C-c-c-cold

When I checked the forecast this morning, it looked like it would be in the high 40s when I got off work, so I wore a light jacket. But noooo, it's 39 degrees with a wind chill of 30, raining a very cold rain, and the wind is high enough that an umbrella is almost useless. I am chilled to the bone. I was going to make red beans and rice for dinner tonight, but I'm too cold to even contemplate it, so I'm having cheese and crackers.

I managed to get my bus pass today, but not the library book. Apparently it was sent back yesterday, although it was still listed as being ready to pick up last night. Since I never received an e-mail telling me it was there, they waived the fee, and I'm back in the queue. Of course, I waited about two months to get it, so who knows when it'll pop back up.

The lack of reading material was felt even more keenly because I switched from a purse to a backpack so I could take my shoes with me and forgot, of all things, my Kindle, which even now is sitting next to my recliner. I had my cable with me and everything, just not the actual device. I felt naked, like when you leave your cell phone at home.

I gave blood today. It was my 29th pint. Three more and it'll be four gallons. Of course, that's averaging only a little over once a year, since I've been giving blood since I was 17. I could do so much better. But it's better than not, I suppose. They didn't have to spin my blood to see if the iron was okay. I guess those children's chewable vitamins are helping. :) It's very rare that my blood sinks fast enough into the solution.

Today was pretty productive. I'm a little tired as a result of the blood loss, getting a lot done, and standing out in the cold for a half-hour. I may go ahead and take a nap. I know, my 'naps' tend to be all-night affairs. But I'll try to get up before it get too late, maybe watch the recording of 'Tower Prep' from tonight.

Okay, hopefully I'll write later, as I need to check the news. But for now I think it's time to take out my contacts, get into a warm bed, and snuggle.

It's raining pretty steadily

Which is good, as we've been so dry for months, but not so good given that my comfy shoes are clog-style and suede. So I have to wear my athletic shoes that hurt my feet to work and back, but I'm taking my comfy shoes with me to actually wear at work. Fortunately I have some size 7 double wide rain/snow boots that were pretty cheap that should be here tomorrow. I found them in a catalogue at my grandmother's over Thanksgiving. They're lined with acrylic fleece and are purple (I could have chosen black, but you know me, if purple is an option....) They were sent out priority mail yesterday and the tracking says it should be here tomorrow. I paid a little extra for the priority mail (otherwise it would have been 15 days, and let's face it, we just had our first dusting and snow could happen anytime between now and the middle of December), but they were $10 off what it said in the catalogue when I went online, so I still came out ahead. This is my way of getting around buying another pair of $130-$200 Birkenstocks that may or may not do well in snow. I'm hoping since they come in a double wide size they'll fit my feet well.

I woke up at 7 briefly this morning, went back to bed until 7:30, and then decided I really didn't have to be up until 8:30. Then a friend called right about 8:30 and we chatted briefly. He works nights and on the day after a day off he's so rested he's raring to go at a ridiculous time of the morning. Usually by the time he calls me he's done all the laundry, dishes, etc. and is preparing to go do some errand. :)

I'm not quite as productive in the mornings, although I need to do laundry either tonight or tomorrow. But I'm up, ready to go, and ready to go pick up the book and get a bus pass. It would be nice if it weren't raining buckets when I go. So far it just looks like a steady rain. Hopefully it will stay that way.

I can't believe today is the last day of November. It just doesn't seem like it should be that way. Time goes so much faster, it seems, the older you get.

Oh, well, I should head out now. Have a wonderful day.

Yay! I didn't go to sleep at some insanely early time tonight!

Maybe the holiday weekend 'reset' my inner circadian rhythm. Or maybe it's just a fluke. But tomorrow's 'Tower Prep', so I should stay up at least until 10 or 11 pm then. :)

It's midnight now, though, so I think I'll head to bed. Gee, I've blogged a lot lately.

PS I did get a bit of bad news tonight. Angie, who's been so good as to give me rides three times a week, has her last day coming up soon (she's a temporary employee, and they've hired someone else to take the job permanently because of some sort of issue where it would have been too expensive to 'buy out' from the temp agency, whatever that means). Anyway, I really need to get her a thank-you gift before her last day. The day before we're having a Books Are Fun book fair. That has a lot of possibilities. :)

Need to go to the library tomorrow

I have a hold that's arrived:

Running the Books: The Adventures of an Accidental Prison Librarian by Avi Steinberg

That joins:

Picnic at Hanging Rock by Lady Joan Weigall Lindsay [I had to get that through interlibrary loan. Funny, it's not shown as checked out to me, I guess because it's not in their system, but in someone else's and the ILLs are somehow separate]--Due 12/04 (I'd better get going on that!)

Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris--due 12/13

Jagged Little Pill (CD) by Alanis Morissette--due 12/20 (what can I say--remember the evening of angsty 90s chick music? It put me in the mood.)

PS I also need to go get my bus pass tomorrow morning, so I'll have to stop by the library the moment they open at 9:30, get the bus to Kroger at 9:40, then get the bus pass and catch the bus again at 10:05. :)

It's that time again

This is Charlie, our skeleton at the library. On the very end of his Santa hat you may see a green dreidl. Hey, I'm multicultural. I also have a Yule tree with various ornaments, such as the tongue depressor snowman, Little Golden books (tiny ones) that have holes in their spines to be hung on the tree (a secretary who ran the library before me did that), icicles, tinsel, and a very beautiful angel (I think that came from the previous librarian.) :)

Here are a few other photos:

The dreidl

The angel

The snowman

A Little Golden Book ornament

They didn't last long

But the blooms on my Christmas cactus were very beautiful.

This is what happens when you forget to water it for two months, bring it to the office, and nurse it back to health. It is so grateful it's alive it brings forth blooms in an attempt to propagate.

I came in this morning and the blooms were spent. There are a couple of small buds that may develop left. But while the show went on, they brightened up my cubicle nicely.

A most extraordinary book

Vietnam’s ancient bronze history book

Cau Khong Tu Ky (literally translated as Record of Khong Bridge) is one of the oldest and largest bronze books in Vietnam’s long history.

It is now being preserved by people in Bac Ly Commune, Ly Nhan District in the northern Ha Nam Province.

The story of the book dates back some six hundred years ago. According to Nguyen Van Thuy, a 70-year-old local man who is now in charge of preserving the book, Cau Khong Tu Ky was casted in the 15th century by King Le Thanh Tong after he successfully defeated the Chinese Chiem invaders in the region.

Via Melissa's Medieval History Blog: News Bits.

Thirty-eight years ago today

Pong happened. And so the era of arcades, video games, and countless wasted quarters began.

A happy accident leads to the uncovering of mediaeval paintings in a Welsh church

Via Medieval News: ‘Mind-blowing’ medieval art is unveiled in church

Great news for the art world

Staggering Picasso trove turns up in France

A retired French electrician and his wife have come forward with 271 undocumented, never-before-seen works by Pablo Picasso estimated to be worth at least €60 million ($79.35 million), an administrator of the artist's estate said Monday.

The couple for years squirreled away the staggering trove — which is believed to be authentic, but whose origin is unclear — in their garage on the French Riviera, said Picasso Administration lawyer Jean-Jacques Neuer.

The article includes several pictures of the pieces.

As a librarian in a US paediatric orthopaedic hospital

I've come across a procedure a lot in the literature that I truly never expected to be unavailable in a country such as Britain. A British family raised £40,000 to travel to the US so their son, who has cerebral palsy, could have a selective dorsal rhizotomy to treat his spasticity. It has meant the difference between walking on his tip toes with bent knees to walking with his feet in a natural position and straight legs. The procedure has been used in the US for over 20 years. Only one centre in Britain performs it, and the treatment there is done differently than here. A neurosurgeon from Britain who is interested in bringing the treatment there watched the procedure.

I wish this boy and his family the very best. Cerebral palsy is a very challenging condition. It looks like this surgery may have relaxed the spasticity so that further tightening and lack of range of motion will not happen. I hope that is so.

New start for Hartlepool boy with cerebral palsy

A 10-year-old Hartlepool boy with cerebral palsy is learning to do some of the things he has never been able to manage before, like riding a bike, after major surgery.

Crazy

Christian woman faces death for blasphemy
Welcome to Pakistan, where you can be beaten and sentenced to death by hanging for insulting the Prophet Mohammed without uttering anything about him, especially if you don't belong to the Islamic faith.

Wouldn't that be interesting?

Dark Jupiter May Haunt Edge of Solar System

A century of comet data suggests a dark, Jupiter-sized object is lurking at the solar system’s outer edge and hurling chunks of ice and dust toward Earth.

“We’ve accumulated 10 years more data, double the comets we viewed to test this hypothesis,” said planetary scientist John Matese of the University of Louisiana. “Only now should we be able to falsify or verify that you could have a Jupiter-mass object out there.”

It amazes me how much we're still learning about our own solar system. It's a complex and wondrous thing.

How a tooth let a blind woman see again

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Vanity, I suppose

but news of the going-out-of-print of The Liblog Landscape 2007-2008 made me finally decide to get the book, especially as it has been discounted to $20 plus there was a coupon code which took the price down to $15. Walt Crawford is coming out with another analysis of librarian web logs soon, and so is taking the first such study off the market.

Since this blog has been around since 2001, it was included in that earlier study, including a profile and metrics. I guess I can't resist seeing something I created mentioned in print, plus I know Walt has 1) worked very hard to analyse the library blogosphere and 2) has done so during a time of personal oeconomic crisis after losing his job. I've been meaning to get the book for awhile, to get the full analysis and to help Walt out, but have put it off as a little too expensive for vanity. But $15 I can do. I hope it helps support Walt's other publishing endeavours. If you're interested in the book, follow the link at the beginning of this post. There's also But Still They Blog, which is a follow-up study published after the first. It's still in print, also at $20. PDFs for both books are only $10 each. For more information, including the coupon code that gets you 25% off your order, check out Walt's post on the subject. The coupon code is good through November 29th.

One of our players left the game today

leaving just Brenda, myself, and the game master. It's nothing that can't be undone; she's welcome back anytime. We've been down to just the two of us before, with the game master taking over the play of former player characters as needed.

At the moment, my characters aren't involved in an adventure, although it sounds like one will be brought in next time. So I got to sit back and listen to things unfold. But I don't really mind that so much. I'm interested in unraveling the mystery and sometimes it helps to be out of the action in trying to determine what's going to happen next. But next week it should be more of a joint effort.

I'm pretty tired. I've been up since 4:45 am because I wanted to go ahead and go to the store on the way over. So I have a couple of canvas bags full of groceries that I brought home. I have to confess that one of the things I got was pancake mix and light syrup. I'm having terrible cravings. But I ate quite a bit of fruit today, so I'll wait until another day to fix them. I got the light syrup because it doesn't have as many carbs as the regular, although sugar-free would have been better in some ways. But the very first or second ingredient in all of the sugar-free ones was sorbitol, which is a sugar alcohol. I try to eat sugar alcohols, including sorbitol, maltitol and xylitol, in moderation--they can have a laxative effect that is very unpleasant. I did at least find one without high fructose corn syrup.

Okay, I guess that's all for now. Hope you had a good holiday weekend, if you celebrate Thanksgiving, or at least a good weekend in general. Good night.

I guess I should head on to bed

I'm getting up early tomorrow so I can stop by the store and get some treats for the game and still get there by 8 am. That means getting up at 5. Really. Welcome to the Lexington bus system on a Sunday.

I did not go to the grocery today. Nor did I clean the fish tank. I slept on an off during the morning and early afternoon. I walked to the Circle K which is about a block away and got some soft drinks. I watched 'Tower Prep', which was quite good, incorporating some classical literature in the form of the Odyssey into its plot. The previews for the next one looked good as well. I watched most of the computer animated Firebreather on Cartoon Network, then switched over to DVD and listened (and sang along with) Doctor Horrible and then listened to the musical commentary as well while I was going over way-over-1000 news items alone in my Google Reader, much less the blog posts I read, plus blogging along the way. I hope that makes up for my lack of blogging this week. But I finally made it through all that. I have some New Age meditative music on right now, and I'm getting sleepy. Since I have to get up in 6 1/2 hours, I thought I'd wind down and put up one last post for the night.

Good night.

I'm not a football fan by any means

--or pointy ball, as a friend puts it. But I remember when I was a freshman in college, in 1984, I went to a few games and we had a really good football team. That year, the University of Kentucky and University of Tennessee game was played in Knoxville, so it wasn't one I went to. But they were big rivals, and UK won.

It was the last time UK won against Tennessee.

Even now. They lost again today, the 26th consecutive loss. The current coach was actually a player back when they won.

UK basketball tends to shine; football tends to be somewhat well, a joke, although sometimes it's better than others.

I kind of feel sorry for them today. When (and surely it must eventually happen) the streak is broken, there will be such celebration, believe me. Despite football's problems, there are dedicated fans who tailgate and cheer them on at the stadium, wear the blue and white, listen to the band, and generally stay through the whole thing even when it's abysmal. Here's hoping next year they'll fare better.

Suspicous

Jailed China tainted milk activist 'drops appeal'

Mr Zhao was jailed for two-and-a-half years for organising a parents' support group and campaigning for compensation.

He vowed to appeal when he was sentenced earlier this month.

But lawyers working for Mr Zhao told the BBC Chinese service they were blocked from visiting him on Monday to discuss his case.

Instead they were given a note, apparently from Mr Zhao, saying he no longer needed their services.

One lawyer, Li Fangping, told the BBC he could not tell if Mr Zhao wrote the message voluntarily because he was not allowed to see him in person.

His wife gave the lawyers a note telling them they were fired. But the question is whether the government got to the family.

I am so glad I do not live in China. But so many on the planet do, and they deserve a true justice system. Mr Zhao should not even be in gaol right now.

I thought this was interesting

Divided We Eat: As more of us indulge our passion for local, organic delicacies, a growing number of Americans don’t have enough nutritious food to eat. How we can bridge the gap.

It speaks of healthy vs. unhealthy food, class inequality, obesity, and other aspects of how food now signals a lot about what social class you're from than it used to.

My favourite quote from the article?

Essentially, we have a system where wealthy farmers feed the poor crap and poor farmers feed the wealthy high-quality food.--Locavore writer Michael Pollan

Second favourite?

In America food has become the premier marker of social distinctions, that is to say—social class. It used to be clothing and fashion, but no longer, now that ‘luxury’ has become affordable and available to all.--Adam Drewnowski, an epidemiologist at the University of Washington, who has spent his career showing that Americans’ food choices correlate to social class

Goats!

This is for YKWIA:

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So much for German engineering

German retiree bricks himself into his cellar: After several days, trapped man knocks down neighbor's wall to escape

Poor guy. This is going to be hard to live down.

Glad I'm not a staffer during all this

Oxford students evicted after Bodleian Library sit-in

The university said it supported "freedom of expression" and "the right to peaceful protest".

"However, this was an unlawful occupation and one that caused considerable inconvenience and disruption for students wishing to pursue their studies and for staff of some of the university's most important library facilities," a spokesman explained.

"Those occupying the building were repeatedly asked to leave quietly and peacefully but chose not to do so. Attempts to negotiate an amicable resolution had failed.

"A significant proportion of those occupying the Radcliffe Camera were not Oxford University students and their intentions were unclear."

The Bodleian Library stores all books published in the UK.

Of course, the fact that it's the Bodleian would make me put up with just about anything. :) I understand where they're coming from--I have a lot of student debt. I wonder what they'd think of tuition paid here in the US, even at public universities?

Barbaric and deviant

--both for those in the video and those fetishists who would pay to watch for sexual pleasure.

Chinese rabbit-crushing video condemned

In one widely-circulated video, a group of young women, smiling and giggling, cuddle and play with small rabbits and then crush them to death.

A woman places a rabbit on a table in one scene, covers it with a glass plate, then sits on it until the animal dies.

In another, a woman crushes a young rabbit with her stiletto shoes.

Sick.

We usually hear of the hearbreaking rapes against women and children in the Congo

But, despite a strong taboo, three men have come forward to discuss their ordeals as victims of soldiers, to remind us that rape is a violent act, used to dehumanise, perpetrated against both women and men. 24% of men, and 39% of women--according to a study cited in the video--have been raped in Congo, although many rapes go unreported, so those numbers may not reflect the true horror.

Male rape victim in DR Congo speaks out

Five--count them--five

Family members in one deployment, all serving in Afghanistan. A man, his wife, his brother, stepbrother, and cousin, all there at the same time. Wow. I wish them well.

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Good

Three plead guilty to Auschwitz sign theft

Three men have pleaded guilty to the theft of the infamous "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign from the Auschwitz death camp, Polish prosecutors have said.

Under a plea bargain, the men - two Poles and a Swede - accepted prison terms of between 28 and 32 months.

The sign was recovered cut into three pieces three days after its theft in December last year.

Of the six million people, mostly Jews, murdered in the Nazi Holocaust, one million were killed at Auschwitz.

Three other Poles were convicted already for stealing the sign. The Swede, who was originally thought to be the mastermind is supposed to have neo-Nazi connexions. However, authorities believe a second Swede, unknown to them, was actually behind the plot. The sign was stolen and divided into in three pieces but recovered and restored.

I wish them well on an uphill battle

The newly-weds fighting to stop deportation

Same-sex couples where one partner is not a US citizen say they fear the prospect of being forced to live apart. While gay marriage is permitted in a small number of US states, federal law prevents same-sex partners from sponsoring their spouse's visa and allowing them to stay in America.

"It was amazing. It was what I'd always imagined," says Joshua Vandiver, reflecting on the day he married his boyfriend Henry Velandia.

The couple, who met in Princeton, had been together for four years before they tied the knot in Connecticut this summer. But, unlike most newly-weds, the post-honeymoon glow is tinged with a feeling of fear about their future.

"I'm very scared that Henry could be torn away from me," says Mr Vandiver. "It's a very frightening thing."

Horrible

Shock in Ghana over gruesome death of 'witch'

Police say the suspects tortured the woman, Ama Hemmah, until she confessed to being a witch, before dousing her with kerosene and setting her on fire.

She died from her injuries the following day.

According to reports, the suspects say that they poured anointing oil on the woman which caught fire as they were trying to drive out an evil spirit.

Our correspondent says newspaper pictures showing the woman's injuries have caused revulsion in Ghana, and the incident has been condemned by human rights and women's activists.

One of the suspects is believed to be a pastor. This is a horrible crime in the name of religion--even it it were a matter of exorcism rather than a witch killing. This woman was 72 years old. I wouldn't be surprised to find her marginalised in some way, something that was often the case in witchcraft accusations in Europe and America. The belief in witchcraft, and measures against it, long predate Christianity in sub-Saharan Africa, but with the coming of Christianity, there's a likely chance of witch killings as the new religion clashes with old beliefs.

Obviously, I'm back

It was a reasonably good visit, although my grandmother wasn't able to go over to my mom's for Thanksgiving dinner. We brought her a plate later that afternoon though, and I stayed overnight with her. She's looking very frail. :(

I got a lot of rest while I was there, and remembered to bring my CPAP machine this time. Last night, sleeping back in my own bed, the CPAP air smelled like my grandmother's house, a very comforting smell.

Today I don't have game notes to do. I can't use my passes for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows yet. I guess the main things on my schedule are going to the store, picking up a bus pass, coming back and cleaning the fish tank. That's pretty much it. Oh, and watch the latest episode of 'Tower Prep' that I have on the DVR. So it's going to be a sort of slow and easy day.

Okay, I should go get a shower and get ready to go. I'll write later, really.

A carjacker got more than he bargained for

when he took a car with a baby inside. Both parents broke out windows and got him to crash the car into something. Mom got dragged along some ways. But their infant daughter was fine when all was said and done.

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What a wonderful way to deal with tragedy

Bibliotherapy in a different way than we usually mean it...

Murdered 6-year-old lives on through children’s book: Her lively tale of a bear and a unicorn transcends Thanksgiving tragedy

'One day, Muriel asked her daughter: “Tell me a story.” Instantly, an impromptu tale of a bear and a unicorn poured out.

This past year, Makayla’s parents would listen to that tape over and over and over. The lively, well-structured fantasy was their private keepsake until they wondered: If they shared this story with Makayla’s friends, would it keep her memory alive?

From that simple question was born a book: “The Bear’s Castle” by Makayla Joy Sitton. (The book is on Amazon.com, and available directly by clicking here)'.

Makayla was six when a member of her family pulled out guns at Thanksgiving and ended her life. Her parents were left with hours of audiotapes of her chatting, including the story that became this book. A CD of her telling the story is included.

I can't imagine the pain they have gone through, but they took that pain and did something productive with it to keep the memory of their daughter alive. Sales of the book help pay for classes in the arts for disadvantaged children. Makayla loved music, dancing, and art.

For more on the case, there's this:

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Happy Thanksgiving

I'm going to (theoretically) be staying at my grandmother's overnight, so things will be quiet on this blog unless I use my Kindle. :) I haven't actually talked to my mother about her coming to get me (haven't been able to reach her), but my grandmother did say they were coming this morning to get me, so I'm ready, I'm packed, and just waiting at this point, eating a little cheese and crackers since I should eat something before I go.

When I spoke to my grandmother, she was feeling very poorly and sounded pretty weak. I hope she's doing a little better with her today. She's so very delicate now.

Okay, I guess I'll check on the news for today. Hope you have a great holiday.

It's not easy living in an anarcho-syndicalist commune when you're a lowly peasant, with wandering kings repressing you

Help! Help! I'm being repressed!

Listen, strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony. You can't expect to wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you. I mean, if I went 'round, saying I was an emperor just because some moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me, they'd put me away.

I do believe I will dust off my VHS version of Holy Grail and watch sometime during the holiday weekend. Oh, I do so love coconuts....hard to believe I was only 8 years old when this came out.

Not feeling the best

I went to bed early last night because my back and stomach were bothering me. The stomach's okay this morning, but my back issue has spread from the lower back all the way up to the neck and I'm aching all over. The weather is unseasonably warm, with rain in the forecast, so that may be something, I don't know. But I'm sorry I didn't get around to blogging last night. I'm going to a friend's house tonight so may get in late, so we'll see.

Hope you have a wonderful day.

On a spooky full moon in November, a ghost story

'The Highwayman': original poem by Alfred Noyes, a somewhat shortened version sung by Loreena McKennitt here (there's a delay in the audio on the video, so you may just want to listen to it):



And still of a winter's night, they say, when the wind is in the trees,
When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
When the road is a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,
A highwayman comes riding—
Riding—riding—
A highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door.

That's how the moon looks to me, tonight, as the clouds pass in front of it so very quickly and it shines its full face upon the night.

First bus in, last bus out

Today was not a typical Sunday. I went over to do my normal pre-game activities, but there was no game as Brenda was off at a ball-and-joint doll meet (she makes clothes for them, then gets together with other enthusiasts every couple of months or so). Instead, the gamemaster and I spent the afternoon watching a marathon of Tower Prep through cable on-demand. It's an interesting show. It reminds me a bit of 'The Prisoner', although it's less cerebral, with more action. There have been five episodes so far--and I got to see four today. Unfortunately I had to leave on the last bus that would get me home before I could see the last one--the last bus you can take and still transfer to another leaves the transit centre at 7:20 pm on Sundays. I can watch it at home, of course, but it's not as fun as watching with a friend. :)

I will say (and there is a spoiler coming) that my years of playing Call of Cthulhu have taught me that if you find part to an old mainframe computer that happens to be mothballed deep under your school, do not put the part in. There was probably a reason it was abandoned in the first place, like perhaps that it is quite mad and ready to send shocking bolts of electricity at you if you don't essentially play a video game well. Hey, I'm just saying.

Anyway, it's the first TV show I've been interested in for awhile, with good character development and variety. The mysteries make it appealing. It comes on Tuesdays at 8 pm on the Cartoon Network (which perhaps should be renamed, as this is not a cartoon. Of course the History Channel has aliens and A&E ceased to have any arts on it long ago.)

Well, I got my exercise for the day

I took the bus over to the shopping centre but pushed the cart with five canvas bags of groceries all the way home. I cleaned out the refrigerator, and I'll take the trash out after a little breather...I'm rather pooped at the moment. Then I'll work on the game notes. But give me a half hour to just sit, with the little massaging cushion on.

I almost stopped in at the gas station to say hi since it was on my way home, but they looked relatively busy and I had refrigerated goods to get home.

That reminds me--must check on my friend who I used to work with to see if he's doing better--he was in the hospital for days but it's been a week since he got out, so I'm hoping all is well.

I should also call my mom and arrange to go to Danville on Thanksgiving.

But right now I'm going to sit for a bit.

Oh, I'm getting a late start today

I set the alarm for 7 am, but got up at 9:30. My plans for today:

1. Go get something to eat (probably at Subway), for I have no food in the house. [I now have enough points for a free foot-long. They were pleasant, the radio was playing oldies, and I read part of the NY Times while eating.]
   
2. Go to the grocery so I will have food in the house. [Yay for food in the house. Everything was incredibly healthy. I got things like yoghurt, applesauce, Indian food packets, and pouches of tuna that I could take to work. I'm spending way too much money in the cafeteria and snack machines now that I'm there 8 hours a day. But I got cereal for the mornings because if I get breakfast bars or Pop-Tarts, I eat them too fast. :) I also got some snacks for the game--cheese, crackers, grapes, and walnuts, since Brenda won't be there tomorrow and I actually thought ahead for goodies.]
   
3. Pick up a bus pass at the grocery store. [Decided to wait till Tuesday, so I don't get them mixed up or anything.]
   
4. Clean out the refrigerator to put said food away.
   
5. Take out the trash.
   
6. Finish the game notes.
   
7. Pay my cable and cell phone bills.
   

It's not much, but it should occupy me for the next several hours, especially as I will have to schlep home with the granny cart. :) It's cloudy but I don't think it's supposed to rain today. Let's hope not, anyway.

I came home a bit early today, too

because the website I normally use to do my secondary duties for the last hour or so of my shift was down. Since I'd finished everything else, I decided to just come on home.

I've spent that extra time going through my news reader. I found a few interesting things, but nothing really worth blogging about (until I hit the recommended items, anyway).

I'm glad the week is over and there's the weekend to look forward to. I'd love to go see the newest Harry Potter film this weekend, but my passes aren't good for it yet and I'd rather get to see it free. Plus, I want to see it with my best friend and we haven't officially made plans yet.

Next week is a short week. Thursday's Thanksgiving, of course, and I'm also off Friday, so I'll probably spend Thursday night at my grandmother's and come back Friday evening. We'll see. Must remember to take the CPAP machine if I do, though--that one time was awful, when I forgot and couldn't sleep all night.

Okay, I'm going to wander off and decide what to do next. I'll write later, though.

Wow (if true)

It's not 100% verified, but, reasonable in a crazy sort of way...

Doctors Save Girl's Hand By Grafting It To Her Leg For 3 Months

When Ming Li arrived at the Zhengzhou hospital after having been run over by a tractor last June, her left hand was completely severed from her body and her arm was mangled. To keep her hand alive, doctors temporarily attached the appendage it to her right calf.

After three months, Ming's arm had healed sufficiently to reattach the hand, which doctors recently transplanted. She can now move her wrist, and the reattached hand is reportedly showing a healthy pink color, suggesting that circulation to the extremity has resumed. Two more surgeries are scheduled for the future to improve hand function and prevent scarring.

Home a little early tonight

I had a doctor's appointment that ran late. By the time I would have been able to take the bus back, I'd be at work for just about a half hour. So I went on home.

The good news is my retinas and optic nerves look good and the pressure in my eyes has actually gone down a little. So no need for medications or anything. Yay. I have an appointment next May for another exam, including a field of vision test, early in the morning.

So now I'm home, have eaten some free pizza, and am settling in for the night. I have a couple of projects to do on the computer, then I think I'll read for a bit. I was trying to read The House of Seven Gables in the waiting room but that had distracting yet inane TV on like 'Full House' and 'That 70s Show', the latter of which I'd never seen before but seemed, well, incredibly stupid (and I grew up during the 70s). I'm not much of a situation comedy fan, and anyway I much prefer British humour. In American television I prefer dramas, although one of my favourite shows growing up was M*A*S*H, which is a little hard to categorise, I suppose. I don't watch much TV now at all, to the amazement of my lunch crew, who mostly go for 'reality' shows that have competitions, like 'Dancing with the Stars' and 'American Idol', neither of which's appeal I particulary understand.

I think I'll chill for about an hour before I do anything else, though, maybe listen to some non-angsty music, like Loreena McKennitt. (Just folk music full of romance, death, and transformations sung in a pleasing, sweet voice to awesome instruments I can't pronounce.) :)

I'll probably write something later. But for now, good night.

PS

Guess I was feeling angsty last night...I gravitated to Natalie Merchant, Alanis Morissette, and Jewel in my listening, downloaded some free books from Amazon [I counted, I now have 125 on the Kindle, mostly free or nominal in price, if you don't count things like the fact that there are collections], went to bed early, got up at 11:30 pm and by God ordered that free pizza, then stayed up till 1:30 am playing Civilization IV.

Who knows what was going on? I guess it was the finances. But I feel much better now that I can afford lunch without rolling pennies. :) Anyway, I hope this will be a nice day, even if it's rather gloomy and cold outside.

I'm getting ready to go to the pharmacy

then later today I need to leave work, go to my ophthalmologist to have the pressure in my eyes checked, and come back. I tried to get it rescheduled but it has to be in the afternoon--maybe ocular pressure is different then or something. I may have a ride home this evening, which is good, because I'm getting hard-pressed for light clothing--most of mine are dark purples and black. I like to wear lighter clothes on the days that I'm catching the bus at night so I'm more visible, although I do have a small flashlight to try to help them see me.

I'm dressed up today, because I felt like it, and have makeup and such on. If it were warmer I'd wear my purple satin and velvet tiered skirt with this blouse, but it's pretty chilly so I have on velvet black pants instead. The shoes have been remarkably warm so long as I wear socks with them. I may see about finding a cheap pair of snow boots and just carry my shoes with me, rather than buying another pair of Birkenstocks, because I'm not so sure they'll do great in snow. We'll see.

Okay, I guess I need to finish getting ready and head out of here. Hope you have a wonderful day.

Whew!

For a moment this page was showing just the titles with links to posts. That was weird. I republished a post and it went back to normal. I have no clue what happened.

Listening to...

This could have been written for me.

'Life is Sweet'
by Natalie Merchant / Indian Love Bride ©1997

It's a pity
it's a crying shame
who pulled you down again?
how painful it must be
to bruise so easily inside

It's a pity
it's a downright crime
but it happens all the time
you wanna stay little daddy's girl
wanna hide from the vicious world outside

But don't cry
know the tears'll do no good
so dry your eyes

Your daddy he's the iron man
a battleship wrecked on dry land
your mama she's a bitter bride
she'll never be satisfied,
and you know
that's not right

But don't cry
know the tears'll do no good
so dry your eyes

They told you life is hard
it's misery from the start
it's dull and slow and painful

I tell you life is sweet
in spite of the misery
there's so much more
be grateful

Who do you believe?
who will you listen to
who will it be?
it's high time that you decide
in your own mind

Tried to comfort you
tried to tell you to be patient
they are blind
they can't see

Fortune gonna come some day
all gonna fade away
your daddy the war machine and
your mama the long and suffering
prisoner of what she can not see

They told you life is hard
it's misery from the start
it's dull and slow and painful

I tell you life is sweet
in spite of the misery
there's so much more
be grateful

Who do you believe?
who will you listen to
who will it be?

It's high time you decide
it's time you make up your own sweet little mind

They told you life is long
be thankful when it's done
don't ask for more
you should be grateful

But I tell you life is short
be thankful because before you know
it will be over

Cause life is sweet
and life is also very short
your life is sweet

I also like 'Ophelia', from the same album (also called Ophelia):


Come to think of it, it would work as a theme for one of my game characters, Tessa, who started as a novice, is a highly trained martial artist, was seduced by a mobster, and is currently, well, a bit mad.

I really do like just about anything I've heard from Natalie Merchant, both as a singer for 10,000 Maniacs and in her solo career.

So tomorrow's payday, which is great, although I doubt there will be much left

On the bright side, I still have a $42 credit on my electric bill (even getting some interest, from what I can tell) left over from my security deposit. On the other hand, I need to spend $125 on medicine alone tomorrow, plus some toiletries, pay my bills, get my bus pass, and if I'm lucky I'll have money for some food, which would be great because today I rolled $3.50 in pennies for lunch [they actually had vegetarian chili]. (I didn't even have enough for my 'free' pizza, because even though the points give you the pizza free, there's the delivery charge, tax, and tip to consider.) Fortunately when I got home I found some frozen vegetables to steam that come with pasta, a sauce, and cashews, so that's what I'm eating now. There's also one of spring vegetables in a citrus sauce to have for later if this isn't filling enough. I totally forgot they were in the refrigerator. Besides that there's a box of Irish oatmeal, some expired canned tuna, a can of pears, a can of sauerkraut, and a chickpea, barley, and mushroom soup I threw together from what was on hand, but I'm almost afraid to try it. (I really can't cook.) Still, I shouldn't let that go to waste, so I'll have some in a little while, unless it's just awful. We'll see.

Interesting bit of scientific detecting

From 1918 Autopsy, A First Glimpse of Sickle Cell — and a Warning

It's things like this that pique a medical librarian's curiosity. :)

Let me get this straight

You're in gaol for obstruction of justice for writing a ransom note for another child and you want your bail reduced because you lead authorities to the dismembered remains of your young step-daughter?

Disabled girl was dismembered, stepmom says: Court documents show she's seeking bail reduction after leading police to remains

Elisa Baker told police on Oct. 24 that Zahra "was deceased, that her body had been dismembered and that it would be recovered at different sites," according to the documents. She was allowed to accompany police the following two days to sites around Hickory, in western North Carolina, showing them where Zahra's remains were.

On Friday, police said they found a bone that matches DNA from Zahra, and believed other remains were about five miles away. They have not said, and the court documents don't explain, how the girl died.

Zahra's father, Adam Baker, was arrested on a host of charges unrelated to the girl's disappearance, but is free on bail. Calls to his lawyer were not returned Monday.

It's not clear yet exactly how she was involved with Zahra's death, but knowing where the body parts seems to me a clear indication that more charges are coming and this is someone who should not even have bail considered, and I'm not sure the father should be out on bail either. There is evidence of isolating the child for weeks before she died and a suspicious fire hours before she was reported missing.

What an awful fate for a young girl already struck by cancer and the loss of hearing and a limb.

I agree with a local resident, who said: 'Most little kids, they're afraid of having monsters under the bed or in the closet. This poor little child, she was living with monsters right out there in the open.'

Poor dog, poor family :(

Hero dog from Afghanistan mistakenly killed: 'Target' euthanized at Arizona shelter before owner could claim her

A dog named Target that lived through explosions in war-torn Afghanistan couldn't survive a brief stay at an Arizona animal shelter.

The shepherd mix was featured on "The "Oprah Winfrey Show" and local media for her heroics in Afghanistan, got loose from her owners on Friday and was put down on Monday after spending the weekend in a county shelter.

An unidentified employee at the Pinal County facility was placed on administrative leave after euthanizing the female shepherd mix by mistake, county Animal Care and Control officials said.

In Afghanistan, Target frightened a suicide bomber inside a military base. Who knows how many lives were saved? It's sad she made it all the way here only to be put to death by mistake. Now all they'll have of a heroine is her cremains.

It may be small, but it packs a punch

Video of a cat facing down a (and at one point two) alligators, who decide perhaps it's best to slink back into the water.



Ah, Louisiana, home of my youth, where I used to wade in lakes full of water moccasins, play in woods full of copperheads and bobcats, and where Old George the alligator would walk back up the state every time they moved him from the lake down South. It's amazing I survived. I guess to be a cat in alligator country, you have to have a certain amount of chutzpah.

Home and getting warmer, thankfully

Unlike yesterday, it rained pretty steadily, which is good, for as I mentioned, we are in a drought and have had very little rain since June. On the other hand, the rain was followed by a lot of wind. The gusts were enough to blow me a couple of steps a few times as I was standing waiting for the bus--and I am pretty hefty.

I stopped by the library on the way home to pick up an interlibrary loan. It's a book called Picnic at Hanging Rock, which is a story by an Australian author set in Queensland, I believe, and it was the basis of a very strange and aethereal film back in the 1980s of the same name. I stumbled upon it by an odd series of associations. I was watching something on YouTube, and one of the related videos had Gheorghe Zamfir, a Romanian who is probably the most famous pan flautist in the world, and then I went to his Wikipedia article, which mentioned the use of his music in the soundtrack from the motion picture, which led me to the article for the film, which led me to an article on the book. A search of the public library turned up that it didn't carry it, and on Amazon a copy is $20 for the library binding version, $35 for a new version of the 1991 paperback through other sellers, and besides, I want to read it, not necessarily buy it, so I thought, gee, how about ILL'ing a copy? I'm curious to see if it is as mysterious. I suspect so, because it apparently had an alternate ending published sometime later. The novel is about a school trip at the turn of the 20th century and the disappearance of the girls at a real-life landmark called Hanging Rock. It is one of the odder films I've ever seen, so I thought I'd like the book. I should review it here. (I know, I still owe you a review for Room, which I haven't finished and have put on hold to read Gary Corby's debut mystery The Pericles Commission, which I must say I've been quite captured by. So I guess that's two Australian authors I'm reading at the moment, since he is as well.)

So, I've got quite a bit on my plate in terms of reading. The bus driver and I discussed The Wizard of Oz tonight on the way home. He loved the movie but didn't realise it was a book, and I gave him some of the differences between the two and pointed out there were several more books, which I'm looking forward to reading, as I have the complete collection on the Kindle, which was only 89 cents for all 15 books. :)

Well, I guess that's all for now. I need to catch up on the news.

The best 'Simon's Cat' video ever

It's almost time for snow. Here's an animated film to get you into the mood.



I so need closed-in Birks before snow happens here, though. So hopefully it will wait a bit. :)

Home after a very long day

Ever had just a really blah day? More than likely. And today was a very blah Monday to boot. No real problems. But the weather was rather cold and icky, and firmly Novembery here in the Northern Hemisphere. I think it's the first time in awhile the sun hasn't shown here in awhile. It didn't rain properly, just spit a bit, which when you're in a drought, is just being a tease. There's a head/chest thing going around and I'm wondering if I'm coming down with it. I've been achy, my throat scratchy, and my nose has run all day. Or it could be the weather change. Who knows?

Yesterday was the Call of Cthulhu game and the big Kroger run, so I didn't write last night. The game's going rather well at the moment, entertaining in some strange twists. A subset of characters are on a mission, but the rest of us are having some interesting downtime. One of my characters is in a relationship with a necromancer, and she got to see his burnt, crusty, undead cat familiar without running away and screaming. Of course, she's still feeling guilty that she just slept with a dragon in human form--especially because she doesn't know he was so charming because he is a dragon. And that's just the drama in my little relationship. Margaret's other character (one is the necromancer boyfriend) is getting much more grief.

I always said, give me tentacles to lop off--it's things like the IRS, INS, caring for gaggles of other people's children, and psycho wives who prick holes in your condoms that ruin your day in the game.

Thankfully our own lives are much more boring by comparison, I guess. :)

I forgot how much I like Buffy

I'm watching Buffy: The Vampire Slayer on LOGO. [Okay, there's spoilers coming, but my God, if you haven't watched it yet, you've obviously been off at the edge of the world.] It's that part of the series where they're up against Glory, Buffy's mom just got diagnosed with a brain tumour, and Anya just pointed out to Giles that he was stupid for selling two items, including an amulet together. 'But those spells were lost ages ago, and besides, the young woman to whom I sold them to would have to have immense power...oh.'

Thank you LOGO. :)

Okay, I'm not an atheist--I believe in many Gods, as it so happens

and maybe, just maybe, at the top of the Plotinan God Tree, there might be one unknowable Being above all other Gods, although I don't think Its what most people envision, nor does It go around revealing Itself to mere mortals. But...I have to admit, as far as the whole Heaven vs. Hell thing goes, these guys have a point, and there's a great Einstein quote at the end that I totally agree with. [Warning: Those who find a great many things blasphemous might want to skip this one entirely, although I doubt you'll have much trouble with the Hell bits.]



Via Joe.My.God.

Personally I like the reincarnation route myself. Sign me up.

I know it was yesterday that we honoured the fallen, past, and present veterans

but I found this on another blog that I read, and I thought it was a fitting tribute, even a day late, especially for those whose sacrifices gave us this day as Veteran's/Remembrance/Armistice Day--those who fought the War to End All Wars.



PS In the comments, Bob suggested this, the Finbar Furey version of the same song. The video is very well done, and the singing chilling. I'm not sure which version I prefer, really. But they're both well worth a listen.


Furey's - Green Fields of France
Uploaded by Lunethique. - Explore more music videos.

Now for some silliness

I've seen this before, but I love what Jeremy Yoder wrote on his blog:

'The Internet has now achieved its purpose -- I mean, once you've mashed-up Star Trek and Monty Python, what is there left to do? Nothing. There is nothing left to do.'



Enjoy.

I think I know why I'm sleeping so much

Today I was in bed by 7:45 pm, ostensibly for a nap, but I just woke up (at 12: 45 am). But for a few minutes before I fell asleep, I texted back and forth with my friend who's in the hospital. And I had a gnosis, of sorts.

I don't know how to be by myself anymore.

For years, I filled up my time with other people's projects. I was always over at friends' houses, partly because they needed me, and partly to avoid being home alone. I'd spent so much time alone when I was growing up. I was the quintessential child who could amuse herself for hours because she had to and didn't know things could be otherwise.

Then I grew up and went to the dorms, then to my relationship with my ex-husband, which lasted six years, although I left the marriage itself after six months. During that time, I pretty much did whatever he wanted, and subsumed my own personality for a time. Then, for the first time I was out on my own, and began to lean heavily on my friends to occupy my time, spending very little time at home, and working very hard at nesting/hoarding in such a way that no one would visit me, but I would go to them.

Now, for the first time in years, I have spare time. But I'm not spending in cleaning, or in hobbies, or reading (although I have read a lot more since July, it's mostly been waiting for the bus or during breaks at work, out and about, rather than at home). I rarely turn on the TV. I come home, I work on the computer, blog, etc., and then I fall asleep. It's been frustrating me since the schedule change in July. I kept thinking I'd just adjust eventually. But it isn't a physical issue or anything. And although it's great to be getting a lot of sleep after years of almost none (good quality sleep at that--my skin is practically glowing, and my blood sugar in the morning is finally at decent norms, and I think that has something to do with it), I'm essentially avoiding being with myself. And that has to stop.

So, I'm going to make a little early resolution to spend time with myself each night and actually enjoy doing productive things, or unproductive ones like TV, for that matter, but mostly productive ones. I'll try to clean a bit, read, do a puzzle, do notes, whatever it takes, and go to bed about 11 or 12 and get up at my norm of 7-8:30 am. Eight hours' sleep should be fine. An occasional sleep in is fine.

I spent 11 years in a history grad programme without getting my PhD

If only I had seen this first...



Like many grads in the humanities, I wound up as a librarian. Granted, I've been underemployed for years, but in the long run, I think it was a better idea.

Of course, there is this:



Thanks to David Rothman for sharing.

It's been the morning for phone calls

I got two bits of bad news within five minutes of each other this morning as I was doing my laundry. One, a person I know was fired after 23 years of dedicated service at the floral shop he worked for essentially because his health is poor and no doubt he's costing them in insurance. 'Well, you're slowing down. We don't want you to get ill.' Phooey on them. I hope their shop runs into the ground. He was the type of employee that came early, stayed late, and managed to keep it together through the intense pressure of times like Valentine's Day, when florists are as busy as accountants at tax time. Unfortunately, wrongful termination claims are difficult to prove. But that was just wrong of them to do, and I hope their shop goes under, to be quite honest.

Then there's a friend, a former co-worker, who called to check up on me because he saw someone who looked like me at the bus stop, which he could see from his hospital window. He's very sick with complications of pneumonia. He's pretty young, not yet thirty, but this is really doing a number on him. True to form, he didn't focus on his problems, but was asking how my grandmother was.

These two people need some good thoughts winging their way to them. I know they're in my prayers.

10 days after, another 'Fiddler' great dies

10 days after Joseph Stein, who wrote the 'book' for 'Fiddler on the Roof', died, his colleague Jerry Bock, who gave us the wonderful music for the show, as well as other musicals, has passed as well.

I can't think of any better tribute than his own music...


PS I wrote this a few days ago. I'm not sure why it didn't publish. Sorry about that.

Well, drat

I got a call today asking if I would like to be my state medical library association's president (it's a two year gig). I explained that I would love to, but I don't own a car and this makes it unlikely that I can get to every meeting, and I rely on others to get to the ones outside of Lexington. Which is a bummer, because I really would like to do it. I was president of one of the groups that later merged into this organisation years ago, and really enjoyed it.

Sigh. I really need to be doing more to save for a car. Of course, starting this month, I'm finally starting to pay on my student loans, so that might be a little more difficult.

On a high note, the chief of staff and another surgeon at the hospital caught me in the hall the other day and really complimented what I do. And I had a site-visit from the state coordinator of the early literacy project I run and they were pleased too. Plus...I had another book review published on Friday. It's in this month's issue of The Journal of Hospital Librarianship and is on a book about operating interlibrary loan services on a shoestring budget.

So career-wise, things are nice, and I've been working a little overtime, but that's ending as of tomorrow. The data entry work is going well (that was where the overtime came in).

As an added bonus, I got rides both to and from work today as one of my co-workers saw me walking to the bus stop this morning and took me over to the hospital, and of course there's the nice woman who has been giving me rides home the last few few weeks.

Tomorrow I'm going over to a friend's house so I need to remember to wear light clothing since I'll be catching the bus. Fortunately the bus stop across from the hospital is a little more visible than the one directly in front of it (no trees).

I've been reading through my news feeds as I had not done so for several days. I found this gem:

http://www.savethewords.org/ is run by the folks at the Oxford English Dictionary. It allows you to 'adopt' words that are considered obsolete so that they can continue to be used and enjoyed. The site wasn't loading as I write this, but that should (hopefully) be a temporary thing. Thanks to LISNews for the link.

Okay, I think I'm going to go do some reading. I still need to finish the New York Times on the Kindle and then I have Charlaine Harris' Grave Secret out from the library and need to read it before the 16th. The Times reminds me, there was a sad but interesting story today:

For Afghan Wives, a Desperate, Fiery Way Out

It is shameful here to admit to troubles at home, and mental illness often goes undiagnosed or untreated. Ms. Zada, the hospital staff said, probably suffered from depression. The choices for Afghan women are extraordinarily restricted: Their family is their fate. There is little chance for education, little choice about whom a woman marries, no choice at all about her role in her own house. Her primary job is to serve her husband’s family. Outside that world, she is an outcast.

“If you run away from home, you may be raped or put in jail and then sent home and then what will happen to you?” asked Rachel Reid, a researcher for Human Rights Watch who tracks violence against women.

Returned runaways are often shot or stabbed in honor killings because the families fear they have spent time unchaperoned with a man. Women and girls are still stoned to death. Those who burn themselves but survive are often relegated to grinding Cinderella existences while their husbands marry other, untainted women.

The women often mistakenly think that immolating themselves will be quick. Instead, it can lead to burns, infections, lingering deaths, or horrible scars. The fact that they feel so desperate that they do this is so sad and terrible.

This came up in conversation today

It's been 26 years, but YKWIA and I could remember it almost verbatim--and I have an awful memory otherwise.

In my head throughout the day for some reason

I forgot about all the books in the video, and the books burning...

They say misfortune comes in threes--pray for Haiti

Earthquake...cholera...tropical storm

Tropical storm Tomas taking torrential rains to Haiti

Apparently there is a saying in Haiti: 'We are bamboo. We bend, but we don’t break.' I see proof of that every day, but as one UN official put it (and I may be paraphrasing--I don't have the quote at hand), 'Can't this country get a break?'

My thoughts and prayers are with them. I think another donation to MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières)/Doctors Without Borders is in order.

How to know you've been fighting a war too damn long

Kids on 9/11 now fighting long Afghan war: Many of the troops who invaded in 2001 have left military and moved on

After awhile, don't you kind of lose sight of why? I don't think we have just yet, but still.... And the Afghani people have seen 30 years of war, with the Soviets, the Taliban, and the Americans/NATO forces all in that time. So sad.

I don't know what the outcome will be, but it will no doubt be messy. One of the things I like about the New York Times (I have a free two-month subscription on the Kindle, so I've being reading that every day) is that they always list the number of troops that have died by that day, along with any new ones. A great proportion seem to be from the 101st Airborne, which I believe is based, or at least partly so, here in Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Quote of the day

Cree proverb: 'Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize that we can't eat money.'

And on a lighter note...

'To err is human...to arr is pirate!'

Can you tell I've been checking out Northern Sun?

My favourite T-shirt is on sale for only $9 but I'm afraid to wear it because I might just get lynched, living in the Bible belt as I do. It says 'God was my co-pilot, but we crashed in the mountains and I had to eat him.' So wrong. Nothing against God Himself, but I hate the whole 'God is my co-pilot' thing.

Stiff-upper-lip journalism, sans a certain alien saviour in a blue box

'Where's Doctor Who when you need him? In fiction, I imagine!'

Damn the bad luck when you have giant alien killer crabs to deal with. :)

It is 7:17 am and I'm just getting up from my nap

Told you. Bleh, I'm groggy.

May I just express my thanks

even though she probably won't see it here, and of course I thank her all the time, but I really appreciate my co-worker who has been giving me rides home about 3-4 times a week. I do not think I could have gotten home today without falling asleep on the bus if I'd had to take it, and I was dressed very nicely, but in dark purples, so I'd probably have been missed by them. I try to dress in light clothes on days I know she can't take me. She has been wonderful, and I tell her that each time she gives me a ride, but tonight I am feeling doubly thankful.

PS Last night I caught the bus and was worried they'd pass me by even though I was in light clothes (some drivers have a tendency to get into the left lane too early in preparation for the Idle Hour loop). When I saw the driver who looks for me each time, I said, 'I thought you just drove on Mondays and Tuesdays.' He said, 'It is Tuesday. Don't worry, it'll get better.' I'd spent most of the day thinking it was Thursday.

Well, at least I remembered it was Tuesday long enough to prepare for election day and go vote. :) I just promptly forgot the Tuesday part after that.

It is 7:35 pm and I am so tired I can barely see straight

I went into work early, did much lifting and toting, had a site visit from the state coalition coordinator for the early literacy project in which I'm involved, finally ate something around 3 pm, and put in many, many data entry forms. I'm bushed. I'm tired. I'm pooped. I'm going to go take a nap, but I wanted to check in here because my evening 'naps' sometimes turn into 10-12 hours' worth of sleep.

Yawn.

Next on the agenda--a book review that's due this week.

If I had $25,000-$32,000 to spend

I think I might just spend it on this...

The Nissan Leaf--100% electric; no emissions no tailpipe, even.

(I'm not putting this here as an actual commercial for Nissan; it just intrigues me, and I found the commercial concept interesting (although highly unbelievable--but if you want to know how they did it, there's a video for that, too, and I like how they did it).

Here's an actual review:

Adorable white tent bats in the rainforest

Have you seen this?

The 'fastidious librarian' 'who lived longer than any person has ever lived'.

It's a commercial for Raymond James.  If only we could all have such a life. :)

I voted! Did you?

Well, it's been less than an hour and a half since our polls closed and already my choice for mayor has won here. Yay! But it should be interesting to see how the other races go. I've actually got the TV on (rare for me) for the results as they come in. Unfortunately, WLEX is also calling the race as of now for senator as Rand 'Aqua-Buddha' Paul--definitely NOT my pick. Of course, they're calling it with only 20% of the votes counted. I personally think that's a little early.

Did you vote? If not, are your polls still open (ours close early, at 6 pm)? Some of you may still have a chance. Please go out and vote!

PS As a first, I should point out that Gray ran as an openly gay candidate. And won. In Kentucky. Yay!

Okay I am SOOO not a Michael Jackson fan--but I give these people an A+ for creativity and effort

This is a house in Riverside, California:


They also did Marilyn Manson's version of 'This is Halloween'. Apparently it takes about 10 hours per minute to program the music and lights to sync.

Thanks to Brandon for sharing it with me.

Hah, that took a big chunk of time to watch before it's time to leave. :)

VOTE!

So says a sign that was hanging on my apartment building door last night. It was a pleasant reminder to get up early and vote (and provided details where for those who might not know.) So I set my alarm for 6:30 (it sometimes takes a good hour to actually get up), and just after that a very politically involved friend called to remind me. :) We talked politics for awhile and then I got ready. Now I am, and the fact of the matter is that I have to go to the polling place by about 8:30 so I can then catch my bus to arrive at the right time for work, but I have about 45 minutes to kill before leaving. I'm so excited, I just want to go ahead and go, but the library itself doesn't open until 9:30, when I'll already be at work, and although I could stay at the bus stop and read, it's a bit chilly for that. So I will rein in my enthusiasm. I guess I could take an earlier bus and get something to eat on the way to work, but really, I'm trying to be frugal at least until payday Thursday.

Oh, well, get out and vote, and exercise you're right to choose your representation. I won't tell you which way to vote, but please, just go ahead and go.

Happy Halloween! Happy Samhain!

I've been gaming all day, and I just got home from the a not-quite-so-big grocery run. I left an offering of a pomegranate and red wine outside as soon as I got home. Now I'm having some peanut butter and spreadable fruit. I'd like to go on to bed, but there is a nearly inevitable phone call from the game master to see what I thought about the game, so I'll stay up a bit to see if he calls.

Hope your weekend was a pleasant one.