because of ita's links before I am now looking at flatware. I have some stuff from thrift stores that I would love to find full sets of, but I do not know names and I am sure it it no longer being made.

Exciting, Scrappy!

Anyone who want me to be a bridesmaid would probably be having a gothy, steampunk, pirate, or other "alternative style" wedding, which means I never have to worry about bridesmaid dresses again.

Jilli, if a close friend was having a very traditional wedding and asked you to be in it and wear a very traditional dress, would you accept?

warning - somewhat icky photos (mostly just blood), and somewhat more icky text

Trepanation diary: [link]

This weekend I had a hole drilled through my skull. I read that this increased one’s consciousness permanently. I read about the supposed de-conditioning properties. I read about more parts of the brain working simultaneously as there would be more blood up there to help this happen. The arguments for it all seemed to be quite lengthy, quite detailed, thought out and researched, and very intelligent. The arguments against it were based solely on the opinion that it is ‘crazy’ and talk like, "What’s more conscious than conscious?". I heard from an acquaintance on telephone that she was glad she had done it, felt more mental energy, and had days of brilliance. I came to believe that the key to a permanent consciousness increase was a hole in the skull, to restore the full brain pulsation of infancy. After several months of research, discussion, speculation, watching surgical videos and trepanation documentaries, and even an actual viewing of a trepanation, I decided I certainly did want to be trepanned, and sought a way to do it.

Then the diarist goes on to describe the procedure, and the resulting positive effects.

But check out the final diary entry:

I have come to the frustrating conclusion that the trepanation has had no lasting effect. I mean, the effects were subtle the whole time anyway and they appear to have worn off. I have considered that very likely it was a combination of two things. One, the blood most certainly did rush up to those unused parts of the brain pretty intensely and very regularly for the first few weeks while I was healing, and very likely drawn back out of those areas now. Two, I was more attentive to every sensation and all somatic input because I was just being very attentive consciously in an attempt to notice the effects. Since I paid more attention to everything, it was all a little more intense, yes. As much I hate to realize it, I believed what I wanted to believe.

Oh well....

Oh, Scrappy! I hope!

You'd think it was snowpocalypse part deux!

We just haven't had a proper snowfall in too many years. People are getting soft.

Cartoon which I resemble more than I like to admit: [link]

Jilli, if a close friend was having a very traditional wedding and asked you to be in it and wear a very traditional dress, would you accept?

Yes, absolutely. I just can't think of any of my friends who *would* have a very traditional wedding.

Susan, if you haven't already done so, you must see that xkcd in the original context: the hover text makes it even better (as it does most days) [link]

Oh, the hover text is brilliant!

Randall Munroe is the first great hover-text artist.