If I hadn’t just woken up from a nap, I’m sure I would be able to come up with a fantastic poster: Motivator

Possibly even better than Demotivators.

(via Whatever)

Rearranging bookshelves requires a will of iron.

Unfortunately, when it comes to books, I have a will of aluminum foil.

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During a break in the rain, I took a few minutes to get some more flower pr0n.

Pansy, Bearded iris, and Broom, all for your viewing pleasure.

My broom is still looking rough. The early snow we got last fall bent many of the stems. But other than that the plant looks great, and I love the color of the flowers.

In case you were considering a visit to Morgantown…
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Cut to the Quick (1993) Kate Ross

Reading the T. F. Banks books put me in the mood for another Victorian mystery, and lucky for me, I had one waiting here to read.

Julian Kestrel is a dandy. He’s making his mark on London society by being a sharp dresser, and the perfect gentleman–even if he doesn’t actually seem to be a gentleman.

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Hellblazer: Original Sins (1987) Jamie Delano

So. Well.

I first came across Constantine in the Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes, when Constantine helps Morpheus get his bag of sand back. He was a strange character, and I wasn’t sure about him. But I was curious.

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Links to various sites that have photographs of abandoned places.

I don’t care whether anyone else finds this interesting or not, I just wanted to save this link so I can come back and look at these sites later.

(via A Sweet Familiar Dissonance)

Decided to write a letter to the county clerk about the issues I had with the primary. On the advice of my boss, I cc’d it to the WV Secretary of State as well as the Diminishing Pest. We’ll see what comes of it.

11 May 2006

Michael A. Oliverio
Monongalia County Courthouse
243 High Street
Morgantown, WV 26505

Dear Mr. Oliverio,

I am writing because I have several concerns and complaints regarding the primary election on May 9th. Specifically, I have concerns about the electronic ballot, and also the set-up in my precinct, the 16th precinct, in the Morgantown Church of the Brethren.

Regarding the ballot itself, unless already designated in the system, I was unable to write in a candidate name. Thus for unopposed candidates I did not find suitable for the job, my alternatives were to vote for the designated candidate or leave that office blank. When we used the optically scanned ballots and voted with pencil and paper, I was able to write in candidates at will. I do not understand why this ability has been taken from us.

Regarding the voting set-up for the 16th precinct, my concerns are more serious.

The layout was such that my ballot was not secret—to vote you had to walk behind the other voting machines, either coming in or going out. Not only would it be easy to see what someone was voting, but considering the size of the font, it was nearly impossible to not see the contents of someone’s screen when walking by.

Secondly, to access the voting machines, you had to step over extension cords. This is a violation of safety rules and regulations, in that such cords present a tripping hazard.

Thirdly, the layout was such I fear it would have been very difficult for someone with accessibility issues to vote. Besides the extension cords, the path to reach the machines was quite narrow—and may have been difficult to navigate with a walker or wheelchair.

I hope that these concerns will be addressed, and steps will be taken to remediate these problems before the next election in November.

Sincerely,
Michelle Klishis

CC: The Honorable Betty Ireland, West Virginia Secretary of State
CC: The Dominion Post

The letters are in the mail, so don’t point out any hideous grammatical mistakes, because it’s too late.

For those of you playing along at home, I’ve finally come out of my depression enough that it feels safe to start working on my story again.

I haven’t written anything new yet, because it’s been awhile and I have to re-immerse myself back in the tale, but I’ve been through it from page one, and rewriting things as I deem necessary. I still have on passage I know I need to rewrite, I wrote it solely to amuse myself, but I think only a handful of other people will get the joke, so for such a major plot point, I’d best make some changes. (Basically, the start of a major scene is a huge Deep Space Nine joke. Amusing to me, not so much to anyone else.)

All this, of course, assuming that I can slow down my current reading binge.

I give it 50/50 odds right now.

So today was primary voting day in WV, and I am even more disappointed than expected at the electronic voting machines that I had expected. (And my expectations were pretty low.)

I think electronic voting machines are a terrible idea. We had been using optical scanners, which allowed you to fill in a paper ballot with a pencil. Perfect, easy, foolproof.

But no. They had to switch to the computer voting machines.

Here are the problems I noted.

First and foremost, you cannot write in a candidate unless it was already set up in the machine to do so. THIS made me angry. Why? Because Mollohan is unopposed in the primary. And Mollohan deserves to be voted out of office. Now I’m going to be stuck with a choice between a someone with no ethics, and whatever incompetent boob the Republicans are going to put up. (You think I exaggerate? Ha.)

Second, the set-up was such that the ballot was not secret while you were voting. The three machines were set up all in a row so that you had behind other voters either coming or going, and as the font is OMG I’m going BLIND huge, even glancing in the direction of another voter’s screen you’d immediately see everything. Not a huge deal for a primary, when no one is likely to show up, but still completely unacceptable.

Third, the set-up was such that we had to walk over extension cords. Extension cords that were, of course, not taped down. I’m pretty sure that such a set-up is in violation of many safety regulations.

Fourth, I do not see how the set-up could be at all handicapped accessible to someone in a wheelchair or using a walker. Remember the extension cords? Remember the having to walk behind the other voters? Did I mention that this was a fairly narrow path? I find it unlikely that such a set-up would pass the muster for handicapped accessibility.

In summary, I HATE the new voting machines, and want to know why the hell the state has wasted so much money on them. Go ahead. Call me a Luddite. I’m too pissed off to care.

War for the Oaks (1987) Emma Bull

Wow. I’ve been bypassing this book for years. Initially, because wasn’t on the shelves. Then when the reprint came out, because the cover made it look like something I wouldn’t like.

Boy was I wrong.

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Some belated flower pr0n from April.

Not the best I’ve taken, unfortunately. But, can’t have everything.

Also, a picture from our trip to Akron, for Michael’s grandmother’s birthday.

Last night we finally saw “Memoirs of a Geisha.” (First part: excellent. Second part: Bleh.) Afterwards, I wanted the book to check that the movie really had diverged that much in the second half, because it’s been a really long time since I read Memoirs of a Geisha–I believe I read it the year it came out, in 1997.)

It’s not here.

I looked on every bookshelf. Michael looked on every bookshelf. I went back and looked again.

Then I noticed that I didn’t see my copy of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. So we both looked for that.

It’s not here.

It this point I was somewhat distraught. Because I’d re-read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil in October, so I knew I wasn’t imagining that I owned it.

Then I went to pick up the next book I wanted to read. I decided I wanted to finally read China Mieville’s Perdido Street Station.

Not here.

Now, it’s possible that I borrowed “Memoirs” from my mother. Possible. And it’s possible that Perdido Street Station ended up at the used bookstore the last time we culled the books. And it’s also possible that “Midnight” is in Baltimore with my grandmother.

It’s possible.

However, it was very disconcerting to look for three different books, and find that they were no longer there. I mean, I know precisely on the bookshelf where Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil should be. (Living room. Bookshelf by the entertainment center. Middle shelf. Far left. Beside Midnight in Sicily and The Madman and the Professor.) I may have a lot of books, but if it’s a book I really liked, I can to tell you precisely where that book is. So to look for three books in a row and find them all missing is rather upsetting. (I decided not to check on my favorite books, on the off chance that looking for these books was causing them to disappear.)

So I won’t be re-reading Memoirs of a Geisha immediately. But I’m going to find a copy soon, because I really loved the book, I don’t want the second part of the movie to get stuck in my mind, displacing the book I enjoyed so much.

ADDENDUM the First:
If you’d like my recommendation on the movie: Rent it. When the planes and WWII intrude on the story, turn the movie off and return it. Then go get the book.

When you get onto an elevator full of people, and are going to the top floor, MOVE TO THE BACK OF THE ELEVATOR. Don’t stand in front of the doors, and then act all surprised when people are trying to get past you.

I can’t tell you how glad I am that the semester is over.