The things you miss

I spent much of yesterday on a plane. More on that later.....

As if I didn't need a reminder, I missed 2 very important things....

1. Deep Throat is #2.

2. Jen's Beau is now Jen's fiancee (yay!)

The Nixonians weigh in

Not surprisingly, the group of bright, once-young men who once made up Nixon's staff and have manged to stay alive and out of jail were making the rounds, talking about Mark Felt (how's that for a pRon name????) and the legacy of Deep Throat and the end of the Nixon presidency.

Pat Buchanan was on Imus this morning, and he and Charles Colson have been all over MSNBC declaring that Deep Throat is not an American hero, but rather a misguided, if not vengeful schemer who violated the ethics of his position, something he would later be tried for in another matter, and brought down a presidency that had the potential to continue to do good.

Ben Stein echoes this theme in today's American Spectator, asking why Deep Throat is Nixon's legacy, rather than opening the door to China and building peace in Vietnam and elsewhere.

Former Nixon chief of staff, Al Haig told The Australian and FoxNews that it was good to "finally be off the list" of suspects.
(h/t Dr. Mental)

Children are the best birth control EVER....

So, flying from LA to Phoenix there was a 5 year old behind me. I was in the window seat, the middle was empty and DH was on the aisle. The kid's mom was in the middle and someone else was on the aisle.

I'm thinking, it's only an hour, it won't be a problem. WRONG.

For those of you lucky enough to have never flown out of LAX, take-off is over the water. That kept the kid occupied for about 10 minutes, then....

To find out the rest, read the extended entry....

What's your favorite....

Swear word?

I usually use asterisks around here to deter pRon spambots, but to hell with it for this post.

My favorite words in the extended for those of you who can't get swear words at work.....

Mawwiage...

Those crazy kids from Lake Winnipesaukee are getting hitched today. With any luck they'll be off the 'net for a while, so go drop them a note of congratulations which they should get in a few days....

Still "It".....

Gir tagged me with this meme a couple of weeks ago, but as you know, life intervened. So here goes.....

1) Total number of films I own on DVD/video:
Ummm.... a couple hundred? I own a LOT of them. Two movie tickets is often more expensive than buying the DVD, especially if you pick it up in the first 3 days after it comes out (usually the $14-16 range)... AND you can watch them again. We rarely go out to the flicks.

2) The last film I bought:
Team America: World Police. (F*ck yeah!)

3) The last film I watched:
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

4) Five films that I watch a lot or that mean a lot to me:
Star Wars (A New Hope)
Return of the Jedi
LotR: Fellowship of the Ring
Real Genius
Blazing Saddles
(they all do duty in the DVD player in the bedroom because they cure my insomnia....)

5) Tag 5 people and have them put this in their journal/blog:
Naah... almost everyone else has been it. If you want to be "tagged" drop me a comment and claim your spot :)

Calling all classical music lovers...

Starting Tuesday, the BBC will be offering all 9 of Beethoven's symphonies for FREE AND LEGAL download!!!

Here's the schedule:
"Symphonies 1 & 3 will be broadcast on Monday 6th June, and available to download from Tuesday 7th June to Monday 13th June.
Symphonies 2, 4 & 5 will be broadcast on Tuesday 7th June, and available to download from Wednesday 8th June to Tuesday 14th June.
Symphony 6 will be broadcast on Monday 27th June, and available to download from Tuesday 28th June to Monday 4th July.
Symphony 7 will be broadcast on Tuesday 28th June, and available to download from Wednesday 29th June to Tuesday 5th July.
Symphony 8 will be broadcast on Wednesday 29th June, and available to download from Thursday 30th June to Wednesday 6th July.
Symphony 9 will be broadcast on Thursday 30th June, and available to download from Friday 1st July to Thursday 7th July."

Beethoven is my favorite classical composer, so I'm psyched. I don't actually have all of the symphonies.

Quick bit of trivia: Symphony #3 is entitled "Eroica" and was originally dedicated to Napoleon.... Of course, after Waterloo, Beethoven scratched Napoleon's name out the original score so hard that he ripped the page....

Drop by and indulge :)
(h/t VW and third world county)

Congratulations all around....

The Bear Flag league just keeps growing....

Mr. and Mrs. PrestoPundit welcome a new baby daughter today, Lillianne Grace.

Congratulations are also due to Mr. and Mrs. Three Bad Fingers, whose daughter Caitlyn Joyce was born on May 18th.
(somehow the announcement got lost in the dissertation shuffle....)

Drop by and give them your best, will you?

Hell of a week in history

June 4, 1989:

June 5, 2004:

June 6, 1944:

I think they're on to something

Junebugg, Pammy, and Deb are on to something.

It's not what's on the outside that makes a woman sexy. It's what's on the inside.

I'm no model. Hell, I could probably be two of them given the current size for models, but that doesn't mean I can't look and feel sexy.

My husband seems to agree.

So why do we do this to ourselves? Current research suggests that thin isn't all it's cracked up to be, and that what we call "moderately overweight" is more healthy. Doesn't that mean we should rethink what we call fat? Until the advent of TV our idea of "fat" was radically different than it is today....

What do you think?

I love the eighties!

Oh yeah. I love 80s music! Can't believe some of the ones I missed....INXS...sheesh....
(h/t: Beth)

Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson

Gone too soon...

Anne Bancroft, the legendary actress who brought Mrs. Robinson to life in The Graduate, and wife of the incredibly awesome Mel Brooks, has died at age 73 of uterine cancer.

Born Anna Maria Italiano in 1931 in New York's Bronx borough, she got her start in movies in the 1950s.

She won an Oscar for her 1962 film "The Miracle Worker," where she played Annie Sullivan, the extraordinary teacher to blind, deaf and speechless Helen Keller in the movie directed by Arthur Penn.

Over her long career, she garnered a further four Academy Award nominations for "The Pumpkin Eater" (1964), "The Graduate" (1967), "The Turning Point" (1977), and "Agnes of God" (1985).

She also won two Tony Awards for her work on the Broadway stage, including one for the stage version of "The Miracle Worker" in 1960.

Reason #347 why I'm glad I'm not a parent....

According to this new study, it's unsafe for kids under the age of 15 to ride in the front seat.

Therefore in some states, it's legal to drive a car before it's safe to sit in the front.

Hey, I've got an idea. Let's make the airbags adjustable. It is possible. The technology exists NOW. You can even have them removed in 2-seaters ifyou have kids. The driver just flips a switch: Adult setting and the airbag is armed, child setting, and it isn't. Of course in this day and age you have to sign a waiver saying that you accept responsibility for failing to protect an adult or a child adequately.

Then we could put rear facing child seats in the front for small babies again. That's been shown to be FAR safer than a rear facing seat in the back since it's a little hard for the driver to check on a baby they can't see.....

Stuck in Lodi again

WhyTF would anyone want to live in LODI???? I mean COME ON. What a hole.

I suppose it doesn't surprise me that terrorists would pick an out of the way sh*thole for laying low while they plot to kill the rest of us.

As you can imagine, several Bear Flaggers are all over this one...

CA Mafia picked up the story first

Not Dale Gribble has a pretty good round up of reactions including this from California Conservatives

Well, I guess these two guys aren't stuck there, although they sure as hell weren't walking out of town....

Test making stinks

I just wrote the first of 2 tests that I have to give in the class I'm teaching.

65 multiple choice, and 43 fill-the-name-in-the-diagram questions.

In 90 minutes. Shouldn't be a problem.

The REAL problem is the M**^(^F&%^*$G COPIER that won't do more than 40 sheets at a time before the roller heats up and the pages stick......

And it's always THE SAME F*)^%$$@G PAGE!

ARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!

Did I mention it's past midnight?

So I'm here blogging and checking mail waiting for the stupid bitch copier to cool down...

Question Time

The Queen asks the following:

1. Can you name two Democrats and two Republicans that you could really vote for in 2008? Basically, pick the ticket.

2. If you voted FOR Kerry, name one Democrat, a viable candidate for president, that you could never support in 2008.

3. If you voted FOR Bush, name one Republican, a viable candidate for president, that you could never support in 2008.

I said:
1. Joe Lieberman (a class act) and ABH (anyone but Hillary); Condi Rice and TBA.

Honestly I hadn't thought about running mates. And I would LOVE to see the reaction of the MSM and certain traditionally democratic constituencies if a BLACK WOMAN ran for President on the GOP ticket.... Maybe throw in Liddy Dole as a VP candidate just for the hell of it. No, wait, Senior senators from NC don't have a great track record in running for Veep....

2. N/A. Duh. I voted for Bush.

3. John McCain

Six to twelve months ago he was on my short list for "the guy after Bush" but he has run his course. Waving your schlong around in public (even metaphorically) too much is bound to get you in trouble..... Especially if you start playing both sides against each other.

So what do you all think?

Happy Birthday Dad!

Ok, it's **technically** next Tuesday, but in honor of my wonderful Dad's 71st birthday, I thought I'd post a recipe for one of his ALL-TIME favorites, Chocolate cake. This one is written for a bundt pan, which is great because I have some really cool ones....

Super Fudgy Chocolate Cake

1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix
1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into a well greased 12 cup Bundt pan.
3. Bake for 5 to 55 minutes or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake thoroughly in pan at least an hour and a half, invert and remove from pan. You can top with a dusting of powdered sugar if desired.

Speaking of Birthdays...

Ben the Exgaucho turns the big 3-0 today! Drop by and wish him the best.

He needs it. He's a poor pathetic OLD man with no job, no life, and a PlayStation 2.....

Just kidding.

He's breathing so he must have a life ;)

In honor of your special day, dude, one of your favorite Simpsons songs and much love from both of us. There's some Southern Season love and a Tar Heel championship shirt waiting to see you in CA.

SOOO looking forward to moving

Well, we're officially moving.

We've contracted with a moving company. For the charming price of 60⊄ per pound, these lovely people will load their truck with my stuff, drive it to CA, and unload it for me. All I have to do is pack and unpack.

They even solved a big problem for me. They told us that they can't guarantee a delivery date until the end of July. Which is fine. See, our friends are trying to move out of their house into a condo. We're trying to move into their house. But the landlord of the condo is giving them the runaround. The actual landlord is out of the country on vacation, and the management company won't do anything about them wanting to move in until this lady gets back. Meanwhile they're getting married and going on their honeymoon.... So we wouldn't be able to move in until they get back from Hawaii in the middle of July at the earliest, even assuming all of the variables fall into place and they are approved by the condo owner and we are approved by the house owner... Anyway, if the stuff doesn't come until the end of July, that's fine by me, now.

It's times like this that make me INCREDIBLY happy I own an SUV. We can haul enough stuff across the country on our own that we don't need to have furniture for a month. And we can stay with family and friends if we have to. We were planning on spending a good chunk of July in Fresno anyway.

Today's other good news: We went to Costco to pick up the dog's prescription and found exactly what we needed for a reasonable price. They had a "deluxe moving pack" from Allied, and it contains 30 boxes (most of them 18x12x12, which is great for books), 5 rolls of bubble wrap, 4 pounds of packing paper, 36 foam sleeves, 3 dividers for glasses, 3 rolls of packing tape, 2 tape dispensers, and 2 markers (not that we needed the markers....) for $50.00. Not bad considering that in the packing stores around here the boxes sell for more that $1 apiece and they really gouge you on the other stuff, like paper and bubble wrap.

The current plan is to have the stuff shipped to Fresno, and then we can UHaul it down to Pasadena when we know where we're going to live.

For your amusement

I saw this over at the wonderful blog News From the Great Beyond, home of the lovely Songstress7, who coincidentally is hosting this week's Carnival of the Recipes.

This is one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time....

A visiting minister during the offertory prayer:

He would have continued, but...

More fun links...

Which Tree did you Fall From?

WALNUT TREE (the Passion) -- unrelenting, strange and full of contrasts, often egotistic, aggressive, noble, broad horizon, unexpected reactions, spontaneous, unlimited ambition, no flexibility, difficult and uncommon partner, not always liked but often admired, ingenious strategist, very jealous and passionate, no compromise.

And quite appropriate seeing as how my tire swing was in my Grandmother's enormous Walnut tree. I fell quite a few times. :)

(h/t Songstress7)

Yet another sweet blog baby!

Craig of MTpolitics and the Spousal Unit are the new parents of a daughter, Kiran Lee, born in the wee sma's this morning....

Go congratulate them and check out the pictures!

She couldn't ask for nicer parents....

Sunday Roundup

So sorry for the multiple trackbacks.... don't ask me what MT did, but when I went back to fix a couple of typos, it posted the fixes as new posts....

I've been meaning to do a link roundup for a while, but I haven't had a lot of time. Here's what I've been looking at in the last couple of days:

Did you know Baldilocks is a white male? No really. She is. At least according to How-weird Dean...

SMASH has a roundup of reactions to this morning's SoCal earthquake. The consensus: Nothing to get worked up over.

Jay Tea at Wizbang reports on the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of NH. An Eagle scout with a BB gun.....

Michele has one of the coolest SW fan films ever. I didn't know Chewbacca played the axe, much less such an awesome one....

Rosemary takes the morning off to go see her niece and nephew baptized

Dean asks: What is your idea of the Perfect Album?

The Llama Butchers unearth a rare artifact: The Blogistan High Class of 1984 yearbook. Glad I'm much too young to have been in THAT class. Whoa.

Boudicca has been blogging a whole year!! Go wish her a Happy Blogiversary!

VW Bug had fun at Lion Country Safari with the Tater, the Tot, and some friends.

Anita has some thoughts on recognizing exceptional achievement

O my! Christina is guest-blogging for Sadie this weekend....

Pam has a sweet (tissue warning!) story and a funny story from this week....

Solomon made his first trip to the Zoo ever, and came home with some thoughts about Fathers....

Sean has an interesting take on Gay Pride Month

Laurence has been messing with the template again, and has some more questions for the cats....

I think that's about enough for now....

SiteMeter is F*CKED!

Here's what my sitemeter said 5 minutes ago:

Yesterday it said this week's hits were 932.

Somebody's math isn't quite right..... And it ain't mine.

For those who are interested

Class seems to be going well. I like my students, for the most part, and they seem interested. I try to keep the class going with lots of clinically relevant tidbits, so they understand that it's not just colored lines on a diagram, and they make the connection between brain on paper and brain in head.

Would y'all like me to post some of those interesting bits from time to time?

Anyway, copier notwithstanding, the test went pretty well. If it was my own class (alone and long-term) I would be really happy with the way it came out. Because I'm only teaching it this semester, I need to fit it in with how the other tests given by the other TA came out. My spread skewed a little lower: 10 A's, 14 B's, 10 C's, 2 D's. Hers had more A's and B's, fewer C's. So I think I'm going to give them the opportunity to get some of those points back by making corrections. Probably 1/3 of the points they missed.... That could be a whole letter grade for the lowest folks.

Today's lecture is on neurodevelopment (Yay!) and this week's paper is about the famous case of patient HM, as I will discuss memory tomorrow.

Neuro Tidbit#1

You asked for it, you got it.

Parkinson's Disease strikes the neurons of the Nigrostriatal pathway, that is, the dopamine-releasing neurons whose cell bodies reside in the Substantia Nigra and synapse in the striatum (also known as the caudate/putamen). You generally have to lose about 90% of those neurons to get any symptoms. Really. The CNS covers its own a$$.

Interestingly enough, Huntington's Disease strikes the reciprocal connections, from the caudate to the SN, and elsewhere.....

Here's a brainstem cross-section of a PD patient and a person who died from something else. Not surprisingly, the substantia nigra is the black band near the bottom-middle.

OJ Jury Whereabouts Revealed!

Those 12, blind, ignorant F*CKS moved to Santa Maria.

I can see not convicting him on the conspiracy or the molestation. But I thought for sure they'd convict him on the "Jesus Juice"...

Oh well, at least they didn't take up residency in Redwood City before the Peterson trial.....

Unfinished business....

You may recall that back in February I started a little pool about Deep Throat.

Well, we did have a winner.

kennnthomas predicted W. Mark Felt would claim to be Deep Throat, and he was correct. Congrats to you, sir! As I told you before, if you ever decide to share your unique perspective with the rest of us, I'll be more than happy to link you!

Thanks to everyone for playing, and for visiting my little corner of the blogosphere!

Stressed??? Who you callin' stressed???

Mom and Dad arrive tomorrow, just in time to go to one of our favorite places for dinner (yummmmm....piggy.....)

I had to do an hour-plus power point presentation for tomorrow's class. Learning and Memory.... Need to do two more for Wednesday and Thursday and then make a test for Friday....

I'm baking a cake for Dad's birthday...

Need to bake banana bread tonight before the bananas completely die....

Need to build a 50 minute presentation for my defense

Public defense seminar on the 23rd, followed by party....

Need to make a list of people to email about the defense...

Text corrections from committee members need to be added to my dissertation and done in time to get all my paperwork in before I leave.

Moving van comes on the 29th

No (firm) job (for either of us right now), no house. Just winging it.

Mom and Dad leave on the 30th

We leave on the 1st.

Must Pack. Must Clean. Must finish graduation requirements. Must get mail forwarded.

Sleep??? Ha. I need no sleep. Bring me caffeine!!!!

Oh yeah, and...

The New Blog Showcase moves HERE next Monday.

If you're a new blogger who wants some publicity, or know someone who is, direct them to the link above for information on how to join in for next week.

This week's Showcase is hosted by The Paladin.

She's Back

Point your browsers to The Resplendent Mango!

Welcome back, Katie!

Done! (with lecturing, anyway)

Just finished putting together my LAST lecture for the class. Now all I have to do is write a test for Friday and grade them and the papers that will get turned in then, too.

Yay!!

Here's Today's Neuro Bit:

Schizophrenia means "divided mind". It was first reported in 1896 by Emil Kraepelin, who called it "dementia praecox", and is only marginally better understood today. About 0.1% of the population (1 person in 1000) is schizophrenic. The phrase "Thorazine shuffle" was coined by mental health staff who observed the characteristic rigidity that Thorazine induced in patients who took the drug for many years.

Mom's Pea Salad

Mom's sitting here next to me, so I don't have to call her to post the recipe.

I personally hate peas, but everyone who likes peas can't get enough of this salad, and I'll pick through the peas to get to the other stuff.

Don't give me any crap. I'll eat most other veggies. Just not Peas.

CaltechMom's Summer Pea Salad

1 package petite frozen peas
1 large package cheese tortellini
3 stalks celery, chopped
1-1.5 cup cubed jack cheese
1/2 sweet or red onion, sliced
1/2 cup cashews
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
Ranch Dressing

1. Thaw and drain peas.
2. Cook cheese tortellini according to package directions, drain and cool.
3. Combine peas, tortellini, celery, onion, and cheese in a large salad bowl
4. Add ranch dressing to your taste, toss to mix
5. Chill until ready to serve
6. Top with cashews and crumbled bacon before serving

Rusty's had it

Kos has crossed the the line, saying, "The torture
that was so bad under Saddam, is EQUALLY bad under U.S. command."

Rusty Shackelford fights back, with a graphic reminder of why Kos is just so wrong.

Gone too soon

MommaBear's beloved PoppaBear has passed away.

So terribly sad. There's not much else to say. Our thoughts and prayers are with her. Drop be and let her know you care.

Good News!!! (for a change)

Margi and Mitch, new parents of a VW Beetle, are also about to be NEW PARENTS!

No. Really.

Congratulations you guys, I hope your adorable grandson likes his birthday present :)

And Mitch, this is for you.....(right click and download, please)

I'm It

Brandon and his mommy tagged me with the childhood meme, so here goes:

Five things I miss from childhood:

1. Time to sit on my rear and do EXACTLY what I want. Read book after book, play with my Barbies or my paper dolls, ride my bike, whatever.

2. Summer Vacation. When I was a kid, I loved getting 3 months off. LOVED it. I would sleep in, go swimming at the neighbors' house EVERY day, ride my bike everywhere.... Grad School means you work all summer.

3. Sitting on my Dad's shoulders so I could see over the crowd wherever we went. I'm still short....

4. My grandmother. I used to talk to her every day on the phone, from when I was too small to dial for myself. I used swing on a tire in her back yard and play golf with her old clubs and wear her old shoes when I was younger....

5. Boundless energy. When I was younger I played softball and volleyball and tennis and golf (not well, mind you), and I used to go hiking and all kinds of things. In the last few years, that's really gone away.

Soooo... Who to tag..... Hmmmm.....

How about Paul, Ben, and Darling GMT

PETA workers arrested for Animal Cruelty

It's not a joke!
From NABR (the National Association for Biomedical Research):

In a stunning development that is fast becoming national news, PETA employees Andrew Benjamin Cook and Adria Joy Hinkle have each been charged by Ahoskie, North Carolina police with 31 counts of animal cruelty and 8 misdemeanor counts of illegal disposal of dead animals.

During a month long investigation, law enforcement officials observed the two individuals in a white van, allegedly registered to PETA, toss several trash bags into a commercial dumpster behind a shopping mall.

Police confirmed the bags contained 18 dead dogs, including one bag containing seven puppies. An additional 13 dead dogs were found in the van. Both the investigation and surveillance of the shopping center were prompted by four other similar incidents. According to police the animals were from two North Carolina animal shelters approximately 30 miles away, where Cook and Hinkle had identified themselves to shelter staff as PETA representatives from Norfolk, VA. According to the local Animal Control Officer, the two had made claims for the past two months "they were picking up dogs to take them back to Norfolk where they would find them good homes". Cook and Hinkle have been released on $35,000 bond each. Two of the 31 dogs have been kept for an autopsy.

According to accounts just coming to light, PETA may have been picking up dogs and cats from animal control facilities in North Carolina for months or even years and bringing them back to PETA headquarters in Norfolk with the stated purpose of "attempting to find them good homes" when, in fact, they may have been killing and dumping them before they ever crossed the North Carolina state line. The purpose for this particular exercise; how many animals have been exterminated and why they were just dumped in parking lot dumpsters is still unclear. NABR will provide more details as they become available.

The VA Pilot (local to the arrests) story is here.

The AP story is here.

This is frigging sick. Taking poor, helpless animals from shelters or rescue groups that have a good chance of finding homes for them and just killing and dumping them. The poor things never had a chance.

And these people are AGAINST cruelty to animals, huh? Makes you wonder what the really cruel people are like.

It's unbelievably difficult for me to contain my rage right now. These people have the balls to come into MY workplace, look at MY animals and trump up a story about MY colleagues being "cruel" because they didn't euthanize animals properly or some such, all the while their OWN people are killing dogs and dumping them in ditches and dumpsters.

DITCHES!!!

If you support PETA, I hope you look into these charges and seriously reconsider your contributions.

They talk a good game, anti-fur, meat is bad for you and all that, but at the core, they're a group of thugs who terrorize innocent animals. This is simply another example of PETA sponsored animal cruelty, to go along with their previous attempts to set free animals that have no ability to survive outside a controlled laboratory environment. I mean, how in the hell do you expect a BLIND ALBINO rabbit to survive in an open field????

I don't know about you, but I think an organization against animal cruelty ought to REALLY practice what they preach.

UPDATE: DogSnot and Acidman are all over this too

How did I miss THIS one???

I have really been out of it.

First, Katie Mango comes back for like a week and I miss it.

Margi takes digital photography to a new level, and I'm 2 days behind,

and now this, again, 2 days late...
GayPatriot is Back!! Yay! Even the Patriot Pooches are happy. If you haven't dropped by in a while, go say hello and get caught up. Oh yeah, and welcome to the BFL, too, Bruce. It's nice to have you back!

It's Carnival time!

This week's Carnival of the Recipes is up!

Thanks to the lovely Michele of Meanderings for hosting! Everything looks soooo yummy!

Question...

Does my blog show as updated on your blogrolls? I'm not seeing it on anyone else's page as updated, although it shows up as new on my RSS reader....

MuNu has been giving me fits with the tracking back, showing pinging errors every time I post.... Although it seems to be hitting almost everyone's pages with the trackbacks....

Happy Father's Day!

To my Dad, and to all of the blogger Dads out there, including

Dean

Jay

Rev. Sensing

Contagion

Prof. Taylor

HWNNL

Mitch

Acidman

Aaron

XRLQ

Patterico

Pinwheels (spending Father's Day far away from his kiddies)

John of Argghhh!

Parkway Jim

and all the others I forgot to mention, the dads who play such a big part in the Moms' stories of their kids and families, and the proud Dads of wonderful pets like my darling GMT and Gay Patriot.

New Blogger Showcase....

Will magically appear in this space later today... Did I mention work sucks?

New Blog Showcase!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Children of All Ages, Welcome to the Second Greatest Show on Earth: The New Bloggers Showcase!

In Ring #1: Aggravated DocSurg, a general surgeon with a new blog, an interesting blogroll (already!), and great taste in music. And I don't blame him for his opinion on lawyers.....

In Ring #2: Dubious Profundity, a collection of stories, poetry, and other submissions all for your reading pleasure.

In Ring #3 (Fixed the wrong link!): Holly Aho, a Soldier's Angel who blogs on her life and her work with Soldier's Angels helping troops overseas

The Refreshment stand: Ray's Coffee Break, a NC blogger, Veteran, and has an interesting take on the Charles Jenkins story.

In the Sideshow: doodle-y-doo, the blog of sweet lisa jay, offers up fun stories, catblogging and really cool graphic images.....

Next week's showcase is hosted by VW Bug of One Happy Dog Speaks, so get those entries in to showcase(dot)carnival(at)gmail(dot)com (you know what to do with that....) or submit yourself via the Conservative Cat's Multi-Carnival Submissions Page

Question for the Masses

Ok, so as you well know, we're moving. Destination somewhere in the LA area. Probably Pasadena. Our stuff won't arrive until August, so we have some leeway with timing etc.

We're planning on ending up in Fresno, until the stuff arrives, but between here and there is a toss-up. We've decided to take advantage of the trip across the country and do a little sight-seeing.....

Vote for your favorite option, or suggest another:
1) The 40. Simple, straight, from here to CA via TN, AK,OK, TX, NM, and AZ. Includes stop at Grand Canyon

2) North! NC to WV, across the midwest, and up into the Dakotas, maybe Montana, and then south via Yellowstone....

3) Something in between, similar to our trip out here 5 years ago (which included Denver, Kansas, Springfield, MO and etc.)

4) South! Down to Jacksonville and across on the 10 to CA. May include Northward detour to Killeen for visit with in-laws....

5) ???

What do y'all think? Anybody along any of the routes? Any different ideas? Places to avoid?

100 Years, 100 Movie Quotes

So AFI, the arbiter of all film worthyness has decided to rank movie quotes. This being a film quote house, I decided I'd watch and see how many of my favorites made the list....

The list of all 400 nominees is here. The final list will be released at 11pm EDT.

So far, not many, and one of my favorites, the "Life is a Banquet" line from Auntie Mame is in the 90s. Geez. Leo and Kate (in a movie I'm proud to say I have never seen....) were 100.

Abbott and Costello's Who's On First routine is number 91.

Somehow I'm guessing this is gonna be a long damn show....

What are your favorite movie quotes?

Today's the big day...

At 2:30 pm EDT say a little prayer for my mouth, that it doesn't flub up.

As you can see, the counter's down to less than a day. When I finish, I will have completed all my program's requirements, and other than some paperwork, I'll be a free-and-clear Doctor (Technically, I already am since the paperwork's in, but hey....)

I am so mental....

We're having a party afterward. I'll let you know how it went.

Blogging = Birth Control?

Every time my life intervenes and I take 24 hours away from the blogs, somebody else turns up pregnant!

Either I've got to read everyday, or y'all are just gonna have to quit making babies. My poor little fingers are gonna be worn down to nubs making booties and blankets!

Especially with three coming the same week

Seriously, though, congratulations to my (sort of) blogparents on their impending second parenthood and to Sadie on becoming a big sister!

Yay!!

Looks Yummy!

This week's Carnival of the Recipes is up, hosted by Dana of Note-It Posts.

Everything looks so wonderful. Go check it out!

Apologies in advance

It's no secret we're moving. Here's the schedule:

Today: go to my office, clean out my desk, remove my toys and posters (picture to follow so you understand), print out what I hope is the final version of my thesis so I can take it in to the Grad school tomorrow to get it measured (DON'T ASK). Feed my friend's cat. Keep packing. Call in Dog's prescription

Monday: take dissertation to be measured. Make any changes, clarify requirements for printing (# copies, etc.). print on fancy paper. Turn in dissertation and all the paperwork to the grad school. Photocopy grades for Jennie, campus mail them to her. Keep Packing. Get rental application for new house from FAX machine (yay!), fill out application, return to sender, otherwise call her and figure out another way to get it... Keep Packing. Take bookcases, desk, garden/patio stuff to friend's house. Feed friend's cat. Go to costco, ask about transferring prescriptions to CA. Pick up dog's pills. Put in MY prescriptions. Keep packing. DH needs to call JSC and Moving company. Call to get cable/phone/power/water off or switched. Put change of address cards in mail.

Tuesday: dog to groomer. Keep Packing. Go to work. Finish up there. Say goodbye. Come home. Keep packing. Movers come tomorrow. Keep packing. Keep dumping. Pick up my pills. Feed Cat.

Wednesday: Movers take my furniture. Mom and Dad to Hotel. Load Car. Get rid of extra crap. Clean house. We go to friend's house. maybe sleep. Feed Cat.

Thursday: Mom and Dad to airport. Friend returns. Meet with current landlord to return keys and pick up a check.

Friday: Hitting the road with dog for parts unknown. Blogging will be light to non-existent.

Back on the 7th. For those of you I emailed, I will be checking, just not blogging :)

Pet Consumer Alert

I don't know how many of you this affects, but it pissed me off ROYAL, so I thought I'd share.

A certain large, national pet chain (one that thinks you're sMart if you shop there) will shortly cease to carry Iams and Eukanuba products for dogs and cats. According to the regional operations manager, who we actually spoke with yesterday in the store, they are switching to Science Diet products exclusively.

While this is fine for their business, and Science Diet is a fine product, the makers of Science Diet DO NOT make a large variety of prescription dog foods. Until last week, the sMart store was the ONLY place I could pick up Eukanuba K/O Kangaroo and Oat allergy formula dog food. Now, they no longer stock it. Arrgh. How the bloody f*ck am I supposed to feed my dog without her getting sick, huh?

Oh well, here's hoping the food will be available SOMEWHERE in LA without having to buy it from a vet....

Anyway, I realize that I may be the only reader of this blog who feeds her dog a prescription food, but nonetheless, some of you may purchase regular Iams/Eukanuba products there, so I wanted to pass along the heads up.