The end is in sight....

I have finished my papers and am down to two finals - unfortunately both are going to be kind of rough. But it is almost over and then I have two weeks before the summer semester. I am both still melting down and decompressing at the same time.

I will be getting on the new website as quickly as possible...

Yes, I am alive...

It's nice to know that I'm loved...Seriously - I appreciate emails from people wondering if I'm alright - especially from people who have never actually communicated with me before. So yes, I am alive and mostly alright.

I am currently in TN with my boys for the weekend--eldest wanted me here for fathers day. I am also brutally fucking busy and will probably be too busy to get a lot written over the next few weeks. I am going to do what I can, but I have been really stressed and honestly, reading the blogs has been making it worse lately, so avoidance has been key for the last week.

I am fucking pissed at our fucking government, which I expected to be. I just didn't expect to be angry about the things that I am. I was honestly hopeful that I would be pissed because things that I happen to believe in would be done badly or halfassed. Never - never in a million fucking years did I expect to actually be considering whether we might not be better off with a president McCain, tempered by an opposition congress.

But I am.

Not even his first motherfucking SCOTUS pick is looking any better than someone that a president McCain would have picked. And given everything else that this sick fucking excuse for an administration has fucked us up the ass without lube about, that was about all I had left.

I am grateful that he has made science a priority. But that is hard to weigh against the outright destruction that this motherfucker has done to our justice system - a system already fucking broken. But hey, we really didn't need to protect the rights of suspects to be free from the pressure of law enforcement to waive their right to counsel during questioning - as long as they've been charged and are now considered a defendant.

Obama is a fucking disgrace and our circle jerk fucking congress is absolutely fucking pointless. These shit eating bastards are no better than the fucking republicans. At least the republicans actually throw their constituency more fucking bones than these fucking scumbags do...

My Everything Hurts!!!

I am just way too out of shape right now. I just put in a days work that would have had me nary breaking a sweat four or five years ago - only not only did I break a sweat, I am hurting - everywhere...

On the up side, I got a lot done and made sure that the pole barn shop I am getting prepped to side will be sound. The guy who originally built it put in a single 2x12 for a header over the sixteen foot garage door. Apparently he felt that because he was putting another 2x12 on the inside of the posts, everything would be fine. And it actually would have been, had he connected outside 2x12 with the one on the inside. So we were able to take about two inch sag out of the opening. To do so, we had to fur out the rest of the wall - at this point, if anyone runs into the wall (it's a mechanic's shop) it won't be a problem. Likewise, if there is a massive earthquake, that wall will still be standing...

Did I mention I'm really sore? Like everydamnedthing hurts?

Oh well, tomorrow should be...even worse. Because tomorrow, we have to build and set the gable end overhang ladders. But it will all be downhill from there - mostly I'll just be doing the light duty, more skilled aspects of getting this job done.

I forgot to mention the insulation in the walls and ceiling. It was the best of both worlds. I am mildly allergic to the fiberglass in the walls and the ceiling is covered with celulose - and me also mildly allergic to formaldehyde.

And did I mention I'm sore? I need some damned icecream!!!

I got my E-Cigarette!!! - Calling For Smokers Ex and those who want to be be Ex...

Addendum - I am looking for contributors - I am setting up a quitters blog, see below. No longer considering it - doing it. Email me or leave a comment.

And it's up over here - please leave a comment there or email me if you are interested in contributing...

Just came in this afternoon, while I was at school and it rocks. It will take some getting used to, but I think this is definitely going to make a huge difference in my run to quit smoking.

And while I'm on the topic, a visit from one of my favorite commenters at Dispatches, Abby Normal, got me thinking. Abby posted a really kick-ass comment, describing his experience with quitting smoking. Would there be any interest from my ex-smoking readers, as well as those who are trying to or who are planning on quitting, in a blog project for you (and me) to post about our experience? I would love to throw up another blog around here and allow you all to post - with team posting privileges for those who want them.

I would also be really happy to add medical, sciencey types and addiction counselors to the mix, should they wish to contribute posts as well.

I think that this could be of immense benefit to all of us, especially those of us who are still smoking. If there is interest and it works out, I would love to add blogs for other addiction issues - or possibly a forum. Though if the latter was developed, it would require volunteers to moderate. And keep in mind that I really can't devote much time to making this go, which is partly why I would just prefer to give those who want it, team posting privileges. This would not be something to abuse and there would have to be some rules - number one being to keep it topical. But I think this could be pretty rocking big fun, as well as built in support for us quitters.

Please let me know what you think.

And actually, I should also note that though I've gotten out of the habit since I resurrected this blog, I am all about having guest posters. I will be somewhat selective about what I post and will admit that my reasons may be pretty arbitrary, but I am all about hearing from you, if you want to post. I do recommend that you ask me before you write the post, so you don't end up writing something that I don't really want - but I really do like the idea of getting some other voices up around here and outside of comments. Finally, please don't assume that because you disagree with me on something, that I won't be willing to post your views - there are some things that I just won't, but that is not a common restriction for me.

Day three...

Much better day, though I am really uncomfortable at the moment. I got a lot of crap done today, mainly revolving around buying a van and taking care of the most egregious irritation, the doors that didn't open from the outside. I got it mostly figured out, I could tell what was wrong, but couldn't figure out the fix. Then he figured out why they had slipped in the first place and with the help of a couple of well placed paper clips, we got that fixed. With a clear head it is unlikely that I would have had much of a problem figuring this out. But that's the sort of thing friends are for - we got it fixed. Now there are just a dozen or so other minor issues to deal with. I can't really complain though, I got a pretty good deal.

Being on the go seems to make a difference, we'll see how that translates to school tomorrow. I have a couple of midterms and hopefully will get a chance to meet with the prof for my online class. Trying to get motivated to do anything at the moment is not working out all that well. I really want to get several things done, including continuing with my series on how I ended up this way. But I am just not feeling up to doing shit right now. I am going to eat something and watch an episode of Stargate SG1 and see where I am then. I'm ready for school tomorrow, so it's probably fine. But my space is still a mess (I reorganized, mostly) and I didn't get the inside of my van cleaned - the carpet and windshield really need some loving. I could at least finish my reorganizing, but my impetus is fading...

All right, I can breath for a few minutes...

I finished the rough draft of my first addiction paper. So now I just need to get the books for my next paper, which will be on gender. Mainly because I've really been enjoying the discussion at Pieces of Me and it got me thinking in that direction. I will also hopefully be writing some posts about gender coming up here.

But I also need to get the final draft of this paper finished and slam out a couple more addiction posts I've got rumbling around in me. And I will probably get the paper itself posted late next week, though I am considering actually fleshing it out a bit more. Twelve pages just aren't enough - especially double spaced. I mean come on, you should definitely get more pages if they're double spaced!!!!

Taking A Break......

This is your brain. This is your brain on research paper. (found the second image at a really spiffy science blog I love how google makes that sort of thing happen)

I am tentatively excited about Obama's pick for drug czar, but won't have time to write a substantive post for a week or so. In the meantime, DrugMonkey has a post about him. I will try to throw up more links about Kerlikowske, as I notice them - which won't be often for the next few days.

I also wanted to mention Pandora. A friend showed it to me quite a while ago and I promptly forgot all about it, until yesterday, when my dad was asking me about listening to streaming music online and working on the computer at the same time (he's seventy-three, give him a break). I did a google search and Pandora came up, which jogged my memory. It's pretty much been on since. If you register, let me know - I'd love to find out about your musical tastes and would be happy to share my own. My bookmarked artists are either artists that are new to me, or ones I've heard but didn't know.

And if anyone knows how the hell to pin a post to the top in blogger, please let me know. I hate having to screw around with time-stamps to keep the addiction question on top.

Did I mention I love Pandora? Because I do.

And I also love this blog I just discovered while procrastinating with JLK's blogroll. You all say I'm open. At least Crystal is open about her pain. I think I can learn a thing or two....

And I really, really love that Natalie Merchant's "My Skin" is playing right now. On Pandora, which if I forgot to mention, I love.

Eugenics, eugenics and me.....

Sorry about the delay, but I have been much more busy than I intended. In the great frozen north, we have had enough snow that it has caused some problems on houses that have insulation issues. Among them is the home of a very good friends mother. Having several years experience dealing with roof and siding issues, I realized that there is a huge problem in the making due to the very strange weather we've been having. So I am helping said friend remove all the snow from the roof and melt off some major ice dams that are putting the eves at risk. I'm getting to old for this shit. (Not that I'm old, just that several years of roofing trashed my knees and lower back - vicodin will be my very close friend today)

So I would like to continue the discussion on eugenics, but it will have to wait until I have managed to get this roof in a better place. In the meantime, please feel free to jump into the conversation already going on here and read down the line for something of a preview of todays posting.

Lots going on...

Wow, it's been a while. Sorry about that. I am still waiting on a connection at home and dealing with a lot of things at once.

We are having a baby in a matter of weeks now. Not really prepared enough but working on it. Unfortunately, I am going to have a break from working that I really need not to have. I will probably come up with something, but it's very stressful timing with Christmas and a baby coming quickly.

On top of it all, my five year old is really having issues at school. We have bent over backwards and jumped through hoops to make it work, to create continuity between school and home. His counselor has also gone the rounds to help us create a workable solution. Part of the problem is the school, part of it is his ADHD. So we are pulling him out at the semester turnaround. As much as we hoped to avoid it, we will be teaching him at home.

To a certain degree, this is kind of exciting. There will be many advantages to home schooling. Ultimately, I think it is probably the best way to educate someone with severe ADHD. One on one teaching would have done a lot for me. But it is also very intimidating. It will all be in our hands and on our heads.

It also means that we are going to have to make some serious changes to the way our household operates. This in itself would not be such a problem, but it comes at a time when we are already going through serious changes, what with the baby and all. It also means that there is little possibility of momma going back into the workforce (not that this was likely to happen in the near future anyways).

On the upside, it is motivation to write more about education. I have been wanting to get a forum going to discuss parental supplementing and home schooling. We are actually getting a new internet connection soon, which will get me back to doing more blogging. We will also probably both be getting into writing about our experiences, both good and bad, with educating our son. I am also interested in hearing from others who are either home schooling or actively supplementing their child's education. I am also keen on hearing from parents who are done (or mostly done) with that sort of thing. Educators are also of interest, as are those who just have an opinion about it all.

I will probably be starting a new blog for this endeavor. Expect it after the holidays. I don't intend to blog less here, indeed with a home connection, it should go on the upswing again. But I will probably do more on the new one, as I hope my partner will too.

Again, I am sorry that it has been so sparse lately. But as you can see, I've been busy.

Sporadic to the Extreme

I am currently without the internets at home. I will hopefully have changed this in the net few weeks, but until then, things will be really sporadic, including responses to comments. Thanks for your patience.

STOP!! Vote for Shelley Batts

The amazing, remarkable Shelley Batts (ok, a little thick, but Ed's threatening painful death, so it could be worse) who wrote the great piece on the neuroscience of ADHD, that I loved so much, is in the running for a scholarship to help with her PHD. So click here, even if you don't actually take the time to go to her blog, click the dot next to the name Shelley Batts and click on vote. Seriously, she's a poor grad student with a hungry parrot to feed. If you're even questioning whether or not to even care, please, click over to her blog. Look at that sweet, hungry parrot (probably not actually hungry, I imagine if given the choice between her and the bird, the bird would eat, but still, Shelley rocks)

Sorry for the creative tags. The more searches the better. If you got here through a search, Vote For Shelley, it's worth it. Then come back and read some of the pieces, they're worth it too, some of them anyways.

Mmmm, These Make Me Giddy

Via Mo at Neurophilosophy, I found the sexiest pictoral I've seen in a long time at Curious Expeditions, a site that I really look forward to exploring. There were so many exciting shots, that it was hard to choose which ones to post here. So here are a few of my favorites. I highly recommend checking out the whole pictoral, especially if you are as much a bibliophile as myself - but be forewarned, there are a lot of pictures for one page, it loads slow and sticky. (click on images to enlarge)

First, we have Yale's Beinecke rare book and manuscript Library in New Haven Connecticut USA. Not the most spectacular of libraries in this collection (though impressive nonetheless), but when you consider that these are all rare volumes. . .Well, it sends shivers down my spine.


Next, we have Bodleian Library, Oxford University, England. I could definitely wile away some hours, reading here.


Here is the Real Gabinete Portugues De Leitura, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Just a lovely, comfortable looking place.


This just looks like it would be wonderful fun (and quite easy to literally) get lost in. Riggs Library at Georgetown University, USA.


For sheer ostentatious delight, the Waldsassen Abbey Library, Bavaria, Germany.


Finally, we have my favorite. The Abbey Library St. Gallen, Switzerland.


There are many, many more where these came from. I would love to know which your favorite is.

Getting Busy

I am trying to finish a couple of shorter posts and get moving forward on a couple of longer posts. I will try to have a couple of new posts of my own up this week, as well as a couple of guest and crosspostings. I will not be getting a lot done quickly however. I just picked up a job that keeps growing and growing.

I went to look at it Saturday, with the understanding that there was a big list of really small jobs. Then we discovered the mold, black mold, a bad infestation of black mold. So we decided that it would be a very good idea to rip out the bathroom in the customer's basement. When I started ripping into it today, I discovered that the source of the moisture that provided a positive environment for the mold, was multiple plumbing leaks, in several drains and water supply lines. As there is a significant amount of plumbing to deal with, we are considering taking out the old tub and replacing it along with some other work in that bathroom.

the high and the low of it is, I am going to be really busy taking care of this. I do not like to leave people bathless, even though the customer is located within blocks of her daughter's home, where she can bathe. I will be putting in as many hours as I can handle to get this finished in a timely fashion - unfortunately, this will cut into my blogging time. Fortunately, this will go a long ways toward paying the bills, so I can't complain.

If anyone has something they would like to post, please feel free to let me know. I could use some more posts to put up. . .