Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in ftcmj's LiveJournal:

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Wednesday, September 21st, 2011
1:36 pm	Religious Education Sunday we went to Mass. Looks like it's Confirmation Class time. I stayed in the pew with Zoe while mommy went for Communion. I didn't go because (a) they don't really want me there, and (b) I'm not sure what it means to me anymore, so it would be empty, and that wouldn't be right. Anyway, Zoe was watching people take Communion and said, "Daddy, why do the grown-ups have to drink that stuff?" I was about to write that I'll let the priests explain it. But maybe I need to do better than that myself. That's a cop-out. If I want her to hear something other than what's in the classes, I should tell her. And encourage C to do so, too. Current Mood: working (Comment on this)
Saturday, August 27th, 2011
10:58 am	Nostalgia This morning Zoe and I were playing with her Snap Circuits. She had built a little circuit that plays Happy Birthday when you clap your hands. "That song makes me feel kind of sad, because I remember all the happy things I used to do when I was little." "Well," I said, "you can still have happy times now, right?" "Yeah, but maybe not as happy as when I was little." Nostalgia at age 7. Current Mood: contemplative (Comment on this)
Friday, January 28th, 2011
12:13 pm	Book review: British Medical Journal, 25 Aug 1979; p. 489 In brief Hands up who knows what a book's about that lists in its index King Juba, lampshades, mah-jongg, monsters, ketchup, hot vagina, Friar's Balsam, and a Sodom apple ? You're right, of course: it's Botanical Dermatology by John Mitchell and Arthur Rook (Greengrass; $39-50.). It's taken as long to produce as it took the Greeks to capture Troy, which isn't surprising for such an enormous undertaking: analysing reports of skin injuries by 248 families of plants consisting of 1405 genera and thousands of species. The thoroughness is sometimes a bit indiscriminate--surely nobody needs to be told that you could get hurt if you slip on a banana skin or a coconut lands on your head--but this is obviously an invaluable reference book. You could read it just for the pleasure of the plant names: winged pigweed, for instance, which sounds like something that might worry Lord Emsworth, takes you into the realms of fantasy along with two Shakespearean clowns, Young and Old Fustic; a terse bit of dialogue, "Touch me Not" and "Cheeky Bugger"; three Chicago gangsters, Noseburn, Mexican Mugwort, and Blue Cohosh; and the Ordeal Bean (a painful variation on the "beanz meanz fartz" theme?). Back to earth for one last question. Primula, one of the commonest causes of dermatitis in Britain, was once known as the Fatted Calf of Harley Street; what, or who, qualifies for that title now? See the original in PMC.
Wednesday, January 26th, 2011
5:36 pm	Last night: my first DC Homebrewers meeting Michael Tonsmeire (the Mad Fermentationist) is a really nice guy in person. I found him so hard to listen to on the BBR podcast that I almost didn't want to meet him. But then I posted a question on homebrewtalk, and not only was he the only person to answer, but he invited me to the DC Homebrewers meetings. And it turns out, he's a very generous and down-to-earth guy. Not a bit of beer snob about him, and generous and kind with feedback and sharing his homebrew. This was the first time he'd hosted at his house. There were somewhere between 60 and 80 people there, in a modest-sized house in Takoma Park. Michael had this cherry flanders red sour ale which was *amazingly* good. He several other guys got together and made 10-gallon batches, and aged the stuff for over a year in a retired wine barrel. It was really sour, lactic sour, not vinegary, and had this great cherry flavor and then just a bit of funk at the end. He also had a funky ale on tap that tasted (to me) just like the kvass I threw away for tasting like that. My Christmas ale actually went down pretty well, and both bottles of the pilsner went. I was literally the last one out, and I was pretty drunk. Michael gave me a bottle of his most recent Berliner Weissbier, and told me to give it another week. A really fun crowd of beer nerds, 90% wurstfest. And "cheers" to Michael. I got home at 11:30, but was too woozy to sleep until about 1:30. Fortunately the sleepies have passed and I'm getting a lot done. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, November 16th, 2010
1:03 pm	Using Genome There was some discussion about the new "Genome" resource where I work. The official standards stated that the title of part of a resource home page should be the word "Using ", plus the name of the resource. But people though "Using Genome" sounded weird. My response: FWIW I agree. "Using Genome" sounds like a magazine. Using Genome In this issue: How to form a transcription complex Export control: mRNA to cytosol Handy G2 -> S checklist Stay in shape with chaperones How to get fed to a proteasome (and how to avoid it) Shut it down! Histone methylation for beginners You're Under Arrest: Keeping Out of G0 Letters: the assisted apoptosis controversy Regulatory and micro-RNA coding regions with attitude (Who you calling "junk"?) Advanced base J and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine techniques
Thursday, September 30th, 2010
9:28 pm	Welcome Natasha! "Natasha" arrived happy and healthy a week ago yesterday. She's a 9 (well, now, 10)-week-old Shih Tzu, black and white, with hair on her head like Cruella deVil. She was going to be called Dixie, but we found that the names were too similar and we were having to repeat ourselves too much. So now she's named after Natasha Fatale. She already feels like part of the family. Her sister Pixie, a 1-year-old Shih Tzu, looks enormous to us now. They spend most of their time wrestling. Natasha eats like an anaconda. I'm pretty sure she's fatter than when she arrived. We have to separate them when they eat, because Pixie likes to take her time, and Natasha will eat Pixie's food at any opportunity. Believe it or not, she came to us already paper-trained! She yelps some at night, but that's getting better. She's a really great little puppy. Current Mood: exhausted (Comment on this)
Saturday, August 21st, 2010
9:50 pm	A short rant about "Dr" Laura "Dr" Laura Schlessinger is complaining that her freedom of speech is being violated. "Freedom of speech" is generally understood to mean the First Amendment protection. But the First Amendment protects you from the government, not from being told to shut up by other people when you're being an asshole. (Or even when you're not.) The Constitution prevents the government from legislating peoples' freedom of speech. "Congress shall make no law... abridging freedom of speech". It doesn't say anything about the price you have to pay from other people exercising their freedom of speech by pointing out ignorant yahoos. "Dr" Laura has been spewing obnoxious ignorance for years. Finally someone noticed, and they're saying so, and suddenly she's one of those Victims she's been criticizing all of these years. Boo-hoo. As for her complaint that african americans can use the N word while she can't; that's right, she can't. I can joke about my sister, you can't. Self-deprecation is different from ridiculing other people. That's how it is, and she knows it. Her wailing about the unfairness of it all is just race-baiting, making herself look worse instead of better. She could play by those rules if she chose to. For example, if she starts been ridiculing self-righteous, bottom-feeding, loudmouthed harpies, well... nobody could criticize her for that. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, August 4th, 2010
10:56 pm	The Bible and government authority From: boston.com: @JSOUL-O Consider this: IF indeed the members of the First Continental Congress were all bible-believing, "God-fearing" men, would there ever have been a revolution at all? "For rebellion as is the sin of witchcraft." 1 Samuel, 15:23 Would they have initiated a rebellion if indeed they thought it was equal to witchcraft (a crime punishable by death)? But that's only the tip of the iceberg. The New Testament gives clear instructions to Christians on how to behave when ruled under a monarchy, as were the Founders. 1 Peter 2:13: "For the Lord's sake accept the authority of every human institution, whether of the emperor as supreme, or of governors, as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right." Paul wrote in Romans 13:1: "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resist authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment." The Founders clearly did not heed what was written in the bible. If they were in fact "good" Christians, there would never have been an American Revolution. Compare the above passages with the Declaration of Independence: "...when a long train of abuses and usurpations... evinces a design to reduce (the people) under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security..." Posted by Sam Donaldson August 4, 2010 02:54 PM (Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010
11:52 pm	Financial Times analysis: In short, we're fucked The crisis of middle-class America (Comment on this)
11:47 pm	You didn't get mad when... From Democratic Underground: Freepers, Birthers, Morons of all stripe, You didn't get mad... You didn't get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President. You didn't get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate energy policy. You didn't get mad when a covert CIA operative got outed. You didn't get mad when the Patriot Act got passed. You didn't get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us. You didn't get mad when we spent over 600 billion(and counting) on said illegal war. You didn't get mad when over 10 billion dollars just disappeared in Iraq. You didn't get mad when you saw the Abu Grahib photos. You didn't get mad when you found out we were torturing people. You didn't get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping Americans. You didn't get mad when we didn't catch Bin Laden. You didn't get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed. You didn't get mad when we let a major US city drown. You didn't get mad when the deficit hit the trillion dollar mark. You finally got mad when.. when... wait for it... when the government decided that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick. Yes, illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, stealing your tax dollars to make the rich richer, are all ok with you but helping other Americans... well fuck that. That about right? You know it is. You people have all lost your fucking minds. You are selfish, greedy, obnoxious, narcissistic, and frankly... stupid. Your pathetic little misspelled protest signs are embarrassing. Maybe you ought to find the smart person in your midst and let them make up all the signs, cause man, you look like a bunch of idiots. Also you're ugly and your mother dresses you funny. (Comment on this)
Saturday, July 24th, 2010
11:14 pm	Drag name I like funny drag names, and just thought of one for a gender-bending country singer drag act: Nellie Wilson. Current Mood: amused (Comment on this)
Monday, July 5th, 2010
12:18 am	Response to 'God is Great to Christopher Hitchens' Response to a fatuous post about Christopher Hitchens' cancer: http://blog.nj.com/njv_george_berkin/2010/07/god_is_great_to_christopher_hi.html ---- Really, deathbed conversions--really? Pascal's Wager is a fool's game. Placing that bet on one god merely pisses off any number of other possible gods, most of whom you have never heard. Of course, to a Christian, the bet looks like 50/50; either God exists or He doesn't. But to an atheist, there's a multitude of gods in whom not to believe, and therefore from among whom not to choose. Christians already don't believe in hundreds, maybe thousands of other gods. Who knows how many of these gods are tending hells into which they throw timid Christians who scurry back to their churches when the first cold breath of the Reaper flows past their necks? I suppose that if you must take Pascal's Wager, it's best to pick the most petty and paranoid god you can find, the one that acts most like a suspicious and insecure spouse. After all, many of the others are more forgiving, or indeed care nothing for whether or what you think of them. Maybe that explains why Pascal's Wager is so compelling to Christians, whose God is one of the more coercive, sadistic, petty and capricious. Hard to know whether He will accept the vulgar coin of fear in place of the love He demands, though. But never mind: if you think you were born into a Cosmic Casino, you must place your bet--you have no choice. Supposedly Voltaire once summoned a priest for last rites and presumably a deathbed conversion. But when the priest told Voltaire to renounce Satan, he answered, "Now is no time to be making enemies." So it turns out there are atheists in foxholes--and deathbeds--after all. (Comment on this)
Friday, July 2nd, 2010
7:41 am	More jokes Q. How do you sell a duck to a deaf guy? A. YOU WANNA BUY A DUCK? Q. What's blue and smells like red paint? A. Blue paint. Q: How does a blind parachutist know when he's about to land? A: His dog leash goes slack Two whales walk into a bar, one says to the barman: "OOWWWHHOOOOOOOOaaaaAAOOOOOOOWOHHHHH HOOOOOAOOAOAOOOOOAAAAAaaaaoaooooOOOOOhhhhHHHH WWWWOOOOOOOOWWWHHOOOOOOOOaaaaAAOOOOOOOWO HHHHHHOOOOOAOOAOAOOOOOAAAAAaaaaoaooooOOOOOhhhh HHHHWWWWOOOOOO" Then the other turns around as says "Shut the fuck up Frank, you're drunk" (Comment on this)
Thursday, July 1st, 2010
11:33 pm	Book book book A chicken walks into the library. It goes up to the circulation desk and says: "book, book, book, boook". The librarian hands the chicken a book. It tucks it under his wing and runs out. A while later, the chicken runs back in, throws the first book into the return bin and goes back to the librarian saying: "book, book, book, book, boook". Again the librarian gives it a book, and the chicken runs out. The librarian shakes her head. Within a few minutes, the chicken is back, returns the book and starts all over again: "boook, book, book book boook". The librarian gives him yet a third book, but this time as the chicken is running out the door, she follows it. The chicken runs down the street, through the park and down to the riverbank. There, sitting on a lily pad is a big, green frog. The chicken holds up the book and shows it to the frog, saying: "Book, book, book, boook". The frog blinks, and croaks: "reddit, reddit, reddit". Current Mood: amused (Comment on this)
Sunday, June 20th, 2010
10:47 pm	Response to yet another clueless commentator Screed at http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/opinion-right-big-business-is-still-best-bet-despite-bp/blog-352893/ ----- Response: I thought this piece was satire, until I got to the bottom of it and there was no punchline. Except, of course, the "innovate our way out of it bit." BP lied up-front about whether it could stop a worst-case scenario like this. Why didn't they "innovate" before they destroyed the entire Gulf Coast? No money in it, I suppose. As for communication, the government created the Internet, you'll be surprised to learn. Without which your iP[od,ad,hone], not to mention the IT communications revolution, would not have happened. Get this: proprietary, closed competitors to the Internet protocols, created by big business, failed. They failed because what the government had created was simply bette The Internet also wouldn't have taken off for business (and the rest of us) the way it did without Al Gore and others in Congress taking leadership to promote the communications infrastructure (the "Information Superhighway" the '90's). And while Big Al didn't invent the Internet, he did lead the charge for commercializing it: that is, according to Vint Cerf, who actually DID invent the Internet. Industry didn't innovate the Internet--government did. And as a result, any ass clown with a keyboard can use it to repeat the same tired BS about how government can't ever do anything right. (Comment on this)
Friday, May 28th, 2010
9:02 pm	Exchange on Facebook about immigration Julia Julie Overton Pulliam I don't believe that is anything like "hey you're a jew, ok, time to die" nope. .....nothing at all like that. in fact, if you'll look, our constitution is so messed up that it will protect those who come here and don't register-like we who are born here have to, IT PROTECTS THEM.... I'm sorry, that's messed up. so, if we're going to complain about some movements, let's talk about how the constitution protects all the people that are coming in to CHANGE america from what it was Mark Johnson I'm not sure what that talk is about people coming to "change America from what it was". Seems to me Europeans did a pretty thorough job of that. Somehow I think that's not what you meant. It is not true that people who are here illegally have no Constitutional rights; http://tinyurl.com/aliens-rights If you don't like the Constitution, ask the Bible: Ex 22:21, Ex 23:9, Lev 19:33-34, Lev 25:35, Deut 5:18-19, Num 15:15-16, Eze 22:23, Heb 13:2, Matt 25:35-40. There's more. Jehova has pretty strong opinions about how people treat foreigners. Mark Johnson To get back to your original question, Julie, I can think of a few reasons why not [to have a national ID]: Repurposing: Governments and businesses both will get up to all sorts of new mischief with a reliable unique personal ID. Privacy: What can you link together with a reliable personal ID? Name and birthdate, probably. Library records? Purchases? Magazine subscriptions? Arrests? Medical conditions/test results? ID, please. Religion? Sexual orientation? Identity theft: data gets stolen. No escape: Victims of violence who flee to other states could always be found in the national database, if the abuser/criminal can get to it. Doesn't solve problem: IDs, or the documents needed to get them, can be forged. Mark Johnson Eventually people will tire of the cards, and we'll go with implantable RFID chips instead. So convenient. Already doable and legal for pets, prisoners, military. I chipped my dog yesterday (really!) I guess the kid's next. National ID gives everyone something to hate. Libertarians can freak out about Big Brother. Liberals can moan about civil rights. Conservatives can complain that it grows the federal government. And religious wingbats can hold up their palms and wail about the coming of the Beast. Julia Julie Overton Pulliam I have not read the bible versuses as of yet. I'm not sure if I've given the wrong idea. The constitution that was set forth by our forefathers was right and correct for its time. Of course, with time and "evolving" there have been amendments. Our forefathers could NOT have even dreamed of what was to happen to cause changes and amendments, but I digress. Yes we "europeans" came and changed America from just indians being here to eurpoeans and indians. so is that what we're saying here? We should let others come in and change it? I'm assuming what everyone is getting at is, WE came in and changed it so everyone else can to? I guess you're right. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.... Julia Julie Overton Pulliam I know, it's always something or someone. I've been saying for awhile now..."just waiting for the second coming, I'm done" James Pulliam Life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Give us ur tired, ur poor, etc. These are ideals our forefathers set upon us, our immigrant forefathers set upon us! It started off real good and then we started crapping on are fledgling ideals and now look what we are! Mark Johnson That poem is on the Statue of Liberty. I had never actually read the whole thing until I just googled it. THE NEW COLOSSUS Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. "Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door! Current Mood: nonplussed (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, May 9th, 2010
12:13 pm	Spelling trouble Zoe is very interested in spelling and writing. Her teacher says she always has to remind Zoe to leave her notebook in the classroom when they go somewhere. The other day we were in the car, and Zoe asked, "How do you spell 'we'?" "We is spelled W-E". "No, I mean, 'Wii'" "Oh, well the *game* is spelled, W-I-I." "No, I mean 'Oui', like in French." She also asked me the other day, "Papi, how do you say 'Dimanche' in English?" She's learning some vocabulary at school she hasn't learned at home. It's a lot of fun. Current Mood: proud (Comment on this)
Friday, April 30th, 2010
2:42 am	Can't get up Half an hour or so ago my dad called my name, and I awoke to find him lying on the floor. He hadn't fallen again, thank God. He was trying to get to the bathroom, and had slid from the couch, where he is sleeping semi-seated, to the floor. It took me about 10 minutes to come up with a plan. In the wee hours of Wednesday morning, he fell off the toilet and against the tub, and somehow crawled back to his inflatable bed in the living room. If he hadn't been able to crawl, we would have found him on the floor in the morning; everyone else was sleeping upstairs. That day we discussed sending him to the hospital, but he decided to see how he felt. By yesterday morning, he still felt bad enough that he decided to go the the ER at Holy Cross, which has one of the few Senior ERs in the country. He went in an ambulance, and was there with Mom for about 7 hours, from 11 AM until around 6, when I picked them up after work. We installed a hospital bed in the living room, where currently I am sleeping, since getting up and down from a prone position is still too painful for him. Once he can get to his walker, he does OK, but another fall could leave him bedridden and, in his condition, that can be dangerous. So I'm sleeping near him every night. He has agreed to let me spot him when he gets up and down. It's less time and work that taking care of Zoe when she was a baby, though there are some similarities, especially the interrupted sleep. Waking up to find him on the floor was a shock. I thought he'd fallen. Googling for techniques for getting old people off of the floor was unsuccessful. Seems nobody knows how to hoist an old guy with a bum rib without a block and tackle, or if they do know, they aren't telling. Eventually we got him up by first pulling him into a seated position on the floor, then hoisting him to sit about on a footrest about 12" high. Just that small amount of lifting an adult left my out of breath, heart pounding. Damn I'm fat and out of shape. My back also can't take that many of those kind of lifts. If I don't build muscle strength and mass now, I'll be in his condition all too soon. From the seat, he was able to get up to his walker and walk to the bathroom. Now he's ensconced back in his nest of pillows and blankets on the couch, trying to doze off. He has a pretty good attitude about these things. At least, none of that anger and denial bullshit so many people, especially men, get into when their bodies start to fail. He is instead childlike in a lot of ways, not dealing well with pain (I don't, either), and very flinchy and fearful. I don't know how my mom will manage nursing him as I think she will need to do. I'm going to gently start suggesting she might want to consider accepting some help instead of doing it all herself. I doubt I'll get anywhere with her, because of her willfulness and grandiosity. I suppose maybe I should let Eric talk to her about it instead. I'm grateful that it wasn't worse, the other night and again tonight. Yet it's only a matter of time for him, I'm afraid. As it is for us all. Current Mood: sick (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, April 19th, 2010
8:45 pm	Planted today In a 4x4' square-foot gardening frame today I planted: - 1 cantaloupe - 8 peas - 8 beans - 8 kohlrabi - 8 basil - 4 cilantro - 4 swiss chard - 6 arugula - 4 simpson lettuce - 8 mesclun - 16 nantes carrots - 16 danvers carrots - 16 cherry ball radish Let's see how this square-foot gardening works out! Also tonight I whacked a fly with a flyswatter so hard that its head landed in the sink. I don't know what happened to the rest of it. Good progress today on Portal Application Framework. Lots left to do, though. I have to figure out why debugging that thing is so damn hard. Now it's time to put Zoe to bed. She's hopping around in my room giggling and farting. A good day. Current Mood: tired (Comment on this)
Friday, April 16th, 2010
11:58 am	About Lucile Me: Zoe, do you remember my aunt Lucile, your grandpa Curly's sister? Zoe: (quiet) Me: She was at Grandma Viki's birthday party last summer, a skinny old lady who was very happy? Zoe: Oh yeah. She was nice. Me: She died last night. Zoe: What happened to her? Me: She was very old, and got very tired and sick. I think she was ready to go. Zoe: She's still in my heart. We love her. She's in my heart. (touches chest.) (Comment on this)