In other news, the dog got in a fight with a raccoon last night, and I'm hoping neither of us dies.

When we let her out to void her various body cavities in the back yard, she likes to run to all the corners of the yard as soon as we open the door, and typically a squirrel or something will run away as she does this. When I let her out last night, there was instead a growling and roaring as though another good-sized dog was back there and she was fighting with it.

It being pitch black, I didn't really know what was going on, but they were running down the side fence and scuffling on either side of it, with the "dog" scooting up and down the fence all the way—i.e., it wasn't a dog. My next guess was "large stray cat", but as I ran up and grabbed the dog and tossed her indoors, it became clear that it was (a) a raccoon and (b) very much not running away.

Right about this time, my younger brother's birthday party party (our parents, his school friends, some of their parents, and maru_mari) showed up and asked why I was yelling at the dog. I yelled at them to get the light off my bike, light the raccoon in the shrub/tree right in front of me where it was hanging out, and call 911.

Since "small wild animal" + "not running away when threatened" = "rabid animal zomg we're all going to die" in my world, I was pretty much hoping that the local animal control officer would show up with a noose on a stick, capture and box the critter, take it back to base and cut its head off and tell me whether it was rabid or just randomly psycho. Instead, what showed up was a random cop, who said that the only tool in his box was to shoot the raccoon, and he wasn't going to do that because it was in a tree.

So at this point I've got conflicting advice. I spent a while staring at it and it wasn't obviously symptomatic: a bit of snot coming out of its nose, and plenty bold, but not foaming or chewing on itself or twitching or whatnot. Neither I nor the dog have any wounds that anybody could find. Allegedly bold raccoons may just have kits nearby, or be in a mood, or whatever the fuck.

Apparently the theory is that the dog needs to be quarantined for several months and can't have any shots, and depending on the definition of "exposure" I may need to go through some shots with some really nasty side effects. All in all, not the best way to spend an evening.

I am heading up to Chicago today for a very quick trip, returning tomorrow. I'm going to support the fundraiser for Diana's Grove for the land crisis. 

My washing machine isn't working. It stopped mid-cycle, full of water. So I'm wearing work clothes and no bra. At least I have clean underwear.

I actually messaged a few people on OkCupid last night and didn't freak out. Maybe something's changing?

I'm going to try to keep the cats inside when I leave the house. Not sure how well that's going to work.

I'm thinking quite a bit about how bad it would be to go off all bipolar II medication. I quit taking the Lamictal. And, go figure, the rash stopped itching. I didn't call my doctor to discuss going off the Lamictal. I figured either he'd agree with me or he wouldn't (more likely), and either way, my mind was made up. I figure we can talk about it at my next appointment.

I better get going.

This is off Readercon's Saturday panel list. I don't know how much interest this one will raise--but.

Their title and info is: Why Don't We Do It in the Reformation? Underutilized Historical Eras in Spec Fic. Oooh! A conflated version of their descriptor: There have been many alternate histories of WW II and the Civil War, but almost none of Vietnam or WW I. The Napoleonic Wars have been [used a lot], but the Enlightenment has arguably been less fertile ground. What makes one historical era more compelling than another as a model, reference, or outright setting for spec fic? Are the underutilized eras ripe for exploration, or have they been neglected for good reason?
( Read more... )

I was hoping for something a bit more creative. troubleinchina said what I was thinking. (Spoilers.)

I liked the music, though.

I feel like something horrible has happened, and I've simply (mercifully?) forgotten for the moment what it was.

Hrum.

Don't tell me, OK? I'm sure I'll remember at some point.

I'm sick. Sore throat yesterday, turned to cough last night, am now hacking, sneezing and dripping like a tap.

I'm still trying to flat-hunt but I think something's wrong with moveflat.com because I have not had one single response to all the replies to ads I've tried to send out in the last three days. Which is extra annoying because it was a time-consuming process and some of it was from internet cafes and so cost me money.

I am getting more and more tempted to take the place in West Hampstead. I'm just trying to convince myself that I'm not tempted to do that only or primarily so I can stop flat-hunting and have an address to put on the applications I want to make for mini-pupillages, clerking and marshalling.

It would also be nice to have internet at home -- which I would, there. For Mum to be able to call me without spending a mint -- potential new flatmate has landline. To be able to put my things away -- the flat may not have much storage space but it has more than my current room. To have a kitchen and bathroom I feel I can properly use -- am getting increasingly sick of having to search for bowls/mugs/etc when I need them and tiptoeing around our filthy "accommodations" where I am now.

Etc. Etc. Etc.

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I haven't been paying attention. Is it mostly boys that have been molested by the hundreds of thousands of priests? If so, why? Girl units not part of church doings? If so, that's probably a "blessing" for them.

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Freeze ► Frozen : humans
Squeeze ► Squozen : sebab, as per the lemony lemonades she done done
Sneeze ► Snozen : jodawi
Tweeze ► Twozen :
Wheeze ► Whozen :

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Should reclaim the non- -ed words.

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http://tinyurl.com/6q5ggd
BSG. Apparently we don't have to worry that the ending will totally suck. Check out girly Thrace, and leg-crossing direction of everyone. (Legs crossed toward each other indicates interest/romance/married/couple/part of/possession/etc, away indicates stranger/opposite of the towards list.)

Music sounds different to people based on their experience. There's this band -- The Dulcet Dinosaur Sounds -- that only sounds good to experienced rock musicians. The trained ear can appreciate their music in a way that even the most enthusiastic fan can't appreciate.

I know the adage about the Velvet Underground -- only a thousand people listened to their first album but each one started a band. This is different. Only a thousand people can appreciate The Dulcet Dinosaur Sounds, and they're all already experienced rockers. When a big band discovers them, they go nuts for them.

The problem is, they're crap. They sound good to the trained ear, but they're crap. Every time a band makes it big, discovers their style and gets so excited that they work it into their own music -- every time it happens, the band's music goes downhill fast. Your favorite band that recorded their sellout album? They didn't sell out. They discovered the Dulcet Dinosaur Sounds.

That I am only one degree from Neil Patrick Harris and Joss Whedon.

I know someone in part 3 of Dr. Horrible. Part of hanging out at RPFS years ago.

Without spoilers...I am very sad now. But isn't it inevitable.

I find myself feeling insecure about my geek cred a lot more lately. Especially when a) people are talking about their hardware hacking, which I basically never do despite many intentions otherwise and b) when thinking about all the websites I wanted to do, which other people have subsequently done.

I need a coat like his, I think.
I like my goggles better, tho.

 Dar Williams @ the Bluebird, Saturday, August 16th 

Great Big Sea @ the Paramount, Thursday ,October 9th

EMT @ Owsley's, Friday, September 12th

I see: A dozen people trying desperately to escape from a tarpit.
I think I want to try making one thusly: take a large shallow metal bowl, attach it to a vibrational apparatus (say, a subwoofer), set it to vibrate as a continuously-changing subsonic frequency. color the material, maybe, to make it more interesting. Leave it running, as a little kinetic sculpture. For more interesting effects, maybe add in bits of metal a-la ferrofluid, and add some motorized magnets below, to stir it up.

I've watched this 80 times today and 80 times have gotten chills.

I am so embracing my inner potterite right now.

I want to go and dance and spin in it, but I don't have anyone to dance with. I miss TIP. I miss everyone.