so now i have to go update my links? grrr! why do people insist on making me do things!?!

Rich is (dead link) smokin' crack again. i don't think the Macintosh advertisement is all that clever (none of the nominees are though). i think Rich is an example of why people should never touch a Mac. you'll end up brainwashed into supporting them, no matter what (maybe that's what the 1984 ad really meant). :)

the nominees suck. when you're spending all your money on the air time, i guess you don't have much left for quality. i've seen better commercials during mid-December prime time, when everything around it is either reruns or crappy Christmas programming.

ok, so here's the chant on things between mikey and me:

tuesday night, he returned my phone call from last weekend. we talked briefly, but spent most of the time in silence, both of us unsure of what to say.

wednesday night, he called again. that time was better. we were actually able to talk for a while, and even moved beyond talk of The Argument into idle chit chat ("how was your day?" and so forth). before hanging up, he asked if i'd have dinner with him on Thursday night, so that we could talk.

done.

last night, we managed not to talk about what had happened in the previous week, and instead talked about what we would like to have happen over the coming weeks. so far, we've agreed to this:

• we didn't like breaking up, so we're overturning that decision.
• Coupleness (i'll make up words if i want. bite me) will not be reinstated fully to its Before Argument status. there will be limitations:
  1. much, MUCH less time will be spent together.
  2. i will never mention his family again.
  3. he'll stop being so goddamn grouchy after work.
  4. i'll stop being so goddamn chipper after watching Buffy.
  5. he will no longer feel pressured or obligated because of some glib gibe i've made.
  6. i will cut down on the number of glib gibes i make.

we were unable to reach any further accord because he had other promises to keep. the negotiations were postponed until tonight.

until a few minutes ago, i was reading various political news stories, articles, and editorials, and i'm feeling a bit slimey now. actually, things last night weren't so formal. we had a pleasant dinner, with the conversation alternating between talking out our situation and discussing the cute waiter. after dinner, he took me home, walked me to the door, and kissed me goodnight. he left, and i crept cat-like up the stairs and into my room so my roommate wouldn't know i was home.

so... um... that's all.

on Valentine's Day, TV Land, the Classic TV channel, is airing a block of programming they're calling "Great TV Duos."

a person (those of us who own a television, anyway) will think to himself, 'classic tv... Valentine's Day.... must be some episodes of The Honeymooners, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and I Love Lucy. and they're all there.

so, Classic TV + Valentine's Day = television's Great Couples. right?

The Odd Couple is showing in this block also. are Tony Randall and Jack Klugman one of television's Great Couples?

eh, this gives me something to do at work today.

Police officers and emergency medical technicians were unable to detect any signs of life."

they probably just nudged her in the side and said, "hey?"
[link from Contrasts.net]

the Cherokee Nation Courthouse grounds isn't "Indian Country"?

the price of a comfortable life is Banality. prepare for the coming Endless Winter, when the fires of Wonder and Imagination are snuffed.

heh. this one got me..
[link taken from the Brandlands]

someone, please make the Taco Bell commercials go away. the new one's even worse.

bring back the chihuahua!

they've got it all worked out.

please just let me visit. often.

Jean wrote a nice recap of Buffy. i won't even attempt anything like that, so if you missed Buffy or Angel, go look there.

my big problem for last night was with Angel. Wesley and Gunn go into battle against a stooping-over-in-the-twenty-feet-tall-sewers, two-head, fire-"breathing," evil, mean, nasty creature, and Angel... embarrasses some attorneys.

way to be the badass righter of wrongs, Angel.

since Wesley, Gunn and Cordy are keeping the agency going, i wonder how long it'll be before they have to hunt Angel.

Buffy! not only did she kick some ass (as always), she also put her foot down to the Coucil, restored Giles to the Watchers, defended the Scoobies, and made an old man whimper like the bitch he is. and she had a big sword. much more effective than saying "shut the f--- up!" (look! i'm censoring!)

go go Buffy! go go Buffy! go go Buffy!

Spike, after smarting off and such, was as much the big, soft-hearted teddy bear as ever, and Buffy, by taking her family to him, shows that she trusts Spike much more than she lets on (i'll bet he's all a twitter). but, i don't really want them together, because the writers would be tempted to do something tragic to the couple, like stake Spike. we can't have that.

summary: Buffy kicks. Angel bites.

personally, i'm not into democracy. my thought on the matter is that we should scrap our system of government, and declare me Emperor. for those who don't like to think (i.e. straight party voters), this would be a great thing for you. i'd still hold elections periodically, but i'd be the only candidate for both parties. every second election, i'd even nominate myself as a third party candidate too, just to stir things up.

i could stage partisan gridlock for you, and filibuster my own legislative proposals, then declare a few laws that i've passed are unconstitutional. i'd refuse to enforce some laws on moral grounds. heck, i'd even impeach myself a few times (yet, as the sole member of the Senate, i'd acquit myself everytime). i could make sure things continue along just the way they are, but i'd save everyone the trouble of electing and paying politicians.

why can't i have a job where i don't have to interact with anyone? co-workers really piss me off.

someone over at Global Conquest needs to change the color scheme. it hurts to try to read the page.

unfortunately, while there, i followed the Cute Stuff link to something so cute that i wanted to vomit.

ok, i finally motivated myself into going back to my old page at blogspot and posting a link back to here. i know you're all relieved.

i also cleaned my room. i've been talking about doing it for almost three months. i moved all of the piles of books off of the floor and piled them neatly onto my bookcases, neatly lined up the manuals for my computer games, and cleaned out my filing cabinent so that it may be used for the purpose it was intended to fulfill (i.e., filing).

tonight, i will begin cleaning out my desk and throwing away all the junk i seem to collect in it (like the little scratchy Kansas State Lottery things that i bought and scratched a year and a half ago, or the 400-packet strong collection of soy sauces from area Chinese eateries).

later this week, i will tackle my closet, which still contains clothing i haven't worn in 2 or 3 years, and clothing i've never worn. i will throw out many of the boxes from computer games and peripherals that i have collected over the last year.

i will find a better way to display all of my Gengar memorabilia.

i get productive when i don't have a boyfriend.

i was playing Vampire:The Masquerade - Redemption last night, and my character found a chainsaw. it wasn't very effective as a weapon, but it made me happy to imagine my character was Bruce Campbell in Army of Darkness.

"She taunts him in that deliciously wicked way. He sets her on fire."

scifi.ign.com's review of last week's Angel.

someone here in the office is wearing WAY too much floral perfume/body spray/mouthwash (whatever it is). it's so strong it's making my stomache hurt. yuck.

i just took a look at my counter at Sitemeter, and it says that i've actually lost hits. i guess some people decided they didn't like my blog after all, so they're taking back previous visits.

as if clowns weren't frightening enough already.
[gracias to the emergency society for the link]

"...anticipated that the security [at the Bush inauguration] would cost $4 million -- $1.7 million more than budgeted" .

it figures.

a brief nap and a hug can do wonders. now, i can concentrate on my work, and i actually have a desire to blog.

(dead link) holler, holler, holler

"Scientists have shown that the moon is moving away at a tiny yet measurable distance from the earth every year. If you do the math, you can calculate that 85 million years ago the moon was orbiting the earth at a distance of about 35 feet from the earth's surface. This would explain the death of the dinosaurs. The tallest ones, anyway."

a referral from j O n n O and some quick investigation lead to the discovery that i am listed under his links page. thank you, sir!

now, everyone go visit the nawlins guy.

please, no one allow me to post while intoxicated. it saves me the trouble of going back and deleting embarrassing posts.

interesting: tolkhan has an extranational reader (canada doesn't count as extranational because... uh... they just don't), someone from the Moscow/Baghdad timezone. doesn't really narrow it down much though.

thank you, sir, for the heads up. i will take a look at them. i think i may need them to keep me company. why? allow me to recap my day:

1. i attended my great-grandfather's funeral today. there are few things so heartrending as seeing your grandparents break down into tears.
2. tonight, i suddenly find myself single, because of a stupid comment made in jest three days ago.

my day's been really shitty. how was yours?

pssst! e-mail me!

from the sounds of it, being away from a computer all day today may not have been so bad.

i think i like your version better too, though i didn't watch it long enough to get to that part. after the first 20 minutes or so, i decided that i hated where they were cutting for commercials and turned it off.

sometimes i'm really glad i decided on botany in college.

for those who have any interest in the matter, the homepage/preview is up for Mummy:the Resurrection, or go to the White Wolf homepage and click on the big to see the preview.

i had a thought today that i may need to increase the number of blogs i read daily. i have only 21 on the list (but only 9 listed on my sidebar. they are la crème de la moisson agricole), but i find myself visiting the same blogs over and over and over and over, hoping for just one new post. earlier, i thought to myself 'these people just don't post often enough.' moments ago, i had a realization. it's not that they (or you, if you're one of the Daily Reads) aren't posting often enough. it's just that i have a job that's such a cakewalk that i have the extra time to cycle through that list every half hour. so the answer, then, would be to find a job that keeps me busier.

but that isn't going to happen. no way. i like being able to kick back and take a nap if i want, or wander the building (but i won't be doing that after the wookie encounter today), or to be able to roll out of bed, come to work, and change here. and i like having the free time to be able to go through that list of blogs eight or ten or two dozen times a day. so, if you moniter that type of thing, and see that half your site traffic is from a single person, it's just me, hanging on your every post.

good lord! i just encountered a shaven Wookie in the corridor! this guy was huge! it was quite frightening. yet another reason never to leave my desk and interact with my co-workers.

it's not science. it's Magick!
[link jacked from Lots of Co.]

more fun tests from Emode, and my results:

Which Executive Are You?

Okay, we have to ask — what are you doing taking this test? Because from your answers, it doesn't look like you're gunning for the big corner office right now. Heck, you're not even interested. But since everyone deserves a title, here's yours: Correspondence Technician (or Mailroom Master, if you like that one better). Yep, that's right — you're meant for the mailroom. But, knowing you as we do, we don't think that's going to be a problem. You're a laid-back, cheerful person who's not into the whole ambition thing. Why should you put in 10- or 12-hour days busting your butt for someone else's bottom line? You just want to be able to pay the rent, with enough left over for a little fun, of course. Work isn't your main priority in life; life is. Which is fine with us. As long as you're happy, we're happy. Enjoy!

i just don't fit into the corporate world.

'Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over'

sadly, this isn't a joke (ok, maybe he didn't actually say that, but you know he's thinking it).

first EPA Man, and now someone from the U.S. Geological Survey.

the Paranoid Bastard in me is whispering "Conspiracy! They're coming to get you, Barbara!"

s'ok though. let them come. i've seen The Matrix. i can do all those moves.

Truck slams into California Capitol.

maybe the driver was fighting to criminalize sodomy.
[link snatched from Contrasts.net]

she told me to do it, so i did.

You chose Bugs Bunny. Here's what that selection says about you.
You are definitely the best friend a person can ever have. You're wise and always thinking of ideas. Bugs lovers have nothing to worry about in life because they have solutions for everything. Love is always there for you. Fooling around is your specialty. The word relationship is not in your dictionary, meaning you are not a steady kind of person; you love things that have to do with sex.

"Kit-Cat Clocks have been selling in stores across the country since the mid 1930's. Kit-Cat's zany smile, rolling eyes and wagging tail has filled homes and offices alike with joy and excitement".

equating joy with happiness, i can see how Kit-Cat can make someone happy, but does it really cause much excitement? 'Oh, Merv, look! it's that Cat clock! woo hoo! yeah! high five!'

coolstuffcheap.com     i'm still searching for the cool stuff.

Sure-fire signs you'll fall in love soon:

• You stumble going up a flight of stairs.
• You have hairy legs.
• You dream of taking a bath.
• The lines on your palm form an M.
  

problems with this include:

• i'm clumsy. i stumble on stairs often.
• i have since i was 11
• i dream of things like being Terrence the Backstreet Boy Slayer
• both sets do. am i doubly blessed?

um. i really didn't want to envision you in drag.

"the fact that XANDER has survived getting bonked on the noggin three times with the magic hammer... while Giles can fucking drum his fingers against his forehead and get knocked out"

heh. a recap of last week's Buffy.
[thanks, Jean, for the link]

oh! how could i forget to mention that my order for Passion arrived yesterday (no, i didn't call an escort service. jeez!)?

it's brilliant. Donna Murphy was an incredible Fosca. i was going to let mikey off the hook and not make him watch it, but now he has too.

as soon as we get over the argument we had last night.

i have something for sale. any takers?
[link nabbed from Bryan J. Busch]

Jean has informed me that i was thinking of Walter Matthau instead of Martin Landau, which clears up why i couldn't picture Walter Matthau (whom i saw in my mind as Landau) as Bela Lugosi.

why do i feel sympathetic toward the insane, soulless, muderess?

isn't Martin Landau dead? if he is, i doubt he'd be too embarrassed by Juliet.

Darla was a bit pissy through most of that episode. and then she'd suddenly go all soft...'Angel's here! where?!?' followed by girly squeal. putz.

i felt terrible for Dru. it was very mean of Angel to set her on fire. once she and Darla had put themselves out, and Dru sat there crying "it hurts!" and "Darla, help me!"... well, i got all teary-eyed for the crazy little bloodsucker. so then i got really pissed at Angel and yelled at the screen a lot, until i decided that he looked really damned good while leaning against the car and smoking a cigarette. so, instead of wanting him staked, i'd settle for him losing an appendage (and it'd be sweet if Lindsey did it).

summary: Angel bad, Darla mad, Drusilla sad. and hurt.

damn! it's beginning to snow.

good news on the Tick front, and even some talk about Battlestar Galactica, but could someone explain to me why they'd want a new Battlestar to have anything to do with the naked guy from Survivor?
[link nabbed from Jean]

but which is more problematic: that the photo was grossly mislabeled, or that someone found a reason to include a photo of Linda Ronstadt in a physical science text book?

Dudette, i was kidding about the needle thing, except for the popping. that actually happens.

look (dead link) what i found: a photo of my nephew a couple of months before his first birthday. isn't he cute!

he'll be five this summer, so the picture is almost 4 years old. he's still a little cutie though. and yep, that's me on the left.

you see, Jean had to post about her nephew turning 18, which a) makes me feel old because i first met her nephews 10 or so years ago, and b) made me think about my nephews of whom i now see entirely too little.

the supermarket this morning was out of skim milk and 1%, so i had to buy 2%. the difference in taste blows me away. i hate it. it's making my tummy a bit unhappy. i can't drink it. i'm going to end up grumpy today without my milk.

it's about time! i've been waiting for this for a decade, and (even better) the revenues go to public schools and the Cherokee nation.

today's going to be one of those strange days.

on my way to work this morning, i stopped at the supermarket for bagels, like i do every morning. the cashier, whom i see every morning, points out to me that it's supposed to get colder today, and that i may want to put on another shirt. i looked down, thinking 'what's wrong with this one,' to see that, though i did remember the undershirt, i had forgotten to put my other shirt on.

there's something very pleasant about falling asleep with the television, only to wake up to see Jonny Lee Miller in Mansfield Park

aww! Jean found an oh-so-adorable photo of James Marsters.

on the other hand, i love needles. i like getting vaccinations and selling my plasma and being given meds intravenously. it's fun to watch the needle pierce the vein. you can even here a little *pop*

everyone remembers The Young Ones, right?

a flurry of site traffic this weekend indicates a mention over at The BradLands. go visit the handsome (yet mac using) devil.

and i thought i was camera shy.
[link hooked from Contrasts.net]

i'm such a tense person. ok, that's a lie. if i were anymore laid back, paramedics would shout "Clear!" everytime they came near me. but a massage by this guy sounds so good.
[link hooked from Contrasts.net]

bah! we're expecting snow tomorrow and wednesday. i wish i was wherever he/she/it is.

i love words, and i love grammar, so this makes me happy to see.

it also makes me uncomfortable enough that i scrutinize my posts looking for such misuses, until i eventually say f*ck it, and either use some colorful profanity like that, or make up some "fictomorphological hobgoblins" to make me feel better (is it me, or is "fictomorphological" a really fun word to say?)

i mentioned last night that i am acrophobic. phobia is defined as an abnormal or irrational fear of a specified thing. is a fear of heights really all that abnormal or irrational? my fear, though, isn't the paralyzing, gibbering fear (think Robert Hays in The Ledge from Cat's Eye). i just get a bit dizzy, a bit nauseated, and my legs start to ache.

but if you want to talk about irrational and abnormal fears, try out cnidarophobia (ok, i'm not sure that's actually a word, but it seems right). i, who have lived in land-locked Oklahoma since birth, have a very powerful fear of jellyfish. i've never seen one, save for photographs and video. there are no jellyfish within several hundred miles, yet they scare the knickers off me. i have no desire to go play in the ocean, or surf, or deep sea fish, or reef dive, or sail, or anything else that people do in the ocean. so, if ever you decide to take me to the beach, please ensure that you've also brought some little plastic buckets and shovels, because i'll be building sand castles all afternoon.

i ordered Passion this weekend. i'm excited, but mikey's scared, 'cause he knows i'm gonna make him watch it with me.

damn! i didn't hit the timer button on my VCR before i left, so i missed Buffy. at least Jean left some spoilers.

mikey and i had a blast in St Louis. i love that city's historicity. we spent a couple of hours driving around, stopping at various shops, looking at old buildings (for me) and tall buildings (for mikey). i found where i want to live (city hall), and we toured the Anheuser-Busch plant (which smelled liked microwaved Grapenuts. disgusting). we also drove by and waved at the Arch (i'm acrophobic. i've been up to the top before, but i didn't think i'd be able to do it again, not to mention riding in those little cars again).

we went to The Complex. the best thing i can say about that is that i saw lots of cool tattoos. we had a good time, but there weren't as many people there as had been on my past visits. still, there were those tattoos.

mikey wants to take a week and go back soon. i just want to go to bed.

goodnight.

and so... i'm off! Complex...er... St. Louis, here i come!

nope, dude, it's just the dumbass browser at work. your permalinks are fine in IE5.5 and Netscape 6.

ok then, for those who have asked "what's a tolkhan?", to the left, below the quote (which is nifty, isn't it?) is a link to "what's a tolkhan?" and no, Rich, it isn't per se "an indian or a fairy", as you say, though i guess it could be both since tolkhan is me and i am both.

by the by, i'm having trouble with your permalinks again. it may just be my browser (like it was on Jean's page. IE4.0 sucks.) i'll check again when i get home.

which will be very soon. it's nearly noon, and i'm taking half a day off so that i may get on the road to St Louis early enough to get there before midnight. i still have to go home and pack though, 'cause i didn't do it last night like i was supposed to. damned computer had me distracted all night.

i feel good now.

today is someone's birthday here in the office, and my co-workers are decorating her cubicle (next to mine). as they hang the crêpe paper, one of them calls out to me "when's your birthday?"

"november," says i.

"oh, we missed it. are you twenty-one yet?"

bless you, marcia.

"i'm twenty-six."

"what?!?"

hooray! something to start the day out nicely.

i don't like this job-thing i have where i actually have to work. it's kept me busy all day and i really haven't had much time to surf. what free time i have had, i've spent working out the little unsightly blemishes of my blog's new look. how can they expect me to work when i have flaws in my blog?

if i'm doing this now, after it's been published, imagine how i was last night before it debuted. poor mikey sat alone most of the evening watching television. it's hard enough getting him to come over during the week (something about not liking Voyager or Buffy and Angel), and when he does, i spend all evening at the computer.

bad terrence. stupid terrence dummy boy.

so, anyone have any suggestions for "Sorry-I-Blew-You-Off-For-My-Blog-Please-Forgive-Me" gifts, please let me know.

United States Supreme Court B*tch-Slap. this is fun!
[link ganked from the Brandlands]

wowzers! the Daily Dean has me linked now. makes me giddy to have a referral from someone with a noggin i admire so much.

News/Rumor from Popbitch Newsletter

• Sara and Keren of Bananarama are planning a comeback. They already have a record deal in France, and a single scheduled for release in February.
• "Britney Spears is no longer talking to Nick Backstreet following his questions to her on live radio about her "Silicon Valley"
• Jermaine Jackson claims that the Jackson 5 are set to reform, with brother Michael on board. Then again, Jermaine just called his new-born son "Jermajesty", so he's probably mental.

that's all the really interesting parts of this issue.

you know, i had to get a new license in September, and the only day i could take care of it was a few days after i'd injured my back. i was heavily medicated with pain pills and muscle relaxers, so in my photo, you can almost see the drool running out of the corner of my mouth. i look like such a goob.

ah, yes... the debut of my new template. what d'ya think?

it looks the same in IE 4.0 and 5.5 as it does it Netscape 6. i'd like to attribute that to my talent, but i can't. it probably has more to do with a greater standardization between the two browsers.

the madness surrounding Napster spreads into new territories. [ok, so the articles a bit old...give me a break! i just found it!]

Condorman is gonna be on Starz Family in March! woo hoo!

so....tempting.... i know they're there....must resist.....

"I'm as receptive as... Susan Lucci through 19 years of award shows."

i want this! i'd just have to get a DVD player too.

"(Mark Burnett, executive producer of Survivor and Survivor II) is definitely a producer who is in a league of his own."

yes, him and all the other Reality TV™ producers. i guess that's why they've already decided to have Survivor III and Survivor IV.

ha!

yippee! the plans are confirmed. mikey and i are going to sunny St Louis this weekend, where we will spend a fabulous 2 days/2 nights beneath the Gateway Arch on the sandy beaches of the Mississippi River, sipping pina coladas in a midwestern tropical paradise.

when did priests start thinking it acceptable to pose nude for calendars?
[via Relapsed Catholic]

"Sunday's sermon topic: 'What is hell?' Come early and listen to our choir!"

"Don't let worry kill you; let the church help."

heh. from an L.A. Times article on church marquees.
[via Relapsed Catholic]

i'm not a social person. i don't interact with my co-workers. i rarely leave my cubicle until it's time to go home. i don't think i've had a conversation with any of the people i work with. so why would they think that i want to participate in office birthday celebrations?

so, i've moved on to the next book on my reading list. i'm still working through the archaic/classical period, which, of course, is completely focused on the middle east and mediterranean regions (a.k.a. European history), but that may change as i read deeper into the book. surely, the peoples of east Asia, the Americas, Africa, Australia and Oceania (did i miss anyone?) contributed something. there's one thing about this book that's really bothering me though. as i read, it dances in my mind and distracts me. but maybe i'm just being pompus.

is there anyone else who thinks that the title should be An History of Knowledge?

more evidence that i'm existing within some sort of temporal distortion: i woke up 10 minutes later than yesterday, yet i'm 18 minutes earlier for work.

the EPA made contact. he says he won't be taking any actions against my blog, which is good 'cause i wouldn't pay the fines anyway. i'd disappear, man, and head north. to Kansas. just try to find me in all that wheat.

and, since he (you know who you are) has returned on multiple occasions, he can now be classified as a "reader", thus, he must be given a name, so that all may known to whom i refer.

from this day forward, on this blog, you shall be known as...EPA Man (not terribly imaginative, i know).

now, out of curiosity, how much money would i have to give you to have the EPA shut down a particular corporation i have a beef with?

thanks, Jean, for the link to Bejeweled. it's not like i need something else to keep me from my work.

is there anyone out there who can explain to me what the point of Ultima Online is? i started playing about two weeks ago, but so far, all i've done is make various alchemal potions, tame about a dozen animals, and kill bunnies.

is it just some place that people hang out online, or are you actually able to go do something? i thought it was supposed to be a multiplayer online RPG, where you could go on Grand Adventures™, fight Evil Villains®, and Protect The Kingdom From It's Foes© (or, in my case, skulk around, steal other character's possessions, amass and horde wealth, and build a towering eerie castle from which to launch my conquest of the kingdom). instead, i spend all my time pursuing rabbits, hoping they have gold coins on them (and sometimes they do. don't ask me why) since you're not allowed to take anything that doesn't belong to you.

all i want is to become an evil sorceror striking fear into the hearts of all citizens, but the game is set up to disadvantage less-than-good characters. town guards attack and kill you automatically, even though there's no possible way for them to know who you are, or that you're an evil character. there are no cameras, and no fax machines. someone please explain the game to me so i don't feel like i wasted my money.

Anarchy at Your Local Wal-Mart, or fun things to do that'll really piss them off.

it's been nearly three years. you'd think i'd be over it by now.

i am trapped within a temporal distortion of some type.

i know i've been at work for almost 12 hours now, yet the clock says it's only been two.

i should have known this would happen by how my day started. i woke up 20 minutes early this morning, performed my normal get-ready-for-work routine in the same amount of time as i normally do, yet i was three minutes late for work.

also, i had my MP3 playlist playing as i slept. it's 7 hours, 28 minutes from start (Carly Simon's You're So Vain) to the last (Aqua's Around the World). i started the music at just after midnight last night, but the last song was ending when i woke up this morning at 6:40am.

time for me is in a state of dilation and contraction. beware all who approach me. i am in temporal flux today.

*sob* three of the four Borg children have left! how sad for Seven. and a convenient plot device.

the January 2001 issue of Discover magazine (you'll have to pick it up at the newstand to read the current issues. only previous issues are available online) has some good articles, including "The Year in Science." some of these top 50 fifty science news stories:

• Spinal Cords on the Mend- researchers have managed to repair breaks in the spinal cords of eight lab rats.
  
• Closer to Quantum Computers- physicists have achieved some success with superposition, the theory that matter can occupy more that one position at a time.
• A New Sugar High- researchers at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada have produced some promising results in transplanting islets, the insulin producing structures in the pancreas, providing a spark of hope for the millions of people with diabetes.
• Bush Meat- in October of last year, biologists announced that Miss Waldron's red colobus monkey, native to the forests of Ghana and the Ivory Coast, is extinct, probably the first species known whose disappearance is due to commercial wild animal meat trade.
  
• The Year of the Genome- probably the biggest story in scientific news for the year 2000, last June, Celera Genomics and the Human Genome Project jointly announced the completion of the rough draft of the human genome. the focus of this story is too often placed on the treatment and elimination of various genetic disorders and diseases, but, as the Discover article points out, it's also step on the path of discovering unwritten history among human populations (why are Asians twice as likely as Europeans to be lactose tolerant? possibly reflecting a much longer history of dairy farming in the west) and genetic adaptation to infectious disease (sickle-cell anemia protects against malaria; types A and B blood protect against cholera).

and on the "I Want One!" front, the Wolf-Garten company in Betzdorf, Germany has unveiled a concept mower that uses a laser to cut blades of grass into particles less than a tenth of an inch long.