Muse

Today I discovered some music I rather like -- the British band Muse -- which has a single called "Supermassive Black Hole." My dissertation (which I just defended) was on supermassive black holes. What's the word for something like this? I want to say "synergy" or "serendipity," but those are not quite right. Anyway, it's weird.

Water

I quit drinking bottled water last week in favor of plain old tap water, and noticed not only that my persistent night-time cough has stopped, but that my skin tone has improved noticeably. A bit perplexing, considering many websites claim that drinking bottled water helps do away with coughing and is good for you, etc. Anyone have a clue why a chronic cough would go away after switching to tap water?

Hockey Night in Texas

I love hockey. Growing up in Canada, it's just part of life -- and my husband, as a born-and-raised Finn who has played hockey for many years, also loves the sport. I'm mentioning this by way of explaining why I finally, after an 11-year protest against television, caved in and got a stupid satellite. Just so we could watch the Stanley Cup Finals in our own living room. So much for principles.

Even though I'm from Vancouver, my favorite team has been the Montreal Canadiens, but I also really like Pittsburgh. Game 3 between Pittsburgh and Detroit is tonight, and since it hasn't been good so far for Pittsburgh (or us fans), let's hope they resume their home-turf winning streak.

GO PENS!!!

Incidentally, if I wasn't already married to my own Crazy Hockey-Playing Finn, I think I'd have a serious crush on Pittsburgh's very own pest, Jarkko Ruutu:

Oh, farg. I can't get the embedding to work. Check out the vids here...

Best of Jarkko Ruutu
(Good luck getting this song out of your head)

Jarkko Ruutu talking
(The "cerebral" pest)

Update: Pens win!! Hooray!

Call me...

... Dr. Stickwick.



I passed my doctoral defense today. I'm officially a Ph.D. And tonight I'm officially going to get the first full night of sleep in a loooong time.

If a Man Wants to Hurt or Kill You, Buy a Gun

Three examples in three weeks in King County, of paper protection orders working about as well as self-defense tools as bathroom tissue.

The three women above were stabbed or strangled to death by their husband, ex-husband or boyfriend. With a gun they could have defended themselves. Note to women who fear for their lives from evil men like these: BUY A GUN AND LEARN HOW TO USE IT! There are plenty of places you can go to learn how to carry, you can get a permit, and while you wait for your permit, open carry is legal in Washington State. For those of you in states that deny you the ability to defend yourself with a gun, move.

I Gotta Learn That

I was reading a website about what will happen if the dollar drops too far. This was one response:

Malor is consistently very doom and gloom and buy gold now and huge economic catastrophes are just around the corner. If he happens to be right, you don't need to worry what currency your debts are in, because when the world falls apart all of those electronic records are going to be lost anyway. If he's right, you should be investing in firearms, ammunition, and learning how to make assless pants so that you can rule the wasteland with your gang of Mad Max crazies.

"Learning how to make assless pants..."

Priceless. That made me spit all over my computer screen.