**spoilers for you west coast types**

Yay!!!! Nadia is gone!!!! Woo Hoo!!!

Can't believe Bo got the second-least votes. Scott must have a guardian angel. I have to say, though, that Scott sang SOOOO much better tonight than he has yet on the show. Much much better than the first time he sang it.

Bo better step it up next week. I'm betting Carrie was 4th from the bottom.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 10:49 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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For this week's Carnival of the Recipes, here's a favorite in my family. The Caltechmom is diabetic, so sugar-free is frequently on the menu. This recipe is a twist on the traditional apple pie.

Caltechmom's Nearly Sugar Free Apple Pie

1 large pkg. Cook 'n' Serve (NOT instant) Vanilla Pudding mix
1 1/2 cup unsweetened apple juice
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1- 1 1/2 packet Sweet N Low (Splenda is probably ok, but DO NOT use Equal)
3-4 cups apples, peeled and sectioned
1 6oz fat-reduced graham cracker crust
1 tub fat-free Cool whip

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 375 deg. F.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine pudding mix, juice, cinnamon, and sweetner. Stir well.
Add apples, stir constantly until boiling.
Pour in crust, shake gently to settle.
Bake for 20 minutes, let cool.
Top with Cool Whip and serve.
Enjoy.

This week's CotR is hosted by Drew of Conservative Friends (at least I think it is...)
In any case get those recipes in to recipe(dot)carnival(at)gmail(dot)com before 12am EDT Friday (Thursday night!)

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But now it's been proven.

John Kerry is in fact the World's Biggest Douchebag!

"The Web is abuzz today with discussion of John Kerry's crass call for military hardship stories he can use for his political advantage.

I share Instapundit's, Anklebitingpundits', Polipundit's, Vodkapundits', Ace's, and others' contempt for Kerry's cynical manipulation of personal hardships.

Kerry has sunk so low with this latest ploy that my first thought this morning was "What an unbelievable douchebag!" This spurred me to some serious scientific research. I had to find out: is John Kerry the biggest douchebag in the world?

Google finds 13,000,000 hits for a search on John Kerry. This gives us our baseline Kerry identification level. Then, by searching John Kerry douchebag, we find how many mentions associate John Kerry with a douchebag. The result is 17,500. By dividing this number by the 13 million baseline Kerry identification level and multiplying by 1000, we arrive at the Douchebag Identification Per Thousand(TM) quotient (DBIPT). Kerry's DBIPT score is 1.35, a truly phenomenal rating."

Read the rest to find out how other people scored!

(h/t: Ken)

Posted by: caltechgirl at 08:15 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Today's stupid quiz:

Which Website are You?

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Ok, I admit it. I watch it. Once they get to Hollywood, and I don't have to sit through painfully embarrassing auditions I watch it.

In fact, since it's on before House, my friend and I watch it together. We're both singers. In fact, she's so much of a better singer than I am that I hate to put myself in the same group as her, but in any case.... let's say we've both taken enough music lessons and singing lessons to know the difference between crap and not crap.

From that perspective, Randy Jackson is frequently closest to our criticisms. Occasionally Simon (when he's not being too harsh) is too, but Paula is on happy pills.

In any case, I just wanted to get this much off my chest: Quit gushing about Carrie. She's awful. Yeah, she's cute, but I've never heard anyone turn so many good songs into country music. Hell, even Garth Brooks managed to do rock and blues as rock and blues. Simon was right, that was her worst performance.

here's my thoughts on the others:

Scott: needs to go. At least you could hear him last night.

Nadia: get a life. She reminds me of a female impersonator on a cruise ship.

Anthony: Lovely voice, but he's Clay Jr. Last night's performance had some energy, though, and I liked it.

Vonzell: a beautiful instrument (voice) but her performances hold her back. Anyone who can make a Whitney Houston song her own has something there. Last night was a turning point for her, though since her performance was good as well as her voice.

Anwar: Creepy. Just creepy. His voice is weak and he needs to cover that nasty hairless chest.

Bo: what can I say? i love him. he's sexy and evidently the same age as my husband! He's got a great voice and he looks like the reincarnation of Lynyrd Skynyrd or the Allman brothers. I have been waiting to hear "Freebird" since he started the competition. I was a little disappointed with it, though, because the accompaniment was an orchestra and a little regimented. Where was the frickin' guitar solo, dammit? And WTF with Simon telling him to do a "well known rocking song" What the hell IS a well known rocking song if it isn't Freebird? I mean it's only the national anthem of the south. Yes, I do know all the lyrics. No, I didn't know them before I moved here.

Constantine (aka Creed Boy): Wait, he's my age? Damn. He's got an amazing voice. I think some of his performances were so-so. I have to give him credit for tackling Bohemian Rhapsody, though, which is hard as hell to sing and probably the most stylized song to hit pop music other than Frampton's "do you feel like i do" (guitar synth voice), and for doing it well.

I'm guessing the bottom 3 will be Scott, Carrie, and Nadia. Bottom 2: Scott and Nadia. Loser: Scott.

But then again, I picked Scott and Nadia last week and Nikko went home....
Thoughts?

Posted by: caltechgirl at 01:20 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Last night's episode was interesting. Can't comment on the medical stuff except to say that Epstein-Barr is a foul virus that is usually only responsible for Mononucleosis, but in some cases can become chronic, and in other cases, amy lie dormant for years (much like chicken pox/shingles) and come on in response to stress.

However, I would like to address one point: House's speech to the conference.

In these days of CME (Continuing Medical Education) and full financial disclosure, it would have been hard for House to even be accepted to make that speech at a regular meeting. CME rules state that all lecturers/presenters at a professional meeting (including yours truly) must disclose any financial or other interest in the company(ies) who make the products that they are discussing, or who funds their grants. Because House's hospital is owned by Vogler's company, House would have to state that he is fully employed by the company through the hospital. Furthermore, his talk would be considered a sales pitch, and therefore not eligible for CME credit. so in all likelihood such a talk would have been held at a satellite event sponsored by the company, rather than the main meeting.

In that case, it's a surprise Vogler didn't try to fire him right then and there. He ruined a sales presentation.

But he did the right thing. Every time Vogler tries to hold his employment over his head, I have to laugh. In the real world, a hospital could lose its accreditation for allowing a pharmaceutical comapny to turn it into its own private colony of lab rats. What he's asked House to do, over and over is so unethical it's laughable. You can't fire a resident without cause. You can't pimp a product at a conference. You can't ask a doctor to give or withhold treatment from someone simply because it doesn't mesh with your corporate agenda (although HMOs try to do that every day).

And I suspect Cameron will be back.... the actress is listed as appearing in upcoming episodes and I think we all know now that Vogler is on his way out.

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ok here goes:
1. WTF with the bus drivers these days? Arrgh. It drives me nuts. Ok, really I have no room to complain, Chapel Hill transit is free. Yes, free. The town and the university each chip in and they got a federal grant to cover some of the expenses, so there's no fare.

That doesn't excuse the bus drivers who seem to have made it their personal mission to run stop signs, drive through EVERY pothole, turn too fast, and generally be as rude as they can and induce the maximum amount of nausea.

There's one bus driver who refuses to pick people up on one side of the street if he's coming back to stop on the other side of the street later, unless they're getting off somewhere before where he turns around. Doesn't matter that it's perfectly legal to ride the bus for any length of time shorter than one full circuit of the route, he won't pick you up. He won't pick you up if you're more than 5 feet from the bus stop either. Some folks stand away from the signs in bad weather because of the trees, and I've seen him go roaring past people, even with the passengers inside telling him to stop. This guy is also the king of whiplash and nausea.

There used to be this incredibly nice bus driver who talked to everyone and sang and was generally fun. Until somebody took umbrage at his pleasant attitude, and he got told to lay off....

2. People you work with who go off on an ego trip all over you. Especially your juniors.
'nuff said.

3. People who like to complain about the weather. I like the rain very much, thank you. I just wish I could stay home and curl up with a good book and enjoy it, rather than come to work.

4. Waiting to hear back from people when you have a deadline.

There may be more additions as the day goes on.

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Thanks Michele.

The Top 25 Sesame Street moments (according to Mike)

My personal favorite: #12. Of course.

Go here to see an updated version of the 12 song. You may have to save it to your hard drive, but it's worth it! (includes the classic pinball animation)

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Heh. Boromir tries again.

For those of you who missed the original Boromir and the Ninja Wizards, you can find it here.

Be warned, part II has more adventuresome (and adult) language.....

Enjoy!
(h/t Jen)

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1 Pretty funny, I think I preferred the first one though. Maybe I am not adventuresome enough!

Posted by: amanda at April 11, 2005 06:47 PM (cqrWD)

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except that I didn't plan this.

I made it home in time to see the Sox-Yanks game. Well, from the bottom of the 2nd, anyway. Home opener at Fenway, and World Series ring day. The Sox have always been my AL team, although I really don't know why. Maybe it was the fact that they are perennial losers (except for last year). Probably though, it's because as a Dodger fan, my hatred of the Yankees is nearly genetic. You can't bleed Dodger blue and like the Yanks. So I guess it's no surprise that I like the Sox.

The rings are just gorgeous. The Red Sox B in rubies over a field of diamonds and blue sapphires on the face. One side is inscribed with each player's name and number, the other bears the motto "The Greatest Comeback in History". Inside each ring is inscribed "86 years 10/27/04"
Here's Manny Ramirez's:

AP Photo for ESPN

Anyway, top of the third right now, 2-0 Sox with 1 out, 1 on...

(h/t Michele (sorry) for the Boston Herald article)

Update: 7-1 Sox at the end of the 4th. 8-1 Sox Win!

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Well, sitemeter seems to be working about as well as it ever did, and it looks like most of you have found your way over here to my new home. Thanks for making the trip. I apologize for the dearth of content. I haven't had that much time to write anything that doesn't contribute to graduation lately, but I promise to try to rectify that in the near future

Just wanted to say thanks to those of you who thought it was important enough to announce the big move. so thanks to:
Ith
Ben
Angela
Jay and Deb
Not Dale Gribble
Dean
Blogchild Paul
Amanda
Flap
Y'all made me feel pretty special!! If I forgot anyone's announcement, let me know and I'll put up a happy link to you too.

Update: thanks also to a Queen and a Paladin!

Posted by: caltechgirl at 12:44 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Beth of My VRWC has begun a gallery of the real South Park Republicans.

Here's me:

To make your own South Park character go here.

To see the gallery, go here

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I'm a marauding marsupial again. I put in the request to get the blog stats switched over, but it's evidently not changed yet.

Sitemeter seems to be working, though.

Does anyone know whethetr the TTLB change request code goes in the od blog or new blog? I did just have it in the old blog, but now it's in both. The instructions weren't clear....

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Between endless reruns of the Pope's funeral and the (choke, cough) marriage of Charles and Camilla, CNN et al have been trumpeting an anti-US demonstration that took place in Iraq earlier today.

Several thousand protestors, under the orders of Muqtada-Al-Sadr gathered in the square in Baghdad that witnessed the demolishing of that statue of saddam hussein two years ago today.

According to CNN's TV coverage this is a bad thing. Really? I think it's great. Here's why: more...

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The first ever Carnival of the Recipes from Australia!

Amanda of Aussie Wife hosts the 34th Carnival of the Recipes!

Everything looks so yummy!

On a related note, the CotR will be hosted by Drew of Conservative Friends next week, and it will be here in 3 weeks (April 29th)! Mark your calendars

Posted by: caltechgirl at 05:42 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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And I need to let people know I've moved over here, so here are 10 yummy links:

1. I love Rachel Lucas. This is exactly why I have a dog.

2. Dean's World turns 3 today. Pretty good longevity for the b'sphere. I wonder where I'll be at 2.5 years from now....

3. Blogbuddies the California Mafia are wondering who drops by their site. If you've been there before, drop by and leave a note telling them where you're at.

4. Speaking of blogbuddies, Da Goddess had a steroid injection to her spine (ouch, epidural steroids!) yesterday, and is slowly improving from the side effects of the treatment. Drop by and offer her some good wishes! While you're visiting in San Diego, go here and leave your best for Mrs. SMASH, who is recuperating from a serious back injury after being thrown from a horse earlier this week.

5. Cobb cartoons the MJ trial. I'll never see the glove the same way again.

6. Acidman has the winners of the annual Bulwer-Lytton "dark and stormy night" contest.

7. Gir is cat-blogging again.

8. Jay at Wizbang! has a new hood ornament...

9. Friday Wolf-blogging from the Laughing Wolf

10. Daisychick Angela has quite a shopping trip ahead of her.....

Posted by: caltechgirl at 05:33 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The little silver guy on the rightleft is GIR, he's the stupid but loveable robot sidekick of Invader Zim.

Who, for those of you who have never been blessed enough to see the show, is an incompetent Irken Invader sent to conquer Earth just to get him out from underfoot after he destroyed the Irken homeworld....
This is Zim:

Zim was on Nickelodeon for about a year and is still on Nicktoons every once in a while from what I'm told (too poor for those extra channels, you know?) but it is SOOO not a kids show. It's like Animaniacs, only more twisted. Kids like it, but adults like it even more.

The Nickelodeon Zim site is here, and one of my favorite fan sites is here.

For more Zimmy goodness, drop in on fellow MuNuvian Gir at YourMooseyFate.

The phrase "The Bacon in My Soap" is from one of the episodes, and the audio of the bit is now linked there. Scroll down and click. Zim is the angry one, GIR is the silly one.

The girl with the "gameslave" down below (with the archives) is also from Zim. She's Gaz, the younger sister of Zim's nemesis Dib, and my personal favorite character on the show. I was Gaz for halloween year before last, and my friends were Gir, Zim, and Dib. Very cool.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 04:30 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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1 Yes! The series was great; probably my favorite episode involved Zim deciding he needed to get human organs inside his body before visiting the school nurse, and if one spleen was good, 4 must be better.

Posted by: owlish at April 09, 2005 12:32 AM (sBj9U)

2 In my browser, the little silver guy is on the left. Is this one of those IE versus Mozilla things, or is it because I'm in France? :-P

Posted by: Jack at April 09, 2005 09:10 AM (7GUn3)

3 My favorite episode, hands down is Pustulio. Second place: Gir Goes Crazy and Stuff. But they're all good.

Posted by: caltechgirl at April 09, 2005 01:17 PM (iCaDI)

4 Well, he didn't "destroy" the Irken homeworld. He set a lot of fires, blew up supplies, infrastructure, etc. Which pretty much destroyed Irken plans for galactic conquest. What was the name of the operation? "Impending Doom" or something like that? Well, Zim's the reason why the operation name in the 1st episode is "Impending Doom II". ("I put the fires out." "You made them -worse-!" "Worse, or -better-?") My current favorite is Game Slave. Gaz is scaaaaaaary. ("AAAAA-hey, how did you write that when you're out there?!")

Posted by: Patrick Chester at April 12, 2005 01:52 AM (dzwUR)

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Today started out pretty ok. I got on the bus, I went to work, I finished another chapter of my thesis (Yay!). I even remembered to drop by the student health pharmacy and pick up my prescription. Then it all just went downhill. I had scheduled some time to do some imaging using my co-mentor's confocal microscope (holy crap even it has a wiki! Check it out, the idea is really cool!), but there were 2 problems.
1. It's sort of not working (it works, but it's buggy right now)
2. He wanted to see my sections and he was at a symposium.
more...

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It's spring. The dogwoods and wisteria are all in bloom, and that nasty pine pollen has coated the town of Chapel Hill in a post-victory yellow dust. Blecch. I need to wash my car.....

Anyway, one of the things I love in the spring is a good pasta primavera with all of the veggies and herbs that are just starting to come in fresh. Here's a wonderful recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. It's great because you use packaged pasta and refrigerated alfredo sauce (makes it super quick!)

Rotini and Sweet Pepper Primavera

14 oz Asparagus spears
8 oz dried rotini or gemelli (I prefer gemelli)
1 large sweet red or yellow bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup halved baby pattypan, or chopped summer, yellowneck, or zucchini squash (I like to use a mix of them)
1 10 oz container refrigerated light/low fat (or regular if you like) Alfredo sauce
2 Tbsp snipped fresh tarragon or thyme
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1. Snap off and discard woody bases from asparagus spears. Bias-slice (diagonally) asparagus into 1-inch pieces.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions, adding asparagus, sweet bell pepper and squash too pasta for the last 3 minutes of cooking. Drain, return pasta and vegetable mixture to hot pan.
3. Meanwhile, for sauce, in a small saucepan combine alfredo sauce, tarragon or thyme and red pepper. Cook and stir over medium heat about 5 minutes or until heated through. Pour sauce over pasta and vegetables; stir gently to coat. If desired, garnish with fresh herbs and/or grated parmesan cheese.

prep time:20 minutes start to finish, serves 4.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 05:39 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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If you haven't been there yet, you really should drop by Captain's Quarters and bear witness to Ed Morrisey's own version of the South Park movie, starring in the real life role of Kyle's mom (but he's no b*tch!). Update: looks like Kyle's Mom wins in this one!

Ed is single-handedly taking on the nation of Canada and their idiotic law which allows them to keep the proceedings of public hearings out of the media. How ironic it is that Canadians can't report the goings on, but an American can. more...

Posted by: caltechgirl at 01:27 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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