Apparently, this is secretly Monday.

I knew I was going to have to spend the evening emptying out the refrigerator, and wasn’t looking forward to it. What caught me completely off guard was coming home to discover that some jackass had gone off the road and destroyed the light at the end of our walk.

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At 5:30 this morning.

Got me evening all mapped out: listen to the game and clean out the fridge and freezer!

On the bright side, I’ll get rid of all those freeze dried veggies that have probably been buried in the back of the freezer for years.

Is it Murphy’s Law or some other for of karma that decided that the power outage (17 hours and counting) should occur on Trash day–i.e. my trash went out this morning, while I have a refrigerator/freezer full of food that may now be garbage.

Ugh.

There’s your warning. Avoid my driveway for the next week, cuz that’s where the trash can is.

For the past three or four years, I’ve been trying to go to the gym five days a week to walk and do weight training. Since my depression kicked in this summer, it’s been far more off than on, and for the past three weeks, I haven’t gone to the gym at all. Now I’m still trying to walk at least 20 minutes at lunch, and I do walk around a lot during the day, but this is a pretty serious decrease in exercise.

Yesterday, the nurse came by to give us physicals so we can get life insurance.

I’ve lost 3 1/2 pounds since the last time I was at the gym (which puts me 1.2 pounds away from my goal weight), my blood pressure was 98 over 60, and my pulse rate was relatively (for me) low.

This is ridiculous. I don’t need reinforcement for NOT going to the gym.

However, I’m still going to get my butt in gear and start going back, because exercise twice a day helps a good deal in fighting my depression.

But still. Although I’m glad that I’m so healthy, that wasn’t the kind of reinforcement I needed.

YARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It’s the death of a thousand paper cuts kinda day.

There’s only one solution to this!

CHOCOLATE!

(I tried to figure out how to put more “e” sounds in that title, but that was as good as I could come up with on short notice.)

Went to check the weather, and noticed a strange weather pattern around Pittsburgh. When I went to look at the animated regional radar, it looked even more creepy.

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Happy autumnal equinox!

Today’s goal:

Explain football to Grandmom.

2 episodes of Heroes Season 1 + Agatha Heterodyne Girl Genius = Really screwed up dreams

Michael (reading ingredients): Sugar, artificial and natural flavors, aaaah…aaah..zeesssss.
Michelle: AZIZ! LIGHT!
Michael: Dork.

Just watched the first disc of Heroes Season 1.

Michael just made me order the entirely of Season 1 on DVD.

Average score for this quiz during September: 75.2%
Average score since September 18, 2007: 75.2%

Civil Literacy Report - Civics Quiz

The ones that I missed, either I had narrowed down to two answers, and then guessed wrong, or I had no idea. (I have never taken an economics course in my life.)

For those who are interested, Raging Red is doing a good job keeping up with the details of the Megan Williams case, especially the on going argument over whether Hate Crimes should be charged.

I haven’t been writing about it, because even the little I’ve heard about what happened to Megan Williams makes me feel physically ill, and to be blunt, I am simply incapable of processing that much awfulness right now.

But it profoundly distresses me that such behavior still occurs in this country and in this state, and whether the case is prosecuted as a hate crime or not, I sincerely hope that the six individuals who tortured Megan Williams rot in prison for the rest of their lives.

“I’m trying to download this file of images, and it says it’s going to take 20 hours. Can you make it go faster?”

Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day!

In case you hadn’t noticed, fall is here.

The mornings have been crisp and cold, and apples are coming into season. Made an apple pie on Sunday, and I think I’m going to have to make several more while apples are at their prime. Especially since I just got individual serving pie dishes from King Arthur’s Catalog. Because  sometimes it’s just too much to make an entire pie for two or three people, and pie isn’t something easily taken to work, like cookies.

But the pie I made really was very delicious.

Happy Birthday to the Constitution!

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Here are some of my favorite amendments:

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment XIII

Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Amendment XIX

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.

Amendment XXI

Section 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.

Section 2. The transportation or importation into any state, territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.

… one movie at a time.

Well, not just movies. Michael is also recommending science fiction books to her, and in the past month she’s read two John Scalzi books, and just started either Spin or Accelerando .

But last night, we watch The Matrix and she said it was okay, and she wouldn’t mind seeing the two sequels. Considering how violent The Matrix is, I figured that was pretty impressive. (Mind you, she chose to watch The Matrix over Chicago.)
However, she didn’t much care for X-Men, though I wonder if she would like it better watching it a second time, since things would make more sense.

She and Michael are also watching Star Trek: Voyager while I hide in the basement, because there are some limits to my geekatude.

Next up–we’re going to see if we can get her to watch Buffy.

Kick off! Maryland fumble. WVU recovers…

TOUCHDOWN!

Here’s hoping the happiness continues. (And this is MUCH better than last week, when we lost radio reception at the end of the first quarter on the way to VA .)

ADDENDUM the First:
Boo.

ADDENDUM the Second:
Why are radio commercials so absolutely horrific?

(Yes, I know the game is on ESPN. I’m watching it with the sound off so I can listen to the radio instead.

ADDENDUM the Third:
Amusing quote from the color guy. “That’s why they’re called a receiver; they’re supposed to catch the ball.”

ADDENDUM the Fourth:
I think I prefer watching football when I don’t care who wins.

ADDENDUM the Fifth:
Yay Noel Devine! (Though Pat White is still my favorite.)

Babies are here!

Helena Everett (not sure about the spelling of the second name) 4 pounds 6 ounces
and
James Ezra  5 lbs 1.7 ounces

Still no lengths.

Both have big blue eyes.

Yay! New cousins for me!

No! Not ME silly!

My cousin’s wife–the cousin who got married in January–she’s in the hospital now. The doctors are trying to hold things off long enough for the shot they gave to help the babies lungs develop work.

And yes, I said babies plural (which is why they’re coming early). She’s having twins. They were due at the end of October, but last estimate was that they were both about four pounds each, so although they’re early, they’re pretty large.
So keep them in your thoughts (or prayers if you do that kind of thing), that they’ll get through the birth as easy as possible (did I mention that at the last doctor’s appointment, one of the babies was breech?) and that the babies will be larger than estimated, so that they can get out of the hospital sooner.

Of course, that means no more sleep for Eric & Logan for the next several years, but hey, I’ll be sleeping fine right here!

I’m not saying there isn’t something to it, I’m just saying that my first reaction to this:

WVU researchers studying nutritional benefits of krill
Mention krill, and whales might come to mind. The tiny shrimp-like
crustaceans are the food of choice for whales – nutritionally dense,
easily harvested and abundant. It’s those same qualities that make krill
seem like a short-list candidate for the next big protein source to a
pair of WVU researchers. Drs. Janet Tou and Jacek Jaczynski, assistant
professors in WVU’s Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer
Sciences, have been collaborating with Taiwanese scholar Yi-Chen Chen on
a study of the nutritional benefits of krill for human consumption. The
research was featured in a recent issue of Nutrition Reviews.

…was to giggle.

I am a nerd queen! Bow to me and bring me books!

Additionally (from the website):

One of the biggest advantages of living in Morgantown is that because of the university, we get to see a lot of musicians, speakers, comedians, etc that we wouldn’t if we lived elsewhere in West Virginia.

Last night, we have the privilege of seeing Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

They started out with a John Coltraine set–five pieces I think. There was also a set of pieces written by one of the Orchestra members, Ted Nash, that were based upon modern art paintings.

They also did a couple pieces were more big band and New Orleans jazz, which I have to admit is my favorite, but they covered a good variety.

What I had forgotten, was that (being the good public radio listener that I am) I really like Wynton Marsaliss speaking voice. I’m not sure I can tell you precisely what it was, but his voice is enjoyable to listen to.The Orchestra itself was fantastic–an ensemble of talented players, most of which who played at least one solo.
However, the one thing that really stood out to me was that there were no female members. Why there are so few female jazz musicians (aside from singers and singer/pianists) I don’t know, but it was a very strange recognition.

But despite the lack of women, it was a fantastic show, and I highly recommend you see them if you get the chance.

I have to say that reading about Elyn Saks made me feel as if my own mental struggles are nothing.

She’s a lawyer and educator who just published The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness that talks about her struggle with schizophrenia.

You can read an article on her as well.