Waiting. Room. View. (Sigh.)

So. Hospital waiting rooms. They are not outrageously cushy. This one has no windows. BUT! We are surrounded by family and friends. That alone makes this room instantly warm.

We are watching The Day the Earth Stood Still while we wait for the doc to bring us word about Sandy's surgery. She's done, just needing to be closed. Of course we are right on the edges of our seats!!

 

Outside the elevator

I'll come up for a wisecrack for this...

...How 'bout: "In case of Pentecost, take the stairs"?

Still have to edit the photo.

 

At the Colectivo Holiday Party

My cookies were disappearing! :-)

 

AntiCraft Meeting: finally done. But I'm still laughing...

Best quote of the night was courtesy Anthony:

"ew. nose mango is the worst."

Awesome.

 

'Tis the Season...

...enjoy it while it lasts.

Ponder this: you think your Christmas is hectic, what kind of picnic do you think Joseph and Mary had for their first Christmas???

(Heard on today's broadcast of The World on NPR.)

 

Thanks-Giving Us This Bread

Well, I did it. I got it ALL done, and it's even on time. THANK GOD.

 

Thanksgiving Focaccia.

Rolls are for wusses.

 

Rats. Nuts. Criminy. And all sorts of other PG-rated ephithets...

My cellphone screen is broken.

I have no idea how it happened. It was in a pocket -- not a tight pocket, nor an overly loose and floppy pocket, where it would bang against things easily -- and I was indoors (by which I mean it didn't freeze). I had just posted during the Colectivo Forum, so I knew the phone was perfectly find just moments before I discovered the damage.

There is a crack in the liquid crystal display screen. (I know, right? What the frack??!?) If it weren't such an annoyance and inconvenience, I'd be completely fascinated!

The crack is beneath the thick, clear, protective cover (perhaps a type of plexiglass; it scratches easily, so it's definitely not glass) and the liquid has spread laterally to form a dark, rounded, aspen-leaf-shaped pattern towards the lower right-hand corner of the display. Again: sort of cool, if it weren't so blasted irritatingly inconvenient. Sadly, while that sounds like it may not be that bad, it in fact takes up a little over half the display.

I find this very aggravating. It doesn't affect the operations otherwise, however I can't read the display when I dial a number to call someone. I can place and receive calls, but can't see who is calling when a call comes in. I can't read the display when I open the phonebook to place a call. (Important, as it's been years since I've memorized ANY number, having had a cell phone to perform that function for me!!) I can't see whether things are properly framed or not when I take a picture. When I text, I can only see part of what I'm thumb-typing in.

Aaaaccckk! I prefer to text than to interrupt someone's day with a phone call!! I know I'd rather *GET* a text!!!! OH!! My lifestyle is COMPLETELY CRAMPED.

The net result is miserably misspelled posts with errant letters here and there.

Picky, picky, right?

I was raised better than to resign myself to permitting poor spelling, and one of my spelling and grammar teachers reads this blog. (Hi, Daddy!!)

Here's hoping my phone can be replaced very inexpensively and hopefully quickly, so all the typos that cause me grief can be eliminated.

 

With just over 13 minutes left in the 4th quarter of the Big Game...

...it now appears that Michigan in fact did NOT make it past Toledo.

Sad, sickly, little Wolverines. Clearly, there's no Adamantine in these pups.

Current score: Michigan 7, Ohio State 42.

O H!!!! I O!!!!

Next rivalry game: Michigan State at Penn State. We (ouch) want (ouf) the Michigan (ugh) State (ow) Spartans to win so the Buckeyes might possibly go to the Rose Bowl. It is a yucky feeling to cheer for a Michigan team. ANY Michigan team. Almost like wanting Pol Pot to win the lottery, and I'd *never* want that. (Fortunately, he's dead now, so I only have to wish him a nasty place in hell.)

Not the greatest season in Ohio State football history, nor the worst, but still: we beat Michigan!! It's the most important game of the year, and as of this game, the Michigan seniors have never had a chance to beat a Buckeye. >grin<

Beating Michigan is always what matters most.

 

Brilliant Perspective: Work Is Easy

It's another bit of wisdom on a sticky-note from Doug Savage. Subscribe to his chicken-scratches HERE.

 

Um... Jumping the Gun, Much???

They don't make any announcements regarding this year's Cy Young Award recipients until this afternoon, yet this is what I just found on Wikipedia under Cliff Lee's entry:

2008 Season

Cliff Lee on the mound at Progressive Field on September 12, 2008.In 2008, Lee had a career year. Despite the Indians playing with a l 500 winning percentage for the season, Lee started the 2008 season with much success. Lee was one of only eight pitchers since 1920 to win 19 or more of his first 21 decisions. He was the first Cleveland pitcher to win his first six starts since Greg Swindell in 1988. He also recorded his first career shutout on April 25, 2008, against the Kansas City Royals, allowing just 3 hits and 0 walks.[9] He had the lowest On-base percentage-against at .163 through five starts since 1909. For his efforts and success, he was named the American League Pitcher of the Month for April, when he went 5-0 with a 0.96 ERA. .[10] Lee was selected to his first All-Star game in 2008, and was selected to start the game. Lee worked two scoreless innings for the American League team, surrendering only a Chipper Jones base hit and striking out three.[11]

On August 26, Lee won his 19th game of the season, yielding only 2 runs to the Detroit Tigers.[12] This victory set a new career high for Lee, besting his previous mark of 18 wins set during the 2005 season. On September 1, Lee won his 20th game of the season, throwing a complete game shutout. He was the first Indian to reach 20 wins since Gaylord Perry in 1974.[13] In August, for the second time in the 2008 season, Lee was named American League Pitcher of the Month. He went 5-0 with a 1.86 ERA in the month. On September 12, Lee won his 22nd game, making his record 22-2 on the season. This marked the first time a pitcher had gone 20 wins over .500 since Bob Welch in 1990. Overall to end a career year, Lee went 22-3 with a 2.54 ERA and 170 strikeouts. He started 31 games, completed 4, and had 2 shutouts. He pitched a total of 223⅓ innings. Lee ended the season as the American League champion for both wins and ERA.

On September 30, 2008, Lee was awarded the AL Comeback Player of the Year Award.

Lee was awarded the Players Choice Award for AL Outstanding Pitcher of the Year, and AL Comeback Player of the year, by fellow players.

Lee was also given The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year Award and The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award for his 2008 season.

Lee's 2008 winning percentage of 88% was the twelfth best of all time, and the fourth best by a pitcher starting a minimum of 30 games. Coincidently, the three pitchers ahead of Lee also pitch left-handed (Randy Johnson, Ron Guidry, and Lefty Grove). Lee's winning percentage is the second best in Indians history, behind Johnny Allen's 93.8% (15 wins, 1 loss, in 24 games) in 1937.

In 2008, he also won the AL Cy Young Award for his outstanding pitching in the season

[edit] See also
List of Major League Baseball wins champions
List of Major League Baseball ERA champions

Trippy, huh?

Notice how the important sentence is incomplete. The boldface and italics were added by me.

It'd be great if it's true. In fact, it will be rather suspect if Lee doesn't win. No American League pitcher had a better season this year. However, no one should have this information reported on a website at this time of this day. A leak of this sort is more appropriate on ESPN or MLB.com...

Wikipedia? REALLY??? (Yes, that's a link to the article referenced!!)

 

My new status is...

..."Dorky Nerd God."





Because I SOOOOOO needed a generic internet test to tell me something I didn't already know...

It does fail to mention the difference between nerds and geeks, and the fact that I am a world class champion geek, too. Sans lightbulb-eating skills and proclivity to travel in scary, old-fashioned-y Ray Bradbury-esque carnivals.

 

Las Calacas Danzantes

S. O. C. K. S. In other words: ¡Eso sí! ¡Que es!

Say it out loud and you'll probably get it.

(pronunciation hint for Rick and Daddy: there's no "w" sound in "que".)

Brilliantly designed exclusively for The AntiCraft by Erssie Major, a prolific and talented knitting designer in the UK. I am completely delighted by this pattern. It is at once challenging and entertaining, and I really like how it is turning out. I mean, it is simply just too much fun to knit!! I'm deeply impressed with Erssie's gift for design and whimsy.

 

Oh, GOD! Indeed, divine inspiration!

I love Cleveland Heights.

later edit: This is the one that came home with me. Marvelous. Went splendidly with spicy vegan spaghetti sauce and chicken parmesan. Afterwards, I had it with a Malley's pretzel bar. Another good pairing, and it nailed my PMS.

 

Sigh. *Phew*!!!!!!!

Wow.

This was a huge night.

We watched the election returns at the Winking Lizard, Coventry. Great place for sports, we knew that; it turns out to be a hoppin' place for election coverage, too!!

It was satisfying to have a support system for all the ups and downs of the evening.

The entire bar was sympathetic. Well, almost! There was one guy in our section that had opposing views. We were very polite to him, and we tried to make it seem like we were there for the Miami of Ohio v. Buffalo game. Except when stuff happened on CNN that was cheer-worthy which wasn't coincident with events on the football field in Buffalo...

I'm so grateful. SO grateful. This was always bound to be an historic moment. I'm just so enormously grateful it's turned out to be historic in a turn that seems most helpful to the country, rather than in a means that will keep the country on its current path.

I'm sure Sen. McCain is a fine man, I just don't want him in my White House. I don't trust his temperament, I don't like his policies, and I feel like his plans would have run this nation into the ground more even than the last guy did. I also feel like he's far too restrictive on the individual person, yet very liberal with business and industry. That seems at odds with nature to me.

No: I think justice was done today. The right one for the job got voted in. I thank God moment by moment for the grace of this day.

 

A Treat on the Eve of All Hallow's Eve (no, that's not a little redundant...)

From the least sane of the un-sane labs of TopFive(dot)com, I bring you their first ever video presentation of a comedy list. (This one is specifically from Top Five Comics, "Comics" referencing comic books, though this one isn't really about comic books specifically.)




Might not be their best work, but it's at least some nice decor for the season.

For some of their better offerings, subscribe to their newsletter or one (or more!!) of their "Little Fivers" or "Ruminations". Truly, a moment of joy in your email Inbox. I frequently laugh out loud with some volume. Ask my husband.

 

Coming! Needles, Hooks, or Loom?

>SNERK< As if I need to be asked twice. "Yarn" is the new "shiny".

Garfield Minus Garfield publishes daily. It was my sister-in-law Leonor who introduced me to this very zen webcomic.

Of course, this particular strip was sent (rather pointedly) to me by My Beloved, who is still waiting for his first sweater and the half-finished half pair of socks I still have on the needles.

 

Just heard the most compelling question!

It was quite possibly the most compelling question of my entire existence:

"When is Tron 2 coming out?"

I may never sleep again.

 

We Now Return You To Our Previously Scheduled Election Season, Already In Progress.

Wow. This guy is TOTALLY speaking to me. Now if I can only borrow my dad's video camera on election day.

And manage to *NOT* get arrested. Or physically assaulted.

Oh, man, I miss Fanny Lewis.

 

Just some fun and mindless entertainment today.

A fun break from the election hoopla. A little nostalgia, a little video game mash-up!

Anyway, it's Mel's fault. She mentioned it on Facebook today, and I can't get it out of my head. This has to be the ultimate earworm, because it comes with flashing lights and pictures. I can't stop dancing to it.

Which is no bad thing!!