(no subject)
Dec. 10th, 2008 03:25 pmPaul Krugman is such a nerd. Click through to see why.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/q/
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/limited-posting-for-the-next-few-days/
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/q/
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/limited-posting-for-the-next-few-days/
Have yourself a truly chippy xmas
Nov. 30th, 2008 07:43 pmAnd listen to some 8bit peoples, especially this version of let it snow.
(no subject)
Nov. 18th, 2008 04:44 pmBest part of a blog post proselyting homemade breakfast egg sandwiches:
2) Put a frying pan on the oven. Turn the gas to medium-high. If you do not have a gas stove, start dating someone who does have a gas stove and make breakfast at his or her house.
Ask Doctor LJ: Back pain
Nov. 7th, 2008 02:48 pmSomewhere in August, either while packing for the move or while moving, I hurt my back. I probably lifted something badly. I don't remember noticing it happening at the time; I was probably too busy. After the dust of moving had settled, though, I started noticing this ache on one side, fairly localized. It doesn't spasm, and it's not really at the level of preventing me from doing specific motions - though I have refrained from going to the gym, out of fear of making it worse.
A month or so later and it's not really better. The ache comes and goes, reappearing more if I do much (any) lifting or even just standing/bending for a while (like cooking in the kitchen). Sometimes it's present in the morning when I wake up, too. I still haven't found specific acts that make it hurt right at the moment; it's always something I notice a bit later. OTC painkillers have a mild effect, but Advil does not seem like it should be the breakfast of champions.
I'd sort of like to know what I did to myself. But the real question is this: is it worth seeing a doctor about it? I suspect that going to a doctor will yield no more diagnosis than I have now and some directions to not overdo it and wait, which I'm already trying to do. I also suspect that if I call now, I will get an appointment some time next March, which doesn't exactly inspire me to hit the phones (Darkly, I also suspect this is my body telling me "Welcome to your 30s", and that it's a lifetime of chronic pain from here on in).
What say you, unprofessional back-pain specialists of the Internet?
A month or so later and it's not really better. The ache comes and goes, reappearing more if I do much (any) lifting or even just standing/bending for a while (like cooking in the kitchen). Sometimes it's present in the morning when I wake up, too. I still haven't found specific acts that make it hurt right at the moment; it's always something I notice a bit later. OTC painkillers have a mild effect, but Advil does not seem like it should be the breakfast of champions.
I'd sort of like to know what I did to myself. But the real question is this: is it worth seeing a doctor about it? I suspect that going to a doctor will yield no more diagnosis than I have now and some directions to not overdo it and wait, which I'm already trying to do. I also suspect that if I call now, I will get an appointment some time next March, which doesn't exactly inspire me to hit the phones (Darkly, I also suspect this is my body telling me "Welcome to your 30s", and that it's a lifetime of chronic pain from here on in).
What say you, unprofessional back-pain specialists of the Internet?
(no subject)
Nov. 5th, 2008 07:36 amNot only did Question 1 fail, but it looks like we gave Carla Howell 351 slaps in the face. Awesome.
(no subject)
Nov. 4th, 2008 08:37 am1. Stop talking about politics for a moment or two.
2. Post a reasonably-sized picture in your LJ, NOT under a cut tag, of something pleasant, such as an adorable kitten, or a fluffy white cloud, or a bottle of booze. Something that has NOTHING TO DO WITH POLITICS.
3. Include these instructions, and share the love.
Adorable kitty it is!

(via
coraline)
2. Post a reasonably-sized picture in your LJ, NOT under a cut tag, of something pleasant, such as an adorable kitten, or a fluffy white cloud, or a bottle of booze. Something that has NOTHING TO DO WITH POLITICS.
3. Include these instructions, and share the love.
Adorable kitty it is!

(via
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
(no subject)
Nov. 3rd, 2008 08:14 amI was going to write up something about this weekend, but I think I'll just put up this picture instead.
( Apple and smiles )
( Apple and smiles )
I don't think I have any other pictures of myself with Nobel Prize winners. Even if he's barely aware of me.
(from 2003)

batch 32, 33, and 33a
Oct. 12th, 2008 07:24 pmLast week I brewed my first batch since moving to the new apartment. It was a pretty straightforward English bitter, and the brew day went well - having a shaded yard with a picnic table, hose faucet, and an electrical outlet was very nice. That batch was part of a grander plan, however, which took place today. I brewed my biggest beer yet, stretching the limits of my system, and made a barleywine. 22 pounds of grain for about six gallons of beer at 1.100 gravity, and it just about filled my mash tun. When it was cooled and ready for pitching, I racked it directly onto the yeast cake from last week's batch (having decanted that beer into a smaller carboy), and sure enough, it took of fermenting in under two hours. The mash also produced some second runnings, so I made a small beer with the remainder, and got a 3-gallon batch of about 1.040 as a result. So now I have 13-14 gallons of beer, in various versions of English styles, happily fermenting away.
Aside from taking up nine hours and making my back hurt a bit, it was a fine way to spend a day.
UPDATE: Overnight, the barleywine fermented so vigorously that it lost about a gallon of liquid out the blow-off tube. Maybe I would have been better off to make a slightly smaller barleywine batch and then a full-size beer from the second runnings.
Aside from taking up nine hours and making my back hurt a bit, it was a fine way to spend a day.
UPDATE: Overnight, the barleywine fermented so vigorously that it lost about a gallon of liquid out the blow-off tube. Maybe I would have been better off to make a slightly smaller barleywine batch and then a full-size beer from the second runnings.
(no subject)
Sep. 18th, 2008 10:33 amImpromptu self-portrait meme
1. Take a picture of yourself right now.
2. Don't change your clothes, don't fix your hair...just take a picture.
3. Post that picture with NO editing.
4. Post these instructions with your picture.
( cut )
Everyone is mentioning how or whether they "cheated" the rules somehow. I took a second picture with a different camera after realizing that holding a 50mm lens at arm's length wasn't going to work very well.
1. Take a picture of yourself right now.
2. Don't change your clothes, don't fix your hair...just take a picture.
3. Post that picture with NO editing.
4. Post these instructions with your picture.
( cut )
Everyone is mentioning how or whether they "cheated" the rules somehow. I took a second picture with a different camera after realizing that holding a 50mm lens at arm's length wasn't going to work very well.
New friends
Sep. 17th, 2008 12:17 amWe've just adopted a pair of cats that a friend had to give up.
( Meet Herbie and Miles )
( Meet Herbie and Miles )
More bad web ideas
Sep. 15th, 2008 02:56 pmFight with your partner... on the internet! To paraphrase a friend, it's like having YouTube commenters as relationship counselors.
Unclear if this is better or worse than last week's installment.
Unclear if this is better or worse than last week's installment.
(no subject)
Sep. 11th, 2008 08:21 amTracking data about your life: awesome.
Using web services to do it: still skeezy.
(I mean, really. BedPost?)
Using web services to do it: still skeezy.
(I mean, really. BedPost?)