November 06, 2006
So Happy Happy (late) to
Dana of Frankensoul (11/2)
Beth of YeahRightWhatever (11/3)
Kat of CatHouseChat (11/4)
Stacy of Still Stacy (11/5)
and last but certainly not least, blogmom Deb of Dispatches from Blogblivion (11/5)
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10:13 AM
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right click and view image to see the whole thing if your screen is too narrow
The only thing saving me from putting my foot through the TV is Mr. TiVo, who graciously skips all the political commercials.
The only thing stopping me from throwing the phone at something is Mr. Caller ID, who helpfully displays "Political Caller" whenever these idiots try to call....
More on the election later, including my take on who I am voting for.
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09:54 AM
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November 03, 2006
"Alex Izett, a former lance corporal in the Royal Engineers, won a case at the War Pensions Tribunal in Manchester, northwest England, in 2003 attesting that his ailments developed after vaccinations he received in 1991.More importantly, though, the UK court ruling in effect declares that Gulf War syndrome is real and that soldiers SHOULD be compensated and treated for the after effects of vaccinations, other medications, and environmental exposures during their service in the Gulf and pre-service staging.That ruling allowed him to to receive a pension for individual conditions such as the brittle bone disease osteoporosis that developed after army medics innoculated him against chemical and biological agents.
This stands in stark contrast to the "official" US view that there is no such thing as Gulf War Syndrome, based on a VA-funded study conducted on soldiers returning from the Gulf since 1990. In the US, veterans may only claim special disability benefits if they suffer from an UNDIAGNOSED illness that can be directly related to their Gulf War service.
Do you know how hard it is to get NO diagnosis? You must have at least a preliminary diagnosis in order to treat a patient appropriately. Sure, you can treat symptoms individually, but you must be able to draw some conclusions in order to avoid iatrogenic injury or disease.
Maybe our sick vets should go to Britain to get sicker be treated for their illnesses. At least they'll be appreciated and not belittled.
Posted by: caltechgirl at
10:10 AM
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The Grey Lady now claims that not only was the President correct about WMD in Iraq, but posting the relevant documents on-line contributed to Iran's nuclear program.
So which is it? No WMD or a Security Breach? Make up your mind people!
Well, in any case....
Jim Geraghty has more pertinent thoughts.
Seen everywhere, but the Robbo the Llama has the most entertaining post!
UPDATE: What Charles Johnson said.
Posted by: caltechgirl at
09:37 AM
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November 01, 2006
Enjoy your birthday lunch and your half day off!
Posted by: caltechgirl at
11:45 AM
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Many liberal gasbags have jumped up to defend his dubious honor and attempt to point out that this remark is actually aimed at President Bush:
Because, OF COURSE a US Senator would NEVER insult our brave men and women in uniform, right?
It's not like he's never questioned their intelligence or called our troops terrorists before.....
And as for President Bush, lets not forget that someone else's medals aren't the only things Ketchup Boy would like to throw at the President.
Here's my advice for John Kerry: Go away. Go quietly. No one cares about you anymore, even the idiots who still drive around with your name on their bumper as if the 2004 election hasn't happened yet. You are a joke waiting to explode in someone else's face. No wonder candidates in your own party are distancing themselves from your coattails.
Like he's gonna listen.
UPDATE: The Troops respond:
h/t Alabama Improper
UPDATE II: More soldier's response, here's what CPT Ziegenfuss has to say:
I wouldn't piss on [Kerry] if he was on fire. And that is coming from someone who has *been* on fire.
Yeeouch!
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11:13 AM
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He's below the fold, BTW.... more...
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10:26 AM
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October 31, 2006
wait, where's my head??
mom! get this offa meeee!
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06:22 PM
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October 30, 2006
It's that time of year again, and we're raising funds for the Soldier's Angels Valour-IT project.
Valour-IT purchases laptops with voice-activated software to be distributed to wounded troops in military hospitals around the world, so that even without the use of hands and arms, these brave men and women can stay in touch with family and keep up with the rest of the world during their recuperation.
As we did last year, the 4 branches of service are having a competition to see who can raise the most cash. Army won last year in a squeaker over the waterboys, and let's see if we can do it again.
To join our team, click here. Or to join another team, click here. Because really, it doesn't matter which team you join, all the money goes to help our wounded troops.
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10:41 AM
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October 27, 2006
Posted by: caltechgirl at
11:41 AM
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And what she has to say isn't easy for EITHER party to hear, but a much needed wake up call for Washington.
It's quite long, but well worth the read. Some tidbits:
"...I felt the Democrats were shooting themselves in the foot. I was especially repulsed by the manipulative use of a gay issue for political purposes by my own party. I think it was not only poor judgment but positively evil. Whatever short-term political gain there is, it can only have a negative impact on gay men. When a moralistic, buttoned-up Republican like Foley is revealed to have a secret, seamy gay life, it simply casts all gay men under a shadow and makes people distrust them. Why don't the Democratic strategists see this? These tactics are extremely foolish....."
"...[G]ay men been tarnished by the over-promotion of the Foley scandal, but they have actually been put into physical danger. It's already starting with news items about teenage boys using online sites to lure gay men on dates to attack and rob them. What in the world are the Democrats thinking? We saw the beginning of this in that grotesque moment in the last presidential debates when John Kerry came out with that clearly prefab line identifying Mary Cheney as a lesbian. Since when does the Democratic Party use any gay issue in this coldblooded way as a token on the chessboard? You'd expect this stuff from right-wing ideologues, not progressives."
...
"There was a time when feminists were arguing, in regard to sexual harassment in the workplace, that any gross disparity in power cannot possibly produce informed consent. All of a sudden, all of that was abandoned for partisan reasons in the Clinton case. I take the European view that any government official has the right to conduct as many sexual affairs as he wishes -- off government property. But Clinton, with all his power, somehow couldn't figure out a way to discreetly meet his chosen women at the mansions of his many friends. I can understand why hotels and motels might have been difficult to manage, with the telltale Secret Service presence. But to use the hallway off the Oval Office for those encounters -- to be serviced by a young woman to whom he gave no other dignity and whom he used like a washrag -- he turned that hallway into a sleazy mosh pit! The Democrats are being extremely imprudent to arouse all those sleeping tigers again -- particularly if their next presidential nomination is Hillary Clinton."
...
"A big problem is that in the minds of too many Americans, Iraqi culpability for the disaster of 9/11 is still pretty deeply rooted. It's because of the vagueness with which most Americans perceive the map and peoples of the Middle East. It shows how bad education has been in geography and international history at both the high school and college levels. It's highly alarming. The reflex mind-set after 9/11 was, "We've got to do something!" So there was this lashing out at whatever seemed Arab or Muslim."
...
" And we do face an international crisis of mammoth proportions. What should we do in the face of this ruthless and barbaric Islamic fundamentalism? Is there an answer to the problem of Israel? There was a time when the left's call for a transnational Israel made sense to me, but at this point does anyone really think that, if Israel stops calling itself a Jewish state and opens its borders to all Palestinians who wish to return, there would be instant peace? Because of the shocking upsurge in anti-Semitism in the last few years -- exacerbated by the American incursion into Iraq -- surely such a development would mean suicide for Jews who reside in Israel. Passions have become too inflamed among young Muslims all over the world. I think it will be a century before any of this is resolved."
Posted by: caltechgirl at
11:24 AM
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October 26, 2006
Admittedly it was a good damn coupon. And before you get pissed, remember that I know of which I speak, being 1) a fat chick, and 2) Armenian (read: cheap)
The local Lane Bryant had a grand re-opening today, with 40% off EVERYTHING in the store. I needed a belt and so friend Kj and I were off to the mall this evening.
HOLY SHIT. I've never seen so many people in a store.
The new store is divided in half, with one half devoted to clothes and accessories, and the other half to lingerie and sleepwear. The entire lingerie half was so full you couldn't move. Not with people picking out bras and panties, but with the LINE FOR THE CASH REGISTER. It was like Disneyland without the ride payoff.
Needless to say we put back the things we were considering and went across to Torrid and spent our money there. And then I came home and ordered the belt I was looking at for about the same price online as in the store (20% off all online purchases plus another coupon!)
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11:49 PM
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October 25, 2006
I love you.
Everything I said last year? Still true, and more than ever.
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12:02 PM
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Happy Birthday! and many more, at least as many as there are bottles left to drink!
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09:37 AM
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It's been a hell of week for her. First she got married. Then she got some really good news and some even better news! Drop by her blog for the big news!
Congrats also to soon-to-be-Great Aunt Tammi!
Posted by: caltechgirl at
09:35 AM
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October 23, 2006
I have the cold from hell, which may even be the flu. It's no joke when I tell people that traveling makes me ill. Because of the RA and the mild immunosuppression from the drugs, I get whatever's going around, the first AND the second time. So instead of sitting on my office working on grant applications, dealing with my students, etc. I am sitting on my couch drifting in and out of consciousness in front of SportCenter, occasionally being able to smell the pot roast I have in the crockpot for tonight.
I suppose I should share the recipe. It being the easiest pot roast ever. Goes together in 5 minutes in the AM and cooks all day while you're out.
Easy CrockPot PotRoast ala TJ
Crockpot
Roast of your choice, suitable for pot roast. I have no idea what cut of meat is in there today
4-6 small to medium potatoes
2 handfuls baby carrots (about 1.5 cups chopped carrot eq.)
1 "potbelly" (large can) of Trader Joe's Rich Onion Soup
large dash Worcestershire sauce
Garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
(you can also add about 1/2 cup red wine to the liquid, if you like)
Place the roast in the crockpot. If it has a predominate "fat side", place the fat side up. Pour the can of soup over the roast. Add up to 1 cup water to the can to wash out any remaining onions, and add to the crockpot. Add worcestershire sauce (and wine if desired), garlic powder and salt and pepper. Give the liquid a bit of a stir to mix elements.
Wash potatoes thoroughly, and remove any eyes. Cut in half and drop potatoes around roast so all are covered with liquid. Add carrots.
Cover and set crockpot to low. Let cook 8 hours.
Posted by: caltechgirl at
01:16 PM
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October 21, 2006
When Washington state announced its new tourism slogan last spring, Pike Place Market vendor Kenny Telesco was willing to give it a chance. He practiced saying it with "jazz hands" and asked tourists to "SayWA" as they posed for photos. But he's not sure he can stomach Seattle's new tourism slogan, unveiled Friday in 18-foot-tall letters atop the Space Needle: "metronatural."
"How do you use that in a sentence?" Telesco asked. "'Welcome to Metronatural.' ... It's an airport where you can buy organic bananas."
Others suggested "metronatural" evoked an urban nudist camp and speculated about whether it would last longer than "SayWA," which the state dropped recently because it failed to catch on.
Let's hope it lasts a shorter time than the metrosexual fad, mm'kay?
Posted by: caltechgirl at
03:51 PM
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When's Ditch Day, you ask? It's tomorrow, Froshies. Go to bed early!
Posted by: caltechgirl at
09:31 AM
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October 20, 2006
Here's Cartman the Hall Monitor:
And Cartman the Hall Monitor with his Crew:
BTW this is a classic episode, "Miss Teacher Bangs a Boy", pointing out the double standard whereby male teachers who molest students spend their lives in jail while a female teacher practically gets away with it because banging the teacher is every guy's fantasy.
And while I'm on the subject, some gratuitous Van Halen video love:
Sammy Hagar is a tool. David Lee Roth kicks ass.
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09:13 PM
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Really, it's no surprise to me, as there have been rumors of difficulties between Professor Hawking and his wife for almost a decade, nearly as long as they have been married. Nevertheless, I feel sorry for both of them. Prof. Hawking is a genuine and funny person, even if the ALS has stolen his comedic timing.
Posted by: caltechgirl at
10:30 AM
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