Planet Vortex

Farewell, Farewell, Fellow Stargazer!

2010-08-21T04:35:13+00:00

Jack Horkheimer 1938 - 2010

This guy taught me all I know about being an unapologetic nerd. I wish I'd watched his show more, and learned more of what he had to teach.

Tonight, snowflakes are dancing in the heavens.

Fuck You, Democracy!

2010-08-05T03:19:12+00:00

Several friends have hailed today's 9th Circuit ruling against Californias Proposition 8 - banning half the population from marrying Tom Cruise (which is kind of a blessing, but that's beside the point) - as a victory for democracy.

It is, in fact, the exact opposite. It is a victory for those of us who think democracy needs strict limits. Sure, 150,000,001 out of 300,000,000 should be able to get their way on basic stuff that it's really their business. Like, dunno, saying that you can't kill people, or should pay taxes. But in California's case, 7,001,084 out of 13,402,566 decided that they'd allow some people to have a chance to marry Nicole Kidman, but not others. And marriage isn't just about two people who love each other and want to spend the rest of their lives together. Marriage determines tax benefits, inheritance, who gets to make medical decisions, and even who can bring their mate into the country.

It's a big deal. And democracy decided to screw over a bunch of people the voters didn't like.

Fuck you, Democracy, how about a little CONSTITUTION on your ass? That's right, it's the 14th Amendment. Whatcha gonna do about that, bitch?

Seriously, democracy is good. It's way better than autocracy (yeah, fuck you too, Plato). But we need to get over the idea that just because a bunch of us think something's a good idea, that we should be allowed to make that decision for everybody, unless there's a serious group need, and 'God sed gheys is teh suck' is not a serious group need.

Fuck you, Voters!

Comment on: Dallas Bike Maps

2010-05-18T02:20:56+00:00

Comment from Steve A on 2010-05-17:

So, go over to Cycle*Dallas and remove the mystery about DallasBikeMaps.com!

Dallas Bike Maps

2010-05-17T02:47:48+00:00

The city of Dallas has an extensive network of streets recommended for cyclists but most people don’t know it exists. Part of the problem is that the maps have not been available in a user-friendly format. Unfortunately, Google Maps doesn’t include these routes in their new Bicycling directions. For this reason, I’ve created a new website: DallasBikeMaps.com

Comment on: Bicycling Directions Now on Google Maps

2010-03-10T17:43:45+00:00

Comment from Eliot on 2010-03-10:

I really wish they’d put the official Dallas map route on there. The official route’s PDFs are not very accessible or handy to most folks, yet they have really nice routes for cyclists.

Bicycling Directions Now on Google Maps

2010-03-10T15:52:13+00:00

Google Maps now has an option to get directions recommended for bicycling! To try it out, I put in my home and work addresses. Unfortunately, it suggested that I ride 0.2 miles on Northwest Highway. No thanks. I’ve done it before but I’d rather avoid it if I can. I don’t want to get arrested, after all.

Dragging the route around to try and get better directions, at one point it suggested riding on Central Expressway. “Bicycling directions are in beta.” Yeah, no kidding. They do suggest using some of the bike trails in the area, like the KT, which is nice. I wonder if there is any chance we could get the official Dallas Bike Plan routes into their system.

It also suggested an interesting alternative for getting from the KT to the Infomart. That’s one of the trouble spots on my current route so I may have to give this one a try.

Suck It, Utah

2010-03-01T14:54:45+00:00

In my professional feminist opinion, you're all a bunch of cunt faces.

I miscarried in November 2007. I didn't even know I was pregnant so it wasn't a huge disappointment, but still I most certainly engaged in behavior that contributed to nature's little abortion. So sue me. But not literally.

More snow!

2010-02-11T17:15:06+00:00

The power was out for about 2 hours today.

73° and Sunny!?!?

2009-12-24T16:27:20+00:00

How could I possibly keep working...

No video playback capabilities detected.
Why not try to download the file instead?

Download:
Ogg Theora & Vorbis ".ogg" (Linux) |

Comment on: Ah, that new train smell

2009-11-27T17:09:59+00:00

Comment from ma on 2009-11-27:

I wonder how much farm land costs on the outskirts of Tokyo? Probably you have to inherit it.

What are all those gadgets you took pictures of in the hotel room?

One more reason to wear a helmet

2009-11-25T16:39:20+00:00

Always wear a helmet while riding a bicycle. It may just save your life when a passing motorist shoots you in the head.

Everybody do the time warp.

2009-10-16T16:24:30+00:00

42 years after Loving v Virginia, Keith Bardwell, a Justice of the Peace in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, has refused to grant a marriage license to a couple because they are not of the same race. "I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way," said the racist. Bardwell's objection stemmed from the possibility of such unions producing mixed-race children, such as President Obama and golf legend Tiger Woods. "I think those children suffer and I won't help put them through it."

In a pathetic display of self-delusion, he attempted to whitewash the stain on his soul, saying "I have piles and piles of black friends." Without a trace of irony, dug the hole deeper. "They come to my home, I marry them*, they use my bathroom." (emphasis added)

"I treat them just like everyone else," he lied.

The year 1959 released a statement on the matter, saying that it had misplaced this individual, but didn't want him back.

* to other black people, not to white people.

hat tip, Ali.

One Nation...

2009-10-14T14:52:44+00:00

Because the webs love me, and I love you,

On nation, under Cthulhu...

After McNaughtonArt.com

Be sure to check out the mouseover text of every tiny bit of symbolism.

Hat tip to the innominate one (née biologist).

Meditations on Guidos

2009-10-14T14:40:47+00:00

The inimitable dhex waxes fascistic on the final solution to the boom-car menace.

Ah, that new train smell

2009-10-05T08:18:18+00:00

Rode one of the new Narita Express trains from the airport into Tokyo, yesterday. Took a few photos out the window. Nothing spectacular but it is interesting to see some of the Japan country side and suburbs in contrast to Tokyo.

GM Likes Bikes, BUT...

2009-08-20T03:48:18+00:00

This educational video was produced for General Motors in 1978. The narrator keeps saying that he likes bikes but he doesn't seem to think much of their capabilities or the people who ride them.

No video playback capabilities detected. Why not try to download the file instead?
MPEG4 / H.264 ".mp4" (Windows / Mac) | Ogg Theora & Vorbis ".ogv" (Linux)

I've got a word of advice for all of you hipsters...

2009-08-20T03:35:32+00:00

Go and get yourself some brakes and some shifters.

Via Cyclelicious.

Tips for drivers sharing the road with bicycles

2009-08-20T03:33:34+00:00

The TBR List is a Lie

2009-08-14T23:08:31+00:00

I am a TBR Challenge failure. What's the point, really? Why shouldn't I just read whatever I want when I want? No reason. So that is what I will do.

Anyway, here's my literal "To Be Read" pile.

I think I will retrieve Down and Out in Paris and London from the abandoned TBR list and add it to the pile. The rest of them are either read, rejected, or on hiatus for the foreseeable future.

Here are the results of my very last ever TBR challenge.

The List!

The Amber Spyglass - Philip Pullman

Read. It was good. I recommend.

Why Does He Do That?: Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men - Lundy Bancroft

Read. It was disturbing. I learned a lot. Recommend.

Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream - Barbara Ehrenreich

Read. Felt discouraged. I still think I recommend.

Gravity's Rainbow - Thomas Pynchon

Attempted to read three times. Each time I get a bit further before I give up and skip to the dirty parts. Inspires incredible cravings for bananas.

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West - Gregory Maguire

Read. It was also good. Also recommend.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus: Volume 1 - Joss Whedon and Others

Read. It was good, although my expectations were awfully high, and a few parts seemed too goofy to me. However, all things Whedon and Whedon-adjacent are generally recommended.

Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

Did not read. One of those things I continue to feel I should read so that I will be less ignert.

Pink Ribbons, Inc.: Breast Cancer and the Politics of Philanthropy - Samantha King

Did not read. Skimmed a little bit and it wasn't as engaging as I thought it would be.

American Gods: A Novel - Neil Gaiman

Read. It was good. Recommend this one, too.

Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

Did not read. Probably will eventually.

Naked Lunch - William S. Burroughs

Rejected. Too much anal penetration while being hanged by the neck.

I, Robot - Isaac Asimov

Read. It was good. I can not imagine how they made a Will Smith movie out of this unless they just stole the title and ignored all the things that made it good.

The Alternates!

Down and Out in Paris and London - George Orwell

Did not read. Yet.

The Daily Coyote: A Story of Love, Survival, and Trust in the Wilds of Wyoming - Shreve Stockton

Don't even own yet.

Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets - Sudhir Venkatesh

Don't even own yet.

The Call of the Cthulhu - H.P. Lovecraft

Um, not scary. Rejected.

On the Road - Jack Kerouac

Rejected. Casual misogyny. Pissed me off after about 10 pages.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream - Hunter S. Thompson

Read. Totally awesome. Will probably read again a couple of times. And watch the movie some more, too.

The Day the Earth Stood Still and other SF Novellas - Harry Bates

Read. Ridiculously boring and predictable. How in the world did this story spawn two movies and come to be considered a sci-fi classic?

Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why - Bart D. Ehrman

Don't even own yet.

Comment on: GM Likes Bikes, BUT...

2009-08-10T02:37:05+00:00

Comment from Steve A on 2009-08-09:

Actually, it’s an inadvertent argument in favor of riding legally and vehicularly, so the motorists DO see you.

ALSO, about 6:44 into the video, it appears to me that the new driver violates the cyclist’s right of way at an uncontrolled (no stop signs or traffic lights) intersection, nearly T-boning him. “She likes me.” I’d hate to see what she’d do if she DIDN’T like the guy. Then she tries to door a cyclist at 7:43. They didn’t claim she liked him. Maybe he jilted her and it was an attempt at payback.

Comment on: GM Likes Bikes, BUT...

2009-08-08T15:53:55+00:00

Comment from ma on 2009-08-08:

I was going along watching this video thinking ok, maybe its not so bad and enjoying the 70’s look, remembering my youth, when all of a sudden it said, people riding bikes can never be trusted so its up to the people driving cars to watch out for them!!!!!!

What!!!!! I’m the one on the road who can’t be trusted??????

How many times have I gotten caught in an intersection where I am on the crosswalk, in clear view, with a traffic light that says its ok for me to go, and a car turns left into the intersection who can’t stop to wait for me because it has turned in front of oncoming traffic coming toward it? More times than I care to remember! Scares the heck out of me.

A Cat and Her Pants

2009-08-08T13:05:05+00:00

Safe and Secure

2009-07-30T23:15:50+00:00

Women's suffrage was good for something!

2009-07-20T17:29:01+00:00

No, really! When the US mint decided to make a silver dollar commemorating women's suffragist Susan B. Anthony, the result was one of the most sublime statements of duality known to man. The coin is roundly derided as the lamest dollar in US history, and yet on the flip side (literally) it is the awesomest coin ever minted in the United States.

Dig it, yo.

Happy Moon Landing Day, everybody!

May 2009 in Review

2009-06-25T20:10:24+00:00

Spam: 25235 (617 making it to my inbox)

Books:

Magician: Apprentice (Raymond E. Feist)
Magician: Master (Raymond E. Feist)
A Clockwork Orange (Anthony Burgess)

Events:

Lunchstealer had a birthgay
Sweeny Todd @ Garland Civic Theatre
- Unexpectedly good
Montreal & Quebec City
- Saw lots of bands at Festival Kinetik 2.0, but no where near all of them
  - Interlace
  - Terrorfakt
  - Project Pitchfork
  - Marching Dynamics
  - God Module
  - Reaper
  - Amduscia
  - Grendal
  - Pride and Fall
  - Assemblage 23
  - Das Ich
  - Icon of Coil
- Walked zillions of miles
- Was nearly throw off a Zodiac boat into the St. Laurent river
- Angus Dog!
- The mysterious Sunkist Tree
Sealegs had a birthgay
SerenitySprings finally graduated

Blame Canada

2009-06-12T18:38:41+00:00

We are moving to Canada. Wacky, huh?!

April 2009 in Review

2009-06-10T20:05:50+00:00

Spam: 34446 (539 making it to my inbox)

Books:

Nine Princes in Amber (Roger Zelazny)
The Guns of Avalon (Roger Zelazny)
Sign of the Unicorn (Roger Zelazny)
The Hand of Oberon (Roger Zelazny)
The Courts of Chaos (Roger Zelazny)
Trumps of Doom (Roger Zelazny)
Blood of Amber (Roger Zelazny)
Sign of Chaos (Roger Zelazny)
Knight of Shadows (Roger Zelazny)
Prince of Chaos (Roger Zelazny)
Roger Zelazny’s Visual Guide to Castle Amber (Roger Zelazny and Neil Randall)

I read Zelazny’s Amber novels many years ago. Since I setup my book shelves at home they’ve been taunting me to read them again. These are pretty short books, so this big ol’ list isn’t as impressive as it seems.

Events:

Scarborough Faire
- The wooden mugs made their yearly outing.
- We did not fence this year. I am still bitter.
Crystal Castles @ the Granada
- Except not. They sold out. And then the whiney babies decided not to play at all. They canceled. A sold out show. They canceled on a sold out house with 1200 people inside waiting to see them. Sheesh. Now I have no wish to ever see them.
FC Dallas hosts Toronto FC
- Dallas finally won. Obviously it was our presense that put them over the top.
Ladytron and The Faint @ the Granada
- Our electronic concert curse continues as Ladytron’s set is cut short by equipment difficulties.
- The Faint were good, though.
Funker Vogt @ The Church
- Curse lifted!

Ok, I’m a little late getting this one out. Sue me.

Happy Birthday, Tank Guy!

2009-06-02T16:02:17+00:00

Hope you made it to see the 20th anniversary of the ballsiest move in civil protest in my short lifetime.

March 2009 in Review

2009-04-19T21:30:03+00:00

Spam: 17222 (552 making it to my inbox)
Books:

Heir to Sevenwaters (Juliet Marillier)
Harnessing Hibernate (James Elliott, Timothy M. O’Brien, Ryan Fowler)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Other American Stories (Hunter S. Thompson)

Events:

North Texas Irish Festival
Cut Copy @ the Granada
The Egg & 2020 Soundsystem @ the Granada
Grygar had a birthday
Murder on the Nile @ Theater 3

How to f**k over Mexico's violent drug lords

2009-03-31T14:21:59+00:00

Mexico is making headlines again, but not the good kind of headlines, like you want. They're not even making headlines because they're taking American jobs (although in this case they kinda are, but more on that later).

No, Mexico is all over the news and the Secretary of State's lips because of violence. And a good portion of that violence is concentrated right up next to our border, and sometimes spills across it.

Secretary Clinton blames this violence on America's insatiable demand for illegal drugs. But it isn't the insatiable demand that causes the violence. America has an insatiable demand for lots of things, but they rarely lead to violence. America's annual demand for illegal drugs has been estimated at $40-$55 billion in recent years. America's demand for legal drugs is ten times that amount or more. America's demand for beer, wine, and liquor also outstrips its demand for illegal drugs. Tobacco, also consistently outperforms the illegal drug industry in annual sales.

I know some people in the pharmaceuticals industry, and none of them worries about a rival from Pfizer planting a bomb in their car. Anheiser-Busch has never tortured anyone to death. So what's different about cocaine, heroin, and marijuana?

The answer, of course, is that Anheiser-Busch and Pfizer are allowed to operate legally. As such, there are tremendous disadvantages to violence. If they were to resort to violence, everything they have would be taken away. But these narco-traffickers are already underground. If the mere existence of their business comes to light, they will be arrested. So a murder to keep that a secret or to maintain their control over a market is not at all unthinkable.

It is not America's demand for drugs that fuels the violence. It is America's attempts to squash all legal attempts to meet that demand. These narco-traffickers would be put quickly out of business by efficient and honest purveyors in a free market. Mexico's best bet is to legalize the production and wholeselling of cocaine, marijuana, and heroin. It would likely lead to a terrible increase in drug addiction in the country, but taxation of drug profits could fund treatment centers. Far more devastating would be America's likely trade reaction, as self-righteous Congressmen attempt to embargo Mexican goods to retaliate for their defiance of American drug policy. But even so, I think it would be good for Mexico. And good for America to see some defiance to our drug-war imperialism.

For more reading, check out this editorial in The Economist, or this one by the late William F. Buckley in National Review. Anti-establishment agitators indeed.

UPDATE: These guys say it better (hat tip, H&R).

This deal is getting worse all the time

2009-03-31T14:21:24+00:00

I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further.

In a closely watched case involving rendition and torture, a lawyer for the Obama administration seemed to surprise a panel of federal appeals judges on Monday by pressing ahead with an argument for preserving state secrets originally developed by the Bush administration.

Dammit. I voted for Obama knowing full well that he'd be terrible on the economy. So I can forgive panicky and poorly thought-out 'stimulus' packages. I don't like them, but I knew what I was getting into. The reason I made this bargain was for a reversal of some of the sickening abuses of government power propagated by the Bush administration. Obama's first steps were positive, but there are some troubling elements.

Several WoT detainees filed suit with a Boeing logistics and airlift subsidiary, Jeppesen Dataplan, charging them with transporting detainees to other countries for the purposes of torture. They allege that Jeppesen Dataplan provided the transport services for the "extraordinary rendition" program. Essentially, Bush lawyers argued that some of the things they did were so secret that we couldn't even begin to discuss them in court without jeopardizing national security. That effectively removes huge swaths of government activity from any form of oversight.

Extraordinary rendition has been one of the blackest spots on America's reputation. If the Obama administration is going to continue to invoke un-reviewable state-secret justifications to prevent investigations of wrongdoing on the part of the government, then he's not living up to the standards he needs to. He'll find his support among civil libertarians waning if he gets up to too much of these kinds of shenanigans.

Hat Tip, Radley Balko.

You can still call me when I'm famous

2009-03-16T20:54:00+00:00

Budget Travel Magazine's e-newsletter recently sent out a request for readers to submit their Ireland photos to be used in a St. Patrick's Day slideshow. Guess who's work is featured prominently in sa...

come on board for a cracktastic voyage

2009-03-12T18:50:00+00:00

apparently the 7:59 train from pearl station is the crackhead express. i've never seen so many fucked up people crammed into one spot in my life. ok, untrue statement....*ponders some memories* upon...

Devils Dance Floor here I come

2009-03-08T19:30:00+00:00

Today at NTIF I finally purchased a tin whistle. I've been threatening to do this for quite awhile and I've cursed myself for not buying one while in Ireland last year. I had these highfalutin ideas i...

February 2009 in Review

2009-03-08T00:30:33+00:00

Spam: 20023 (504 making it to my inbox)

Books:

The Prince (Niccolo Machiavelli)
Edly’s Music Theory for Practical People (Ed Roseman)
Head First Java (Bert Bates, Kathy Sierra)

The music theory book convinced me it is finally time to learn the piano. Alas, the make myself marketable project has had me spending more time in Java books than at the (musical) keyboard.

Speaking of Java books, I’m seriously considering getting a Kindle2. It turns out Oreilly makes a bunch of their books available in multiple electronic formats, including Kindle format. Technical books, what with all their examples to type in, seem to be really good candidates for reading electronically. No more dealling with trying to get a fat book to lie flat. Also when the state of the art has passed the edition by, 6 days after it’s published, I wouldn’t have a pile of dead tree sitting on the shelf never to be cracked again. Rather than getting a Kindle2 I could just open a PDF on my computer screen, but especially on a laptop that doesn’t leave a lot of space for other windows. Anyone else out there feeling Kindle2 lust?

Events:

Ras and Corey had birthgays
- And a party, which I attended, $deity help me.
- I rewarded my sacrifice with a piano.
First Annual Dallas Burlesque Festival @ Texas Theater
- Overall a fun time, but that DJ has got to go
Happy birthgay to the Ponylagoon
Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band @ The Granada
- I don’t think hillbilly blues gets any better
Happy birthgay to SerenitySprings
- I did make an appearance at Birthday Con
MystiQal Mardi Gras in Downtown Dallas
- Of course winter decided to blow back in for the evening.
- I don’t think New Orleans has anything to worry about just yet.
Flogging Molly @ Stubbs in Austin
- For this outside show winter decided once again to blow in

January 2009 in Review

2009-02-28T19:45:13+00:00

Spam: 18452 (529 making it to my inbox)

Books:

A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea) (Ursula Le Guin)
The Tombs of Atuan (Earthsea) (Ursula Le Guin)
The Farthest Shore (Earthsea) (Ursula Le Guin)

Events:

Iris/Seabound/De/Vision @ Lakewood Theater
- Not a bad place for a show, but having all those seats is rather odd.
- A terrible picture of Seabound performing
Roberto Devereux (by Gaetano Donizetti) @ Dallas Opera
- I gotta say, the first half was pretty slow.
- And there was a lot of floor crawling

WhooHoo! I got the January review in before March!

BBC America

2009-02-20T18:29:00+00:00

Those fuckers are well on their way to making it onto my 2009 Festivus list of people/things that have disappointed me in the year. Though I'm not a slave to my TV by any stretch of the imagination, I...

Before & After

2009-02-01T00:33:54+00:00

Today is the Day

2009-01-20T10:42:33+00:00

To discuss what I find to be an error in generally accepted spelling practices.

Today's problem, suffixes. Specifically, when to drop trailing 'e's from a word before adding a suffix. The general rule is that if the 'e' is silent, you drop it.

However, there is an exception. If the suffix begins with a consonant, and the 'e' is necessary to the correct pronunciation of the word, it should not be dropped.

For instance, 'judge' + 'ment' should not be 'judgment', since the 'g' cannot be soft without a trailing 'i' or 'e'. The preferred spelling in most dictionaries drops the 'e'. This is, of course, crazy talk.

Obama might start out right

2009-01-19T22:31:48+00:00

This from CNN. I think this is a great use of the executive order power.

December ‘08 Retrospective

2009-01-13T23:59:28+00:00

Spam 2008: 261512 (5140 making it to my inbox)

Books:

The Elves of Cintra (Terry Brooks)
The Gypsy Morph (Terry Brooks)
Fortress of Ice (C.J. Cherryh)
The Time Machine (H.G. Wells)

By my count, splitting omnibuses, that makes 41 books for the year.

Events:

White Elephant @ Grygar’s
- Boone’s Farm Sangria
- Crumb Vacuum
Festivus @ Bavarian
Did the Chistmas in Houston thing
- Old people should not attempt White Elephant
Happy birthday to my cello teacher
Vortex White Elephan/New Year’s Eve party
- I now have the awesomest stapler in the office.
- Mozart joined my action figure collection (Thanks, Sealegs)

Who's Your Daddy?

2009-01-08T21:06:05+00:00

"So," I say to The Husband one evening. "You know how I'm all about dismantling the binary gender paradigm?"

"Of course," he says.

"What do you think about this?" I want to know.

There's a client who has a couple of children and is expecting another. She is in a relationship with another woman who is expecting her first baby. The mother and the partner have told the children to call the partner "Daddy."

The consensus among the social workers is that this is negative and confusing for the children. To be fair, no one would tell that to the mom since no one believes the kids are actually being significantly harmed, just that the situation is weird and bad judgment on the part of the mother.

My first visceral reaction was also negative, but I'm trying to examine this reflex. If we look at it objectively should calling a female partner and caregiver "Daddy" even be considered an issue?

The Husband wondered what the partner's own child would call her. He thought that being the daddy to some children and mommy to others would be more confusing than having mismatching gendered labels. I pointed out that the same caregiver could be called mommy, aunt, granny, etc. by different children, and no one would worry about those kids being detrimentally confused. But, we still agreed that it just felt different. I'm still not sure why.

"Daddy" essentially means "male parent," but many male caregivers are called "Daddy" even though they don't have a biological relationship to the children who call them that, and I don't know of anyone who would have an issue in that case. Why is it even necessary to have different titles for male and female primary caregivers? And if it's not, why should any of us care if a woman wants to be the daddy?

What do you think?

Fish and Stuff in Monterey

2009-01-05T19:00:28+00:00

Part One: Art and Stuff in San Francisco

After a few days in San Jose, The Husband finished up his work, and we began vacationing in earnest. The first item on our agenda was the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Before we even made it into the aquarium, we spotted a few of these cute little guys lounging in the bay.

There was plenty more cuteness to be had inside.

Are frogs cute? I at least thought these were.

There was also incredible gorgeousness to be enjoyed.

My favorite, however, was the "Outer Bay" tank, which was filled with all manner of giant fish and terrifying sharks lurking in the murky darkness. The murky darkness was very atmospheric but was a bitch to photograph. I promise this is a very impressive hammerhead shark.

They also had a great white shark, but they've since released it back into the ocean since it wasn't eating. I'm pretty sure this is it, but who can tell? Unfortunately this rather representative of my shark photography.

On the way back to San Francisco, the fog rolled in.

We didn't let that stop us from enjoying the boardwalk in Santa Cruz.

Comment on: Free Books!

2009-01-05T01:46:09+00:00

Comment from sharon on 2009-01-04:

i’ll take the lady and the unicorn. thanks.

Comment on: Free Books!

2009-01-05T01:33:10+00:00

Comment from fictionfiend on 2009-01-04:

I would like to nab “A Wrinkle in Time” :) I have a little something I need to bring over this week, so I can get it then.

Free Books!

2009-01-05T01:27:21+00:00

We have been organizing our book collection and I am indexing them on LibraryThing. I started with the box of books we want to get rid of. Have a look and let me know if you see anything you want.

I’m thinking of trying out BookMooch with anything left over.

Place to take dogs on a hot Texas day

2009-01-04T15:53:00+00:00

Indoor dog park opens next month off I-30 in east Dallas! I see this as more useful in the summer as the "winter" weather we get around here doesn't bother me. But I do want to check it out...

To Be Read Challenge 2009

2009-01-02T14:38:58+00:00

It took me forever, but I've finalized my To Be Read Challenge 2009 list. I wasn't sure how to decide which would be on my actual list and which would be alternates since completing any twelve would fulfill the challenge, so I first included books I already have at home, then the ones I think I'm most likely to find and read, and then the rest are alternates.

The List!

The Amber Spyglass - Philip Pullman

Why Does He Do That?: Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men - Lundy Bancroft

Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream - Barbara Ehrenreich

Gravity's Rainbow - Thomas Pynchon

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West - Gregory Maguire

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus: Volume 1 - Joss Whedon and Others

Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

Pink Ribbons, Inc.: Breast Cancer and the Politics of Philanthropy - Samantha King

American Gods: A Novel - Neil Gaiman

Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

Naked Lunch - William S. Burroughs

I, Robot - Isaac Asimov

The Alternates!

Down and Out in Paris and London - George Orwell

The Daily Coyote: A Story of Love, Survival, and Trust in the Wilds of Wyoming - Shreve Stockton

Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets - Sudhir Venkatesh

The Call of the Cthulhu - H.P. Lovecraft

On the Road - Jack Kerouac

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream - Hunter S. Thompson

The Day the Earth Stood Still and other SF Novellas - Harry Bates

Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why - Bart D. Ehrman

Gratitude and Bitterness

2008-12-31T17:27:16+00:00

Jon Swift asked his readers about their best blog posts from 2008, and bfp posed the question, "What was important to you this year?" They each got me thinking about what I went through - and put myself through - this year with all the hand-wringing and soul searching and general anxiety.

I spent way too much time forgetting how unbelievably fortunate I am in so many ways. Not only that I have all the material things I need (and many more I don't), but I'm healthy, and I'm safe. Those things alone make me richer than most people in the world.

On top of that, I have such amazing people in my life. The Husband, his family, my family, my friends - all of you are kind and decent and smart and funny and a joy to be around. I can't even complain about my in-laws. It almost makes me feel guilty to be able to say that.

I am disgusted with how much time I spent unhappy and whining over a job. I know my brain was kind of broken at the time, but looking back with a clearer head it's hard to understand why the idea of getting another job if I didn't like the one had was so impossible.

The only option I felt like I had was to suffer until I went crazy and then quit altogether and hide away from any responsibility at all. Goodness knows the isolation, pointlessness, and feelings of inadequacy engendered by unemployment did wonders for my mental health. On the other hand, it did give me the opportunity to forget how sucky it felt to have a job and remember how sucky it felt not to.

The best thing to come out of that whole weirdness is a better sense of proportion when it comes to the importance of any one particular job. For now I really like the job I have, and I hope I like it for a long time, but if I don't, I can (drumroll, please) look for another one! Feeling trapped is a miserable situation, and I can choose not to feel that way. I have to keep reminding myself of that.

So anyway... Here comes the bitter part. I was reading some old posts (not that there were that many this year) and noticed a line from this entry:

My boss supports me and works with me to be sure that my position is fulfilling to me and allows me to use my strengths for the good of the agency.

I don't really remember writing this, but I can remember feeling it. And I can remember why, too. That boss of mine was border-line emotionally abusive. She would sneer and criticize and roll her eyes at me nearly every day until I was ready to cry, and then just before I ran sobbing from the building, she would be all sympathetic and encouraging.

At that point I would be so caught off-guard and grateful for the bone she threw me, I would walk out of her office feeling like she was the bestest person ever and filled with determination to work super hard so I could deserve her wonderfulness. She'd start being mean and critical again such a little bit at a time, I wouldn't even realize it until I was right back at wanting to jump out a window.

These crappy mind games nearly pushed this anxiety patient right over the edge, but I was so wrapped up in guilt and self-blame for all my internal issues, I wasn't even registering the external problems that were exacerbating the crazy. I have a friend who still works there, and she described working with the same boss like being in an abusive relationship, so I know it's not just my oversensitivity or bitterness coloring my recollection.

My old boss is pretty awful, and I'm not sure why she chose to work in a profession that involves caring about people. It's not that I don't have respect for her. She's wicked smart and has the instincts of an alpha wolf. It's just that those talents could be better put to use in law or politics or maybe organized crime.

But, the point is that she is not my problem any more. I'm feeling really optimistic about 2009, and, as I said over at bfp's place, that's not the manic side-effects of Lexapro withdrawal talking this time.

The Duckling Drinks Bonarda

2008-12-29T12:35:10+00:00

Finca Dubois
Mendoza, Argentina
2005 Bonarda
$15.50 at 4 Seasons

Full disclosure: I have been suffering with gross sinus issues for a couple of weeks, so my ability to fully experience wine may be impaired.

I've never had a Bonarda before, but evidently it's becoming Argentina's most planted variety. This wine is a deep almost violet color. I first noticed a sweet licorice aroma as well as flavor, like black jelly beans. Also notes of blackberries, cherries, cloves. It had a little bit of a boozy finish, which is my least favorite thing about a lot of the richer red wines. See the above disclaimer, but I don't love it $15 worth.

My father-in-law continues to hook me up with copious amounts of wine, so I will forgive him for casting aspersions on my nature-loving, crunchy-granola cred over Christmas. (Dude, you live in a gated community. Don't be judgin'.) He assumed I wouldn't want to go on a vacation to Colorado since I evidently don't love the outdoors as much as everyone else, but, thanks to him, I now have a miniature wine refrigerator sitting on top of my regular wine refrigerator just to deal with the overflow. Pop-in-law remains firmly in my good graces.

The case of wine he hauled out for me also came with a tasting chart to guide one in identifying all the fascinating flavors and aromas wine can offer, such as sweaty saddle and wet dog, so expect the Duckling Drinks series to flourish in the upcoming year, both in terms of volume and weirdness.

TBR Challenge: The Golden Compass, So Far

2008-12-28T14:25:01+00:00

(Some degree of spoiler to follow...)

I'm about half way through The Golden Compass, which turns out to be about the brutal psychological mutilation of children. I was choking on tears trying to fall asleep last night while thinking about this little boy in the book pathetically clutching a dried fish to his chest as it was all he had in the world to comfort himself.

This may be imaginary torture done to imaginary children, which wouldn't even be possible in real life, but emotionally bereft little orphans don't make for the most enjoyable reading in my opinion.

At this point I'm only reading to get to the part where the people perpetrating these atrocities are made to suffer until they weep with regret for what they've done before they die a painful death. At least that's how I'm hoping it will end.

That’s the spot

2008-12-27T00:46:00+00:00

Oh.my.god. I am so relaxed I can barely type. The cause of this euphoria you ask? None other than my awesome new shiatsu massaging cushion. I've been coveting this product for months a...

TBR Challenge 2008 = Fail

2008-12-23T22:14:51+00:00

A recent comment on this post from Traivor reminded me about my sadly neglected To Be Read list for 2008. I guess it was actually only a 50% failure, since between the original list and my alternates I did read six of the twelve necessary to complete the challenge.

Actually, there may still be time in the year to knock out one more book, and bring myself above the halfway point. The Golden Compass is probably my best bet.

It's not that I didn't read a ton of books this year. I just got ridiculously fixated on Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. I read every one of those books this year (with the exception of the "young adult" novels) and most of them twice. You'll notice there are over 30 books on that list, so I was definitely reading my head off most of the time. I merely failed to branch out.

I tried putting only one Discworld book on my TBR list in an attempt to ensure diverse reading material throughout the year, but I do not have the discipline to enforce rules against myself. However, I'm at least going to post another list for 2009 and give myself a goal. None of the books I'm considering are part of a really awesome 30 book series, so maybe there won't be so much temptation to get sidetracked.

Papermaster 2009

2008-12-23T19:46:27+00:00

I pretty much killed it for the 2008 TBR. I completed all books in the primary list and all but one in the alternates. The only reason I missed that one is because, as far as I know, it still doesn’t exist. That’s all right. I finished a boat load of books not on either list. By my count, if I finish my current book by 2009-01-01, I’ll have read 36 books. (Maybe more. I think there’s an omnibus or 2 that I didn’t break up for listing.)

This year I’m upping the ante. It won’t all be sci-fi and fantasy, though there is still plenty of that. No, sir. I’m going to pick my knuckles off the ground a bit. That probably means I won’t make into the mid 30’s of books read, but that’s ok.

Primary 12, in no particular order except where series are involved:

Endymion (Dan Simmons) (June)
Rise of Endymion (Dan Simmons) (June)
For Whom the Bell Tolls (Ernest Hemingway)
Heir to Sevenwaters (Juliet Marillier) (March)
Empire of Ivory (Temeraire) (Naomi Novik) (July)
Victory of Eagles (Temeraire) (Naomi Novik) (July)
A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea) (Ursula Le Guin) (January)
The Tombs of Atuan (Earthsea) (Ursula Le Guin) (January)
The Farthest Shore (Earthsea) (Ursula Le Guin) (January)
The Prince (Niccolo Machiavelli) (February)
Edly’s Music Theory for Practical People (Ed Roseman) (February)
National Geographic Concise History of the World: An Illustrated Time Line (Neil Kagan) (In Progress)

Alternate 12, again in no particular order:

World Prehistory: A Brief Introduction (7th Edition) (Brian M. Fagan)
Music for Sight Singing (7th Edition) (Robert W. Ottman, Nancy Rogers)
Off Armageddon Reef (Safehold Series) (David Weber) (In Progress)
By Schism Rent Asunder (Safehold Series) (David Weber)
A Talent for War (Jack McDevitt)
Polaris (Jack McDevitt)
Seeker (Jack McDevitt)
The Devil’s Eye (Jack McDevitt)
Candide (Voltaire)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Other American Stories (Hunter S. Thompson) (March)
A Clockwork Orange (Anthony Burgess) (May)
Lexicon of Musical Invective: Critical Assaults on Composers Since Beethoven’s Time (Nicolas Slonimsky) (In Progress)

It was really hard whittling down to 24 books to meet the TBR rules. This probably wouldn’t happen to such a degree if I didn’t forget to turn down the SFBC featured selections all the time. Then again, I’ve read quite a few good books because of my inattention to the calendar. My abbreviated list of also rans follows. In order to fulfill the TBR challenge I’ll definitely read at least 12 of the above 24, but I’ll almost certainly pull from this list of alternate alternates throughout the year as well.

The Communist Manifesto (Karl Marx)
Das Kapital, Gateway Edition (Karl Marx)
The Fractal Geometry of Nature (Benoit B. Mandelbrot)
Bizarro Buccaneers: Nuttin’ But Pirate Cartoons (Dan Piraro)
Tonal Harmony (Stefan Kostka, Dorothy Payne)
- Tonal Harmony Wkbk with Wkbk Audio CD and Finale CD-ROM (Stefan Kostka)
Materials and Techniques of 20th Century Music (3rd Edition) (Stefan Kostka)
Slaughterhouse-Five (Kurt Vonnegut)
Sorcery Rising (Fool’s Gold) (Jude Fisher)
Wild Magic (Fool’s Gold) (Jude Fisher)
The Rose of the World (Fool’s Gold) (Jude Fisher)
Howl and Other Poems (Allen Ginsberg)
On the Road: 50th Anniversary Edition (Jack Kerouac)
A Shadow in Summer (The Long Price Quartet) (Daniel Abraham)
A Betrayal in Winter (The Long Price Quartet) (Daniel Abraham)
An Autumn War (The Long Price Quartet) (Daniel Abraham)
The Price of Spring (The Long Price Quartet) (Daniel Abraham) (if published in time)
Mistress of Dragons (Dragonvarld) (Margaret Weis)
The Dragon’s Son (Dragonvarld) (Margaret Weis)
Master of Dragons (Dragonvarld) (Margaret Weis)
The Ring of Five Dragons (The Pearl Saga) (Eric Van Lustbader)
The Veil of a Thousand Tears (The Pearl Saga) (Eric Van Lustbader)
Mistress of the Pearl (The Pearl Saga) (Eric Van Lustbader)

I’m sure some other tomes not listed here will end up in front of me, too. If you have a sadistic need to affect what I read and when you are welcome to purchase stuff for me off my Amazon wishlist.

Art and Stuff in San Francisco

2008-12-23T11:35:19+00:00

Last Friday was the annual Festivus celebration complete with miniature Festivus pole party favors. Although I was feeling sickly and left before the feats of strength, I did stay long enough to have a grievance aired against me. Sealegs has an issue with the fact that I take a billion photos and promise to email them to people and post them on the internet when I actually just walk around with a billion pictures in my camera that no one ever sees.

Wishing to address this grievance I emailed Sealegs the Halloween and Christmas tree chopping pictures I owed her and am now finally posting the photos from San Fransisco. Well, considering I took over 415 pictures during a four day trip I may just be getting a start posting the best 100 or so. What I lack in talent, I make up for in sheer quantity.

At the end of August The Husband had a business trip to San Jose, and since I was unemployed and had nowhere else to be, I tagged along, and we made a long weekend of it. The first couple of days The Husband had to work, so I drove into San Fransisco to wander around on my own.

The first place I checked out was the San Fransisco Museum of Craft + Design. It was very cool, but quite tiny, so I was glad I didn't go out of my way to visit it. I probably saw the whole thing in great detail in about 20 minutes.

Then I headed over to Chinatown, which was just a few blocks away. It wasn't the picture-taking treasure trove I thought it would be. I don't know if it was the self-guided tour I was taking (which mostly seemed to point out places to buy stuff) or what, but I was just not digging the vibe of Chinatown at all. The staggering concentration of tacky souvenir shops alone was rather off putting. After wandering around for an hour or two, I was hot and sunburned, and I just wanted a plain iced tea without gooey bubbles or sugary, creamy crap in it and a place to sit down. Unfortunately, I was denied.

I was, however, determined to get my Asian culture on, so I inched my way through San Francisco traffic to the Asian Art Museum. I arrived about three hours before closing, and I still wished I had more time to spend there. Generally everything is better with The Husband around, but I was glad I came here by myself so I could take as much time as I wanted to peer intently at each object. I seriously could have spent an hour in each of the 30 rooms.

Made of a real human skull:

At this point, Blogger is giving me all sorts of attitude about uploading pictures, so I'll pick up later with our excursion to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium, the Santa Cruz boardwalk, and other delightful Bay-area attractions.

A Job and an Education

2008-12-21T23:01:23+00:00

This new job that's got me all energized is proving to be really difficult to write about. I'm working in a preschool for homeless children as a Something-or-other Coordinator, but really I do a little bit of everything: play with the kids in the classroom, clean up messes, handle sobbing parents in the middle of all kinds of crises, build and administer the database, and help to ensure the children get the therapy and counseling and medical care they need.

One thing that's easy to say so far is that I didn't know crap about the face of the homeless problem in this city or this country. Oh, I thought I did in some sort of statistics-quoting, liberal, middle-class, I work in non-profit so I have do-gooder cred kind of way, but it's so much uglier and more complicated than I realized.

I knew that domestic violence is the leading cause of homelessness among women and children, and I found it sad and regrettable. But, actually seeing the walls behind which so many women live in secrecy and fear because the men they loved and trusted brutalized and terrorized them, I feel so impotently furious I have to avoid thinking about it.

Hearing the stories of young mothers who were abused and rejected by their own families, left to grow up the best they could in one foster home after another until they aged out of the system with no one to count on, but who are struggling to do better by their own children, I actually feel hopeful.

Knowing how many families end up on the street after a lay off or an illness or one of a dozen other reasons outside of anyone's control, I feel so unreasonably lucky to have the family and the education and all the support and resources I do.

And unfortunately, dealing with parents who seem so lazy and resistant to help for themselves and their children, I feel disgusted. I want to have empathy and respect for everyone we serve, but I don't know how to be understanding of someone who can't be bothered to say a couple of words to me to authorize free services for her child. Hell, she didn't even have to sign a piece of paper, just say, "OK."

I want to write about what I encounter and be fair and honest and maybe even kind of educational, but I also don't want to violate anyone's privacy (or get myself in trouble), so I'll have to fudge some details and invent others to make a true point but respect everyone involved. That's going to be a lot harder than posting pictures of my vacation and telling stories about my cat, and I don't know if I'll be any good at it.

An evening out with myself

2008-12-21T13:32:00+00:00

Can't decide if it's sad or awesome that I went Christmas light looking in Highland Park by myself. Not even Ras with me. Driving around listening to Keane and looking at rich people's holiday li...

November ‘08 Retrospective

2008-12-21T07:47:10+00:00

Spam YTD: 255943 (5004 reaching my inbox)

Books:

Mad Ship (Robin Hobb)
Ship of Destiny (Robin Hobb)

Events:

Evil League of Evil Halloween party
Elected an adult president of the United States
Vermillion Lies @ The Allgood Cafe
Whaelyn Gerald James had a birthday
- Congratulations Matt & Tiff
North Texas Mensa Regional Gathering
- No, I’m not smart enough to be a member

Going Down To Liverpool

2008-12-16T21:10:04+00:00

We last left half of our protagonists in a Dublin tour bus taking blurry photographs. The other half were lost in the mean Irish streets.

We all reunited in the airport to catch our Ryan Air flight to Liverpool. Ryan Air sells super cheapo no-frills flights which limit passengers to 1.5 ounces of carry on luggage provided it will fit inside a Tic Tac container. In order to comply, we bought a duffel bag and rented a locker in the Dublin airport to jettison as much extra weight as possible. That morning the excellently helpful bed and breakfast owner even loaned us her bathroom scale so we could confirm that we were within the weight limits. Of course this completely ensured that no one at the airport bothered to glance at our luggage, let alone weigh it. Bah. Whatever.

In Liverpool, we caught a cab to our rented flat. Our driver was a bit strange, and the conversation veered into threats of bodily harm, which kind of made sense as a joke at the time but still.

Somewhere around this time I quit writing notes in my journal, so the chronology breaks down a bit in my mind. Feel free to correct me. I'm sure much of the confusion stems from the alcohol-induced brain damage incurred during a night on the town with the way-cooler-than-me Gail.

We started at the Jacaranda where the Beatles got their start. It was amateur night, or something like that, and I was really enjoying the music and the atmosphere. But, it got hot and crowded, so we moved on, and the night quickly devolved into drunken absurdity. There was kung-fu fighting involved. It kind of looked like this at points.

The whole next day was lost to an epic hangover. The Husband, Gail, Sealegs, and Ponylagoon (or your preferred webonym), however, went on a field trip and had losts of fun without Traivor and me. Traivor at least got out of bed and left the flat at some point. I was prone until sundown.

Some time after my not dying, we visited Chinatown and took an amphibious city tour on the Yellow Duckmarine. We saw a bunch of stuff like this and then went home. And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is the end of this story that started a mere seven and a half months ago.

My new love:

2008-12-16T06:01:00+00:00

Keane I could listen to this song all day. Oh wait, I did.

Invest in what you know

2008-12-13T20:18:20+00:00

They say that you should buy stocks in companies that you buy the most products from and industries that you are most knowledgeable in. If you are buying products from a company, there is a good chance other people will be as well.

In the last month I have bought a Samsung Hard drive, Samsung Bluetooth Headset, Samsung TV and if I were to buy a digital camera or cell phone there is a good chance it would be a Samsung. It is not that I’m a Samsung fan boy who seeks out Samsung products, they just seem to be making the things I want to buy.

I’m sorry if that sounded too much like a commercial. My point was supposed to be about investing. The problem is that Samsung is not, as far as I can tell, sold on any US stock markets.

Ireland: Day Oh So Long Ago

2008-12-11T21:55:18+00:00

So I get this serious urge to revive the old blog, and then I find myself completely blocked. What's up with that? Anyway, I thought I'd pull a post out of the way back basket and wrap up the Ireland epic. Maybe I can finish it up during the same calendar year we actually took the trip.

Day Whatever-It-Is-Now began with a visit to Newgrange, one of the prehistoric passage tombs in County Meath.

Photos inside the tomb were forbidden, but I nabbed some off the Super Web.

On the winter solstice, the sun streams into a small opening just above the door and floods the heart of the tomb with light for the only time all year.

Next we drove into Dublin and, due to a total failure of modern communication technology, lost half our traveling party. We didn't have much time before we were due to catch a plane for Liverpool, so we decided to maximize our sightseeing minutes and seconds by taking a bus tour of the city and worry about catching up with everyone else at the airport. Unfortunately, the only visual representation of this portion of our journey is a bunch of blurry photos of dimly remembered churches and civic structures half obscured by trees and light posts. So, never mind about that.

Next! On to Liverpool.

The Aftermath of Wizard Rock

2008-12-09T06:33:46+00:00

STEVETY STEVE

2008-12-09T06:33:45+00:00

My friend STEVE STEVE STEVETY STEVE of ACE TATTOO in San Diego gave me this tattoo on my right ankle in about 1997. Soon you will be able to check out some of his other work here. This isn't the best picture in the world but I'll try to get a new one up soon.

Does This Popcorn Make Me Look Evil?

2008-12-06T12:26:02+00:00

When I started writing this I was just going to tell some silly stories about some kids I used to babysit, however it has completely gone off the rails. Anyway...

I had an ongoing engagement at a huge Baptist church providing childcare during date night and other special events. I also had a weekly group of 6-8 year olds to take care of while their moms attended some sort of bible study. The first week the kids and I just played games and ate snack and wholesome stuff like that. However, the second week I was requested to come early for "teacher training" where I was introduced to the fundamentalist propaganda with which I was expected to indoctrinate the children.

For a while I suffered a crisis of conscience teaching the children that the Bible was true and infallible, which, frankly, is a logically impossible position to maintain under strict and honest scrutiny however much you love Jesus Christ. Shortly afterward, however, I found myself participating in a completely earnest conversation about the Tooth Fairy, and I figured that if I didn't mind fibbing about some crazy tooth-obsessed lady with plenty of spare change, I didn't have a lot of standing to balk at telling a few Bible stories.

Of course, the Tooth Fairy never inspired anyone to stand around shouting about how much God hates gay people, so I'm left to admit that I justified keeping that job because it was steady money, I liked riding the train downtown, and the kids were a ton of fun. The Sunday after my last day there, the church was picketed because of a widely publicized anti-gay sermon. That really made me horrified with myself that I had been even a tiny, mostly mercenary part of that place.

Looking back, I feel like a big asshole about the whole debacle, so I made a donation to the Resource Center as sort of a gay penance. On a related note Gaybingo in January has an Emerald City theme, and I feel like that's one place where I can wear my Dorothy costume and enjoy my hairy legs with pride. So, who wants to go?

In the further spirit of true confession, The Husband and I also bought some popcorn from the Boy Scouts, and then we felt really bad because we forgot they were run by homophobic bigots. I'm terribly sorry. We just like popcorn, I swear.

Also, maybe next time I'll get to the silly story before I go on the inevitable ranty tangent. With a little effort, maybe I can offend the other half of my friends.

A Brief Holiday Update

2008-11-30T16:23:59+00:00

I was on the phone with my mother, working out the Thanksgiving details, when she interrupts herself to shout, "Now THAT'S what I think about it."

My dad is the background laughing hysterically, so I ask my mom what's going on over there.

"Well," she tells me. "Your father and I were having a disagreement earlier, so I pooted at him. But, it was just a small poot, so I saved up a big one until just now so he would know how I really felt."

We have fun.

Moving On

2008-11-29T13:50:11+00:00

I've really missed writing in this blog, but my brain has seriously been getting in my way. This is an example of a recurring problem of mine. I'll start a project, such as writing about the trip to Ireland, but I'll lose interest along the way, usually because I procrastinate for so long that I get tired of thinking about it. However, I refuse to allow myself to move on to anything else until I finish the original project that no longer motivates me. So, I end up accomplishing nothing, paralyzed by my own stubbornness.

While I'm feeling energized by a big change in my life, I'm going to try to break out of some old habits, including this one. So, here I am, tippity tapping out my optimistic little thoughts about not being so self-defeatingly weird. I'm sure I'll fall back into old habits eventually, at least to some extent. My hope is that each time I resolve to make some change it will stick at least a little bit, so all the time I'll be getting a little better without worrying about being perfect right away. I'm sure I'll become a transcendently flawless creature given enough time, and you'll all worship me as a deity, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Anyway, I plan to be back shortly. My new job should generate some interesting stories. I'll probably wrap up the epic Irish journey, as well, just in the interest of neatness. Of course, I'll just bloviate pointlessly when I feel the need. So, there's that to look forward to.

October ‘08 Retrospective

2008-11-17T23:51:27+00:00

Spam YTD: 236777 (4271 making it to my inbox)

Books:

Armageddon’s Children (Terry Brooks)
Ship of Magic (Robin Hobb)

Events:

Gail had a birthgay
Monasitcvibes’ baby shower @ Grygar’s
Shiny Toy Guns @ The Loft
Seattle
- Scheherezad (Rimsky-Korsakov) @ Seattle Symphony
- I’m pretty sure I witnessed a drug deal go down at a bus stop.
King Tut @ The DMA
Halloween party @ Grygar’s
HorrorPops @ The Granada

Final Harvest

2008-11-12T02:56:08+00:00

On Sunday, I started pulling up all the old tomato plants and collecting the undamaged fruit. We pretty much abandoned the garden in August but the tomatoes just kept on doing their own thing. Particularly the Gold Currant cherry tomatoes which showed an amazing resilience to the heat and drought. The red cherry tomatoes made their comeback after it cooled off so that’s where most of the green ones came from.

We are thinking about pickling the green ones. Maybe some of the others too?

Long Time No Write

2008-10-24T10:58:41+00:00

It's been an interesting few weeks. David went to South Africa, I spilled a drink on my computer, and I found out I completely ripped up my left shoulder.

I'll be having surgery on my shoulder on November 4th, election day. I'll be voting early (tomorrow, as a matter of fact) so as not to lose my chance to vote out the Republicans.

Anyway, my stance on Sarah Palin hasn't changed. I think she's an idiot who doesn't know what she's doing. I think it's crap that she accepted $150,000 worth of clothes for herself and her family from the RNC. Geez, out of touch with "real" America much?? I strongly urge you to take a very close look at the McCain/Palin ticket and make an informed decision. I think if you give it some thought and if you do some research you'll realize for yourself how harmful McCain & Palin will be to America. Please think about it.

I, of course, am voting for Obama. I'm proud to say that. I'm still a bit disappointed that Clinton didn't the nomination, but that's mostly because she's a woman rather than her political beliefs. I must admit that Obama's beliefs and practices are the most closely alligned with mine and he deserves my vote. I hope he deserves yours as well.

September ‘08 Retrospective

2008-10-16T18:45:55+00:00

Spam YTD: 213047 (3642 making it to my inbox)

Books:

Jarka Ruus (Terry Brooks)
Tanequil (Terry Brooks)
Straken (Terry Brooks)
Victory Conditions (Elizabeth Moon)

Events:

Annual Talk Like a Pirate Day party @Sealegs’ place
- We finally watched a film: ‘Mutiny’
  - Pre-Murder She Wrote Angela Lansbury is just wrong
  - So was the rest of this movie
- The Blackbeard is a tasty tasty beverage
- Bumbo ain’t bad either
Flogging Molly @House of Blues
- Excellent once again
- Found a spot up front stage right. Yay us
Games at Dolly’s
- I won a round of Shithead, so I consider the night a success
Cut Copy and The Presets @The Granada
- We discovered The Granada actually has a pretty good food menu

Update

2008-10-09T00:39:50+00:00

I haven't been blogging lately because my arthritis is acting up and it's been hard to type.

I've lost 2 jeans sizes and I still hate Sarah Palin.

Yep, that's about all.

Palin in Dallas this Friday, 10/3

2008-09-30T04:22:00+00:00

I work a couple of blocks from this...Perhaps I'll breeze in, do a little protesting, pick up a burrito for lunch, then sashay on back to work, which is a den of McCain/Palin supporters. &nb...

Stat, CPR for Expo Park

2008-09-30T02:53:00+00:00

Just read that both Bar of Soap and Meridian Room have closed within the last few weeks. I'd also heard Minc is no more. What the fuck? Is anything there anymore? I'm just coming out of...

Checking out my spam folder

2008-09-25T15:01:19+00:00

Just got the odd idea to look through my spam folder before zotzing its contents. There are some winners in there.

Best subject lines:

"In Canadian chemists we trust!" - Beauty, eh?
"Wish you act like Herculesus in bed?" - this I want to see on Spamusement.
"Join biggest success of the human successful men"
"Be the only one ladies hunt for" - Also a good spamusement candidate.

Interesting sender names:

"Normal Sexual" is selling viagra.
"con ethelbert" seems to think I can read cyrillic. Any takers on translating "Большие буфера скачать"?

Oh how I loathe her

2008-09-10T09:29:03+00:00

Palin said, "You know the difference between a hockey mom and a pitbull? Lipstick." She is evil and if McCain is elected and he becomes incapacitated, she's in charge. That literally strikes fear into my heart. And any attempt to try to convince me that Obama was literally taking a "swipe" at her will make me vomit. I'm so tired of politics. And I'm tired of people like Palin who claim to be "feminists" but are actually fundamentalist Christians who believe that men are our overlords. Don't understand what I'm talking about? Look up her opinions on abortion and her past with the Pentacostal church. I'm really familiar with that church and they are about as fundamentalist as you can get. Ugh.

Ugh

2008-09-08T18:06:31+00:00

Can somebody please explain to me how a person is supposed to go through life without using their effing elbows??

I'll Show You Improper

2008-09-08T16:01:36+00:00

I just want to state for the record that whatever jerk it was who gave fractions greater than one the name 'improper fraction' should be kicked square in the nuts.

I was trying to help Jack subtract some compound numbers (compound numbers being things like one-and-three-quarters and seven-and-five-eighths and so forth). If, for example, you are subtracting one and five-eights from two and one-fourth, it's helpful to convert both numbers into fractions before subtracting.

The easiest way to do this is to convert 2 1/4 to 9/4, and 1 5/8 to 13/8, then convert 9/4 to 18/8, then subtract 13/8 from 18/8. The result is 5/8. Simple, right?

However, Jack was very reluctant to do that because he'd been taught, and taught well, that you couldn't write a fraction as nine fourths. That was improper. So every time we got to a point where you'd have a 18/8 or 9/4, he would say that he couldn't do that because that was an improper fraction, and convert it back to a compound number.

This an unfortunate side-effect of elementary education. They wanted to have an easy way to tell kids not to write their fractions upside down, so they called them 'improper'. But there's no fundamental mathematical reason for banning fractions larger than one. Fractions, after all, are just another way of writing a division problem. So rather than teach that, we've generated a rule that's fundamentally incorrect to keep kids from making a simple mistake, and then having to un-learn that rule later.

The Angry! It's Everywhere!

2008-09-04T11:10:42+00:00

For the sake of my mental health, I've been intentionally avoiding the internet for a while now - no blogging for about a month now, no Twitters for more than a week, checking my email only once or twice a day, reading ten or twenty blog posts instead of hundreds every day. Being on the internet was beginning to feel more like a compulsion than an enjoyable hobby, so I cut myself off. I've been spending more time knitting and reading. Next, I might try going outside. The world is my oyster!

Also, however, I have to admit that the shear weight of horribleness on the intertubular cyberway was also starting to get me down. I know it's cowardly, but I decided to take the luxury of sticking my head in the sand for a while and acting like I can ignore all the patriarchal bullshit for at least a few days at a time. My first mistake was forgetting to gouge out my eyeballs and eardrums because that's the minimum it would take.

The Husband recently bought some magazines to read on the plane during a recent trip. One of them, Sound and Vision Magazine, was about ridiculously huge televisions and DVDs and frivolous fun crap like that. It had a picture of Masi Oka from Heroes on the cover. My unhealthy obsession with TV shows of all kinds has been previously documented, so I thought I'd thumb through it looking for more obsession-enabling gadgets to drool over.

I didn't realize this publication is Not For Me. You see, I'm a silly annoying wife who only exists to thwart my husband's quest for awesome stuff. This didn't dawn on me until I started reading this article. (It's short so you can read it really quick. However, I don't know how long they keep their articles posted on online.) I don't know why this stupid article about installing a (really awesome) giant screen in your living room is what made me finally want to speak up when there are such atrocities going on every day, but I actually decided to write the editor an email.

Let me quote from the article "Best of Both Worlds" from the September 2008 issue.

"While most guys would giggle like wee schoolgirls at the thought of having a TV dominate the room, their significant others generally prefer a diminutive set that sits demurely in the corner."

As a "significant other" it felt like a slap in the face to be so suddenly and dismissively written out of the conversation. My reproductive organs in no way affect my ability to appreciate and enjoy incredible A/V technology. You can believe that none of our friends spend time at our house marveling at our frilly pillows or whatever you mean by my "design acumen." Everyone I know, endowed with a Y chromosome or not, would agree that a 100-inch viewing screen in my living room really would be worth marveling at.

The "Wife Acceptance Factor" of your magazine just hit rock bottom in this household.

I guess many problems seem so overwhelmingly enormous that my email or signature on a petition couldn't possibly accomplish anything. But maybe someone at this magazine will actually realize that women do appreciate and spend money on stuff that doesn't clean carpets or mix dough, and maybe their advertisers wouldn't appreciate them marginalizing all those potential consumers. Of course it would be great to be respected just for. . . I don't know. . . being a person, instead of a potential source of revenue, but let's not get all crazy now.

Having Kids

2008-08-21T18:21:54+00:00

My son is 12 and at this point in our lives, my advice would be that you not have kids. Kids are great but pre-teens are horrific. Today has been living hell, what with getting all of his stuff together to start school on Monday. He's totally freaking out because he's going to middle school for the first time. Makes me feel like I'm going to middle school for the first time too!

Insomnia

2008-08-18T13:47:00+00:00

I've got to find a way to fall asleep at a decent hour without completely drugging myself out. Almost all day I'm so groggy I can't get anything done. On Saturday I didn't wake up until 4pm and today I'm just now getting up. This has got to stop.

Tips?

If y'all could leave me out of your war, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

2008-08-11T12:56:06+00:00

About Wednesday of last week, I got a request from a coworker in our Paris office to build a terrain dataset for a trial of our microwave network planning tool. It didn't have any clear labelling, and it wasn't clear where the data was for when I put it together. I finally got it built on Friday morning, as the news was talking about the Russian offensive really heating up, and I was recoginizing some of the terrain in the maps as disturbingly familiar.

This dataset I was working on was for the Russian Caucasus, and includes Chechnya, North Ossetia, South Ossetia, and Abkhazia. There aren't any significant expansions of the data into Azerbaijan or other parts of Georgia. It's kind of creepy. And the cherry on top of this creepy-coincidence-sundae is that the coworker who made this request is named Mikhail.

I really hope somebody is just planning to build a nice, non-violent telecomunications network using this data. 8-(

Birthday Wishes are Due

2008-08-07T13:39:43+00:00

Happity happy 50th birthday Stevety Steve!

Biological Enough

2008-08-06T16:38:58+00:00

Today when Jack and I went to the comic book store he saw a sign at a nearby business that advertised "civilized divorce." So he started asking me about my divorce and if was civilized, etc. During the conversation we got to talking about Jack's biological father and I said I know it must be weird for him to not know him. His response? "I have a biological enough father."

It melted my heart.

Joss Whedon has a new book!

2008-07-29T11:36:45+00:00

Barnes & Noble has it for sale. Click here.

Greenies Warning

2008-07-28T19:31:01+00:00

This is from my friend OhioDave's blog:

Just got this from my cousin Vicki, who is a professional pet sitter and house sitter:

I recently had a pet sitting client call to tell me that her dog just had surgery for a bowel obstruction, which her veterinarian believed was caused by the Greenies brand Original Smart Treat.

Apparently, these treats had been pulled from the market some time ago and reformulated due to serious health problems in pets, and in some cases, caused death to the pet.

I have no formal information about this product at this point.

Please take note of this concern and pass along to anyone you know of that has dogs or cats, or buys these Greenies treats. This brand carries treats for dogs and cats.

Regards,

Vicki Gruner
Pet Nanny & Personal Assistant
website: www.homesandpets.com
email: service@homesandpets.com
513-235-7787 (Cell)

Snopes says it's "undetermined" but it's from 2005 and that story is apparently before the "reformulation" mentioned above.

Sweet

2008-07-28T13:23:24+00:00

Just got accepted into the Citizen's Prosecutor Academy with the Collin County District Attorney's Office. It's an internship that UTD offers for three credit hours. So, YAY me! I'll get to participate in a mock trial at the end so that'll be cool. And I've never worked in a prosecutorial job before so that'll also be cool. Anyway, apparently there will be much coolness and I'm actually kind of having mixed emotions because it'll be a lot of work but I think it will be good for me. I figured the other applicants would have higher GPAs than me but apparently I don't suck at college as much as I thought I did. So again I say, YAY me!

Cuil.com

2008-07-28T12:37:01+00:00

Pronounced "cool". Cuil.com is launching today in an effort to rival Google. Should be interesting to see what happens. I love internet competition!

Ireland: Day 5

2008-07-25T21:42:37+00:00

This morning we checked out the Carrickfergus Castle, an intimidating, massive, and not particularly charming castle. Although not picturesque, the castle was full of mannequins enacting scenes from daily life in the middle ages, including the king taking a royal dump.

From there we drove into Belfast and found a Black Taxi Tour - basically a private tour for a small group with a knowledgeable driver who explained the history of the conflict in Northern Ireland, gave us some perspective on what life is like today in Belfast, and answered any questions we had. I was really impressed with how unbiased he was. We tried to speculate as to whether he was Catholic or Protestant, but we couldn't tell.

First he took us to a Protestant neighborhood to see some of the murals on the homes and buildings. Some of them depict historical scenes, while others are memorials to those who died in the conflict. One of the murals was in remembrance of a member of one Protestant militia group who was murdered by a different Protestant group. Sometimes it seems like the human capacity for discord and violence is endless. I also noticed racist graffiti and stickers in one of the neighborhoods we walked in. Seriously, why can't we all just get along?

Then we traveled into a Catholic neighborhood where the driver showed us some of the memorial gardens that the communities have established.

There's a huge wall between the Protestant and Catholic areas of the city. You can see here where the government has installed grates on the back of the houses near the wall because people on the other side will lob bricks and bottles, which were breaking windows and landing in homes.

Despite the relative peace for the last 14 years, the wall is being built taller and stronger all the time. Our guide seemed to think the wall contributed greatly to that peace, rather than any deep sense of love and understanding among the populace. According the driver, even streets that aren't behind walls are largely segregated, and Catholics and Protestants lead mostly separate lives within Belfast.

This graffiti stands for "kill all taigs," a slur against the Catholics. There's definitely still at least some anger between the two sides. It makes me hopeful though, that a new generation is coming of age without having experienced the bombings and killings.

These are murals by the Catholics in honor of other oppressed (or "oppressed" depending on your political leanings) peoples around the world with whom the Catholics identify and feel affinity, such as the Cubans, Basques, Palestinians, and Iraqis.

The Catholics also created murals commemorating their dead in the conflict, such as these in honor of Bobby Sands and other hunger strikers who died protesting the treatment of Catholic political prisoners.

As our guide kept reminding us, people on both sides fought, killed, and died for their lives and freedom and homes because they believed what they were doing was right. I left Northern Ireland with the sense that many were also striving for peace, and I hope they prevail.

Ireland: Day 4

2008-07-22T17:42:42+00:00

I know the conclusion to our Ireland excursion is a long time coming, but it's because of a minor tragedy. I lost the book in which I chronicled our trip. It has to be somewhere here in the house, so I kept waiting for it to turn up on its own, figuring I would continue writing in the blog once I found it. That doesn't seem to be likely to happen any time soon, so I'll just get on with it, and my traveling companions can correct me or fill in any blanks I leave.

This was an exhausting day, but we saw so much amazing stuff. We left Donegal first thing in the morning to explore the northern coast. On the advice of our hostess at the last nights' B & B, we made a rare unplanned side trip in order to check out Slieve League. We were persuaded to make the harrowing drive partly based on the fact that Slieve League boasts the highest sea cliffs in Europe. Except they're not. If you believe Wikipedia they are only the second highest sea cliffs in Ireland, never mind the rest of the continent. Unfortunately, I didn't have my surveying equipment with me that day, so I can not independently verify any claim regarding the height of Slieve League.

The drive up to the cliffs was beautiful, exhilarating, and only a little bit terrifying. Since Ponylagoon had graciously offered to drive I really enjoyed this crazy ride more than our ill-advised jaunts through the narrow-laned countryside or the perilous trek over the Connor Pass. The roads were incredibly steep and just wide enough for one car in most places. Fortunately we didn't encounter anyone tearing through the villages and over the hills at insane speeds, so it felt safe if totally absurd.

The road afforded some gorgeous ocean vistas, and we stopped at a turnout to admire the view, but were completely distracted by the sheep instead and took about 1,000 pictures of them. Ireland is just lousy with the woolly things.

We proceeded onto the viewing area for Slieve League, which was very untouristy compared to many other sites. There were hardly any guardrails or parking lot and no interpretive signs or bathrooms. The hostess who encouraged us to check it out told us that the government had received a grant to develop the area for tourism, so I don't know how much longer it will be so natural. It was certainly beautiful and worth the drive, which was a big part of the fun as far as I'm concerned.

From Slieve League, we headed to Dunluce Castle, built on an outcropping over the North Channel. The castle is so close to the edge of the cliffs that in the 1600s the kitchen slid into the sea, killing several of the staff. Not only did I enjoy roaming freely around the ruins, but the views of the cliffs and the deep blue ocean were incredible.

I'm hesitant to even bring up this next incident for fear of Sealegs' head exploding. We attempted to traverse the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. About two minutes before the ticket office closed, we ran up to thrust our money through the window and pay for admission before it was too late. However, we overheard the vendor telling the people in line ahead of us that he wasn't selling tickets any more and we'd have to get them down at the bridge.

So, a whole herd of us positively stampeded up and down a kilometer's worth of hills and stairs to arrive at the rope bridge only to be told that they never sold tickets down there and we were all a bunch of lying liars who lie. The walk back to the car was the angriest kilometer ever.

Here's a picture of the bridge we did not get to cross and one of the lovely views I didn't get to take much time to enjoy due to all the furious stampeding and stomping.

We then shook off our disappointment and headed to the Giant's Causeway, which seemed to cheer everyone up except for The Husband who wasn't that upset about the bridge in the first place, nor that impressed with the Causeway. He's like a rock, that man.

Anyway, the Giant's Causeway may have been my favorite part of the trip, definitely in the top three at least. The Causeway itself was just amazing. It's hard to imagine that such strange formations are natural. But, I also enjoyed the time we took for a long hike along the cliffs above the Causeway. Many of my favorite vacation experiences have been just rambling along under the sky, through landscapes I may never see again.

In this one, you can see a lot of the path we followed along the cliffs:

I think we were standing about half way down the cliff on the first or second outcropping when I took the picture above:

Unfortunately, I'm not a very athletic duckling any more. This whole day, especially the hike down the Causeway and back up, very nearly killed me. Luckily, there was a grand old hotel on the grounds where we had dinner and some fortifying Guinness before driving on to Carrickfergus for the night.

P.S. Somewhere in there we visited the Bushmills Distillery gift shop, seeing as we were too late to take the tour. I don't have any photographs or happy/interesting memories of the Bushmills Distillery gift shop.

P.P.S. Evidently I started writing this post exactly a month ago, almost down to the minute.

The leaders of this country need to keep their damn hands away from my reproductive organs

2008-07-17T16:34:38+00:00

This literally makes my heart hurt. Medical care is medical care. Decisions regarding reproductive issues are private and should not be dealt with on a federal or even state level. I should have the right, just like every other person should have the right, to decide what is best for me. When will people learn to just leave other people alone and let them live in peace, trusting that they'll make the best decisions they can?

VOTE OBAMA. Seriously. Whether you're for or against birth control or abortion you should always be for letting people make their own decisions. Just because you choose to live one doesn't mean everyone does.

Thanks to blurbomat for the link.

Took 'em long enough

2008-07-14T14:20:43+00:00

This from CNN.com.

Fibromyalgia: Part II

2008-07-13T00:07:07+00:00

I'm looking into acupuncture and massage and trying to do what my body tells me. I feel like a loser though because I haven't worked or finished my 9 hours of school in over 7 months. I know that's par for the course with this disease but it still pisses me off.

Another problem I have is that when the pain gets really severe I have to take too much medication to make it stop or else take sleeping pills so that I sleep through it. When I take those drugs the pain sort of goes away but I can still feel it plus I always get a splitting headache and feel all high and weird. Any advice about tolerating the medications? (Lyrica, Relafin, Darvocet, & Skelaxin. Trazadone or Xanax to sleep.)

Fibromyalgia: Not just for crazy people anymore

2008-07-11T13:28:17+00:00

I remember when I first heard about fibromyalgia and the going theory amongst those "in the know" was that it was a made-up disease that doctors diagnosed in people they thought were crazy and just complaining of pain because they had too much time on their hands.

"HA!" says she who was semi-recently diagnosed with the disease. Trust me, this pain ain't in my head. Yesterday, on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the worst) the pain was about a 7. Today it's about a 3. That's what's so crazy about this condition: the pain fluctuates from day to day. You never know when you're going to have a "bad" day or a "good" day. It's impossible to make plans because you might wake up the day of your event (say a murder mystery party or a recent game day) and feel like crap but there's nothing you can do about it because you're about to have a house full of people looking for a good time.

Anyway, I've been trying to come up with different coping mechanisms so that I don't fall into a deep depression like I did when I first found out I had this. That was awful and I even contemplated suicide (not that I had a plan in place or anything and I don't think I'd ever actually leave my boys on purpose.) But I've been examined by three separate doctors now who all say I've got it and then they say, "Boy does it suck to be you," only in much better doctor-speak. But I digress.

One of my ways of coping with this disease is to sleep a lot and to refuse to feel guilty about it. I'm really not just being lazy (okay, maybe sometimes I'm just being lazy) but I'm really just very exhausted. Yesterday I took a "nap" from 4pm to 10pm and then went to bed at 1am, getting up at 10:30am today. That is not normal behavior for anyone but an infant. (Guess that explains my juvenile sense of humor...) So what if the house isn't perfectly clean? So what if the laundry doesn't get folded in a timely manner? So what, so what, so what? I also have OCD and I've realized that it's time to get over that as much as possible because seriously, the world is not going to explode if I don't finish the dishes.

Another way is to try to be more real with myself, my friends, and (occasionally) my family (their brains would implode if they ever knew the "real" me.) So I've started talking more about things that matter. My feelings, my fears, my insecurities, my failures, etc. I'm not very good about talking about that stuff but I've found that it helps tremendously to just get it out there in an effort to relieve stress. It's amazing how awesome my friends are to listen and to offer advice. Some of my friends have even started telling me about flaws I didn't even know I had (like making fun of midgets or teenagers, for instance.)

I know I'm rambling but I also know I can't be the only person out there who has fibromyalgia. We've got to stick together because people that don't have this disease don't seem to get fully comprehend all those goes with it. It affects every part of a person - mood, level of exhaustion and stress, ability to function, memory - everything. And sometimes when we're being bitchy or unreasonable it's because we're unreasonable bitches but other times it's because we're just so freaking tired and stressed from the pain that we seriously can't control ourselves.

So be patient and love us even when we're jerks. I swear we'll feel really bad about it later, but only if you tell us about it. Later. Don't do it when we're pissed. Trust me. I'm not a good person to talk to when I'm pissed. (And that has nothing to do with fibromyalgia, just the fact that I'm immature and can't be reasoned with until I settle down.)

I think I'm becoming more like David

2008-07-10T15:24:20+00:00

This from CNN.com. I have no problem with getting DNA prints off of actual felons but not until they're proven guilty. Being arrested for a felony is a lot different than being convicted of a felony. Hopefully his words are coming from an emotional place and not an actual "let's throw the Constitution out the window" place. Because seriously, we do not need any more of that in this country.

Garden Update

2008-07-09T02:44:40+00:00

Here is what the Trumbetta squash is supposed to look like. This one grew on the ground so that is why it is round. We chopped it up and sautéed it with onions and a little bit of garlic, salt, and pepper. All of the seeds are in the bottom so the whole long neck is just flesh. Very tasty!

Also, here is this week’s harvest. A few weeks ago, we applied some Garret Juice plus garlic and orange oil - this seems to have reduced our squash bug problem at least a little bit.

Levaquin

2008-07-09T00:57:15+00:00

Levaquin is one of the drugs just classified by the FDA as being a source of tendinitis or tendon rupture. My ex-doctor had me on Levaquin a week or two before my left foot got plantar fasciitis; my right foot already had it. CNN.com talks about it here.

My ex-doctor is so freaking reckless and I can't believe she's still allowed to practice medicine. That makes three drugs she gave me that should have never been given to me. I am so glad I fired her.

Yesterday

2008-07-02T10:54:42+00:00

- I talked to my old doctor in Oklahoma and he thinks the lung thing is probably either scar tissue from whatever or related to lupus. He does not think it's cancer. (He hasn't seen the ct scans, xrays, or done any workup himself.)

- Last night around 8pm a stranger called to say they had found my dog. :)

I am here

2008-07-01T17:51:07+00:00

Regarding Chloe:
- I've posted signs all over the neighborhood.
- I've posted information at our county's animal shelter.
- I've reported her missing to the microchip company.
- I've vowed to never again own another dog.

Regarding the nodule:
- I've picked up a copy of the "nodule" report and ct scans from the hospital.
- I've fired my PCP. (Reasons later; too many to discuss now.)
- I've left a message with my Oklahoma PCP.
- I've set an appointment with my rheumatologist for Thursday.
- I've set an appointment with my current PCP (even though I fired her today) for tomorrow to make sure I've got enough prescriptions, referrals, etc. to get me through until I find a new PCP.

- I've vowed to never smoke another cigarette again as long as I live.

At this point, I honestly don't know what else to do. I'm feeling extremely sad over the Chloe situation and have been breaking down in tears regularly. The thought of never seeing her face again honestly breaks my heart. And for my health, I'm flying completely blind. My PCP is a total jackass who seems to think...oh nevermind. I'm trying to keep my blood pressure down at this point.

I need crutches until I can see a podiatrist for my foot because she refuses to treat it anymore. I can't walk and walking around putting signs up made it soooo much worse.

I'm sad and depressed and honestly count yesterday as the worst day of my entire life.

Health/Life Update

2008-07-01T01:12:22+00:00

Today I found out that my heart is okay.

Today I found out that I have a nodule on my right lung.

Today my dog ran away.

Planet Vortex

Farewell, Farewell, Fellow Stargazer!

Fuck You, Democracy!

Comment on: Dallas Bike Maps

Dallas Bike Maps

Comment on: Bicycling Directions Now on Google Maps

Bicycling Directions Now on Google Maps

Suck It, Utah

More snow!

73° and Sunny!?!?

Comment on: Ah, that new train smell

One more reason to wear a helmet

Everybody do the time warp.

One Nation...

Meditations on Guidos

Ah, that new train smell

GM Likes Bikes, BUT...

I've got a word of advice for all of you hipsters...

Tips for drivers sharing the road with bicycles

The TBR List is a Lie

Comment on: GM Likes Bikes, BUT...

Comment on: GM Likes Bikes, BUT...

A Cat and Her Pants

Safe and Secure

Women's suffrage was good for something!

May 2009 in Review

Blame Canada

April 2009 in Review

Happy Birthday, Tank Guy!

March 2009 in Review

How to f**k over Mexico's violent drug lords

This deal is getting worse all the time

You can still call me when I&#39;m famous

come on board for a cracktastic voyage

Devils Dance Floor here I come

February 2009 in Review

January 2009 in Review

BBC America

Before & After

Today is the Day

Obama might start out right

December ‘08 Retrospective

Who's Your Daddy?

Fish and Stuff in Monterey

Comment on: Free Books!

Comment on: Free Books!

Free Books!

Place to take dogs on a hot Texas day

To Be Read Challenge 2009

Gratitude and Bitterness

The Duckling Drinks Bonarda

TBR Challenge: The Golden Compass, So Far

That’s the spot

TBR Challenge 2008 = Fail

Papermaster 2009

Art and Stuff in San Francisco

A Job and an Education

An evening out with myself

November ‘08 Retrospective

Going Down To Liverpool

My new love:

Invest in what you know

Ireland: Day Oh So Long Ago

The Aftermath of Wizard Rock

STEVETY STEVE

Does This Popcorn Make Me Look Evil?

A Brief Holiday Update

Moving On

October ‘08 Retrospective

Final Harvest

Long Time No Write

September ‘08 Retrospective

Update

Palin in Dallas this Friday, 10/3

Stat, CPR for Expo Park

Checking out my spam folder

Oh how I loathe her

Ugh

I'll Show You Improper

The Angry! It's Everywhere!

You can still call me when I'm famous