It is shocking to me how much work I should be getting done today, and how little motivation I have to do any of it. I guess I've gotten off to an OK start, but I think I might have already used up all my juice.

They also discriminate against atheists, right?

Only unofficially -- being non-Christian makes you much more likely to get their "Sorry, we just don't have anyone for you!" message after the initial survey, but it's not 100%.

I have to say, they matched me with a ton of non-Christians (other religions and non-religious), and I did identify myself as Christian.

He also demanded and introduction to my friend who came back from Central America with Dengue Fever, because he really wanted a blood sample or two.

My mom's friend who lives in Singapore caught that. She said it was awful. Don't they call it the "bone crushing disease"?

It's the first of the month in so many ways today. Gnarg. I don't want to do any of it!

Steampunk Magazine issue #2 is out: [link]

Guide to steampunk fashion:

Explorers are, by definition “persons who investigate unknown regions”. Take a nod from this when dressing yourself, as well. Think tailored garments, but more military-influenced and less I- bought- this- at- the- suit- shop. Leather, silk, linen, tall boots, pith helmets, flying goggles — the list of explorer gear goes on. Try wearing mid-length skirts with the hems buckled up to reveal breeches or cotton bloomers. Billowing sleeves or bustled skirts with tight leather vests or corsets are a definite. Borrow Middle-Eastern and Indian flair from belly dance fashion or take a nod from pioneer garb. Wrap tons of leather belts about your waist and hips or use a piece of rope to tie up your pants or skirt. Ladies — search Ebay or vintage stores for old-fashioned medical cinchers with fan lacing. Gentlemen — tuck your trousers into the tops of your boots and hang a compass and pocketwatch from your belt or rock a kilt and sporran. Mod your own steampunk ray gun from a water pistol and some aerosol paint and wedge it into your belt or your stockings.

eta: Fashion drawing here: [link]

I don't know what the nickname for it is, DJ. When we were in Guatemala there were a lot of TV PSAs about the symptoms, etc., and I was surprised that with all the other shots and warnings and malaria pills I had to take, this was something the doc didn't mention.

They had no idea what was wrong with her until her pilot husband told her to look up dangue fever. Crazy.

Exclusive: TB Patient Asks Forgiveness but Defends Travel

In an exclusive interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer, tuberculosis patient Andrew Speaker said he never thought others were at risk for catching his deadly disease.

"I'm very sorry for any grief or pain that I have caused anyone," Speaker said from his isolation room in the National Jewish Hospital in Denver. "I think if people look at my life, that's not … not how I live my life."

...

Speaker said he never thought he was sick enough to infect others. He felt fine two weeks ago, walking around, jogging and trying cases as usual. He told Sawyer he had a tape recording of a meeting with health officials that he said would confirm his view that it was OK to travel in his condition.

"I hope they understand, based on what I was told didn't think I was making that gamble," he said. "I truly believe that there is a misunderstanding of how we entered into all of this. I hope they understand that at every turn it was conveyed to me that my family, my wife, my daughter, no one was at risk. And that I was not contagious. And that I never would have put my family at risk and my daughter at risk."

Doctors say they told Speaker not to travel. Speaker said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health organizations advised him against travel but didn't stop him.

He told Sawyer he had a tape recording of a meeting with health officials

Who makes tape recordings of meetings like this?