There’s disc tomorrow.  Yay!  I get a little antsy when I haven’t played in a while.  Since disc is at 6:45 (am!).  I plan on hitting the sack at about 11pm and no more caffeine this evening.   Which is rough because I really could go for a Dr. Pepper right now.

Lately, I’ve been getting antsy in the morning when I don’t go for run.  I wasn’t going to go this morning, take a day off to rest my body, but then I got tired of sitting and went for a two mile run.  And I think I’m better for it.  Oh, I’m sure my enthusiasm will wan soon, as it does for me for most things.  Except for disc, though I do have my down days for it too.

Working on Model Species.  My goal for this week is to refurb Teria and Lexia’s scenes.  I find that the best reason for me to have goals is be better able to properly plan my procrastination.  Considering that I’m going to lend a hand at, or at least be a body on the field for, the women’s ultimate clinic tomorrow night, I actually have to get a few things done tonight.

Otherwise, all is going…apace.

New post by Eric:
Using Fear of Identity Theft to Fix the Credit Industry

I need to do some admin stuff to the blog. Categories might be nice.

Some Recent Random Reading

Paul Dano Has a Good Heart, Bad Clothes | Brian Cox, Paul Dano : Just Jared:

It’s a crazed film about a guy who runs a bar, called Jacques, in New York. It’s a bar where all these deadbeats hang out, like a bar in a Eugene O’Neil play. This young homeless man comes in, and he has these extraordinary powers of healing; he can heal all the guys in the bar.

And apparently can throw a frisbee too.

How To Sell A Book That Doesn’t Exist | Storytellersunplugged

Via Ryan_Lanham on Twitter:
/Message: Nick Carr and Scott Karp: Is The Web Making Us Stupid?
I *cough* skimmed Nick Carr’s article a week or so ago and disagreed, but really hadn’t put thoughts together on it.

The past week has been a mixture of running, cold baths, reading, napping, and writing.  Usually in that order with some overlap.  I haven’t decided whether it’s maddening or an acceptable manner in which to live.

“Why do I expect open source science?” and “A Toe”

Two things I found interesting that Eric’s probably already read:

Study shows male homosexuality can be explained through a specific model of Darwinian evolution | Think Gene

The essence of happiness : Nature News

Also came across this via Diet Blog:
Omega 3: How We’re Being Deceived
I clicked through to the book’s site
The Food Industry’s Greed – Lois Smithers

Now, I’m not  naive enough to believe that the food industry isn’t out to make money, and I know that they’ll jump on any health bandwagons they see as potentially profitable. This is a dangerous thing because often the science behind the nutrition is not entirely understood.  There was a day when partial hydrogenation was considered good.  That day is past.  And it wouldn’t surprise me if omega-6s are still prominent in many “healthy” foods, just as refined sugars are.  But there’s something about this book, its very nature, that bugs me.

I am immediately skeptical of scientific claims/research that have been self-published and are only available for $26.97 (as part of a package that includes several other titles, all self-published).  Where’s the peer review?  If this were truly a ground breaking expose, wouldn’t there be something else to it other than the research done by one woman after an anecdotal experience?  And why was I quite disappointed that the web site that is meant to sell her book doesn’t include links to the research she’s looked at?  Why do I even expect that?  Like the food industry, this woman is out to make a little money. 

But should science make money?

My own five minute research reaps that the optimal ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 is about 4:1.  Smithers offers up the books table of contents and I was surprised to see Smart Balance Buttery Spread included.  This is a product we use and rather like.  The box clearly states that it has a 4:1 ratio.  Smart Balance Peanutbutter is clearly labeled as 1:1.  Their web site includes ratios for their products.  If anything, the ToC can lead into some other research efforts of my own.

Personally, I’d still like to know what Swanson dinners don’t report their trans fat numbers…

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It’s completely unfair that yesterday I felt like crap and had a fairly unsatisfying game of disc and today I went for a run and felt great. Damn body. My hands and feet are a little achy today, but my back is happy.

Eric has done something bad to his toe. He just woke up on Tuesday and it was hurting. He played on it yesterday which probably wasn’t good for it. Woke up in further pain this morning. He wonders if he whacked it on something (like the iron bed frame) in the night, but jeeze, to screw up his toe that bad it would have taken one hell of a whack. My theory is that he slept on it wrong, but that seems pretty far fetched too for more than a couple hours of pain.

No practices for us tonight, which is okay with me. I have a lot to do on Model Species.

New blog post over at EntangledContinua.  Today’s topic: the economy.

Played some disc this morning.  Had a nice turnout despite the hour.  The weather was still pretty hot.  I could not catch a dam thing in the endzone and my back got pretty bad about halfway through.

Not much else to say.  I’m in a substantially lazy mood though I’ve set a goal to have a certain group of changes done by Friday night.

Oh, we did try a new restaurant.
Restaurant #8: Cheeburger Cheeburger

I’d heard some good things about Cheeburger Cheeburger.  The somewhat inane name was outweighed by a good selection of burger toppings, but in the end, I was underwhelmed.  The meat was pretty plain, fried without any seasoning.  I had cheddar-jack, bbq sauce and roasted green chilis, and while the combination was tasty it was overwhelmed by the bland burger and the bready bun.  They just don’t stand up to Chuckbox or Ted’s.

11 As a 1930s wife, I am Very Poor (Failure) Take the test!

Heh. Figures. During one of our walks, Eric and I determined that we’re fairly bohemian in our lifestyle. Which means not very respectable by 1930 standards. Probably not very respectable by 00 standards either, but tough-kitty-toenails to convention.

I’m rather looking forward to downloading Firefox 3.  That puts me in a category of subgeek that would gather funny looks from normal people and sneers from educated geeks.  *shrug*

Went back to work on Model Species yesterday.  Trying to keep up with some reading and artistic stuff as well.  I haven’t drawn in a while and it was good to do so today.  Unfortunately, as far as the visual arts are concerned, my vision usually exceeds my abilities.  With a sketch done, I haven’t decided whether I want to fiddle with paints and pastels or scan it and fiddle with it in GIMP.  Probably will scan it, then ruin it with paints.

Book #9 – Enemy Mine (and The Talman and essays) by Barry B. Longyear

This is a reread.  Well, at least I think it is.  I’m pretty sure I read Enemy Mine back in high school or thereabouts.  But I don’t remember it being what I finished reading this morning.  It could be that my memories of the movie are overriding the book, or it could be that, since this version of Enemy Mine is a “director’s cut”, it is substantially changed and isn’t much like what I read before.  Probably a combination of all three factors. 

Anyway, since I’ve been contemplating religion within the Weordan world, I figured I’d take a look at how Longyear had done it in Enemy Mine.  As a bonus, the copy of EM I have is included in a weighty omnibus that includes two other novels set in the same universe, some essays by Longyear, and what he had worked out for the Drac’s holy book, the Talman.  Did I learn much?  Mmm…  I learned that Longyear is very much a writer of his time.  The Drac’s are us, really, not something entirely alien.  That’s okay.  The populations of Weordan are us too, only not very alien at all.  But what Longyear does with the religion sort of preempts the Drac culture.  It comes first, not the other way around which it how religions seem to me.  When I consider writing the myths and holy anecdotes of Weordan, I find it hard not to ask why such a story might have come about.  What was there first that created the myth?  If I appropriate my “Egyptian” girl into Weordan, what does that say about the history of the world?  How many worm cans do I open if I make that part of the world’s mytho-history?

I still maintain that anyone who thinks world building is fun isn’t doing it right…