Just watching my #2 favorite Christmas movie, and browsing my email, and wondering....

If my boss calls me a "trooper" does that mean I'm in over my head?

Posted by: caltechgirl at 10:55 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Not like it's gonna help to post it, but if you can't see the posts, scroll over.

I already asked some of the smartest people around about fixing it, so hopefully this won't be an issue much longer.

Until then try Firefox.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 07:47 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Which flock do you follow?

this quiz was made by alanna

From another hippy sheep, Zeuswood

Posted by: caltechgirl at 03:41 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Sorry folks, no intelligent content today. Grant application due tomorrow.
Anyways, back to the post:

Last night I broke down and ordered photo Christmas cards. With the dog on them.

If I have your address, you're probably getting one.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 12:28 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Within 24 hours, my Gmail delete button issue was fixed!

Although for some reason, Mozilla isn't yet recognizing it as an available upgrade for FF 1.5, so it's not yet an automatic fix....

To fix the problem in FF 1.5:
1. Uninstall Gmail Delete v3.0 (the incompatible one) in the extensions window.
2. Close and reopen FF.
3. Install Gmail Delete v3.3 (compatible up to FF 1.6.x)
4. Close and reopen FF
5. Open Gmail, your button should be back!

Other than that, all of my extensions seem to be working ok or had an available upgrade. Good luck!

Posted by: caltechgirl at 10:43 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Acidman has been sprung from rehab. Welcome back!

Posted by: caltechgirl at 10:13 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The F&%&%&*%ing Gmail delete button doesn't work.

WAAAAAAAAAH!

Posted by: caltechgirl at 09:42 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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1 Thanks for testing this out. Flap will now hold off on the upgrade for another few weeks. D

Posted by: Flap at November 30, 2005 04:34 AM (A8i+J)

2 Seems to work for me. But I have firefox 1.0.7

Posted by: vw bug at November 30, 2005 12:36 PM (Xl/Yt)

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So, what do you think of the new look?

Posted by: caltechgirl at 07:30 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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An Audience Participation Special.....

I love to shop. In fact, I'm half done with Christmas shopping already. However, I'm kinda getting bored with the same ol' same ol'. Even on line.

So, where do you look for that perfect gift, online or off? What little, out of the way retailer ( or e-tailer) is your go-to place?

Posted by: caltechgirl at 01:22 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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Which Fantasy/SciFi character are you?

from Yoda

Posted by: caltechgirl at 10:58 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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That you've passed another stage in your life, it comes right back up to bite you in the ass.

As many of you know, last week was my 29th birthday, last month I started my first "real job", and for the last two years, everyone around me has been getting married (or divorced) and having babies. Lots of babies. There were 8 in my office alone last year. This makes it really easy to think,"Ok, this is the stage where people are having kids. Wow I feel old."

Makes sense right??? Wrong.

This week, it's been back to High School. Nothing wrong with it, of course, it's just amusing that suddenly out of the blue two of my friends are working on new relationships. And it's like HS all over again. Giddiness, giggling fits, gross make out details.

I actually said EWWWWWWWWW more than once yesterday. And giggled.

And the thing is, I love these people, and I couldn't be happier for them, and I love listening to their giggles and insecurities and hopefulness, but at the same time, it is kind of jarring. But in a good way.

/stream of consciousness

PS if this is about you (you know who you are) and anything I said bothers you, talk to me. I'm merely venting my overwhelming sense of irony. I laughed more last night talking to you then I have in a long time!

Posted by: caltechgirl at 10:13 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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This week's dose of the unconscious. As always, cut and paste to play along in the comments, my answers in the extended.

1. Stuffed::
   
2. Armstrong::
   
3. Bruise::
   
4. Content::
   
5. Musical::
   
6. Assistance::
   
7. Scrambling::
   
8. Battle::
   
9. Extended::
   
10. Discount::
    

Posted by: caltechgirl at 06:25 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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You are mRNA. You're brilliant, full of important,
interesting information and you're a great
friend to the people you care about. You may
have sides to you that no one understands. But
while you understand more than most people,
you're only half-there most of the time.


Which Biological Molecule Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

from the lovely Michele

Posted by: caltechgirl at 03:48 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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From Stingflower of new bloggy find Harshly Mellow, who also finds this creepy:

A tenth of two to five-year-olds have a serious psychiatric illness, yet most cases are being missed, warn experts.

The problems go beyond tantrums and bad behaviour and impact negatively on all aspects of an infant's life, the Institute of Psychiatry will hear.

And failure to spot and treat these conditions early is causing unnecessary distress and suffering.

Mental health services need to be geared towards very young children as a matter of urgency, they said.

WTF??? 10% of all two year olds are mentally ill? Riiiight.

Since when is "normal" the 90th percentile in ANY marker of childhood development?

I think what's going on here is simply a misguided consequence of the laudible efforts of pediatric practitioners to identify serious developmental disorders sooner. For example, some studies indicate that the incidence of autism is increasing in some areas over the past 20-30 years. However, it's not clear whether the reported increase is due to more actual new cases of the disorder, or to slightly lessened diagnostic criteria, implemented in an effort to diagnose children at an earlier age so that intervention can be started sooner.

It's entirely plausible that 10% of toddlers display behaviors that mark them as "at risk" of developing personality disorders or ADHD or what have you. However, as psychiatrists have learned repeatedly in following patients predisposed to mood disorder, schizophrenia, etc., the risk of development or even the appearance of frank prodromal symptoms (in the case of Schizophrenia) is no guarantee that the patient will progress to illness. So it's, at the least, reaching a bit to say that 1 out of every 10 young children has a serious disorder.

Which brings me to my other point. Isn't it a bit much to say that one in ten kids has a serious disorder? How serious can it be if it is SO prevalent? Is it possible that our definition of normal is just a tad skewed by the ready availability of drugs and treatments that make our kids fit into tidy little polite boxes? And these are as young as two years old. Ever heard of the terrible twos? Some kids are more terrible than others. Throwing temper tantrums and trying to assert dominance is normal for a toddler or a preschooler. It does not require medication. Just a little time, patience, and firmness from mom and dad. Oh wait. Mom and Dad don't have time anymore, and anyway, being firm with your kids doesn't make friends with them.

Arrgh. This is exactly why I don't want to have kids. I can't be a parent of the state.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 11:37 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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1 This is exactly why I don't want to have kids. I can't be a parent of the state. This is exactly why you should have gives. You can show the state what it means to be a parent.

Posted by: jen at November 28, 2005 12:20 PM (UMVKj)

2 Good grief. gives = kids That is quite the typo.

Posted by: jen at November 28, 2005 12:20 PM (UMVKj)

3 Isn't it a bit much to say that one in ten kids has a serious disorder? Yes, absolutely How serious can it be if it is SO prevalent? Not serious at all. This is simply a putsch by Psychiatrists to get more patients. Probably, aided and abetted by the folks who make Ritalin More troubled kids => more treatment => more drugs => more $$$ The ugly side of science -- scaring people to make $$ off them. Sadly, not so uncommon these days. Barnes, Hank

Posted by: Hank Barnes at November 28, 2005 01:06 PM (hZ5c+)

4 agreed.

Posted by: caltechgirl at November 28, 2005 01:07 PM (/vgMZ)

5 Lordy, if I believed that my kids would be in wards by now.

Posted by: vw bug at November 29, 2005 08:24 AM (Xl/Yt)

6 Oh holy crap! You know what? 2 year old children are manic-depressive ego-centric savants. ALL of them are. That's part of being 2. Unless there's a very distinct trait that can be singled out, I don't believe a minute of that "study". Sorry. Nope. From 2-5, kids are still developing, prone to outbursts of all sorts, and more often than not, just normal kids. Very few need psychiatric intervention. Those who do are in the smallest minority and nowhere near the 10% mark. So says the former pediatric nurse.

Posted by: Da Goddess at December 05, 2005 04:54 PM (nR5ux)

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With Thanksgiving so recently behind us, it almost seems too soon for a food meme, but what the hell...

01. CHEESE or CHOCOLATE?
02. BLUEBERRIES or STRAWBERRIES?
03. COFFEE or TEA? Both. Depends on my mood.
04. CORN MUFFIN or ENGLISH MUFFIN?
05. PANCAKES or FRENCH TOAST? Neither. Waffles.
06. YOGURT or CREAM CHEESE?
07. RICE or PASTA?
08. CAKE or PIE?
09. GROUND BEEF or GROUND TURKEY?
10. HOT DOGS or HAMBURGERS?
11. JELLY or MARMALADE? Ewwwwww Marmalade SUCKS
12. AMERICAN CHEESE or SWISS CHEESE? Can I pick smoked Gouda?
13. DIET SODA or NO SODA? My mom's diabetic. Diet soda is soda.
14. LEMONADE or ICED TEA? 5M Sweet Tea, please.
15. CHERRIES or GRAPES?
16. CHOCOLATE QUIK or STRAWBERRY QUIK? Strawberry is sacrilege.
17. WAFFLES or PANCAKES? See above.
18. WHITE BREAD or WHOLE-GRAIN/WHEAT BREAD? I hate bread with things in it. It's a texture thing....
19. PEAS or CARROTS? I. Hate. Peas.
20. PUDDING or FRUIT-FLAVORED GELATIN? Jello Pudding pops, please.
21. COLD CEREAL or HOT CEREAL? Sadly enough, I love bran flakes.
22. KETCHUP or MUSTARD?
23. MUSTARD or MAYONNAISE? It's not a sandwich (usually) without Mayo. Just enough to taste (about a tsp).
24. MAYONNAISE or KETCHUP? DUH!
25. BLACK OLIVES or GREEN OLIVES? NEITHER!!!!! Olives make me sick.
26. ONION or GARLIC? Hello? I'm Armenian.
27. PLAIN BARBECUE or BARBECUE WITH SAUCE? Actually, it's called "dip" in NC.
28. SCRAMBLED EGGS or FRIED EGGS? Ewwww. Fried eggs are nasty.
29. EGGS or EGG REPLACEMENTS? As if.
30. MEAT or VEGETABLES? Depends on the Veg. Is it green beans?
31. CHINESE TAKE-OUT or PIZZA?
32. SUSHI or DELI SANDWICH? yeccch. Will. Not. Eat. Sushi.
33. WHITE CLAM CHOWDER or RED CLAM CHOWDER? Who in hell eats red clam chowder?
34. KEY LIME PIE or LEMON MERANGUE PIE? Mmmmmmm. Pie.
35. PIE & ICE CREAM or CAKE & ICE CREAM? Yay! Birthdays!
36. WHIPPED CREAM or CAKE FROSTING? Love whipped cream frosting, too.
37. HONEY or MAPLE SYRUP? Both, please. But maybe not together.

From Deb.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 10:52 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I'm a Crunchy Crustacean????? I was a Large Mammal an HOUR ago.

Ummm, yeah. As if.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 10:46 PM | Comments (12) | Add Comment
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Long weekend in Fresburg. Dad is doing better and worse. He's more alert, moves better, eats pretty well (still just broth and jello, though), and has no pain, but he also has pneumonia. The docs seem to have caught it early, and it is responding to treatment.

Also, the drains are still draining, so he can't come home until they're done and the pneumonia is gone. Suck.

But as long as he continues to get better, I could care less.

Any number of forthcoming posts about how hospitals suck, and nurses really suck and bastard selfish doctors who can't be bothered to leave their turkey for 5 minutes to call the doctor who is on call in the hospital to get him to look at Dad and order the appropriate antibiotics for his pneumonia.

Mom had to call the bastard (on call for Dad's dr) at home to get him to do anything!

However, the CNAs are wonderful, arrive promptly, do disgusting things cheerfully, and always make my Dad feel at ease, even though he would otherwise be embarrassed.

Now, I know that nurses and doctors don't all suck, but after the weekend we've had, they might as well.

Other than that, I'm half done with my Christmas shopping (Target + Costco + Black Friday = cha-ching). I also got my birthday present from my hubby. Now I can carry my digicam in my pockety!

It was on sale, too.

Lots of fun with the nieces and nephew today, playing with the dog and on their big trampoline, using my new toy to get some pics.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 07:05 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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But a good cook too. We've shared Michelle's recipes with y'all here before, but this one takes the cake pie. I'm adding this to my own list. Yum.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 02:25 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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As I suspect is the case for most of us, I'll be offline until Monday, although I will still be checking email....

I just wanted to take a moment, before I get too carried away with work, to share some of the things I'm thankful for this year, in no particular order:

for health, even though it's not always the best
for Love, which sustains me every day
for my wonderful husband who makes me laugh every day
for my family, who have always been there for me and for each other
for my wonderful job that makes me happy and pays me better than I imagined
for DH's job, with normal students that don't try to hurt him
for my house, which we despaired of finding, and then of keeping, but which is wonderful
for my puppy, who is 6 years old and worth her weight in Molybdenum, but is still my Princess
for all our servicepeople, who sacrifice so much and so willingly that the rest of us don't have to...
for our police and firemen and paramedics who do the same at home
for our nation, that we can enjoy the freedoms we have
for good doctors and kind nurses
for funny emails that made me laugh when I was so stressed
for the friends and family that gathered around my mother on the day of Dad's surgery
for all of the generous folks who pitched in to make our Valour-IT fundraiser so spectacular. We raised over $75,000 together. That's a lot of laptops.

for wonderful friends, online, offline, and both. Y'all bring so much to my life

What are you thankful for this year?

Posted by: caltechgirl at 10:16 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Dad continues to improve, and they've removed the nasogastric suction, the arterial line, the epidural, and the Foley. All he's got now is one IV and the central line, which they'll take out when he leaves the hospital. He's up and walking and sitting in the chair pretty much as he likes, and even walking to the bathroom on his own.

His new room has its own DVD player and my Mom and Aunt have been keeping him well supplied with movies and TV shows to watch. His room even has a flat screen and hardwood floors. Nice to have a room in the brand new wing of the hospital, huh?

Looking forward to Thanksgiving. I think we decided against Turkey since it'll be just us and Mom at our house. Dad probably won't be home yet. Although we'll probably get some Turkey with DH's family.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 03:02 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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