Flamin' hot baked cheetos are actually pretty good.

Date:	2009-12-08 19:16
Subject:	Lice.
Security:	Public
Mood:	Well, crap.
Music:	Right - Apoptygma Berzerk

The school nurse called today at 10 to let us know that both our kids have lice, and need to come home.

Tuesday is my normal "work from home" day, so I happened to be here to take the brunt of the fallout. The general regimen is: (1) Put something nasty on the hair of everyone in the house for 10 minutes; (2) remove nits from everyone with a fine toothed-comb (this takes about an hour per person); (3) wash all bedding, clothes, and all other cloth in ultra-hot water (130°F or more); (4) Seal the stuff that can't be washed in an airtight bag, not to be opened for 2 weeks; (5) spray down everything that can't be washed or sealed (couches, backpacks) with some kind of pesticide.

Yes, this eats a whole day. And the amount of crap you have to put in your hair is directly proportional to the length of your hair, so I'm going to be taking about a foot off my own hair later tonight before we treat it.

And now, we get to check scalps every day for the next two weeks. If we find any lice or eggs, the whole rigamarole starts all over.

This morning on NPR, Steve Inskeep was interviewing RNC chair Mike Steele about his position on healthcare reform and the medicare program. It took Steele over 5 minutes to explain the intricacies of his position. This is all well and good -- it's a complicated topic.

Steve was leading up to a question that sounded like it was going to deal with the stark difference between this long explanation and the over-simplified soundbytes that the RNC has been putting forth to the popular press. He never got to finish the question, though. When he described Steele's stated position as "good and nuanced" (intended, no doubt, as a complement), Steele took grievous offense at the term "nuanced," and spent the rest of the interview ranting about how his positions are not nuanced.

Apparently, the GOP has seen things in such black and white terms for so long that even the language used to describe rational thought is reflexively interpreted as insulting. It's a good thing that Steve didn't make the critical mistake of trying to call Steele "reasonable" -- he might have hung up on the spot.

"...a piñata filled with two of my favorite things."

"What, meat and cheese?"

"Really more of an empiñata."

...is really amazingly, blazingly fast. I can't recommend it enough.

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/upgrade.html

I know it's a bit annoying when normal, untrained citizens think they have answers for problems that the world's best minds in the field can't solve -- but I'd like you to hear me out. Sometimes it really does just take a little out-of-the-box thinking.

If the nuclear power plants in America simply tried to ship all their radioactive waste somewhere (anywhere) via FedEx Home Delivery, no one would ever see it again.

HOLY SHIT! WE'RE ALL JUST LIVING ON A GINORMOUS FUCKING SPINNING ROCK FLOATING THROUGH SPACE CIRCLING A BIG FUCKING BALL OF FIRE!!!

This morning, I discovered that my 5-year-old daughter thought that my turn indicators were part of the navigation system in my car.

I guess it makes sense -- a flashing green arrow turns on, and then I turn that way...

I think my head is bleeding.

Do you deal with metric craploads of email on a continual basis? Do you need to be able to search your vast archive of 1 million messages for keywords? Attachments? Are you tired of feeling lost in a sea of inaccessible information?

While it's not a perfect solution to all of these problems, that's what Postbox certainly tries to do. And it's not half bad. It's still a little buggy -- but, then again, it's still in Beta. Like a real "things might not work quite right" Beta, not a Google-style "Beta" that lasts more than five years.

It took over 30 hours to index my email archives, but now it lets me find stuff quickly, threads conversations (even if they're spread across multiple folders and even multiple accounts), and integrates with the OS X quick-look function, which is worth the price of admission alone.

Best of all, it imported all of my Thunderbird settings, so I really didn't have to set up anything at all.

1. First Verse
2. Bridge (variant 1)
3. Refrain
4. Second Verse
5. Bridge (variant 2)
6. Refrain
7. Musical Interlude (include lyrical snippets from earlier in the song)
8. Refrain (repeat as necessary)

• Song should be 4/4 time, between 90 and 140 bpm
• Syllables in verses should not be shorter than quarter notes
• For a post-1980s sound, throw in a heavy measure of sampled electric guitar
• Aim for 4 - 5 minutes in length; the 7 to 10 minute version will be a remix that someone else does for you

It's... um.... Work Zone Awareness Week.

Yeah.

Just so you know.

CORRECTION: You may have received an email stating Kids Club priority tickets for RENT in addition to FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. This was incorrect. We apologize for any confusion and look forward to seeing you soon at Kids Club events!

Having both a credit card and a bank account with Capital One, I find it amusing when they send me solicitations starting: "Here's a simple way to get a low 0% APR."

I mean, I'm already getting that on my money market account with them -- why should I need to take any further action?

After listening to your demo tape, entitled Sam's Town, I believe it shows great potential. I eagerly await the release of a fully produced album.

What you fail to realize, Mr. Bush, is that your clumsy attempts to save the country from harm actually harmed the country so badly that there's a lot less worth saving.

2009, here I come!

help me i am in kansas

Make sure you get to the last paragraph...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/3328480/Otto-the-octopus-wrecks-havoc.html

I was going to do my round-up of Black Friday Wal-Mart incidents again this year... but given the Long Island incident in which shoppers ripped metal doors off the hinges, crumpling them "like an accordion," and trampled a temporary employee to death, I think humorous commentary would be in bad taste, even for me.