Way, way behind. meara: my first multi-part post, I'm sure.

msbelle, if it's still relevant, what makes my normally weak, ridged nails grow strong and long is biotin, borage oil, and silicon (found naturally in horsetail, but "Biosil" is the best form I've found, being very well absorbed). The difference after about four weeks is remarkable.

Hec, I remember what Empress Dowager Lu did to Concubine Qi, and I think you were wise not to link to it! I also recommend The Cartoon History of the Universe and The Cartoon History of everything else as well. I learned more from Larry Gonick's comics than I ever did in school. (Granted, mine was a poor school. But still.)

ita, my sis and I have been snatching up the "green" non-stcik ceramic cookware whenever we find it at Marshalls and TJMaxx and such places. It's reasonably priced, at least there. It's awesome to cook with. I mean, food just slides right off, no oil or scraping or anything. Don't use metal utensils on them, though.

My sis swears crockpots are the greatest invention ever, but I hate having to clean them.

the WMAP cold spot is "… the unmistakable imprint of another universe beyond the edge of our own."

Unmistakable? Really? So, basically she's saying that this is absolutely the mark of something that may not exist.

I have never had any of my pets' teeth professionally cleaned and none of them have ever, ever had any teeth/jaw/whatever problems. And I take really good care of my pets.

I'm with javachik, there. My vet keeps telling me to get them cleaned, ut and I can't even see any tartar buildup. And the possible bad side effects of anaesthesia really worry me. I'm thinking of going to another vet for a second opinion.

Famous San Francisco Sea Lions Abandon Their Pier 39 Post

Oh, no! I'm glad I got to see them. I wonder why they left us?

I guess to them it's not that odd to have siblings of varying ethnicities.

This is a thing of beauty and a joy forever.

Things you call your people: I refer to my relatives by name only when speaking to people who already know our names and relationships. My sister and I dubbed our mom "Mul" when I was about two, and when we moved in with mom's parents, everyone started calling them what I (the youngest, at 4) called them: DeeDee and Mammy. No idea where I got those names. My grandfather's name didn't even start with a D; it was Epaphroditas, and everyone called him E.P. or Pete. My nieces named me Al when they were young; it's for Aunt Liz, which they said sounded funny. My SOs, when I have them, I call them Honey or Baby, and by name to other people.

You know what stops paper cuts and cat scratches from stinging? Neosporin with Pain Relief. I don't know what the pain reliever is but it works.

The less you eat of those things the less enzymes your body produces to digest them, causing upset when you do eat them: [link]

bon, thanks for that link. I've been suspecting lately that I'm not nearly as sensitive to gluten as I had been told I was. (I'm also starting to suspect that doctor was a nut, but that's a different rant.) I've been eating wheat ever since I moved to Virginia, that is, all year, and I rarely have any problems anymore. I wonder if my GI problems - which started about the time I moved to Jersey, got into a weird relationship, and started a really stressful job - were due to, yes, overwhelming stress.

May I solicit opinions on good companies for renters insurance?

I have been quite happy with Allstate for all my insurance needs for about fifteen years now.

The Calvin & Hobbes story made me happy. msbelle's pact story made me tear up.

I can NOT handle stories about animals getting hurt. Nope.

What the heck's a lottery credit, and more importantly, should I be getting one?

I think being a grown-up may suck sometimes, but it's always better than being a kid. I don't mind making decisions when I get to make the goddam decisons for myself.

Electronic bill pay FTW. My life did not work well without it.

I do okay with (continued...)

( continues...) insurance decisions, probably because I went to the trouble of getting a license to sell life/health insurance some years ago, before the actual career happened. Sold one policy and quit. I couldn't do it; I had to lie to everyone I met.

PEW survey: whoa, I got them all right! I'm so proud. I'd like to thank Jon Stewart, Steven Colbert, Rachel Maddow, and Keith Olbermann, who have made me politically not-ignorant-anymore.

I am being SO LAZY. Oh, hey, my Leverage DVDs are here. Well, that solidifies my plans for the next 12 hours.

Oh, insurance. Here's a blow I didn't need. My father realized the other day that he has in fact outlived his term life insurance. Any guesses what it costs to insure a 70 year old man with a history of heart attacks? Yeah. So I have a couple of days to figure out what to do about that. He certainly can't afford what they want - even at the old rate it was a struggle on his combo of Veteran's disability, SS, and seasonal part-time job.

There's no other inheritance. And I wouldn't worry so much for me or my brother, but my sister is a starving musician with a lot of debt. Even before she was laid off she barely made a living wage, working in the arts being what it is. I honestly doubt she would ever even think about it, but I kind of counted on this being there for her one day.

So 2009 gets another blow in. This'll stop soon, right?

I am on the train to Michigan! And I bought renters insurance before I left. Thanks for the recommendations, y'all. I'm also about to finish my first book, so I guess bringing four was a good call.

Once I wrangle my old 401k and visit the dentist, I won't have to be an adult for a while.

I missed the troops number too.

So it looks like there's a good chance I will be celebrating NYE with a) cramps, b) a cold and c) a freaking painful zit that makes my neck hurt. Yay me?

I'm hoping b. doesn't materialize, but I'm wary.

Hec! Your wife is falling down on the job!

Yeah, well, she never schlubs around. It was good for her.

Hec, I remember what Empress Dowager Lu did to Concubine Qi, and I think you were wise not to link to it!

I lost sleep over it! Seriously, humans disappoint me.

On that same point I'm working for my friend who is a defense attorney and I was organizing her media, which is to say: police interrogation recordings, 911 calls, photos of the crime scene etc. Sheesh.

erika, after going through this stuff I can vouch for the veracity of "crime makes you stupid." OMG, they're so stupid!

Officer: I'm going to read you your Miranda rights...
Perp: I know my damn rights! blah blah implicating thing. Blah blah names. Blah blah that doesn't count as criminal. It does? WTF? I just blah blah?! Well, so and so did it too.

Plus! The cops totally exploit the ignorance.

"Well, you know we've got the whole thing on tape."

"I didn't do it! It was blah blah! Okay, I was there, but didn't do the thing. Okay, I did the thing but that doesn't count because I was kind of drunk. Do I need an attorney here?"

Plus, everybody has seen just enough CSI to believe that DNA evidence is magic, so the cops exploit that too.

"You know if you pretty much blinked in the presence of the crime we'll have your eyelash flakes."
"Okay, well I can explain how my DNA might've gotten there. See I picked up the thing and handed it to other guy. But he's the one who did it!"

Patrick Stewart and Peter Jackson are going to be knighted! In fact, Jackson already has been, in New Zealand.

[link]

Seriously, never ever talk to cops without a lawyer, I don't care if it makes them think you're guilty.

For serious. To continue with Frank Pembleton, I always remember his explanation of the detective's job as a salesman, "selling a long prison term to a customer who has no use for the product."

Martha Stewart didn't go to prison for the thing she was charged with, she went to prison for talking to the Feds without a lawyer.