On a more serious note:

Executive order #3: Ensuring Lawful Interrogations

By the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, in order to improve the effectiveness of human intelligence gathering, to promote the safe, lawful, and humane treatment of individuals in United States custody and of United States personnel who are detained in armed conflicts, to ensure compliance with the treaty obligations of the United States, including the Geneva Conventions, and to take care that the laws of the United States are faithfully executed...

So there I was, at the pharmacy, staring at the various nasel clearing options. Tea pot neti. Oil lamp neti. Squeeze bottle neti. I finally decide, with my balance, maybe I should go for the squeeze bottle then. So I work up the courage and buy it. I finally get home from work now, open the box, and read the instructions that are inside, and learn I need distilled water. Why don't they mention this on the outside of the box??? I could have picked a bottle up while at the store. Blargh!!

Daniel was worrying that he didn't manage to get me the birthday present he had planned on. He's reading from our shiny new President's executive orders, and I'm thinking he did his part to get me the bestest birthday present ever, way back in November: A President who respects rule of law, human rights, and heck, Truth, Justice, and the American Way.

Thanks for all the lovely birthday wishes, everyone!

Sean, Shir and vw and others have said a bunch of wise and loving stuff better than I could. So just know that I'm sending you lots of vibes and support.

Askye, what a hard, hard thing it is to have to say goodbye to a beloved four-legged family member.

Distilled water? I've been using just regular tap water, mixed with the salt and stuff that came with it. (I also got the squeeze kind. Considering that the boiling water I poured over my hand a few days ago was far from the first time I've been injured by my food, I figured I'd go with the kind that seemed least likely to spill.)

And like every told me when I was having trouble with it, it does take a few tries before you totally figure out how to get it to work.

A President who respects rule of law, human rights, and heck, Truth, Justice, and the American Way.

[link]

Omnis, why do you need distilled water? Is the mechanism so delicate it might get crunchy with mineral deposits? If it is just because the instructions are trying to advocate the most pure water for using on human tissues, unless your tap water is particularly toxic, it will do just fine. I always use tap water in my ceramic tea-pot style neti pot.

Happy birthday, Andi!

Caution with the squeezy neti pot.

I love mine but I totally made the water too hot the first couple of times. Plus, a little bit of squeezy pressure goes a long way. Gentle. Gentle. And tip your head to the side so that you are not squeezing straight up.

I learned each and every one of these the hard way. Heed my mistakes!

eta: the distilled thing is just a way to get you to use the cleanest water possible to avoid introducing nasties into your delicate membranes. I use filtered water but I don't think tap will be a problem unless you know your water is bad. (DC, I'm lookin' at you.)

I love mine but I totally made the water too hot the first couple of times.

I've had more trouble with having mine not warm enough. Bleah. So I've learned to test the water on the inside of my wrist, baby bottle style.

{{{Askye}}}