User:	alfreda89
	Date:	2009-07-13 18:14
	Subject:	CALDA needs 300 more surveys --
	Security:	Public
	Mood:	grim

A California Lyme Disease Association (CALDA) sponsored Survey will send message from patients to IDSA* Lyme panel --

Have you taken CALDA's new Lyme survey? If not, click here to participate. CALDA CEO Lorraine Johnson will present the results at the IDSA's Lyme guidelines hearing in Washington DC on July 30. (The hearing will be streamed live over the internet. Stay tuned to the CALDA web site for details.)

Feel free to pass this on to anyone you know who is dealing or has dealt with Lyme disease.

	User:	apostle
	Date:	2009-07-13 15:28
	Subject:	Props where props are due
	Security:	Public

I just wanted to put a word out there to those who have, in the last few weeks, helped out myself and the rest of the 9%+ among us who are dealing with job searches right now.

Your proactive networking is helping to keep us afloat and hopeful. For that, you have my thanks.

	User:	lasofia
	Date:	2009-07-13 16:18
	Subject:	Thanks, Dad
	Security:	Public

A persimmon tree in my back yard keeled over the other day from what looks like long term rotting. It landed on my garage. My dad and Tim climbed on the garage roof with a chainsaw and ropes to deal with it.

Me: Not to nag, but did y'all go look at the roof from underneath to identify the weak and rotten spots before you went up there?

Daddy: Yes. Well, I did.

Me: You gonna share that information with Tim?

Daddy: Nah, he'll find 'em.

	User:	smarier
	Date:	2009-07-13 12:35
	Subject:	Torchwood
	Security:	Public

So I watched the new mini-series (season 3) Saturday night, all 5 hours of it non-stop.

( more behind the cut - some spoilers included. )

Torchwood will air on BBC America starting July 20th. http://www.bbcamerica.com/content/262/index.jsp

I will be buying the DVD set the day it comes out.

	User:	apostle
	Date:	2009-07-13 00:28
	Subject:
	Security:	Public

After I got home from camping this weekend, I noticed that the neighbors were messing with something in their front yard. It was a wayward fledgling woodpecker who was seeking food under shoes, cans, and all kinds of weird places like nobody had ever shown it where to look for bugs.

We tried to leave it alone and walk away from it, but it insisted on pecking at our shoes as we walked and following wherever we went. Eventually, I went ahead and picked it up and took it out back to the neighbors woodpile and introduced it to the tiny ants there, which it happily munched on.

We brought out some crusty bread and some seed, and I was astonished when it flew across the yard to land on my hand and eat its choice of goodies before I had the chance to set anything down. I tried to eject it from my person time and again, but it kept flying back to me. I placed it back on the woodpile, into a tree, up on a roof, back in the yard... wherever I thought it would be happy to go do its thing. Each time, it flew back to land on my shoulder or on my hand.

In time, it lit on the neighbors roof to drink from the gutter. I took the opportunity to bail then and get out of sight before it followed me any further.

As interesting as it was to interact with this ballsy woodpecker, the last thing I need is to wind up with an accidentally domesticated bird I am responsible for. But still... pretty cool moment today.

	User:	alfreda89
	Date:	2009-07-13 00:39
	Subject:	I found the electric kettle!
	Security:	Public
	Mood:	happy

Hiding with the top of the paper shredder and the electric Teflon skillet set aside for batiking/trash and accidentally packed.

Happy dance!

Damn, tried to go ADD during exercises, and awfully tired to do sub-q for cat. Must remember to do early, since wanted to demonstrate for Belleps Tues or Weds nite --

	User:	lasofia
	Date:	2009-07-12 19:25
	Subject:	Return to LJ
	Security:	Public

I spent yesterday evening reading through my old entries for this journal and for mango_chango. One of the reasons I originally started using LJ was to have a record I could return to, especially for the kids' journal.

I've really fallen off on writing here, especially things of substance. Part of it is being busy, part of it is habit - somehow the accumulated weight of thoughts unwritten make it harder and harder - and part of it is that I was dragged over to facebook. Facebook serves a lot of the connection purpose I like with LJ, with a broader audience. Interestingly, I didn't think FB was doing that at first. I'm annoyed at all the quizzes and games that clutter my feed. I try to limit my friends but I still can't possibly read all the updates if I check FB once a day. Yet I found myself posting little things there instead of here.

But I miss LJ. I feel like fewer people are posting here. I felt like I got to know people better here on LJ in a way I don't think I'm doing on FB. And I know I will miss the record I'm leaving.

So I'm going to try to return, and I hope others will find their way back, or find their way to another way to write substantial posts and echo them here.

Side note - I was cropping a photo to use as the new icon for the post, and Mateo came up behind me and said, "ohhhhh, mama!" in an almost disapproving voice. I was puzzled. True, I was cropping it because I wanted a G-rated photo and the full photo shows my hiney, but why would that bother him? I asked what was wrong.

"Mama, stop being rambunctiously cute."

Ohhhh kay then.

	User:	zainybrain
	Date:	2009-07-12 18:17
	Subject:	MERLIN - A New BBC TV Show
	Security:	Public
	Mood:	bitchy

MERLIN is being promoted as the BBC England's first attempt at exporting a TV series for American audiences. I applaud that they use the British historical fantasy and re-tell it, in the story of Camelot and the Round Table. Only in this story, King Uther lives, at least long enough to browbeat his teenage son Arthur. And Merlin is not an old wise man who teaches Arthur, but his same age. Merlin is being tutored by (Richard King as) Gauis, the King's herbalist, but they have to keep the fact he knows magic on the down low. King Uther has forbidden magic in Camelot, on pain of death!

Which is part of the problem with the plotting on this series so far. Every episode has the same arc, the same problem. Poor Anthony Head, his King Uther character serves no other purpose except to be mule-headed and cause plot problems. He behaves like a spoiled nut, just so our main characters can have obstacles to overcome. Must every story have Uther say, "Take him to the dungeon! No magic allowed here!"? Must every story have Arthur, a spoiled teenager but good fighter, be pimped out for death by his own father? There's also a lot of people saying "okay" and "that's gotta hurt" and other modern slang. They also have the rules of chivalry and the knights, but it's not something Arthur created to fix the abuses of the upper classes who believed "might makes right." It's just used as a convenient plot problem when someone (Launcelot, last week for example) needs to be frozen out.

I do like cute little Colin Morgan as Merlin with his delicious dimples. And how fun to have a Guinevere who's a ladies maid with a crush on Merlin. Plus she's played by someone who appears to be a Maori actress!

I'll watch one more episode, but if it keeps being these lame-o stories, it's a waste of my time.

	User:	alfreda89
	Date:	2009-07-12 00:42
	Subject:	Yes, this is a real cookbook
	Security:	Public
	Mood:	amused

The Un-Constipated Gourmet: Secrets to a Moveable Feast
Danielle Svetcov. Sourcebooks, $15.99 paper (288p) ISBN 9781402216725

Diners of all stripes and evacuation schedules will find Svetcov’s lighthearted collection of 125 colon-cleansing dishes informative and effective. The usual suspects (coffee, bran muffins, black bean and corn salad) are on display, but even veteran commode commandos will be surprised at some of Svetcov’s suggestions, including flourless chocolate cake with raspberries, bourbon truffles (she insists that chocolate has laxative properties) and yogurt smoothies that get a boost of fiber from supplements and fresh fruit. Virtually all her dishes are flavorful and simple–—wheat germ, flax meal and whole wheat pastry flour are about as outré as she gets—and the emphasis is on flavor rather than fiber content (to that end, Svetcov rates her recipes on a 10-point scale, ten being a dish best consumed within sprinting distance of a restroom). A collection of emergency heavy hitters includes jump-starters like prunes with warm brandy. Conversely, those who might have overdone it will appreciate Svetcov’s recommendations for slowing things down, such as baked potato with olive oil or matzo pancakes. (July)
********
If prune juice is the drink of warriors, what is prune juice with warm brandy?

	User:	zainybrain
	Date:	2009-07-11 15:04
	Subject:	Loch Ness Monster in Minnesota
	Security:	Public
	Mood:	curious

I think they said this is on Lake Harriet, a big park and lake near Minneapolis. Somebody covertly made and installed a statue of the Loch Ness Monster. Supposedly an artist who does this type of creature work just moved there from NYC, so that's the best guest. For some reason, somebody (the same somebody?) has created a Website for the statue.

I won't publsh the photo since I don't have rights, but a guy I know from my Fortean list took a series of photos. That's his (c)-- D.R. Shoop. Go see, go see!

http://www.darkwatercreativegroup.com/nessieC.jpg

	User:	zainybrain
	Date:	2009-07-11 14:40
	Subject:	Broiling HOT Saturday!
	Security:	Public
	Mood:	hot

It's the kind of crazy hot day that makes me glad I have several creative projects so need to stay in!

But first, I had to get some socialization out of the way, so I just met with my progressive (as in, politics) ladies for lunch at the newest Madam Maam's. They turned the Shanghai River place at The Village (where goulo made me eat too many times because it had a vegetarian buffet and was steps from the Alamo Drafthouse) into the more upscale and tastier MM's.

Speaking of the letter M, also at the lunch was my friend MimiM, whom I had lost touch with. I saw her at a lunch months ago, but this time we talked for a long time. She's in line for a PR job in a FEMA deployment. My buddy NancyM also does those FEMA assignments, and loves them. Feels like she's making the nation a better place, helping her fellow man, and getting to live away from Austin for awhile.

Ever since a Chicago Chinese dinner four years ago, I've been questing for a place that makes Egg Fu Yung. Yeah, yeah, I understand it's a "fake" regional dish that was mocked up for American palates. But the dish in the Chicago place was killer. I've been so disappointed when I asked around Austin; nobody here did it and they made a face that I even asked.

Imagine my surprise when I see that Madam Maam's has a "Thai omelette" made with eggs, crispy noodles, onions, pork, etc. Mmmmmmmmm (to belabor the M), it was a wonderful comparison to the Chicago dish. Not the same, but equally as good. Everybody's meals looked yummy -- and HUGE! Tons o' food!

Then leaving the restaurant at 1:30, I melted from the sun frying everything. OMG. But I'm buying an assortment of gifts for Leslie's b'day. The theme: body care products. (She's been on a strict diet and cleansing for 14 months.) I still had shopping to do, including a sweaty hike through The Domain. But I got various fun and cool (and, in the case of Origins, $$$) gifts. The big gift is a spa detox wrap session at the gym we both go to.

Oh, and I found vetiver and cedar soap (French-made) for myself while shopping. The spicy, woody scent of vetiver sends me into a hypnotic state. So....

Shopping WIN

Deodorant FAIL

	User:	sebbiem
	Date:	2009-07-10 22:01
	Subject:	TFA
	Security:	Public

A long time ago when I was a wee slip of a lad, back in the 80s, I used to run around in parks all around the greater Seattle area lobbing bundles of flour and tennis balls and suchlike at other people. There was this game, you see, called The Fantasy Alternative, that I was part of, and it was LARPing before there was LARP. It predates NERO, though it never spread outside of Seattle, so it can't be called as successful. Anyway, it went underground for a great many years, and now, at long last, it's returning. I haven't played in 18 years, give or take a year, and haven't done any live gaming in a 7 years, and yet, here I am going to this thing. I'm not entirely certain why--to get outdoors and get some exercise, to recapture a bit of lost youth, to live again a game I once loved--but I'm pretty damn excited about it. Amusingly, I had kept all my old TFA stuff for a great many years, and only recently, when I got back from the Oral Assessment and thought it was pretty likely that I'd get into the Foreign Service, did I get rid of it, throwing away monies, spell components, bits and bobs of costume accessories, all the things I thought I was done with long ago. Only three weeks later, I heard that there was going to be another game. This is why people horde, I should think.

	User:	alfreda89
	Date:	2009-07-10 14:36
	Subject:	Google strikes again! Check their logo today --
	Security:	Public
	Mood:	pleased
	Music:	jazz

Happy Birthday, Nikola Tesla!

	User:	kmarier
	Date:	2009-07-10 08:54
	Subject:	YA Book Meme
	Security:	Public

Snarked from melissa_writing (I just love book memes.)

Instructions:

Put an “X” next to the books you’ve read
Put a “+” next to the books you LOVE (I also added from 1 to 5 +'s. One being OK and 5 being superlative to show much I liked something.)
Put a “#” next to the books you plan on reading

( The list... )

Analysis? I've read about a quarter of the original list and know of/am interested in reading about another 10%. So about 33% have passed my consciousness...not bad, all things considered.

	User:	mongo42
	Date:	2009-07-10 09:46
	Subject:	Dear President Obama,
	Security:	Public

So you have apparently broken yet another campaign promise and have suddenly reversed your position on needle exchange programs. How many people will die who might have been saved by this program, which has been proven to be effective in countless countries the world over?

Hugs and kisses,

Matt

	User:	lasofia
	Date:	2009-07-09 19:35
	Subject:	home vet?
	Security:	Public

Mariah is sad so much of the time.

Does anyone know a vet who does home calls for euthanasia?

	User:	mongo42
	Date:	2009-07-09 15:09
	Subject:	Never piss off a songwriter
	Security:	Public
	Mood:	amused

Back in the 80's, folk singer Tom Paxton wrote a snarky song called "Thank You Republic Airlines" after they broke his guitar on a flight and refused to do anything about it. (As an aside, I have the album that song is on: One Million Lawyers And Other Disasters. Good stuff.)

Well, fast forward twenty years and witness the saga of United Airlines and a Canadian musician by the name of Dave Carroll.



The whole sordid story is here and it looks like it has a happy ending: his video has gone viral, has been featured on CNN and has over half a million downloads so far, and suddenly United Airlines is very, very interested in making sure he gets compensation for his busted guitar.

	User:	mongo42
	Date:	2009-07-09 12:53
	Subject:	Seriously? No, Really, You're Joking, Right?
	Security:	Public

Just got a letter back from Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.

---

Dear Friend:

Thank you for writing me regarding the implications of President Obama’s Executive Order to close Guantanamo Bay. I welcome your thoughts and comments on this issue.

[snip]

The policy contemplates five scenarios for handling current detainees ... Without question, the worst of these options is to send Guantanamo prisoners to domestic prisons in the United States. By taking this action, we would essentially place terrorists in the neighborhoods and communities of American citizens.

[snip]

On February 11, 2009, I sent a letter to the President, urging him to reconsider his Executive Order and to reject any option that could land terrorists in Texas or anywhere else on American soil.

---

Wow. Just, wow. Our prisons aren't tough enough to hold these wily terrorists! They'd just look at those walls and they'd disintegrate! Either that or they'd use some form of secret Muslim mind control to get the prison guards to open their cells. We must keep them in our specially-prepared Muslim-proof cells in Gitmo!

That was one of the most insulting replies I've ever gotten from someone who claimed to be representing me. American prisons are very, very good at keeping people we want locked up behind bars for long periods. We have one of the largest incarceration rates in the world. (Which is appalling, but that's another topic entirely.)

I mean yeah, it's a huge mess -- a lot of these people could conceivably be released even if they did something horrible because we stomped on their rights and violated international law so egregiously during their detention. I honestly don't know what the answer is, but screaming "ZOMG teh terrorists will be hidin in yer shrubberiez!!!!11!" is pretty much the least useful thing you can do. But it's what I've come to expect from my U.S. Senators. The stuff I get back from John Cornyn is just as insulting.

	User:	silona
	Date:	2009-07-09 12:57
	Subject:	Odd friday on July 17th
	Security:	Public

So I am in town and will be at oddfriday on the 17th

drop by! I will be making bubble tea!

	User:	lasofia
	Date:	2009-07-09 12:55
	Subject:	Oh my oh my
	Security:	Public

This is not news to everyone out there, but it is now public.

I am pregnant. I just heard the heartbeat. I was relieved to see that there is only one embryo. I am at 10 1/2 weeks so it is still very early. Due date is end of January.

I have spent a few weeks throwing up non-stop but seem to be doing a little better this week.