There is no 'N' in strumpet, you Diplodocus.

January 31, 2006

Going Postal, again

"A former postal worker who had been put on medical leave for psychological problems shot five people to death at a huge mail-processing center and then killed herself in what was believed to be the nation's deadliest workplace shooting ever carried out by a woman.

The attack Monday night was also the biggest bloodbath at a U.S. postal installation since a massacre 20 years ago helped give rise to the term "going postal.""

Holy Crap! Goleta is the hometown of UCSB, and this facility is just a couple of blocks off campus. Good thing she offed herself rather than going on a worse rampage.

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January 30, 2006

Very Little from me today

I'm feeling rotten.

All this weekend I was dealing with an RA flare, and as soon as I get better (last night) I must have eaten something that was bad. After spending most of the late evening dealing with various stomach-related issues, I decided it was best to nurse my poor, painful tummy and stay home and finish correcting HW and write an exam for the class I'm teaching.

However, if you insist on something interesting to read, try these non-political gems:

Bou wraps up the school carnival

Ith's resident office mouse is a smartie

Margi writes Peanut's birth story

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January 27, 2006

And, for the record

I could really give two shits about this whole Google in China brouhaha.

You can have my Gmail account when you pry the keyboard from my cold dead fingers.

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I'd just like to point out

That the fine folks at Target.com rule. The shipping estimate for my end tables was next Monday, and they arrived today.

When we bought the coffee table we had no need for the end tables, so now we have a beat up coffee table and two matching brand new end tables.... Oh well.

Yay!

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January 25, 2006

Dear Grim Reaper

Dear Grim Reaper,

I know it must seem presumptuous, that I, a mere mortal, dare to question you and your doings, but in this case I have to ask, how could you take the wrong Penn brother? I'm certain that list for yesterday said "Sean" and not "Chris".

Please rectify this error immediately! Thanks.
Sincerely,
Caltechgirl

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January 24, 2006

Real life intervenes

Grant due 1/27/06, on which I am the Co-PI.

and my boss is LOCA. But I love her.

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January 22, 2006

An up and down weekend.

Saturday was lovely and restful, and we got some inportant shopping and laundry done to boot.

Today, however, well, let's say I'd like to start over. Today started with the chance that both of my teams would meet in the Big Game, and sure as hell, looks it will be neither of them.

Dammit. Drowning my football sorrows in the rest of my Hart to Hart DVDs.

Also, Mikey had an up and down weekend, contracting an MRSA staph infection. He appears to be beating it, but it was touch and go for a while, and he's not out of the woods yet. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Baby Barrett Elijah Paladin also had a rough weekend, as the doctors discovered he's got two small holes in his heart, and they're assessing what will need to be done. Keep all of the family in your thoughts and prayers as well.

Oh well, back to laundry and avoiding football.

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January 19, 2006

Am I really this predictable? Sheesh!

Notice I scored 100% on Biology and Psychology.... Pretty much Neurobiology, I'd say...

You scored as Biology. You should be a Biology major! You are passionate about the sciences, and you enjoy studying cell growth and evolutionary concepts which enable living organisms to survive. Pursue that!

Biology

100%

Psychology

100%

English

92%

Chemistry

83%

Journalism

75%

Sociology

75%

Philosophy

67%

Linguistics

67%

Mathematics

67%

Anthropology

58%

Theater

42%

Art

42%

Engineering

33%

Dance

What is your Perfect Major?
created with QuizFarm.com

This quiz even had a tie breaker! Cool!
h/t wanna-be English Major Jay

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January 17, 2006

The everything post

Just catching up with my life:

First and foremost, Mikey updates are here and here. If you can help with flight vouchers or airline tickets to get Amy's mom out to San Diego leave a comment here. Also, thanks to mega-bloggers Michelle Malkin and LaShawn Barber for getting the word out about Mike and how you can help.

Also, on the bad news front, fellow BFLer Kevin McGehee's father passed away yesterday.

Now, under the heading of "life goes on"...

At work for a marathon day. Had a HS site visit this morning, and I am teaching tonight, so all in all a minimum 12 hour day (I work 6 hrs usually)...

My software came in! Yay! May I recommend Academic Superstore as a great resource to any of you in the educational sphere. Teachers, students, and faculty all qualify for DEEP educational discounts on software and techy toys. For example, I just got Adobe Acrobat 7.0 Professional (retails for $499.99) for $149.99, and there was a free shipping promotion. There are some caveats about ID and establishing your eligibility, but the process was realtively painless and certainly worth the price.

Football was so AWESOME this weekend. Go Broncos! Go Panthers! (although I'm cool if the Steelers win too. I love the Bus.)

24. Holy Cow! Hooked again. I watched Seasons 1 and 2 religiously and then kind of fell out of it, but the 4 hours so far have been really, really good. Although it is distracting to see Sean Astin from the waist up and keep wondering if he's wearing the hobbit feet or not.....

More later, and Mikey updates if they come in.

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January 15, 2006

Terrible News

Fellow MuNuvian and BFL'er Mad Mikey has suffered a stroke and continues bleeding into his brain. Please send up all the good thoughts and prayers you can spare for him and his family. Mikey's had a lot of health challenges (he is also on dialysis), and lately just seemed to be getting one hit after another. More updates as they come in.

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January 13, 2006

One last quiz

Sadly enough, this is 100% on the money. 100%. No idea I was so frigging predictable.

You Have a Choleric Temperament

You are a person of great enthusiasm - easily excited by many things.
Unsatisfied by the ordinary, you are reaching for an epic, extraordinary life.
You want the best. The best life. The best love. The best reputation.

You posses a sharp and keen intellect. Your mind is your primary weapon.
Strong willed, nothing can keep you down. Your energy can break down any wall.
You're an instantly passionate person - and this passion gives you an intoxicating power over others.

At your worst, you are a narcissist. Full of yourself and even proud of your faults.
Stubborn and opinionated, you know what you think is right. End of discussion.
A bit of a misanthrope, you often see others as weak, ignorant, and inferior.

What Temperment Are You?

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One more, because it was right....

You Are Likely an Only Child

At your darkest moments, you feel frustrated.

At work and school, you do best when you're organizing.

When you love someone, you tend to worry about them.

In friendship, you are emotional and sympathetic.

Your ideal careers are: radio announcer, finance, teaching, ministry, and management.

You will leave your mark on the world with organizational leadership, maybe as the author of self-help books.

The Birth Order Predictor

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Yummy!

Oh Yeah!

You Are a Boston Creme Donut

You have a tough exterior. No one wants to mess with you.

But on the inside, you're a total pushover and completely soft.

You're a traditionalist, and you don't change easily.

You're likely to eat the same doughnut every morning, and pout if it's sold out.

What Donut Are You?

from another Boston Creme, near Boston, appropriately enough......

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That's why I love these guys....

If you've been reading this blog long enough, you know there's no love lost between me and the VA Tech (c)Hokeys. They are a dirty football team, and their fans are the single rudest group of people I have ever encountered, and I've been to any number of games in multiple sports. The Trojans on the other hand, well, they couldn't be more classy and sportsmanlike. Especially off the field.

Looks like I'm not alone in my opinion.

h/t Kipper

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Boundaries: Online and Off

An open series of questions to any of you with blogs, we'll call this the last audience participation special of National De-Lurking Week:

Do you blog under your real name?
Do your family/ off-line friends know about the blog?
Is that a reason you don't use your real name?
If you blog anonymously, have your off-line friends who know about the blog ever outed you to someone you'd prefer to keep away from your blog?
Doesn't it piss you off when people cross your personal blog boundaries?
How do you go about handling something like that (which is really an invasion of your privacy)?

I ask this because dear Helen just experienced a major betrayal of her boundaries at an incredibly bad time, and I had a similar, though not nearly so devastating experience recently, and I know others who have (or are about to) run screaming from their old blogs because of trolls they knew in real life (you know who you are).

Your thoughts? Any advice for Helen? I really am interested to hear what you have to say. Email me if you don't feel all that comfortable leaving a comment....

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1 Since I've started keeping my blog, I've used my real-life nickname to sign the posts. So, it doesn't appear on any official records that I'm aware of, but some people outside blogland could probably put things together if they ever stumbled across my blog. That having been said, I worry sometimes about my professors finding my blog and what I've written about them. But, cest la vie. I think Helen's in a difficult situation. She really can't -- I mean she doesn't have the ability -- to control what her family does. So, she should probably assume from this point forward that they are going to read her blog regardless of whether they tell her they won't. Therefore, she has to make a decision; either she should continue to blog and expect friction with her family, or she should stop blogging (and probably resent her family for forcing her to stop). Of course, another possibility is to discontinue her current blog, and start a new, anonymous one that she doesn't tell her family about. It's a bad deal, but I think that's it.

Posted by: Cardinal Martini at January 13, 2006 03:27 PM (dAOZx)

2 I do not use my real name. I do tell my friends and family about my blog. I tell them not to use my real name. I have a blog for the purpose of letting my family, who is all over the world, know what is going on in my little piece of the world. It is also a scrapbook for my use in the future. That is also why my blog is fairly 'clean'. ;-)

Posted by: vw bug at January 13, 2006 03:56 PM (4oOot)

3 Okay, I'm channeling the sober side of my mind right now. Obviously I use a handle, to protect my family and friends. My friends and wife/kids know about my blog, but no one else in my family. No, again I'm protecting my family. I have a relatively common name, it would be hard to hunt me down, with out sorting through the various others that share my name. My minions, er employees found my blog about 3 months ago. That kinda sucks, no more minion stories. Depending on what you mean by that. I've had a couple of bloggers try to force more personal information about me through e-mails. But I've never been upset by anyone reading my blog. I've naturally censored myself. That's hard to believe isn't it? I did something similar to this back in November, I wrote off the people and have decided not to continue my relationship with them. As for Helen, I'm sorry that happened to her. Betrayel is something that I've never, ever been able to forgive. Hopefully she's a nicer person then I am. If that's the case, I'll wish them to the firey bowels of hell for her.

Posted by: Contagion at January 13, 2006 04:13 PM (e8b4J)

4 Drunk brain says: Get new url.

Posted by: Contagion at January 13, 2006 04:14 PM (e8b4J)

5 I'm completely anonymous and it's for this very reason. Not that there is anything on my blog (at least, this latest incarnation) that I would be upset about if my family found it, nor is there anything that would upset them. I think. *knocks on wood* But it would definitely change the way I blog and the freedom I feel when I want to vent or whatever on my blog. I feel really bad for Helen. If I were her, I would have changed digs the first time I realized my family was reading me and then send out emails to all my bloggin' buds about my new address. Because let's face it; nobody can stop reading someone they know. If anything, once they realize they *know* you in real life, the more they'll read your blog. They can't help it. Humans are far too curious. I know of a husband and wife who were blogging on the same blog about their marriage and they went through some tough times. So he started his own blog to vent about the way their marriage was going, asked her not to go there and, incredibly, *believed* her when she promised she was not going to read it. Well, guess what? She DID go over there and read it, of course, and then all hell broke loose. Their shrink told them to take the blogs down altogether and rightfully so. I don't know; I know nobody likes switching blog addresses. You always lose some readers and it's just a huge hassle, but if her family is going to haunt her...dunno. :-( It's just a damn shame.

Posted by: Amber at January 13, 2006 04:37 PM (zQE5D)

6 New blog for sure. It's not that big of an undertaking, annoying as it may be. Heck, leave the old one there and write sanitary stuff it matters not who sees, and say what you really want elsewhere. I have always used a real name based pseudonym/pen name that predates blogging and is close enough not to be hard to figure out. Eventually I have even stated my real surname, increasingly less circuitously, on my blog. Over the course of time family has come to read it, if they are online, if they care to bother, and that has been weird at times but overall not unwanted. None of them would have sought it out had I not flagged it, though having to explain about marrying another blogger made it harder to hide. Anyway, blogging is cheap and anonymity is easy if you really want it.

Posted by: Jay at January 13, 2006 06:03 PM (ip0hZ)

7 1. No - but my nick-name is known by a lot of other people so I'm not real anonymous, and once you add in the signature line...vague but probably not real hard for a determined idiot to ferret out. I avoid my last name since it's uncommon and an immediate trackback - some anonymity is better than naked floundering IMO. 2. Some - My wife knows, it bores her. My family is grown up and don't give a shit, friends who might know don't care either and aren't into reading people's computer crap, spewed out onto the 'Net. 3. No - But I'm definitely not into exposing my inner soul -- or believe it's particularly interesting to anybody anyhow. I just do what I feel like and it doesn't happen to involve much internal turbidity revealed. 4. No - nobody really cares, and I don't have an intense emotional investment in it either, but if you need to keep *certain* people away it's probably better if you weren't bound up in the blog-thing and found other means of expression. 5. No - Not yet anyhow - What the hell are personal blog-boundaries? Any troll can post if you let them. IMO there's nothing confidential about a blog on the Internet - it's just everybody's warts and moles, or it's paint drying and what they had for lunch - or not, or worse. 6. Privacy? Keep a towel handy and shut the drapes. It's always a bad time for somebody somewhere, there's a relative in the Hospital dying every day - that's one reason why they park their cars so badly and drop garbage on the sidewalk.

Posted by: -keith in mtn. view at January 13, 2006 06:12 PM (DTmtI)

8 1) Yes I do. Mostly, because I have little to hide, and partly to let people who've known me from way back when get in touch with me again. It's happened 4 times off the top of my head, when someone from my past found my site, and said hello. Usually it's good to reconnect. 2) My brother knows my blog exists, and my mom, at least one aunt, and several cousins read it on occasion. It's a little disconcerting, and since my mom found my blog, my entries have been a little bit more... restrained. Not that there was ever anything unseemly, but I'm less inclined to post about a rash wave of emotion (usually disgust or unpleasantness) than I was in the past. 3) N/A 4) Only if you count a cousin to her mom, to my mother. 5) (this question is a bit leading....could it be rephrased?) It's come very close to on a few occasions, but I can't think of any time in the past year and a half it's come close. Which probably means I'm lucky. Closest I came was someone leaching a picture of mine. 6) I redirected the picture link to lemonparty (I'm cruel that way, don't go to that site). He leached for 3 more days, then his background went white. Which is very funny, cause he was on myspace, which has a no nudity or offensive clause. I have no advice for Helen that would do any good, and probably only make things worse. i try to avoid that, so I decline that invitation.

Posted by: Bill at January 13, 2006 08:43 PM (ujJj1)

9 1. I blog under my real first name. 2. Yes, but I told them about it. I had a blog to help family keep up with my girls, but I got tired of maintaining two blogs. So I combined them. 3. NA 4. No one has crossed by personal blog boundaries, but I think they are very low to begin with. 5. I am struggling with answering this question and would have to say it depends on the situation. I do consider my blog MY space. It is for ME and I can do what I want with it, unlike so many other aspects of my life. I feel for Helen. But I think her sister outing her is a symptom of bigger issues. Sometimes I do regret making my blog known to my family. What I can't blog I would not blog anyway. I have less sexual inuendos, but I don't need a blog for that kind of outlet!

Posted by: Amy at January 13, 2006 09:01 PM (JFN4H)

10 1. I blog under my real last name, after having started out using my full name. I've been owning up to my opinions in public since junior-high school, why stop now? 2. Most of my friends who know about my blog found it by way of my website, a few others because I told them about it. One, I think a mutual acquaintance found it and told him, at a time when he and I weren't friends -- but something I posted helped patch it up. 3 & 4: N/A 5 & 6: I have a stated policy that I'll refer people to if I think they need to know what they'll be going up against, and it boils down to, "Your only shelter here is my goodwill -- squander it at your peril." My boundaries are rarely transgressed.

Posted by: McGehee at January 14, 2006 05:41 AM (lAOTn)

11 As for Helen's predicament, the blogging platform I use has some really cool tools that can block people from even viewing my site, if I have the necessary information about how they're getting there.

Posted by: McGehee at January 14, 2006 05:51 AM (lAOTn)

12 I blog under one of my middle names. My husband knows about my blog,and no-one else. I never understood why Helen didn't change her address the first time this issue came up. I realize she has issues about 'moving house' but I would rather move the blog than worry about trusting this person not to look again. Human nature being what it is.

Posted by: Jocelyn at January 14, 2006 10:59 AM (jkRb/)

13 1) Nope. Further, Owlish was never a nickname. I think someone in the real world, who knew that I blogged, could probably find my blog, but it would be difficult. 2) No family knows. Some friends know, but not ones I'm closest too. 3) Partially. My name is common enough that hunting me down through Googling my name is difficult, and my family probably wouldn't make the effort. The other part is, being gay. It might or might not make my profession more difficult. I suspect it would make my parents' life more difficult, if people in their small town knew. 4) Nope. And, yeah, it would suck.

Posted by: owlish at January 14, 2006 05:58 PM (uPnzE)

14 1. No, I don't. I used to, until I had problems similar to Helen's. I also moved my blog, but the asshats found me anyway, by reading other's links. 2. My immediate family knows, and some cousins; they don't care, much. Don't read terribly often, either. They aren't much for the computer. 3. Nope. I do it mostly for professional reasons now (work for DoD). And because of a stalker (a BAD one) from my distant past. 4. The Asshat Clan crossed my personal boundaries, but I never told them about my blog. They just found it. Pissed me off. Twice, heh. 5. I honestly think that curiosity being what it is, and human nature being what it is, that some folks will go to pretty great lengths to find you, even if you do move your blog. They can look at some of the blogrolls of Helen's best blog friends, and figure it out from there. I mean, unless she totally changes how she writes, and that's pretty difficult. Again, I say this from direct experience. My suggestion is that she track her visitors carefully, block IPs like there's no tomorrow, or password-protect her site. Or she can harrass the hell out of the offenders. Which I did, and while I don't know if that's what eventually got them to stop, I do know it brought me great satisfaction.

Posted by: liv at January 14, 2006 08:43 PM (alGQE)

15 Howinhell did I miss this??? My Answers (as if you didn't know): 1. Yes, I blog under my real name. Damn stupid idea if you ask me. 2. Yes. Family knows and all of the friends I have know. 3. N/A 4. N/A 5. I think it's very much like Steve said: there is a subset of scummy people who live for drama, controversy and to read things/watch things from people they don't like. I think they're twisted. As for my personal situation? There is one ex-friend of mine whom I wish would quit reading but that's not going to happen. So I just don't think about her. My hubby's ex-wife and demon spawn read my blog. Every day. And that's the one that squicks me out. I usually don't hear from her, though, until she's out of medication. 6. So far, placing them on "ignore" helps. But when it comes to the baby, I'm done. I'm closing margilowry.com for good. I have started an anonymous blog on a free site and maybe I'll use it. There are a few of you that I've met through blogging that I love and with whom I will keep in touch -- if only to send baby pictures -- but I will not post pictures of my baby on a blog. I just can't do it. I won't give them the satisfaction.

Posted by: Margi at January 15, 2006 01:35 PM (nwEQH)

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January 12, 2006

Storm Warning officially canceled for Los Angeles Area

"`Thunder' and `Lightning' are gone from USC."

So said Reggie Bush this afternoon, referring to himself and rushing partner LenDale White during the press conference to announce his departure from USC for the NFL.

Good Luck, Reg. You're a good guy and I wish you the best. LenDale, Matt, and the rest, too.

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So wrong I had to post it

Not surprisingly, lifted from a couple of llamas.....

Knight Rider Hasselhoff

You are Knight Rider Hasselhoff. You kick ass, you're dead sexy, AND you are the proud owner (or perhaps life partner) of a talking black Trans-Am. What else could one ask for?

Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

Well, duh. KITT is my friend!

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Better than I thought (Updated!)

Wow, the trip we took this summer really filled in my map.....If we had taken I-94 instead of I-90, we would have driven through ND too....

Interestingly, I've been within 5 miles of two of the states I have not visited (MS and NH), and really, the only time I was in AL was in the Birmingham airport on the way home from New Orleans once.

create your own personalized map of the USA

Sweeet. Planning on going to MI for a conference in May, and I guess I'll have to do a tour of the Northeast sometime soon....
h/t Gay Patriot

In case you're interested how most of the map gets filled out, various major trips are included below the fold... more...

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January 11, 2006

Good News and Bad....

First the good news:
My migraine is much better. My usual remedy: a long VERY HOT shower, Tylenol Flu (which they evidently no longer make due to Psudoephedrine issues.... but Walgreens does. Yay!), and a nap. Somedays it just takes a while. I don't have BAD headaches very often, but when I do.... well, that's probably better left unsaid....

Looks like Baby Xrlq is about to have a brother or sister. Of the human kind, this time, rather than the canine and feline ones he has now.

CPT Z seems to have come through the latest round of surgery with flying colors and is resting up at Walter Reed for hopefully the last time for a while.

Kevin K likewise is doing well after his surgery and is back home.

And now the bad:

Helen had a rotten day, and she could sure use a hug and some words of encouragement, especially from anyone who's been on the IVF Merry-Go-Round (which is, of course, far from Merry by all accounts)

Vicky is still not making much progress. While she has a diagnosis, the doctors are still pretty concerned with everything that's going on and are talking about sending her to a bigger hospital with more resources. Drop by Matt's blog or Vicky's to see how to send her a note directly or leave a tuppence in the tip jar, as there's about to be a big hotel bill to go along with the hospital ones. I wish Dr. House was real so I could send him down to take care of Matt and Vicky.

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Two Words

Mi. Graine.

Excuse me if I seem not so chatty today....

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