Blah · blah

1) Return of rule of law. No more spying on our own citizens w/o oversight and due cause. No Gitmo. Habeus Corpus again as the base of our entire judicial system.

2) The refurbishing and expansion of our entire infrastructure. Roads, bridges, power lines, fiber optic cables, wind farms, solar plants, and NEW SAFE NUCLEAR facilities. Schools and universities with proper roofs, supplies, and teaching staff. Borders secure.

3) Investment in basic research. Restoration of science to an impartial and influential role in policy matters. Investment in fuel and materials research.

4) Restoration of government as an entity for ALL Americans. Roll back the restrictions on reproductive care. Reform our drug policy. Affirm the value of all people in the US, all colors, all across the faith and political spectrum.

'Tis a gift to be simple, 'tis a gift to be free,

'Tis a gift to come down where we ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gained,

To bow and to bend we shall not be ashamed,

To turn, turn will be our delight,

Till by turning, turning we come round right.

PZ Meyers is covering the whole Expelled
debacle with irascible flair. I'm just happy to help expose the nonsense.

Most striking to me is the sneakiness and mendacity of the producers. It's almost as if they know the premise of the movie is dodgy at best, so they connive their way to making it. Here's a hint, Mathis: If you have to LIE to someone to get them on your project, your project is crap.

I'm not even going to get into the whole ID/ Creationism/ Darwin/ Nazi stuff. Go to Pharyngula and read all about it!

The song that got me hooked on the awesomeness that is Blue Man Group. The perfect mix of humor, science, mind-blowing theatrics, and kick-ass music.

Guess who I get to see in March?!?! Finally....

So. As of today, 50 gone. 50 boxes of butter. 5 big bags of potatoes. One huge sack of dog food plus a big sack of catfood. Most of my daughter.

All due to writing down what I eat, moderating my intake, and hitting the gym 3 times a week.

I think I can finish the loss side of the project by June, for sure. Then I have to figure how to maintain... and how to get started on a marathon and masters team.

:::pokes collarbone::: It's nice to emerge from my cocoon, and fly.

Ya know, people think of Buffalo and environs as this cold, snowy, rusty, blue-collar wasteland. With a decent hockey team and some kickin' snack food. And there may even be a kernel of truth to all of that. But. Buffalo is a tough town with some real cultural treasures, full of kind folks and coffee houses.

anywho. We survived the October Surprise! I was typing some transcription Thursday night when the lights started flickering, so I packed it up and went to bed. Laid there listening to transformers protesting, wind howling, ice pelting the house, trees groaning and cracking. Husb-elf came home around midnight and told me "there's a tree across the road". My sleep-addled brain said "there are lots of trees across the road, we live in a leafy neighborhood!". Duh.

So he managed to run the electric chainsaw and remove about 1000 pounds of branch from the street before he came to bed at 3is. Power quit for good around 6am, I guess. No school. Trees all bent double. The stately maple in our backyard looked more like a clumpy willow tree, with branches touching the ground. I took hold of his poor snowladen branches and shook them. the whole tree slowly took up the oscillation, flinging chunks of ice and snow around. SOme landed on my head and down my shirt. When Mr. Tree was done, his branches were once again headed skyward, and I am positive I heard him sigh with relief.

CHinese Elm in the front yard lost a huge branch (about 20 feet long, several thousand pounds) and a medium branch, plus several hundred smaller branches. We got that all cleared up with the help of a neighbor with a gas powered chain saw (ours is electric).

Driving around the area is like looking at a huge tornado mess. The damage to trees, and collateral damage to wires and houses is staggering. In some areas, not a single tree has escaped without losing at least one large branch, violently ripped and cast down.

We were without power for 4+ days, but it could have been worse. The weather has been pretty reasonable, with nothing lower than mid 30s. we have a working and rather large kerosene heater. We had gas for hot water and cooking. We played a lot of candlight Monopoly and clue. Last night the kids and I tried out singing in round. HA! Fun, but not pretty.

We even got to share a glass of wine with our lovely next-door neighbors, who we really like, but we don't socialize much. They were cold, poor things. We got them nice and toasty and lightly loaded on some port and chardonnay.

Been cooking things as they thawed, so meals were large and ..interesting. :)

Now... time to do wash, reload the fridge, and catch up on 4 days of work. And hit the gym! I need it.