Haiku From Newly Neutered Dogs

Would I joke about that? May not be work safe... but darned funny.
http://www.zefrank.com/orchidectomy/index.html

This, however, is my favorite:

why did you do that?
you would not do that to me
must have been the cat
- funkytuba

Which Firefly Character Are You?

You are Simon, the young, brilliant doctor. Your devotion to your sister drove you to part with the world you knew. Raised on a civilized planet, you are not used to coping with the situation you have landed yourself in - though you seem to be adapting well enough to suggest robbing a hospital.

Which Firefly character are you?
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I love Simon - I think he's my favorite character in Firefly... though to be honest, I love 'em all.

Another Silly Quiz

No surprises here...

Where do you fall on the liberal - conservative political spectrum? (United States)
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Say It Ain't So!

Stevie Wonder is 54 today. Dear god... How did all of these people who are my age get so old? Fifty can't be old - I'm almost fifty and I'm not old... I only have a little grey, and hardly any wrinkles...

Something to Sink Your Teeth Into

I acquired (used, very cheaply) a surprisingly good (not great, but competent) version of Dracula -- Dracula's Curse -- and in search of more information about it, I found this intriguing resource: Digital Vampiric Discs: Vampire movies on DVD. Now, this could, of course, lead to purchasing far too many vampire movies, but my limited budget should help with that.

For those who care, "Dracula's Curse" was made as an Italian miniseries, and updates Stoker's book to the 21st century. I thought the lead (Patrick Bergen) bore a striking resemblance to woodcuts of Vlad Tepes. It wasn't stunningly magnificent, nor was it a completely faithful retelling, but it was closer than most, and quite true to the spirit of the novel.

I also got out to see Van Helsing, which I found tremendously entertaining. Like "The Mummy", it's full of unabashed affection for the classic Universal horror movies.

Well... that's interesting...

Lansing State Journal:McPherson to leave MSU. MSU's president is a banker, and has, in my not at all humble opinion, done a lot of damage trying to run the University like a bank. Dubbya had him in Iraq for a few months, so no doubt he's got prospects, as they say.

A Break In the Clouds

A couple of good things happened yesterday, both well ahead of the time frame I could have expected. My Treo came back, repaired (oh ecstasy!), and the Trust sent me a check to cover my medical expenses/property taxes/etc. While it's no cure for depression, it sure doesn't hurt!

I dashed out to deposit the check, and on my way home stopped and rented a copy of The Triplets of Belleville. This is an interesting animated film (in French), told almost entirely in mime. The absence of dialog isn't a problem at all. And I can certainly understand why people have trouble getting the song out of their heads!

Stormy Weather

I went to bed early (10:30ish) last night, and woke about midnight to a tremedous crack of thunder. I was almost surprised not to find a nearby tree down across our carports in the morning... Being me, of course, when the condo didn't seem to be on fire and the power was still on, I went right back to sleep and actually got something resembling a decent amount of sleep.

I'm hoping it will help, because I don't know what else to do... Sleep - Jae's master cure for everything.

Yesterday I had a panic attack at work. It's not the first time I've been in such a state, but it is the first time I recognized it as such while it was happening. My anxiety and anger levels redlined, and my thoughts were slamming around in my head like a bird in a glass box. I was intensely afraid and deeply sad; and I knew, rationally, that there was no reason for it. I checked my BG, which was fine. (105 -- I seem to have worked my way back into fairly tight control, so that's at least something good.) I went off to the break room and spent 10 minutes taking deep breaths and trying to calm down. Nothing helped. I had an intense certainty that my nominal supervisor was bustin' on me, and that any second I was going to lose control and scream or cry or throw something. It was horrific.

I did none of these things (small triumph) but wasn't very darned functional either. The feelings lasted through most of the evening, sequeing into profound depression. After a reasonable night's sleep I feel like I've got hold of the reins again, but all the symptoms are still there -- just muted.

I don't feel like I've dealt with it or solved it; it's just under the surface, waiting to ambush me when I'm least able to manage it. I'd like to have a good long, wracking cry and get all of this out of my system, but so far, no go, though I burst into tears at anything remotely sad on TV.

This is no way to live...

Serve's Em Right
BostonHerald.com - Technology: Computer worm strikes India

Seeing as how I'm unemployed in the industry that has been outsourced to India, I confess I chuckled out loud when I heard this. No doubt I'll pay for the schadenfreude, but I can't help myself.