An update to an important story:

Shipment of 18 human heads found at Chicago's O'Hare airport

Investigators probing a shipment of 18 human heads intercepted at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport have determined they came from bodies donated for scientific research and were being transported for disposal, officials said on Tuesday.

U.S. Customs agents discovered the grisly package, which was shipped to Chicago from Italy shortly before Christmas, on Monday. Because the shipment's paperwork was not in order, agents confiscated the heads and sent them to the Cook County Medical Examiner for safekeeping, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner said.

The heads, which had been used by a medical research facility in Rome, were properly embalmed, wrapped and labeled when they arrived at the airport, said Mary Paleologos, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner. Foul play has been ruled out, she said.

On Tuesday, the cremation company that was supposed to take delivery of the heads and dispose of them presented the missing paperwork to the medical examiner, Paleologos said.

The medical examiner said the remains would not be released to the company until federal authorities verified the paperwork.

In the meantime, the medical examiner is photographing and x-raying the embalmed heads for record-keeping purposes, Paleologos said.

I think we can all sleep better at night, knowing this was resolved. OTOH, I am somewhat disappointed there was no paranormal explanation.

eta: Still, why were the severed heads not cremated in Italy? Why send them to Chicago? Is it because we're the city of the big shoulders?

sumi, my previous doc tried to put me on a non-stimulant ADHD med (I forget the name, sorry) but my insurance wouldn't cover it (Adderall they were fine with, so I took that), maybe that would be worth looking into?

I have some books I can rec when I have a little more time to look for them.

Furry bandits got my gala apples, too. Hope they enjoyed their organic feast.

ita !, I've been enjoying Pink Lady apples - I get them from the farmer's market on the weekends and they've consistently been yummy. A little on the sweet side, maybe, but they're always crisp enough. YAppleMV.

Sophia, I just told the story. I felt strongly that given that I wasn't the one who made the original suggestion that it was more likely to be true. And one of the things I look back on is how once I finished comps and classwork, i.e., was in a less structured environment - how freaking long it took me to write my thesis. And how when faced with a big project I often feel like I'm staring at a giant wall and cannot think how I should get started on it.

Toddson, I just went and looked up my apple notes (shut up, they're clearly useful), and Pink Lady is definitely a front-running variety. Along with Honeycrisp, so far.

Healthwise, I'm really very good at not consulting Dr. Google, and I hope enough people are paying attention to me above the neck (I will tell my migraine doc tomorrow about the "blind" episodes) that they'll catch anything, but I'm not going to lie--I wonder how the rest of my family got diagnosed with any of the things that bother them, and if I were to have any family illness (so far, I'm good at what they're bad at, and vice versa), how would I actually find out? That colonoscopy never got scheduled, and how would anyone I have fibroids? At least I don't have to worry about high blood pressure.

Anyone know a good source for non-medical ADHD coping mechanisms?

See if there's a CHADD chapter near you (I suspect there is) -- the national website is chadd.org. They have monthly meetings on a variety of relevant topics for adults with ADHD (as well as separate speakers for parents of kids with ADHD). The way the Cincinnati chapter works is that there's the speaker on whatever topic, and then question/answer time, and then after a break there's a support group time, where it's just the members, and they discuss whatever they need to discuss. Tim finds it really helpful.

They have a lending library, although you have to be a member to take out books. The library for the Cincinnati chapter (disclaimer: I am the librarian) is amazing, and it has books that cover everything from the basics of ADHD to things like comorbid disorders (OCD, depression, autism, you name it), as well as really specific books like ADHD in women, kids, etc.

I can ask Tim which books were most helpful to him, and you can get them at your library, I'm sure. One that immediately comes to mind is You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid, Or Crazy? Another that seems to be popular is Driven to Distraction.

Thank you - I will look into those.

And I just had a co-worker tell me that he can see that I've lost weight and that I'm walking better: nice to hear. Particularly on a day when I'm not feeling my best (and my knees are killing me.)

Thank you sumi. I hope the items that Steph suggested will help you.

This morning I can see!!!!

That is just cool!

because I don't remember handling stevia well in the past.

Stevia hates me. And products like to stealth it in.

One of the books is at the university library! And I was able to request the other from interlibrary loan.