Tiger Tragedy

For Christmas, JB's mom sent our dogs a stocking full of fun dog toys. Toys that squeaked, bounced, could be retrieved, or hidden in the backyard. Immediately, Bender chose a favorite, the stuffed Tiger. Tiger has a squeaker in his stomach, which provides hours of amusement. However, Tiger is also plushy, which appeals to Bender's demon destructive side. Within five minutes of picking up Tiger, he immediately began to pull out his beard, leaving white puffs of synthetic fur all around the living room of further proof of his manliness. My solution was to sneak Tiger away and trim the beard to an unpullable length. Problem solved, right? Wrong. This is what I came out to this morning . . .

Poor, poor Tiger. He was lying face down from the shame of being De-tailed, I just know it. As I was rushed for time, I picked him up and set him on the counter, before Bender saw me. You can't see it from the picture, but I was worried that if I just left him out, that he would be disemboweled via the small butthole that Bender had wrought him. I also saved the tail, but without putting it on ice, because it was obvious that the detachment had been too long, and that it couldn't be re-attached. Why did I save it, you ask? Because I'm macabre! But with toys!
Later today, after order Chinese food for strength, I decided to attempt surgery on Tiger, to repair his new orifice. Here's an example of why I hid him from Bender in the first place.








This is clearly the carnivorous dance of joy, complete with head shaking, jumping, and licking of chops. This is what happens when Bender sees something he wants to pulverize.

So, I set about repairing Tiger. As I said before, the tail could not be saved. After a quick operation, Tiger was less one orifice, plus one scar. Good as new. Look, even check out the surgery site.
When I was done, I gave Tiger back to Bender. And I gave the tail to the KZ. Why go through the trouble to repair him, only to give him back to his torturer? Because I'm macabre! But with toys! (Plus, who can resist this?)

Help out St. Jude's

Linking for Dollars

Oh Google, how I love thee

Via www.informit.com

Exploring Google's Hidden Features

Questions Couples Should Ask (Or Wish They Had) Before Marrying

(With one caveat, that the title be changed to "Questions Couples Should Ask (Or Wish They Had) Before Committing, because not all couples are allowed to marry.

Via the New York Times;

1) Have we discussed whether or not to have children, and if the answer is yes, who is going to be the primary care giver?

2) Do we have a clear idea of each other’s financial obligations and goals, and do our ideas about spending and saving mesh?

3) Have we discussed our expectations for how the household will be maintained, and are we in agreement on who will manage the chores?

4) Have we fully disclosed our health histories, both physical and mental?

5) Is my partner affectionate to the degree that I expect?

6) Can we comfortably and openly discuss our sexual needs, preferences and fears?

7) Will there be a television in the bedroom?

8) Do we truly listen to each other and fairly consider one another’s ideas and complaints?

9) Have we reached a clear understanding of each other’s spiritual beliefs and needs, and have we discussed when and how our children will be exposed to religious/moral education?

10) Do we like and respect each other’s friends?

11) Do we value and respect each other’s parents, and is either of us concerned about whether the parents will interfere with the relationship?

12) What does my family do that annoys you?

13) Are there some things that you and I are NOT prepared to give up in the marriage?

14) If one of us were to be offered a career opportunity in a location far from the other’s family, are we prepared to move?

15) Does each of us feel fully confident in the other’s commitment to the marriage and believe that the bond can survive whatever challenges we may face?

Kickass Article

An article about the benefits of birth control.

Things that I have learned today

That I am not an official IT person.

That it really doesn't matter if I'm not an official IT person, as long as I sound like I know what I'm doing.

The scanner will always jam when I walk away, and always not jam when I'm watching.

That today feels like Friday, but in fact, it is not.

I know I'm out of school, but the reading just keeps going

Via Twisty, at I Blame The Patriarchy

"Patriarchal concepts are […] built into all the mental constructs of […] civilization in such a way as to remain largely invisible. [Patriarchy] gradually institutionalized the rights of men to control and appropriate the sexual and reproductive services of women. Out of this form of dominance developed other forms of dominance, such as slavery. Once established as a functioning system of complex hierarchical relationships patriarchy transformed sexual, social, economic, relations and dominated all systems of ideas. In the course of the establishment of patriarchy and constantly reinforced as the result of it, the major idea systems which explain and order Western civilization incorporated a set of unstated assumptions about gender, which powerfully affected the development of history and human thought."

You can dance if you want to

New Years plans. We don't have any yet. The thing is, on most days, I don't like crowds. And New Years is exceptionally crowded. And the crowd as a whole is drunk. Speaking of drunk, I feel that it is time to get uproariously drunk. It has been awhile, so I'm probably due anyway. If only I could drink at work without giving myself away . . .

Let's see. Marathon training? Check. School's out for the semester? Check. Final grades yet? Not yet. Work busy? Check. Christmas stuff done? Mostly check. Naps? Working on it.

Oh Wednesday, you are not the day of week I want to wake up with.

Status

I ran 18 miles today. Previously, I had never run more than 12. I am elated!

*Special thanks to AT, because I turned my IPod on at 12 miles, and it helped tremendously.

Goal Achievement

JB has earned his EMT National Registry thing. Yay!

Status

18 mile run tomorrow. Nervous.

Waiting and waiting and waiting

Good morning! I could have gotten up at 5 am today, because I was already up and walking around, but I decided to cuddle with my husband. I wonder if his semi-conscious self even benefits from early morning cuddles, or if he's just sleeping and I'm putting more meaning into it than there really is.

There is a little more than a month left until the marathon. I am beat up and sore right now. I've got some chafing issues from my sports bra. I think that the blisters that turned into callouses on my feet will probably never go away. Let me tell you, running is hawt. No, that's a lie. Please don't believe it. Other wise you too could end up 6 miles away from your home on the side of a canal with the only means of getting back home being your feet and legs which have already done 30+ miles that week and are really truly done with it all. Oh, I kid. I like the running. I like the training I'm doing right now. I'm just feeling a little under the weather.

Finals are over and I'm waiting for my grades, so I can submit the remainder of my tuition reimbursement request. (After finding out that my books are going to be $500 next semester, I need it yesterday) This is the first semester in awhile where I really don't know what direction my teachers are going to go in as far as my grades. I've got one teacher that I think (think, not know, because he never made it clear) has given me 100% on every assignment just for turning it in. And then the other teacher would let me have a C if I "only" score an 85% in the class. So we'll see how that goes.

Christmas time is here, and I've been listening to carols and getting into the spirit. Funds have been lacking so we're doing things a little differently this year, but I think it's going to be a good Christmas anyway. We're home, and JB's not out to sea and we're in our home, and all of that good stuff. I'm hoping that we have a smooth transition into the New Year too, because I think that next year is going to be even more fun than this year. Here is a picture of the KZ, excited.

Octopus Eats Shark

I've told this story at least a dozen times, and here's the video proof.

Octopus escaping through a 1 inch hole

Octopuses have an amazing ability to squeeze through tiny crevices, cracks and holes. My fall BIOS independent studies student, Raymond Deckel is investigating just how small a hole Octopus macropus can fit through as well as how long it takes them to squeeze through different sizes of holes. CAABS intern Rowena Day, NSF-REU intern Jared Kibele as well as teaching assistant Abel Valdivia help wrangle the 232 g octopus, Ray times it’s escape through a 1 inch hole while I shot video clips for later analysis. Location: Whalebone Bay, St. George’s, Bermuda. Dr. James B. Wood - BIOS The Cephalopod Page

"Quiet Warfare"

"Few have been paying attention to that other ongoing terrorist threat"