Dear credit card company, bank, security-code-generating people,

I hope you are aware that when you ask me what my mother's maiden name is, you assume that my mother was a) married and b) chose to change her name.  Neither seem to be a pre-requisite for reproducing.  I wish you could find a better question that doesn't assume marriage is the normal ( Read more... )

This map demonstrates the rural and urban divide within Missouri politics.  Pretty amazing. 

I can't sleep.   In roughly 8-9 hours, Calontir will have birthed new Heirs for the Falcon Thrones.  *excitement ( Read more... )

I don't think this is old news.   But I like the application of gentle biotechnology.......using a fungus to diminish the non-digestible sugars.  I wonder if soybeans could be bioengineered to not produce the hard-to-digest-sugars.

My body, or more likely, my gut microflora, has mostly learned how to handle beans and soy............. as long as I ( Read more... )

I enjoyed reading these snippets on networks. 

So, I was really excited about the gumbo recipe that a friend, Ia,  posted on a cooking club listserv I'm on.  It seemed very hearty, and used okra.... and I've wanted to eat more okra, since moving to Missouri.  Here was my chance to experiment.  Plus, I have some friends in New Orleans, and this makes me think of them............ plus, the recipe ( Read more... )

I am going to use the word "deviate" in my dissertation whenever possible.  It makes me feel like I'm writing something naughty, and thus, my dissertation is naughty by default. 

Being a mentat is way cooler than being an actuary.  But, there are similarities.

I've been listening to Walden.  I have found it to be very comforting: Chapter 6: On Solitude.  It is also enlightening towards our current financial crisis, during the first two chapters.  It was as if Thoreau were watching our culture now, and was sitting in Walden.

I am also reading Hayek's Why I am not a conservative.  This is one quote I  ( Read more... )

I saw something that looked a lot like this at Charlemagne's Oktoberfest.  It was more grey, and a little stockier, but I bet it was an egg sac!