'sup internets?

I've had a couple of bad days, topped off by the car (the old one, not the newer one) not starting this afternoon.

We're kind of rushing around frantically to get ready for our trip. We'll be gone from the 20th through the 1st, so I'm trying to get enough laundry done so we have clothes. It's complicated by that fact that we're going places that are much colder than Sacramento, so that part's fun.

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Why is it that rats themselves can smell so awesome, when their pee smells just like smelly pee? Seriously, rats themselves smell very nice: If you bury your nose in their fur it is a pleasant smell, much better than most other animals I've smelled up close (admittedly mostly cats and dogs so the comparison sample is small). And yet -- they pee in their sleeping spaces where they then lie down, and they pee on each other anyway, but while I smell like gross rat pee when they inevitably mark me or my clothes, they come out smelling like roses. Well not roses, but a nice non-pee smell. I just don't get it.

I finally stopped flipping out long enough to remember what I read about giving permission. I gave myself permission to be crazy, and I gave the swirling worry permission to exist. Magic. Went from pacing to sitting down and finishing a sock to relatively functional calm. Not that this is a permanent change. But it's a lovely step in the process.

Of course, not until I'd bombarded alh with too many emails, but she's gracious, so it was OK.

I've been folding clothes and talking to myself, which may seem odd, but that's OK. It's helping. Later, I go get trained in PetCo's method of kitty care-taking for their contingent of CAT cats.

...but sometimes I think it would be cool if journalling sites had a function to "suggest me a new journal to read" not a random one, but a suggestion based on your current subscriptions, interests, maybe on some kind of other fuzzy, internal data-mining (the aforementioned "intrusive" part). I'm not sure how these things work, but like what Amazon does when it suggests books to you (sometimes they even suggest me interesting things, though that one is hit and miss, even though I actually tried to refine it manually) or that online music thing, Pandora?, that tries to guess what your tastes music are (that wasn't bad, though I couldn't use it for long, because eventually these location blocks happened). Anyway, something more advanced than the "popular among your friends" feature that LJ offered (offers? I can never really find that on the site anymore), and you could refine its suggestions.

... will be held primarily on DW.

Every post after this one will direct comments back to DW. Anon commenting will be enabled as long as no one abuses it and, as always on DW, you can comment using OpenID.

God, I am SO tired of watching LJ do STUPID STUPID stuff and having people in fandom just shrug and go on with business as usual because, as someone recently said: "LJ's where the conversation is."

Right now a bunch of us are pretty pissed off that LJ's gone from three gender options (female, male and unspecified) to two. And if you guessed that those two are "female" and "male" give yourself a pat on the back. You know why they're doing it, don't you? So they can do a better job targeting ads.

Read all of Syne's post, too. You can't just get out of this by choosing one option or the other--specifying one of two genders will be mandatory on account creation.

And if you don't get that this is offensive, then really, I've got nothing to say to you. Fortunately, both rm in a post here and thingswithwings in a post here do have things to say.

I'm sure this will mean a few more people come over to DW or even IJ, but for the most part, fandom won't care. I'd love to be wrong, but each time LJ does something stupid, fandom's just shrugged and kept the conversation where it is. I don't know what it is and God I wish I did so I could figure out what to say to get people to realize that things like this hurt people.

We could host the conversation here on DW, if, you know, fandom gave a damn.

ETA: Supposedly this was a mistake although LJ's response sounds a little like backpedaling. See the ETA on this post and the question in the comment I linked to.

Where did I put my "LJ=Stupid" icon? Livejournal is about to force new sign-ups to declare male or female and removing the unspecified option. That link is to the LJ Changelog and , people who read code better than I do have interpreted it and offered suggestions if you want to complain about it. For full disclosure, that links to the post of someone who is fully invested in DW, but it's not like she's making this shit up. One simple option could Edit your Profileand choose unspecified before the code push goes through. But, JH, you say -I'm good with the gender on my profile -- well, I get that, I am too. However, I'd like the world to be more inclusive, not less. -still sounds like effort... -- true. The speculation by the people that read code better than me is that it's for advertising purposes. Apparently on Facebook, female profiles get bombarded by things like diet ads. And hey, I still have DW invites ETA: and if I actually wrote the html correctly *headdesk*

Some of the guys either next door or across the courtyard are yelling excitedly every once in a while. Based on the timing, it sorta sounds more like a football thing than a basketball thing.

In other news, I have a headache and I hate hate hate social anxiety. The amount of time I had to spend talking myself into making a simple phone call is ridiculous and absurd. On the good side, I made it and have an appointment with an optometrist on Saturday, the day before we leave.

( ramblings, not coherent, ignore )

In saner news, my back isn't bad today. Standing around on cold asphalt over the weekend wasn't really good for it, so this is a win. I think Terminator Stout is much better for it than oxycodone--I can still walk around, and I'm not nauseated, and my back just relaxes. Oxycodone involves passing out and waking up shaped like a pretzel, with even more back pain. That just isn't right.

We survived a total of eight hours of standing in the cold (two shifts, four hours each), working at the Holiday Express fundraiser for the Portland steam engines and their new home. The fun part was watching the 4449 in action. And I wore antlers. Frightened two dogs and three children.

The wildlife refuge area on the other side of the train tracks is pond-like, and froze in the cold; yesterday, it attracted walkers, skaters, and few sleds. I was a little worried about that, as the temps were rising, but we didn't see anyone fall though the ice. (We were on the trail next to the train, warning bicyclists and runners of the traffic jam ahead during loading and unloading.)

I could not have done a longer shift; as it was, when we got home Saturday, I staggered around and did a little laundry, and then fell asleep. Yesterday, I was wound up, so I didn't sleep in the afternoon, but I did crash early in the evening, after a lovely hot bath.

OH!! There's a roller rink at the park where we were. I didn't know that, or I'd forgotten. I think I want to go skate! I wonder whether that skill comes back...

I've been practicing doing the half-right thing, which actually led to some of the mess in the bedroom dwindling. It's not gone, but I think if I hadn't reminded myself, it would still all be a huge pile. Instead of a half-pile. ;-) It seems to be rewiring the thing in my head that's confused about time, just a bit.

And now, after a brief bout of freaking out, I'm going to go eat, and then empty the dishwasher. No, I didn't really need to tell anyone that, but I want the record. If you weren't used to the boring you wouldn't be here.

edited several times because I don't make sense

sga_santa is off and running, and posting fics.

Already.

We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas....

Hung out with wolfshark yesterday. In RL she's a solid, reliable sort with a healthy dose of sardonic humor. Just the type of person you'd want to run comms and see projects through to the end. *tips hat to Sharkie*

And I've now been informed that Victoria Bitter of "Bit Of Earth" donation scam infamy (who absconded with tens of thousands of dollars and tricked Sean Astin into supporting the not-actually-a-charity) has joined the HP fandom. Bitter is refusing all donations -- unless you insist. In which case there's a PayPal link.

*head scratch*

Do I have a PayPal link? Should I have a PayPal link? I mean, if you absolutely insist....

When the muse falls silent ... edit.

For the first time in years, I'm doing as much beta reading as writing.

A friend gave me a newspaper article. The time spent actually writing equals the amount that gets written.

I can take a hint. *gets back to work on that comic McFluff*

My aunt has given me the wish list for her in the uncle. It is vagueness, so I need suggestions

For Uncle - a Jazz CD - from what I've heard he's more of an instrumental fan, like Wynton Marsalis. He's also willing to try new stuff, so something running in that direction but veering away works.

For Aunt - Merle Haggard or Waylon Jennings CD - I think I'm looking for the latest here, because she doesn't go out of her way to buy music.

and while we're at it

My Mom - she's a fan of the genre that includes Susan Boyle, Celine Dion, Pavarati, Andrea Bocelli, Charlotte Church, Joss Grobin. When last I saw her at Thanksgiving, she was actively seeking the new Susan Boyle CD. Any suggestions - even for another singer in the genre?

My Mother's Husband - M&M fan - seen anything lately that looks cool? He's got tons of collectibles, but I don't think he keeps up on the cutting edge.

***

In other news, it's the middle of December! This is significant because I missed the first two weeks of December. Things are getting back on track now. I received holiday greetings from thebratqueen - thank you! Much like Missy byrne, she made a lovely handmade card. My friends have skilz!

It occurs to me that I should have brought a santa hat along on my summer vacation and in preparation for this time of year. I'm sure I'll find something.

In the meantime, this may just be a sit back and relax kind of day.

Happy Chanukah!!

You didn't give me your name, but I want you to know that the note you wrote meant a lot to me and made me tear up just a little. Thank you!

And yay cast iron frying pan! Corn bread! Pan Seared Rib Eyes!!

Thank you again.

♥

The yuletart gift for me was just posted, and it is a very cute Spock/Uhura piece with a tribble. So check it out.

Just one tonight:

From the 2009 Yule LE Line:

Sol Invictus -- "A radiant blend of solar oils: golden amber, saffron, heliotrope, hibiscus, citron, frangipani, frankincense, tangerine, mock orange, and orange blossom."

It's a somewhat heavy floral with just a touch of ambery spice under it. Mostly what I'm getting is the frangipani and the orange blossom grounded by the amber. I'd say this is an almost tropical floral for people who don't like florals. In other words, me. :)

...replace the milk the cheese sauce for baked macaroni and cheese with mostly heavy cream (I thinned it with a little milk)?

Don't.

God, I think I'm gonna die.

Thing is, other than that the fact that it was insanely rich, it was incredibly good. Half sharp cheddar, a quarter jack and a quarter blue cheese made for a nice mix of cheesy taste and melty goodness.

Oh also? It had bacon in it.

Die, I tell you. I'm gonna die.

gblv has given me Cthulu in a Santa hat vgift for the non-denominational mid-winter celebration -- It's awesome!*

I was neglectful and failed to mention that the first of the Winter cards arrived over the weekend -- media_junkie was first in the mailbox. Well, my mailbox I should have double checked the post marks, because byrne's card arrived from Canada today.

My class is going fairly well. It's VBA for those that are interested. I've done bits of SQL, VBA, BASIC and god help me Fortran over the years -- not to mention programming in MatLab. So there's a lot in common, but I've never done any them long enough to become proficient. I have to say that this is much better than the last intro-VBA class I took. ...well except for those moments that the teacher wanders off on a tangent. So, South Virginians are known for rambling stories of trading professional services with the lawn guy? He also wants to talk about his favorite TV -- Mr. Ed, Dragnet, I Love Lucy. *headdesk* Do they only have TVLand in southern Virginia?

Anyway, I don't have time during class to do important things like read LJ & DW or write. However when he wandered on tangents today I managed to dust, pack away the seasonal decorations, wash dishes and do some general cleaning. The appraisal guy is coming tomorrow.

I should get done early tomorrow, which will give me time to drive back to the area around work. Did I mention that I left my ATM card in the bank machine? It was the night we decided to drive 175 miles to visit Jailboy. No one touched my account and someone kindly turned it into the bank. Unfortunately, I didn't get the message until late on Monday. I called them on Tuesday and let them know that I wouldn't be able to get there until Friday. Good thing I took out enough money, huh? *headdesk*

*sigh* I've got to hit the craft store anyway. I need tacky glue and a bit more felt wouldn't hurt. There's holiday crafting underfoot!



*It wasn't awesome that 'ol HP was a racist, but slimy space monsters that drive you insane are really cool :-D

I didn't manage these two last night, so they got them today.

( An octopus flying a helicopter for Odditycollector )
( Matt Murdock--as Matt or Daredevil--stopping at Starbucks (or other coffee place) for a break during Christmas shopping. for Tartanshell )