We just now broke into double digits. Woo!

I'm too vain to wear a winter hat on the way to work, because I don't want it to mess up my hair. Yeah, I get that I'm insane. But I also have a car, so I'm not outside very long.

And another: le Fashion.

Steph, if you are around, my mom is having a hard time getting back to normal after the stomach flu last week. I told her you were taking some probiotics but I can't remember the exact name. Pearl something?

I fixed the squeak coming from the rear of my Ford Focus this weekend and this morning's long commute was the real test. Nary a peep. I feel like I've unlocked an achievement.

I told her you were taking some probiotics but I can't remember the exact name. Pearl something?

They're just called Pearls. There's also a variation with more strains of bacteria, called Pearls IC. I'd just try the "regular" Pearls to start and see how she feels in a week or 2. (Although if the only thing she can find is the IC version, that won't hurt.)

Gud, you have unlocked an acheivement in addition to earning extra gold and life points.

I feel like I've unlocked an achievement.

You leveled up on Ford Focus.

The jetstream has clearly shifted as it's gone from frickin' cold to merely brisk in SF. Got a muzzy Matilda to school just as the teacher was leading the class inside. JZ overlsept and had to rush to get to work on time. Nobody was quite ready for Tuesday.

If anyone starts getting a bad squeak from the rear of a 2007 (or thereabouts) Ford Focus, I know how to fix it for about $10 and 10 minutes of time.

Sperm Whales Adopt A Dolphin With Spine Deformity

ScienceNow is reporting that marine biologists working in the Azorean archipelago of the Northern Atlantic have discovered a group of sperm whales who appear to have taken in an adult bottlenose dolphin who has a rather serious spinal malformation. And it wasn't just a one-time encounter for the two species; the dolphin appears to be sticking around.

Other than the 'S' shape curvature to its body, the dolphin appears to be healthy. The researchers have virtually no way of knowing if the deformity has anything to do with the unprecedented inter-species co-mingling — though they suspect that it does.

Dolphins are a hierarchical species, so they may have shunned this particular member on account of its serious birth defect. In the words of one of the researchers, Alexander Wilson, "It might be that this individual didn't fit in, so to speak, with its original group." Or maybe it just couldn't keep up. For now, however, this will all have to remain speculative thinking.

If anyone starts getting a bad squeak from the rear of a 2007 (or thereabouts) Ford Focus, I know how to fix it for about $10 and 10 minutes of time.

Was it a mouse???