I have seen a number of people successfully quit smoking when it really started to hit them in the wallet. I can see that can be a very effective and efficient motivation. When backed into a corner with money, it's hard to argue with the numbers in the budget, but "trying to be healthy" can go right out the window when the right stressor comes around.

You should totally pat yourself on the back! And yes, the money would be a big motivator for me.

IO9 has a job posting: [link] Why don't they post a salary? Because I am passably qualified for that (I did a fair number of their SPN reviews last season, for crying out loud), but I actually like my real job and the amount it pays me.

My mother has turned into a horrible person in her golden years. I know she hates Obama and Obama-care, and bought a gun before that right was taken away from her. Talking to her today though, as she was ranting about a car she saw covered with stickers ranging from various statements about pro-Obama, green stuff, she lumped in there an LGBT sticker. That's when I drew back in shock and realized that I couldn't talk to her. I don't think she always felt that way, but she definitely seems to now. But the vitriol she spewed made it clear it wasn't a conversation that would end well for our relationship. She says she would have keyed the car if it wasn't already so beaten up. That's when I told her I had to go make dinner. Opinions in my family don't change. They just get entrenched when given opposition. Maybe being a middle child in this family was a blessing.

Two words, ita: Nick Denton.

ita !, DH linked that IO9 position to me. The best social media URL's reqs I'm a little vague on; what do you think they are looking for? Twitter followers? Blog posts? Interviews and reviews? Facebook Business pages?

I don't know if I fit the qualifications entirely, but I am intrigued.

Thoughts, ideas, advice?

Amy and Matilda are sitting on the couch knitting together and chatting. Amy's helping her with casting on. It's cute.

Aw, knitting.

Well, once in a while I'd like to open a bottle of wine, but I know I'll only drink 2 glasses at most, and I don't want the rest of the un-drunk bottle to go bad, so I wish he drank simply to keep the bottle from going bad.

Tep, may I commend to your bridal registry the Vacuvin Wine Saver [link] (I do not have that exact model, I have probably two or three older and cheaper version that still work fine, that was just the first link I found). I regularly have one glass of wine out of a bottle, vacuvin it and don't open it for up to several weeks, and it's fine when I do open it again.

I just buy cheap wine! I tossed half a bottle of vinho verde the other day, but it was a $5 bottle, so no big loss.

This past Friday I finished the Sauvignon Blanc that I opened some time in June. Delicious.

Speaking of lives not turning out like we expected - I am finding that I am pretty on top of shit at work and it is only occasionally stressful, but my leisure time totally frazzles me. What's up with that?