Super scary. I haven't had cause to feel afraid, but so many of my "kids" that DH coaches in basketball have problems continuously. They learn young to be super well behaved. Being a black teenager nearly 7 foot tall intimidates the insecure. They are my sweet babies and it hurts to see them hassled so often for no reason.

How is Bobby doing, Laura? How about the other one, still no good direction? Wasn't he going to New York with you or something?

Bobby is good. Going to school. Working. Responsible and charming. The other one, still finding his way. I am in FL for a week and he is in Otter Lake dog sitting. I haven't made a lot of progress with him and starting to panic since I can't bring him back to Florida until/unless he turns things around. Says he will take on-line courses for school full time. We have registered, but now it will likely be January before it starts. I could really use his help for work at my office, but he can't be relied on for that yet. This parenting thing is often not so great.

There's a large storm system moving out of the state. My joints are in agony. I did not need to know this about my shoulder, that it will, with little provocation, send shooting pains along my collarbone. I hope it's not a cyst in the end of the collarbone, like with the other shoulder. And the fingers. The bad thing about colder weather is that it hurts more.

Tep, I have gotten in the habit of eating my egg salad out of half an avocado.

Nom. That was dinner last night. (Well not out of an avocado, because I like squishing up half an avocado. It's like Play Doh.)

Paging billy t! Australia has a new death adder. Got bored with the old ones?

You have to worry when Australia stops messing around and says flat out "This shit will kill you."

Timelies all!

We're at the part of the summer where I need a sweater or jacket in the morning, but it's warm enough when I get out of work to wear short sleeves.

There are two kinds of trees that will kill you - the red gum tree that drops heavy branches with no warning and the ... banya (?) pine that drops 22 kilo pinecones on you.

But neither of them are called Death Tree, so no one can be that bothered by them.

You have to worry when Australia stops messing around and says flat out "This shit will kill you."

I thought that was what Australia was saying all the time.

You know what I like better than a three-day weekend? A six-day weekend. And it starts right now.

Paging billy t! Australia has a new death adder. Got bored with the old ones?

I thought that was what Australia was saying all the time.

Yes. Yes we are.

There are two kinds of trees that will kill you - the red gum tree that drops heavy branches with no warning

Also called the widowmaker, here. Australia is like unto Season 4 of 24, where the villain induces a meltdown in all of America's 100 nuclear power plants as a decoy to distract attention from his real plan. So too, our venomous fauna is really just there to ensure no one pays attention to the trees. Everyone freaks out about a little snake, while it's just The Happening down here 24/7.