I can’t remember the exact quote, but Feynman once described programming as an addiction – once you make the screen change color or something for the first time you have to stop yourself spending all your time solving problems for their own sake that don’t bear on the reason you wrote the program in the first place*. I think there’s an element of truth to that (and I’m not even a proper programmer).

This accurately describes a disturbingly large portion of my time – from Piled Higher and Deeper.

* “their fundamental design flaws are completely hidden by their superficial design flaws.”

Just for fun, I took a look at the numbers from the census bureau (via the Tax foundation) for the amount of federal tax dollars spent per state in 2005, and compared it to the results of the 2008 presidential election. The results are pretty interesting.

There are all sorts of dangers with interpreting this information at face value, so much so that thatonesmithgirl will probably be annoyed with me for even putting this up at all… For example, military bases require large amounts of federal money and one might expect the military vote to be reasonably pro-R (though maybe not)… these figures don’t include land leases paid by big oil for drilling rights, there are probably many other ways states pay rather than just taxes, and federal spending may make a tiny fraction of the amount actually spent on services (like in education)… So Texas in particular might get much less back than it actually spends, although as it’s dead last in percentage with health insurance (just under 25 percent don’t have health insurance), and only Mississippi beats it in terms of the number of children living in poverty (also 25%), even more spending might be a good idea. (In 2005, Mississippi’s infant mortality rate was 1.1%, which put it roughly equal with Sri Lanka, so it might be worth putting health ahead of political pride just for a few years – but I digress… Or, if you’re a conspiracy theorist, you might think that the discrepancy is because the government in 2005 happened to be Republican.

Clearly there’s interpretation to be done… but the other side can have fun with ridiculous statistics that make nice soundbites, surely we can too! Those crazy tax-and-spend liberals, gathering all their money so that they can give it to the red states; perhaps this is a case of hating the sinner while loving the sin…

Click the table to view a larger version.

Sometimes when working at home I’ll watch Classic Star Trek, famous for its valuable (if often slightly skewed or exaggerated) life examples. Two of them – keeping one’s ear to the ground for career survival, and making contributions despite eschewing the fame that the few percent of your colleagues might get – are both embodied in the person of Eddie Paskey, who made contributions to the series over many episodes that have gone largely unnoticed, despite his actually being in front of the camera much of the time.

Pretty much the entirety of his acting career was as a redshirt on Star Trek – and, as Lt. Leslie, as more or less the same redshirt most of the time. He was in 57 of the 80 episodes, more than either Sulu or Chekhov, despite getting a scripted line in only four, and appearing in the credits in exactly two. Perhaps not the greatest example for rectitude; his biggest moment in the entire series is openly mutinying against Kirk under the influence of the happy-spore plant from Omicron Ceti III. Some character highlights, culled from the excellent Wikipedia entry:

gets escorted drunk away from bridge… freezes with Sulu and landing party… gets reproached by Dr. McCoy for ogling Ruth Bonaventure… witnesses Spock’s arrest on bridge… dines with Khan… gets vulcan nerve pinch… gets tranquilized with bridge crew… adopts a Tribble from Uhura… gets dehydrated into a polyhedron… kindly offers seat to lead female character in the heat of battle, even though he needs it to do his work…

and on and on, for three years of selfless contribution. The character only dies once, roughly halfway through the second season, but this is Star Trek, so the reset button at the end of each episode takes care of such a minor inconsistency as this. (To get properly dorkulated about this, one might speculate that the character is on some sort of superbeing character arc… he drives the truck that kills Kirk’s girlfriend in early 20th century Earth in one of the episodes, but that’s probably not supposed to be the same guy.)

The thing is, once you know he’s in a scene, it becomes very difficult to ignore him. This shifts your focus entirely when watching the show – you end up focusing on the background as well as the foreground characters. It’s a little like the passing-the-basketball video – by FAR the most hilarious discussion of that can be found at this link (NOTE – watch the video then think about the poll question before reading the comments to not spoil the surprise!)

What else… oh yes, the business about keeping your ear to the ground for career preservation: here’s the wikipedia discussion of Paskey’s career longevity before retiring at the top for medical reasons:

Paskey credits the longevity of his character to his sense of caution. Since he was on the set most of the time and knew the script well, he made sure that he was always elsewhere when an episode called for someone to die.

Or, in other words, get to know which areas are likely to see their funding shrink so that you can be working on something else that is funded when the cuts come…

Finally, here’s a publicity still of Paskey – yes, he has a fan site. Click (or mouseover if you have Site Preview activated) for a schematic. Clearly Lt. Leslie has noticed the life expectancy of redshirts on the Enterprise…

All hail Paskey!

As in I don’t have any.

I have a ton of things on my plate, but no motivation to do what’s really important.  My brain has a built-in search and replace feature.

That book I have to read for the big anthropology exam next week?  Replaced by the inexplicable urge to change this blog’s appearance (the header is still a work in progress, by the way).

Laundry that has been carpeting my floor for a month, which feels great on the feetsies but probably isn’t so great on that $75 cashmere sweater? Replaced by the sudden desire to finally put in those iTunes updates Apple has reminded me about so many times.

Training for a 5K fun-run in a few weeks? Replaced by my ass’s desire to get to know the love chair a little more.  STOP HITTING ON THE SOFA, ASS.

Cleaning the house in preparation for The Monty’s that are coming for Thanksgiving? Replaced by re-runs of Saved by the Bell.

I'm sorry; you were saying?

I don’t know what it is, but I seem to have seriously misplaced my motivation.  It’s up and left me, just like Kelly did Zack for that tool bag Jeff.  Zack loved you, Kelly!  You know what, whatever, Kapowski.  I don’t need this.  WE don’t need this.  Let’s go, Zack.

Um, anyway.

This is the last hurrah before Turkey Genocide Day.

Worth it.

I hope everyone has a good holiday.  If you’re family, eat some Nana Spaghetti for me.  If you’re not, don’t worry about it.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Pick a medium-sized ripe marriage (u can tell if it’s ripe enough easily: it’s when u occasionally gotta close ur eyes either not to c who u’er dutifully fucking or to fantasize someone else) and marinate it in “honeys” and “babes”, Viagra and fake orgasms. Let it soak for a few more months, and then add a kid or two. Whisk until well blended, and then put it aside.

Peel and chop the perfect job u’ve just landed, fry it with a latest model car diced and the dreamy custom-made house u’ve taken out a nice fat mortgage for. Let it cook gently and stir occasionally to avoid lumps till thickened. Mix the ingredients with the marinated mixture .Throw in a pinch of fads ( depending on ur taste u can choose from a sudden appreciation of ballets , to hunting the most exotic foods or even Zen and stuff, the shallower ur understanding, the more u’re gonna love it) and season with a couple of rules u’ve  lately come up with or just picked from guys u look up to.

Serve it in a flat dish garnished with brands; titles and big names u’ve got into habit of dropping and; top with ur newly found confidence .Enjoy ur dish!



My fingers miss the keyboard.  They miss the writing.  They miss the uninterrupted typing that comes with a strong string of thoughts.  Lately, there have been no thoughts I’m interested in writing down, which is not usually like me.  Preservation of thought is the most important thing to me the majority of the time, but recently preservation doesn’t seem to be so important.  Living in the moment, cliché as it may be, is becoming more important.  Right now, experience seems worth more than preservation.

Things are different.  Not in a bad way, and perhaps not even in a good way, just in a general way.  My situation and surroundings have changed so much that I often time think that I won’t be able to change along with them.  I think that until I look around and I realize that, without making much attempt at it, I have changed too.  I’m different.  I don’t know where my mind was during this change, perhaps focusing on the experience I just mentioned, but suddenly I have realized that I’m not the same person I was eleven months ago, or even at the start of these writings. 

I am fortunate.  God, I’m so fortunate.  I don’t know what I was going to write about before, but I want to write about this now.  I realize that I am a lot of things, some of them good, some of them not so good.  But more than that, I realize that I am blessed to have a really good situation.  I am at the start of my career and I get the opportunity to work for an established organization with knowledgeable and friendly co-workers.  This job is being tailor-made for me and I recognize that this opportunity is one that is uniquely for me.

My family is the most interesting, amazing and truly supportive group of people I have ever had the good fortune of meeting.  They have proven time and time again that our unit is unbreakable.  No matter who says what or the arguments we get into, we are family.  My blood bonds me to them, but their actions and words make me loyal. 

My friends are very similar.  They chose to be a part of my life and I them.  I do not always understand why they feel such a loyalty and love towards me, but I am grateful.  My friends are intelligent, witty, talented, creative, empathetic and fascinating.  They are all the good with little bad.  They are a refuge, a home, and I am thankful for every last one.

The Boy is a unit in and of himself.  I have a hard time describing him because I just don’t have the words.  I’ve never needed to words to describe someone like him, and now that I want to, I don’t know which ones to choose.  He is one of the most kind and genuine people I’ve ever met.  He is a good person and I feel very fortunate that he chooses to be with me.

This isn’t coming out the way I intended.  It doesn’t matter, I guess.  I just wanted to let The Universe or God or whoever it is who’s in charge know that I’m not always a selfish asshole; I realize I have it pretty good and I’m really thankful. 

So, what did I learn today? 2 things:

1. If you text me something lovely and wonderful, I will launch into an entire blog entry.
2. It’s really humbling to look at your entire situation spread before you.  It’s calming, especially when you were two breaths away from throwing yourself a one-woman pity party. 

If this really is uncensored and a full-on debate then it could be pretty interesting…

http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/11/bush-43-and-bill-clinton-to-face-off-in-uncensored-debate.php?ref=fpb

Today I am strangely sad.

There’s no reason to be.  The run went well, work is getting more exciting every day, school is coming along, my friends and family are just as amazing and fun as they’ve ever been, but still, I feel like I’ve lost something.

I can’t quite put my finger on it.  Maybe because it’s so quiet in my house.  Or maybe it’s because I don’t have a goal to work towards.  You know what’s interesting, though, is I don’t really want to know why I feel this way.  I’m not interested in analyzing it or medicating it.  Sadness rarely visits me these days, and, while grateful, I feel slightly ashamed in saying that I sometimes miss it.

It’s like losing a friend.  A no-good, abusive, terrible friend who you always knew you would lose someday, but you still think about them from time to time.  You know that it would do you no good for this friend to come back to visit, but on the rare occasion that you see them out and about, you miss them.  You realize it’s not really them you miss, just the familiarity.  That no matter how bad things got with that friend, it was familiar and you grew accustomed to it.  Over time, you convinced yourself that you deserved a friend like that.  So, when the day came that you kicked that friend to the curb, you were lonely.  Worse than that, you had to find a new friend, a better friend, and you were unsure how to start looking.  Your entire world changed, and is still changing, but you can’t help but wonder how your old friend is doing from time to time.

Maybe this is just one of those times.  I don’t want it to last, but, for whatever reason, it’s here today.

So, what did I learn today?

1. While the feelings of sadness might always come back, I’m different now than I was then.  I’ve learned about what things work and what things don’t.  I don’t have to linger on it if I don’t want to.

I came into the city on Friday and went straight to Adam’s place. It smells like heaven in there, and I’m determined to figure out what it is so that I can mimic the scent wherever I go. I went to see Greg & Ian play and they were both wonderful. Greg seems like an entire different act than when I saw him that time at the Living Room. And Ian’s set I was right up front so I was beaming the whole set unaware of the intensely crowded house. She had a whole plan to get all her friendlettes to the Living Room to see her North Carolinian friends play. So…I got there and saw Su and Sarah which made me really high and happy for a few minutes. But that crashed kinda low when I realized that when she had been hinting that they were hanging out that she meant a little more than that. So there I was…in a crowded house getting pushed around down below while  the four of them, and he with his hand around her- up above. I just felt Shitty. Yes, with a capital S. I tried so very hard to concentrate on the music. After all, that was the real reason we were all there. But the music was less than good, I couldn’t help being concerned about the happenings up there, and I was just about ready to leave when J caught my eye. I couldn’t stop the glare before it was 40 feet ahead of me, and I’m pretty sure that’s what drew him closer to talk to me.

Now he becomes you.

You were the one that admitted the crush all along. You were the one who made the first move. You were the one who was too scattered and messed up to deal with stuff. It was easier to just become irresponsibly above all the concrete even though you had defective angel wings. O, I get it that you’re dealing with newly singleness and all that. But seriously, you have the capacity to be real and deep and you choose to be scattered, loose, and even less than insincere. It crushes me more than any crush that was ever between us. It goes beyond the silly jealous girl factor. I honestly want to see you happy. You are NOT happy the way you are being. But I love you because I love what I see in you and I will hold your hand, listen, and be here steadfast anytime for all time.

 But for then, we stood against that crowded wall and talked about how you had been wanting to talk. And that you love me ‘as a person.’ Which. Don’t get me wrong…I believe. I just needed time to process what was going on. To let the whip lash that smacked me right across my face to stop stinging so I could breathe. So I turned and left the party. It was a good move.

Today I wondered how much I could fit into one blog post.

Okay, this is going to be a condensed mash-up of some different things I’ve wanted to write about.  Do you have a snack with you?  You might want to think about getting one because this is going to be a doozie.  Go ahead, grab the Cheez-Its, I’ll wait.

I’m already tired of waiting.  I do not have the same patience that you, my six loyal readers, have.  My apologies.

Oregon
If I haven’t said it before, I’ll say it now: Oregon is one huge Bob Ross Painting.

Seriously, it’s ridiculous.  I remember seeing a movie once and a couple were driving this old timey sort of car down this curvy, mountain side road.  It’s fall and the leaves are all really bright shades of yellow, orange, red and pink.  The rainbow leaves are falling in real-time, but they look like slow motion, and the couple is listening to jazz as the leaves fall all around them and they’re both wondering how they got to be so lucky that such a gorgeous place would allow them to see it.  One of them feels like their heart is going to explode because there’s just so much to see and feel that it makes her sick.  Literally, her stomach and chest are aching because she never knew there was such a place where she could feel so peaceful and happy and free all at the same time.  Except, oh yeah, they aren’t a couple, they’re two friends and this isn’t a movie, it was my trip to Oregon.

Thurber was an excellent host and I had such a blast with her that, at first, it was really weird when I got home and didn’t have her around.  We’ve grown into different people, Thurber and I, but I think we’re better friends now than we were in high school.  I’m pretty proud of that.  And any friend that suggests we stop at a cheese factory to “check it out and sample cheese” is the type of friend that you want to hold onto.  Mmmm, cheese.

Zombie Walk
Have you guys noticed that the whole zombie craze has gotten a little out of control?  There are books, movies, songs, art and more websites than I could ever possibly know exist about nothing but zombies and the so-called zombie apocalypse.  It’s kinda weird, right?

That doesn’t mean I don’t love every minute of it.  The Boy (who will get a cooler nickname than that soon) and I have been planning to go to Tucson’s Zombie Walk for a couple weeks now.  We went to the thrift stores and picked out our zombie outfits, because there’s nothing worse than a zombie without a back story.  I don’t care that you’re a zombie; I want to know what happened to you to make you a brainivore.  Our story was that we were at some sort of fancy shindig (shindigs can be fancy; you don’t know) and we were having a grand ol’ time being merry and drinking champagne.  Then, wouldn’t you know it, some inconsiderate member of the undead party showed up, without even RSVPing!  The nerve, or lack there of, of some people.  So, one thing led to another and we were both attacked, nibbled on and re-animated as the undead.  Ahem, I mean fancy undead.  Voila!  A back story.

Consequently, the walk itself was kind of lame.  We called it quits after about half an hour and did what we do best: went to the bar and geeked out.  There is a special feeling that comes along with drinking Negra Modelos and PBRs at your favorite bar and listening to Dave talk about comics dressed in full zombie attire.  That feeling is called drunkenness.  Also maybe glee.

Also, special thanks to Red for blood-Warholing my dress and for helping me become zombified.  Thanks, Red, EVEN THOUGH YOU DON’T READ MY BLOG.  I hate you.

READ THE BLOG, RED.

5K Training
My 5k race is this Sunday, November 1.  I have had mixed feelings towards it, most of them being excited, nervous and/or hungry.  Nervitey, if you want to mash ‘em all up into one word.  My training plan has been steadily increasing the mileage, but last night was one of my final runs before the race: 3 miles.  Only .1 miles short of an entire 5 kilometers.  I have had my doubts about this race.  I would even go so far as to say it was incredibly foolish of me to register for this without having a training plan in mind beforehand.  I have been terrified time and time again that I will injure myself and not be able to run.  The fact that I only gave myself 5 weeks to train for the longest distance I’ve ever run was really, really stupid.  All of these thoughts trail behind me with each step I run, making me doubtful and unable to concentrate.

But, a couple nights ago at the track, I tuned all of that out and ran.  Something clicked and I knew that I was capable of this.  I knew that my body was capable of non-stop motion for those miles.  It took me 35 minutes, but I made it those three miles.  I have never been prouder of myself in my entire life.  I swear to God, I was so hyped up on endorphins, I could have lifted a slug bug and hurled it at someone (an image that, strangely enough, I couldn’t get out my head for the rest of the night).  It’s weird to think it’s already been five weeks since I first signed up, but it’s here.  Also, the race guarantees free smoothies and Mexican breakfasts afterwards, so really, everybody wins.

So, what did I learn today? 1 thing:

1. I’ve learned that it is important to be patient.  I was so excited for Oregon and the Zombie Walk that I almost gypped myself out of enjoying them when they were actually happening.  I’ve had to give myself a break while running more times than I’ve been comfortable with so I don’t get injured.  Patience is a massive pain in the ass, but it’s necessary.

I have a teenager at home that I’m supposed to be homeschooling.  He signed up for all virtual classes which pretty much got me off the hook because I’m just not suited to the whole home schooling set-up.  It’s a long story how we got into it in the first place, but let’s just say I had no choice or I would never have done it. 

Now, unfortunately, he’s dropped out of all of his courses but one and I really need to pick up the slack in a big way, but I’m failing miserably.  I let days go by without a lesson because I’m distracted with my own things.  You see, even though it’s very difficult for me, I try to do some little jobs to bring in extra money.  It keeps me distracted.  But that’s not the only reason.  I have hobbies that keep me sane.  I get wrapped up in them and the internet and get lost.  The next thing  I know I’ve let my kid get away with not turning in work and haven’t given the next lesson. 

I really don’t know what I’m going to do.  If the state were to check up on me, I suppose I could go to jail for my failure to have him substantially “in school”.  But worse than that, what am I doing to my child?  How is he going to cope next term when he returns to school?  Will they even let him?  I’m scared and lost.  I wish there was someone safe I could talk to about it.  I may just have to bite the bullet and talk to the director of the home school program.  But that is a very dangerous course of action.  I just don’t know. 

I wish I wouldn’t keep forgetting his schooling.  I’m not a bad mother.  I just get tired and I let things slip.  If we could get on some sort of schedule it would help.  I need a regular schedule to function well.  But my son has chronic insomnia so he is up and down at all hours.  I can’t keep up.  I’m becoming despondent/terrified.  Don’t you love Bipolar emotions?  I don’t.

My mind is really scattered.

I must be paying attention to stay away.

note: I need to adjust my autofocus a bit better.

double note: if I’ve put any weird comments on your blogs, it’s because I’m out of allsorts still.

notes to myself #37

The ”Mickey Rat” t-shirt you order by mail never arrives. … but you do find one in a shop when you’re 35.

We all have a friend that loves to make a statement! I love this necklace because you can wear this necklace with a simple black dress or simply wear it with a plain t-shirt and jeans with a nice blazer! This necklace is such a great buy at $42 from Anthropologie!

Today I wondered if there’s ever enough time in the day to get everything done.

Answer: no.  God, no.  I am swamped.  And I don’t mean that in the sense that there is marshland growing out of my pores, but rather adult responsibilities have completely taken over my life, leaving little time for anything else.  School is eating my face, work is still taking a little getting used to, race training is getting more intense, family and friends are around every corner, I still want to finish my stories from my vacation and it is hard, hard work to try and find the perfect zombie costume.

In short, I’m barely managing to fit sleep into my schedule, let alone blogging.  I always think it’s lame when bloggers take to their blogs to announce they won’t be blogging for a while (too much of the word “blog”?), but guys, I just can’t find the time.  I can’t find the time to write the way I really want to.  Sure, one could argue that I should have spent the time I’m taking to craft this blog entry into a real, meaningful blog, but it’s too late now.  We’ve come too far.

So, what did I learn today? 2 things:

1. Holy shit, I just realized the holidays are around the corner.  Oh crap.
2. Ahem, I mean I learned that time management is a very helpful tool in this life thing, and I don’t really know how to do it without feeling completely overwhelmed.

I’m finding today to be so filled with static that I am having a hard time focusing. My thoughts seem to be like a radio that cannot completely tune to a sing station. So all you hear are buzzing ghostly echos. I can’t quite dig out what it is I am hearing. And thinking.

Feeling very far away from God, man and soil alike. Needing a distraction or something to focus on. A thought or concept. Just something that can fill the empty thing I feel right now.

So that’s pretty much what I am getting out of me and to you today. I am tired too. Corralling and tending to a two year old can burn off so much energy. I was in bed and asleep by 9 pm last night.

I dreamed of my brother, a hostage situation and a beautiful Asian girl who said she loved me. And as usual lately there was a cat. Always friendly cats and they seem to be my pets. Also I frequently dream of my father. I find him to strangely be the voice of reason in these crazy situations.

Write nice things for me. I’ll be back in form tomorrow. I hope.

Because honestly I hate feeling so frayed.

The wind was under everything last night.  The trees.  The few fallen leaves.  The roof tiles.  The cars.  The asphalt.  The skirts and newspapers.  How wonderful to be alive!  How wonderful to have written a book and opened the book on this particular night and let the leaves go everywhere!  This must be the best part of joy, then.  To find a few scattered seeds, to find one leaf is enough, to send a message to the sea which, hearing it, the sea returns.  Or, better yet, to know however hard I try the sea is tired of listening.  So many sailors have fallen against her breast.  She isn’t surprised.  She has lain there a long time making her sound.  And she will be there a long time afterward shushing, like a mother, noisy stars.  Let them speak tonight again like they spoke last night.  Let the wind accompany that shimmer, that shine.

URL : http://www.flashgame-girl.com/Adventure/Scattered-Bolts.html

Game description :

Help the alien who has crashed landed on a vibrant planet. In order for you to make your way home you must find all the bolts that belong to your ship which are scattered around the various levels.

Game controls :

Left / Right Arrow Keys – Move.
Spacebar / Up Arrow Key – Jump.

She would awaken at any moment now.  He listened for movement on the other side of the blind.  One of many ‘useless’ items found in the ship, he had been unable to trade it and now could not have been happier to have it around.  He had set up the tri-fold curtain in between the basket and the rest of the cargo bay.  It wasn’t the usual way a thaw was handled, but right now he couldn’t look at her.  All rationale and focus tainted by a moment more than moments ago.  It was simply better this way.

Her gasp was so sudden, so anxious, that it jolted him physically from his thoughts.  He could imagine her face having seen the reactions so many other times.  She would have laid there a while, in a normal sleep state, eyes gently closed in REM.  Her regaining consciousness would have been lethargic while slowly opening her eyes to unfamiliar surroundings.  Her heavy sleep would have left her groggy and processing slowly, but eventually that instant came.  One shocking moment of clarity in recognition that you were in a strange place: alone, cold, and naked.

The rhetoric was just that to him, “Take a moment.  You are in a safe, clean place.  No one will hurt you.  When you are ready, there are clothes waiting on a table to your left.”

Her voice sound strained, tired, as it should from hibernation, “Where are you?”

Right.  In a normal thaw, a technician like him would be standing right beside her, latex hand holding her own.  “I am behind the curtain,” he replied.

“Why,” she sounded worried now.  He had abandoned protocol and in doing so, he had abandoned her as well.  Failing feeling came like instinct to him, “is something wrong with me?”  It was a question of familiar routine.  She had thawed before, and probably many times.

“No,” he chimed, “simply a matter of privacy.”

He heard her slender feet thump softly against the plastic of the floor.  There was a faint sliding from the table to his right.

“Modesty in thaw?” he heard a smile in that comment, “How many hundreds of years was I cool?”

“You were in cool for eight years,” He answered.

There was a short silence then.  No words, no movement, the only action occurring behind that curtain, guessed David, was thought.

“Eight years?” her voice had lost its smile, “Eight years?!  Why the hell was I kept on ice for that long?  We would have reached Tonic at least 5 years ago!  Why was I…” another short pause as her thoughts fought for her attention, “We have arrived at Tonic, yes?” Her voice cracked roughly and she broke into a small coughing fit.

Tonic was the second largest of the Mars settlements.  It would have taken anywhere from just over a year to just over two for any slumbership to reach Mars.  A few months was always expected for client processing, but to be told you had been asleep for eight years… it was as though something personal had just been stolen from you.  There was a fear in her voice then.

“Does John know I’m thaw?” she asked.  There had been no mention of a John in her main files.  No husband or son recorded, “Is John still cool?  If he’s still cool, he is going to be pissed.”

I like the ig nobel prizes – while good-humoured fun, it does highlight some real research into topics you’d probably never encounter otherwise. Some of my favourites this year:

physics prize – why pregnant women don’t tip over (i.e: how evolution solves the problem posed by changing load, to moving about on two legs)

biology prize – kitchen refuse can be reduced more than 90% in mass by using bacteria extracted from the feces of giant pandas (i.e.: here’s a biological method that may simplify the handling of solid waste – surely useful?)

mathematics -” Gideon Gono, governor of Zimbabwe’s Reserve Bank,  for giving people a simple, everyday way to cope with a wide range of numbers — from very small to very big — by having his bank print bank notes with denominations ranging from one cent ($.01) to one hundred trillion dollars”

The actual Nobel Prize website is here.  The entries for each year’s winners contains links to the prize lectures, which are usually interesting.

have you ever had a roommate? or have a roommate? do you remember, or are realizing, after six months, knowing your roommate’s sleeping pattern, favorite p.j.s, bed-head hair, annoying tendency to leave things scattered around (oh, not that i’m blaming anyone in particular… * cough * besidescolorfulheadscarves * cough *), and toothbrush color. you know… things you never really wanted to know.

we-e-ell, i’ve been living with colorfulheadscarves for some time. 10 years, give or take a few months (private joke. it’s funny, isn’t it colorfulheadscarves?) and it never ceases to amaze me how kind she can be.

pour exemple: while i was tirelessly grinding out a new plot outline (shut up yes i was), colorfulheadscarves comes into the room and decides to play with our pet. “you’re supposed to be working,” i tell her (not grumpily at all, oh, no-o-o). “but i haven’t played with her for four days,” she tells me. and i realize she’s right. and i didn’t even notice.

so if she hadn’t been there, it probably would have been several more days before i even glanced at the lonely cutie, so wrapped up am i in very important writing stuff (cuz that’s my job, and i am very good at my job. colorfulheadscarves, stop snorting!). well anyway, thanks colorfulheadscarves (wow, maybe your name is too long), and, yes, i am oblivious.

perhaps if you stopped complaining about your blog name i might be tempted to write another long and heartfelt post about you, colorfulheadscarves.

Late to the party again… here I am with scattered summer sushi in October. To be fair, I did come up with this recipe in May, but also, you can eat this any time of year, whether the weather’s sunny, or not. It’s the kind of dish that works better when it’s hot, but it’s still pretty nice around here even in autumn…

And yes, I did get carried away with decorating this, but it was worth it. So pretty! And not too much hassle to prepare, in the grand scheme of things.

Ingredients

2 cups Japanese rice (around 430g)
6 tbsp sushi rice vinegar (or check label)
1 tbsp sake (optional)
1 piece dried konbu (optional)
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
2 tsp cornflour
Large pinch salt
Pinch sugar
Vegetable oil
1 Cucumber
1 Carrot
Handful mange tout (cooked)
4 tofu pouches (optional)
16 large prawns (shrimp)
1/2 cup edamame beans (cooked)

Method
Make your sushi rice – I recommend you buy a rice cooker, as it takes all of the guesswork and stress out of cooking rice. Mine cost me about £10 three years ago and is still working fine. Firstly, wash the rice thoroughly and leave it to soak for half an hour. Then, drain and add your sushi rice to the same quantity of water in your rice cooker. Add the sake and konbu if using, then switch on and leave to cook. Once it has finished, leave it to rest for 15 minutes.
Turn the rice out into a damp, flat container (like a Pyrex oven dish) and add the sushi rice vinegar. Using a damp wooden spoon, turn the rice gently to coat it in the seasoning. At the same time, fan the rice to cool it and help it to absorb the dressing. Continue until no visible steam rises from the rice, and place it under a damp kitchen towel.
Make thin Japanese omelettes by combining the eggs, egg yolk, salt and sugar in a bowl. Add the cornflour dissolved in 4 tsp water. Heat the oil in a frying pan, and add enough oil to coat the base. Thinly cover the pan with the egg, and heat until almost set. Then, turn the omelette over to finish it off. Do not allow it to colour. Continue until all the egg has been cooked, then roll the omelettes up and shred them finely.
Prepare the carrot by peeling it and cutting it into thin discs. Then, using a flower-shaped cutter, cut the discs into flower shapes.
Use your cucumber to make a pretty garnish. A simple method is to cut the cucumber thinly on a diagonal, cut through it to the middle, and then twirl the ends in opposite directions (see picture).
If you’re using them, drain the tofu pouches and shred finely. Cut the mange tout at sharp diagonals.
Divide the sushi rice into four bowls. Scatter over the shredded tofu, omelette and edamame beans. Finally, arrange the carrots, cucumber and prawns.

Today I wondered if I really hadn’t blogged since Monday.

My bad, guys.  It’s been a busy week.  But, don’t think I’ve forgotten about you, dear reader.  Baby, you’re far too important for me to forget.  Don’t you know I love you?

That may have been a bit much.  But, I have been taking snapshots all week of, well, my week.  Here’s a Friday Photo Post about all the things I’ve been doing all week that prevented me from blogging.

Monday
Our house is being invaded. 

Witness the horror.

That’s right: geckos.  A few weeks ago I found a gecko in the silverware drawer.  Since it was early, I let out a gasp and quickly shut the silverware drawer.  Hell no I’m not dealing with that, I thought.  I spent the rest of the day avoiding all things silverware.  Well, apparently silverware drawer gecko went and got some buddies and now we have a bathroom gecko.  Oh, and a Karina’s bedroom gecko who likes to hang out UNDER MY COVERS.  Tiny little gecko hands are slapping high fives against my leg all night.  I know that sounds more adorable than frightening, but, trust me, it’s terrifying. 

Tuesday
After the fact that I signed up for a race truly registered, I decided I needed to start training.  Tuesday marked the first day of my 5k training.  Um, hey, yeah, it sucks.

My dog is not impressed.

 My training plan increases by a quarter mile every week.  This week it’s 1.5 miles, next week it’s 1.75 and so on.  So, hopefully I won’t be die a horrible and out of breath death in the upcoming weeks.

Wednesday
This was a very special day.  A few Saturday’s past, The Boy and I took in a screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.  It was a blast, but the best part was they were handing out free passes to an advanced screening of Zombieland.  Hello, Universe?  I owe you one, buddy.  So, to Zombieland we went, where this happened:

Excuse the double chin; when zombies are attacking, I won't have time to suck in my neck fat.

Uh, yeah.  People were way geared up for this movie.  While The Boy and I were waiting in line, we saw several people dressed as zombies.  “If we were smart, we would have brought judging score cards so we could judge who is the best looking zombie,” The Boy said.  And thus, a new game was born.  We judged zombies based on how realistic they looked and acted.  Big zombie up there was my favorite.  The Boy liked another zombie, teenage boy zombie, until he saw that said zombie was having a conversation.

“I give teenage boy zombie a 9.5,” I said.

“No way!” The Boy countered.  “Zombies don’t have conversations and teenage boy zombie is definitely having a conversation.”

“Yeah!” I said, suddenly riled up.  “I bet not even about brains.  That’s gonna cost him half a point.”

Ladies and gentleman, my Wednesday.

Thursday
Thursday, the family got word that M and Garland were going to bring over Tiny M for a visit.  This is enough to make everyone in the family excited all day.  Although, who wouldn’t be excited over a cutie like this:

Excuse the crappy camera phone picture.  Adorableness cannot be truly captured by the Verizon EnV2 camera phone.

Friday
Today marks the first day at my new job.  I’m at the same organization, just doing something completely different.  I’ve been looking forward to working in this new department for about a year now, so the fact that it’s actually happening is still surreal.  My old co-workers rocked the house (or office, in this case) and got me some lovely parting gifts, such as these pretty flowers:

Those scissors came for free.

I don’t really have much else to say about that, except that flowers will always make me happy.  And getting unexpected flowers at work will make me happy and most likely result in me breaking out with some jazz hands. 

So, what did I learn today? 2 things:

1. I learned that I will blog more consistently.  I miss blogging on the day to day. 
2. I need to invest in a better digital camera, as my camera phone is kind of crappy.