Charlie Pierce on Paul Ryan as the Republican VP:

Paul Ryan is an authentically dangerous zealot. He does not want to reform entitlements. He wants to eliminate them. He wants to eliminate them because he doesn't believe they are a legitimate function of government. He is a smiling, aw-shucks murderer of opportunity, a creator of dystopias in which he never will have to live. This now is an argument not over what kind of political commonwealth we will have, but rather whether or not we will have one at all, because Paul Ryan does not believe in the most primary institution of that commonwealth: our government. The first three words of the Preamble to the Constitution make a lie out of every speech he's ever given. He looks at the country and sees its government as something alien that is holding down the individual entrepreneurial genius of 200 million people, and not as their creation, and the vehicle through which that genius can be channelled for the general welfare.

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for a change, Hubby went to the ER and didn't get admitted. Yay! His intestinal tract is not fully blocked, this time. Here's hoping the drugs and the liquid diet allow all things to pass.

And kudos to Ramona the Wonder Phelebotimst, who got the IV into the vein in Hubby's elbow the very first time, whereas the last IV took four people, including the department head, and they started talking about using his neck for a site and they brought in the ultrasound machine to find a good vein.

I've never had a nurse pull out the ultrasound to get an extra-jugular IV, and they laughed when I told them the doctors at their sister hospital not only used an ultrasound for their EJ, but they also talked through it, with things like "Wait, no, that's an artery, right?"

I might be crap in most places, but I can pop a jugular. If you need machinery to find that...I don't think I want you sticking things into me. Please find an ER nurse.

Even the ER nurses can have trouble with Hubby, who's running out of useful sites. Ramona looked just a trifle smug when we heaped praises on her, and we left a comment card extolling her virtues when we left.

I see Charles Pierce had the same reaction I had to the timing of the Ryan announcement, which was that early Saturday is when you announce things you hope no one will notice.

Famous people have to do much more than non-famous people to prove that they've been libeled. I think they also have to prove that the story was spread with malicious intent, as well as being false.

wrod, Ginger. There's no *Saturday* news dump! Bazinga.

Well, there's a reason I have a portacath. Explicitly because the ER nurses asked me to. I had run out of sites. A litre of saline running in through my fingertip--technically I guess that's a usable site, but when they can't even get that...

And they were right. Knowing that I'm just five minutes away from medication...is this what normal people's lives are like?

Oh, wait--they're not getting IV pain meds.

But apart from that?

I think I just had the most fabulous productive social day. Dragged ass, but market with friend and her boytoy at 8. Catsat at 9. Cleaned all I intend to clean and then swam my 2 miles. Then off to former-neighbor's housewarming. Gave them a basil plant I've been nursing along as well as chocolate mint that was grown from a cutting from my own crazyass backyard mint.

There were Lawn Olympics which petered out before done but only because people got all involved talking to each other. People from Ben's world, Joayne's, new neighbors, old neighbors, we all ended up just mixing it up. Peace Corps people, environment people, and, it turns out, space science people not just me (one of their new neighbors. We had a fun time comparing notes of who we knew.)

And in again REALLY FUCKING SMALL WORLD news, J's closest cousin, who was almost a sister to her? Turns out in her first job out of college, ended up covering my mom's family's hometown (well, it was where the g-parents retired. But nearest paper to the farm.) AND SHE TOTALLY KNEW WHO MY UNCLE, AUNT AND COUSINS WERE. She used to write up the HS and FFA events, as well as the farm reports (she'd interviewed them!) She was fascinated to hear what they were up to. Wow. Just wow.

I took all the sleep last night. Woke up to a phone call from the pharmacy to discover that is was 12:30pm. I haven't slept in that late in forever.

The rest of the day was running around. We went to the newly opened Famous Footwear (got a cute pair of high heeled sandals) and Costco. As we were loading up the car, K-Bug hit her ring against the cart and the stone popped out (it is a black star sapphire that had been my mom's). So after dropping off food we were off to our jewelry store, then Sally Beauty and the grocery store. Errands like crazy.

I made garlic mahi-mahi and parmesan couscous. So nommy!