One weekend, I swear all of the ads I saw were for this ear cleaner machine thing. The best part of the ad was the stupid people stabbing themselves in the head with a q-tip and screaming "OW!" Edit: Here you go [link]

Aaagh. I am not allowed to eat anything until after my surgery (which is scheduled for noon). And I"m sitting here, staring at the food in my easy reach, going "would it REALLY be so bad?!" WANT FOOD.

Also on the shit list: the person whose car alarm went off last night, and then stopped, and then went off again half an hour later...all night long.

I'll just hold out for the brain worms.

Natalie Wood's drowning death reclassified by Los Angeles coroner

The LA Coroner's office has that much time on their hands?

I love my headphones. Starbucks is LOUD today.In addition to the typical folks working and meeting and all that, there is a group of mommies and little girls doing story time. The kids are pretty well behaved, but still, added noise.

Gonna work for another 30 minutes, then off to the laundromat, then - hopefully - home. Home will be a combo of putting the house back in order and finishing work for the day.

The best part of the ad was the stupid people stabbing themselves in the head with a q-tip and screaming "OW!"

Who does that? Ever? I have an unholy love for my q-tips, even though I know I shouldn't clean my ears with them, but I've NEVER just shoved one in my ear like that.

Oh god, I have write a really heartfelt letter right now (from someone else) and I am just Not In The Mood.

Who does that? Ever?

Incompetent people in infomercials are one of my favorite things on TV. [link]

Yikes. This is a disturbing read, but really fascinating: an oral history of the UT Tower shootings in 1966. [link]

One thing I'd never heard before was that a bunch of people got their own rifles and started shooting back. It did help, because the sniper had fewer chances to line up shots.

Zebras racing at the Fairgrounds (I wonder if there is video of the ostrich race.)

Deer on the track at the Meadows in western Pennsylvania.

Ah, white tails.

So earlier I heard that "human specimens" were found at O'Hare. There was no more info. But now I finally found out what those specimens are.

18 severed human heads discovered at O'Hare airport

Investigators in Chicago are working to determine if a "potentially legitimate" shipment of severed human heads is, in fact, legitimate.

"We need to make sure that they are truly used for medical research purposes," said Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Brian Bell.

Shipments like these are far from uncommon. Heads, arms, legs, and other dissociated body parts are actually boxed up and flown from place-to-place more often than most people probably realize. I once worked in an orthopaedics lab where severed human parts were coming and going on an almost daily basis. Speaking from experience, when something becomes such a common part of your day-to-day, it's easy to become nonchalant about it (even when that thing is dismembered bodies) which totally explains Bell's amusingly blasé attitude about the whole thing:

"Everybody here is 'Oh my gosh, you got a box of heads,'" Bell told local reporters, adding: "It is a potentially legitimate medical shipment. We've seen it at various ports in the nation."

I am not allowed to eat anything until after my surgery (which is scheduled for noon).

This is too late for Meara, but have managed to wrest the concession from doctors that hard candy is acceptable before surgery. I kept pointing out that hard candy doesn't add anything to your stomach, so it can't increase the danger of throwing up. I've also gotten them to concede that black coffee is a clear liquid.