Last post of 2009

Y'all have fun partying. I'll be in bed trying to sleep off this head cold and sore throat.

Happy new year! Remember -- it is illegal to shoot your firearms into the air if you live inside city limits, not to mention stupid.

Time to see if my tea has cooled to "just right."

Whatcha reading? 30 December 2009

4. The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Veiled Detective by David Stuart Davies

3. Inkdeath (Inkheart series #3) by Cornelia Funke

2. The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Scroll of the Dead by David Stuart Davies

1. Divine Misdemeanors (Merry Gentry #8) by Laurell K. Hamilton

Whatcha reading? 20 December 2009

2. The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Scroll of the Dead by David Stuart Davies

1. Divine Misdemeanors (Merry Gentry #8) by Laurell K. Hamilton

Boooooo!

The New Orleans Saints lost their first game of the season. We all knew it would happen eventually, and they're still having their best season EVER in the history of the franchise at 13-1, and they're still #1 in the NFC South and going to the play-offs . . . but they lost to the Dallas Cowboys.

THE DALLAS COWBOYS!!!

::headdesk::

If LOLcats were actors

Thanks to a friend's web journal, I present to you New Moon if it were performed by LOLcats (and a LOLwolf). ::falls out of wheelchair laughing::

Don't forget to check out the LOLcats doing Twilight. It's so much more interesting than the book.

Whatcha reading? 13 December 2009

1. Divine Misdemeanors (Merry Gentry #8) by Laurell K. Hamilton

Leaving in a white van

Leaving around 10:30 tomorrow (Monday) morning to drive back to Kansas. Will check in when we get back.

Twilight FAIL

OK, I gave it the ol' college try. I read a third of it before giving up.

It wasn't the moody teenagers. It wasn't the angst. It wasn't even the sparkly sh--, I mean stuff.

It was BOOOOOORING. Good grief, I haven't anything that lackluster in a long time.

::looks at book, dozes off::

And that's that

I just finished making my four slide Powerpoint presentation for statistics. After I do the five minute presentation on Tuesday, I will be mostly done for the semester. Both of my girls (undergrad assisants) who helped me this semester with all the physical stuff I am unable to do have asked to continue as my minions next semester, and that is a HUGE relief to me. They are both intelligent, driven, and extremely well self-directed, so I know my fishies will be safe next semester while I'm gone. We're going to practice photographing fins this week so they know EXACTLY how I want it done, then at the beginning of next semester they will photograph all the fins and send me the pictures to play with.

On the preparing to go home front, I went through all of my clothes at the beginning of the month and donated a bunch of stuff to the athletic department's clothing drive for a local mission. Over the last two nights, Tracie has helped me go through the closet by my bed, and I've gotten rid of about half the stuff I had stored in there. I still need to go through the kitchen closet (candles, incense, herbs, winter outerwear) and the big dresser (a junk drawer, a Reba drawer, and a linen drawer). Then the BOOKS. That's going to be crazy, my friends. I'm predicting one box of clothes and at least three of books. Think I'm joking? Ask Anita, Jonikka, or my parents about the clothing-to-book box ratio when I moved out of my Wichita apartment to move here. Tuesday is "talk with your advisor" day, Wednesday will find Moby getting two new shoes and an oil change, and Mom flies in Thursday afternoon. We have tentative plans to go eat with two of my friends and go have dinner made for us at other friends' house at some point over the weekend. Also over the weekend, we'll be hauling some of my stuff (bookshelf, table, TV, DVD player, dishes, small kitchen appliances) to Tracie's house in NO East for storage until I come back. Mom and I plan to leave on Monday, to arrive home on Tuesday.

OK, so I'm going to go try to read Twilight now. I promised a friend almost a year ago that I'd read it, and I still haven't gotten up the nerve. Let's face it, the descriptions of plot I've heard have nearly made my brain cramp. I'll try to keep an open mind, but at the first sign of nausea or neuron suicidal behavior, I'm done. There are too many books in the world to waste time on sparkly, emo vamps. Wait -- open mind, open mind.

What is this "relax" of which you speak?

The Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowship was submitted on 7 Nov. -- two days ahead of schedule.

The poster for the SETAC meeting was emailed to Kinko's on 18 Nov. and finished on 19 Nov. -- it is bright, shiny, all KINDS of sexy in its 40" x 56" glory, and ready to be shown off on Sunday. Can't wait to see the looks on the faces of all those stuffed suits when they realize the chick in the power wheelchair with the dog is the primary author.

The NSF DDIG grant was submitted today -- a whopping hour and a half ahead of the deadline.

All I have left to do school-wise before moving home is make a 5-minute PowerPoint describing some of my data and what statistical methods I used to analyze them, with my presentation being given on 1 Dec. -- maybe I'll get around to it on Monday.

Tomorrow is dedicated to reading a big chunk of The Sweet Far Thing, playing games at MSN Games, a possible nap in my chair, and maybe "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" on USA.

Relaxing. Let's see if I remember what that is.

MIA no longer

I love this one: an explosives-sniffing black lab named Sabi attached to an Australian Special Forces unit in Afghanistan went missing 14 months ago after a fire fight in which nine men, including her handler, were wounded. A US soldier found her in the company of a local man, tested her to see if his suspicion that she was a military dog was true, and returned her to the Australians. She's currently under quarantine, awaiting a clean bill of health to return home.

Sabi, you deserve a hero's welcome and a lifetime supply of your favorite-est treat.

The Birds

Apparently web users are all a-flutter (sorry, couldn't resist) over this flock of starlings in Denmark. I grew up in Kansas, so I've seen things like this dozens of times, albeit not for this length of time. It's pretty hypnotic.

What you don't get in this video, though, is the utter RACKET a flock of starlings can make. Or the mess. Those aren't so hypnotic.

Message in a CD case. In a drawer. In a backpack. In a . . .

Little Elena Desserich, a six-year-old diagnosed with brain cancer, hid love notes to her parents and sister all over their house before she passed on. The brief story contains links to the published book by her parents and the non-profit foundation which will receive the proceeds from the book.

What a beautiful little girl with an insightful, wise heart and mind. One of the story's commenters said she was an old soul. I agree -- you can see it in her amazing eyes.

Justice is served

JOP Bardwell of no-interracial-marriage fame has resigned. Hooray!

::maniacal giggling::

I thought this was funny as HELL -- but that might be because I got less than five hours of sleep last night.



see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Whoa baby!

Got an email from my cousin A. yesterday that she is pregnant. I'm absolutely thrilled that she is in a good situation to have a family with a man who adores her and is a great father to his children from his previous marriage. Interestingly, said children are getting TWO new siblings within two months because their mother is pregnant also, and she's due two months before A.

I also found out that my cousin J. (A.'s younger brother) and his wife K. are expecting another girl. This baby, due in March, is J.'s fourth and K.'s second. So total count for J. and K. = 1 boy + 3 girls.

And the best part for me is I should be home for both births.

Cuteness warning

This reminds me of that baby squirrel Sarah and I found at the cemetery the day after my birthday, only ours was half the size of this one.



see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Update: Interracial marriage refusal

Oh, it's getting big time attention. Even the governor is weighing in.

Many angry man wouldn't marry interracial couple

Thank you for staying home

The flu, H1N1 and others, is flying already (isn't it a bit early for this?), and the first of my friends has gone down. It's not H1N1, but still.

So begin D's mantras:

"Wash your hands."

"Cover your mouth."

"Avoid breathing directly in my face."

"Are you sure you washed your hands? With soap? How long did you rub?"

Because I seriously do NOT have time to get sick. The applications are too important, the meeting is already paid for, and the fish heads need to be measured before I move home.

Oh, and my nephew's second birthday is in less than two weeks. And I seriously need to start packing some things and mailing them home. And I'd like to go to the Louisiana Renaissance Festival if it's not too cold when it finally starts.

Gah. I hate flu season.

Really?

I mean, really? I thought we were past this kind of nonsense.

Well, at least he's not a racist. *rolls eyes*

Interracial couple denied marriage license in Louisiana