Look! There is a thing!

10:41 am - Too cute (if you like kids)

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A couple of days ago I asked, Do You Know This Vid? I got a couple of things wrong -- the little girl's hair is light brown, not blonde -- but fayance kindly pointed me to the correct site and video. Unfortunately, it didn't allow "cross-domain access". Does that mean I have to be a member of Facebook? I'm not.

But, with a title, I could search Youtube, and found it quickly. Mila talks (the title under the other vid-page) took me to a page of this little girl's discussions about life. The specific vid I wanted was Traveling disasters by two year old Mila.

This little girl is obviously bright, very verbal, quite opinionated (but what little kid doesn't have strong opinions? <g>), and extremely expressive; she's a hoot to watch.

There are several others; Cindy and I will watch this afternoon.


Y'know, it occurs to me... this is the kind of child authors are thinking of when they write a kid into fanfic. *waves to Aly* There are children at the high end of the curve, whose mental and verbal expressions seem two or three -- or even more -- years older than their chronological age. Those of us who work more often with "average" children -- or even those striving to reach average -- may forget that such standouts exist. (More than a few times I've conducted a speech test with a child who seems stupendous -- he/she is answering every question, and I'm sure they will hit standard scores of 12's or 13's, but when I score it, they're only reaching 9's and 10's. I've worked with below-average children so long that my perceptions of "average" are skewed.) But, yeah, the above-average kids are among us, and who can fault an author for putting them in a fic, if they want to include a child? After all, most of our heroes, in fic, movies, or TV, are considerably above average; may as well let our OCs -- adult or child -- have something approaching parity with the leading characters. <g>
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Posted at Dreamwidth; please comment there --
https://starwatcher.dreamwidth.org/459584.html
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12:01 am - Do You Know this Vid?

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I'm trying to find a video on youtube, for which I do not have a name. Cindy opened it on her facebook page and showed it to me. I'd like to show other people, but on facebook it didn't show a name or a link so I could search. It went thusly:

A little blonde girl is sitting in a big easy chair, describing an experience. Her speech is not always clear; there are captions to help us understand her.

She explains that she was riding on a plane, and the lady in the seat next to her kept talking. "She was a real chatty Cathy." The lady asked what she wanted to be when she grew up. "I don't know; I'm only two!" The girl wished the lady would quit talking. "Then the miracle happened! I pooped in my diaper. After that, nobody talked to me anymore."

Those quotes may be a word off, but they're pretty close. I've tried searching, but the terms are too broad to find it. Has anyone heard of this or seen it and can toss me a link? I'd love to bookmark it.

Here's the DW link; please comment there.
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05:03 pm - Consider the Pun

Generally speaking, puns don't get no respect; many people seem to consider puns a very low -- or juvenile -- form of humor. But I enjoy a good pun. Partly, it seems to one of the few forms of humor that don't "pick on" somebody -- blondes, Aggies, various ethnicities. Partly, my dad started training me to like puns very early --

"Say two."

"Two."

"Say two."

"Two."

"Say twain."

"Twain."

"Say two-two-twain."

"Two-two-twain."

"Very good. When you're older, I'll teach you to say 'locomotive'."

10:21 pm - Am I indecisive, or just being a Pisces?

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Isn't there something about Pisces having a dual nature? The sign is two fish, after all. Of course, those two questions aren't mutually exclusive...

On another site, the 'question of the day' was, "What is your happiest memory?" I wrote,

I have a tie --

1) The time I had an actual lesson riding sidesaddle (which I'd wanted to try since forever). That lesson lasted 90 minutes -- practiced walking, trotting (took quite a bit of body retraining to do it properly), then when I was allowed to urge the horse forward into a smooth, flowing, ground-covering canter... I laughed aloud for sheer joy. It was wonderful.

2) The time an assistant scout-master gave me canoeing lessons. When he deemed me ready to solo, I headed across the (fairly placid) river, but into a moderate headwind. My forward momentum was so slow that he shouted an offer to get the motorboat and rescue me. I declined and forged onward; it was a triumph to reach the opposite bank. Again, my joy was expressed in bubbling laughter. Later, I traveled downriver, under the highway bridge lined with dozens -- maybe a hundred or more -- swallows' nests. It was quiet and peaceful, despite the birds darting about, and felt so secluded.


Just as I hit post, I realized... whenever anyone asks about a 'favorite' or a 'best', it seems like I always have two. There's a questionnaire I'm supposed to fill out for school (not a clue why), with such questions as favorite color? (blue or green), favorite book? ('Little Britches' by Ralph Moody and 'Love and Peanut Butter' by Leslie Conger. Or maybe 'Moon of Three Rings' by Andre Norton and 'Agent of Change' by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller.), and favorite movie? (Charlotte's Web, animated version, and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. Or maybe The Earthling and Mama Mia.)

Of course, I don't remember the last time I watched an actual movie, and book-reading is also pretty rare. They didn't ask, but I could answer favorite TV show (The Sentinel and NCIS and Stargate Atlantis... oops! Can't even keep it to two, this time). Book-reading has mostly been replaced by fanfic-reading, but I couldn't EVEN limit favorites to two. Maybe... possibly... twenty authors -- in each fandom. (But don't hold me to that.) Although I rarely wear jewelry, I do have a favorite gemstone -- opal or tiger-eye. (Ha! You thought I'd finally settle on a single one, didn't you?)

So, I dunno... am I just a Pisces, or terminally indecisive, or merely wishy-washy?

Oh! There was one time I was absolutely firm in what I wanted -- I insisted that my new (in 2010) truck must be white. And have a standard transmission. But I'm not sure I've had a solid "1" decision since then. Kind of scary, isn't it?

This rambling treatise brought to you by too many late nights and early mornings, which tends to make me spacey.
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11:13 pm - Sooo out of it!

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I know my birthday is coming. Just today, one of my students proudly proclaimed that their birthday is Saturday, and another was excited that their birthday is Monday. Mine is Sunday; we had a nice bonding moment about the closeness of the celebratory days. (And they boggled at how old I'll be; 64 is older than their grandparents.)

When I got home, after reading a story and feeding the animals, I powered up the laptop and checked to see what new emails had come in. There was an announcement from Dreamwidth that "starwatcher's birthday is coming up." I looked at it and thought, "Who? . . . Oh, yeah; that's me!"


LOL, I do something similar most years. Recognize my birthday is on its way. Then, on the day of, it completely slips my mind. Several years ago, I got to Cindy's about 1:30 P.M. She said, "Happy Birthday!" I swear; I stared blankly for a few moments while I tried to figure out what she meant. Then -- "Oh, yeah. Thanks!"

<g> I've been celebrating my birthday whenever it was convenient since my college years, sometimes as much as two months later. But I never thought I wouldn't recognize my own pseud on the birthday greetings.

Yeah. I really need to have a less stressful therapy schedule next year; I seem to be in a permanent brain-fog. But summer is coming -- two whole months to decompress. And my tomato seeds are starting to sprout, so that's exciting. Meanwhile, fanfic is my security blanket; thank you to all fic writers near and far.
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10:36 am - Hyperbole, much?

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I enjoy the 10-minute commentary/weather on the radio as I drive to work. The radio guy and the weather guy have a few minutes of shooting the breeze before actually making the weather forecast. Today they were talking about the upcoming remake of "Magnificent Seven", complaining about the lack of the Western genre on current TV, and then back to the movie, a large part of which will be filmed in New Mexico.

The radio guy said, "Of course! Just look at the wide-open spaces as you travel around the state. There's no place that you can't just point the camera, and the scenery is perfect for a Western." Then my mocking little internal devil's advocate pops up and says, "Uh... the middle of Albuquerque? Or Santa Fe?"

Okay, enough wasting time. Back to making a schedule. <groooannn>
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11:41 pm - Two videos and a shopping site

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From andrewducker, I think --

Not for the spider-phobic. Here's a "peacock spider" doing what I suspect is a mating display, set to "YMCA". The vidder made a great match of spider movements to song rhythm; it's a hoot!


This one shows "the difference between dogs and cats" as they teach their offspring to maneuver down a set of stairs. Do NOT be eating or drinking during the final 1/3rd of the video.


And finally, from one of my sentinel friends (but I forget who -- nudge me if you want a shout-out), take a look at Woman Within.com, a site offering "comfort, fit and value for sizes 12W to 44W". Some of their swimsuits look really nice; now I just have to decide which...

ETA: Thanks to Anonymous, here's another site for swimsuits.

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01:06 pm - Budding comedian is funny!

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Scene: classroom of 4th-grade students (9-10 years old)

Activity: Ms. Linda is wandering around the room, explaining How to Build a Story. We've discussed realistic types and fantasy types.

Ms. Linda puts "story-starter" picture on the overhead -- young boy in pajamas opened closet door, startled by long, skinny tail poking out; height tail comes from suggests animal's rump is shoulder-level to boy.

Ms. Linda asks for suggestions: What's inside the closet? Various answers -- "Belt!"   "Snake!"   "Boogie-man!" We take a class vote, and decide to make it a boogie-man. Cue following conversation:


Ms. Linda: Okay, the boy opens the closet door and there's a boogie-man inside. Then what happens?

Male student: They start dancing.

Ms. Linda: Wait... it's a boogie-man and they start dancing?

Male student: Yeah. (Raises hands to shoulder height, index fingers extended, starts shaking his shoulders and shimmying in his chair.) He's a boogie-man!


Ms. Linda starts laughing, retells the joke to the rest of the class who didn't hear it. Ms. Linda explains to male student that he just make a kind of joke called a 'pun', even though he doesn't know what that is, and that it was a good one. Laughs a few minutes more.

Who knows? Maybe 15 years from now, there will be a young comedian who realized he had the talent when he made Ms. Linda laugh, and she thought it was good enough to share with others. I won't know because I don't know his name; he isn't one of my direct-serve students.

= = =

And, apropos of that, check out this page of Scientists tell us their favourite jokes. My favorite is this one:

A new monk shows up at a monastery where the monks spend their time making copies of ancient books. The new monk goes to the basement of the monastery saying he wants to make copies of the originals rather than of others' copies so as to avoid duplicating errors they might have made. Several hours later the monks, wondering where their new friend is, find him crying in the basement. They ask him what is wrong and he says "the word is CELEBRATE, not CELIBATE!"

04:48 pm - Calvin and Hobbes, next generation.

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I can't remember who linked me to this, but I'm posting it here for Cindy and the rest of you to click on and enjoy.

Called Pants are Overrated, Hobbes and Bacon, it introduces a grown-up Calvin who gives Hobbes to his daughter to protect her from "Donald Trump in the closet". I've only found two pages for C&H, (clicking through to see if any more show up), but you may enjoy the rest of this writer's work.

Here's Hobbes and Bacon #2.

And here's Hobbes and Bacon #3, found by accident.

And here's Hobbes and Bacon #4.

Looks like that's all.
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02:44 pm - Basic conflict, there!

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I had the radio on while eating lunch. One of the spots on this station is tips from the 'car guy'. His tip today was how to drive more economically --

A] Keep your tires aligned.

B] Keep your tires at the proper pressure.

C] Reduce the use of air conditioning.

D] Drive with windows up to reduce drag.

Does anyone else see a major problem with instituting [C] and [D] at the same time? Especially if you live in about 95% of the USA in the summertime? (I can't speak for other countries, though I'm sure many of them have similar issues.) Good grief, it regularly hovers around 100^oF here in the summer; a 'cooling trend' is in the low 90's! (32 for the Celsius-minded folks.)

It's advisable in fanfic, profic, or real life -- proofread your work!
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08:31 am - Bzuh?!?

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I have never done this before. I was reading Gil Hale's new story, Flattened. Zipping merrily along, I read the line -- “They were talking about heading for the trail rack and the train finishing someone off,”

Wait! That doesn't make sense. I go back and read the sentence again, and it turns out they were heading for the rail track! Yeah, big difference, there.

I'm not a speed reader by any means, but I do read pretty quickly, and it's not unusual for me to mistake a 'right' word for a similar-looking 'wrong' word. (Couple of times a week, maybe.) And I commonly type wrong letters in the same pattern that students learning to read/write confuse, like d/g or p/b. But never before have I committed a visual Spoonerism. (OTOH, I hear words when I read silently, so there was a kind of auditory component.)

Nothing earth-shattering; I just wanted to make note of it. Here's a link to the derivation of Spoonerisms; the link above has more samples.

And now to finish Gil's story before my students arrive...
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09:33 am - Do you think much about the wheel?

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I do. Because I live alone, and take care of two horses and work on a couple of acres (the other three I leave for the animals), I have a lot of occasion to appreciate wheels. When I get hay in the summer -- the folks at the feed store load my truck, but I have to put it in the barn. Those bales of alfalfa average 60 - 75 pounds. I can balance one on my thighs and duck-walk it to the forming stack at the back of the barn -- about 25 feet. But multiply the effort by 12 -- the number of bales I can load on the truck at one time -- and it gets real tough by about bale #3. Better if I drag it, hoisting one end with the hay hooks and letting the other end follow like the end of a travois. (Pfft! Mozilla's internal dictionary didn't recognize travois.) But even that puts weight (less, but still noticeable) on my back and shoulders. Much better to put two bales on my garden wagon (thus halving the back-and-forth trips from truck to end of the barn), wheel it to the stack, unload, and repeat.

This week, I've been clearing out the broken and discarded bricks from around the house. (Yes, yes, I've been in here more than 5 years, and just now getting to it. Shush!) I'm putting them in a big pile in an out-of-the-way corner. (Plenty of those on 5 acres.) And how do I get them to that growing pile? With my wagon, of course!

And, at least one time while using my wheels -- hay in the wagon, or groceries on my little folding dolly, or taking all my speech gear to the next-door school in my folding, wheeled cart -- I send up a little thought to the unnamed and unknown person who invented the wheel. In the past, I've always considered it to be Og the caveman.

But this winter, I reconsidered. A couple of times, I had to carry buckets of water to fill up the horse-tub. It doesn't happen often; my outdoor faucet is wrapped with heat tape, so it doesn't freeze. After filling the tub, I always disconnect the hoses to let them drain so that, if when it freezes, there's no connection to the faucet for ice to back up and maybe break something. (I have a short hose leading from the faucet, which I connect to a long hose leading to the tub, or the long hose leading to the tadpole pool, or the long hose for watering the trees... Easier to change those out when you have space to use two hands, instead of reaching up to where the faucet is. And that's where I disconnect.)

Even in midwinter, we rarely have more than three days in a row when the temp stays below freezing. In other words, in the late afternoon, I can usually fill the horse-tub. And I do, every day -- so that, if we have a prolonged (by our standards) freezing spell, the horses start with as much water as possible -- which stays ice-free because I use a stock-tank heater. If the hose is frozen, a full tub will last them for three days, and by then we've usually had a warm enough day to thaw the hose and let me refill the tub.

But if I have to carry buckets, there are logistics to consider. The average 5-gallon bucket, when loaded, is difficult for me to handle. The weight is doable, but it all hanging from one hand and pulling unevenly on my spine, not so great. Also, I'm so short that the bucket is hanging low enough to interfere with my walking. Solution: I use two, 2-gallon buckets. The weight is evenly balanced with a bucket in each hand, my spine isn't pulled cockeyed, and the buckets are far enough off the ground that I can walk normally.

But the process is time-consuming. Fill two buckets, but don't turn on the faucet full blast or the water just jumps out of the buckets, wait for the hose to drain into the buckets (don't want to waste the water, or come back to an ever-growing puddle from the drainage), then walk about 30 feet to the tub... and after two trips, I calculated it would take me 14 or 15 more. There had to be a better way...

I have a number of 18-gallon Rubbermaid totes around; I use them to hold pre-measured hay when I'm leaving town, so it's quicker/easier for the neighbor to feed. I grabbed a clean one from the house, put it in my wagon, then filled it with the short hose. I could [a] turn the water on harder, which shortened the filling time and [b] have to wait for hose-drainage once instead of 5 times. Then I pulled it to the tub -- with the lid on, there wasn't much splash-over -- and used the 2-gallon bucket to scoop the water into the horse tub until the tote was light enough to lift and pour out the remaining water into the tub. I made three trips, instead of the estimated 14. \o/

But on one of those trips, while pulling the wagon full of loaded water-tote, and appreciating wheels all over again, it occurred to me that it probably wasn't Og who invented the wheel. See, I've watched guys when doing physical labor. If they can muscle through the job, they tend not to look for an easier way. More often, they seem to take pride in how tough the job was, but they managed. Then there's me. I'm pretty strong for my size and gender, but I learned long ago that it's not enough, and I have to look for something to help me out. Sometimes it's a male friend or coworker, but only after I've exhausted other creative possibilities. (I have literally taped a wrench in place to hold a nut so I could unscrew the bolt from the other side. Or, carried two smaller buckets instead of one larger.)

So, I got to thinking about the caveman dragging his kill back to the cave. And the cavewoman who had to drag her kill, but she had to work so much harder to do the same job, simply because she doesn't have male muscles. So she got creative, and thought up a way to make the job easier. I have no idea what, or how she got from there to a wheel, but I'm pretty well convinced that it wasn't Og who was the inventor, but Ogina!


So -- all hail Ogina, whose wondrous idea has made life so much easier for millions of her descendants! Tomorrow is the first day of spring, which seems a most auspicious time to offer a toast in her memory. *~clink~* I will think of her often, in fervent gratitude that she gave us the lowly wheel.
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08:49 am - Weird, wonderful and funny

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Passed on from forthwritten who posted it in wtf_nature -- a tumbler by the name of WTF Evolution. It's a collection of pictures of some of the planet's more unusual creatures, often with written commentary that increases the laughter quotient. EG:

So you’ve got this fish. And it’s got eyes on either side of its head, like any normal, self-respecting fish should have. Then you decide to start keeping it on the seafloor, where it can lie flat on its side and camouflage in the sand. Smart move! But now one of its eyes is on the ground!

You could just make your fish a new body that’s oriented flat-wise, like a stingray’s. You could do that. Or you could take the fish that’s born vertical and, during its most vulnerable developmental years, slowly move one of its eyes across to the other side of its head until the poor bastard looks like something Pablo Picasso dreamed up after a scuba-diving accident.

As if puberty weren’t bad enough already. Thanks a lot, evolution.

08:51 pm - Can't watch without laughing...

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A cat can't escape the balloon that's static-bonded to its leg.

And here's an "Awww..." -- the family dog trying to teach the baby to play ball.
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06:41 pm - Laugh for the day.

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It's Cindy's evening, and for some reason -- hey, that was 15 minutes ago! -- I used the word 'defenestrate'. She said, "What's that?" I said, "It means to throw someone out a window." She said, "Where's it from?"

So, to Google I go, and Dictionary.com, which confirms that 'defenestrate' and 'defenestration' are indeed real words. (I though they were faux highbrow-ese, coined within the decade or so.) But the dictionary didn't explain the derivation.

Wikipedia to the rescue. To my surprise, the term goes back to 1618 (or earlier), and several incidents of defenestration led to various wars.

All very interesting. But I laughed aloud when I read this -- "Although defenestrations can be fatal due to the height of the window through which a person is thrown or throws oneself or due to lacerations from broken glass, the act of defenestration need not carry the intent or result of death."

The mind boggles. Under what circumstances could one claim, "Yes, I threw you out the window, but I didn't necessarily intend that you would DIE!!"

Sometimes I can't decide if my mind is unique, or just scary. <g>
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02:00 pm - *snicker* For SGA fans

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I was perusing The Onion (for those not in the know, all articles and reports are thoroughly tongue-in-cheek) when I came across this headline: Newborn Loses Faith In Humanity After Record 6 Days. According to the article:

Though he has not yet developed the capacity for speech, extensive cognitive testing has definitively shown that the shockingly perceptive 6-day-old fully understands and accepts that human beings cannot be trusted, that they remain far too ignorant for their opinions to be reliable, that a lack of self-awareness about their own destructive tendencies pervades the species as a whole, and that most are too ineffectual to successfully pursue even the shallow self-interested agendas that rule their lives.

          and

“The kid’s not even a week old, and he has the thousand-yard stare of a middle-aged man,” said psychologist Helen James, one of the cognitive scientists who verified that by his third day of life, Nathan had already begun to sense the overwhelming air of desperation surrounding other people. “That look that says, ‘I’ve finally given up on the reassuring fictions that prop up humanity’s delusional self-image as dignified, intelligent, or decent in any way.’ He knows the truth.”

05:14 pm - On the lighter side...

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Cute animal pics that will make you say 'awwwwwww'.


Advice on how to air-dry your dog. I saved this pic for N; she and her hubby have two shar-pei.


On Youtube, a red panda playing with a pumpkin.


And in the right-time-right-place category, a woman took some pictures of an octopus capturing and eating a seagull. Warning for the squeamish: pictures show gull being drowned, then eaten.

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08:58 pm - Fun things

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Take one picture of Hilary Clinton working, holding a smartphone. (?) Let it hit the internet. Add people to put that image together with other screencaps and snarky comments. Voilà! Texts from Hilary

I think my favorite is the first one, with President Obama relaxing as he text-chats with 'Hil'. <g>
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07:25 pm - Fun things

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I like animals, flowers, and spring. How could I resist this picture?

see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

adelheide

11:07 am - LOL Dog Pic

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I follow the comm capslock_dreamwidth because sometimes there are cool pics posted. Today, we got a stunning visual confirmation that some dogs will go to any length to retrieve their fetchy-toy. The OP grabbed the pic from this site of diving dogs, if you want to see more.

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08:55 pm - Hee! H50 Christmas greetings.

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A little clip passed on from a Yahoo list. Cute, funny, and fun.

Watch it here.

(The first version may not show in some areas; those folks on the list have had success with this other posting.)



Crossposts still on the fritz. You may comment on the Dreamwidth version, if you wish.
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12:16 pm - Muppet sex and other questions

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If you don't already read Jim C Hines, author and blogger, you need to hop on over to enjoy his speculations on Muppet lives, sexuality, immortality, and the religious and legal implications. It's a lot of fun, and there's even more entertainment in the comments, so I'll link you to all three sites --

on Dreamwidth

on LiveJournal

on his blog

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05:31 pm - Funny story

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Linked from somewhere, enjoy the adventures of KleptoKitty.

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10:08 pm - I haven't laughed so hard in a long time...

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So, I recently subscribed to metaquotes, and was perusing back entries and sharing giggles with Cindy.

Recently, allessindra posted this little nugget: The cat tearing down the hallway set off the beagle, who lunged from under the bed after the cat, baying hysterically, which did nothing for the cat’s nerves. Cat and beagle streaked down the hallway. Cat made the turn successfully and went off down the steps. The beagle... did not.

Unfortunately, his failure to make the turn meant that he hit a litterbox.



Enticing, but not hilarious, but there was a link to the original post, and I was intrigued enough to follow it. It started thusly --

So it kinda went down like this, in case the police ever ask.

While reading about a slippery phone, scared cat, excited dog, pissed (different) cat, and chastised (same) dog...   I. Laughed. SO. HARD! Warning: do not eat or drink while reading.

And, if the journal is ever locked or deleted, the author also posted it on her blog, "Tea with a Squash God". The tale ends with the following:

So, y’know. If they ever ask about the blood splatter in the bedroom. That’s how it happened.


Now, shoo -- go, read. And celebrate writing talent that can turn minor household disasters into comedy gold.

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09:58 am - Cool things from other people

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Via green_knight, through Icanhascheezburger, tracked from there to The Onion. Funny, mostly because it's sickeningly indicative of 98% of Rethuglicans in the capitol.

Obama Turns 50 Despite Republican Opposition
August 4, 2011 | ISSUE 47•31

WASHINGTON—After months of heated negotiations and failed attempts to achieve any kind of consensus, President Obama turned 50 years old Thursday, drawing strong criticism from Republicans in Congress. "With the host of problems this country is currently facing, the fact that our president is devoting time to the human process of aging is an affront to Americans everywhere," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who advocated a provision to keep Obama 49 at least through the fall of 2013. "To move forward unilaterally and simply begin the next year of his life without bipartisan support — is that any way to lead a country?" According to White House officials, Obama attempted to work with Republicans right up until the Aug. 4 deadline, but was ultimately left with no choice except to turn a year older.

= = =

From castiron, also via green_knight, "an open letter to all forming Atlantic tropical depressions -- "Dear air masses: You are all wimps. Your mothers were the belches of manatees, and your fathers smelt of rotting fish. There are baby hummingbirds with greater wind strength than you. You have the moisture content of a piece of beef jerky buried in dessicant in the Sahara." Creative and funny, and I know exactly what she's going through; check it out.

= = =

From my sister, a link to Worst Pills, Best Pills. "WorstPills.org is a project of Public Citizen, a non-profit group that advocates for health, safety and democracy." Think of it as a Consumer Reports for Medicine, with such articles as

    Another Addition to the Annals of Prescription-Drug Price Gouging
    Cholesterol-Lowering Combination Misses the Mark
    Inappropriate Prescribing of Atypical Antipsychotic Drugs in the Elderly

Subscription is $15/year, but you can check out a few free articles before you decide to subscribe -- Myths and Facts About Generic Drugs, or Misprescribing and Overprescribing of Drugs, or several others in the right sidebar.

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04:16 pm - Cute animal vids

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Picked up from Cute Overload


Kitten freaks out over apples in bed.

From the same vidder:

Kitten freaks out over tennis ball.


From a different vidder:

Kitten stuck in hamster ball.

Kitten playing "kitchy-coo" with its owner, with flying paws matching owner's hands.

These are so cute -- don't know if you can watch without laughing.

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01:38 pm - Humor Links

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    Zooborns


    I Can Has Cheeseburger?


    I Has a Hotdog!


    Yeah, Fanfic Flamingo

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08:08 am - End of World -- where is the logic?

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Okay, I just snapped. I'm watching last night's (recorded) local news. One of the casters said, "Have you finished your bucket list yet? Got everything finished in case the world ends?"

Does anyone think anymore? If the world actually ends, anything unfinished won't matter. AAMoF, I've been thinking, "Well, at least I wouldn't have to finish all this blankety-blank end-of-school paperwork." But since I peg the chances at approximately 0.00000000000000000001%, I'm still plugging away at said paperwork. --"What do you mean, you don't have the evaluation reports finished?"   "Since the world was supposed to end, I didn't see any sense in doing it." -- Somehow, I don't think it'd wash.

Actually, I'd feel really bad that I haven't finished Gerri's two-year-old Moonridge story yet. But, even if I did, she wouldn't have time to read it. (Gotta kick my muse and do something about it this summer.)

And I've heard about people spending lots of money to buy (their version of) shiny things, because after the world ends, they won't need the money anymore. Do they not stop to realize that they also won't have any use for the shiny things??? I sure hope those stories are inflated, or that the buyers can return their shiny things for the money to buy food and gas when the world doesn't end.

And now I have to get back to that paperwork. But in case that 0.00000000000000000001% comes true -- thank you to all my fandom friends. You've helped make the last ten years lots of fun.
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04:42 pm - I made an LOLCAT

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I was showing Cindy some pics on I Can Haz Cheezburger. At the bottom of the page was this tiny, forlorn-looking young kitten, that they invited readers to caption. Cindy and I together came up with this effort. Thought you might find it cute.
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09:23 am - Geeky New-Yearly humor

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I was noodling around, looking for science blogs to add to my links list, and came across Bad Astronomy. Intriguing title, yes/no? I thought so.

The first post is Happy New Year! Again! The blurb reads, "I don’t usually repost blog entries, because it’s lazy. But it's 2.5 hours before New Years as I sit here, and you know what? Tonight I'm lazy (though not so lazy to make a few edits to bring the post up to date). Plus, this post was last seen three years ago, on December 31, 2007, and I have a lot of new readers since then so it's new to them. Also? This post is one my favorites I've ever written. So enjoy it, but fair warning: if you're hungover I can almost guarantee this'll make it worse."

After that last line, how could I resist? (Note that I'm not hung over, so felt I was in no danger.) Not only did I learn about different ways of measuring a year, I laughed out loud several times.

On the other hand, laughing at this post may just indicate that I'm geekier than I thought. But if you want to give it a look, have fun.
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06:54 pm - Funny!

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If you have dolimir_k / dolimir_k on your reading page, you've seen this. If not, check out the pictorial "Lab Guide" on Dreamwidth or on LiveJournal. Recommended for anyone who [a] likes animals, [b] has a warped sense of humor, and/or [c] enjoys puns. Three days later, I still laugh every time I see it. I hope you enjoy it as much.
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12:47 pm - Fun survery.

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If you have thefourthvine in your circle, you've seen this. But, if not, her sister is "trying to put together a data set (so that she can teach people to export and use said data set in Excel and SPSS - she leads a fun life), and she has a short survey about dinosaurs she'd like people to take."

As TFV says, if they don't get some help, she and her nephew will have to fill it out 100 times each. It's not too strenuous, and the test-maker assures us we can answer in any way we want -- even lie -- since none of us can own a living, breathing dinosaur. <g>


In the comment section, I wrote: "Although it requires twice as much money and space, I've always had two dinos at a time, so they can be companions for each other. When my first beloved stegosaurus died, the brontosaurus was so lonely that she readily accepted the triceratops and made friends.

BTW, I was disappointed not to see stegosaurus in the selection; they are by far the friendliest, most tractable -- and certainly the most beautiful -- of the dinos.

Anyway, except for the space and amount of feed, keeping pet dinos is much like keeping other pets. You have to have rules, and be firm about enforcing them, or they'll walk all over you. (In this case, literally!) A badly-behaved dino can destroy your house and neighborhood. Personally, I'm in favor of much stricter requirements before people are allowed to own dinosaurs; they're not for the careless or laid-back pet owner."

It can be your good deed for the day: Go forth and take the dinosaur survey!

ETA: Survey is now closed, with 700 responses in less than 24 hours. Once again, fandom -- via friends and friends of friends -- done good. <g>
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10:52 am - Animals & Humor

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From turps33 comes this set of pictures of Cats Sleeping in Boxes. Some of those poses make you wonder if cats have any bones at all in their bodies.

Of course, I'm never satisfied with just one set of pics; I went to the homepage of Damn Cool Pics, and started searching groupings from the sidebar menu, especially the 'Animals' groupings.

( Long, with lots of links.Collapse )

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04:49 pm - Meditation over the toilet... gone!

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Over several years, my dad built a house. The outer walls are solid logs, with inner walls built of standard 2x4 lumber and insulated, with drywall on top. He did almost everything himself - outer and inner walls, roofing, wiring and plumbing (checked and approved by certified, licensed folks), building and staining the hardwood cabinets, framing the doors and windows, and so much more. I think the only things he didn't do was install the carpets and linoleum on the floors (and it shows).

(It's not a house I would want -- not handicapped-friendly, cathedral ceilings, kitchen too crowded -- but Mom liked the design, so they're happy with it.)

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05:16 pm - Egg humor

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Arnie 1967 posted a bunch of egg-humor pictures on LJ, some of which are warped, but all funny. Agent Spooky also posted most of the same pictures, although there are a few differences in the pictures selected. Both links provided, in case you can't get into one or the other.
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03:53 pm - Dog and Sweet Potato

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Many moons ago, The Fourth Vine (as Littera_Abactor) regaled us with the tale of how her dog would NOT stop eating raw sweet potatoes. This is side-clutchingly funny (do NOT eat or drink while reading!), and I keep wanting to share it with people, but I always have trouble finding it. So here's the link, where I can search in my own DW, where it will be easy to find.

Enjoy.
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Comment at Dreamwidth post - http://starwatcher.dreamwidth.org/336541.html

06:07 pm - Another 'FourthVine' ST:TOS recap/reaction

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The Naked Time, LJ     and     The Naked Time, DW

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Comment at Dreamwidth post - http://starwatcher.dreamwidth.org/335926.html

10:06 am - StarTrek through humorous retro eyes

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For those of you who don't know thefourthvine (thefourthvine), she has a delightful sense of humor, and conveys it well through her writing. Translation: it is difficult to read her funny posts without almost literally choking on your laughter. If you visit any of these - DON'T EAT OR DRINK WHILE READING!!!

Somehow, TFV has never seen the original series of Star Trek; she explains that she doesn't watch much TV at all. But lately, someone has pointed her toward specific episodes of ST:TOS, and she's sharing her recaps/reactions with us. Said Rs/Rs are written from the POV of a feminist slasher with a keen eye for the ridiculous. IE, funny, very funny, with innuendos that the producers/directors never intended. (Although I'm sure fangirls have noticed same since the first airings. Maybe it's funnier since it's hit TFV full in the face, instead of percolating gradually.) Regardless, if you haven't read these, I think you'll enjoy them, so I'm pointing you in the right direction.

I've included links to both the LJ and DW posts, because some of the comments are almost as funny as the original posts. These are in the order TFV wrote them, so you can read along as she makes her 'discoveries' about the vagaries of 1960's TV science fiction. Have fun.


Amok Time, LJ     and     Amok Time, DW


The Trouble with Tribbles, LJ     and     The Trouble with Tribbles, DW


The City on the Edge of Forever, LJ     and     The City on the Edge of Forever, DW


Mirror, Mirror, LJ     and     Mirror, Mirror, DW


Naked Time, LJ     and     Naked Time, DW


The Naked Time, LJ     and     The Naked Time, DW

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10:00 am - Humor around the 'net

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Kate Harding at Shapely Prose has a new post. She found a most unusual picture on the 'net, and asked for explanations. She specified, "explanations should not be based on research or actual knowledge." Check out the comments; some of them are real knee-slappers.

My contribution was - "Long ago, the zombies realized they could never catch the ambulatories on their own two feet, so they bred giant chickens to ride; said chickens also pecked the heads of the ambulatories they ran down, giving the zombies easier access to the bra-a-a-i-i-ins.

This is a reenactment of the Battle of Puhlkepper Mountain, in 1601 – similar to Guy Fawkes day, but without the fireworks – when a small band of ambulatories fought fiercely and managed to rout a larger group of chicken-riding zombies, thereby saving their families and homes."
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08:53 am - One warning, one funny.

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Comments enabled at Dreamwidth.

I don't know or use Facebook; it's too complicated for me, or too labor-intensive, or something like that. But for those who do, comes this warning from the NZ Herald: Facebook users have been warned they will be among targets of a huge increase in cyber crime next year. Internet scammers are increasingly hacking into personal profiles on social networking sites to defraud the account holder's friends, said one expert. According to the article, "A spokesman said fewer than one per cent of members were successfully attacked." But... one percent of the numbers on Facebook is a lot of people.

( The funny is behind the cut.Collapse )

10:30 pm - My bump of humor is passing strange...

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Comments enabled at Dreamwidth crosspost.

I'm at my folks for Thanksgiving. When we get together, we usually play a certain card game after supper. I don't even know the official name; maybe 'Traveling Rummy'? Starting with six cards, each hand has one more, and the target card combinations -- books and/or runs -- change with each hand.

So, we're in the middle of a game, the cards have been dealt, everyone has inspected and arranged the cards in their hand, and Dad turns over the first card, a nine of spades. Usually the next player wants it, or says she (Mom, in this case) doesn't want it, or another player (me, this time) wants to 'buy' it. I mean, it's a card game; something needs to happen to move the game along.

Instead, we all sat there, staring at it blankly, like it was a dead fish that had suddenly materialized out of thin air. This went on for two or three seconds. Suddenly it hit me what we were all doing -- staring dumbly at this innocuous bit of paper like we expected it to do something...

I started with a couple of giggles, then roared with laughter; so hard that I couldn't explain to my folks what was so funny. Each time I tried, I just laughed harder. When they finally understood, they were... faintly amused.

Yeah. Welcome to StarWatcher's version of The Twilight Zone.

BTW: I've now won this game three times in a row!!! Yes, it deserves three exclamation points. My parents think I'm funning, but I'm truly dyslexic when it comes to cards; I've struggled for years to play this game. I once laid down a 'run' that indeed had four consecutive numbers... but didn't notice that each card was in a different suit. I commonly confuse spades and clubs; I know they don't look anything alike, except when they do... I am frequently surprised to find that, "Oh, hey, wait... I've made the target combination for this hand!"

But even a dyslexic can learn a task if they keep working at it long enough. Mostly, I hunker down, and try to 'buy' as few cards as I can... as opposed to Mom, who buys everything, because it might be useful. So tonight, at the end of the second-last hand, I was last -- 30/85/105. But the cards fell right, and I had some good luck, and got rid of all my cards while Mom and Dad still had full hands. Final score -- 105/215/290. Wheeeeeee!


Have a great Thanksgiving, for those who celebrate, and a great day, for those who don't.
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07:40 pm - I need more hours in a day...

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My friend N is in Ruidoso with relatives this weekend. She called this afternoon, and told me a joke she'd just seen on a sign in a tourist-store:

06:27 pm - Humor from Dad

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Comments enabled at Dreamwidth crosspost.

My dad just sent this in-depth series of health questions and answers from a 'noted' (though unnamed) doctor. I think we can all get some benefit from its wisdom.


Q: Doctor, I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true?

A: The heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it. Don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of a car by driving faster. You want to live longer? Take a nap.


Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?

A: You need a grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. What are these? Vegetables. So, steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (which is a green leafy vegetable). And pork chops can give you 100% of the recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.


Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?

A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine. That means they take water out of the fruity bits; you'll get even more of the fruity goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain. Bottoms up!


Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?

A: If you have a body and you have fat, the ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, the ratio is two to one, etc.


Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?

A: I cannot think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain... Good!


Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?

A: YOU ARE NOT LISTENING!!! .... Foods are fried in vegetable oil. How can getting more vegetables be bad for you?


Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?

A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only do sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.


Q: Is chocolate bad for me?

A: Are you crazy? HELLO ... Cocoa beans! Vegetable!!! Cocoa beans make the best feel-good food around!


Q: Is swimming good for your figure?

A: If you think swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.


Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle?

A: Hey! 'Round' is a shape!



So, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets. But, for those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional studies:

1. The Japanese eat very little fat... And suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat... And suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

3. The Chinese drink very little red wine... And suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine... And suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

5. The Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausages and fats... And suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.


CONCLUSION:

Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

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06:59 pm - Camouflage...

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My friend N and her husband have two shar-pei dogs. One is black, and the other is this color. This is the only way I can figure how to find this pic again to show her.

see more dog and puppy pictures

06:57 pm - ::headdesk:: I forgot

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Tangential to TFV's post about Fantasy Warnings (on Dreamwidth and Livejournal), Rhymer23 linked to a post where she wrote "typo fic" -- snippets with punchlines incorporating malapropisms and typos that she's collected over the years. SGA, gen (too short to be anything else), and worth several good snickers. Enjoy.
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04:41 pm - Fantasy Warnings

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For those who haven't seen it, TheFourthVine has a marvelous post - humor and meta combined - about warnings she'd like to see on stories we'd like to avoid. It's posted twice, on Dreamwidth and also on Livejournal.

I recommend reading comments on both versions, because other readers/writers have suggested additional warnings. But in case you don't, let me highlight TFV's admonition about writing inappropriate emotional responses from specific characters. She says, in part, "Unless you, say, shoot him up with some kind of massive inhibition-reducing virus, [snip] Spock is not going to spend a lot of time sobbing into his pillow. (Which is good, because crying Vulcans are very bad for morale. In fact, I'm betting the Enterprise's alert scale goes something like this: yellow alert, orange alert, red alert, oh shit we're all fucked alert, and, finally, the dreaded crying Vulcan alert, which immediately enacts the wills of everyone on board, supplies them all with a powerful euphoric narcotic, and notifies their next of kin.)

<g> A lot of people liked that one; in fact, TheFrog wrote a comment fic based on that idea. Gotta read that one!

Of course, the people who truly need to use these warnings on their fic will never recognize themselves or their stories... but it is a delightful fantasy. Enjoy.
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09:25 am - Truth in humor

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Oh, my! You have to slide over to zoethe's journal to read Why Jesus came 2000 years ago and not today. It combines humor with a commentary on internet interactions. Clever lady, and this is too good to let disappear into cyberspace.
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01:48 pm - Your humor spot for today.

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thefourthvine has a chortle-worthy post up: Why Aren't People Commenting on My Post/Story/Whatever? After she goes through the percentages of hilarious but reasonable explanations -- we recognize and have lived all most of them -- she concludes: But wait, you say! That's everyone! You're right. It is. So, hey, if you get any comments at all, you have beaten the odds.

Go, read. If nothing else, it's nice to know that we're not alone -- on either side of the equation.
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10:51 pm - New use for Windex

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My sister sent this, said it was a 'hot tip' from Heloise. She admits that she hasn't checked 'snopes.com' to see if it actually works or not, but just in case you need the information --


If you ever get the sudden urge to run around naked, you should sniff some Windex first.

It'll keep you from streaking.
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09:01 pm - Too fun!

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Over at Shakespeare's Sister, Portly Dyke points out that, in regards to our national politics, "There have been many comparisons drawn between the last eight years and a bad relationship." She liked the metaphor, grabbed it and ran with it. It's scarily fitting, from the tribulations and dysfunctions of our previous relationship with "Pat", to our suspicion of our new relationship, "Alex" -- is all that goodness real, or are we just on the rebound?

It's also funny as can be. Head on over for proof that 'truth' can also be 'entertaining'.
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