Jilli, Kristin and I would let you play with fire and swirl with sparklers.

Oh, see, I was going to ask why Jilli couldn't remind you of your partner's birthday, but if you're going to be stingy, it serves you right. I suppose you don't let her play with the clicky fire stick, either.

If any of us let Jilli play with fire, we'd be facing the Wrath of Pete.

For sharp objects, lather, rinse, repeat.

(For the record, after nine years with my husband, my in-laws still don't remember when my birthday is. Paul only remembers because I drilled it into him. The whole family is kind of iffy on the exact when of birthdays.)

Yay NORA!!!!

Nora, I totally read that as GRADE school on first pass.

I will take your word for it that the "e" is not there. I wouldn't have been surprised if it were. I'm Typo McTyposen lately.

Thanks for the congrats! I'm very pleased. Especially since I'd resigned myself to the fact that I *hadn't* gotten in... it's the old reverse-jinx trick.

I called my grandma. She is validating to an extreme, only in the way the most awesomest of awesome grandmas can be. She was happy that FINALLY one of our generation is going to BC. (My grandfather, and great uncle did, my parents and my uncle did... a whole thing) Also, she's cute. "They are blessed to have you! I'm not prejudiced. I'm just looking at the facts!" Aw. Grandma!

cereal- Teppy's tag made me blanch, then laugh like a drain.

"They are blessed to have you! I'm not prejudiced. I'm just looking at the facts!"

She's right, of course.

WOO NORA!

(Those aren't asscaps, they're awecaps.)

Which, I confess, I still don't understand. If it's low-tech, how is it cyberpunk?

Hard to explain. The book the Diamond Age is set in the future that is filled with very advanced nanotechnology, but some groups of people adhere to different lifestyles that embrace Old World craftsmanship and beauty. It's a bizarre mix of the low and the high tech.

William Gibson (the father of Cyberpunk) also peppers his stories with people that embrace low tech along side of high tech genetic manipulation. Sometimes by idealism, sometimes by necessity.

Cyberpunk also contains a strong element of living outside of the system.

Alfredo is a saint with more patience than Pete. I'm *not* kidding. I'm moody, tempermental, prone to loud outraged shouting at the computer screen when reading the news or (gods forbid) LiveJournal or when playing video games (sometimes, Some People in my EQ guild are SOOOO STUPID I wonder why their brainstems haven't KILLED THEM out of pity). He never fails to laugh at me and keep on keepin' on.

I don't REALLY completely forget his birthday, but I do have to ask him 'when exactly is it?' and this year he turned the tables on me.

Me: "My birthday's on a Thursday this year."

Him: "What day is that?"

Me: *boggles* "My birthday is April 1st - how can you forget THAT date?"

Him: *smirks*

Me: *threatens to hit him with a giant plush microbe*

--

I learned to deny Jilli all her dangerous-toy requests when Pete threatened to take his violent tendencies out of Halo/Halo 2 and practice them on me in real life. I believe him. He's taller than me and can be *very* convincing.

(I got him good, though, dressing up as a Magic card character at their *wedding* - a character he painted. *snicker*)