Congratulations

to Mary Cheney and Heather Poe, who are expecting their first child in late spring. The child's famous grandfather-to-be, Dick Cheney, is said to welcoming this, his sixth granchild. The fact that the couple is lesbian has the conservative right in a tizzy, for which I say, get over it. They've been in a stable relationship for fifteen years, have had a good deal of success professionally and personally, and it's only normal to want to share that with a child. What matters most is how loved a child is, not who is doing the loving. Many children are raised by grandparents, an adopted parent, a single parent, and do fine. What's important is to have a circle of people who bring love into a child's life, regardless of their relationship to the child.

The sad thing is that Heather Poe is legally not connected to this child, as she will not be the birth mother and the state they live in, Virginia, does not accept parental rights for same-sex couples. I don't know if she can formally adopt the child or not--from what I've read, it seems like it would be a no.

Regardless, I wish them and the child the best. :)

Interesting--end users becoming more savvy?

Number of "Cyberchondriacs" – Adults Who Have Ever Gone Online for Health Information– Increases to an Estimated 136 Million Nationwide

Eighty-seven percent cyberchondriacs say that the health information they found online has been reliable (25% "very reliable" and 61% "somewhat reliable"). Interestingly, this has declined from 2005 when 90 percent felt this way. Of special note, the percentage of those who indicate that online medical information is "very reliable" has declined substantially from 37 percent in 2005 to the current 25 percent.

A jab at Microsoft?

This software allows for collaborative projects by storing the documents on Google's own servers rather than locally on a hard drive. The service is free, and unlike other projects by the search giant, advertising is not allowed. As this article points out, it could present a challenge to Microsoft, which usually operates on a single or a local area network (LAN), which doesn't have the reach of the Internet. That, coupled with free verses the $400 price of Microsoft Office, could lead many people to use Google's service. The company is promoting its service throughout schools, which are usually strapped for money, use word and data processing programs, and have a large base of techno-savvy students to experiment with the software.

Google offers free online software

Moon Base Alpha?

NASA plans permanent moon base in 20 years

a little late by science fiction's calculations, but an ambitious leap towards space colonisation nevertheless. Several other countries are interested in participating. It's about time we returned to the moon (or got there, just in case you're one of those people who believe they did it all with movie sets the first time). Now let's hope that no one gets the bright idea to store nuclear waste on the moon (okay, if you never watched Space:1999, you won't get the references here and in the title. I know, I'm being somewhat geeky. In that television series, a group of people stationed at Moonbase Alpha are lost in space after the ignition of nuclear wastes catapults the moon away from Earth's orbit, causing calamitous destruction on Earth and leaving the station inhabitants on their own as they hurtle through space.)

Fifteen years ago

I left my husband and our bosom companion (his partner now--as far as I know, I don't keep up with them that closely--for nineteen years) and got out of the strange, dysfunctional relationship I was in. I'd been married six months, but my brain had finally kicked in, wondering where I was and why I was with two gay men when I should be anywhere but there. Fortunately, I never promised 'until death do you part', but rather 'until love shall last' (which if it had ever really been there, didn't last much beyond a season), so I didn't break any oaths before God or anything. I just cut my losses and ran. It ended a saga that had lasted six years.

In the fifteen years since that day, I've grown as a person, although probably not as much as I could have, as I am resistant to growth. :) I've learnt a lot about why I wound up in that relationship and why I should have left or at least drawn lines in the sand sooner. I haven't gone on to any other relationship (I've dated hardly at all, and those were all disastrous and odd). I guess that would be the ultimate test of what I've learnt, but I won't settle for anything less than what I deserve in a relationship, and that may mean I never find someone who can measure up. But that's okay. I used to worry because my biological clock was ticking (I'm 39 now; I left at 24); now I doubt I should ever have children, and if I do, it will hopefully be by adoption when I am in a better position to be a mother. But I'm pretty happy alone, and it's not as if I'm totally alone--I have riches in terms of quality in friendship, even if the quantity is small.

I just thought I should mark the day with a little musing, and take a moment to thank one friend in particular for being there throughout it all and helping me come to my senses. You saved my life, and I'm very grateful.

This song makes me cry every time I hear it

It's hard to imagine what it's like when someone you love and often take for granted dies, but sometimes we get reminders of how it will feel, and we step back and look at what we say and do, and at our interactions, because there is no way to turn back time once it has passed. This song is such a reminder, and it makes me think of how I often blame others for my own shortcomings and yet I am very grateful to have friends, despite this, who will put up with my craziness either out of sheer stubborness and love. I just want to say I appreciate our friendship, no matter how frustrated I get sometimes. It's important to have someone in your life that you can really count on, especially to tell the truth, and I am truly blessed with this. That's a rare commodity these days. Granted, the truth can sometimes be brutal, and I hide from it quite often. But deep inside, I know it's important to embrace it--something I've learnt slowly--from just such a friendship.

I had no idea Christina Aguilera did this song until I did a search on it. She has a very powerful voice and does an excellent job with it. It's style is that of a torch song and will no doubt be making the drag circuits.

'Hurt'

Seems like it was yesterday when I saw your face
You told me how proud you were, but I walked away
If only I knew what I know today
Ooh, ooh
I would hold you in my arms
I would take the pain away
Thank you for all you've done
Forgive all your mistakes
There's nothing I wouldn't do
To hear your voice again
Sometimes I wanna call you
But I know you won't be there
Ohh I'm sorry for blaming you
For everything I just couldn't do
And I've hurt myself by hurting you
Some days I feel broke inside but I won't admit
Sometimes I just wanna hide
'cause it's you I miss
And it's so hard to say goodbye
When it comes to
this, oooh
Would you tell me I was wrong?
Would you help me understand?
Are you looking down upon me?
Are you proud of who I am?
There's nothing I wouldn't do
To have just one more chance
To look into your eyes
And see you looking back
Ohh I'm sorry for blaming you
For everything I just couldn't do
And I've hurt myself, ohh
If I had just one more day
I would tell you how much that I've missed you
Since you've been away
Ooh, it's dangerous
It's so out of line
To try and turn back time
I'm sorry for blaming you
For everything I just couldn't do
And I've hurt myself by hurting you

Wow, I'm tired

and a little sore, but it's a good type of tired, the type where you've worked very hard and accomplished a lot. Over the last few days I have sanded, primered, and painted a group of bookcases and then yesterday put in 16 hours in unpacking, sorting, and putting books up on the shelves. There's more to do tonight, actually. The only casualty was a knob that I broke when I dropped a shelf on my foot. I'm having trouble matching the knob, and I may have to call the carpenter to find out where she got them. Everything else has run pretty smoothly, although I am not in my element when it comes to painting--I've done very little, and most of that recently. I am in my element when it comes to the books, though. I have to admit, I resented having to do all this despite the fact that I agreed to it, but I wound up enjoying it. Maybe I'm just masochistic.

I started checking my blood sugar again the other day and it's been running a little over 200, which isn't good. I need to start eating better. At least my testing strips have fallen from $25 to $7, so I don't have an excuse not to test. My metformin is also $7; I take it really regularly in the morning, but I need to remember to take it in the evening.

That's about all I have to report for now. Have a good day.

A common enough tale

especially when set in Africa; this one is a photoessay of India, and of the stigma that AIDS has there, and of families torn apart by the disease

Stolen Childhoods

So it's good news that the Bill Clinton's Foundation provided 10,000 free paediatric doses of the medicines required to fight AIDS yesterday in India, and also announced that a deal had been brokered deeply cutting prices for 19 AIDS drugs to treat children worldwide, including halving the cost of the 3-in-1 pill to less than $60 per child. Worldwide, only 1 in 10 children with HIV has access to the healthcare needed to keep them alive, as opposed to 4 out of 10 adults (a depressing number in itself).

25 years ago

The first case of HIV/AIDS was diagnosed, although they weren't sure what they were dealing with at the time. The first actual known case of AIDS is of someone who died in Africa in 1959. But 1981 was the first recognition of a disease that has killed over 25 million people since it came on the scene.

WORLD AIDS DAY 2006: Disease is still winning

Please take a moment to remember those affected by this killer on today, World AIDS Day.

I feel grody

because I'm still covered in primer and paint after much washing of hands and hair and even a long soaking bath. Plus, since I took the bath last night I didn't shower this morning, and I just feel grody when I do that, even though I know I'm basically clean.

I haven't been blogging much because I've been really extremely busy, both at work and elsewhere. I'm primering and painting shelves, and then the book sorting will begin. At work, I had a lot of patients this week and I'm contemplating the need to move all the journals over a bit to even out the spacing and allow for room to grow next year. I am so not looking forward to it. Plus, I have a lot of older issues that need to be weeded, and I've offered them up on lists with some takers, but I'll have to pitch the rest, which bites for someone who's a hoarder. I haven't been working during the week at the gas station, at least, although I work tomorrow.

I'm getting into the holiday mood. I have the library's tree up (it is, after all, a pagan thing, not just a Christmas one, although for my own use I prefer live trees that are in a pot). It has tiny Little Golden Book ornaments left over from when one of the secretaries ran the library. It's on my desk since I rearranged the library and left no room. The blinking lights hypnotise me practically, but I think I'm ignoring them pretty well now. The skeleton has his Santa hat and dreidel. Secret Santa stuff starts next week. When will I shop? Aggh.

Okay, that's enough for now. Time to go start December off, though I just want to crawl back into bed. At least it's jeans day at work, but I'll have to bring a sweater with me. Today it's supposed to plummet from the 50s t0 the 20s and possibly have snow flurries. I can't believe it's December already. What happened to the year? Have a good day.