nicole randomly speaks out of turn

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I am in dire need of some new tunes. If any of you have any of the following artists albums (any of their albums) please email them to me at savyscum@gmail.com

Lykke Li
Animal Collective
Matt and Kim
Lil Wayne
Crystal Castles
Passion Pit
Mike Snow

Hey, yous guys! Look at what an awesome mom I am, unlike that dumb bitchmy friend who doesn't feed her daughter as well as *I* feed my daughter! I mean, I'm going to post like I have a question, but, really: let's all sit around and pat ourselves on the backs for being AWESOME.

Extra points go to teamrose for feeling "so sad when I hang with most of my mom friends, because everything is prepackaged and unhealthy."

Here's something I learned when Bug was born: parenting isn't easy. I'm not going to let my heart bleed if something helps somebody to keep their head above water and their kid isn't suffering. By suffering, I mean is malnourished to the point of illness or something. Just because somebody doesn't parent like I do doesn't mean it's abuse or the worst possible option.

On Saturday the 14th at 4AM UTC/GMT we will be upgrading the operating system of our network load balancers to a newer version, one that will allow us to use both CPUs! Nifty, because multiprocessing is nice.

Since we have 2 load balancers, the plan is to upgrade 1 at a time, and there really should be very little impact to our website. Hopefully you won't notice a thing and I'll get to go back to the hotel and watch some wonderful late night infomercials.

We've got a lot of exciting projects coming up for 2010 and we're hoping that we'll be able to deliver them all to you, that you will find it useful/cool/lovely and then you will use the site even more. Behind-the-scenes work like this will give us the capacity to handle the anticipated traffic, so expect a few more maintenance windows especially in the beginning of next year as we've got some neat ideas to improve performance around here! We had the recent 30-45 minute outage yesterday due to one of our logging databases filling up disk space -- not so great design coupled with my human error in handling the initial problem -- and it looks like we're going to finally have some resources to eliminate stuff like that. I can't wait!

As usual, I will be updating status.livejournal.org before and after, just in case you are not able to reach our main website during the work.

So, I was playing on Twitter and found a link to a YouTube video. This video was about some Canadian with terrible back pain who was failed by the public health care system. The tweet that linked it stated "Canada's version of Obamacare: a true story."

I replied that was the exception, not the rule. You know, just like ALL people who get the H1N1 vaccine will not end up like that cheerleader for whom the shot triggered a neurological disorder.

I'll admit that I'm not up on my reading, so I can't say whether Obama's proposal is a good or a bad one. I can say that I hate ignorant fear tactics.

You guys! When I was little, a red car followed me home from the park. ALL PEOPLE WHO DRIVE RED CARS ARE PEDOPHILES. Also, this one time, I had fettucine alfredo and I got food poisoning. ALL FETTUCINE NOODLES WILL MAKE YOU SICK. Conversely, I once walked alone down a poorly lit street in San Francisco while heavily intoxicated and was neither raped nor mugged. DRINKING LOTS OF TEQUILA WILL PROTECT YOU FROM ASSAULT.

If you want to change people's minds, do so in an informed, well thought out and eloquent fashion. Otherwise, zip it. Those of us who can actually think for ourselves will only want to kick in your balls or uterus.

edith_jones gave me permission to cross post this from her LJ, so y'all can look at her pretty words that summarize my feelings:

It's November 11th. World War I was officially ended at 11:11 a.m. on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. In Canada we remember those who have fought for us not just in WWI but in all wars, by wearing poppies like those that grew in profusion around the bodies in the battlefields of France and Belgium. I've known this poem since grade school. We always learned it and re-learned it in the weeks leading up to the school's Remembrance Day ceremony, and one class or another would read it aloud from the stage. It was written by a Canadian soldier, Lt. John McCrae, who grew up about 50 miles from where I live:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

— Lt.-Col. John McCrae (1872 - 1918)


Please do note that he was among the legion of the dead.

I give thanks to all who have fought for the freedom of my country; your sacrifice will not go unremembered, and has not gone in vain.

 Okay, So I am doing the low GI Diet, I have been for about a week.
And I have noticed that I am getting head aches more frequently and I seem to be bitchier than normal.

Has anyone done the PCOS diet (while on Fertility treatments) and had this problem?

When I was little, I was taught that it was NEVER okay to hit someone. I believe that put me at a disadvantage during my younger years. No, I wasn't routinely bullied, but there were a few instances where I was backed into a corner and lucky the other person decided I was a waste of time. (I should probably say that these instances weren't provoked. I know: shocking. I may like to tease people, but I'm not stupid about it. If you're really curious, one girl was all up in my face because she didn't like the way that I brushed my hair. Another girl was ready to punch me because she thought I looked at her.)

I would probably have had the crap beaten out of me at those points in my life. It's not that I didn't know how to fight. I had years of martial arts training. I knew how I would need to react, but my conditioning by that point was already so strong: never hit. It's never right. It's never acceptable. Good people don't fight.

With Bug, I've been telling him that fighting is a last resort. I teach him that it's not nice to hit, but we do so if we need to protect ourselves or to protect the people we care about. His first reaction, however, should be to leave the situation. If he can't, he should fight but try not to hurt the person, as his main goal is still to get away. If he has to hurt the person to get away, then he may do so.

Don't get me wrong. I hope that my boy never has to get into a fight. I hope that his life is always good and with an abundance of love and kindness. Regardless of what I hope for him, I'm still teaching him the other things that he might need to know.

I didn't put the details of this in my post to parenting101 because I know that so many parents are against spanking, never mind teaching their kids about hitting - or, in the case of the post I made, pushing.

Like I said, I'm teaching him that this sort of thing is a last resort. So far, nobody in p101 has come up with anything I haven't tried or done. A lot of them seem to live in a fantasy world where there are no shitty parents who don't teach their child appropriate behavior, or keep track of their kids at all.

sixwordstories
Whether you're in the mood for a creative challenge or you're short on time or attention span, this semi-addictive community is perfect for those who find flash fiction way long. Once you get the hang of it, you won't be able to stop. The prince turned into a frog. The girl ran home to mother. Tough to write. Easy to read. It's a double threesome of fun.

dailyfoodie
Delicious, ambitious, and occasionally nutritious dishes make for an eclectic, all-you-can-eat feast. Whether you're searching for recipes for your next dinner party or you're jonesing for a late-night brownie fix, your cravings are sure to be well sated. A warm and inclusive community that welcomes all orientations, from carnivores to vegans, from gourmands to junk-food junkies. Guaranteed bias-free, food-positive, and pan-epicurian.

My husband may suck at trolling, but my son is making me wonder if it's in the genes.

We were at the grocery store and saw a man wearing one of those surgical masks. It's the first time Bug has seen one. Without any prodding or anything, he leaned closer to the man and started faking a coughing fit.

I, being the bad person that I am, took Bug's little hand and pulled him down another aisle while trying not to laugh. He was grinning at me the whole time.

( More...better )

 

This morning started out fantastically. Bug and I went for a little drive to pick up breakfast sandwiches. We all had breakfast. Mine was a bagel with peanut butter. Bug wanted a bite. He hasn't reacted to almond butter and had previously tried peanut butter chocolate ice cream over the summer, since Penguin slipped up.

A few minutes later, the area around Bug's mouth was red and had a few hives. Why, yes, I was absolutely freaking out on the inside as I went online to Google stuff about allergies and what to do and, as backup, posted to p101 because I don't know the nuances of how the health care works in Canada and didn't know if there was an option aside from the ER. (He's fine now. The redness is gone as are the hives. I'm also on hold to speak with a nurse to see if there's anything else I need to do or watch out for - thanks, ladykutenay!)

On the way to get the phone, I stepped in cat crap in my bare feet. I was not happy.

In happy news, the sun is coming out and Penguin will be painting today. I should take "before" pictures.

More at this post & my flickr

I think it's time for me to payback all the nice folks who were kind enough to speak on my behalf whether I wanted them to or not. That said, I am not only speaking for myself when I say, "We're sorry, Average White Person."

I realize how flippant that sounds, so let me assure you that I am not being sarcastic. I would truly like to apologize for every person who has decided to call you down by misinterpreting your intent. Maybe you offhandedly remarked about feeling "jipped" and didn't realize the correct spelling was "gypped" and hence a slur on Gypsies (or the Romani as somebody once mentioned to me). Perhaps you accidentally referred to an Asian person as Oriental. There's also the Biggest Mistake Any White Person Can Make, which is to notice skin color at all.

Whatever the case, you probably didn't receive an explanation as to why you were wrong in your speech, thought or inclination. No, you were most likely lambasted, called a racist, stupid and any number of things, but certainly not educated on what you did wrong or how to avoid your mistake in the future. For that, we apologize.

Let me reassure you that the person who belittled you is not more enlightened. If anything, they are a Smelt/Dealt kind of person. You know what I'm talking about: it goes back to our elementary school days. Remember how you never, ever mentioned catching a whiff of somebody else's gas because "whoever smelt it, dealt it"? Well, the people who got on your case are pretty much doing that. Who but a closeted or in denial racist would get down on somebody for a little mistake? Think about it: if I hate Asians but am quiet about it, and you mention your Oriental co-worker, I can make everybody stare at your prejudice ass by yelling "racist" in your direction, and nobody will ever stop to question why I can't be in the same room as a rice cooker.

So, chin up, smile and keep on keeping on, my fine white friend. Don't let yourself get down over those people who tell you you're stupid but won't explain why ("if you really wanted to know, you'd educate yourself instead of expecting ME to explain").

Sometimes, I read advice columns and very clearly hear in my head what a letter from the other side would sound like.

( The original letter )

I don't know the people in question, but I wonder if this 16-years-old girl's mother would write something like this:

Dear Abby,

I've been married to a great man for 19 years and we have a 16-years-old daughter who is wonderful. Two years ago, I had the opportunity to resume my education. I've always been the independent sort, so it was hard to be at home and have to depend on my husband for everything. Now that my child is older, it's been nice to earn my own money and get out of the house and do things for me.

The problem is that my husband and daughter are not as happy for me. My husband feels emasculated now that he's "not the bread winner." It's gotten so bad that we can hardly be in the same room together, much less the same bed.

My daughter complains that I'm never there for her anymore, but that's not true! I still see her most evenings and we catch up, and we go out shopping every other week or so. I think she's really upset because I'm not sitting at home all day every day just waiting to jump to the needs of her or her father.

Am I wrong for doing something for myself, Abby? Does it make me a bad mother for trying to live my life?

Here's my personal addition: My mom went back to work when I was four. We could have continued getting by, but she really wanted to work. She wanted to have her own money to do things and not have to ask for my dad's permission. She wanted to be able to buy my siblings and I nice things and not have us "behind" our peers because the family couldn't afford it. She wanted her independence back.

I won't lie: her decision really hurt me when I was a kid. All but two of my friends' mom were stay-at-home moms. My friends were picked up from school by their mothers, not by siblings. They had dinners together as a family, because their moms weren't working the two to 10 p.m. shift. They had moms who tucked them in at bedtime and kissed them goodnight.

I was sad about all of that when I was little. If she had gone back to work when I was 16, I think my initial reaction would have been an inability to understand why she was going back to work when life was fine as it was - at least from my perspective. Now that I'm all grown up (or as close to it as I'm ever going to get - ha!) I realize how sad it would have been to force my mother into a corner she didn't want to be in, just because I was too selfish to break out of my comfort zone.

The empire strikes back

In recent weeks, we've taken huge steps towards blocking spam accounts on LiveJournal. In fact, we've suspended as many as 30,000 accounts in a single day! We've implemented several pre-emptive measures to prevent the creation of spam accounts, and we've honed our detection of suspicious content. Spam bots are a crafty lot, so we'll continue to refine our tactics and keep up the good fight to keep you safe from spam attacks on LiveJournal.

RSS feeds again

If you're addicted to xkcd_rss, icanhaschzbrgr, or other syndicated feeds, we're pleased to report that we've resolved the update error that was mucking up your RSS feeds. While content was being pulled correctly, it wasn't being posted to the feeds themselves. Late last week, we finally nailed down what we hope was the root problem, so content should post properly. We thank you for your patience.

Wii have killer CSI Deadly Intent contests!

c_s_i

If you're a gamer who loves CSI, have Wii got news for you! c_s_i is sponsoring killer contests. Simply post a question to a member of the CSI crew. The winner will get a free copy of CSI: Deadly Intent for Nintendo Wii (with a retail value of $39.99) and get their question answered by a member of the CSI writing team! There's also a fantastic monthly contest. To enter, join c_s_i, play the online version of CSI: Deadly Intent, and respond to a two-part query for a chance to win a Wii! Entries will be judged on composition and originality. Sorry, but you must be a U.S. resident and over 18 years old to participate. Check out the rules here.

Enveloped in postcards

Last week, we asked you to send in postcards to help us decorate our drab concrete walls. Here's a photo of the results so far! Thank you so much and please keep them coming! You can mail them to Frank the Goat, Esq., c/o LiveJournal, Inc., 539 Bryant Street, Suite 210, San Francisco, CA 94107. Be sure to include your username, since we'll be giving ten random users paid account credits.

Photos of the week

If you haven't visited our new LiveJournal photo community, you're in for an amazing visual trip. LiveJournal users from around the world will take you on a scenic journey to everywhere. Post your own pictures or kick back and enjoy at lj_photophile. You can view some of this week's awesome photos after the jump. Please start tagging with geographic location, since we'd like to track all the places around the world represented in this community. Keep on commenting too!
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