G+ Migration Blog

Well, either it worked or it didn't.  We'll see.

I am losing it. Not that I necessarily ever had it, but it's definitely wandered off.

Things that bode ill. Realizing after you've written it that your 5000 word essay was supposed to be a 5000 character essay.

Having had to deal with cellos and the like, I get it. However, persons with the guitars, buy an extra seat for your instruments. Do Not take up multiple overhead bins for them. Nope. No possible comments, reasons, or excuses. Not on a commercial flight with lots of other people, not these days. You just took overhead bin space away from at least 6 people. Uncool.

I am going to find chocolate and an outlet. Bye, wifi.

I am rapidly losing all energy and any ability to care. That, and the free wifi is time limited. >:(

pout the layover airport no longer has an au bon pain pout

Interesting ride, already. Winds are so high the plane is rocking sideways on the ground.

Good people/bad people: http://wivb.com/2015/10/28/spca-serving-allegany-county-rescues-30-small-dogs-with-matted-fur/ http://wivb.com/2015/10/28/spca-serving-allegany-county-rescues-30-small-dogs-with-matted-fur

Southwest completely forgot to email me to remind me to check in, but they just sent me an email to make sure I knew that there's free in flight tv available over wifi on my flight!  -_-

Interesting preliminary study not trying to get kids to lose weight, just exchanging starch for fructose. I find the choice of fructose interesting, since table sugar is sucrose (glucose + fructose), but interesting nonetheless. At least they said they were looking at "surrogate metabolic parameters". My personal opinion is that weight is a surrogate, as well, but that's a different discussion. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/oby.21371/abstract http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/oby.21371/abstract

Iz cute. Pedantry: I'm pretty sure that's a sea lion, not a seal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmtRp4ru2IY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmtRp4ru2IY

Augh! There is no such thing as nitrate/nitrite free bacon, or other stuff. They can only say that because of ridiculous labeling laws! Look at the label. They all have celery juice or whatever in them because it CONTAINS SODIUM NITRATE/NITRITE. But it's natural , so they can call it nitrate/ite free. JFC, people. In addition, decades ago, when this stuff was first mentioned as a cancer risk, like, before some of us were born, many manufacturers started adding vitamin c (ascorbic acid) or other things into their products to offset the risk of nitrosamine formation. Look at the label on Oscar Mayer bacon. There's sodium ascorbate. That's vitamin C. Helloooooo. Lastly, maybe they have come up with something else to inhibit botulism, but sodium nitrite is apparently pretty reliable in this regard. We are omg so privileged spoiled when it comes to our food supply, but rare cases of botulism happen. We have modern medical care, but people still die occasionally. I could die now ...

Brain, leaking out my ears

Awesome tune for such a depressing topic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iAYhQsQhSY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iAYhQsQhSY

I want a device so I can remotely turn off the volume on people's devices who are too idiotic to use earbuds or headphones and just blast the volume into random public space. Actual hatred. At least if they blast the volume so loudly I can hear it in spite of their headphones, I know they will eventually suffer hearing loss. I may not be a nice person.

Jiminy Christmas, people, I know it's a public place, but does that mean you have to have shouted conversations from 20+ feet away? Public also means you respect the fact that there are other people there. Gods. Yes, the Bills suck, EJ Manuel sucks, Rex Ryan sucks. Now shut up or go to a sports bar. This is a book store. #irascibookosity

Here you go. A thoughtfully worded statement from the WHO IARC (their cancer group). The link to it is below, along with a link to an informative but obviously from a certain perspective on it article from The Atlantic. Since the media are supposed to be professionals, I do not place blame for this nonsense on WHO. Anyone who has expertise in covering medicine and research would have been able to parse that and explain it to the public as interesting but merely confirming decades old recommendations. Instead, the USS Maine has once again exploded, because CANCER, and Pulitzer and Hearst are lying contentedly in their graves. 1) It does not mention cigarettes. (Some media does because of WHO classification scheme. See the Atlantic article link for an explanation.) 2) Sounds like they did a meta-analysis of the literature. (Not a new study.) 3) They specifically use the word "association", i.e., not causal links. 4) Choice quotes include (italics were theirs): "... classif...

You know how some of us sometimes talk about our unrealistic sense of our own abilities, value, etc.? Meaning, we seriously undervalue and overquestion ourselves? I have the most awesome group of friends and acquaintances in the universe. And I feel idiotic for not knowing that it is totally ok for me to ask for help. I mean, I know I would do the same for them, but somehow have become convinced that my asking is not ok. What a yutz I am.

So, intelligent discussing of why we aren't all going to drop dead of colon cancer if we eat a hot dog on PBS Newshour. Also information on why/how WHO lists things as carcinogens, which has a lot to do with this not being any new info and things like relative risk (a cigarette is still more risky than a hot dog) and how things are categorized (why hot dogs and cigarettes is not a silly analogy). Also also, intelligent reporter question re: ok, so people trying to be healthy already switched from red meat to chicken or turkey, etc., but if you processed chicken or turkey wouldn't that cause the same effects? Answer: we don't know because they only studied red meat. Additional answer: we don't actually know why there's a risk, i.e., is it the type of meat? is it the type of processing? is it magic? P.S. for these purposes, it would seem that pork is not the other white meat. Red meat here means beef and pork, it seems. Is it corn fed? Is it grass fed? We just don...

6:00 AM - There are really three planets in that picture, but this is where not having a real camera makes a big difference. A lot of light pollution, but the planets were so bright it didn't matter. The background light did affect the phone camera, though. Oh, well, I got to see them and it won't happen again until 2021, they say. The one you can't see in the photo but could in person is Mars, the other two are Jupiter and Venus. #dancedanceplanetrevolution

There are good people in the world. Someone found my dad's passport (in a random major city to be named) and called the emergency number (me). I hope they did more than say thank you when they picked it up. P.S. Surprise. I'm the emergency number in my dad's passport. Good to know.

I believe it is someone's birthday. May you enjoy. You know who you are. #personal

Man, I started out today feeling awesome, getting lots of stuff done. All of a sudden I felt like dirt. Why, precisely, is that necessary body? I may not worship you, but it's not like I do horrible things to you, either.

Took one more step forward. Excelsior.

Hai, Evan "Skwid" Langlinais  http://makezine.com/projects/learn-plastic-welding-giant-inflatable-tentacles/

Our high temp today is in the mid 60s. It was at 5am. It will now steadily descend into the 30's by tomorrow morning. Woo!

The shoes are real. Apparently he wore them on Jimmy Kimmel? http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/back-to-the-futures-self-tying-nike-shoes-are-real-and-amazing-20152110 http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/back-to-the-futures-self-tying-nike-shoes-are-real-and-amazing-20152110

You know that thing where you finish something and you're all yay! woo! so excitement! much achieve!  That? Yeah, I'm all just, ugh, bleh, exhaustion, done, tummy hurts, bugger all this for a dead lark, crash, burn, humbugs.

Help, my concentration brain has wandered off.

Not only does Justin Trudeau have to govern the country, now, he's expected to look good doing it. That seems a bit unfair and not entirely on point. Oh, well, the criticism will start any day.

So close! Just one more paragraph, just one more paragraph.

Awesomeness about having the French language Canadian stations, you get to hear stuff like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wkkf-y9yYLA (of which I only understand about half, because I think there's some idiomatic stuff going on that's over my head) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wkkf-y9yYLA

Giving up, now, in case that wasn't obvious. Got all ambitious and thought I'd get TWO things done today, but nope. I mean, I got something done on item two, but sometimes you just have to cut your losses. Excelsior.

Words, words, words! I'm so sick of words I write words all day through 'Til my fingers are blue, And then I can only use two! No, really. This process is insane. Write 100 words, cut it down to the 5 that are actually needed, repeat for at least an entire page's worth of content. Gah.

I assume "lit a fire under her ass" is not an appropriate idiom in a professional context.

There's something she mentions about group interviews in here. I hate group interviews, regardless of which side of them I'm on. I have yet to see what the benefit of such is and the mere fact of one makes me seriously consider just saying forget it, it's not my kind of culture. I mean, if I was trying out for a football team, I guess you could call that a group interview but there's a kind of obvious reason for it, then.  http://www.askamanager.org/2015/10/what-to-say-if-you-want-to-walk-out-of-a-horrible-intervew.html http://www.askamanager.org/2015/10/what-to-say-if-you-want-to-walk-out-of-a-horrible-intervew.html

More talk, less drugs. Alternatively: Blah, blah, blah, olanzapine Blah, blah, blah, olanzapine https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/study-suggests-new-way-to-treat-people-after-first-schizophrenia-episode/2015/10/19/7a901a74-72c1-11e5-9cbb-790369643cf9_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/study-suggests-new-way-to-treat-people-after-first-schizophrenia-episode/2015/10/19/7a901a74-72c1-11e5-9cbb-790369643cf9_story.html

Cue episode of TV Medical Melodrama, also jokes: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2015/10/19/this-student-had-seizures-but-only-when-he-played-sudoku/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2015/10/19/this-student-had-seizures-but-only-when-he-played-sudoku

I got something done. Which means I am now annoying other people with it while trying to finish other things with which to impose on other people.

Bugger just about everything for a lark. #justsaying

I heard part of this on the radio, and it was so bizarre that I listened to the whole thing online. This is SO messed up, on so many levels, in so many ways. Aside from the wack job conspiracy theories, which, my god people are stupid. This is a terrifying view of imnsho cold, calculating extremism. Something that is not unique to any one group, any one label. There's also, sadly, a small but critical blind spot (sounds to me, anyway) where they talk about the fact that for whatever reason, the authorities in Israel just didn't think an Israeli, especially a Jewish one, no matter how radicalized, would kill an Israeli. That's a horrible, sad lesson. Now we all call that "domestic terrorism", I guess to separate it from "those people" being just "terrorists", because even we still keep assuming that it had to be someone else, someone from outside. No American would do that (implied in America). I'm not sure we've learned it, yet. It...

The weather was better today, so went on a leaf viewing jaunt. I'd have stopped and taken more pictures, but my dad came with so it was more of a long drive. However, we had lunch in Warsaw, so pics. P.S. If you are ever leaf viewing in Western NY, Route 20A cuts through the heart of commercial Maple Sugar farm territory, so excellent for fall leaf color. Also good for maple syrup, esp in about February or March if you want to go when they are harvesting and boiling sap.

There was accumulated snow and frost on things this morning. Both. I mean, not a lot, but they were there.

I would like to say I am gobsmacked, because I am, except that it sounds unbelievably familiar. RVUs, FTEs, person who saw 80 patients/day, patient satisfaction surveys, how fast did they get patients out of the hospital, etc. So disturbingly familiar. http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2014/09/hospitals-discourage-doctors-step-step-guide.html http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2014/09/hospitals-discourage-doctors-step-step-guide.html

If you've got 700 hours, you could build one, too! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1scj5sotD-E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1scj5sotD-E

You know how I feel about U of M losing, but no one was supposed to die (they're in the hospital) or suffer career threatening injuries (he's in the hospital). Especially not the hero of the game. http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2015/10/17/fan-has-heart-attack-in-the-big-house-following-last-play-of-michigan-michigan-state-game/ http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2015-10-18/jalen-watts-jackson-hip-injury-after-winning-td-michigan-state-miracle http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2015-10-18/jalen-watts-jackson-hip-injury-after-winning-td-michigan-state-miracle

The minimal snow from last evening has decided we needed its constant intermittent presence, punctuated by bursts of at-least-it's-not-hail graupel. Occasional bouts of sunshine bust the overcast, which means you get that awesome post-storm light. Then it goes back to overcast and precipitate. Man, I hope this does not presage another Little Ice Age winter.

Oh, lol. Just saw the end of the Michigan-Michigan game from yesterday. Am courteously excluding people whose feelings might be hurt from this post. Bwahahahaha. Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright; the band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light, and somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout; but there is no joy in Mudville (Ann Arbor) — mighty Casey (U of M) has struck out.

Those of you who live with other people - do you feel compelled to talk to them every single time you see them somewhere in your domicile? or are you capable of existing in the same space without requiring conversation and confirmation of your existence?

Aaand I guess I'm not going to drive and take that leaf tour train thingy. It's actively snowing there, and will be all day, mixed with rain.

Last night decided we would have snow. Not enough to be a bother, just enough to make sure we know winter is coming. Surprise.

So, basically this just happens all the time. The MN dentist just got scape-goated, I guess. http://mashable.com/2015/10/16/big-tusk-elephant-zimbabwe/#pzQxmWLZ0kq4 http://mashable.com/2015/10/16/big-tusk-elephant-zimbabwe/#pzQxmWLZ0kq4

I left the house to do something related to having a future, and I came back and was feeling pretty good. WIthin 5 minutes of entering the house, my mother started calling me on the intercom feature of the house phone. And kept letting it ring. Like that was going to fix the fact that I wasn't answering the phone. For 30-60 seconds, she just kept letting it ring. As it happens I was doing fun things like changing my clothes and checking my phone for messages and calling back and answering those messages, but none of that matters. Because if I don't answer the phone in the first 10-15 seconds, I'm not answering it. And if you can sit on the phone while it keeps endlessly ringing, nobody's dead and it's not an emergency. 2 minutes later I'm going downstairs to get a glass of water, because no glasses upstairs, and she's in the kitchen on the phone trying to intercom me again. Seriously? It would kill you to either wait, or if you're in such a big hurry, ju...

Oh, god, they're playing Glee and Pitch Perfect soundtracks. I can't even with this, right now. They're playing them really loudly. Like, you'd hear them if we were facetiming. Ugh.

Possibly too much caffeine. Insert jittery emoji here.

Ok. Have given in and am trying the caffeine for extra initiative. Also hopefully focus. It's ok. I only slept 4 hours last night, anyway, and not in the super functional hypomanic way, either.   #bigwordsarebetter    #d20ftw

Would somebody write a couple of essays and recommendation letters for me? I've been given a last minute opportunity that is a jump to the left, so to speak, but at least it's more than the no movement I've been otherwise experiencing? I am not good at writing this stuff and it totally stresses me out.  Meanwhile, I was trying to do things this morning and my mother interrupts to ask if I can help her friend connect her phone to the wireless. GAH, NO! I AM IN MY CAVE ROOM. Needless to say, I am not in the house.  (Goes off to dark corner muttering about rings and pocketses.)

Hey, Annette Dilick. Somehow, I do not have your email? May I request such? Text is good if you'd rather that than this. P.S. If you are running marathon this weekend, have fun!

Various discussions led me to this, which seems pretty well written. Lots to parse, but important points about pain and care. http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/08/do-people-in-pain-have-a-right-to-relief/375948/ http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/08/do-people-in-pain-have-a-right-to-relief/375948

Others have linked to this article, whose title is a bit misleading, since they point out that multiple nurses and triage staff didn't insist that this person's pain level required more attention and the system really does depend on multiple people and multiple contacts with the patient. If you waited for just the doctor (or PA or NP or medical student or resident, etc.) to come see you, it would often be a long wait. That aside, the personal stories of some others prompt me to mention something that is not about pain, but it is about dismissing females. I have an allergy. It can be very bad. I have had to be given epinephrine. Having had the first anaphylactic reaction at the age of 3, I am familiar with the whole thing. So I am somewhat able to remain outwardly coherent while my body is trying to permanently shut down. Nevertheless, if I walk in and tell you I am having a severe allergic reaction that is heading toward epinephrine time, I may need to be taken seriously. Fortu...

Having a little freak out moment. Feel free to join in if the mood strikes you.

The single most prominent example of pumpkin insanity is probably Trader Joe's. There's almost nothing without pumpkin available. They wouldn't keep offering it if it didn't sell, but it's a little deranged. In any case, their Frequent Flyer had an ad for their chicken pot pie (no pumpkin!) and I have to give props to the copy writers: When meat and poultry-filled pies were first conceived - evidence dates this as far back as the Roman Empire - it wasn't entirely surprising to cut into the pastry and be met with live birds flying out at you (evidence for this can be found in Game of Thrones).

My concentration has wandered off.

Another reason I have to get my life in order - there's nothing but Starbucks, and even that is stunted. No, really, there are probably 8 stand-alone stores in this metro area (not including Target, University, and other types of locations), and they don't even have a full blown Starbucks around here. There used to be a lot of coffee/cafe places thru the early 2000's. I don't know what happened, but they are gone and what little has appeared to fill in is terrible. I think my only option at this point is to consider Barnes and Noble, which is a Starbucks variant.  Ugh. How do people live like this?

I have to say, this google photos thing looks more like part of jezoween than something pleasantly nostalgic.

The weekend is over. We returned last night. There were regular moments of pleasant amongst the other moments, like wandering around the covered bridge (see other post), and some of the Friday and Saturday evening festivities. Sunday morning's brunch proved useful as much as anything. Allentown, one of many places I would never have thought I'd be going. However, it turns out there's some interesting stuff there and thereabouts. We also discovered a Turkish store/halal butcher/restaurant. We did not buy the giant tins of pre-grilled and peeled eggplant or the one of olives, although I was tempted. I do, however, have a big old chunk of pistachio halva. I also discovered that my father likes Turkish delight. Who knew. The food at the restaurant was yummy, too. Even my dad got annoying at me at one point during the weekend, and I'm pretty pissed about it, but I think he listened to me and stopped being stupid. He was in a lot of pain and my mom was my mom, so there was th...

Google tells me this is what I was doing 2 years ago. Looks like I was at Lake Canandaigua.

The oldest covered bridge in the county, right in Allentown. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogert_Covered_Bridge

I'm probably the last person who noticed this, but it is certainly one approach. "... assertions that the general public can remain calm while in possession of firearms in tense situations, when they can’t even handle a dildo, might be a bit off.” http://jezebel.com/university-of-texas-students-protest-open-carry-law-by-1736025107 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/texas-sex-toy-protest_561ae50fe4b0e66ad4c85480 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/texas-sex-toy-protest_561ae50fe4b0e66ad4c85480

"Kids’ gains in bone strength through physical play and team sports outweigh risks of forearm fractures." From an article about research on causes of fractures in kids, which are commonly forearms. It looked at boys and girls. While the associations were somewhat different, it suggested that activity and diet were important not just for kids as kids, but for their whole lives. Meanwhile, it also mentioned that there's been an uptick in the number of fractures in kids, which prompted the study, but seemingly is also prompting some parents to keep their kids away from physical activity. Conclusion of article? Don't do that. Activity is more likely to prevent than cause a fracture.

They are debating how many debates there should be. But there were too many and that hurt Mitt Romney. But it makes it look like Hillary is trying to deny her competitors equal opportunity. Good bloody grief, people. Here's a thought. How about we consider whether there is any substantive content to any of the debates, whether they provide any relevant information or insights for the public, or possibly whether the term "debate" applies to this process, at all? Maybe you could determine how many there should be and how long they go on by considering the subject matter that might need to be covered? Or you could just put marathons of old Scooby-Doo episodes on because you are rapidly making me far more interested in how Velma solves yet another conundrum or what is in those scooby snacks?

Finally watched the new Dr. Who stuff - does anyone care enough that I should put spoiler space? Ugh, fine. w h a t e v e r That's all you're gettin'. I've been pretty unenchanted since parts of Series 7 (I think that was when it got particularly bothersome). Anyway, I was completely not amused by the flopping around trying to figure out what we're doing in Series 8, thus the effort it took for me to convince myself to watch now. Oddly, in spite of multiple quibbles, I thought the opening 2 episodes were entertaining and hopeful. So I watched the next 2.  Yes, Peter Capaldi playing electric guitar is great. No, really, this could work. Lame bootstrap paradox/missing Beethoven blah blah blah explanations of unrelated pointlessness is, well, pointless. If you're going to write soliloquies/break the fourth wall, do something useful or entertaining with it. Telegraphing your every plot bit, and then filling in with a bunch of wasted time is pointless, as well. Pop c...

Randomly heard interview on PBS with Nobel Prize Econ winner and was surprised to hear him say that even though there are people who think they did it all themselves in re: success, no matter what, they probably had both help from sources other than themselves and luck. He's probably not real popular with some of our political and economic elite.

My family. Aauuuugghhh!

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving weekend.

I'm pretty sure my mother could make good money offering to teach classic passive aggressive interaction, now with extra finesse. She told my niece that she felt sorry for me because I looked so much nicer last night. ... ... That's leveling up, right there.

Future conductor? Scary! See also, "Long-Haired Hare", with bonus look-alike opera tenor (Stokowski rabbit at 4:47) http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2fdnv1

Tired, brain hurts, trapped with no wifi (left building, using phone). Scary religiousness - no cell phones allowed (hence being outside), no alcohol, and no caffeine. THERE'S NO CAFFEINE. How do they not understand that without caffeine, there is no god? Shoot me now.

An attempt to take a picture of fall color from a moving car. Near Cortland, NY. P.S. Have thus far survived journey with family. But alcohol therapy alcohol would already have helped.

This was taken about an hour after the one I posted this morning. (I seem to be having difficulties with the phone photo down/up loading thing). You can still see Venus, but it's not as clear in the photo as it was in person. Really impressively bright.

Morning.

My brother is the most well meaning ass on the face of the earth.

There are places to whom you cannot send an electronic transcript request and from whom you cannot receive an electronic copy thereof. The mind boggles. Some of these same places are charmingly clear that there is no amount of money that will expedite their efforts, either, nor can you pay for them to overnight snail mail. In 2015. Snail mail. Witice.

Inspired randomly (or was it?), we give you the much-maligned, misused, and misunderstood p-value. Plus or minus a few references. Since p-value is used in frequentist inference (and not Bayesian inference), it does not in itself support reasoning about the probabilities of hypotheses but is only as a tool for deciding whether to reject the null hypothesis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P-value http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientists-perturbed-by-loss-of-stat-tools-to-sift-research-fudge-from-fact/ http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientists-perturbed-by-loss-of-stat-tools-to-sift-research-fudge-from-fact

I'M AWAKE, I'M AWAKE, I HAD COFFEE, I'M AWAKE! let's see how long this lasts

Oh. On the subject of crazy families, assuming I want to try dying in a blizzard (twice), do the DDFS know what they might be doing Thanksgiving?

I should go to bed, but I am washing rugs.

My family is insane. No, mine. #codependencyrus

Brain spill - One of the reasons I've always liked my hiking/outdoors trips is I only had to bring one wardrobe. Flew or drove in hiking clothes, hiked in hiking clothes. Easy, one bag. I've never loved traveling with 25 outfits like I was going to NY Fashion Week. Then again, if I was skinny enough to attend Fashion Week, the outfits would involve so little fabric I could probably fit 25 of them into a handbag. * Brought to you by someone dealing with a trip they probably don't want to go on, anyway. * Still need second handbag for makeup and accessories. Duh.

Today included painfully extensive clearing of the ground around the apricot trees, manually re-sodding section of lawn, removal of dead mouse (courtesy of local feline) from lawn, laundry, daily cleaning of kitchen (I do not get how this can possibly be necessary, but it is), a feint at working on some paperwork, and cooking yummies from farmer's market. The apricot trees are, indeed, infested with peach borers, so I am doing a lot of manual work around them in an attempt to keep the trees. The arborist came out and is determining what the best timing is to do the multiple [poison] treatments needed to ditch the wretched moth larvae. On the upside, he said there's no fungus, it's all bugs. Fungus would be a no hoper. Meanwhile, now that I have cleared the area around the trees, I will mulch, leaving some space around the trunk. I have also negotiated with the parents that I can remove the basically buried landscaping bricks that were originally put there as a defensive bar...

Augh! Work, brain! Work!

There was this adorable affenpinscher mix at the adoption booth today. Poor thing was so thin, I could feel her hip bones when I petted her. She was a surrender because she apparently freaked out when the 8 month old started chasing and grabbing fur, etc. Anyway, she was pretty much exactly like the breed standard - super energetic, bouncy - and while I initially thought she'd be good for my mom, after playing with her a little got the impression she might be a tough train. Looking up the standard, I see that they are, indeed, tough to train. My dad would be no problem, I'd be fine if I paid attention and was consistent, but she'd walk all over my mom, quite possibly literally. Oh, well. Someone will adopt her.

It's 40 some degrees out there (F). Who ordered this? I don't remember ordering this! Honestly, now I'm going to have to get out winter clothing for maybe one day, and then it's going to go back into the 60's. Highly inefficient.

Here, have some adorable cuteness, with obligatory rubber duck.

Somebody is blowing stuff up around here. Is there a holiday or something I don't know about?

So far today: 1. Car is fixed, yay! 2. Tree is definitely infested with borers, but they can treat them. I just have to do some pre treatment with digging all the grass and weeds, and get some mulch for later protection. 3. Legs are major muscle sore. That would be because whatever happened that affected my SI joints in August has taken bloody forever to try and clear up and I exercised a tiny bit yesterday for realz. So it's that "good" sore, from functional exercise. I hope my ability to get back to regular exercising is going to continue without too much SI issues.

Gratefulness exercise. Pretty sure this is not supposed to include such things as: Today I am grateful that I did not offer to permanently alleviate Mother's stress.

I suppose this is cute? If you like that sort of thing.

Why do I watch the news, like, ever? Genuine "breaking news", the President speaking, which they showed most of. Then came the comments and the discussion and the endless twaddle. Why any of this still penetrates enough to bother me is a mystery. Nonetheless, the twaddle from almost everyone, commentator, expert, reporter, pundit, etc. decided that the President needed "to lead", and needed "to have a plan" if he wanted to see change in regards to gun violence.  Oh, and his plan should be acceptable to "the other side" so it will pass as legislation. Which sounds nice, except that based on past attempts to pass any kind of gun legislation, there is nothing that is acceptable to those opposed to gun legislation. Almost none of whom, I am quite sure, belong to a well regulated militia. #colddeadhands

Things which I have had today: fresh, hot, Paula's Donuts pumpkin spice donut.

Quick, follow our advice! Wait, no, don't! Wait, sometimes! Ok, just eat food. Maybe!  Sigh. http://www.nbcnews.com/health/diet-fitness/calcium-supplements-or-dairy-doesnt-strengthen-bones-study-finds-n435726 http://www.nbcnews.com/health/diet-fitness/calcium-supplements-or-dairy-doesnt-strengthen-bones-study-finds-n435726

Ok, what is this new "Featured Collections" thing that is showing up repeatedly in my g+ feed?