So that I don;t have to have this conversation again.

Walgreens has nothing to do with Walmart and Sam's Club.

I don't write end-of-year top ten lists.

And I don't usually read them, either.

But Dahlia Lithwick at Salon wrote an important one.

An excerpt:

"I humbly offer this new year's roundup: The Bush Administration's Top 10 Stupidest Legal Arguments of 2007.

10. The NSA's eavesdropping was limited in scope.

Not at all. Recent revelations suggest the program was launched earlier than we'd been led to believe, scooped up more information than we were led to believe, and was not at all narrowly tailored, as we'd been led to believe. Surprised? Me neither."

You should click through to read the rest. Ladies and gentlemen, your government at work. Be afraid. I am not a paranoid person, but this is just sickening, in addition to being frightening.

Maybe there should be a test.

I started assembling Baby Stuff this afternoon, and one of the first things I decided to tackle was the bouncy seat that were we given. I briefly misplaced the packet with the screws and small parts, but once I found it assembly was simple and quick. The last step was the simplest. All it entailed was snapping the optional "accessory bar" into place. The instructions were only this long:

"Fit the toy bar ends into the sockets in the footrest."

Can't get any simpler than that, right? BUT. The there was a "hint" under the instructions:

"Hint: The square end of the toy bar fits into the square socket and the circular end of the toy bar fits into the circular socket."

I feel like if you need this hint you a) probably can't use a screwdriver, so you probably haven't gotten this far in the instructions, and b) probably shouldn't be in charge of an infant. Square fits square and round fits round? REALLY?! I had no idea.

I may also be slightly cranky.

You only want a goat in theory.

My sister had a Very Serious Discussion with my nephew about Next Christmas the other day. My nephew is 7, so they are trying to instill in him charitable impulses and caring about others and such, and now is really the time to plant the idea that there will be less in terms of presents for next year (doesn't bother him right now, of course--next year's presents are a bit abstract right now) so that they can give to charity for people who really need it. So as to get him excited about this, Sis pointed out that they could get, for example, a goat for someone in a developing country who really needs it. Kids like animals, right? Plus, unlike food or medicine, he can understand why someone would want a goat. He got right behind this idea, with one caveat.

He wants to know if they can keep the goat for just a little bit first, since he has "always wanted a goat." (Ha. I wonder how long that would last once the goat started eating all of his stuff. Unlike sheep, goats are pretty smart and therefore hard to contain.) And then, he generously (seriously--he's only 7) points out, they can give the goat to the people who need it.

Methinks my sister is headed for a petting zoo as part of this plan for next year.

Was that a complaint or an endorsement?

This morning I woke up slowly, as I do many mornings. And, as I do many mornings these days, I woke up to getting kicked in the ribs. Fine. No problem.

The kicking paused for a few minutes.

I had gas. So I passed the gas.

I got kicked, pretty distinctly.

I passed gas again.

I got kicked again.

This happened twice more. Each time I got kicked once, kind of hard, right after farting.

Matter-Eater Lad though this was HILARIOUS. Because he is actually 10.

Yep. That's what gets the guys going.

From a maternity sweater description on oldnavy.com:

"Maternity Cable-Knit Kimono Sweaters

Only at Oldnavy.com

Cropped, cable-knit kimono sleeves drape beautifully, while a rib-knit panel swathes your belly in warmth. Best of all, a surplice neckline shows off the sexiest part of every woman's body - her clavicle."

Breaking my own rule--talking about the weather.

It was 4 degrees F when I left the house this morning. I am hearty and able to deal with the cold, but there is usually some transition period during which it is only sort of cold. I think this year I was on the East Coast for that transition period. It is REALLY, REALLY cold.

I must remember to wear a hat when I leave the house tomorrow morning.

Things that will make your refrigerator, freezer and kitchen smell like nail polish remover. And you won't be able to find the source of the smell.

A rotting lemon half, wrapped in Press-and-Seal, with the cut side toward the back of the veggie drawer.

Ways to get kicked out of a parenting prep course

Well, OK. We didn't get *kicked out*. However:

Matter-Eater Lad and I took a parenting prep class on Saturday. It seemed like not a bad idea. The class overall was fine--not overly serious, and the content was good for MEL in particular, who has never really encountered an infant before (although? Diapering a doll is really NOT AT ALL like diapering a live baby. Also, when MEL was trying to swaddle the doll, he banged the doll's head into the wall about four times. Not a good sign.). About 2/3 of the way through the 4-hour class, the instructor showed a video about how to deal with a crying baby that was really all about not shaking your baby and preventing shaken-baby syndrome. Fine so far--this is completely reasonable. I was amused that the video appeared to have been filmed in 1992, but again, no problem--I was quietly amused. The problem came when, about ten minutes into the video, the narrator mentioned that sometimes a breastfed baby cries because of what you are eating while the camera ominously zoomed in to Coke, onions and cans of beans piled on a counter. This was VERY FUNNY for some reason. In fact, most of the class laughed at it. But then I seriously *could not stop laughing*. The video had moved on to talking about the horrible things that can happen if you shake your baby. I *could not stop laughing*. It took me about ten minutes to get myself under control. If you say "never shake your baby" to me, I START LAUGHING. It's just not right. MEL and I are totally going to get ourselves kicked out of the childbirth class.

OH, MENTOS.

Witty was referring to this commercial in the comments:

Belated Announcement

I may, in fact, be 27 weeks pregnant.

Just possibly.

Either that or I have been eating way too much fudge and kielbasa.

Also, over the past three months, my friend P. has been giving me booties every time knitting group meets:





And my friend KK got in on the action last night, too:

(the purple is tissue paper)

Dear Ralph Nader,

Shut up.

You didn't do well in 2004 before because people realized that voting for you under our system enabled a Bush win in 2000. Now I need to track down your complaint and find out what you are actually claiming was done to sabotage your campaign.

Every time you hear about how Congress has such a low approval rating, think of this. *****Updated

I am far from the first person to mention it, but WE ARE NOT UPSET THAT CONGRESS IS WEAK ON TERROR OR THAT THEY ARE NOT SUPPORTING THE WHITE HOUSE ENOUGH.

We are upset about this sort of thing:

"Tim Starks of Congressional Quarterly reports that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) plans to bring the Senate's surveillance bill up for floor debate in mid-November. That's despite the hold that Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) plans to place on the measure -- something first reported by Election Central's Greg Sargent."

(Here's the lowdown on a hold)

It is important to note that historically the Senate is *very* protective of its procedures and traditions--to the point where Reid has honored holds placed by far-right Senators in the past.

It is important to note exactly how frightening the FISA legislation is:

"Telecom amnesty isn’t the only problem. For example, the Senate bill empowers the Attorney General, not the FISA Court, to determine who complied with the warrantless surveillance program.

The Senate bill would direct civil courts to dismiss lawsuits against telecommunications companies if the attorney general certifies that the company rendered assistance between Sept. 11, 2001, and Jan. 17, 2007, in response to a written request authorized by the president, to help detect or prevent an attack on the United States.

Suits also would be dismissed if the attorney general certifies that a company named in the case provided no assistance to the government. The public record would not reflect which certification was given to the court.

As Spencer Ackerman noted, “So you’ll you’ll never know, if the Senate bill becomes law, if your phone company gave any communications material when the National Security Agency came calling without a warrant.' ”

How un-American can it get?

*****Update

Dodd has responded:

"Just last night, we heard there are plans to disregard Senator Dodd's intention to place a hold on a FISA bill that includes amnesty for telecommunications companies.

That would be a pretty extraordinary move, but Chris Dodd has pledged to stop this horrible bill any way he can.

So if the hold is not honored, he is prepared to go to the Senate floor and filibuster."

Wow. Now, that is decisive action.

I never thought that I would say this, but Chris Dodd may have just won my vote in the Democratic Primary:
"

The Military Commissions Act. Warrantless wiretapping. Shredding of Habeas Corpus. Torture. Extraordinary Rendition. Secret Prisons.

No more.

I have decided to place a "hold" on the latest FISA bill that would have included amnesty for telecommunications companies that enabled the President's assault on the Constitution by illegaly providing personal information on their customers without judicial authorization.

I said that I would do everything I could to stop this bill from passing, and I have.

It's about delivering results -- and as I've said before, the FIRST thing I will do after being sworn into office is restore the Constitution. But we shouldn't have to wait until then to prevent the further erosion of our country's most treasured document. That's why I am stopping this bill today."

It has been the lack of action like this that has caused Democrats to loss faith in Congress. Too often there has been only capitulation to the White House with lip service to the reasons this Congress was elected. It is true that Republicans have been blocked every legislative action that they are able to block; however, that doesn't excuse cowardice when it comes to doing what can be done.

Ah, Minneapolis

I was filling out a library survey, and this question popped up:


What is the primary language spoken at home? Choose one.

English Hmong Somali Spanish Other, please specify

This is middle America, people. And I think it is awesome. Also awesome? The library has Hmong- and Somali-speaking librarians in addition to ones that speak English and Spanish.

*****I do realize that only people who read English will be able to complete the survey. That's not the point--and note the phrasing of the question.

Other ways in which one can tell that one has become a boring adult.

I am just *so excited* that a Target is opening up just around the lake from us on Sunday.

SCHIP veto

What they said.

And every time Bush talks about the fact that he vetoed a "Democrat" bill, remember the bipartisan support.

This question is completely serious. (Updated)

Target is being sued by a class of people who are blind for not making their website accessible. The class has been approved by a judge.

How would one make a completely visual medium accessible to blind people? I am sure there is a way (see also: books), and I certainly think it could be done (and should be done, assuming it is reasonably possible), but I would have liked the article to explain exactly *what* the class is trying to accomplish, using specifics. You know, like the blind people who want to have some way to know a hybrid car is coming. That article mentions possible *solutions*, which seems like a reasonable thing for which to ask.


Update:

This article *does* explain a little bit about what the class is looking for as a remedy:

"The ruling allows blind individuals, who say that many other retailers have designed their Web sites to be accessible through special software that vocalizes online content, to join collectively in the lawsuit."

See? That's all it took to make it clear. There are other articles with more technical explanations, but that one sentence was enough.

Clearly 59% percent of Minnesotans *have not been paying attention*

Are you kidding? 59% of you approve of Pawlenty's job performance? Is there something wrong with all of you?

An Open Letter to the Man Who Dialed My Office Number by Mistake Today.

Dear MWDMONBMT:

When I said hello, did you recognize my (fairly distinctive) voice? If no, your response to my greeting *should not have been* "Hi, honey. Did you get my message?" I'll cut you some slack on that one, though, since sometimes people take a few seconds to process unexpected things in a familiar setting.
However, when I very politely mentioned that I believed that you had a wrong number, arguing was really not the way to go. Given the implied intimacy (or at least personal acquaintance) implied by the first words out of your mouth, how did you not recognize that you were speaking with the wrong person? I feel that I have had a fascinating glimpse into what your life must be like. Also, you sounded as if you might be drunk.

Yes, I am a nerd, and proud of it.

I got an email about this today. After my amusement regarding the fact that the ABA led their first post-new-US-Supreme-Court-term marketing email with a coloring book faded, I realized that I really want it. To be sure, part of that is to see what is presented and in what terms, but also, I think it is cool.

Blink.

Damn your black heart, Steven Moffat! Well, ok, not really. But it is sort of unfair that you are brilliant and funny and possibly the best tv writer ever. Also you have some of the best writer commentary tracks ever--you are also funny *on cue* (regarding "The Doctor Dances:" "Come on, you old virgin . . . ." This is much funnier in context in a Scottish accent, coming on the heels of Moffat discussing the fact that Christopher Eccleston looks very different in person than he does on screen and musing about the extra flesh that Eccleston must let down from somewhere when he is going to be on screen. Really, Moffat talks exactly like a character from Coupling.).

I don't care whether or not all of you out there have ever watched or liked Doctor Who. You need to go, now, and watch "Blink", the Steven Moffat episode from the third season of the new series. I had heard from the Fanboys that it was amazing, which meant that I was, frankly, not expecting very much even though I love Moffat--the Popular Wisdom on these things tends to be set in stone after just a few very odd people weight in. It is creepy, and interesting, and emotional (although not as emotional as the Paul Cornell stuff), and it plays with the time issues in new ways--sort of like Moffat's "The Girl in the Fireplace" from season 2 (which just won a Hugo). There are holes the way there would be for any time travel story, but it is really just amazing. I cannot recommend it enough. However, don't watch it alone--it is also really, really creepy.

And then sometimes I don't hate people at all.

I discovered that I dropped my wallet on the train platform this morning when the woman who found it (20 minutes after I dropped it) called me to let me know she had it. She had found my business card in the wallet and figured she'd give that number a shot, and if that didn't work, she was going to bring it by my house (the address was on my license). She made my day. EVERYTHING WAS STILL IN THE WALLET.

And this is just a minor reason why I kind of hate people.

Also, it is why I live in a city, but I don't want to paint all suburbs--or people who live in them--with the same brush.

Guys? If you live in a suburb where sidewalks are even a possibility, you already don't live in a pastoral setting. Deal with it. I also understand that some neighborhoods have so little traffic that sidewalks really aren't an issue; that's a different situation.

I hear all of the arguments against sidewalks in this article--I am just kind of appalled by them. For instance, go ahead a bring up how senior citizens will shovel the sidewalks. All of the places listed here are places with huge lawns and large driveways. How are those same seniors coping now? Those driveways aren't shoveling themselves, you know. And that picture? Are we supposed to feel bad for this woman? (That said--eight feet is too wide for a sidewalk.)

I am also appalled by the city residents around here who don't want to have to maintain the bike trails and parks, just to be even-handed. What the hell is wrong with you people?

I should also mention that should Matter-Eater-Lad and I ever move to a city in which we need to live in the suburbs, sidewalks will be a minimum requirement for us.

The sign of a well-stocked stash

I am knitting a Clapotis out of this yarn in Topaz, which is lovely, but I am bored. When I realized this, instead of thinking about how I need to shop for new projects, I thought "I should pull that mitten kit out of my my stash (ok, I have two of that kit) and start working on it."

I have more projects set aside in my stash than I would come across in a visit to my LYS.

Success!

An Open Letter To The People Trying To Get Me To Hire Them

Dear PTTGMTHT:

Follow the directions in the listing. Believe me when I say that if you don't *you are not going to get an interview.* Calling and asking what to do when the ad requests an emailed resume is not helping you.

If there is a name on the ad, DO NOT send your cover letter "To Whom It May Concern."

Also, turn off the change tracking on your document *before* you send it to me.


I'm surprised I have to explain these things to you.

What?

No love for Barry and LeVon?

You know what this is a picture of?

5 kg of Nutella. Just for the record, that container of Nutella costs almost $80.00.

Now, I really, really like Nutella, to the point where I can't keep it in the house. But the bottles I buy are generally *13 oz*. Which equals 0.368543801 kilograms.

I had some thoughts about who might need that much Nutella. I think maybe these guys:

Are you so insecure about how your child might view the world that you need a book to indoctrinate said child?

Well, then, I have found the book for you.

Sigh.

Oh, my.

Did Stephen Colbert design this license plate?

I am all for not surrendering patriotic symbols to insane conservative people (please note that I consider this a subset of conservatives as a whole--I may not agree with them on most issues, but that doesn't make them evil or crazy across the board). This license plate is kind of sickening. I think it is the desert camo background that sends it over the edge. How many people who get this plate will have ever worn camo to anything more dangerous than a backyard cookout?

I should perhaps note here that *I* have never worn camo, much less in a defending-my-country sort of situation, except my pink camo neoprene shoes, which really, really don't count.

Bridge Collapse.

More specifics later, but on the frivolous side, I had no idea what the "R.T." in "R.T. Rybak" stood for before I read this BBC article.

Dear Ralph Nader,

I am appalled (but unsurprised) by the audacity you show in still insisting that there is no real difference between the Democrats and the Republicans, that they are so corrupt that voting for them is throwing away a vote:

"Where are the thousands of alliances and two million people to shake the irrevocably corrupt Democratic and Republican parties?".

You know what?

There is a difference.

I am not saying that the Democrats are some sort of paragon of virtue, but there is a difference.

Go to hell, you self-important windbag.

Follow-up

Damn straight.

"If Cheney's a member of the legislative branch, the Democratic Caucus chair suggests, the vice president won't need all the money that currently goes to pay for his executive office, extensive staff and that secure undisclosed location that is so often his haunt. So Emanuel plans this week to offer an amendment to a spending bill that would defund the Office of the Vice President.

Of course, there would still be funding for the Office of the Senate President. But, let's be frank, the rare tie-breaking duties and ceremonial administrative functions associated with that position won't require more than a smidgen of the money that now goes to the vice president's epic executive-branch operations.

"This amendment will ensure that the vice president's funding is consistent with his legal arguments," say Emanuel, a former aide to President Clinton who, like Cheney, has served in both the legislative and executive branches."

Dear Dick Cheney,

Since you apparently missed this part, Article II of the Constitution of the United States deals with the powers of the EXECUTIVE BRANCH. I am posting it in full, since you seem to be unfamiliar with the document. Not, mind you, that this is the first time you have appeared to be unfamiliar with the Constitution.

(Please note that this is the original text of the Constitution--bits that look like they should be hyperlinked have since been amended.)

"Article II

Section 1. The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same term, be elected, as follows:

Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be appointed an elector.

The electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves. And they shall make a list of all the persons voted for, and of the number of votes for each; which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person having the greatest number of votes shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately choose by ballot one of them for President; and if no person have a majority, then from the five highest on the list the said House shall in like manner choose the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each state having one vote; A quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. In every case, after the choice of the President, the person having the greatest number of votes of the electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the Senate shall choose from them by ballot the Vice President.

The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and the day on which they shall give their votes; which day shall be the same throughout the United States.

No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty five years, and been fourteen Years a resident within the United States.

In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by law provide for the case of removal, death, resignation or inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what officer shall then act as President, and such officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.

The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services, a compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that period any other emolument from the United States, or any of them.

Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the following oath or affirmation:--"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Section 2. The President shall be commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called into the actual service of the United States; he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.

He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law: but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.

The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session.

Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the United States.

Section 4. The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors."

The VP *is* mentioned in Article I, but only in a very limited manner:

"The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.

The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States."

Jackass. You know a great way to not have people constantly making you produce your files for discovery? STOP INVOLVING THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH, AND SPECIFICALLY THE OFFICES OF THE PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT, IN CRIMINAL ENTERPRISES. I know you are not the only ones to have ever done it, but sometimes one wonders if ANYTHING LEGAL IS HAPPENING IN THERE.

Behind, too tired and busy for a real post.

I have lots of things I could be posting, but I am very busy and tired, so I will stick with this:

You *can* check a stand mixer if you are flying (Don't look at me like that--*of course* I didn't pay full price for it. Why do you think I was trying to get the damn thing from Philly to Minneapolis on a plane?). Just expect the TSA to thoroughly inspect it. (I think they were jealous.)

Learning something new

I can post this now, because my friend M. has received her birthday present.



I learned how to knit toe-up socks! The pattern is Oktoberfest, knit on US1 DPNs. I did fewer leg repeats than the pattern calls for because I was running out of yarn. Next time I might go up a needle size for the ribbing--it is a little bit inflexible. It is fine once the sock is on, but it is hard to get the sock on.



I like this pattern because it is a visual joke, but not so novelty that they are not practical to wear.

Happy Brithday, M.!

A Milestone

So, a little over a month ago I *may* have turned 30. On Easter, in fact. Matter-Eater Lad and I took the new car and drove up to Duluth, since we never had before. It was cold, but lovely and sunny, which made for a nice drive up there.

We saw the lift bridge:



Sand dunes:


Lake Superior, which was still frozen for quite a distance out from shore:


Elmo joined us.


He pensively regarded the surf:


Mugged for the camera:


And tried to eat the lighthouse:


(Shut up. *We* were *very* amused.)

Matter-Eater Lad also got me this for my birthday. It is absolutely *beautiful*. The artwork alone makes this edition worth it.

My family got together and sent me the money to pick out my very own kayak. I finally chose it and bought it last night (I'll tell y'all about the fun of trying to find a place to put the front strap hooks of a kayak car carrier on a Mazda 3 for a trip that *must* include a high-speed highway another time):



Please note that Elmo helped test out the kayak:

(And let us pause to note how great the grass looks. That part of the lawn was a sand pit and landscaping rocks when we bought the house 3 1/2 years ago--the previous owners had an above-ground pool. Getting rid of the rocks and getting topsoil and seeding the grass was just *so much* work.)


It was a good birthday. And being 30 is really exactly like being 29 so far.

More on the Dragon Socks.

So, I feel that I should post better pictures of the Dragon socks. The yarn is Fleece Artist sock in Moss. I used US size 0 DPNs (oh, how I love the Knit Picks DPNs). The pattern is more or less Child' First Sock (I disagreed with the heel. Stridently. So I changed it.) from Knitting Vintage Socks.

Socks in progress:




At this point in the construction, Matter-Eater Lad decided that these socks look very much like something Aquaman would wear. I was amused, but not as much as he was. He proceeded to ask for an orange sweater in this stitch pattern so that he could look like Aquaman. I said no, because I am not doing that much work for something I know he would never wear.

Finished socks:



I very much like how they came out. I will have to knit some for myself once I finish my sister's wedding veil. Which will go faster once I have started knitting my sister's wedding veil. I may have started a simple pair of stockinette socks while I am waiting . . . .

Actually, I would like to start a subscription.

Bush apologist James Lileks' inane Star Tribune column about nothing (seriously, it is always vague commentary about Target ads or some such thing, and referred to as "humor") was cancelled recently, because the paper wants him to report actual news. Please note that his actual column is not political, and it is a kind of humor column that is horribly outdated. There is a huge uproar in the right-wing portion in the blogosphere about how horrible this is. They are encouraging people to cancel their Strib subscriptions.

My reaction? I have lived in Minneapolis for five years, and I have never paid for home delivery. I get most of my news online. I picked up the phone and ordered home delivery.

I told everyone that I spoke to that it was because they cancelled Lileks' column.

The column itself was a waste of space, but more than that, the ten seconds a day it took him to write the column and get paid for it allowed him the leisure to write here (look to past posts for political stuff). And that is what the right-wing blogosphere is upset about; the Strib is not going to be subsidizing Lileks' political commentary any more. If he were a political columnist, I might understand the uproar. Lileks is free to write anything he wants on his website if he has the free time once he has a real job, just like anyone else in America.

I also sent this email to the Reader's Rep:

Ms. Parry—

I want to congratulate the Star Tribune for getting rid of some dead weight. James Lileks' column should have been cancelled years ago.

Upon hearing the news, I subscribed to home delivery.

Regards,

Kate

************Edited to add************

Please note that I don't think this is some sort of wonderful journalistic advance on the part of the Strib. Getting rid of all of the columnists isn't good journalism, it's just cheaper for them. Lileks is far from the only one that this is happening to--and that is part of my point. That, and the right-wing gnashing of teeth, along with Lileks' asking people to contact the reader's rep on his part just annoyed me enough that it was worth less than $20 of my money to make a point of doing exactly the opposite thing.

SOCKS!

So, I am not so much with the posting lately. I have a ton of photos and stories, but I have just been completely swamped at work, and when I don't take lunch, I don't get to post. I have been knitting, though. I knit these lovelies out of Sweet Georgia in Summer Skin for my Mother-in-Law for her birthday (the color is a little bit off, and I couldn't try them on because my MIL has *tiny* feet):




The pattern is, I believe, the beaded rib from Knit Sensational Socks (no time to get all linky today).

I also picked up some Fleece Artist that The Yarnery brought by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's talk. One skein was the moss or fern colorway (too busy to look it up), very pretty, kind of what I think of as dragon green. Then my friend, who has a dragon thing, got sick, and I discovered that Child's First Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks looks very much like scales. I therefore made my friend dragon socks. For various reasons I had to frog the first sock twice before I liked how it turned out:




I haven't uploaded the finished pix yet, but you get the idea.

You know how I was bemoaning the lack of cherry blossoms in my vicinity? Sundara (search for Sundara yarns, she comes up) dyed this as a limited edition in April:


Cherry Blossom yarn!

It made me very happy.

Overheard in the bagel shop

10 to 12-year-old boy: "I would like a plain bagel with strawberry cream cheese, pickles and capers."

(bagel-shop employee spends a few minutes making *sure* that is what he really wants, very nicely, until the boy's mother mentions that this is what he always orders)

Then the mother orders: "An everything bagel with plain cream cheese, please."

10 to 12-year-old boy: "You like *everything bagels*? Eeeeeew."

A Good Thing

Today, New Hampshire approved civil unions. Well, you know, except for the actual signing, but that is expected to go off without a hitch.


*****Edited to add*****

What I find the most interesting is the stark illustration of the same information garnering completely opposite reactions. From the WaPo article:

"Nevertheless, opponents of same-sex marriage look at what is going on in New England and express growing concern. 'The more states that do this, the less radical and more plausible the idea may appear in others,' said Peter Sprigg, vice president for policy at the Family Research Council."


My reaction? EXACTLY.

But will they help find a small, brown, leather-covered notebook?

Gussie Fink-Nottle would be so pleased:

"Traps will also be laid to round up newts."

Remember the victims

I don't have much to say about the Virginia Tech tragedy that hasn't already been said by someone else. I also very much agree with Grunt Doc that we need to focus on the victims rather than focus on the perpetrator.

The New York Times has started a list of profiles of the victims.


Read it. Remember how they lived.

A sign that I might have a problem.

I had a long day at work. Loooong. I got home to find out that the sock yarn that was shipped to me a week ago *still* hasn't arrived. I am generally cranky. I don't have time to go to the gym tonight like I had planned. I am working on the third re-knit of the first sock in the current pair I am knitting.

The solution? I ordered some sock yarn.

Sigh.

A lovely morning stroll

Matter-Eater Lad is in Chicago at a conference with our one-and-only car , so I have had to walk to and from the Light Rail station these past couple of days. It is less than a mile, and a very pretty walk overall. Here are some pictures from my phone (I can't download camera pix at work):



The image quality is iffy, but you can see that it is quite scenic. That's all I have for today.

A knitter's highest complement

My youngest sister has been asking for more hand-knit socks. Well, all of my sisters have been asking, but she asked most recently. Then she put this post on her blog.

I knit her those socks less than a year ago--they were the second pair on socks I ever knitted (Crusoe from Knitty in Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Tropical Storm-- the same yarn that Elmo models here). What a complement it is that she wore them so much that they are wearing through. I am always afraid that when I knit for someone they will save what I give them for a special occasion (I am not speaking of delicate lace shawls here, which of course are treated slightly differently) rather than enjoying what I made for them and realizing that I can always make more. I guess my sister, at least got the message.

Of course, she is going to have to wait for more socks. I have to finish my MIL's birthday socks, knit the socks for my pregnant friend, knit a wedding veil, and about eight billion other projects between now and July. There may be some mixed messages going out around here.

I laughed and laughed and laughed.

I was just discussing knitting with one the the partners at work (his wife knits and organizes charitable knitting and he was very gently trying to find out if I would be interested in participating). I mentioned that I mostly knit for other people, because then it feels like I am accomplishing something above and beyond my own pleasure related to knitting (and buying yarn, and designing patterns, and so on, but I didn't get into that, because right now he thinks of me as being sane).

Then he said, "That makes sense. You can have too many socks, so after a while you would want to give them away."

TOO MANY SOCKS? I think he missed my point.

Knitting Content

Enough about the weather. Stupid weather.

(I know I am normally quite informal in tone and with grammar on this blog, but do the above couple of sentences sort of read as if they were written by an eight-year-old? I thought so.)

In the past few weeks, I have finished a couple of these:




and spent far too long on the Most Boring Socks Ever. I did learn something from those socks, though--I can deal with a boring sock pattern, but I really need to like the yarn. This usually means that I like both the colorway and the hand of the yarn itself, but it can just be the hand of the yarn if I am knitting for someone who likes boring socks (a/k/a Matter-Eater Lad). I was so bored with those socks that it took me *two weeks* to finish them.

Now I am using the Summer Skin Sweet Georgia yarn to make socks for my MIL for her birthday (which is next Friday). Plus, my friend L is pregnant and in the hospital with breathing problems, so I may cast on some socks for her this weekend. She's in Florida, so what else can I really do? These will be sort of prayer-socks (like prayer shawls), except, you know, L is an atheist. Which means that I will be knitting them to make myself feel as if I am doing something to help, and there is something to be said for that. Plus, then L will have socks!

My friends and I went to Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's talk at William-Mitchell Law School Wednesday (she's the Yarn Harlot--see the link on the right? She is very funny.), and I will post about that once I upload the (not very good) pictures and finish thinking through what I want to write about feminism and knitting.

There should be Cherry Blossoms.

Oi! Weather! It is supposed to be spring here. It is frakking *April*. Over the past few weeks, everything has been slowly thawing:






to the point that two Mondays ago there was very little ice left on the lake, and it was 80 degrees F out, so I could sit on a bench by the lake and knit and watch the sun set:













Lovely! This is too warm for so early, but at least it is a step in the right direction. It is spring! There should be cherry blossoms! Ok, maybe not in Minnesota, but you know what? I used to live in DC, and this time of year there should be cherry blossoms.

Why do I bring this up? BECAUSE IT WAS 15 DEGREES F WHEN I LEFT THE HOUSE YESTERDAY MORNING, and 19 TODAY. IT IS GOING TO BE IN THE THIRTIES DURING THE DAY ALL WEEK AND IT SNOWED SQUEAKY WINTER SNOW ON TUESDAY. THIS IS NOT RIGHT.

It is time for it to be spring, so I would appreciate some spring weather around here.