This week, not today. But I had you going for a minute there, didn’t I?

Today: 3.7 miles

In public.

With running trousers on.

In the middle of the day.

Today was groundbreaking stuff. I ran with Paula, who is sneakily fitter than she lets on, due to her strange habit of using the time when her smallest one is at preschool with my smallest one to go and do Body Combat classes at the gym. I on the other hand prefer to relax in the nearest coffee shop and eat a bacon sandwich on the pretext of doing the Christmas shopping.  I can write this safe in the knowledge that Mr Marathonmummy never reads my blog, probably because he has to live with my incessant witterings on a daily basis, and has done for nearly 15 years.

Anyway, back to running. So up the hill we went, walking because we were warming up and not because the hill is hideous at all. Run run run, walk walk walk, run run run, walk walk walk. Onto the main road which has a footpath but also has lorries and things driving past at 60mph. Note to self: slightly short, loose fitting t-shirt + backdraft from lorries = bit of an eyeful for the following cars. I ended up having to jog along holding the hem of my top to avoid scaring the drivers. Run run, walkwalkwalkwalkwalkwalkchatchat, oops this isn’t marathon trainingrunrunrun, up a hill (vomit), down a hill (clever trick from P: lengthen stride slightly to avoid hideous jarring feeling, and it works), run run run. Passed whilst running by someone we know, so we have proof it really happened, then home for water, stretching, cups of tea and oh the absolute bliss of a hot bath in the middle of the day. Thank goodness for preschoolers who still have an afternoon nap.

Paula: Right, shall we run when we get to that post?

Me: Yes, good idea.

(post passes>

Paula: We’re still not running, have you noticed?

Me: But we’re thinking about running. That counts, doesn’t it?

So this week’s mileage is 13.6. Hooray for me, and for lovely running chums, and for all the moral support from people telling me they think I must be mad but well done.

My motto worked this time: Expect the worst, when it happens, you’re prepared, and if it doesn’t, you’re pleasantly surprised!

So Mother In Law and Father In Law came in Wednesday afternoon, and we had a pleasant and light meal of (couldn’t find anything wrong with it except too many green beans) vegetable soup and (this is pretty good!) cornbread. Pleasantries happened, and around 8 the Gossip kicked in, at which point I said “Well! I don’t know any of these people you’re talking about and don’t care about their unfortunate congenital disorders, so I’m going to bed! Goodnight!” Terry fixed breakfast the next morning (“Oh I don’t like any kind of Mrs Dash and I don’t want that. Salt really needs to be added to the grits when you cook them, it’s not the same if you have to add it at the table.”), and the dinner preparations commenced. I got on her good side by admitting it had been 100 years since I baked a ham, so she told me how to do it, and a very good ham it was, too.

Her dressing, of course, was stellar. The turkey, cooked by someone else somewhere else, was a touch dry but that’s probably because I had to warm it up. Totally worth the $25. I’m never cooking a turkey again because I had the whole oven (convection, BTW, I’ll never go back to a normal oven) for dressing, potatoes, and ham. All at the same time. Yes.

There was no discussion about my lack of parenting skills. No snarky commentary on the condition of the house, no lectures to CJ on his behavior. I only relied on fortified cranberry juice twice: a half-hour before they came in Wednesday, and last night. They left this morning after breakfast, even when we told them there was plenty of room for them and Scott&Co. “You’ll want to have time to spend with them without us in the way.” Bless them!

So now the fridge is full of all sorts of goodies for noshing on the rest of the weekend, ham for Hawaiian pizza tonight, and biscuits tomorrow. And stuff. Lots of this and that people can fix them a plate or bowl of if they’re hungry. Bean soup, vegetable soup, Lordy I won’t have to cook for days. The house is clean, all it needed was a sweep and a change of the sheets on the guest bed and now BRING ON THE NEXT WAVE!

I am listening to the triumphant bit of the Gladiator Soundtrack, cranked up loud to drown out that whatever-it-is David listens to.

And, I am very, very happy. Oh, you don’t KNOW how I’m smiling, and dancing around with the broom and hugging my kids!

Global Warming appears to have been man-made in Hobbit Land in just the same way as at CRU.  H/T Anthony

These guys, at least, admit they “adjusted” the numbers. They say they did it to compensate for some temperature stations being higher above sea level, and thus recording cooler temps. Right.

So the “modern” records had to be adjusted up while all the old records, say pre-1970, had to be adjusted down? What–were they below sea level?

Armed Geek has a lay-man’s analysis here.

Well after the last few days, helping–in my own small way–to expose the biggest scientific fraud in history–(ADD Alert) you know if cold fusion wasn’t absolute horseshit too, Soros, Hansen, Gore, Mann, Briffa, and Waxman et al would never have been able to start this AGW scam in the first place–I need an unwinder. And now, Thanksgiving has snuck up on us. Well, in that case, said unwinder should include a heapin’ helpin’ of Breasts, Legs, Thighs and…uh…Gibblets, yeah, that’s it. Wiggle the widget.

As Bunk noted in the comments to the Harry_Read_Me post, CBS, that bastion of evenhanded news reporting, has actually reported on the repercussions of the CRU data release–including the significance of Harry. Well, color me yellow and squeeze my lemon:

CRU wields outsize influence: it claims the world’s largest temperature data set, and its work and mathematical models were incorporated into the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 2007 report. That report, in turn, is what the Environmental Protection Agency acknowledged it “relies on most heavily” when concluding that carbon dioxide emissions endanger public health and should be regulated.

But wait–There’s more. This morning, Chris Horner announced that on behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, he had filed three notices of intent to sue NASA and the Goddard Institute for Space Studies for failing to honor FOIA requests about AGW data going back three years. But the real comedy is Horner’s request for documents…

relating to the content, importance or propriety of workday-hour posts or entries by GISS/NASA employee Gavin A. Schmidt on the weblog or “blog” RealClimate, which is owned by the advocacy Environmental Media Services and was started as an effort to defend the debunked “Hockey Stick” that is so central to the CRU files. RealClimate.org is implicated in the leaked files, expressly offered as a tool to be used “in any way you think would be helpful” to a certain advocacy campaign, including an assertion of Schmidt’s active involvement in, e.g., delaying and/or screening out unhelpful input by “skeptics” attempting to comment on claims made on the website.

This and the related political activism engaged in are inappropriate behavior for a taxpayer-funded employee, particularly on taxpayer time. These documents were requested in January 2007 and NASA/GISS have refused to date to comply with their legal obligation to produce responsive documents.

BWUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Every year I get out my special Thanksgiving decorations.  They are a homely group of items:

A tablecloth and pilgrim candles of my mothers

A set of pilgrims our daughter Kimberly made in the Second Grade

A Mayflower Evan made in the Second Grade

A turkey our oldest daughter Shannon made in the Third Grade

A pinecone turkey (with googlie eyes) our youngest daughter Misty made in the First Grade

I’ve added some toy ‘dancing’ turkeys that the grandchildren love

and a flower bouquet just for me.

This is my Thanksgiving…a blessing of memories from those I love.

I also want to wish each and every one of you a Special Thanksgiving day.   I will not be posting again until Monday as we are putting up the frame for the barn and we will be a wee bit busy. 

Another rather nice thing is I DO NOT HAVE TO COOK!  

YEAH!  Hip Hip Hooray! 

Oh!  Sorry! Shouldn’t have expressed such elated joy.

BUT! OH! WELL!!! 

I don’t have to cook….YEAH!

Happy Thanksgiving, Dear Friends!

Linda

in the spirit of it being sunday night. and since i can’t sleep. i’ve decided to share with you a couple of songs and most importantly what they remind me of.

listening and singing along to this song on repeat every night after i found out my mum had bone cancer, or cancer of the bone, and crying.

walking to school the day after he told me he didn’t want me anymore and trying to tell myself it would be alright.

and to end on a cheerful note:

waking up in the middle of the night, because it is raining against my window and not being able to fall asleep again, getting up to listen to this song and falling asleep on the floor.

I’ve been meaning to make a wordpress for a while now, I have this wonderful theme/skin/layout for it. Now if only I could figure out how to fucking install it.

That

would

be

lovely.

I have a feeling this blog will never be found. It will just collect e-dust and I will occasionally post when something wonderful happens to me. Not like that will ever happen, so I guess I can use this for writing short, quirky stories?

Who knows.

I doubt many involved in disseminating the news, data, emails, etc. coming from the release of the hacked CRU information over the last two days would deny the experience was much like great sex. This is, after all, the scientific scandal of  the century–and we (I in a very small way) were part of it.

And, as is often the case with sex, we–well, men anyway–want to know how we did. So, was it good for you?

As I noted yesterday, the BBC, which is of course still towing the government “we must have a carbon tax scheme” line, reported only the hacking–not what was revealed.  Today, we get word, from the Daily Mail, that the BBC is sending a small army of presenters to Copenhagen to continue their part in the effort to condemn us to feudal servitude. H/T An Honest Climate Debate. And though still couching their reporting in words like “appears” and “suggests,” both The Mail and The Telegraph, on the other hand, are reporting the scandal and its possible repercussions. H/T Australian Climate Madness.

On our side of the pond, NewsBusters notes the environmental columnist for Red Estate’s flagship, the NYT, may be wavering in his decade-long support of this global governance trojan horse. The Baltimore Sun left it to their financial columnist to opine that the exposed data show nothing but the pettiness of the researchers. The spin is in:

There is a scientific consensus that humans are changing the planet’s climate. The emails’ disclosure does nothing to change that.

Apparently the fact that “consensus” was built on lies and fraud have no bearing on AGW dogma. What an asshole.

And of course, NBC had Algore on its lib-fest comedy 30 Rock in order to paint him as human in advance of the Copenhagen conference. The irony here is almost too thick for even me. Bwuhahahahahaha.

More will come, it’s still early. So how did we do? Well, I had this blog’s highest traffic day ever. But Anthony’s “Hockey Stick” is still bigger.  I need a cigarette.

Because I flamin’ LOVE Daler Mehndi!

I wrapped up my fifth day at CHLI with final consultations with Susi and Paulette and Mike in the fitness room.  Time to organize and incorporate all that I learned this week and implementing it into my life.  I’ll have a lot to do when I get home (I’ve already started the list and I’ll post it later as I do it.)  I also scheduled another session with Barbara.  Since we changed the hypnosis session I had scheduled into another energy clearing session, I wanted to make sure we got a hypnosis session in, too.  That was amazing!  She had asked me to email her what I would like to work on so she can incorporate it into my session.  Of course, my main objective was removing anxiety and unwarranted fear, but I also went through the four pages of positive affirmations that she gave me early and included the ones that really spoke to me.  Good lord, it was a long list!  And she managed to get it all in there!!  WOW!  I wish we had recorded the session so I could have it on cd.  I told her to keep those notes and that script in my file because I know I will want to do it again, probably in December.

December is when I will return for one-on-one follow ups with Susi, Laurie and Paulette as well as review medical tests (so I’ll have to schedule follow ups with my doctor and have the tests done and sent to CHLI for review.)  I would like to add a hypnosis or energy clearing session with Barbara at that time, too.  And I want to bring my husband.  I want him to meet the team that is helping me with foundational change.  I want him to see the facility and enjoy a Wellness Kitchen Dinner (the December date I have in mind for returning has a Sustainability Menu, and I think that topic speaks to both of us.)  Maybe we can come up in the mid-morning, have sessions with Laurie, Paulette and Barbara; we can bring our bathing suits and hang out at the pool after a workout with Laurie and a walk around this gorgeous property.  The locker rooms have everything one needs to get ready – shower gel, shampoo, deodorant, hair gel, blow dryers – so we could then get all dolled up for the Wellness Kitchen and head home after that dinner.  I think that would be a wonderful way to spend the day!!  I hope he agrees.

So I was complete with my CHLI day at noon, so I made arrangements for a spa day: massage at 2pm, facial at 3pm.  Its more than I wanted to spend, but I wanted to have a reward, my body could use a good massage, and since I never get facials, I figured this would be a nice indulgence.  The Manager at CHLI walked me over to the spa and told me that not only will my two treatments be packaged together at a lower price, she also made sure I got $50 off my added hypnosis session with Barbara AND she upgraded me to a Spa Suite.  WOW!  No seriously, WOW!!  I was escorted by Spa Concierge past the lockers, past the women’s lounge, past the Unisex Lounge, past the treatment rooms and into the Lavender Suite.  There was a Jacuzzi tub built for two and two treatment tables.  A fireplace (which you could turn on or off with the click of a remote), the soothing spa music as well as a TV that faced a day bed with fluffy pillows (I kept the TV off and enjoyed the spa music.)  There were windows that looked out onto green landscapes (strategically designed to allow for a lovely view and sun without being exposed to anyone who may be passing by.)  And then there was the private patio, with its own hot tub (way too hot for me, it turns out.  I made three attempts but only made it all the way in once.)  I ordered lunch and ate it at the patio table, I read the Kaizen Book on the patio lounge chair.  And right when I finished the last chapter, my massage therapist arrived for my in-room treatment.  No sooner did she clear out and I started flipping through a People magazine when the facialist arrived and set up her gear.  Once that was over, I asked the attendant to help me draw a bath in that mammoth sized tub.  If I could soak in the hot tub, I was determined to take a Jacuzzi bath.  An unexpected bonus: the light in the tub rotated every 30 seconds or so: blue to purple to red to green to pink.  Silly, but fun.   And then they had in the suite one of those showers that have water spraying from all over – above like a waterfall, from the right and the left in rows of four so head to toe gets direct stray.  I had to take a shower, too!!  This is where the fun turned messy – I forgot to place a towel under the shower door.  Turns out, the shower isn’t raised and the water spilled everywhere.  Seriously everywhere. I’d say half of the suite was wet.  The other half was saved by my blockage of towels, so the treatment area stayed dry.  I felt so ridiculous for missing that one element that I left a tip at the front counter for the pour soul who’ll have to clean up after me.  But boy, was that ultimate luxury.  Six hours in my own Spa Suite.  I’m spoiled now!

So I’m packing tonight.  Ordered room service for the last time and since I finished my Kaizen Way book at the spa today, I’ll flip through the eight months of Oprah magazines I brought with me and see if I can clear that pile from being brought home.  I’m excited to home and start making small steps.  I’m not nervous about it.  That should surprise me, since I tend to be nervous about everything.  In fact, I feel a calm like I haven’t felt in…I don’t remember how long.  Small steps lead to big change.  The journey of 1,000 miles starts with one step.  Here I go…

Remember when England’s CRU scrubbed all its temp data in response to Steve McIntyre’s FOIA requests? I, like many, concluded they did so because the data supported Steve and not their Mann-Briffa, hockey stick Thermageddon scenarios requiring Waxman-Markey type “Solutions.” I likened the whole affair to the plot of a spy novel, with moles and secrets. It appears I failed to account for some of the characters. Apparently a hacker with a passion for scientific truth has entered the storyline.

Today, some of the “missing” data (a 61 meg file of data, code and emails) began appearing in the comments at skeptic sites like Jeff Id’s Air Vent. Anthony posted some of it while traveling.

So, what were they hiding?

From: Phil Jones
To: ray bradley ,mann@xxxxx.xxx, mhughes@xxxx.xxx
Subject: Diagram for WMO Statement
Date: Tue, 16 Nov 1999 13:31:15 +0000
Cc: k.briffa@xxx.xx.xx,t.osborn@xxxx.xxx

Dear Ray, Mike and Malcolm,
Once Tim’s got a diagram here we’ll send that either later today or
first thing tomorrow.
I’ve just completed Mike’s Nature trick of adding in the real temps
to each series for the last 20 years (ie from 1981 onwards) amd from
1961 for Keith’s to hide the decline. Mike’s series got the annual
land and marine values while the other two got April-Sept for NH land
N of 20N. The latter two are real for 1999, while the estimate for 1999
for NH combined is +0.44C wrt 61-90. The Global estimate for 1999 with
data through Oct is +0.35C cf. 0.57 for 1998.
Thanks for the comments, Ray.

Cheers

Phil

Prof. Phil Jones
Climatic Research Unit Telephone +44 (0) xxxxx
School of Environmental Sciences Fax +44 (0) xxxx
University of East Anglia
Norwich Email p.jones@xxxx.xxx
NR4 7TJ
UK

(Emphasis mine)

Keith is Keith Briffa, of the (single) Yamal tree core(s). Mike is Michael Mann, who first came up with the “hockey stick”–which Briffa’s (now thoroughly discredited) tree proxy rescued for a time. It would appear, to me at least, the CRU was manufacturing data to support its position that a massive tax scheme was needed to save us from heat death by CO2.

As I said below, this could be “Biblical.”

“And lo, in that time of Mann, Briffa did come to Yamal, and saw that it was good…enough.”
-The Parable Of The Trees-

UPDATE, per McGoo’s comments: “It states that the Mann code (!!!!) is in there. And the Yamal coding. I just checked – its there.”

Okay, here’s one (possible/probable) criminal part:

From: Phil Jones
To: “Michael E. Mann”
Subject: IPCC & FOI
Date: Thu May 29 11:04:11 2008

Mike,

Can you delete any emails you may have had with Keith re AR4?
Keith will do likewise. He’s not in at the moment – minor family crisis.
Can you also email Gene and get him to do the same? I don’t
have his new email address.
We will be getting Caspar to do likewise.
I see that CA claim they discovered the 1945 problem in the Nature paper!!
Cheers
Phil

Prof. Phil Jones
Climatic Research Unit Telephone +44 (0) 1603 592090
School of Environmental Sciences Fax +44 (0) 1603 507784
University of East Anglia
Norwich Email p.jones@uea.ac.uk
NR4 7TJ
UK

11-20 UPDATE: If you don’t yet have it, and want it, there is a functional link to the data files in the comments, TY Delboy.

Here’s the Phili Examiner piece, more goodness. And although they got it from Australia–nice job by Andrew Bolt– rather than our tips, at least Hot Air fianlly has the story. Good. Now for the “real media.” Attacking the messenger in 3…2…1.

3:45 EDT As expected, the BBC is now complicit in covering up the real story by focusing only on the “break in” treating it like a cybersecurity crisis.

Here, thanks to Mark Morano, is a searchable version of the emails.

BTW, Steve’s Climate Audit site is totally overloaded. You can’t get there right now, don’t even try.

Thanks to Neatorama for pointing me to this video.  In my dreams this is how my life would be choreographed and my heart would soar.

Last night, when Terry got home he said “Mama answered the phone when I called Daddy today.” This was cause for groans and rolling of the eyes, for she is Unasked For Advice Central and whenever Terry calls he hopes she doesn’t answer. Anyway, she said to him “We’re going to talk about CJ now.” More groans and rolling of eyes from me. Oh Good Lord, I wondered, what have I done wrong now. She has been one of the harshest critics of our parenting style, convinced that we did it all wrong and not afraid to tell us. Get this:

“That is the hardest-headed person I have ever met. He’d rather climb a tree and tell you a lie than stand on the ground and tell the truth. He told me his girlfriend’s father and he had a long talk and how her father trusted him to take her into their basement and he was comfortable know he wouldn’t get fresh with her there. Then when I drove him to her house and she’s living in a trailer. What basement? He has no appreciation for anything! I bought him clothes and within a week he’d lost all 4 shirts I bought him! I don’t understand him! He’s so hardheaded and contrary!”

Yes, Mama, welcome to our world the past 4 years. Maybe the old girl is starting to catch on.

I’m on a hunt for those color changing spoons that used to come in cereal boxes (if you find one, let me know), and so I hopped on over to Fred Flare to see if they had anything of that nature.

They didn’t, but they did have these gems:

This hot Jonathan Adler cup and saucer – I LOVE IT!  – Sold out in every color except yellow, which had only three left at the time of press….

This Table Saw Cake Cutter is freaking hilarious. I would love to cut my cakes with it!! Plus, it’s only $9!  Sweet.

If anyone wants to make an order, I’m considering placing one next week (like the 16th)… If anyone wants anything, let me know.  If we spend $75, we get free shipping!!     The Japanese Talking Watches are on sale and all the non-sale items are 30% off until then… That includes these sweet items: iKareoke turns your iPod into kareoke, Serendipity Frozen Hot Chocolate, Pride and Prejudice with illustrations by Ruben Toledo (you might notice him from the Nordstrom ads), super cute Polaroid notecards, a Holga, the Indie Rock Coloring Book, and bunches of other fun stuff!!

Yay!

#4 and I were sitting on the porch this morning, waiting for the bus. I announced that it would probably rain all day, and he expressed frustration, as he was wanting to play in the yard. Not feasible, really, as the yard becomes a swamp when it rains. Anyway, I said “play on the porch, or in the game room, or up in your bedroom.” “Not enough room!” he declared. Which launched me into a diatribe about thankfulness and how some people would LOVE to have as much room as he has to roll around in. I mean, really…the game room is HUGE! Bigger than some folk’s houses! He felt appropriately chastised, and apologized for his ingratitude. The conversation (diatribe) got me to thinking about being thankful.

It’s something I’ve tried hard to do recently. What with CJ being stupid and all, I’ve tried, rather than focusing on his boneheadedness, to be thankful for the bits of my family that are really good. They’re all healthy. CJ may be stupid, but he’s not in jail or the hospital. Will is back on the internet, which means he has the money to pay the bill, which means I have a way of contacting him again, and that’s very good. David has decided, since he’s finished the entire semester’s worth of work for his classes (only 2 months ahead of time) to spend the remainder of the time teaching himself PEARL (that obscure and inscrutable coding language), and going to the gym. he’s always happier when he’s going to the gym, burning off that ADHD energy and enabling himself to focus. #4 actually got a perfect behavior thing from school this week- NO MARKS! That’s a first! I may even lift his grounding early for that. Maybe. Terry is employed, still. Ok, so is El Presidente, and that’s a pain in the ass, but Terry is bringing home a paycheck, we have food to eat and the bills are paid. His arm is healing, slowly and with a few hiccups, but it looks like he won’t need a third surgery. All of these are things I am very thankful for.

I refuse to whine. I may think I have reasons to whine, but not really. I am in excellent health, and my doctors are all very happy with the way things are going right now. I have plans for Christmas gifts for the family, and will get cracking on those right after Thanksgiving. The iron works, yes, I can iron my clothes. I am trying, people, to find things to be thankful for here, so quit rolling your eyes about the iron, ok? The meds are stocked, the pantry is stocked, we have plenty of toilet paper. Come what may, we’re set for an entire month.

My friends are all ok, mostly. They have the difficulties, but the ones who have been hurt or sick are improving. They have food to eat, and toilet paper, and a roof over their heads.

I am a very localized sort of person. I feel sympathy for the people at Fort Hood, but since I don’t actually know any of them, I have trouble being upset in the same way I was when JC’s #2 was HIT BY A TRUCK! It’s bad, yes, but…I can’t think much beyond my own immediate sphere. Anyway, everyone in my orbit is doing ok. There’s things to be optimistic about (Bro. Scott, his Incomparable Wife and Two Fine Kids(tm) are coming sometime around Thanksgiving for a Visit Sans Parents! Woo!

BTW Bro Scott…I told them that “we were getting with Terry’s family” which is probably true, I just didn’t tell them where. I also told them that we’d want to spend Christmas with just us at our house, but we’d have to see what Terry’s work schedule was before we could make other plans…planting seeds doncha know. I reminded them that y’all would be extremely busy before Christmas with all the music programs and dance recitals and stuff, and might need personal down time afterward…and maybe not pushing the whole “Christmas At The Family Farm” ideal would be the most diplomatic thing to do.

Anyway…I am Thankful today. It’s good. I have prayer group at noon, and get to spend an hour being intimidated by the eloquence of 4 other ladies who’re well practiced at the art of Praying Out Loud. I’ve always held to that bit where Jesus fussed about people praying out loud, telling them to go into a closet instead, but then He was talking to the really public dudes, who rattled on about how holy they were and all, and didn’t really mean a group of 5 ladies in a kitchen, who get encouragement from each other by knowing other people understood their issues and had their back on them. It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one with an idiot son. I am thankful for that (the sharing, not the idiot).

AND another thing! today is Veterans Day! Thank you, all you people who’ve served in our Armed Forces over the years, for everything you’ve done!

My friend, Ray, wrote to me a couple of weeks ago asking to set up a trade. He wanted an item from my Etsy shop and offered to do a small carpentry/restoration project for me in exchange.

After pondering for a moment, I remembered this tool board from a tour of Derrick Cruz’s studio on The Selby. So, I gave Ray some specs and the photo.

Luckily, with the bare minimum of instructions, he said he could totally tackle the project. He got a piece of antique salvaged wood in the perfect shade and some magnets and well…how about I let the photos do the talking because I don’t know much of anything about making magnet boards.

Magnet board with my collection of old skeleton keys, vintage rail ties, rusty drill bits, and the pine cone off a broken cuckoo clock. Eventually, I want to hang this sucker on the wall.

And how it’s the only time of year that I love the air to be crisp and the snow to fall.

And how much I love shopping for presents and shopping in general.

And how much I love to wrap presents (this year’s packaging is going to be SO CUTE!! – last year’s was brown paper packages tied up with string).

And how next week I should try to get a seasonal job at either Anthropologie or Nordstroms or Macy’s or somewhere else that has fabulous clothes/things for me to buy.

And how I LOVE gift catalogs.

And how Nordstrom’s has such a cute gift catalog… which led to me having dress lust for this:

Have you ever noticed how things can go to hell in a hurry when you leave? Well, maybe not hell, but certainly a fair dose of heck and “if I’d been there it never would have gotten that bad”.

Ok, I left Thursday mid-morning, around 10 or so. I got to Atlanta early afternoon, and got a call from #4’s bus driver.

“Mrs. Toot!” she said, “I can’t get to your house! The road is all tore up and blocked and I’ll have to take #4 back to the school! You’ll have to come pick him up!”

“Mrs B” I replied, “I cannot, for I am in Atlanta and 4 hours away, you’ll have to call my house and see if David can get him.”

“I tried that!” she panicked, ” and got no answer! What to DO! What to DO!”

So I gave her Terry’s number, informed her that he was 30 minutes away in Sylvania, but it was the best we could do. A bit later Terry called me, and said he was entertaining customers from New Zealand, but would deal with #4 anyway because that was the way it was. He couldn’t get ahold of David either.

So he dealt with #4, dropped him at the house without going in, and returned to work.

He came home from work about 6, to find Niagra Falls going on. Water pouring out of the light fixtures, down the stairs, dripping from the seams from the drywall on the ceilings, onto the computer, and more. #4 was sitting, not entirely oblivious to it all, but unconcerned.

Apparently, right after I left, the water main on the street had burst and we had no water. David got up and tried to take a shower, but discovering no water, got dressed and left. Only, he didn’t turn the water off. The tub in that bathroom is notoriously slow to drain, so between about 10 am and 6 pm when Terry got home, it had been running full blast, nice and hot, filling and flooding the house.

So he called, unable to get ahold of David still, in a lather and not really a panic because it takes more than that to freak him out, but I still asked if he needed me to come home.

“No, there’s nothing you can do, I just needed to vent.”

That’s what I mean…see, if I had been at home, I’d have heard the shower running and known David wasn’t there, and could have turned it off, or at the very least, would have caught it before there was 2 inches of standing water upstairs and Niagra Falls through the light fixtures. I would have been able to get #4 from school without Terry having to leave the New Zealanders. Crises would have been completely avoided because they’d have been nipped in the bud and not even commented on.

And yet, I do not regret not being there. For I was in Atlanta, checking on a friend who was in a legitimate crisis and needed help. They’re out of the crisis now, all is well, and I was able to teach the focus of the crisis 2 things:
How to lay her hand on her head, palm out, close her eyes and say “Please be KAHND to me, for AH am a DELICAHT FLAHWAH of the SOUTH” (translation: please be kind to me, for I am a delicate flower of the south), and also “I can’t DO THAT! I was HIT BY A TRUCK!” Which she was, but she’s much better now, and is in the “Milk it for all it’s worth” stage of recovery. She still tires easily, but her good humor has pretty much returned, and Mom and Dad are starting to return to their normal lives. Big Sister and Little Brother have been stellar in their behavior and are taking all that extra attention that their sister has been getting in stride. Pretty much. As much as can be expected for a 12 and 9 yr old.

A new song! This didn’t turn out at all how I imagined/intended. It’s pretty weird and it might be terrible. Everything was very unplanned and “off the cuff” if you will (you will). I’m well aware of how overpowering the bass is; I simply couldn’t make it sound how I wanted.

I love you!

#11: Soft Science

Aaron: I missed my post yesterday. I had an exam, I was doing other things in the afternoon… It’s amazing even in a exercise to motivate myself I give myself excuses on why I couldn’t do the thing I really wanted to do. Anyway…

Today I watched my weekly two minutes of television, and switched the channel to Channel [V] or something similar. Number 5 on the whatever-who-cares chart was The Black Eyed Peas’ Meet Me Halfway, which I’d never heard before. From what I heard, it was more of that radio-oriented, auto-tune laden garbage, but hey, I think, I haven’t listened to the album, so I won’t judge. I try to keep that opinion on things, but then number 4 was also The Black Eyed Peas, with their hit-smash-super-hit-chart-topping-hit I Gotta Feelin(g?). I’d only heard the song in passing at various clubs and things, and thought it was a good club song, and did exactly what it was designed for, singing along and dancing to.

I watched the video the whole way through. And the lyrics…I can’t even…I don’t…

I’m not sure how much I can post here, but if we get sued or taken down then at least this blog is important enough to matter.

I gotta feeling…
That tonight’s gonna be a good night
That tonight’s gonna be a good night
That tonight’s gonna be a good good night

I gotta feeling… (Woohoo)
That tonight’s gonna be a good night
That tonight’s gonna be a good night
That tonight’s gonna be a good good night

Apparently. Tonight. Is going to be. A good night. I don’t have a problem with a good chorus, and this is an example of a great hook, and it works. It does what it does, and everyone knows every freaking word. A two year old could work them out and sing them back, and that’s exactly what a pop hook is supposed to do. Well done, Black Eyed Peas. Lets go further.

Tonight’s the night
Let’s live it up
I got my money
Let’s spend it up
Go out and smash it
Like Oh My God
Jump off that sofa
Let’s kick it off

I think…I don’t…I… I’m pretty sure lyrics are supposed to have some form of meaning. This is great for a pop song, but how far can it go? This was one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard. ‘Tonight is the night, lets live it up. I have some money, lets spend it. Lets go out and smash (it?), like, oh, my, god. Jump off the sofa?’ Ugh.

After another couple of verses which both defame Jewish tradition and good grammar everywhere, there’s another hook! Another one? What are you going to treat us to, Will.I.Am?

Lets do it
Lets do it
Lets do it
Lets do it
And do it
And do it
Let’s live it up
And do it
And do it
And do it
Do it, do it
Lets do it
Lets do it
Lets do it

This was accompanied in the video by gratuitous party scenes, lesbians and Fergie prancing around in next to nothing.

Are they actually trying to single-handedly kill what music is about? In creating a good pop song, with ‘great hooks’, they’ve simultaneously killed all my brain cells and any musical talent they may have had before they released this. After another few lines about doing body shots and singing about days of the week, it comes to the end of the song, which is repeating the freaking hook from the beginning another thirty times.

I don’t actually want to hear this song ever again. It is horrible.

But I am going to. It’s a great club song. Everyone knows the words. I know the words. And with a few drinks in me, I think my rational musical mind will not care, and sing the hell along like everybody else. Well done Black Eyed Peas, even people who hate your music kind of like it too.