NEW YORK -- The city's transit workers, one month to the day after they stranded 7 million riders with a crippling three-day strike, voted Friday to reject their new three-year contract by a margin of just seven votes.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE. (My understanding is it's an out-of-control radical faction of the union.) Bob was telling me this morning that the union wants to lower the retirement age to 20.

Dear Transit Union,

Get Your Shit Together, NOW

Love, NYC

did the concussion occur that time you fainted

This. Still no word on why I fainted.

I am about to be fries and duck curry.

In future, please only faint languidly onto downy pillows. Thank you.

There really isn't enough languid in my life. Must redress.

Jonathan Rhys-Meyers has been cast as Henry VIII in a Showtime production called The Tudors.

What a strange reaction!

We figured it must be that he thought you were talking to him, and he liked to be carried when you talked to him. If there was a person standing nearby, he didn't do it. Also? You were guaranteed to stay in one spot and lavish attention on him, what with the short cord and all.

He had some odd tics. We handraised him from a couple days old, so some were probably our fault. He was a very nice cat.

I am a listerine strip, if I were to believe other people's fortunes.

Mmm, shoes.... but I can't get over there today. Maybe this weekend. Though I'm still in post-holiday frugal till it hurts mode, so....

(I don't need to be. I think it is just the horror of the Big Numbers on my cc-statement. Even though they are/were totally budgetted for. They are just Big.)

God, I love good fries. Or maybe I love ketchup. Either way, it works out.

Plus--pineapple duck curry.

This is sad:

Kids' views on scientists
London's Science Learning Centre surveyed 11,000 adolescents about their opinion of science and scientists. The results they've reported so far are a bummer. Meanwhile, the numbers of 16-18 year-olds taking physics, chemistry, and math A-level courses have dropped big time over the last 15 years. From the BBC News:

Around 70% of the 11-15 year olds questioned said they did not picture scientists as "normal young and attractive men and women"...

They found around 80% of pupils thought scientists did "very important work" and 70% thought they worked "creatively and imaginatively". Only 40% said they agreed that scientists did "boring and repetitive work".

Over three quarters of the respondents thought scientists were "really brainy people".

Among those who said they would not like to be scientists, reasons included: "Because you would constantly be depressed and tired and not have time for family", and "because they all wear big glasses and white coats and I am female".

[link]

I'm tangerine orange zinger tea. Lots and lots of it--for some reason it's tasting extra good this afternoon.