THIS JOURNAL IS FILLED WITH ADULT CONTENT. I REGULARLY DISCUSS THINGS OF INTEREST TO ADULTS: RESPONSIBILITY, POLITICS, RELIGION, SURVIVAL SKILLS, SCIENCE, COOKING, FILK, HOBBIES, GOVERNMENT, CURRENT EVENTS, LITERATURE, HISTORY, HUMAN RIGHTS, JOBS, FINANCES, WEIGHT, DISABILITIES, GARDENING, AND MORE.

IF YOU ARE OFFENDED BY MY WRITING, DON'T READ ME. IT'S THAT SIMPLE.

I put everything behind a cut as a protest to labeling as adult only those things which are pornographic, violent, abusive, and/or obscene. Adults are far better and more diverse than that and shouldn't be associated only with that sort of content. Not that LiveJournal cares, or anything, but this is my little protest.

Katie Kieffer wrote an article about resolutions or, as she called them "pledges" for liberals.

She is spot on in claiming her list is "comical", so in the same spirit, I'd like to rebut her list with one for the so-called "conservatives".

1.) Resolve to spend time with gays. I have Republican friends and family members who would rather shoot themselves than be in the same city as a gay person. Gays really, really scare them. But gays aren't infectious. Their laughter may be, but their homosexuality isn't. It's been medically proven that you can't catch teh gay from homosexuals.

Banning homosexuality will not stop people from being born homosexual. Doing so makes us more vulnerable to hatred, unkindness, cruelty, and throws us back into a Dark Age of Unenlightenment. We need homosexuals for their humanizing effect on the rest of us, for their hard work, humor, taxes, and contributions to science, art, and literature.

By spending time around homosexuals and people of various gender presentations, I think Republicans will realize that a penis isn't an uncontrollable single use tool, and a lack of a penis isn't a life sentence to drudgery, and possession of a penis or a vagina isn't going to automatically turn anyone into teh gay.

I think Republicans will realize that homosexuals are worthy human beings, deserving of the same care and consideration as they expect for themselves.

MaikeH mentioned that you should "realize how many gay people you already know and that they have never tried to recruit you."

Harsh lesson, I know, but it gets easier.

2.) Resolve to stop watching Fox News, Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity, Coulter, Malkin. Their hyperbolic fear-mongering negative attitude is ruining your day and you do not even realize it. At a minimum, admit that their shows are rooted in ratings, money, fear, and hyperbole and not facts, or real news.

3.) Resolve to eat a real salad. Just one. If you prefer, choose a salad from a regular grocery store and make it up yourself. Use at least 3 different types of greens, add chopped vegetables, some crunchy nuts, and maybe a scatter of fruit in it. I guarantee it won’t kill you; it will leave your tastebuds dancing in joy and give you a renewed sense of accomplishment. Your body will thank you for the greens, and your spirits will soar. There's more to life than bread and meat - a whole wonderful world of colorful, tasty food. Why limit yourself to eating brown, when you can also eat a rainbow of delicious fruits and vegetables?

4.) (I'm sorry, I'm laughing at #4 too hard to write a decent rebuttal to it - the liberals were the first to question the safety of the TSA scanners...)

5.) (And #5 just has me wiping laugh-tears from my eyes - almost every liberal I know owns land and they're farming it, growing a rainbow of tasty, tasty fruits and vegetables, dairy goats, chickens, and meat rabbits when Republican laws don't forbid them from doing so - what are those Republicans doing with their land - stockpiling inedible guns and bullets on it? What a waste of land.)

6.) Resolve to treat a Republican to a trip to Europe. Be sure to take them touring by train and bus, and stay at a couple of Youth Hostels. They’ll realize public transportation can be cost-effective, allow them to make new friends as they converse and do work while someone else worries about traffic, and they'll get to work or home or shopping free from stress. When they return home, they'll wonder why they have those faked out Hummers and gas-guzzling SUVs and Ford F750 mega-monster trucks in their drives - all that expense in brakes, oil changes, gasoline...what a savings in time, mental health, safety, car repairs, and space - think of the awesome play room they could build in that former garage.

7.) (For Republican ladies) Resolve to change your own lightbulbs, unclog your own toilet, change the lock on your door, or some other small act of home repair. Doing this small act of repair is actually empowering—not demeaning—because it shows that you appreciate a job well done, and that you aren't helpless and can indeed do things for yourself. It's the first step in becoming a woman and learning to think for yourself, and that's not a bad thing at all. While you're at it, at the next election, vote the way you want to, not the way your father, husband, or son tells you to vote.

8.) (For Republican guys) Resolve to take control of your penis. If you allow your penis to go where it's not wanted, then you, not your penis, not the person you violated with your penis, are responsible and must accept the consequences. No victim blaming, no trying to claim that because one woman lied all women are liars. And while you're at it - pay the child support. Until then, you're just a guy, not a man.

9.) (I'm laughing too hard at this one, too - the Republicans have enacted some of the stupidest laws - are they really advocating that we break them instead of working to change them? Really? That's, that's - I can't I'm melting onto the floor with laughter....)

10.) Resolve to save endangered adults. Encourage your friends to respect life - all life. Stop with the mandatory motherhood acts, and realize those cute little fetuses grow up into gun-wielding maniacs because you won't feed them, educate them, or provide them with adequate health care as they grew up. We have to make sure the living are well cared for before we bring even more people onto the planet. Humans are far from being an endangered species, and we need to consider how to care for the already-born in this over-populated world. Advocate for birth control, family planning, and realistic sex education in schools.

11.) (OMG - this is just TOO FUNNY - I can't come up with anything to equal this at all. I could make a stab at the earlier funny resolutions, but this one, OMG, OMG - I can't stop laughing. I'm going to go get a cup of tea - not the kind made with tea bags filled with the dust and leavings on the floor when real tea is cleaned and dried, but real tea, made from whole tea leaves.)

petesmom came up with a good one for #11: "Resolve to remember the mess in Afghanistan when NeoCons start agitating for a war with Iran. Do you really think the people of Iran won't be united by an attack on their country? Have you forgotten how the 9/11 attack on our country united Americans? Try to remember that citizens of other countries are just as proud, and love their countries just as much, as we do. It will help you to make better decisions about foreign policy."

That'll do.

12.) Resolve to read. May we suggest The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing edited by Richard Dawkins as a start? It really is a light foray into reality, not too much to start with. You might be surprised to realize just how fulfilling it is to know what reality is like. It's wonderful, full of exciting new vistas, and such opportunities!

Feel free to add more, or offer new suggestions. This is just too fun - I haven't laughed so hard in weeks.

Katie Kieffer wrote an article about resolutions or, as she called them "pledges" for liberals.

She is spot on in claiming her list is "comical", so in the same spirit, I'd like to rebut her list with one for the so-called "conservatives".

1.) Resolve to spend time with gays. I have Republican friends and family members who would rather shoot themselves than be in the same city as a gay person. Gays really, really scare them. But gays aren't infectious. Their laughter may be, but their homosexuality isn't. It's been medically proven that you can't catch teh gay from homosexuals.

Banning homosexuality will not stop people from being born homosexual. Doing so makes us more vulnerable to hatred, unkindness, cruelty, and throws us back into a Dark Age of Unenlightenment. We need homosexuals for their humanizing effect on the rest of us, for their hard work, humor, taxes, and contributions to science, art, and literature.

By spending time around homosexuals and people of various gender presentations, I think Republicans will realize that a penis isn't an uncontrollable single use tool, and a lack of a penis isn't a life sentence to drudgery, and possession of a penis or a vagina isn't going to automatically turn anyone into teh gay.

I think Republicans will realize that homosexuals are worthy human beings, deserving of the same care and consideration as they expect for themselves.

MaikeH mentioned that you should "realize how many gay people you already know and that they have never tried to recruit you."

Harsh lesson, I know, but it gets easier.

2.) Resolve to stop watching Fox News, Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity, Coulter, Malkin. Their hyperbolic fear-mongering negative attitude is ruining your day and you do not even realize it. At a minimum, admit that their shows are rooted in ratings, money, fear, and hyperbole and not facts, or real news.

3.) Resolve to eat a real salad. Just one. If you prefer, choose a salad from a regular grocery store and make it up yourself. Use at least 3 different types of greens, add chopped vegetables, some crunchy nuts, and maybe a scatter of fruit in it. I guarantee it won’t kill you; it will leave your tastebuds dancing in joy and give you a renewed sense of accomplishment. Your body will thank you for the greens, and your spirits will soar. There's more to life than bread and meat - a whole wonderful world of colorful, tasty food. Why limit yourself to eating brown, when you can also eat a rainbow of delicious fruits and vegetables?

4.) (I'm sorry, I'm laughing at #4 too hard to write a decent rebuttal to it - the liberals were the first to question the safety of the TSA scanners...)

5.) (And #5 just has me wiping laugh-tears from my eyes - almost every liberal I know owns land and they're farming it, growing a rainbow of tasty, tasty fruits and vegetables, dairy goats, chickens, and meat rabbits when Republican laws don't forbid them from doing so - what are those Republicans doing with their land - stockpiling inedible guns and bullets on it? What a waste of land.)

6.) Resolve to treat a Republican to a trip to Europe. Be sure to take them touring by train and bus, and stay at a couple of Youth Hostels. They’ll realize public transportation can be cost-effective, allow them to make new friends as they converse and do work while someone else worries about traffic, and they'll get to work or home or shopping free from stress. When they return home, they'll wonder why they have those faked out Hummers and gas-guzzling SUVs and Ford F750 mega-monster trucks in their drives - all that expense in brakes, oil changes, gasoline...what a savings in time, mental health, safety, car repairs, and space - think of the awesome play room they could build in that former garage.

7.) (For Republican ladies) Resolve to change your own lightbulbs, unclog your own toilet, change the lock on your door, or some other small act of home repair. Doing this small act of repair is actually empowering—not demeaning—because it shows that you appreciate a job well done, and that you aren't helpless and can indeed do things for yourself. It's the first step in becoming a woman and learning to think for yourself, and that's not a bad thing at all. While you're at it, at the next election, vote the way you want to, not the way your father, husband, or son tells you to vote.

8.) (For Republican guys) Resolve to take control of your penis. If you allow your penis to go where it's not wanted, then you, not your penis, not the person you violated with your penis, are responsible and must accept the consequences. No victim blaming, no trying to claim that because one woman lied all women are liars. And while you're at it - pay the child support. Until then, you're just a guy, not a man.

9.) (I'm laughing too hard at this one, too - the Republicans have enacted some of the stupidest laws - are they really advocating that we break them instead of working to change them? Really? That's, that's - I can't I'm melting onto the floor with laughter....)

10.) Resolve to save endangered adults. Encourage your friends to respect life - all life. Stop with the mandatory motherhood acts, and realize those cute little fetuses grow up into gun-wielding maniacs because you won't feed them, educate them, or provide them with adequate health care as they grew up. We have to make sure the living are well cared for before we bring even more people onto the planet. Humans are far from being an endangered species, and we need to consider how to care for the already-born in this over-populated world. Advocate for birth control, family planning, and realistic sex education in schools.

11.) (OMG - this is just TOO FUNNY - I can't come up with anything to equal this at all. I could make a stab at the earlier funny resolutions, but this one, OMG, OMG - I can't stop laughing. I'm going to go get a cup of tea - not the kind made with tea bags filled with the dust and leavings on the floor when real tea is cleaned and dried, but real tea, made from whole tea leaves.)

petesmom came up with a good one for #11: "Resolve to remember the mess in Afghanistan when NeoCons start agitating for a war with Iran. Do you really think the people of Iran won't be united by an attack on their country? Have you forgotten how the 9/11 attack on our country united Americans? Try to remember that citizens of other countries are just as proud, and love their countries just as much, as we do. It will help you to make better decisions about foreign policy."

That'll do.

12.) Resolve to read. May we suggest The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing edited by Richard Dawkins as a start? It really is a light foray into reality, not too much to start with. You might be surprised to realize just how fulfilling it is to know what reality is like. It's wonderful, full of exciting new vistas, and such opportunities!

Feel free to add more, or offer new suggestions. This is just too fun - I haven't laughed so hard in weeks.

Apparently, I am not authorized to view the contents of some comments I receive.

I find that - peculiar.

That's a quote from Friedrich Dürrenmatt's novella "Traps" which I highly recommend reading.

It's a lot like Kafka's "The Trial", except in "Traps", it starts out as a game where these retired lawyers convince a stranded man to play a game with them whereby they try to find him guilty of a crime - murder, in this instance. You may not have read "Traps" but you've probably read "The Trial" which is far grimmer and more possible.

The quote also follows the same reasoning as Cardinal Richelieu's "give me six lines written by an honorable man and I will find something in them with which to hang him."

And today, this sentiment is expressed as "If you've got nothing to hide, then you have nothing to fear" regarding the increasing amount of surveillance under which we are living.

( Read more...Collapse )

I am a veriloquist. I love words. I love the expression of words, the etymology, the use of them. I love pulling long forgotten words up and using them. I speak archaically, but with a southern-ish accent.

I also like making up words when there is no equivalent, of taking words from other languages and adapting for my tongue. I like playing with words.

Obviously, I am not the only one.

Erin McKean had an article in the NYT about undictionaried words. She won my heart by quoting The Princess Bride and linking to a You Tube of the quote.

And then she talked about dictionaries and words and wordsmithing and lexicography and coining words and phrases and I found myself cheering her on. I even did a standing ovation at one point.

Yes, I know. It surprised Xoco but Itzl thought it was quite dull and old hat and he merely yawned. Xoco gave me this incredulous look and "humphed" at me before walking over to the farthermost monkeybed and sitting in it to stare at me accusingly. She doesn't always approve of the things I do.

My children had difficulty in school because they had extensive and whimsical vocabularies composed of the words they learned from me, from the books I read them, from participating in rendezvous, renaissance fairs, SCA events, science fiction conventions, RPGs, comic books, and other such things. I always had to bring in dictionaries and treatises on word usage to them so they wouldn't misgrade their papers, and I had to have long discussions with them about how a word was a real word from its inception. Dictionaries don't always have the latest words in them, and they sometimes drop perfectly good words that aren't in common usage anymore. A word didn't have to be in the dictionary in order for it to be a real word. I did, however, caution my children to try to use words they could document in order to keep from frustrating their teachers.

I like saving obsolete words and my children have picked up the habit from me. Now that my children are out of school, I don't have to educate teachers about language evolution anymore, but we still engage in discussions of word usage and meanings, and send new words to one another when we encounter them.

Without undictionaried words, there would be no evolution of the language. We wouldn't have words like "chortle" or "agasp" or "bionics" or "polyamory" or "agritourism" or "affluenza" or "captcha" or "staycation" or "earworm" or "netizen" or "hoodie" or any of a number of awesome new words if we didn't portmanteau words and make up words needed to fill in gaps.

Playing with the language keeps it vital and relevant. Slanguage becomes language becomes obsolete to make way for newer words and sometimes, the obsolete words are restored (like "corrrade" which means to gather together from various sources - an article copy and pasted together from many sources, for example, would be corraded).

And this doesn't even encompass the seeping of words from other languages into ours. Yaoi, manga, tartle, ilunga, duende, kokusaijin, lagom, cibosity, kindergarten, abseil, karabiner, flak, kitsch, zeitgeist, karaoke, otaku, bento, panko, ramen, kawaii, sensei, aloha, kahuna, hula, luau, taboo, wiki, chutney, curry, jungle, pundit, thug, shawl, verandah, loot, guru, calico, hickory, hominy, avocado, anorak, guano, jerky, kayak, mukluks, hammock, bayou, flannel, penguin, bagel, golem, klutz, maven, nosh, caddy, cozy, golf, glamour, galore, pet, shindig, spunk, trousers, and so many, many more.

So, play with your words. Don't hesitate to create a word where there needs to be one. Don't be afraid to use archaic or obsolete words, it might be time for a come-back.

"Store Bought" Spoils the Potluck Spirit by Jennifer Steinhauer

The title of this article would lead you to believe it's about potlucks, right?

Wrong.

It's mostly about bake sales, which are a whole other animal entirely.

I agree that bringing store bought goods to a bake sale is kind of wrong. After all, the point is to make money for the school.church/whatever as cheaply as possible and homebaked goods are always cheaper than store bought ones. Plus, a higher price tag can be placed on the home baked goods, but who's going to pay $1.00 for 2 Oreos when you can spend $3 and get more than a dozen of them?

But the article clearly uses "pot luck" in the title and not "bake sale". How much of the article is devoted to the potluck?

In a 1346 word article, 158 words were devoted to potlucks, and 47 more words shared potluck and nake sale. The other 1145 words were entirely a rant about bake sales. Don't you think the title should have been " Store Bought Spoils the Bake Sale Spirit"? It's rather misleading to drag potluck into the fray.

Xoco is a brain damaged little dog. She has no short term memory at all and her long term memory is spotty at times. Out of sight, out of mind is a complete truism for her.

If I move her water dish or her food, she's lost. If she comes across a toy out of place, it's a brand new toy. Sometimes, if she falls asleep in my lap and wakes up there, she can't remember who I am until her scent memory kicks in. Her scent memory is infallible.

So is her sound memory - she can remember how she's supposed to react to any sound, what the sound is and where it generally comes from. Except people sounds - voices. Every voice is different and she is afraid of most voices. Even mine, at times. This is why she's a stay-at-home hearing dog.

But sometimes, I take her with me when I travel in spite of this handicap of hers. Usually, it's when I visit friends and family.

A couple of weeks ago, it was my sister's birthday. She lives out of state. So when I went to visit her, I took Xoco as well as Itzl. My sister has a little dachsie named Pepper and we dog-sit Pepper when my sister and her husband go on vacation, so Xoco knows Pepper and likes her.



Itzl, of course, has considered Pepper part of his harem for years. Pepper is 6 years old, and Itzl helped train her as a wee puppy.

I've taken Xoco to my sister's before.

Apparently not often enough for the visits to lodge in Xoco's long term memory.

During the day, Xoco was fine. She played with Itzl and Pepper and napped on my lap and generally had a good time.

But come night....

Every hour, Xoco would bolt wide awake, eyes popping out of her little head as if she were screaming "Halp! Halp! I've been stoleded!"

Then she'd turn those huge frightened eyes on me and they'd get bigger. "OMG! YOU'VE BEEN STOLEDED, TOO!" her eyes would shout.

Then Itzl would grumble awake and kick or nudge her. She'd look at him, all big eyed and terrified and all the fear would drain from her. She'd collapse beside him and snuggle up, sighing, as if to say, "You saveded me!"



Rinse and repeat all night long.

When we left, Itzl herded Xoco into the car seat for dogs and she spent the entire trip as close to him as possible and cutting her eyes up to him as if to say, "My hero!"

Without Itzl, she'd probably still be in a panic.

Silly Xoco, thinking she'd been stolen when all we did was go for a visit.

My computer suffered catastrophic heat stroke and I have been using other people's computers to access on line until I could get a replacement computer.

That's done.

I should be back more regularly, assuming I have ever been regular, that is!

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2090871,00.html

"But these laws are not really about drug use. They are about, in these difficult economic times, making things a little harder for the poor."

It really, really, ticks me off that 1) Wealthy Corporations refuse to pay their low wage employees a reasonable living wage, which forces those employees into poverty, 2) That having been forced into poverty because their full time jobs won't cover even basic living expenses, they are then treated as if it was their fault and not the fault of their employers, 3) The media has represented poor people as being fraudsters and con artists, 4) that people believe the media, 5) that charities are (and this pretty much started with the 9/11 tragedy) requiring/demanding that their recipients be "worthy" and blaming the poor and marginalized and subculture people for disasters. It worsened with Katrina - even though we now know that many of the stories of "looting and shooting" were exaggerations or even outright lies, people persist in believing that poor people are criminals and druggies. They continue to believe it even when these drug-testing-happy states now have data to show that welfare recipients have lower drug use than the general population.

I'm not saying poor people are noble - there are a few who are bad apples, just as there are in any large group of people, but what I am saying is that poor people deserve compassion and a hand up. If they seek help, they should be given it, not forced to jump through hoops and take expensive tests to prove they are "worthy" of help. It's bad enough that they have to beg for assistance because we are such an unenlightened and isolationist society that we don't notice our neighbors, employees, co-workers, friends, or even our own family are in need.

And if the media would just stop perpetuating these lies, that would help some.

http://www2.tbo.com/news/politics/2011/aug/24/welfare-drug-testing-yields-2-percent-positive-res-ar-252458/

And the tests prove it.

Since the state began testing welfare applicants for drugs in July, about 2 percent have tested positive, preliminary data shows.

That's compared to 8+% of the general population who take illegal drugs.

Newton said that's proof the drug-testing program is based on a stereotype, not hard facts.

"This is just punishing people for being poor, which is one of our main points," he said. "We're not testing the population at-large that receives government money; we're not testing people on scholarships, or state contractors. So why these people? It's obvious-- because they're poor."

I've always said that poor people aren't drug addicts - they can't afford to be. Illegal drugs are expensive. So's food. Given a choice, most people will choose food.

People are poor not because they are doing drugs, but because they are being vastly underpaid for the work they do. Most of the poor people I know have 2 and 3 jobs. Why? Because the first one doesn't pay enough for minimal, basic cost of living expenses. They get welfare because it pays better than working 80 hours a week.

It's not the welfare system that's broken, people. It's that "minimum wage" attitude that says: The law says I have to pay you at least this amount, so that's all you're worth and not one penny more. It doesn't matter that the company has had record breaking profits and business is up because of your hard work - I deserve this money just because I am in charge and can take it and you - you're fired because it's cheaper for me to hire another desperate person than it is to give you - one of my best, hardest working employees - a pay raise.".

When welfare pays more - even if it's just nominally more - than a full time job - or when people working 40 hour a week jobs still qualify for welfare assistance, it's not welfare that's the problem. It's the employers. No one who works a full time job should earn so little that they have to supplement their income with welfare. And then to accuse those people who work hard of being drug addicts and humiliate them further by demanding drug tests for the pittance they receive in assistance.

I don't know who started the memes about "welfare queens" and "all welfare recipients are druggies" but they are bald-faced lies. I've never met a welfare queen - and I've met a lot of people on welfare, even lived on it briefly myself before realizing it wasn't a hand up, it was the hand that forced me down further. I've never met a drug addict on welfare - most of the drug addicts I know are wealthy, from wealthy families, or desperate people who'd never waste all those hours sitting in depressing welfare waiting rooms with fussy babies and sick children when they could be out conning someone or stealing or scoring. Drug addicts don't waste their time getting welfare.

The people who get welfare are people who grew up on welfare and don't know any other way of life, people who have reached the end of their resources and have to get it because the kids are hungry or the landlord has raised the rent so high they're now facing eviction, people who've lost their jobs and can't find work and have used up all the good will of family and friends who aren't in much better shape.

It's a myth and a lie that people on welfare are drug addicts. It's a myth and a lie that welfare recipients are living the high life. It's a myth and a lie that people on welfare are not worthy beings. It's a myth and a lie that people on welfare deserve to be poor.

No one deserves poverty. And everyone is worthy of help.

http://healthland.time.com/2011/08/25/the-risks-of-adopting-a-puppy-too-young/

Unlike the dogs in this study, who've all been untraumatized before they were acquired, the puppies I rescue are generally pitiful little things between 3 and 5 weeks old. They've already lived a tough life - starved, flea-ridden, often injured or sick.

I take them in, nurse them back to health, teach them basic manners, and find them new homes. Not one of the dogs I've rehomed has had any behavior problems as adult dogs.

Not one.

The only dog that had issues as an adult is one I kept because she's a special needs dog, having suffered brain damage. And honestly, her issues have a lot more to do with her brain injury than any fact of having taken her from her dam too young. She's afraid of strangers until her brain cells kick in and remind her she does know this person - and that includes me. Even if she's napping on my lap or beside me, when she wakes, there's this brief time where she doesn't remember who I am and she'll growl or bark at me. But then you see her little brain kick in and recognition come up and she's happy to see me. She growls or barks at everyone the first time she sees them, and if she knows them, she suddenly pauses and she's suddenly happy to see them. She forgets where her food dish is, even though I keep it in exactly the same place all the time. When she finds it or I take her to it, she's happy. Overall, she's a pretty happy dog. And when she remembers something, that makes her even happier. It's like she knows she's forgotten something and when she remembers, it's not just that she's happy about whatever, she's ecstatic that she remembered. She does stress out if I take her somewhere new that she's never been to before, and stays stressed the first dozen or more times I take her there - until her memory kicks in finally and she recognizes the place. This is why I rarely take her to strange places unless I intend for her to go there often. I took her to the vet's office a dozen times before she ever saw the vet just to acclimate her, and I'll take her a couple of times before each visit to remind her she knows the place.

She's not destructive, or fearful on walks, or possessive of food. She doesn't play bite or chase her tail, or soil the house - she's very good about using her potty pads. She's no more attention seeking than any other dog. She's possessive of her toys when she's actively playing with them, but doesn't mind other dogs playing with them when she's not. She waits her turn for treats, even when she's lined up with stray dogs. She is reactive to noises but in a positive way - she alerts me to sounds I can't hear, making her a good companion to Itzl because he gets to go off duty when we get home because she is on duty inside the house.

I believe that training, especially early training, has a far greater bearing on whether the dog has behavioral issues as an adult than early removal from their dams.

I don't see where this study addressed training and conditions inside the home where the dog was taken.

Since I prefer tiny dogs to large ones, I know that many of them are poorly socialized and trained as puppies. Many people don't know how to train or care for a tiny dog, so they feed the insecurities and fears these little dogs have, making them hyper-aggressive, yapping bundles of furry neuroses - and it doesn't matter one whit how well cared for they were when still with their dams or how old they were before they were rehomed. These dog owners think it's funny or natural for tiny dogs to be trembling, yapping, biting bits of aggression.

Every Chihuahua and tiny dog I've rescued has been calm, well-behaved, polite little dogs, friendly to strangers and comfortable in strange places - except brain injured Xoco. Even she is calm, well-behaved, and polite, and as friendly and comfortable as it's possible for her to be.

The assistance dogs I train are all rescues. They may have been traumatized, they've certainly suffered abandonment and starvation; they're often sick or injured. Healed up, socialized, and trained, they become excellent service dogs. I check back occasionally to see if the dogs need retraining or up-training (even Itzl, as trained out the whazoo as he is, needs retraining and uptraining in new techniques and for new sounds or experiences), and help the handler/owner with that.

Regardless of their size or breed, all dogs need to be socialized and trained. I wonder what socialization and training the dogs in this study received.

My 'mater sammich isn't the iconic American one of white bread, mayo, and tomatoes.

I prefer dense thin slices of German landbrot (or bauernbrot - both are a sourdough wheat/rye bread that is gently tangy with a dense sponge and chewy caramelized crust giving a great mouthfeel), with rich, full fat European butter scraped across the bread. This is topped with sun-warmed, freshly picked tomatoes, sliced thin and sprinkled with a bit of salt and ground celery seed.

It is an open-faced sammich because I don't want the bread and butter to over-power the tomatoes.

Sometimes, for variety, I toast the bread and top the tomatoes with a sprinkle of basil, but it's always open-faced with the tomatoes the jewel of the sammich.

Towards the end of 'mater season, I may have my 'mater sammich made of rice crisps, butter, and 'mater slices, or even on leaves of crunchy Romaine lettuce.

How do you eat your 'mater sammich?

Now that the contract is signed and the check mailed, we can say that Professor Elemental will be our Visiting Professor of the Performance Arts.

I can't wait to tell you the rest of our line-up!

And I will, as they get and approve their contracts.

Think of OctopodiCon as the steampunk Hogwarts of the southern midwest. We have hands-on make-and-take workshops coming into focus, and lectures and demonstrations as well as discussion panels.

There's an anime track, and two different children's tracks - one for the children between 6 and 11 (called the Junior Sprockets) and one for children 11 - 15 (called the Artifact Club). The Junior Sprockets and the Artificers can earn a pin, will receive a certificate of participation, and learn to make a few things they get to keep.

For the adults, there is the Art Gallery, where they can browse the gorgeous works of gifted artists and buy or bid on them.

There's the Mercantile, where they can browse the wares of merchants and the tables of our featured visiting professors.

In the Scriptorium they can purchase the books of the attending authors, meet those self-same authors, and get autographs. Then, just across the hall, they get to listen to their favorite authors give readings of their works.

In the Laboratorium, there will be deomstrations and displays of some truly awesome steampunk artifacts and the make-n-take classes that count towards earning a Freshman Pin. Attendees who want to earn a novelty Bachelor's of Steampunk degree will need to take 4 make-n-take classes and 4 lecture/demo classes - they don't have to take them all at this particular OctopodiCon, but we will keep track of their transcripts so when they've taken enough classes, they will receive their Freshman Pin and a Rising Sophomore Certificate that will allow them to enroll in more advanced classes. There is a supply fee associated with these classes and enrollment is limited to make sure each student receives the time and attention they need to complete the 2 hour class. We will be offering at least 9 make-n-take classes over the course of the weekend so students will have plenty of choices.

Next to the Laboratorium are Lecture Rooms One and Two, where they can take the lectures and demos that are the other half of the requirements for a Freshman Pin. These classes are part of the one or 3 day enrollment fee, no extra supply fees are involved.

Next to them is Panel Room One, where discussion panels ranging the gamut of Steampunk take place. These are fun, sometime free-ranging, discussions of steampunk. Consider them the no credit classes, if you want!

For those who don't even want to think of classes at all, there's the Concert Hall, where stage performers and entertainment of all sorts will take place along with the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, the Art and Charity Auctions, the Masquerade, and the Gears and Gizmos Dance.

The Great Hall which connects all these classrooms is the Promenade, a vast social area where the Airships and Steampunk Leagues and clubs and groups will have small recruiting tables (they will have to supply their own small - under 3'x3' - tables or displays - no sales). Registration will also be in this Hall.

Since the Hall is a strictly No Food Zone, the Promenade extends outside the Hall and into a nearby lobby where food is allowed, and we've arranged for a Tea Parlour (similar to the Maid Cafes of Anime conventions) to be there, with plenty of seating where students and attendees, merchants and Visiting Professors and everyone else involved in OctopodiCon can gather to buy tea or coffee (or get free hot water to brew their own) as well as cookies, finger sandwiches, and possibly small cakes for nominal sums. Sadly, while we anticipate having enough teapots, tea kettles, and coffee pots, we don't have enough lovely tea cups to provide everyone with them, but everyone is encouraged to bring their own tea cups! Otherwise, it's disposable hot cups.

We will have backdrops where you can take pictures and have your pictures taken. The Promenade is THE place to See and Be Seen - when you aren't in class or shopping or attending one of our lovely concerts.

Pre-registration until October 1, 2011 is a mere $20 for a 3 day enrollment! Go to our website to learn more about our pre-registration packets.

The Course Catalog of make-n-take classes, lectures, and demonstrations is coming soon, and you may enroll now and come back later to add any make-n-take classes. We'll accept enrollments in the make-n-take classes until July 25th, 2012. Remember, enrollment in those classes is limited, so check often and enroll as soon as possible!

In the coming weeks, we'll be adding more Visiting Professors, and adding our Course Catalog.

We have so many treats in store for you! A working steam tractor (or thrasher) is just one marvel that will be there, and the Museum of Osteology will have a table, and we're negotiating for some other truly awesome Visiting Professors and devices. We're working with some local tribes to provide classes and panels and more about Victorian Era Native Americans, and with the Cowboy Hall of Fame for western heritage panels.

If you love steampunk or are interested in steampunk, or just curious about what the fuss is all about, come! It will be awesome!

Privacy isn't about hiding things, it's about control and participation in information processing, interpretation, and usage.

Privacy is a plurality of related issues.

Unrestrained collection of data without relevant reference points can lead to errors of aggregation. Let's take a relatively harmless example: you purchase a book on cancer and several hours later complete the purchase of a wig. The assumption would be that you have cancer and will undergo treatment for it. If this is true (and there are other, equally valid interpretations), perhaps you don't mind sharing the information - but you'd certainly want to control how and when and to whom you reveal this information. And if it's not true, why should you have to deal with the misinterpretation of the data and the consequences of that misinterpretation? Perhaps you are studying the role of a cancer patient, perhaps you are purchasing the items for a friend. Perhaps you merely have an interest in the disease, and the wig is for a party. Perhaps they are each gifts for different people. Or any of a number of other equally probable scenarios. Now, consider some actions that are equally as innocent but with far more sinister misinterpretations.

Yeah. You see. This isn't about hiding things, it's about controlling what is shared and when and how and with whom so that ambiguities and misinterpretations are less likely.

When the government collects random data, lots of random data, with no context and no framing for the data, it's even easier to misinterpret it according to the paranoia of the interpreters. This is compounded when the government does so with its citizens without allowing the citizenry to access and correct errors, without the citizenry even being aware the data is being collected. This is a structural problem that leads to an imbalance of power, where the power should be in the control of the republic, it is concentrated in the hands of those who may have a bested interested in twisting that data as negatively as possible, if only to secure their jobs. Truth becomes irrelevant in the overwhelming face of misinterpreted and misrepresented data.

This leads to data exploitation and distortion.

Without limits or controls on data collection, to what secondary uses will this data be put? How long will it be stored? Who gets access to it? Who makes sure the data remains uncorrupted? Who makes sure the data is correct and free of errors? This is a huge issue in identity theft.

And in the case of errors and distortion - data can never reflect the entirety of a person. Because it must be stored in standardized formats, many details, relevant details, often get left out. Data collection is reductive in nature, and in the reduction, it becomes distorted. With distortion, errors creep in. It's worse than playing The Rumor Game. Let's use another harmless example. Suppose you buy a couple of books on the manufacture of methamphetamine. Without any further data, this can be interpreted in several ways - and government officials, fed on a diet of terrorists and conspiracies and paranoia for so long, will most likely choose the one that leads them to believe you are building a meth lab. The truth might actually be that you are a member of a neighborhood watch program and you wanted hard facts to bring to a watch meeting, or perhaps you were asked to teach neighbors what to look for. Or perhaps you are writing a novel or a poem. Or perhaps they are a gift for a friend in medical school. Or you're wanting to win a particularly tough trivia game. Or maybe, you just like knowing things.

In all of those scenarios, you don't have anything to hide. At least, you don't have anything to hide if our government truly had our best interests at heart. But the government's hopped up on paranoia and righteousness. Filled with the spirit of "Gov knows best" and unwilling to admit a mistake, and suddenly, your innocent purchase places you in a world of hurt.

Those who support the "nothing to hide" argument is a form of denial. It views privacy in a very narrow, troublingly particular, deeply partial way. It looks for a "dead bodies" type of harm, demanding that privacy is only invaded if something deeply embarrassing or discrediting is revealed, particularly if that information is taken out of context, as it so often is. If the standard way to recognize a privacy invasion is only through a blood and dead bodies way, then the true problems of privacy invasion won't be recognized, are indeed denied.

Privacy is rarely lost in one egregious swoop. It is threatened in bits and bytes, a slow accretion of a series of minor revelations, where a small error or a false assumption creeps in and skews everything that follows and even shadows earlier bits of a data, until suddenly, someone with "nothing to hide" is denied the right to fly, denied loans, is appearing on watch lists, is under deeper surveillance, their accounts frozen, and suddenly their lives, their "nothing to hide" lives are shattered. The trauma and expense of finding and correcting that little error, that small misinterpretation, can last years. And if the wrong sort of person accesses that huge database of information, you could be the victim of identity theft and all the problems that entails. We all know just how unsecure those data banks are, they are always getting hacked into or some disgruntled former employee is releasing the information or some employee is selling it to get rich. What if a stalker gains access to that data? Safety, sanity, health, and wealth are all compromised when we narrow our debate on privacy to just "nothing to hide".

It truly isn't about "nothing to hide" and all about personal safety. Perhaps our government doesn't want to hurt us. That doesn't mean we can't be hurt inadvertently, by carelessness or individual, rather than governmental, intent.

The "nothing to hide" argument, in the end, is a harmful, short-sighted, smug one that fails abysmally to address the full depth and breadth of privacy concerns.

I am considering selling my house. Not right away, it still needs some work to put it into sellable condition. Finish the last of the painting. Install a new breaker box. Put down a new floor in the kitchen and bathroom. Clear all the detritus and debris of living here nearly 20 years. Replace all my vegetables and herbs with pretty flowers. Haul off all the wood and final bits of my son's car hobby.

But once that's done, and it's getting closer, this house will be sold. It should go to a young couple planning a family or already with a young family because it's walking distance for every grade level of one of the better school districts in the area. It's a small house, but well laid out.

And once it's sold, I will hunt for my next and final house. I have a list of features that are non-negotiable and a list of optional features.

The non-negotiable? New, solid roof. New plumbing (within the past 5 years). Fully modernized wiring. Fireplace. A carport or connected garage. A large kitchen. At least one large bathroom. Paved drive. Recently glazed windows. Outside of an HOA. Zoning regulations allowing goats, mini cattle, chickens, composting.

The optional? Number of bedrooms. Covered patio. Large front porch. Fruit and nut trees. Lot size. Number of bathrooms. Siding. Paint. Brick or stone. Number of windows. Number of social areas. Storage shed/potting shed/garden shed. Type of heating and cooling. I'd like it to be as energy efficient as possible. I'd prefer it to be as off-grid as possible, with its own independent energy sources. Established gardens.

I want the bones of the house to be in excellent condition mainly because I don't want to be in hte position I was with this house, where the day I bought it, I started the repairs and upgrades to the plumbing that cost me over $12,000, and have spent so much just getting this house into what I consider a liveable condition without ever being able to spend all that money making this a house I wanted to live in.

Yes, after all the money and upgrades and repairs I've sunk into this house, you'd think I'd be thrilled to be able to start adding the things I want. But the longger I live here, the more I want to live somewhere else. And I want to start with a house that is in at least as godd a condition as this house.

I don't want a fixer-upper. I want a ready to move in house that all I need to do is decorate it.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/07/05/granderson.bratty.kids/index.html

If your children behave in public, this article is not directed at you. You have no reason to rise up and spew hatred at those of us who really don't want to deal with badly behaved children in public places, especially ones meant for adults. Your children are well behaved and we have no complaint with them. With you, perhaps, for dragging a child to a place not meant to be comfortable, interesting, or entertaining for children, but not with your well-behaved children.

I've had kids, I know what it takes to raise them, to teach them manners, to teach them how to behave in public. I know it takes sacrifices. It means not being able to do fun yourself because your kid needs you, or not being able to do fun stuff because you don't have anyone to watch your kid. It means eating in restaurants catering to kids instead of a nice 4 star restaurant. It means going to the movies for the kiddie matinees instead of the after dinner showings for the adult audience. It means watching kiddie movies instead of the raunchy, wild, violent, exciting movies. It means staying home a lot with the kids instead of being out and on the go.

You chose to have and keep the child. It's your job to take care of the child, and that does not mean dragging the poor exhausted thing to the store hours after its bedtime, or forcing the child to go to a restaurant that takes 30 minutes to serve a meal. It's your job to properly prepare your child for such things as air or train or bus travel, to entertain the child during those long boring drives or flights, and to make sure your child doesn't bother other people in restaurants, out shopping, during travel, or in places obviously not meant for children (day spas, adult fitness centers, business offices, factories, and so on).

I understand there are even greater challenges as a single parent (been there, done that) or when parenting a special needs child (ditto). Neither one of those is an excuse for being an absent parent or worse, an over-protective indulgent parent whose "perfect" child is almost always grossly disrespectful, disobedient, and disruptive, and prone to violence.

Over-protecting and over-indulging a child does no one any favors, the child least of all.

We, the abused public may suffer the child for an hour or so now and then, but that poor child will suffer for years.

In my experience, the over-protected, over-indulged child is abused as surely as the child sporting bruises and broken bones.

Have you ever played a board game? Monopoly, perhaps? It was fun because it had specific rules and a goal to let you know when you won or lost. You knew you were playing Monopoly and not Risk because of the rules. Games are fun because each game has its own rules. Society used to be fun because each segment had its own rules - how to behave in the movie house, the grocery store, Burger King, Nom de Gourmand, the park, a neighbor's house... It's not fun anymore because parents have stopped teaching their children these rules, and now it's like they've scrambled up all the board games and tossed the rules and expect the children to "intuitively know" how to behave.

I've actually had parents tell me their children would grow into their inner intuition and then they'd behave. They just had to grow up a bit.

Parents, I hate to tell this, but it doesn't work that way.

Having children is a lot of hard work. A lot of repetitive, boring, hard work where you, yes you deal with the brunt of your child's bad behavior. It's a lot of sacrifice, because children aren't born knowing how to behave. They don't have any "good behavior" instincts. And they will never "intuitively know" how to behave. This is what parents are supposed to be doing with their children: teaching them the rules of living in society. How to eat at a table with forks and napkins and indoor voices and "please" and "thanks you". How to behave when visiting a friend of the parents as opposed to how to behave when visiting a peer. How to cross the street safely (and by all the ghods, don't get me started on the parents who encourage their children to play in the streets - streets are for cars and crossing, they are not playgrounds!). How to ride a bike safely and legally. How to behave in a fine restaurant as opposed to a kid-friendly one.

there are rules and parents are severely handicapping their children by not teaching them those rules. It makes the game of life and living so much harder for those children who don't learn the rules.

Well, we have the license, the EIN #, a mascot, a bank account, a PayPal account, a website, all but one of the headliner Guests of Honor, a slew of other honored guests, a few pre-registrations, and will have a venue within the next 3 weeks.

We have the Executive ConCom and a number of the other positions filled - including a Chief Engineer.

It looks like OctopodiCon is a Go.

As fast as everything is going, I think maybe we could have gotten it done by this October instead of next, but the extra planning time will make sure we do it all right and have extra time for some solid marketing and sales.

So, let me tell you about OctopodiCOn and how it's morphed and what the settled vision of it is.

OctopodiCon is a steampunk convention of the DIY/collegium sort.

Because it is different enough from SF conventions and yet still has recognizable SF roots, we decided to play up the "college" aspect of it, creating a Student Handbook that will be downloadable from our website, a course catalog from which students can select the panels/classes they want that need supplies - thus allowing us to make sure we have enough supplies.

We've discussed logistics on registration and enrollment, which will be tricky, bit no more so than any school enrollment. Lots of schools manage it, so can we.

Not everything will be a class, there will be plenty of panels and demonstrations, and we have some good entertainment lined up for those that prefer that.

One thing we are doing that isn't common at SF conventions but is at anime and cosplay conventions (because OctopodiCon is a hybrid of SF, Anime, and Cosplay since steampunk is a hybrid of those different conventions) is that we are replacing the ConSuite with a "Maid Cafe" steampunk style - we're calling it the Tea Parlour, and it will be attached to the Promenade, a large social place where students/attendees can mingle, See, and Be Seen, show off their costumes, take pictures, get their pictures taken, meet other steampunk airships and groups, and just have a fere-for-all social time. The headliner guests and other guests will spend time there when they aren't on panels or performing or demonstrating or teaching some skill.

We have some really nice classes shaping up and we should have firm contracts on those in the next few weeks. I wish I could be more explicit, but until we have contracts, I can't say anything.

OK, probably I could, but then if they didn't pan out for one reason or another, I don't think that would look good. So mum until the contracts are in hand!

This year's theme is "Freshman Rush" because we're all freshman at this convention - most of it will be basic, starter classes and panels so next OctopodiCon, we can add sophmore level classes and panels to the basic, and then junior level, and then senior level...and if people attend all 4 conventions, they can earn a Bachelor of Steam degree.

I know, not a real college degree, but it will have some value. It shows you learned things and did things, have acquired knowledge and skills. What you do with that is your choice.

Now, the way we've planned this, not everyone has to go the student route, even though that is the theme. People can come for the fun of it, hang out in the Promenade, meet the guests, sit in on a few panels, attend the shows in the Concert Hall, play a few games, dance at the Gears and Gizmos Ball, and shop in the Mercantile and the Art Gallery.

Or they can hang out all weekend in one of the 8 program areas and concentrate on just one track.

Or they can junior college it - take one or two classes and then do other things.

They can customize how they attend OctopodiCon to suit their interests.

And that, we think, is the essence of steampunk - an experience that is cutomizable and fun.

But it's nice to have scientific validation: Humans May Have a 6th Sense After All.

This is the sense we named "space" for lack of a better name.

Yes, yes, we suck at naming.

We've developed exercises to increase the reliability and use of this sense(and 3 other senses we've isolated - come on science, catch up with us and give us the scientific proof for them!).

One thing I love about Numenism is how we explore and research on an amateur level things that eventually become validated by science.

Sometimes (not near often enough, but enough to make us happy), when we dig deep into the researchers behind the discoveries, we learn that one of the people involved in the earliest stages was exposed to Numenism in some form.

I know - we didn't have a huge influence, but we sparked an idea, and the person in whom it sparked had access to the tools and skills and knowledge to run with it. We can't prove that it was exposure to one of our stories or Celebrations or on-line posts or comments at a party or impromptu Moosemas or casual conversation while waiting in line somewhere actually did anything. Still, finding that intersection and following the pattern ripples from it gives us some satisfaction that our ideas, the things we did that were once "out there" have scientific explanations and proof.

Numenism is all about validation, documentation, and supporting evidence for as many things as possible. For some of that, we've had to accept that we didn't yet have the technology to verify what we discovered, but we had anecdotal evidence among ourselves that - for example - the 4 unused senses we found and developed were real and really worked and we could apply those exercises to people who weren't Numenist and they'd increase their control and use and awareness of the sense and be able to reliably use it.

This is what we were hoping for when Numenism was first created - a religion that relied on verification, scientific validation, documentable and reproducible proof, and applicability regardless of belief.

For us. Belief was only a starting point, not the end.

Of Something Positive today is the line that starts with "Well, technically..."