Hmm, I don't have specific book recommendations, but I've had good success with kiddos going googly-eyed/hypnotizedish at books with illustrations by Lois Ehlert.

vw, the vet tech is being cautious, just as Jessica says. Signed, I've taken my pup to a neurologist and an orthopedist in the past 2 months, but can't get myself to the dentist.

what's a good book for a 1 year-old that they probably don't have already?

Rosie and the Rustlers. Rhymed quatrains (well, mostly); watercolor illustrations, weird little people with big heads and hats... did I mention rhymed quatrains? pretty fun to read too. It's set in the old west, so there are guns (didn't think it was a problem, but nsm with one mom I know) and some very forgiving native americans.

The Seven Silly Eaters.

Stella Luna

pop-tarts:

but can't get myself to the dentist.

sits with sparky. reminds sparky not to tell my mom.

it takes me ages to get up the courage to even start a new doctor-patient relationship... moving just when I'd found all my providers was of the suck. Iris has all her doctors, of course. And I harass DH about going. Me? yeah. I have a dentist appointment in the fall though. Now for the rest of them.

For anyone playing along at home, I didn't resign (again/yet). I held my ground, called for backup, and am now making popcorn while several of the other players try to eat each other. Man, I hate this. OTOH, I didn't check that particular email account once yesterday - one of my supposed part-time days off.

• Good - I felt much more human and could think about some things that didn't involve eg0-skirmishing and not-listening-to-Sox-related-crash-issues.

• Better - the books I ordered came and I, Avatar is one of them. Ellen Datlow's Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy is another.

• Best - a couple freelance clients just booked additional sites.

• Not so good - 1 day into the grand part-time experiment and I already have several "why didn't you deal with this yesterday?!?" emails. My minion is also kind of in shock. If it works, though, she'll get my position. Which is what we both want. (except I still want my old paycheck)

• I don't even know what to say about this last - DH job-stability~ma and career-advancement~ma wouldn't go astray.

Gronkies

Thanks Nicole for the air bed. Got a decent night's sleep. I have already got my Comcast and wireless working this morning. Now I just need to find out if I can haz moving van today. Probably should take a shower and get dressed soonish.

I prefer to take full color pics and desaturate them in Photoshop (or iPhoto) because you don't really get the same advantages with digital (unless it's a seriously high-end camera) as you do with b/w film

Scott Kelby's books on Photoshop and CS techniques are really good and really easy to follow (although he tries WAY too hard to be funny, and he SO is NOT, so I just try to ignore all that). My Photoshopping has improved about 500% since I got one of his books.

Anyway, he has a whole section on how to make a color photo B/W, and says that just clicking "Desaturate" yields a kind of flat, blah picture.

This is why I don't read/watch the news. Most of it just makes me so ill and furious with our world.

After vacation, I realized that I totally need to take a break from the news, because it stresses me out way too much.

(I also realized that I need to go to bed earlier, because I simply need more sleep. This would work if I didn't live with a man who will follow me into the bedroom and then tell me a long long LONG story about how the Weights & Measures inspectors came out to inspect his company's scale, but then ended up NOT inspecting it. I mean, I want to be Supportive Girlfriend, but do you need to tell me a non-story at midnight when you know I need to go to sleep?)

(Seriously, I was IN BED, under the covers, and he came in and sat down on my side of the bed and started in with "So the inspectors from Weights & Measures showed up today...." I love him, but can I just say how much I *don't* give a shit about Weights & Measures?)

(Anyway, the point is, I need more sleep, and apparently also an air horn to enforce my bedtime.)

Anyway, he has a whole section on how to make a color photo B/W, and says that just clicking "Desaturate" yields a kind of flat, blah picture.

Yes, but it is a starting point. Playing with brightness and contrast and a few other tools helps, too.

just clicking "Desaturate" yields a kind of flat, blah picture.

Yes, absolutely - I meant "desaturate" as in "take the color out (and turn black & white)," not "click the Desaturate" button."

Oh lordy.

Someone made the following video for a woman named "April" interpreting Joe Cocker singing "A Little Help from My Friends" at Woodstock.

[link]

So...wrong. But funny.

Heaven is just a funky moose.

i'm feeling extremely unmotivated today to do anything resembling work. i think i'm rebelling because the past two days have been hell. apparently our customers didn't get the memo that this is supposed to be a slow week.

I call Target "The $100 Store" because I can't seem to manage to walk out without spending $100.

i'm so glad this affliction isn't just mine. i'm always amazed when i walk out of there spending less. that store is my crack.

congrats, Glam!!

apparently our customers didn't get the memo that this is supposed to be a slow week.

Neither did ours! AIFA! (We've replaced our usual Great with Annoying, let's see what happens!)