I'm glad it worked out easily, Vortex.

eta: I hope they figure out what's up with Senor S. soon.

yeah, I wasn't worried about it, the maintenance people here are good.

Glad it got fixed quickly, Vortex!

That's scary about the bug spray. I hope S. Sock is OK!

There's surprisingly little traffic for Memorial Day weekend. Nevertheless, I plan to not leave the house again today. It's bloody hot and muggy out.

I am catching up on this week's Ellens - Dance music currently - This is How We Do It. GOOD TIMES!

A/C full on. Set at 76, but still full on.

I hope Senor Sock is Okay, Tommy.

I hope Senor Sock is Okay, Tommy.

Yes! Poor little guy! I hope there's nothing else going on.

My diabetic cat's diabetes came on gradually, mostly I noticed he had lost weight. He's done well on the insulin but sadly has shown no signs of the diabetes going away. I've known some other cats who have gotten over it though.

I should join a Zen monastery. Thing is, I want to be a monk, not a nun. Chicks can do that, right? I actually think I've met a female Buddhist monk. I wonder what the distinction is.

Knees suck. That's not news. Building a better mousetrap is all well and good, but how should a better knee be designed? I want something specific to dream of when I'm doing my PT exercises.

Knees suck. That's not news. Building a better mousetrap is all well and good, but how should a better knee be designed? I want something specific to dream of when I'm doing my PT exercises.

It's our stupid quadruped heritage. Lots of the human body is a not 100% successful adaptation from our non-bipedal ancestors. Which makes me wonder - shouldn't the Intelligent Design advocates be required to explain all those flaws intelligently designed into the human body?

ita, I spent time at Samye Ling, about a half hour north of Lockerbie, Scotland (long story). It is(or was) the largest Buddhist retreat center outside of Asia. I met many a female monk there. It's a lovely place and well worth a visit.

This was in 1995, when I was on a walkabout.

One young man kept sort of staring at me in a non-creepy, yet persistent way. As I was preparing to leave, he came to me and sort of stuttered, "You should stay. You belong here." Um. Thnxkbye...I'm on my way to the Faeroe Islands, Dude. But thanks.

A Huge and very bald female monk (with black horn rimmed glasses secured with a big black croakie around her 12lb bowling ball head...cute!) drove me to the train.

At one point, she broke a very tense silence to ask me what the young man had said to me. I told her and she immediately calmed down and said, "Oh. You'll be back. You are meant to take robes."

Me: What makes you say that?
Her: That man has not spoken since he got here. We thought he couldn't.
Me: He can't speak?
Her: Well. He hasn't since he's been here. He had some sort of trauma and we just thought he couldn't.
Me: Neat. How long has he been here?
Her: 7 years.
Me: ...
Her: Oh, you'll be back.

Have you been back, Beej? Do you know what the difference between a female monk and a nun is?

Tommy, I was completely sure you'd be the first person to comment on the knee. How would you fix it? How does robotics (in the cases where they're basically mimicking our physicality) do it? I have had too much time at physical therapy staring at their wall charts. Nucleus pulposus indeed.

Okay, now I have to go rescue my Roomba.

Before that: Vagina Power. It's strangely compelling. Visuals are totally work safe, audio less so.