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Below are the 25 most recent journal entries.

	2008.07.09  11.44 Best George Carlin tribute so far!! (Cross-posted copiously, because it's just that good.) I adjusted this Candorville comic to better fit on blog pages so I could share it as widely as it deserves. If you don't get it in your local dead tree news venue, Candorville can be enjoyed online HERE. Mood: quixotic

	2008.07.08  00.11 Teeny Tiny Toad!!! We had a pretty good rain the other night, and there are still puddles in my (dirt) driveway. Good thing I always avoid them, because look what I found there! For those good at math conversion, the gold key in that pic is 1 3/4" long. And yes, we sent him on his way after his photo shoot. Mood: enthralled

	2008.07.07  13.26 Did I mention I was going on vacation? No, I know I didn't. Sorry. Between my last post and the morning Mike and I took off (Friday the 27th) I was trying to get the trike done, because people had been asking about how to get one and I wanted to be able to give a straight-up account of the process, and also how it turned out. The departure date came around too soon. More on all that later. The trike is getting close to done, except I've run into an odd problem. I THINK the chain is too loose, because it (or the wheel?) starts to spin instead of propel whenever the amount of pedal-push-power exceeds a very low minimum. Since 'chain and gear' is a fairly simple mechanical concept, I am hopeful I will figure it out soon.... Mood: busy

	2008.06.21  15.06 A trike. We haz it. Sort of. (This is partly cross-posted from codeneonblue. Sorry to those having to endure it twice.) So The Clone decided she wanted a bike. A comfy, grown-up bike, not the kinds available here aimed at kids or sporty adults. Naturally, we went shopping on eBay. You may recall I have a virtually unused wheeled eBay purchase of my own under wraps in the barn, a moped. I had chickened out trying to ride it because my knees threatened to walk off the job if I even THOUGHT about it hard. I had a vague plan to work on knee strength and come back, but it stayed in the planning stages...until I spotted the TRIKE! It was only $269 including shipping! Being a trike, I could NOT fall off it and damage myself irreparably! So I could use it to go to the store and the PO and save money and strengthen my knee and get exercise! Naturally, we ordered it! What I hadn't quite realized was that I would get so much of the exercise just doing the assembly. Like so many other things, bike mechanic-ing is a young person's game. If I ever have to get a job doing this, I want to be paid by the hour, not by the bike. So far I have about six hours invested in the project. I have to take the blame for some of the delays, because a couple of times I put something on crooked, backwards or upside-down, and had to re-do it. But part of THAT is due to the instructions. I think this trike's instructions take the prize for the WORST I have ever seen. Here they are, you tell me. The corner bit tore off in the wind when we were first unpacking the box. Mike managed to catch the rest of the page, but he might as well not have bothered. There are three blurry illos and less than 100 words. That's it! Luckily we had read the seller's feedback on eBay before ordering, so we had one of the secret tricks for success already planned. A company that makes a somewhat similar trike has assembly instructions available online for downloading and printing. Not an exact match, but it helped, especially considering where you have to start in the assembly process. When I quit for the evening last night, I had assorted muscle strains and some pinched fingertips, but also a trike-shaped object. Today I plan to see if the air stayed in the tires, connect the hand-brake to the back wheels, do a final tightening up on all the nuts and bolts, and put on the fiddly bits -- the baskets, reflectors and the jingly bell! I'll keep you posted! Mood: sore

	2008.06.19  12.56 Neon Health Update I don't think I mentioned it here, specifically, that I celebrated finalizing all the political stuff for the first half of the year by picking up some sort of virus that went straight to one of the more problematic parts of my body (no, NOT my brain!) and gave me bronchitis. Happily, I am mostly over it now, other than the occasional mad coughing fit. I've figured out I suffer from bureaucratic body parts. These guilty parties do the least they can get away with, complain about that little smidgen of work they DO do, and generally fail to get along with the other body departments. So it seems the body-in-general decided to fight the rising bitterness by holding onto every molecule of sugar passing through, hoping this would restore our former sweetly sunny disposition. The brain TRIED to tell it this was a bad idea, but you know bodies.... Anyway, after teetering on the brink for years, I'm now considered Officially Diabetic. My doc prescribed Glucophage, and since he has confidence in my willingness to keep to a med schedule, and also knows I want the cheap version of things whenever possible, he set me up with the kind where you break one large tablet in two, and take half twice a day. The only problem is that these tabs are roughly the size and consistency of bricks. The first day it sort of half broke and half crumbled on me. The second day I used one of those one sided razor blades, which worked okay except that it CUT the pill instead of breaking it, so the two halves weren't quite equal. Today I found that using the razor blade and a HAMMER worked perfectly. As in the old adage, if force doesn't work, you aren't using enough. More health type updates later...I need to pack and mail some books before I run out of afternoon! Mood: determined

	2008.06.16  23.40 Oh hai! I haz a returnz. So, LJ, anything happen while I was gone? Kidding. Although I have not been posting, I HAVE been reading along, so I know about the assorted shenanigans. So I should be able to seamlessly re-integrate, yes? It would take a long time to explain everything I've been doing, although some of you have seen some of it on my political sideline LJ codeneonblue. Basically, I have been trying Real Hard to be all things to all people and get everything I have ever agreed to do or wanted to do done, in a timely manner. No doubt you will be shocked and dismayed to find out that I didn't succeed at that goal. Although I HAVE gotten quite a few things done, and am pleased about that. Anyway, I am going to try to post SOMETHING regularly again. Except on days when I run out of energy and something like this happens: (Just keep watching....) Mood: still sort of stunned

	2008.03.07  12.08 Yay Friday! Wouldn't you know? Mike and the clone have today off from school, so we could work outside a little...IF it wasn't snowing. TOMORROW will be in the 60s, but I will be gone all day. Typical. And there I was all inspired by this story in the New York Times about a guy who spent a couple of decades drinking beer and then decorating his home with the cut-up cans. (Has someone told Dave Barry about this?) Best quote: "One good thing about not having any zoning is you can do stuff." New scientific discovery: Last week Climber slipped out without us knowing and found some skunk smell to bring home. Not a direct spray, but it was still bad enough to get her banned from sleeping in the bedroom. As you may know, bathing really doesn't clear that stuff up much. But after a few nights I succumbed to her pleading eyes, and, as an experiment, sprayed her down with Mike's AXE deodorant. Guess what?!? It worked great! Although then she smelled like a cheap gigolo instead of a skunk. But you take the improvements as you get them, eh? In conclusion (for now) -- this is something I would totally do. Mood: cheerful

	2008.03.06  15.41 Rockin' the techie stuff! I can't help hopping on to celebrate the good day I'm having. Please bear with me while I get the "SQUEEEE!" out of my system. As you may recall, the one thing I'd never really liked about the look of CodeNeonBlue.net was the gray color of the text and the double-spacing. I'd tried to adjust it when I set it up, but I couldn't figure out where to change those two attributes. Then today I happened on a link to FireBug for Firefox. It's a tool for web designers that lets you do Many Fabulous Things. More things than *I* understand, for sure. BUT it was just intuitive enough that I was FINALLY able to change my textual areas to single-space with black lettering. As God intended. The other cool thing was that I figured out how to combine two separate video clips I filmed last weekend, and then upload them to YouTube. They were shot in honor of TrainBoyMike, of course. So you needn't click through unless you have a serious hankering to see a couple of RTD light-rails go by the Denver Convention Center at about 10 on a Friday night. Although it IS rather amazing how big and clear the picture is...I think I'm starting to get the hang of my new camera! Mood: geeky

	2008.03.05  13.46 O hai! A winner iz me! Last April, the Colorado Dem Party had a training session for county committee people at a really neat facility in Georgetown. OF COURSE I took a bunch of pics. I was there and breathing, wasn't I? Last week our local paper started a weekly photo contest. I decided to start with something I thought was sure-fire, wildlife. The Georgetown facility is not only a meeting and wedding site, but a mini wolf sanctuary, and I had scored this great shot: I was totally chuffed to find out this morning that I won for this week! Mood: artistic

	2008.02.27  15.38 Cat and run This is just a pic to show how well my NEW camera works when I do the settings right. I took this from clear across the room, AND reduced the size to show here! But check all the detail! Mood: busy

	2008.02.26  15.01 Answers, Part 1! Here are the first 25 songs from THIS QUIZ, with the names of the good guessers. I have put alternative or best known performers people named beside the name I listed, when someone named them instead of the (sometimes weird) performer I have the song by. 1. "Just when you think you've got the wisdom of the ages, nobody seems to want to turn your pages." Ode to an Aging Rocker - Paul Stookey (of Peter, Paul & Mary): dandesun 2. "I do not like them here or there, I do not like them anywhere, I do not like them in a boat, I would not, could not, with a goat." Green Eggs and Ham - Weird Al! (Dr. Seuss, Moxy Fruvous, Jesse Jackson): deke(half), dandesun(half), checkeredzebra, spiffikins, padparadscha (half), kip_w, primroseburrows (I would also urge anyone who has ever read to small children to seek out the excellent Tom Smith's song, 500 Hats). 3. "They passed an ordinance in the town, they said we'd have to tear it down." Ode to the Litte Brown Shack Out Back - Ben Colder (Billy Ed Wheeler): filkferengi, primroseburrows (half) 4. "I want a brave man, I want a cave man!" Johnny Get Angry - The Wrockers (aka Rock Bottom Remainders), (Joanie Summers, k.d. lang): stoutfellow(half), dandesun, padparadscha PLUS BONUS POINTS!, kip_w, primroseburrows (half) 5. "Do not be discouraged by circumstance or size." The Biplane Evermore - The Irish Rovers: ailsaek, 6. "And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light that shines on me" Let it Be - Colin Raye (Beatles): ailsaek, dandesun, padparadscha, odogoddess, kip_w, primroseburrows 7. "All would be well if, if, if." Bells of Rhymney - Pete Seeger 8. "Away, I'd rather sail away, Like a swan that's here and gone." El Condor Pasa - Simon & Garfunkel (Paul Simon & Los Indios Taba-Jaros): odogoddess, kip_w, primroseburrows 9. "They watched for the U-boats and they waited for a fight." Rueben James - Kingston Trio: stoutfellow, dandesun 10. "Some to the rivers and some to the sea, some to the soil that our fathers made free, then on to the stars in the heav'ns for to see." The New Frontier - Kingston Trio: dandesun 11. "Your dreams were your ticket out." (Theme from) Welcome Back, Kotter - John Sebastian: ailsaek (half), dandesun, odogoddess (half), primroseburrows 12. "A troop of guards comes riding with a lady and her gold." Threes - Julia Ecklar (Mercedes Lackey): dandesun 13. "Half of the time we're gone but we don't know where."The Only Living Boy in New York - Simon & Garfunkel: dandesun, primroseburrows 14. "Wanna be a man, be a good man, go on in the store, got to buy a big box, okay. "We Buy the Tampons - Bob Rivers 15. "A boy like that will give you sorrow, you'll meet another boy tomorrow." A Boy Like That - Selena (West Side Story) (Chita Rivera): dandesun, kip_w 16. "Blue, I was beginning to think I'd always be." Blue - Amie Comeaux 17. "Your mammy will scold, your pappy will shout, unless we come in the way we went out." Lend Me Your Comb - The Beatles 18. Shenandoah Lullaby - Jerry Garcia and David Grisman: ailsaek, dandesun, checkeredzebra (half), kip_w, primroseburrows 19. "You're the hidden king of rock and roll. "Mr. Bassman - Muppets: dandesun PLUS BONUS POINTS! 20. "Nothing compares to this deep devotion." That was a River - Collin Raye 21. "I could while away the hours, conferrin' with the flowers. "If I Only Had a Brain - Michael Feinstein (Wizard of Oz/Scarecrow/Ray Bolger): ailsaek(half), thalionar(half), dandesun, checkeredzebra (half), padparadscha, odogoddess, kip_w 22. "I'll go home to my den by the clear light of day." Hills of Greenmore - Steeleye Span 23. "Let it out, let it all begin, learn how to pretend." We're All Alone - Rita Coolidge: primroseburrows 24. "Over and over, my friends say I´m a fool." Personality - Lloyd Price: odogoddess, primroseburrows (half) 25. "From Boston to Denver, and every town in between." It's a Miracle - Barry Manilow: primroseburrows Feel free to have another go at the ones I haven't posted yet! Mood: quizzy

	2008.02.25  13.33 Told ya I did have a pretty busy week this last week, as I expected. But that's not the only reason I wasn't posting anything. I seem to have been sort of mentally treading water, thinking I should be doing SOMETHING differently. What I've decided is that, without noticing, I've gotten into the habit of thinking that passive activity, like reading stuff online, somehow COUNTS as accomplishing things. But without some form of action or interaction along with it, it's only spending time randomly. And I suspect I am wasting time, more than anything else. So what I'm going to do is keep track of what I'm doing, in 15 minute blocks that I can count as either Active, Passive, or Mixed, and try to get a handle on what I've gotten into the habit of doing, so I can make some improvements. One improvement I definitely want is to do better at responding to all you nice people, so I will start working on that right away. Now for some content. Over the weekend we all went up to Brush to see the grands, which was what Mike wanted most for his birthday. It was a reasonably jolly weekend even though Mike has had the sniffles and a cough, and wasn't feeling at his best. The dogs say they had NO FUN at ALL. They had to stay at the vet's for the day and a half we were gone. We picked them up on Sunday afternoon and Cowboy talk-howled to us all the way home about how awful it was and how terribly worried and upset he had been. Nothing beats an old dog for being able to shovel on the guilt. I took my old camera along with me rather than the new one, because it had come to my attention that I had forgotten to get a larger memory card. The one it came with will only hold 8 large size pics. Also, the lens cap pops off if I carry it in my purse. Here is a good example of why I replaced it. This SHOULD have been a picture of a Cattle Crossing sign, taken mid-afternoon. Even here on the High Plains the wind seldom blows hard enough to remove paint and metal molecules from a road sign and light from the sky. Mood: contemplative

	2008.02.19  11.19 HUGE Music Quiz! Looks like I have a lot to do today, and maybe the whole rest of the week off and on. But last week I found this lyric ID quiz I started I don't even remember how long ago, and I've been finishing it off in bits and pieces. So in case any of YOU have a little free time for fun, here you go! Here's the rules. I generated this list by randomly playing my music files. Give me the titles and performer(s) for all the songs you know (no Googling allowed!). A lot of these have been covered by multiple singers, and I have a lot of weird versions in my collection, so as a tie-breaker you will get 5 bonus points for matching any of less famous artists that came up on my playlist when I made this quiz. Have fun! And feel free to share the link! 1. "Just when you think you've got the wisdom of the ages, nobody seems to want to turn your pages." 2. "I do not like them here or there, I do not like them anywhere, I do not like them in a boat, I would not, could not, with a goat." 3. "They passed an ordinance in the town, they said we'd have to tear it down." 4. "I want a brave man, I want a cave man!" 5. "Do not be discouraged by circumstance or size." 6. "And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light that shines on me" 7. "All would be well if, if, if." 8. "Away, Id rather sail away, Like a swan that's here and gone " 9. "They watched for the U-boats and they waited for a fight." 10. "Some to the rivers and some to the sea, some to the soil that our fathers made free, then on to the stars in the heav'ns for to see." 11. "Your dreams were your ticket out." 12. "A troop of guards comes riding with a lady and her gold." 13. "Half of the time we're gone but we don't know where." 14. "Wanna be a man, be a good man, go on in the store, got to buy a big box, okay." 15. "A boy like that will give you sorrow, you'll meet another boy tomorrow" 16. "Blue, I was beginning to think I'd always be." 17. "Your mammy will scold, your pappy will shout, unless we come in the way we went out." 18. "Away, I'm bound away, across the wide Missouri." 19. "You're the hidden king of rock and roll." 20. "Nothing compares to this deep devotion." 21. "I could while away the hours, conferrin' with the flowers." 22. "I'll go home to my den by the clear light of day." 23. "Let it out, let it all begin, learn how to pretend." 24. "Over and over, my friends say I´m a fool." 25. "From Boston to Denver, and every town in between." 26. "I'll be leaving you now, You'll get along somehow." 27. "The men from the press, Said, we wish you success." 28. "I am the river, I am the mountain and the sea." 29. "I don't know the reason I stayed here all season." 30. "Through many dangers, toils and snares we have already come." 31. "Above the clouds, higher than eagles were gliding, suspended in the sky." 32. "I'm bound to roll all over you." 33. "Well, they gave me some beans for my last meal." 34. "You're everything I hoped for, you're everything I need." 35. "The company was gay, we'd turn night into day." 36. "At the Indianapolis of your heart I lost the race." 37. "She'd her apron wrapped about her and he took her for a swan." 38. "Let go darlin', I can feel the night wind call." 39. "I, I was the lonely one, Wondering what went wrong." 40. "Ow,ow,ow,ow,ow,ow,ow,ow." 41. "I wanna sleep on the hard ground, in the comfort of your arms." 42. "Hey! Why'd you wake me from my nap?!" 43. "Then one day we cast away our secret longing." 44. "Uncle Paul, he, Was very small, he, was the shortest man in town." 45. "Warm me from the wind and take my hand, a song is sounding, softly singing." 46. "If you ever worry will I be true, don't you worry I'll be true." 47. "I think that any love is good lovin', and so I took what I could get." 48. "Man will soon be standing on the moon above! Just imagine all the things that he'll discover!" 49. "She wouldn't want the rainbows even if she found them." 50. "When you hear the whistle blowing eight to the bar." 51. "Once I believed that when love came to me, it would come with rockets, bells and poetry." 52. "That touches the heart in many directions, moving the mind in silent reflection." 53. "Smiles awake you when you rise." 54. "The TV glowed that long hot summer with all the cities burning down." 55. "I just bought a water bed, it's filled up for me and you." 56. "I've lived my life in vain, every dream has only brought me pain." 57. "I'm the kind of guy, who never used to cry." 58. "I can stare for a thousand years." 59. "While I'm stuck here in a place I do not care for." 60. "But all my words come back to me, in shades of mediocrity" 61. "Thought I'd go out and see Ray." 62. "That's where you'll find me." 63. "So I made my mind up I would live my life alone." 64. "To bow and to bend will be our delight." 65. "Paint us a rainbow without any end." 66. "Dapples and grays, pintos and bays." 67. "The torch is passed among us now to light the way of man." 68. "Ran into a chum with a bottle of rum." 69. "When he saw the grief upon us, in his heart there burned a flame." 70. "Are you gonna let me go there myself?" 71. "She'll turn her music on you, you won't have to think twice." 72. "That’s a perfect sign, that they’re feeling fine." 73. "Her parents say that I'm no good, I don't come from her neighborhood." 74. "They shall travel on to where the two shall be as one." 75. "On that famous thoroughfare, with their noses in the air." 76. "Cruel were my parents, who did me sore annoy." 77. "I'll never understand the way you treated me." 78. "And the mighty blue ocean keeps rolling on every shore." 79. "It's not the perfume that you wear, it's not the ribbon in your hair." 80. "He was impressive, young and aggressive." 81. "We all sink or swim in the same ocean." 82. "Casey Jones, he was a mighty man." 83. "Lighten up while you still can." 84. "With the wind in your hair of a thousand laces." 85. "I got a note from the heart of the darkness." 86. "T-shirts, cut-offs, and a pair of thongs." 87. "Now I know just how much I have lost." 88. "They'll be networking forever down Columbus Avenue." 89. "You seem to be a bit confused about what's yours and what's mine." 90. "You don't know how you got here, you just know you want out." 91. "There's gonna be some changes in the way this story goes." 92. "We have traveled many miles, over hedges and stiles." 93. "He's liable to bite someone in class." 94. "Does it take more explanation than this?" 95. "Your lovin' gives me a thrill." 96. "You're sharing the good times." 97. "You've seen the difference and it's getting better all the time." 98. "Let's not be L-seven, come and learn to dance." 99. "Pickin' the Wildwood Flower with the angel band." 100. "Let's make the most of this beautiful day." Mood: busy

	2008.02.17  23.33 Mikes in the news, sorta My good news today is that I got my article written for the local indy paper about yesterday's visit from Congressman Mark Udall, plus the political blogging of same. Also some household stuff. The downside is that AGAIN I got very little email answered. Oh, well, tomorrow is also a holiday. No point in packing stuff to mail if the PO is closed. In order to have something to post I will share what I wrote about Mike's part in yesterday's meeting, even though codeneonblue readers have already seen it. *** Mike got an early start in being exposed to politicians when he attended the kick-off of Gail Schoettler’s horseback ride across Colorado to promote her running for Governor (in 1998, when he was six). We used to have a picture of Gail posing with Mike and his Bert doll, but it got ruined in a water-heater flood. Mike started taking an actual interest in politics about the same time I got interested again, because of all my praise for the guy he thought was named Power Dean. Even though he is sometimes shy about talking to strangers, and gets a little bored if an event drags on too long, he likes to attend political meetings. I had explained the purpose of Saturday’s meeting to him by saying Congressman Udall wanted to hear about things that had people worried, like needing more money for schools, and more chances to be able to go to the doctor when they were sick. Then I asked him what he thought was a problem that needed attention. I should have guessed — we need more trains. But he didn’t say it JUST because he’s a major railfan. We’ve talked about how trucks are used more than trains to move goods because trucks are cheaper to operate. Fuel is getting more and more expensive, though, so he thinks maybe trains will go back to being the best deal. Also, we should have light rail going between all the towns in the United States. I told him he could say all that at the meeting if he wanted to, but if he didn’t feel like it, that was okay too. He made me promise to help him. Sure enough, the hope of getting more future train action helped him overcome his usual bashfulness and he spoke right out when it was his turn. Later on, several other people brought the topic of trains or light rail back up when they talked, and he was delighted. “They like my ideas!” he whispered to me with a big grin. You can’t buy good feelings like that with any amount of money. Mike and Mark! Mood: pleased

	2008.02.16  23.21 Flash post Had a full schedule right out of the cereal box this morning, and then it took me the rest of the day to catch up on my reading of the nets. Tomorrow I HOPE to be able to spend a lot of time emptying out my inbox. But just so I have SOME content, here's a cartoon that made me LOL. The cartoonist is one of those guys I have on my comics subscription list so I can get a little taste of what the 'wingers are currently winging about. But today, I admit, he had a great one! Mood: amused

	2008.02.15  14.21 One of those weekish thingies I don't know if I was just mentally exhausted after we finally survived the caucus we'd been working so hard on, or if I had a minor bug. But I just couldn't get my mental engine to crank over and rev up for most of last week. The weekend was a little better, and this past week pretty good...but I'm still playing the greatest hits of the All Catch-up, All The Time station. Part of the trouble is with Things That Don't Work Again Still Some More. Maybe they are jealous because I fixed the stove and the hall light. But I have new additions on the list of things to fix. Maybe I should just save time and put anything I fix on the bottom of the list, so it will already be there when its turn comes around again. And while we are on the subject of things going wrong: I don't want to make one huge overwhelming catch-up post, so more later! Mood: cheerful

	2008.02.14  17.18 Bitten by a radioactive blue spider (Yes, I am alive. Yes, I will start doing some real posts real soon now. While you wait, here's another that should be in codeneonblue) On ColoradoPols the other day, DavidThi808 was talking about the super-delegates and wondering about their powers. Which led me to go find this: I don't know if it's because I am a Libra or a Liberal, but I often find myself, well, seeing a little of both sides on controversial issues. SuperDelegates to the DNC are those lucky folks who get a critical vote of their very own to cast for who they want to see as the nominee. On the one hand, it does seem like those who are Supers because they got elected to office by The People ought to consider what those People are saying as they decide whether to rally behind Obama or Clinton. On the other hand, the Supers get this special personal vote because they DO something for the Party. Yeah, it seems like a sweet deal to hold a glamorous office with an important title and then rake in the perks as well. But having done my tiny little job in the most minor office of a very low-populated county...it is my well-considered opinion that I wouldn't run for office EVER. Even if I won the Lotto and could afford it! It's way too much hassle for a little fleeting fame and minuscule reward. So maybe it's fair for Supers to have their special votes. Now that I've thought about it by writing about it, I guess my opinion is...still in the middle. (Oh, like you're surprised.) It's kind of like what we expect from those we elect. We want them to fully study the issues they're going to be voting on, not just hang back to see which lobbyists or pollsters shout loudest before making up their minds. So it would be reasonable for the Supers to consider both their own opinions, AND how their districts voted. What I DON'T think is okay is any hint of collusion or deal-brokering behind the scenes. So if the Supers will be transparent in presenting their reasoning, and follow the rules as established...then I say let the votes fall as they may! (PS, I'll give a Genuine Replica No-Prize to whoever can give the real identity of the character in the pic.) Mood: quixotic

	2008.02.05  12.18 Bet I'm not the only one (This would normally go in codeneonblue. But what the heck.) Raise your hand if you dreamed about tonight's caucuses. In my dream, we were suddenly having ours at some hotel attached to an outdoor activities park. I was trying to help make packets for the candidates and precinct leaders, but I didn't have enough of ANYTHING to go around, and some stuff was just NOT THERE. Anxiety much? The thing is, outside of the sudden snowstorm blowing around out there, we're WAY ready. We've had a practice meeting and training for our precinct people at the high school. Our county chair's son is a teacher there, so if we need more space than the lunchroom, he can get us access to some classrooms. I've been fielding phoned-in questions, both serious and goofy, and looking up people's precincts for them online. My hair even has a fresh coat of blue! So I guess we're ready. *quivers* Mood: excited

	2008.02.03  23.16 Weekend mix I'm feeling kind of kin to how our weekend was, a big mix of stuff. Some of it was productive--I finally fixed the oven! We had a BIG blackberry cobbler to celebrate! Also Tater Tots! On the other hand, some of it was lazy and vacation-like, lounging around listening to Mike stories and playing with the dogs. And some was in the middle...I bleached my hair in preps for re-bluing it tomorrow (a task somewhere in between lazy fun and productivity). So since I don't have much actual content, I have LINKS! This is weird and funny. It doesn't look like it at first...but just give it a second. TASTY!: A LONG time ago, there was a candy maker with a shop in Pueblo who sold something they called cream filberts. It's a hazelnut surrounded by a layer of cooked sugar (it has a texture like those mallocreme pumpkins or Christmas candies--softish but not quite chewy), then rolled in sugar. They always had them at their booth at the state fair, back in the day, but not for the last, oh, twenty years or so. BUT! Here is a place offering them for sale through an online catalog! And as the grand finale, here is a post Mike made spontaneously and all by himself to his blog: http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/park/rides/coasters/ Mantis send riders soaring 145 feet in the air. A Stand-Up Coaster MANTIS IS LOOPIMG ROLLER COASTER http://youtube.com/watch?v=t0yCUT-sRVs the phoenix http://youtube.com/watch?v=BgPkiJ0PnQM Wild ThinG NO LOOP Are you ready to ride The Loch Ness Monster (above)? YES LOOP จากนั้นเราไปที่สุดท้ายคือ Montu - มันเป็น Invereted Roller coaster ที่ยาวที่สุดในโลก (2 นาทีกว่า ๆ ต่อรอบ) เหอๆ สุดยอด ยกให้เป็นอันดับ 1 เลย - 7 Inversions + 3 Tunnels YES http://youtube.com/watch?v=eIlxcH__ N2Ihttp://youtube.com/watch?v=L7Es-06yzQE Mood: content

	2008.02.02  10.01 *sigh* Partly cloudy here this am, but still bright enough. Mood: awake

	2008.02.01  14.35 Me again! Been riding the roller coaster this week, and not the ones in the stories Mike likes to make up and tell me. Last Friday for some reason I just could not get to sleep after I went to bed. I tossed around a while, then got out my laptop and watched two new episodes of Chuck (how come none of you guys told me it was back on???). I was STILL not sleepy after that, so I got up (at 4:30 am), seriously startling Mike in the process. I grabbed short naps off and on Saturday, and got back to a more or less normal (for me) sleep pattern by Monday. But then Monday there was a small dust-up between me and a couple of members of our local Dems. I think we have all been stressing about the upcoming precinct caucuses, and the big postcard mailing project. Happily it all worked out in the end, and we are back on track anticipating Tsunami Tuesday's events. I guess that gets me up to date, but only because I can't think of any of the things I am pretty sure I was going to post about. Maybe I already mentally wrote them up in my head, so my brain thought it was okay to delete them.... Mood: busy

	2008.01.25  17.00 Where did Friday go??? Also its other weekday friends??? I guess it partly got sucked into me starting work on what SOUNDS like a simple project -- make a master sheet for printing out a postcard to mail to all the Dems in our county, and also mailing labels. Naturally, the course of tech stuff never runs smooth, so it took longer than I figured. Also I am not quite done yet, since we are waiting to hear back with ONE detail from ONE speaker for ONE event. I guess since the data total is nine such items, that's not so bad. And I have until Sunday afternoon to finish.... I had two funny things to share yesterday, but ran out of day/energy. But that's okay, they are still funny today. I ran onto this one via Dave Barry's blog: Everglades National Park (FL) Rangers Remove Python From Visitor’s Car On Tuesday, January 15th, visitor Ron DeLong stopped his car on the main park road in order to watch a crawling, six-foot-long, exotic Burmese python. As DeLong stepped out of his Ford Explorer, the python began crawling underneath the vehicle and into its engine compartment. DeLong attempted to grab the python with the curved end of his walking cane, but was unable to stop it. After several failed attempts to remove the snake, DeLong decided to drive 15 miles to the main entrance station for assistance. When ranger Willie Lopez, wildlife biologist Skip Snow, biologist’s assistant Alex Wolf and firefighter Henry Delvalle checked the Explorer, they found its hood open, with only the tail end of the python visible – the rest of the snake was coiled around various parts of the engine and undercarriage. Several attempts were made to pull it out through the top of the engine, but failed because the snake tightened its hold on the car. The four responders then discussed their options. Snow reported that there had been several published articles about the successful use of tasers to loosen the tight grip of constricting snakes, so that was tried. Unfortunately, it resulted in the python contracting and excreting bodily fluids all over the responders. They then decided to disassemble parts of the Explorer’s undercarriage in order to get to the python’s head, which was then covered with duct tape. The snake’s head and body were uncoiled and maneuvered through the engine compartment, then pulled out the top of the engine. Since Burmese pythons are exotic, prolific and aggressive, the snake was euthanized and taken to a lab to be studied. DeLong’s car was then put back together. [Submitted by Willie Lopez, Pine Island District Ranger] This one was made even better for me because it happened in Springfield, Missouri, where I once lived. It does not surprise me in the slightest. Woman With Tattoo From Homemade Gun Got Sick I think I am going to get up off this chair now and go do something else for a while. Mood: flat at the rear

	2008.01.23  15.41 New plan The whole 'get more stuff done' plan has been going pretty well around here, except for one glitch. Although I am not necessarily SLEEPY after 11pm or so, my brain seems to feel it has done quite enough for one day, thank you very much, and I can't always get it to spew out interesting posts. So I am going to try the communicating thing at some point during the day when it's quiet (coincidentally when Mike is at school...). Not that it is TOTALLY quiet, because the pets are always rumbling around going about their furry business. I got to thinking that if we want Smiley to become more socialized, she needs to be out and around us more, rather than in her crate and out of trouble but probably Making Pesty Plans. The downside of this is that she and Climber are sort of competing for who will be Alpha, so it bugs Climber to have to be around her more. Last night they got into a pretty big fight. Mike got nicked helping to break it up, and Smiley actually chipped a tooth. They are both being a lot nicer around each other today, though, maybe because I roared the roar of Really Pissed Off at both of them afterwards. Oh yeah, Sandy's operation went without a hitch and she has forgiven me today. So that's all right. Just for fun, here is one of the things I am trying in order to help me get more done. I've always marveled at how effective even an imaginary reward is for encouraging certain behaviors. These people at chorewars.com have come up with a way to combine boring daily chores with the excitement of role-playing games! This is me: What is really fun is adding adventures. My contributions so far are "Cleaning the Catbox of Doom" (Ritually cleanse the Box of Cats of all dark (or clumpy) materials), "Tiny Tasking" (Little things that don't fit into other adventures--fighting a gum demon attached to your footwear, casting out a dark wight from your wight-fixture, that sort of small but tedious nonsense.), and "Cat-herding the minion" (Doing what it takes to make the minions do the MIN of what they got hired on for!). Mood: busy

	2008.01.21  14.54 Misty Monday It was cloudy and snowy today, which I guess we can blame on Stock Show Weather (a Colorado tradition!), and once the moon came up there was a weird icy fog all over the place. Pretty, in an unsettling way. This trying to be efficient and get lots done is making me even crazier than usual, I think. I have a bunch of lists and I still keep forgetting stuff. Also all the animals have been insane today. Oh, well, it's almost Groundhog Day! Okay, here's something fun. I found this in a box of books I was processing the other day: The headline over the blurb on the back says Countdown for Love! No, I'm not going to spoiler the book and tell you which guy she ends up with! But it's SOOOO a book of its time and genre, you gotta love it! (And BTW, for a mere $2.99 and postage, it could be YOURS to treasure!) Mood: tired

	2008.01.19  23.20 Things we need Today has been a good catching up day, and I needed it. STUFF just kept piling up all last week, insisting it really HAD to get done. You know how it is. I don't think I mentioned it, but we didn't get to take Sandy in to be spayed last Tuesday. I was up and ready to do it, but Mrs. Vet (the office manager) called to ask if we could postpone a week. Seems Dr. Vet had suddenly come down with a bad case of being on crutches. He was insisting he was fine; she thought he should stay off his feet as instructed. You probably know how that is, too. Of course I agreed to reschedule. As if in karmic reward for my thoughtiness, Sandy suddenly decided she didn't want to be in heat after all. So THAT worked out okay. Even better, Mike stopped his reflexive questioning, "What's WRONG with my cat?? WHY does she want a boyfriend???" He likes to go over new information from every possible angle, you see, but his means of starting a conversation is to start from the familiar and ask a question he feels comfortable with. Over and over and over and.... But I finally thought to bring up the old classic line that distinguishes between Wants and Needs: '...like a fish needs a bicycle.' "A fish doesn't NEED a bicycle," I explained, "even though she might WANT one very much." He thought about this, then asked, "What if it was a boy fish?" For a boy fish, we decided, he might WANT but not NEED a motorcycle. And then Mike was content. Mood: cold