Book Club announcement and Spoiler warning

Using classic Buffista tested and approved techniques for swift decision-making, and in an attempt to dewhitefontify Literary, it was decided that the next selection for the Book Club thread is Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince, by J.K. Rowling, with full fontal discussion beginning immediately. Those who don't want to be spoiled, you may want to avoid the thread until you've read the book, or until discussion has ended.

Watch this space for more exciting announcements about upcoming selections, including a popular graphic novel, and a possible Project Gutenberg classic available online as well as at your local library or bookstore.

Not that big of a deal, but - I've earned two free song downloads from the Connect Music Store. I have no need of two free music downloads. Anybody want 'em? If so, e me at profile addy, I'll forward the code and whatnot.

This is something I've been meaning to post, but not until I saw it actually hit store shelves.

For diabetic people, and those who think they might be:

A1C Home Test

I found it at Wal-Mart, near the testing kits, for around $18. I found a coupon elsewhere for another $3 off via mail-in rebate.

A year ago, a month out of the hospital, I was part of a test group for this product and it was very accurate in my A1c results.

The Buffistas Cookbook is a go! With 50 voters, 79% said they would like a Buffistas Cookbook. So, off we go!

It’s time to start collecting recipes. Please send recipes to buffistascookbook at gmail dot com. Please include as much of the following information as you can:

Recipe Name
Recipe Description
Source (your Buffista name and also where you got the recipe…handed down from grandma, cookbook, etc.)
Which Meal?
Food Category (Main Dish, Vegetable, Side Dish, Dessert, etc.)
Vegetarian or Vegan?
Time to Prepare
Number of Servings
Calories Per Serving (if known)
Nutritional Information (if known)
Ingredients
Instructions (numbered)
Notes
Utensils Needed

We will be collecting recipes until Monday, September 12. I will post a few reminders between now and then.

Feel free to send as many recipes as you would like to include. We want this to be a great resource for everyone. But, if you don’t have time to send many, consider sending just one of your favorites. We’d love to see as many people as possible be involved in this project.

I have a goal to have this ready with plenty of time to make it a great Secret Santa gift. It looks like the cost will probably be around $10, but that will be confirmed when we know the cost of printing, etc.

Pull out those recipe cards and get typing!

ETA: If you have a picture of the recipe made, send that along too. It will probably be printed in B&W, but it would still be nice to have some pictures of recipes in the book.

More Australian screenings of Serenity

Attn L.A.-istas!

Y'know how Pete and I are going to be in town over Halloween weekend? Well, I just found out that Goth legends Bauhaus are going to be playing at the The Wiltern LG on Oct. 28th, 29th, and 30th. So! Who wants to go see Bauhaus with me? Drop me a line at my profile addy so we can figure out what night.

(x-posted to F2F)

Joss fanboys over Veronica Mars.

so if you just needed one more reason to watch this show, there you go.

New worm/trojan/virus/nasty variant alert:

W32.Beagle.CE@mm is a mass-worm that uses its own SMTP engine to send out copies of Trojan.Tooso.L. The worm also opens a back door on the compromised computer on TCP port 80.

[link]

I just got this attachment in my mac.com email as an attachment called Work and Taxes.zip. Luckily i'm not averagej oe and checked with Symantec.

Symantec site says it was just reported to them yesterday.

Dorothy L. is doing a fandom particpation survey in her Live Journal, here. She'll be using the information for her doctoral dissertation. You can post anonymously, and do not have to be an LJ user to do so. It's quick, and easy. Please help out a fellow fan.

--thanks

Because of a discussion I was having in Natter or Bitches a few months ago, I've finally gotten around to started a new LJ community for teachers. It's called "teacher_oasis" and can be found here. The profile description is as follows:

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Teacher Oasis Our own private island to talk shop.

About: What happens when a group of teachers starts talking at a party? Do we talk about current events or television or our new pedicures? Maybe at first...but inevitably, the conversation turns to the job that eats us alive ten months of the year. Teachers love to talk about teaching. We commiserate and compare notes. We give each other book suggestions and analyze the mysteries of student behavior. We also tend to drive every non-educator around us screaming from the room.

I've created this community to be a teacher oasis: a place for educators to discuss issues, strategies, and content relevant to life in their classes. You can ask questions or look for suggestions, and I encourage you to do so. One of the best things about this career is that we are never alone. Someone out there has had the same problem or designed the same unit, and all of our classrooms benefit when we freely share ideas and information.

At times, this forum may also be a place to vent about situations you're facing at work: administration, students, parents, etc. If you choose do so, please remember that this is a public forum with no assurance of privacy--you should always use pseudonyms for your school, your colleagues and bosses, and especially your students and their families. It is my hope that venting does not become the focus of this community unless you are actively seeking solutions to the problem you are facing. We are certainly here to support each other, but we are primarily here as a group of professionals pooling our experience and knowledge to improve our practices. I encourage a comfortable and informal tone to this community, but please do keep your posts and comments professional and collegial at all times.

Some people may join because they are considering entering the profession or because education fascinates them, and we welcome you as well.

Personally, I am beginning my ninth year as a high school teacher of English. I have taught on both US coasts and in public and private schools, and even when my job is making me insane, I have an incredible passion for it. I come from a long line of teachers: both of my parents were in teaching for 37 years before they retired, and my grandparents taught for years as well. My great-grandmother taught in a one-room schoolhouse in rural New England. My father claims that this is a sign of a troubling genetic flaw, this tendency to be drawn to dealing with all the stresses of teaching. I think he's joking. Mostly. We all sometimes wonder why exactly we do this.

I have also been through the National Board Certification process and became an NBCT in 2002, so I'll happily share my experiences with it, especially if you are considering becoming one yourself.

So...all that said, welcome to the teacher oasis! Sit back, sip a Mai Tai, and let's talk shop.

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If you are a teacher or interested in education, please join!