Congrats Hec and JZ! So very happy for you both!

I was 6 when my sister was born and 7 when we got my brother.

Loved my sister. Demanded my parents take my brother back and trade him in for another girl.

Demanded my parents take my brother back and trade him in for another girl.

Aimee, this is exactly why Allie still calls David "Rachel", she still wants a sister and it's been 10 years!

Katefate, I think you should pitch that sitcom. America's almost ready, but the drag queens will have to be able to have relationships.

Well, relationships, quest of could be entire episodes. First one would have to be called "Hello, Daddy!" How many times did I hear that on shopping expeditions in search of size 13 pumps.

>Katefate, they should film that and show it every Christmas.

Lord, it was entertaining. I kind of wonder how it would translate to the general public. But, at the time, I was The Outsider learning about gay culture from them, so there's that.

flea, virtual calamine-ma to you until they find the optimum solution.

Aw, don't cry. It was such a sweet moment.

It was the sweetness that overwhelmed me. My reactions surprised me more than anything. Glad your car's in working order now, at least.

Kathy, cool HITG! moment! Eek about the car/apt accident, though. Do you know if it will have any lasting impact to the other tenants or the building?

Off to put out another user fire. I'm not getting anything written. Well, except the occasional b.org post, which is productive only in my book here at work.

Ha! Aimee, that reminds me of my brother. He's the eldest, and Cindy came two years later. When the folks were headed for the car for the arrival of #3, he ran out the house yelling, "Don't come back if it's another danged old girl!"

Guess who spoiled Marcia the worst?

University of Texas builds proto-Bender:

And, while most artificial muscles are powered by electrickery, Baughman has used raw booze to get his muscles to contract and do the job your right arm’s for.

The muscles are built out of an elastic metal called shape memory wire. Baughman explains that the material contracts when heated. The contraction, he says "is like the contraction of arm muscles in our body."

The shape memory wire is coated with a catalyst and alcohol added. The subsequent reaction with oxygen in the air causes the mixture to burn, heating the muscle until it contracts.

They really need to add a speaker and a recording that says "Bite my shiny metal ass" whenever the arm flexes.

Eek about the car/apt accident, though. Do you know if it will have any lasting impact to the other tenants or the building?

They didn't say anything yet, but since they only have plywood covering the open hole in the building and nothing bracing the outside wall up, I'm guessing that the weight-bearing part wasn't affected. Which is good, because my balcony is only two flights up from the hole!

My sister was such a great baby. Quiet, happy, rarely cried.

My brother Never. Shut. Up. Always screaming, always crying, not any fun at all. I remember banging on my parents door at 3 am, my brother screaming in his crib and said, "You REALLY need to take him back. Or put him in the basement."

Aimee, this is exactly why Allie still calls David "Rachel", she still wants a sister and it's been 10 years!

Dawn, I am laughing out loug. Literally. Embarassingly. In my office.

Does she commonly call him Rachel or only when he's being a weasel?

(And a sneaky hi-five to Topic!Cindy, who voiced my own suspicions a couple weeks back...)

Yeah, Cindy totally glommed onto JZ's not entirely subtle revelation that she was sleepy and blurpy. ("What're you doing talking about how you feel in front of Buffistas!?! All they do is try to figure out the next plot revelation!")

I don't know if you all recall my story of how JZ and I got engaged, but I did have to work through a lot of issues about becoming a parent again. One thing that tipped me over was thinking about that picture JZ used as her icon over on WX, when she was a toddler and was standing there playing with her ear. And she had dark wavy hair and big eyes and looked watchful and smart and sweet and strong. And I thought, "Yeah, I'd like a little girl like that."

The other thing was an image that came to my mind of Jacqueline being pregnant and my hand was on her belly and she looked up into my face and smiled. And when I thought about that I wanted it. I thought, "I would want to meet the person that was half me and half her and wholely themself."

So. I'm very happy that Jacqueline is pregnant and particuarly pleased that it's a girl this time.