This morning I read that child sex tours are becoming popular in Georgia, and detailed a 16 year old girl who is sold to up to 17 men a night.

I read that yesterday. Nice. Apparently you get less jail time for doing this in America than if you go abroad.

I've honestly never felt like victimisation like this is a gender problem. I tend to see it as a human problem, I guess. I don't view it as a men vs. women sort of thing. I realise that in many places women are second class citizens, but no moreso than children, the elderly or the disabled are in some places too.

I used to love cream soda. Now just thinking about it rots my enamel. I like two sodas--Ting and ginger ale. I occasionally get Coke cravings, when I'm having a sore throat. But that's about it.

If they could make them less sweet, that'd be great. Because I do really like the fizz.

Aspartame is a migraine trigger of mine. I don't like the taste of Sucralose, but have realised that it might not be a trigger, and I'd be okay consuming things that managed to hide its taste.

Which really came out of nowhere, but reminds me of the other non-sequitur. What, other than upping a calcium intake, can be done to get stronger nails?

I've honestly never felt like victimisation like this is a gender problem. I tend to see it as a human problem, I guess. I don't view it as a men vs. women sort of thing.

But it is. It's the notion that women aren't people.

can be done to get stronger nails?

I've always been told eating jelly works, but I don't know if that's an old wives' tale or not. That would be jelly, the wibbly stuff, Jell-o as it's known on distant shores.

It's the notion that women aren't people.

No one other than themselves are people to many of the people who like power. Women, children, foreigners, black people, Jews, Arabs, gays, Republicans, Democrats, whatever. There are so few people left.

Glue plastic to them? That's the only thing that's every accomplished that for me. Beyond a certain point, it's genetics.

Nail strengtheners? Though I honestly have no idea if they work.

At my office we have a big "cut down on car use" thing every year. A man involved in the effort tried to sell me on the idea of biking to work. When I mentioned the whole traffic problem, he said that when he biked in--at 6 am in the middle of winter--there was next to no traffic. He didn't understand why a woman would see biking through a sketchy urban area in the dark would be the slightest bit unsafe. My telling him that I didn't want to end up raped, killed, and dumped in one of the many local construction sites just didn't register.

It's the willfullnes of the ignorance that gets me. He can ignore that safety is a problem, and look down on me for not biking through high crime areas in the dark. I don't have that luxury.

But it is. It's the notion that women aren't people.

I don't see it as any more 'wrong' than homophobia or the treatment of children in some societies, by men and women of all ages. And I don't think it's as easy to view those situations in such a dichotomous way.

My nails are so soft! It's driving me crazy. I spend so much time filing them because they're always splitting and catching on something. And I'm fairly sure it's why I can't hold a manicure for 24 hours. I get enough calcium, dammit!