Fred: So you don't worry that it's possible for someone to send out a biological or electronic trigger that effectively overrides your own sense of ideals and values and replaces them with an alternative coercive agenda that reduces you to a mindless meat puppet? Shopkeeper: Wow. People used to think that I was paranoid.

'Time Bomb'


Natter 58: Let's call Venezuela!  

Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.


Steph L. - May 30, 2008 7:57:36 am PDT #9780 of 10001
the hardest to learn / was the least complicated

I'm hoping/praying/offering-sacrifices-to-the-gods that my hair will turn that gleaming white

I'm hedging my bets that my hair will go silver/white like my dad's. My stylist told me, the last time I was in, that she doesn't see ANY grey/white/silver in my hair yet, which seems odd.


§ ita § - May 30, 2008 8:00:35 am PDT #9781 of 10001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.

I concur with the people that concur with Steph and Sparky, Tom. Take a weekend off and take care of yourself.

I wouldn't call that a big gap in terms of cultural trends.

I'd thought the song was later, but I'd also never closely associated MILF with American Pie, and thought the term predated the movie. Not really going to do much research from work, though.


Tom Scola - May 30, 2008 8:02:16 am PDT #9782 of 10001
Mr. Scola’s wardrobe by Botany 500

Take a weekend off and take care of yourself.

Unfortunately, spending the weekend alone isn't going to help either.


Toddson - May 30, 2008 8:04:26 am PDT #9783 of 10001
Friends don't let friends read "Atlas Shrugged"

Joining in with the chorus, Tom. Take care of yourself - do something nice for yourself.

And ... isn't therapy the place for a meltdown? You have someone there whose purpose is to help you through meltdowns and the other bad times.


Lee - May 30, 2008 8:06:27 am PDT #9784 of 10001
The feeling you get when your brain finally lets your heart get in its pants.

do something nice for yourself.

Like come to SF!


§ ita § - May 30, 2008 8:07:55 am PDT #9785 of 10001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.

spending the weekend alone isn't going to help either.

It doesn't have to be alone. It just has to be about you and healing.


Jesse - May 30, 2008 8:09:00 am PDT #9786 of 10001
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be.

I'm just going to say, Tom, don't make any decisions right now. Your thing tonight is a party, right? So you can just go or not go when the time comes. You don't have to decide right now that your weekend is a disaster. Even if your afternoon today kind of is.


Amy - May 30, 2008 8:11:43 am PDT #9787 of 10001
Because books.

I wish I had a car and, oh, $200 for gas, because I would totally drive down and spend the weekend with you, Tom. We could compare favorite NY places!


Susan W. - May 30, 2008 8:25:03 am PDT #9788 of 10001
Good Trouble and Righteous Fights

Really random question for the hivemind...

We have an incoming intern for our summer program whose health insurance is through his seminary on the East Coast and doesn't provide good coverage in Seattle. He wants to know if there's any way he could buy short-term insurance out here. Does anyone have any idea how such things work in general? Should I just call a couple of local insurers and see if they have something?


amych - May 30, 2008 8:29:13 am PDT #9789 of 10001
Now let us crush something soft and watch it fountain blood. That is a girlish thing to want to do, yes?

Susan, have you checked with your university hr/benefits people? Even if they don't provide short-term policies, I'm sure they get asked the question often enough that they'll know where to call -- just think of all the visiting scholars etc. who come in to any given uni for a summer or a semester from places where they don't normally have to think about such things...

(Also, they guy's home insurance may have some kind of add-on rider/travel policy that they can sell him as a supplement to his normal policy.)