Oh nice. I do have a massage Groupon I haven't used.

I have a much better sense of how to help her

Brenda, that's rough. Good luck. I think it's awfully nice that you're concerned with helping her, and not just tossing her back in the pool to learn to swim on her own. (A personal issue may have crept into my metaphor there.)

My school didn't have science fair projects. I do recall once participating in some regional or statewide science fair. I designed a self-sustaining geosynchronous space station. I got an award from the Air Force for it. I wasn't allowed to collecxt my award because no one else had won anything and the teacher wanted to go home. I'm still pissed about that.

Zenkitty works for IEEE! That's cool!

I know! I feel like I get extra geek points just for knowing her!

IEEE, as in Spectrum magazine? Cool!!!

Hee! Yes. It is kinda cool; I like working there. I don't work on the magazines, though; I work with the technical journals.

Lots of Buffistas can provide contact geek points; we are a geeky people.

Jesse, go for a massage as often as you can! I'd get one every day if I could.

The anti-flammable ones just melted, which seemed less than optimal to me!

How the hell is that an improvement?! Never mind, rhetorical.

Kat--that's where I go to Pilates. It's a very nice, welcoming place.

I don't work on the magazines, though; I work with the technical journals.

Spectrum is my only point of reference; The Boy and his father are both electrical engineer-type people, and at some family holiday at his parents' house I needed something to read in the bathroom, and Spectrum was handy. It's a nifty-ass publication!

I always did the science fairs. Big surprise, right? Even went to regionals, once. Measuring viscosity and laminar flow. Um. That's all I remember. Did a lot of chemistry-related stuff. Built biospheres one year.

Trying to find some charity receipts. Uhg. I really need to go through my paper more often.

It's a nifty-ass publication!

I love having basically a free subscription!

How the hell is that an improvement?! Never mind, rhetorical.

That's for sure what I was wondering. As an adult, I guess a small burn from melting is better than going up in flames....

Thank god we don't have that communist Canadian style healthcare.

It's actually part of the insured coverage I get through my employer. But I do think massage maybe be part of health plans in other provinces, if you get a referral from you doctor.

We never had science fairs.

ION, Mice Infest UK Parliament: House Of Lords Considers Cats For Westminster Palace

LONDON — The House of Lords has a momentous decision to make: Should it get cats to chase the mice that have infested one of Britain's most famous buildings?

London's Houses of Parliament, also known as Westminster Palace, has rodents, and the peers aren't exactly sure what to do about it.

Ivan Anthony Moore-Brabazon, the House's administration chief, on Wednesday turned down suggestions to acquire cats. He says the felines could ingest mice poison or wander around the chamber and disrupt business.

He favors the current tactic of using poison and mousetraps.

Cats in Parliament would be awesome!

The thing about mac's science fairs in ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, is that from 2nd grade on they are mandatory and they have to be constructed on the scientific method - identify a problem to investigate, form a hypothesis, blah de blah blah. You can't build a volcano and write a report about how they work. My 6th grade science experiment used a foot controlled air pump, mason jars filled with cotton, and filterless cigarettes to show the effects of smoking on lungs. first cigarette I ever tried.