Stateside

Yesterday afternoon I spent a great deal of money that we don't quite have yet and booked our tickets back to the U.S. of A for a visit.

It's not any time soon, but if I didn't book and pay for the tickets yesterday it would cost us both arms and a leg as opposed to the mere single arm and leg it's costing us now. We'll be there from 15 June to 17 July; that is to say we'll be in LA on the 15th and leaving LA on the 17th. I don't have the rest of the trip booked yet.

That sounds kinda silly, but we have a rough plan of spending half the time in Massachusetts - mainly on the Cape with Mother and Father Hermit and some time closer to Boston to see my rellies and friends - and half the time in New Mexico with Momma Mooselet and Shepster, with maybe a side trip out to the Grand Canyon (depends if we can grow another arm to pay for it). My brother Gabe commented over on Facebook when I posted the news that he might fly out to NM as well when we're there.

So why the Air Pacific plane? Well that's how we're flying, through Fiji. They had the best deal that I couldn't pass up, even if it means a 5 hour layover. When you're flying 5 people you'll cop that amount of time to save well over $1k. Besides, there are worse places to layover than Fiji.

Finally, who's coming? All of us minus Miss Thing - she's there now, after all, and has been back more often than I have. If anyone has any tips on how to survive the long trip with Clive, I'd be appreciative. A large rubber mallet doesn't count.

I'll give people the details on where I am when I have the specific dates so we can try and see each other, if you want. I can't make any promises except for family - grandparents need to see their grandchildren, especially Clive who has never meet his grandparens - but I will do my best.

So stock up on peanut butter cups, we're coming back!!!!!

Photo Friday

A few months ago we had Her Majesty's 6th birthday party at a local indoor play centre. Naturally all the kids had a blast, but how did Miss Thing and Sparky cope with many ankle biters about?

Yeah, just fine thanks!

Cheese and Wine

Ok, that's it. No more of this:

No more whining about never having any time. No more sour grapes. I've had a gutful of my own bitching, so I can only imagine what you're feeling. I'm taking my own advice - suck it up, buttercup. Swallow some cement and harden the fuck up. It's time for some positivity!

Although that glass of white sure looks tempting... is noon too early to indulge? Especially when Clive is home and I'm waiting for the washer repairman to turn up? Okay...

UPDATE: Quick, remind me of my vow of positivity! The washer repairman just left and my washer needs two new pumps. I need some wine.

FAR

I start my day with the best of intentions - I will get caught up on the blogs in my feed reader (current count: 700+), I will do more work on my work modules, I will update my blog. But if the path to hell is paved with good intentions, then my path is paved with solid gold and is very well lit. Here it is just after 9pm and all I want to do is go to bed. Of course this is the first minute I've had to myself all day, and this is the case whether I'm working or not.

I should point out that I haven't been to work yet this week. Clive was struck with what has since been diagnosed as a post-viral rash. It was one mild virus as it caused nary a sniffle or fever but left an all-over rash on Friday that had as all going "Huh?" The GP cheerfully informed me it was nothing serious, which was good, but that Clive had to stay home yesterday and today (5 days from when it first appeared). My boss was very understanding and happily gave me the time off, which was just as well as The Hermit took a tumble from his motorcycle yesterday on his way home - he's fine, if really really REALLY sore; the bike is another story - and would have been in no shape to look after Clive today.

My point is I'm worn out like an old dishrag - and probably look like one too. So instead of the incredibly profound and thoughtful insight from Yours Truly, I'm leaving you with this profound, thoughtful yet fun clip. "FAR", by George Hrab, is the theme song written for the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast. Enjoy:

Saturday Skinfest

When I finally got time for myself last night, I collapsed onto the couch with a Diet Coke and a packet of Grain Waves (do you have these in the US? They are sooooo good). 10 minutes later I fell asleep watching the Crime Investigation channel during a program about the BTK killer. I find that disturbing, that I could pass out during a program about a serial killer.

So without further ado, here's the Skinfest:

Johathan Thurston, are you crying out "Shrinkage!" That looks cold.

I can't figure out what Scott Prince looks so uncomfortable. Sunshine, pool... maybe it's winter as well?

Kurt Gidley does the Robot dance.

Marisa Miller and her never ending legs.

More skin next week!

Photo Friday

Tell me what you see in this picture - from my Alma Park Zoo 2002 files. It takes a minute or so to figure it out:

Blog Action Day 2009

My good bloggy friend Jen has her blogging fingers in many blog pies, including the blog Eco Women: Protectors of the Planet!. Aside from challenging myself to using the word "blog" in as many different ways as I could, I agreed to take part in Blog Action Day 2009 on climate change.

I know some people aren't certain about climate change. They say that humans are nothing more than fleas on a dog, that this is part of a natural cycle and nothing we mere mortals do will amount to more than a flea bite. I do know that if you get enough fleas on a dog, however, you will kill the dog. Put another way - let's say I have a problem with my brain, so I ask 100 neurologists what's wrong and how to fix it. 99 of them tell me it's serious and I need to take some action NOW but 1 tells me it's nothing to worry about. Who am I going to listen to? I'm not an expert on the inner workings of the grey matter betwixt my ears, nor am I an expert on the climate. If a majority of those who are experts tell me their opinion of the problem, I should take their word for it and not the minority who tell me not to worry.

But it can all so overwhelming. Today I'm going to give you two very simple tips on how you can do just a bit to help. And like killing the fleas on the dog, a lot of people doing a little bit can make a difference. Even if you're still not convinced that humans are having a negative effect on our environment, these two tips can work for you as they will save you some coin. And who doesn't like saving some money?

Tip 1: Google the phrase "solar power clothes dryer" (or just click the link) and check out the first result - that's right, that'd be Yours Truly. Or at least it is off my Google... anyway, I did that post back in 2007 as part of my ongoing quest to bring my new Australian lifestyles to friends and family back in the States. It is very common here in my corner of Australia (that'd be Brisbane, in Southeast Queensland) for people to hang their washing outside to dry. The matching washer/dryer set that are ubiquitous in the US is virtually unheard of here. Since I did my original post, The Hermit has installed another washing line so I can hang up oodles of washing - and 70+ metres is still not enough sometimes. Stop making excuses why you can't hang your washing up. Homeowners Association won't let you, or you live in a cold climate? String some lines in your laundry room, or your basement, or even your bathroom. Invest in a mobile drying rack or two so you can hang stuff up inside. Afraid your neighbours will talk? Be a trailblazer and loudly proclaim you're being eco-friendly and just what are they doing to reduce their carbon footprint? If you don't want them seeing your knickers, hang them up inside. Not only does hanging your clothes reduce your greenhouse gas emissions - dryers can emit more than 3 kilograms (that's over 6 1/2 pounds) of greenhouse gases PER LOAD - but your clothes will last longer and you will deny the electric company part of your hard earned paycheck. How can that be bad?

Tip 2: Brisbane has just come out of a severe drought. How severe? Our combined dam levels dipped as low at 16.72% in August 2007 for a population of over 1.6 million. While our dams have now recovered - we are currently at 74% - many, if not all, households underwent a major rethink on how we used water. You can upgrade all your appliances to newer, water efficient ones but not everyone has that kind of money. Low-flow shower heads are inexpensive and easy to install, but there's a way to make them even more efficient. Limit your shower to 4 minutes. And the easiest way to do this is to find a shower song. Find a song that is roughly 4 minutes long and play it as you shower. This is one of my personal favourites:

No, really it is. My love of Duran Duran is well documented. And while the original video is awesome, the embedding is disabled. So be amazed at 80s New Romantic, er, fashion...

There are a few other tricks I'd recommend to keep under your 4 minute limit. No shaving in the shower, or toothbrushing, or anything other than hair and body washing. If you use a conditioner, put it in, wash your body and then rinse your hair and body at the same time. And it's okay to put on a few dance moves while showering to your tunes, although I wouldn't recommend dancing like Simon LeBon - you may dislocate something on the slippery tile. Not only do you not waste a precious resource, you save money on your water bill.

These tips cost you nothing but a little thought and time and they help not only the environment but your hip pocket. Embrace the great Australian tradition of having a go at something new, and then come back and tell me your shower song.

And while you're here - why not leave a comment on my 4th Blogiversary post? If you do you'll go into the draw for a prize yet to be determined, but I swear it'll be good. Leave a comment there by 9pm Friday Brisbane time to be eligible.

Possum Pick-Up LIne

I couldn't possibly go past this one. I tried, but honestly how could I not share it?

Most of this article from this morning's Courier Mail is about the high fire danger in SE Queensland and the number of fires we have had. However, it started out with this bit:

A WILFLIFE ranger taking a well-earned break from a backburning operation got a huge shock to find a cheeky little possum hiding in his trousers.

NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service ranger Al McDonough said he thought the eastern pygmy possum had gone straight past him.

"I couldn't believe it when this tiny little creature crawled out of my pocket during the lunch break," he said.

The possum was placed in a tree hollow after a hard day's firefighting near Sydney.

You know what's coming, don't you? Say it with me, folks. "Is that a possum down your pants or are you just happy to see me?"

Now that I've had my immature moment for the day, I'd best continue to get ready for work. Hope it made you smile,too.

A Funny

I find I have a case of bloggers block, so please enjoy this clip from my new favourite comedian, Dara O'Briain:

I have issues with people who take the Bible literally, who want to teach creationism in science classrooms, so folks like Dara - who can make us laugh over it - are awesome.

Have you left a comment on my 4th Blogiversary post? If you do you'll go into the draw for a prize yet to be determined, but I swear it'll be good. Leave a comment there by 9pm Friday Brisbane time to be eligible.

October 12

Guess what today is? Monday? Well, yes... but what else? The day that Christopher Columbus first made landfall in The Bahamas, even though the dumbass thought he was in South Asia? Yeah, but what else? When America's first insane asylum opened in 1773 under the name 'Persons of Insane and Disordered Minds'? Well of course that, but what else? The day that Charles Macintosh sold the first raincoat in Scotland in 1823. That goes without saying, but what... oh forget it. I'll just tell you:

IT'S MY 4th BLOGIVERSARY!!!!!

I don't know the average life span of a personal blog like mine, but I suspect 4 years is longer than average. It's not the greatest corner of the internet, but it's my little corner. I want to thank everyone who stops by and reads, or drools for those who come for the Skinfest, for those who leave comments, for those who have become my friends and remained my friends. I don't know if I would have continued for all this time if it wasn't for you.

So let's do something! Leave a comment here by 9pm Friday (Brisbane time) and we'll have another drawing for a prize. I admit I don't have one just yet because I only realized this weekend that my blogiversary was today, but I'll have something Aussie-themed and cool.

I'm off to have a piece of blogiversary cake.

Nitpicker, That's Me

On Friday I spent my work day at the medical library of the Large Public Hospital That Employs Me, working on my self-directed learning modules (hereafter referred to as 'modules'). That I get paid to do this is totally sweet, and that I am trusted enough to go to the library to do this (I did check in at lunchtime with my manager, which consisted of me popping my head into her office and saying "I'm here!") is very cool. And I really did sit in the library for the better part of 8 hours - with time out for lunch, a fire alarm and a trip to the uniform shop after lunch to collect two pairs of pants that had been on back order since July (and which still weren't in but they transferred over to me two pairs that had been waiting to be picked up for 5+ months).

Now the library isn't the hospital's library per se, but is run by a Large University who has lots of medical and nursing students plus offices on campus and a satellite branch next door to the Large Public Hospital. As an employee of Queensland Health I get library privileges - which will save me lots of time and money in my studies as I don't have a lot of oncology books/journals in my personal library at Chez Mooselet.

So there I was, coming back with from my lunch break and weighed down by my ginormous bag that had my modules in it when the new display they were putting in the library window caught my eye - Medicine in the Crusades. Now anyone who knows me would know I would be drawn to this like moths to a bug zapper. And it was pretty interesting, with factoids and timelines and a few photos to show just how primitive medicine was and how diseases influenced the Crusades.

Then this factoid caught my eye: "Henry VI was planning to go on Crusade when he was struck down by malaria in 1197." And I stared at it, trying to make sense of it because every fibre in my history-geek being said this was wrong. Richard I was king in 1197, not Henry VI. Henry VI never went on Crusade, they ended in the 13th century and Henry was king in the 15th century. And he didn't die of malaria, he died whilst imprisoned by Edward IV (and was likely murdered by Edward or his supporters). But the library did this display, and librarians are super smart, right? I walked back to my chair, puzzled.

The puzzlement didn't last, as a quick Google search sorted it out. The factoid was referring to Henry VI of Germany, who did indeed die of malaria in 1197 as he prepared to go off on Crusade. All good, right? Well, no. I went back out to read the factoid sheet again, and saw that kings from other countries were labelled as such. I think it's pretty reasonable to conclude that when ones head of state is a monarch such as in Australia, then when a king is listed without a country you think he's from England. I stewed on this all afternoon, until it was time for me to go home. Do I say something to the librarian or not? I walked out without saying anything, since it was factually correct, but didn't get more than 5 steps before I changed my mind and went back inside.

I apologized for being "nit-picky", but did tell her the factoid was correct while not being clear about which Henry VI they were talking about. She was very nice about it and wrote it down, and even thanked me for pointing it out. But I still felt that I was overstepping myself a little bit. I will pop around early this week to see if they changed it.

What would you have done if you were me - if you knew a factoid on display was accurate but unclear. Would you speak up or let it go?

Saturday Skinfest

The Hermit is in the kitchen with Her Majesty and Clive making the usual Saturday night hot dogs, so I thought I'd take these few moments to post the Skinfest... ON TIME! Hey, are you all right there? Sorry if I scared you.

If Brett White comes with the iPod, I need a new one.

I could also use one of these. Every girl needs a Craig Wing.

I always wondered about these two (Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk doing... something I'm sure is perfectly innocent.)

This is for real... Marge Simpson on the cover of Playboy. Hubba hubba.

More skin next week. I'm off to nosh!

Just Can't Swallow This

I'm off tomorrow morning for a pedicure - one of the few indulgences I don't feel too guilty about. I got a voucher at Her Majesty's birthday party for a beauty spa, and the amount just covered a pedicure. I thought I'd give it a go since I was unhappy at my old place. Not only did my toes turn out great, but I actually fell asleep during it. I'd never had a pedicure that I got to lie down during, so I was pretty happy and so made a repeat appointment.

I knew this place also offered a bunch of other treatments I would never go for, from facial peels and body sculpting, but I found it pretty easy to ignore them. But then I got a their "newsletter" in the post last week with this nonsense:

"Body detox therapy creates a flow of electrons, which imparts a bio-energetic field into water, this travels thorough the body via the feet, stimulating circulation. This regulates both the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the tissues and aids the proper excretion of waste products (toxins) out of the body. The body is therefore more likely to be healthy, allowing it to restore the body to natural healing energy levels."

What. The. FUCK?! I'm sorry, but that just doesn't make any sense at all. On any level. It gets better, or worse depending on your viewpoint...

"The recipient immerses their feet in a bowl of water containing the body detox array. Salt is added and the therapist checks the water level. The recipient sits back & relaxes for 30 minutes whilst the body detox equipment completes its treatment cycle. Circulation is stimulated, allowing cells to release toxins and re-balancing begins in the body. The ionised water reacts and begins to darken, showing excreted toxins and lymphatic fat. The effects of the therapy continue in the days following treatment, as additional toxins are excreted in urine and stool."

I can't even begin to explain how FUCKING stupid this is. I stick my feet in salty water for 30 minutes and I'm on the road to well being? "The body detox equipment"- it's a bowl of water! "Lymphatic fat"? Even if I wasn't a nurse and knew there was no fat in the lymph system, I know there are no lymph nodes in my feet. So how is this supposed to work? By what mechanism? By sticking my feet in salty water with a sprinkle of "body detox array", whatever the hell that is? And then the leftover "toxins" travel from my feet back to my kidney's so I can wee them out, or back to my bowel so I can have a nice toxin-filled BM a few days later?

But wait, there's more!

"The symptoms of many common ailments can be combated through this treatment including: Arthritis, Insomnia, Circulation, Headaches, Metabolism, Skin Problems, Menstrual Pain, Your well-being, Liver and kidney function, Balance in the whole body..."

It slices! It dices! It makes julienne fries! It's the greatest thing EVER!

"A course of 6 treatments, over 3 to 6 weeks is recommended for optimum self-detoxification."

A fool and her money are soon parted, and I am no fool. This is absolute 100% BULLSHIT. There is no way it can work, from a physiological standpoint. But since this place gives a pretty sweet pedicure, I'm going to close my eyes to the overwhelming woo (this is not the only stupid treatment they offer, just one of the silliest) by slapping a wheat pack over my eyes, curl up under a blanket and grab a nap while they make my feet purty for summer.

Pink toenail polish, hold the detox.

Photo Friday

From the old website files, a white peacock at the Alma Park Zoo:

Rock-n-Roll List I Can't Quite Get Behind

As I was cleaning up tonight VH1 had another one of their "all-time best" {insert genre here} lists on. Tonight it was rock bands, and at number 9 was this band:



Black Sabbath only at number 9? Behind U2 and the mighty Bono mullet of the 80s? Sometimes I wonder about VH1.

But back to Black Sabbath for a second. Take a few minutes to watch the video, particularly Ozzy. That is the Prince of Darkness? I'm sorry, but Ozzy looks more like my father "rocking out", just standing there and nodding his head. Don't get me wrong, I love this song (Iron Man is really my favourite) but what was the big deal? I know, I'm coming at it from a different perspective and a different era, but is this what Tipper Gore got her knickers in a twist over?

And then there was the number one band. I know I'm going to get some people mad at me, but I'm sorry... I just don't get the appeal of The Rolling Stones. I can't embed the video they used, It's Only Rock n Roll (But I Like It) as embedding has been disabled on every copy, but it's really worth a few minutes to go and check out the sailor suits they wore for this video. Really. Sailor suits. WTH?

I know I'm coming at this from an era of established rock, when this stuff wasn't shocking. But I guess I like my rock a little harder. Insert your own joke here.

Although I couldn't find fault with another one of their choices:



FSM, was Freddie Mercury gorgeous or what? And I have a lot of great teenage memories involving Queen songs.

How's that for a fluffy post?

Saturday Skinfest

Ok, so the Melbourne Storm won the NRL grand final. Whoop-dee-freakin'-do. The only thing that made it worth it for me was seeing Jarryd Hayne from the Parramatta Eels cry like a baby when the final whistle blew. It made me smile, ever-so-briefly.

The 2009 NRL season may be over, but the Skinfest will continue... sometimes on time, sometimes not. And just to show I'm not completely bitter over the win, here's an all Storm edition:

Billy Slater looking all beefcake-y on a giant purple ball. For you, Mumfies.

Some of you out there may appreciate the, er, hirsuteness of Cameron Smith. Not to mention the vampire-like pasty skin. Hey, vampires are in these days, right?

Dear Cooper Cronk, please come play somewhere in Queensland so I can love you as much as I love your body. Love, Mooselet.

I think this is a repeat of Bar Rafaeli from when I wasn't as organized in my filing as I should be. If you're offended, I apologize. If you don't care, I thank you.

More skin next week.

Photo Friday

This is what 8 days of 8 hour classes/lectures look like when you're finished:

Am I still a wee bit overwhelmed? Oh yeah... But I wouldn't give it up.