at least for the weekend.

We were cleaning out the office this afternoon and satorisearching looked out the french doors and said "there's a dog in the yard"

So out I go to see if I can grab the dog and read its collar. Which I did and I could, so I called the number on her tag and got a business's vm. Left a message. No call back yet.

Satori did some googling and found this: http://lasvegas.craigslist.org/pet/1250715748.html

Yup, Tora's the name on the tag. The business is in Henderson. Dunno if they found a home and either she got loose or got dumped real fast or worse, they couldn't even wait and see if they got any ad responses.

She's a really good dog, too. Very friendly, quite well trained (responds fairly well to voice commands, although "stay" could use a little work), only a little pully on the leash. We just got back from a walk and she's chilling in the spare room as we speak. Hasn't even barked once. I get the sense that she's the kind of dog that only barks over something really important.

At least she's safe for the weekend, especially with all the exploding firecrackers going on outside. Stupid frakking fourth of morons with explosives, but I suppose that's a topic for another post.

I'll leave you with this:



Thank god we had a leash.

OMG, I'm gonna be broke: http://1fashionaddict.wordpress.com/2009/06/23/mac-style-black-full-collection-details-pre-release-info/

In other news, it's fucking hot here. *sigh*

I found the latest Nielson usability alertbox to be very interesting.

Anyone have any thoughts?

The one thing that leaps out at me is user reaction to removing password masking. I can see why Nielson would suggest it because technically I think he's right. But what would the user perception be?

Thoughts?

How is it that I've never seen Portraits as Living Deads.com before it ended.

sadness. but the archives rock.

...again

Choice quote: “Iranian twitter activity similar to what we did in House last year when Republicans were shut down in the House,” Hoekstra tweeted from his BlackBerry today.

For those who don't remember Hoekstra, he's the Rep who also Twittered about being on a top-secret mission to Iraq.

I really think that Republicans ought to stay the hell away from technology.

In other news, Ensign resigned his leadership post today. He literally phoned it in. Much like the rest of his career. Hopefully he'll take the same advice that he gave to Bill Clinton.

Hee, hee... Not a good way to kick off a Presidential run.

I'm also curious as to what the 'rising star' bit is. He's a two-bit back-bencher who thinks he can run.

He's got no chance. He's going to be competing for the same demographic as Palin, Huckabee and Jindal. There aren't that many Fundamentalist nutcases in the country to support all 3 of them... at least I hope not, anyway.

Seriously, since my adventures in fertility, I'm about ready to perform my own hysterectomy on the diningroom table with rusty kitchen utensils. It would be less unpleasant.

on women's health practitioners, aparantly. Why the hell Scott Roeder is talking to anyone in the media from jail is beyond me, but if he's to be believed, his action is part of an opening plot.

So today's news roundup is Nazis in Europe (again) and angry white men doing their best to ruin everyone else's lives.

Great. Super. Fan-fucking-tastic.

Between the two, I vote for nuclear war. I think it's time for everyone to get the hell out of the pool and leave the poor earth alone.

Stupid. fucking. human. race.

Ugh, I think I'm going to be sick... the BNP won a seat in the EU Parliament.

WTF, people... WTF.

If I were a crazy gun nut, I'd really need one of these


No reason. Just looks like fun.

Perhaps I was just amused by the description in the article I saw it in, linked by the lovely ashbet:
"It appears that the AR-15 is kind of the gun-dweeb's version of Linux: All kinds of modifications can be made to it, but most of them make about as much sense as tying your dick to a roller skate."

The rest of them are vaguely amusing... but crossbow FTW.

is the true longest day of the year.

boredboredboredboredbored. somebody do something interesting.

Reason is hosting a blog post defending the murder of Dr. Tiller. Here's the concluding paragraph.

As I said, killing abortionists may be contrary to that goal for tactical reasons. But how is it possible to believe that fetuses are people with a right to life yet also believe that using deadly force to defend that right is wrong?

Here are some of the choicer replies to the post, which, as they (and this post) are still present on the site, I can only assume that Reason as no issue with:

Righteous Ricky says:
"Actually, bombing abortion clinics when they are not in use is just as effective as killing abortionists while not requiring the taking of a life. So this should be the first step. However, if an abortionist rebuilds a couple of times, then he or she should be fair game."

H.F. Wolff adds:
"Since the author of this otherwise worthwhile article chose to include a snippet of conventional wisdom regarding Auschwitz, permit me to post the following for your consideration and enjoyment:[...]

Governments of Israel, Poland, and Germany, published information refuting holocaust!
As author and professor Norman Finkelstein so aptly put it in his book: "With all these holocaust survivors, who did the Nazis kill"? Now we know: NOT ONE, as affirmed by those questioning the veracity of the premise of the holocaust."

Our Friend Righteous Ricky again:
"The only real question is whether a woman that seeks an abortion should be treated as an accessory to murder or co-conspirator."

JB chimes in with:
"And Jacob, why are you using terms like 'murder' and 'killing'? This was nothing but an abortion of Tiller; he was nothing but a clump of cells."

Billy apparantly can't tell that he and JB really agree:
"""They are nothing but clumps of cells.""

That's bullshit. Tiller was a third-trimester abortionist. He destroyed humans that on there own were viable outside of the womb (granted they'd need food and a diaper change now and then). This wasn't some guy at planned parenthood.

I am glad he no longer practices medicine."

Oh, and here's Billy again:
"We wouldn't have to worry about abortion if women would just stop being dirty whores."

Last one, because I'm just getting sick:
The Wine Commonsewer opines:
"Tiller is now a hero and his death will be used to whip up a frenzy of righteous indignation against gun owners in general and the second amendment in particular.

Other than that he was a vile human being."

The floodgates are open, folks.

Excuse me, I think I'm going to go vomit now.

Why oh why do we have to be broke right now.

*heaving sigh*

Watching the Right trip all over themselves to call Judge Sotomayor a racist is both disturbing and incredibly sickening.

Way to continue passing ammo up to the circular firing squad, Republicans. Great job.

Now please go away. The grownups are talking.

Regular readers know that I'm pursuing an MBA. My first class was Stats. I have serious maths anxiety. I've gotten 3 emails asking my input on my classmates' final projects.

I'm also mathematically outside the realm of being able to get less than an A. In a graduate-level maths class.

When the fuck did I become I logical thinker?

I blame my Vulcan husbands.

OMG... Managed to hold it in until we'd left.... but satorisearching and I went to the Wine Spectator Grand Tour and did quite a decent job of making the Grand Tour.

Yes, we were as lame as the rest and lined up early to get a taste of the Grand Cru Burgundies... and they were good. We hit Chateau Margeaux and Chateau Haut-Brion before the rest of people got there and if you get the chance, definitely taste them. They are exactly what they are represented as - the best of the best of the Priemier Cru (which if you're neither Francophile or a wino means "first growth" - the wineries are centuries old and they age really well. If you wanna spend a shit-ton of money on wine, an '87 Margaux, which last time I read anything about it was still drinking really well, will set you back about 2k... and those are still considered kinda young...) and they were certainly good... I'll refrain from winoish snobbery in trying to define the taste becuase they've been described well by people with far, far finer palates than I have, they were good and the Brion was certainly worth waiting in line for an hour for (and if you know me well enough to know about how I feel about standing in line for things is high praise indeed). However, for Burgundies, the Mouton-Rothschild blew them out of the water with an absoultely amazing balance of fruit, earth and leathery tobacco notes. After hitting Margaux and Brion we ran to Champagne land... I have the womanly weakness for bubbles. I was fairly disappointed in variety of Champagne that was on offer - nothing was lousy, but the real standout was an American methidoise from Domaine Chandon in California - the Etoile... I do love pink champagne. (First person to laugh at that gets spiked, by the way.)

For the rest of the night, we mostly stayed in Iberia, which since our trip in November (and honestly even before that) is my first wine love. Tasting the Duero wines totally felt like tasting home. There was a (okay, I really wanted to link to the Ramos Pinto site here, but holy fuck their website is a morass of usability issues, so I won't torture the rest of you - and if you're in my industry, please use this as a note to listen to the usability person because they fucking know what they're talking about(1)) Anyway, Ramos Pinto had a really good still wine (they're generally known as a port house but they're doing some amazing things now with Touriga Nacional these days that don't involve brandy.) and it so reminded me of being in Porto and with my amazing food fu (if you've traveled with me, you know what I'm talking about) we found this little taberna on a total side street near this weird ass market that was just weird and very, very Portugeuse and we ordered boquerones, which are, in the US filleted white anchovies served cold and pickled. In this Portugese tapas bar, they were served whole and deep-fried. By whole I mean scales, fins and all. satorisearching has yet to embrace the fact that brains and eyeballs are actually really, really yummy, so I spent a meal decapitating these poor fishes for him while we were drinking these absolutely amazing glasses of tinto (house red)... The Ramos Pinto table wine totally made me think of that, which made me unbearably homesick for a place that I'd spent 7 days.

How in the holy fuck does Vino do Porto taste like home to me?

And when can I get back to Iberia.

Someday I'll actually get around to writing up our trip through Iberia post-Gothcruise. It was so amazing that I just don't have the words. Sintra is just.. it's... Byron wrote poetry there and it's so Byronic that I don't even... Evora was weird - the temple was beautiful and the streets were really scary... Porto was like a Kambriel photo shoot (so was Sintra, actually)... but I spent 9 of the best days of my life in Iberia and I'll gladly go back tomorrow, pls and ty.


(1) That's personal because I'm the usability chick and no one listens to the poor usability chick(2)
(2) 200 points to the person who can tell me which other poor SciFi char no one ever listens too...

My Mp3 player is playing with my head tonight... This is what it was like to grow up in Brooklyn.

Into a world I plunge thru my headphones, escape into the streetlight
I begin to believe in destiny when my surroundings in rhythm with me
I'm just a grain of sand walking in a sea of people
I look around me and my name is just someone
For a moment in time I belong
Where my heart beats the fear is gone like destiny

So move with me I'm strong enough to be weak in your arms
Move with me I'm strong enough to be real in your arms

Whispering as I was driving quietly the car was rolling like a bullet
I was feeling the speed moving me faster.
Addicted to the rhythm on my ghetto blaster
That's me supposing that the clarity of thought
Is clear enough to think it's real enough to touch
The wind on me got me tripping can I keep you next to me
Till the end of the world...

Courtesy Nina Cherry...

oh gods I'm homesick. how and why did I end up in this goddessforsaken place and can i have my real life bak nao, plz?

Down to the earth I fell
With dripping wings
Heavy things won't fly
And the sky might catch on fire
And burn the axis of the world
That's why I prefer a sunless sky
To the glittering and stinging in my eye....

courtesy Nina Gordon.

You have to read the crawl. It's fucking hysterical.

Want now.