tired for a real post. I've been reading a lot. Right now I'm reading Frank McCourt's Teacher Man. I love his books. He's so down-to-earth and surprised by his own success. I used to hate most nonfiction, but now probably close to a quarter of my reading (actually, counting magazines, over half, and counting newspapers--online or paper--even more than that--for argument's sake, I'd include the magazines but not the news articles--thoughts?) is nonfiction--usually biographies or science-related materials, but sometimes just interesting subjects from the new-release display (I grabbed The Emperors of Chocolate a few years back from the new release rack in my library. It's a must-read for all chocoholics and people who are interested in candy, history, or the history of candy).

    Well, that's almost a real post. After Teacher Man, Bob Newhart's new book! This week's pile is a little headier than last's. The two biographies, The Thrall's Tale, and an older novel called The Gospel of Judas (I emphasize that it's an older novel, because I found it when looking for the new translation of the actual gospel).

    Happy reading, everyone.

    Wednesday, November 01, 2006

    Belief-o-Matic!

    The top score on the list below represents the faith that Belief-O-Matic, in its less than infinite wisdom, thinks most closely matches your beliefs. However, even a score of 100% does not mean that your views are all shared by this faith, or vice versa.

    Belief-O-Matic then lists another 26 faiths in order of how much they have in common with your professed beliefs. The higher a faith appears on this list, the more closely it aligns with your thinking.

    How did the Belief-O-Matic do? Discuss your results on our message boards.





    1. Neo-Pagan (100%)
    2. Unitarian Universalism (95%)
    3. New Age (88%)
    4. Liberal Quakers (86%)
    5. Reform Judaism (80%)
    6. Mahayana Buddhism (73%)
    7. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (73%)
    8. Secular Humanism (70%)
    9. Sikhism (66%)
    10. New Thought (62%)
    11. Theravada Buddhism (61%)
    12. Bah�'� Faith (57%)
    13. Jainism (56%)
    14. Scientology (52%)
    15. Hinduism (51%)
    16. Nontheist (51%)
    17. Taoism (47%)
    18. Orthodox Judaism (47%)
    19. Islam (38%)
    20. Orthodox Quaker (36%)
    21. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (29%)
    22. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (21%)
    23. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (18%)
    24. Eastern Orthodox (14%)
    25. Roman Catholic (14%)
    26. Seventh Day Adventist (13%)
    27. Jehovah's Witness (2%)


    Also something from Quiz Farm:
    You scored as Buddhism. Your beliefs most closely resemble those of Buddhism. Do more research on Buddhism and possibly consider becoming Buddhist, if you are not already.

    In Buddhism, there are Four Noble Truths: (1) Life is suffering. (2) All suffering is caused by ignorance of the nature of reality and the craving, attachment, and grasping that result from such ignorance. (3) Suffering can be ended by overcoming ignorance and attachment. (4) The path to the suppression of suffering is the Noble Eightfold Path, which consists of right views, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right-mindedness, and right contemplation. These eight are usually divided into three categories that base the Buddhist faith: morality, wisdom, and samadhi, or concentration. In Buddhism, there is no hierarchy, nor caste system; the Buddha taught that one's spiritual worth is not based on birth.

    Buddhism


    83%

    Satanism


    75%

    Paganism


    67%

    agnosticism


    63%

    Islam


    54%

    Hinduism


    54%

    Christianity


    46%

    atheism


    25%

    Judaism


    13%

    Which religion is the right one for you? (new version)

    created with QuizFarm.com



    The Beliefnet one's been the most accurate I've found. I'm doing this because I found this on AskMeFi. I think my real religion is an overarching quest for knowledge of self and the world (both the physical world and the metaphysical) in all its subjects/aspects, though I am officially neopagan in my approach to the gods and the world of spirit.

    Tuesday, October 24, 2006

    Today, Dork Tower reran an old classic strip, which reminded me to check hoodyhoo.com for new KoDT and DT(Retro) cartoons. I found this, which is very good.

    I think we finally have a group. This is very good.

    I hurt like I can't even think of a word to describe. It probably has to do with the 3ish hours of sleep and the 12+ hours at work. On the clock for over 9.5. With the new raise and a couple hours overtime, next paycheck oughtta be sweet.

    Thursday, October 12, 2006

    Stupid comments, Wii vs PS3 edition

    Found in this com.com (CNET News) article: "There are quite a few people out there today who have no idea what Blu-ray is," he said. "But a year after its launch, at around this time next year, more people will start recognizing the added value brought by a Blu-ray player, just as a DVD player function helped the PS2 to a flying start."

    Re-he-heally? 'Cause it seems to me that the DVD functionality was valuable and "helped the PS2 get off to a flying start" because we already knew what DVDs were, and even owned some, by the time PS2 was released five years ago. Would the DVD functionality really have done as much for the console ten years ago, when DVDs were relatively novel on the market? (no, seriously--you could still expect to be able to rent every title at Blockbuster on VHS ten years ago, and many of us--OK, our slightly-older and less tech-savvy cousins--were still balking at buying players that would require replacing their whole tape collections, still smarting from having done it with their music--or still clinging desperately to their audiocassettes)


    Wednesday, October 11, 2006

    This will be all today. Hug a servicemember. If you know a servicemember serving over there, hug one of his/her family members.

    Sunday, October 01, 2006

    Bought a DS Lite. Can anyone tell me how the fuck to get the canister across the gap in the first (Blockade Runner) level? Please??

    I've been working like mad and trying to squeeze in family time, so sorry I'm behind on the blogging.

    In the meantime, enjoy. Happy October!

    It snowed once already in the Tanana Valley. It's melted now, but soon enough it'll be here to stay. I've gotten the car winterized, but I'm worried--it had trouble starting when it was 30F outside. WTF is that about? I think it's in shock. The car came from Florida.

    Wednesday, September 27, 2006

    I need to post more, but I hurt, and I'm so tired. Called the pain clinic and even with a referral in, they put the referrals through some kind of board before they will call to make appointments, I can't make our appointments. Not feeling well is making me unreasonably angry again, want to slap Lycanthra and make her stop being such a child--she's older than I, for cripes' sake. I know a few other "adults" who need a good slap, for that matter.

    Thursday, September 07, 2006

    Drugs are bad, mmmmkay?

    I try hard not to spend more time than I have to researching chronic nonmalignant intractable pain and its treatments. I almost cried reading this just at the description of what patients generally go through to be diagnosed.

    This move has been wonderful in a lot of ways, but it made me move far away from my excellent doctor, and to a military doctor giving me the old chestnuts about "an hour or more a day of aerobic exercise will make you better" and "I don't believe in narcotics for this type of pain." First, don't tell me the only thing that's worked while I lived with this for over a decade doesn't work. Second, I was a varsity basketball player, injured and in intensive athletic reconditioning while this escalated and got to the worst point it's ever been--an hour+ of cardio per day as well as stretching and general physical therapy, to the tune of the 2-3 hours daily I'd otherwise have spent at practice, 4-5 days a week. The effect on my body was to make the pain and fatigue totally crippling; I couldn't stay awake in class, or by the time I gave up and left school, walk unaided by supports. By the time I left, I had other people teaching the classes I taught at least a couple days a week because I was too ill and in pain to walk far without vomiting. It took me years to get to where I could work on my feet, walk my son to school, and climb several flights of stairs several times a day, all of which I do now. And even when I feel like another step will kill me, I do it because I do believe I need to stay active, because even if I could fail myself again I can't fail my family.

    But the other night after work, I climbed those stairs, and tried to relax a bit. I looked in the cabinet in which the strongest painkiller was now Tylenol, shook my head at the muscle relaxants to which I build a tolerance far faster than to vicodin, shook my head in confusion as to what to do about the pain I was feeling, and decided simply to give up and try to sleep. Once I lay down and my muscles tried to relax, the pain intensified through my lower back, hips and legs to the point where all I could do was shake and cry. I cried hard enough to have an asthma attack, and spent over half an hour fighting to breathe. There was a moment when I could not breathe at all, and only my husband's sleepy worry eventually pierced through the haze enough for that to even bother me... for just a few heartbeats it felt as though it would be easier to not breathe than to live with the pain that had triggered the attack.

    My husband made me an appointment the next morning, and I have to go in tomorrow and face the same doctor, whom I cannot help but see as an opponent rather than a help or someone to work with. I found a few good articles tonight, though, to take in, and some of what I found had me wanting to blog (plus, it's been a while).

    Quotes and links follow:

    "What's the difference between chronic pain from cancer or chronic pain from some other mishap -- failed back surgery, osteoporosis, etc? Why is it reserved for people who are going to die? What about people who are not lucky enough to die and escape this and are forced to live with it for another 40, 50 years?"


    ASAP, without this site no discussion on chronic pain and its chronic undertreatment would be complete

    An excellent treatment of the issues (sided toward the patients--I have no patience for the other side. I'm not addicted. I have been without opioid painkillers for several weeks. I have had no withdrawal symptoms whatsoever, but have had increasing severe pain--in other words, even when I am not feeling the direct effects of the opioids that "don't work" for this type of pain in the long term, I have less overall pain because it doesn't compound on itself the same way. So I've tried it their way, and I'm calling bull on it)

    Finally, I found an article I have had my husband print out for the visit. This points out that several studies have shown benefit to using painkillers to treat pain (DUH. --OK, sorry), in contrast to "I just read a new study last month that stated that this treatment is not standard." How many other chronic pain patients do you have, anyway, doc?

    My sister is apparently still a better person than I. She wouldn't wish her condition on anyone. I wish that every doctor who says "I don't believe in those types of painkillers" would have to spend a year watching helplessly and in pain as no matter how they tried to exercise and work hard, their pain and fatigue increased as their productivity levels decreased and they lived with side effect after side effect while medications that helped with few side effects were denied them because of stigma.

    The war on drugs has long since been lost in the streets, though we pretend to have a chance to end drug use and abuse to the great detriment and cost of all (the police and the innocent homeowners killed by each other in no-knock raids conducted at wrong addresses, children who get between the armed homeowners--who generally think they're protecting their homes from intruders, as they have committed no crimes, and men in black are breaking down the doors at night--and the mistaken police, the taxpayers in general, and the addicts who would not be criminals at all under a better system). But failing to get drugs off the streets, if we consider that a laudable aim (and there is, of course, room for argument until Judgment Day there), is not a reason we should be fighting to get medicines out of doctor's offices or away from patients who, using the medications to treat real problems, face far less risk to their long-term health on the medications, even with the chance of dependence, than they risk from the side-effects of chronic pain itself, which are very well-documented.

    Saturday, July 15, 2006

    Eccch
    (via)
    (Thank all that's holy, I'm leaving the South, in less than a week)

    Too tired to get through what I want, so here's something for you to read

    Wednesday, July 12, 2006

    You Are an Espresso

    At your best, you are: straight shooting, ambitious, and energetic

    At your worst, you are: anxious and high strung

    You drink coffee when: anytime you're not sleeping

    Your caffeine addiction level: high


    You Are A Friendly Ex

    You and your ex are just friends - great friends really.
    (At least that's what you keep telling yourself!)
    While civility is a good thing, make sure you're not secretly wanting more...


    You Are Bert

    Extremely serious and a little eccentric, people find you loveable - even if you don't love them!

    You are usually feeling: Logical - you rarely let your emotions rule you

    You are famous for: Being smart, a total neat freak, and maybe just a little evil

    How you life your life: With passion, even if your odd passions (like bottle caps and pigeons) are baffling to others

    (Bert? I'm the messiest person I know! I live in a kind of managed chaos...)

    You Are Dr. Bunsen Honeydew

    You take the title "mad scientist" to the extreme -with very scary things coming out of your lab.
    And you've invented some pretty cool things, from a banana sharpener to a robot politician.
    But while you're busy turning gold into cottage cheese, you need to watch out for poor little Beaker!
    "Oh, that's very naughty, Beaker! Now you eat these paper clips this minute."

    (OK... I can see that)

    You Passed 8th Grade Math

    Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct!

    (Naturally, Beaker...)

    OK, that's enough for the next few minutes... :)
    You Are A Chestnut Tree

    You are a born diplomat with a well developed sense of justice.
    And even though you're impressive and intimidating, you're also fun to be around.
    You can be irritated easily, and you sometimes act superior.
    Nevertheless, you are sensitive of others feelings and very loyal.
    Sometimes you feel misunderstood and are fiercely close to those who know you best.

    Tuesday, July 11, 2006

    An' dis mah other brotha Daryl

    Get over it already.

    GUH?

    nice

    Who is Little Man aimed at? It looks dumb. Not funny-dumb. Pointless dumb.

    Monday, July 10, 2006

    Note

    Babe, if you weren't reading the Toy's blog, it should be safe again, just stop at the previous note.
    Saw this today. Worth a few chuckles. (typed "work a few..." and thought that was a nice slip). Source is adult so on the other blog in a bit.

    Today was OK. Got my wedding pics uploaded to Flickr (no link here--my persona here is carefully separate from my real ID), played some X-Box with my husband, reveled in the simple joy of him being home. The trouble was, "I'm hungry, what's for dinner?" I'd thawed something for Pet to make, but she took some benadryl for a bug bite and was asleep. Now, I'm generally handy in the kitchen, but today was NOT my day to be there. First, I went to get some pots and a colander, and there were bugs everywhere--someone had left a bag of oranges out (I always refrigerate the damn things, but the kitchen has been so cluttered of late, I've just not even paid attention to what was on the floor. From there, I decided to tidy up and declutter as much as possible, putting cookies and alcohol on the refrigerator and other things in the cabinets. Then I put the pots on the stove. Oh, yeah, the other day I noticed the whole stove was greasy and wiped it down as best I could--never got wiped down after the beef dish that was made for everyone last week. So I put the pot of hot water on the big burner (you know the one) to make spaghetti for five, and as I am tending to the beef and onions in the other pot (my sauce starter), suddenly I smell a slight burnt odor--and flames flare around the pot of water. I'm trying to turn off burners, call my husband, and get the pot off and get him to grab a lid to smother the flames. So I look at the new microwave rice/pasta cooker and determine that it won't be big enough, so we get the burner cleaned out and start over with the water. Well, as the beef and onions get done and the water almost reaches a boil... CRASH!! A bottle of So-Ju from the top of the fridge crashes across both pots. I scream, the husband is there before I've even finished screaming, his adrenaline flamed up so much that he doesn't notice that he's sprained his ankle jumping up to help me for a full 3-4 minutes. Had to dump the water, which now had bits of all kinds of things in it, and start over for the third time. And try to rescue as much of the beef and onions as I could.

    Dinner was pretty damn good, actually. I'm a more-than-passable cook. But things just attack me, my whole life they have, and it seems like spending time in the kitchen with a lot of hot things and a lot of sharp things may just be tempting fate. Also giving people an excuse to make up stories about how I can't cook without burning down the kitchen.

    Sunday, July 09, 2006

    The problem with this is that some women "let themselves go" in terms of weight and makeup (in other words, don't live for their fucking looks) from the get-go. This, in other words, is the part I take exception to: "Second, he can't have fun with her even if she was willing, because she now has let herself turn into Kathy Bates." Very funny. Some of us are overweight, don't wear makeup, do wear sweats--today I'm wearing a T Shirt and Jar Jar Binks boxer shorts--and still get more action and have more solid and loving relationships than most Americans. I'd wager I will have more sex in the next 2 weeks than the average US resident will in the next 12 months. And yeah, I dote on my kids. Making marriage and sex work is more about having the same expectations than meeting some arbitrary standard of what a spouse should be for another.
    Richard Simmons on Who's Line
    (AKA, why not to watch funny vids alone on your laptop in a room full of people)
    (Warning: GAY AS ALL HELL in the literal sense. Duh.)

    Useful tip for searching Google Video

    Nice day for a drive?

    Sigh

    Things to hate about local TV news

    Found this on Reddit, but the warning may be the best part. (note: If you find it on this blog, it just might be offensive. Don't go clickin' my links if you then need warnings about the content). (standard disclaimer, as a hippie liberal I don't agree with a lot of this shit, and find much of it downright offensive. So? If you can't read even what offends you sometimes, you're going to be a pathetic, underinformed individual)

    You go, girls

    Interesting, but makes assumptions that are not necessary to faith

    Why we all need a daily fuck (I was musing this morning that if every adult in the world started the day with a good orgasm, the world would be a far more pleasant place)

    Saturday, July 08, 2006

    ROFL

    NSF fucking W fer the love of mike but FUNNY (especially the bit at around 1:49) (folks, that ain't how polyamory works for most of us--most of us really only have a partner or a couple and don't fuck around--well, rarely, and by arrangement)

    Goodie Bag for more

    This ain't nice

    This one took me a bit, but that dark angel background rawks

    Some of today's links via WebZen

    I am crazy dizzy, so... later!

    Friday, July 07, 2006

    yeah.

    Youch

    bwahaha

    Waxhoff? (via)

    Too much Hoff

    Well, everyone else has covered this, so why not?

    heh...

    Thursday, July 06, 2006

    Your missile sucks

    (Thank the gods Spirit is out of the RoK)

    ewww

    Yeah science

    Tuesday, July 04, 2006

    Happy 4th

    Read this

    Spirit and I got married Sunday

    The handfasting was lovely

    Too many people for too long for me

    Enjoy the fireworks

    Thursday, June 29, 2006

    A fascinating look at "other"-sex people, historically and biologically

    via

    Spirit's still sleeping, so good night, world

    Journey safely home to me, adored one. A spell for you, and some maps on which to trace your journey for the spell--I know you will carry the malachite with you.
    Well, it's something...

    I note:
    "Lieutenant Colonel Jeremy Martin said listing homosexuality as a mental disorder, although mistaken, only ruled it out as a physical disability for the purposes of separation or retirement from the military, and had no other practical effect."

    Do mental/psychiatric illnesses not count as disabilities "for the purposes of separation or retirement for the military?" That's an issue in and of itself, especially in cases like battle-induced PTSD.

    Tuesday, June 27, 2006

    I got a 95% (missed the INS one on a coin toss)

    Hurry and check this out before the Scientologists' lawyers get hold of it

    I still remember liking this stuff. Their taste tests before the release bear that idea up.

    heh
    (If you're not really geeky--don't bother)

    oooooooooooh NSFW

    ditto

    Stuff

    We buy too much stuff. I go long periods without buying any stuff because I'm generally broke, but then I buy way too much stuff--Spirit will say "let's go shopping" and I don't have the will to say no after feeling broke for so long (this will change when our budgets are merged--we'll have a fun-shopping budget so we don't cut into expenses, but him being overseas has cut expenses for a while so we could have some fun). Today I was just going to get gas and groceries and Pet wanted to look for one specific item at the mall. Well, they didn't have it, but since we were at the mall, we had to go to the game store (one used game, $8 with tax). And Bath and Body Works (oh, man, they have my scent back in on clearance--well, shit, it's seasonal, if I don't they'll never have it again--2 bottles of perfume and some body wash and two chapsticks since we've both had chapped lips and will want them soft, ahem, soon--$45). AND Waldenbooks (replacement copies of books I know Spirit had sent straight to Alaska that I will want on the drive, and the A.N.Roquelaure-who's-really-Anne-Rice-so-what-is-up-with-the-major- religious-twist-of-hers-who-saw-that- coming-anyway Sleeping Beauty series 'cause Pet hasn't read them and I thought she needed to, and some Lindor truffles, and a book on Herb Magick, $75-ish) And then we still needed groceries. I did get a personal shopping day at Walden/Borders good for July, though. *rolls eyes*

    I was ready to pass out from dizziness and fatigue by the time we were done at Food Lion, though. Good thing I gave away my shift.

    Also, yuck.

    Ew ew ew ew EWWWWW

    Friday, June 23, 2006

    Red what?

    Why on earth is this an issue? What's with the square? If nominally Christian-leaning areas use a Cross and Moslems a Crescent, why isn't there a Red Star doing the same thing in Israel? And why a generic everyone-else symbol and not a Star of David?

    This looks like it could be cool to surf, but YouTube is down tonight, and must be the format for the vids.

    Thursday, June 22, 2006

    Don't eat that...

    Interesting tidbit du jour: Polar Bear's liver contains toxic-to-humans levels of Vitamin A and is not safe to ingest.

    Wednesday, June 21, 2006

    Score one for big tobacco

    Tuesday, June 20, 2006

    Queer monkeys

    Gay animals and sexual selection
    OMG80sTHEYHAVEDERKOMMISSAR...
    Err, just click it

    Guh...

    funny

    different kind of ECM for you babe

    I love the geeky things kids do

    Another pic of the day page from NASA

    Fun science stuff--Fantastical Fridays

    Nice


    I do not recall ever feeling so disturbed as this in my life. Perhaps our roomie would like one to care for. I must admit if this were real I'd consider it, but really, I don't want any more (even real) animals at this point in life--too much to think about if I want to take off somewhere for 2 days or 2 weeks. I'm almost having conniptions at trying to get my chihuahua cared for for one weekend to get married. (Yeah of course I'm going to be dealing with very large dogs when we move. I don't remember thinking my personal preferences were relevant to much of anything else in the last decade or so, either).

    "Ten things I know about drugs"

    Telecom fraud

    This looks like it has a high potential for abuse (if you poke around online, you can see examples of other tobaccoless nicotine options being used by students to keep them up during exams etc). I'm all for low levels of drug "abuse," though--it's letting them run your life that's a problem.

    Fish Oil for ADHD?

    The Pentagon still thinks TEH GAY is a mental disorder? What do they think of men who love TEH LESBO?

    "But to the man whose hand or arm she is holding, she is not "average." She is the whole world to him." Beautiful.

    Monday, June 19, 2006

    Oh, wow. How Marlon Brando reprised his role as Jor-El. Yeah, the same Brando. Yeah, he's dead and wasn't in the same shape he was in '78 by, ohhh, '83. Seriously cool CGI (ish) here.

    Also, Superman by the bunnies

    And Caddyshack

    Sunday, June 18, 2006

    North Korea, stuck in 1950 forever?

    Old-ass turtle

    OWIE

    (Seriously, I'm not even a guy. Fuckin' ow.)

    Save Screech's house!

    Tipping. Seriously. More on this on the wait blog later, but sometimes your server has worked a 13-hour day trying to support her kids and your ass expects everything RIGHT NOW even though she's just said she'll be right back with it or to take care of it and she accommodates you at the expense of everyone else in her section who doesn't even have drinks and bread yet and you leave an 8% tip? Don't go out to eat if that's all someone taking care of your every whim is worth to you. Really. Fuck off.

    Friday, June 16, 2006

    If you've been following the kids-hear-higher-sounds story, this is interesting. Anecdotally, my five-year-old boy's ears and my 28-year-old ones both had our threshold between 20k and 21k--so, I guess, I'm ready to teach school, 'cause I'll definitely hear a 15k ringtone. I'll have a headache from hell, though. Remind me not to frequent those Mosquito stores.
    Funniest thread ever
    You know what? If my man got into this situation I'd fully expect him to call me, and say, "I got these 2 girls here, you wanna join us? And to act in the moment if I didn't. I mean is this really this intellectual a problem for other people and their ridiculous sexual hangups?

    Wednesday, June 14, 2006

    Pure genius.

    You may now return to your day... IF you can (bwahaha)
    Oh, hell no. This reminds me of Saturday at the pharmacy. They ring up $125 worth of my prescriptions and a soda, and then it's "I'm sorry, you'll have to take this robitussin flu to the front counter to sign for it." "Kid, are you going to make meth with your cough syrup?" "Yes, mother..." (he's been calling me "mother").

    This is a little old as news at this point, but in case anyone missed it a few weeks ago: gay bombs! Give 'em TEH GAY and they won't fight no mo'!

    Och.

    I only skimmed this, and I am not an atheist, but it's interesting nevertheless.

    Who needs sleep?

    OK, I do. Time for milk and melatonin. Peace,
    Cricket--out

    Tuesday, June 13, 2006

    Let me get this straight. A human, had sex with a pony, and it killed the PONY?

    I've said it before, I'll say it again: MEDITATE!

    Or at least drink coffee.

    Reality?

    This sounds like a big version of crack sticks (Gods but those are addictive!) (there's a contest to win a gift pack)

    Ahh, cheese.

    Monday, June 12, 2006

    Bits and pieces

    Interesting info about the clitoris

    Brain inhibition enables savant-like counting skills

    LOL


    There are a lot of smart people lost to academia
    Reasons:
    School burns us out
    We burn ourselves out before we can get all the way through school
    No, I don't have an IQ of 195. Yes, I do have an IQ in the top .2% of the population. Yes, that's 1/500. And yeah, I'm a waitress. I went to a top school on a full ride to become a burnt-out exhausted slacker.

    Sunday, June 11, 2006

    Dragons

    While looking for dragon pictures for my sis, I found this--hours of sticker surfing for your pleasure. For the truck, the house windows, tattoo ideas... just gorgeous. The fairie flowers page has a "Caution... I brake for..." sticker which I have mounted on a magnet that's on my truck. I love it.

    If anyone reading this has any medieval dragon pictures, please send to katoninetales at gmail. My sis is looking for tattoo ideas--she wants a full-back piece, of a dragon, with wings, and "without that snakey body if possible" (i.e. she wants a medieval-style rather than Asian-style dragon... anyone have a D&D coloring book with the types?)

    Scroll down here for some awesome artwork, too. I like this, but I can't read the blog proper to find out how to get non-thumbnails--I had one semester of third-year french (yeah, I started with year 3. Made a B, too) some 16 years ago, and not since. Spanish I can get along with if it's written so I can process at own pace.

    Medieval-themed home decor. I like this. Especially as any home I live in will be teched-out like mad. It's balanced, non?

    Oooooooh minis!

    Oh, they had "Mazes and Monsters" in the $5 bin at Wal Mart. I was tempted, but then figured I would not be able to watch without nausea. You know, early-80s Tom Hanks bit that convinced everyone D&D players were all taking it seriously to the point of obsession and suicide? Yeah, that piece of crap.

    *Drools* That reminds me, I was supposed to check out some things at Museum Replicas.

    More dragons at Elfwood for the bored

    I took my melatonin like an hour ago, so good night!

    Saturday, June 10, 2006

    "The fact that youth smoking rates are not declining anymore is a wake-up call" No, it's a sign that there's at some point an equilibrium of smoking teenagers who don't care that it's unhealthy. I've gotten to the screw off and leave people to their vices opinion of government.

    Friday, June 09, 2006

    Jon Stewart is My Hero, and some F Bombs

    "I think it's a debate about whether you think gay people are part of the human condition or just a random fetish." (as opposed to "whether you think marriage should be between a man and a woman"). I would so be Jon Stewart's love slave. (Should real fetishists still joke about being someone's love slave?)

    Geek on!

    Fuck that

    Where did Sugasm go? Talk about withdrawal... (or perhaps, speaking of "fuck")

    Fuck this, too

    I blog things as I click them, rather than compiling a list first, so after all these Fs I can't even spare one for this all-too-appropriate article

    How do you deal with food cravings? I woke up yesterday feeling so rotten I decided to start over with the healthier lifestyle, but natch, now I am craving Cyclone Pasta (without the ham).

    Stupid child needs to be grounded until she's 30... how can you be paying little enough attention to fly off to a country that will make you wear a Burqa and not stand with any man in public.

    Loud Cheering
    The punchline is at the end, so watch it all

    Blogger was down earlier, so what I surfed this afternoon:
    Daaaaaaaaaaaamn

    Heh

    Don't miss the Woot-Off! (I missed something I needed while I was still at work. I really need to stop viewing Woot in RSS, but it was stuck on one thing when I got home last night and another when I got up today, so whatever)

    Do not use wireless camera monitors in your house. Especially if you're going to use them to keep an eye on your SO tied up in another room. It could be detrimental and deleterious to your career, public life, etc.

    na-na na-na na-na na-na... STEALTH WINGS!

    Just, no. If Spirit's knee were better, I have no doubt he'd be all over learning this. He's a physical guy and prone to just ducking into a forward roll for no reason at all.

    Dude. My tattoos are so 20th-century

    "I'm Stephen Colbert, but I play him on TV"

    haha

    Joe the Orc

    This just in: Robertson a nutjob

    Nice calendar for the kids, erm, dungeon

    Despair.com is always smart. In a sad way. Even those of us who don't work cubicle farms--Spirit, or at least Drethic, in their military shops, and I at my tables still know what it is to be treated this way (except, none of us is in the slightest danger of losing our jobs).

    &&&&&
    Now I'm surfing because I got cut off the AFIM when I tried to relog to celebrate my new name. I'm quite irritated because I should've waited until the weekend--I know they always seem to be down between 1 and 3 (12-2 CDT, which is where the servers are).

    I feel like crap, btw, and would like to kill all those parties responsible for allowing mass antibiotics (the real source of superbugs) into the foodstream while keeping it so I have to go to great expense to get $4 worth of amoxicillin when I know bloody well that what's wrong with me is an ear infection.

    Would you consider this? (also, re: the problem at the end of the story, shouldn't the dr. have been able to get it out using a strong magnet?)

    DUDE

    Eh?

    Here's some fascinating stats to surf

    Thursday, June 08, 2006

    Lots to celebrate today.
    Spirit got his divorce.
    I got my divorce papers so it's really over over.
    Changed my name (yeah--I'm silly--will be changing it in a month again anyway).
    And that fucking defense of marriage amendment got voted down in the Senate.
    Yep, it's a great day.
    Set off the fireworks.
    Celebrate.

    Tuesday, June 06, 2006

    This is funny. NSFW, hot mostly-nekkid girls, you're warned now, so good.

    Monday, June 05, 2006

    Strange Vibes (NSFAnyone)

    I have been inspired. Sorry for the random adultness, but, without farther ado, it's...

    wacky vibrator day!!!

    OK, if you're a collector, but who uses these?

    Hello Kitty
    I Rub My Duck
    (search "vibrator duck" on Google, but I think that's the original)
    The Virtual Vibrator
    Strawberries?
    Oh, hell, just hit this whole page on Babeland. Especially Wormie. Who wants Wormie on her pussy?
    The Eroscillator is supposed to be good, but it looks like a toothbrush. I have a funny image of someone using the business end of an electric toothbrush as a, ahem, marital aid...
    And some condoms??
    How about some bananas and cucumbers?
    Whilst we're doing this, I must add a couple favorites for amusement at adult novelties: The Erection Collection and Big Sex Toys (see the horse collection--Percheron or Arabian?)

    Saturday, June 03, 2006

    Scary

    Because it's on my mind, handfastings
    Screw that year and a day trial thing, though--we've been through our time as trial mates sans ceremony (and through hell to be together). Even a nine-year commitment would be too short. I expect to love, honor, worship, adore, and obey him until the Universe dies and is born anew.

    Thursday, June 01, 2006

    Nothing dirty here
    I try to keep the sex toys out of this blog, but they are everywhere today.

    First, my new "I want this next time I win a few hundred bucks at something or make a bonus at work": The Sinnflut

    Second, I got something in the mail today that I am not certain I should open. It looks like a box o hardware, so I could carry it around in the truck innocently enough... Spirit, m'love, it is so not going to *pack* for the honeymoon weekend--you want the hardware rattling around in the truck for the weekend?
    Scott Kurtz, not making magic happen

    This is interesting. If you have to sneak the porn, you have the wrong partner. "Wow, check out the ass on this babe, m'love." "Oooh, that's a nice device, wonder if we could make one?" Spirit and I will half-cuddle against each other, both with our laptops, surfing porn, or we'll IM the links if we're in different chairs.

    I get the "hypocrites" bit here, but I still think the biggest out there are Sony, the underdog in the Betamax case nearly a quarter-century ago, now the biggest sue-happy copyright-hoggin' company in the biz

    Ouch

    A bit I found on Clicked on the History of Oil. Too long for me to watch all of tonight, but will be a nice time-killer tomorrow.

    Wednesday, May 31, 2006

    I've heard stranger things than this. But not many.
    Craziness

    Tuesday, May 30, 2006

    Spirit, I'm sorry about all the IM links.

    This
    is a nice tattoo for you to look at in the mean time
    The first reaction I have to this is, "ick." The second: But I was sexually aware at 12 and active not long after, and smart enough to seek out condoms, etc. Third: We've redefined "pedophilia" in a way that renders it meaningless. Attraction to anyone below the age of consent? Please, tell me there are no girls on the birthday one year before the age of consent in your area that you find sexually attractive, but who will become magically attractive one year from today? Pedophilia has to do with sexual desire for the prepubescent, not the underaged. And few even twelve-year-olds are prepubescent these days. Not that I find it especially normal for an adult to be sexually attracted to twelve-year-olds... but not admitting that you might find a fourteen-year-old sexy, even if you wouldn't act on it because of a difference in power and a sheer "ick" factor, is to deny human nature.

    My horoscope today: Sagittarius
    The curtain comes up on the backstage goings on around you today, and the exposure will be very educational. A big mystery is finally solved -- much of what you thought was true isn't really -- and you need to ask for more than a few explanations. Anger isn't an inherently bad emotion -- if you feel it today, use it to help you stay focused on what you need to do. Act maturely and responsibly, but above all, take care of yourself and move on if you need to move on.

    Seems to be about 2 days late. Actually I'm a scosagius. But it sums up my weekend rather well. The anger isn't related to the first part, despite what you'd think. More hormones and anticipation and frustration that in getting through this last month I know I'll be out of contact with Spirit a lot more of the time... and that makes me feel lost... and at waiting for money transfers to finish so I can get more done, and at the impotence I feel for never having been able to put my full thought forward at work.
    See my other blog, link right, for more introspection

    This is exactly why I will never make a writer. Not the thinking that smart people use big fancy words thing--I know that good writing is simple. I have a problem with the "omit needless words" thing. I just can't express the simplest of thoughts without writing a novel that says almost nothing. A real novel's worth of ideas in my own prose would be encyclopedia-length. "Write as you speak?" Ha, but I'm the person who speaks normally and without thought and daily heard from my friend, "Who USES that word!?" I am overly verbose, and no amount of writing exercise cures this. It did come in handy in high school, though; artful sentences were paragraphs unto themselves (and that was a BIG no-no, of course--I could get away with it through a colorful expression of ideas combined with a creative yet exact use of punctuation that meant that the sentence really did fill out the paragraph's purpose), and I had no trouble filling out X pages, typed and double-spaced--we were required to have ten pages of readers' journal a week in ninth-grade Literature, and mine was nearly always closer to thirty.

    Saturday, May 27, 2006

    On fonts: I'm for this. I use Century Gothic most of the time, precisely because I find it most readable on-screen for my own uses (and eyeballs)

    Clueless is on (and nothing else--I've burnt on Fresh Prince after a solid week, though I do love Geoffrey), so I'm watching, and I'm thinking, am I the only person on the planet who liked Brittany Murphy better like this?

    Ugh. This bothers me more than I'd think it would.

    Heh

    Ew... (via)

    No shit (also an answer to the fuckwads who say "Money doesn't buy happiness" or "Money doesn't keep you from having problems, it just dresses them up/changes the scenery--Yeah, and keeps you from wondering whether you're going to pay the credit card you had to take out to make sure you had food and a working car to get to work, or buy enough food for the next couple weeks, or if you're going to be able to find decent housing when your lease is up)

    Not even fair

    On this story--bloggers are pegging it as a dumb crook story, but I am 95% certain there's more to it. Scenarios I find most likely: Guy wanted to be in prison or to be heard by the courts for other reasons (likely reasons: guy is ill and can't afford treatment/medicine, guy is overburdened by finances and has decided that surviving is worth his freedom, guy has something really important to say), or guy had Alzheimer's or another mental disorder and really didn't know what he was doing or couldn't control his impulses. It's clear, at least, that he didn't hurt anyone, or want to. Note, I'm not saying this means he should get off. It just means I'd be more interested in hearing what he or his doctors have to say than the punditry that abounds online.

    Ooooooooooooh

    This bears reading.

    Stylin'

    This stuff makes me feel anxious--all financial things are making me anxious right now, until I can get it all together, budget, and take care of a couple things. Please, O Lord in Heaven, O Goddess His Child and Consort, let our marriage happen without delay or hitch, so that we can get it all together. Still, has some mortgage calculators that might be useful if I have the stomach.

    BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
    (But THOSE abortions are natural, therefore GOD'S WILL!)

    More than you ever wanted to know about Jell-O shots
    (that second link is sorta pretty)

    This
    is hysterical, but fetish uses occur to me (OK, not 600+ condoms, but enough to totally nullify sensation there? I'll suggest to some domme friends--I'm not the dominant one in my sphere)

    Well, I promised someone a story, so I had better get cracking. Love to all (Mwah!)