FBI urges police to watch for people carrying almanacs
TED BRIDIS, Associated Press Writer
Monday, December 29, 2003

The FBI is warning police nationwide to be alert for people carrying almanacs, cautioning that the popular reference books covering everything from abbreviations to weather trends could be used for terrorist planning.

In a bulletin sent Christmas Eve to about 18,000 police organizations, the FBI said terrorists may use almanacs "to assist with target selection and pre-operational planning."

It urged officers to watch during searches, traffic stops and other investigations for anyone carrying almanacs, especially if the books are annotated in suspicious ways.

A full article is available here.

I don't even know where to begin, except to say... enough is freaking enough.

you are aqua #00FFFF

Your dominant hues are green and blue. You're smart and you know it, and want to use your power to help people and relate to others. Even though you tend to battle with yourself, you solve other people's conflicts well. Your saturation level is very high - you are all about getting things done. The world may think you work too hard but you have a lot to show for it, and it keeps you going. You shouldn't be afraid to lead people, because if you're doing it, it'll be done right. Your outlook on life is very bright. You are sunny and optimistic about life and others find it very encouraging, but remember to tone it down if you sense irritation.

the spacefem.com html color quiz

This is pretty cute. (whatacrappypresent.com) :)

my voice is much worse today. i can barely croak. it is hard having laryngitis. i am playing music and i miss singing.

i also miss talking without effort, but that's obvious. :)

i just talked to kelly for like 45 minutes, with laryngitis. it was fun, and she was very tolerant of my coughing in her ear :)

I <3 you KJ :)

Take this poll. It's one question, you can do it.

(23:06:49) Skikola007: thanks COOLIO
(23:06:58) mang0fandango: YOU'RE WELCOME 50 CENT

16:09:48) mang0fandango: i totally know how you feel.
(16:09:52) ThstlDwn83 : Thats it! I'm gonna drop outta school and move to Hawaii, where I'll become a pot and strawberry farmer. >:o
(16:09:52) mang0fandango : studying until my brain bleeds
(16:09:57) mang0fandango: pot and strawberry farming it is!

Crazy Snow Sculptures!

Today was my last day of classes for the semester.

Tomorrow is day one of the two-day reading period. Then I have a final on Thursday, another on Monday, and two things to hand in on Tuesday and Wednesday.

This sounds so doable and simple! It just doesn't feel doable or simple. It might be, maybe, but it doesn't feel like it will ever be.

In order to cope with stress, I make little lists. Sometimes publicly! :)

To-do list for tomorrow:

put together presentation
put first paper up to print - pack janet's book
work on painting
work on deep history paper
begin the Endless studying for the final on the Holocaust
order things for Christmas/ make the rest of my shopping list
talk to Aimee at the bookstore or at least make a real note to do so
do dishes
call in prescription refill
go to the co-op and to CVS pick up prescription when ryan gets home
eat chocolate or ice cream or something.

This list can be slightly modified and applied to most days this week and continuing into next until everything is handed in. Yippee!

I am currently mildly obsessed with the following songs:

Aphex Twin - GirlBoy Song
Aphex Twin - Outside Kickass Violin Solo
Aphex Twin - Born Slippy/Comfortably Numb Remix

You need these songs. /public service announcement

Rap Lyrics Translated For example:
Lyrics:

And my jam knock in the Mitsubishi

Girls pee pee when they see me, Nava-hoes creep me in they tee pee

As I lay down laws like I lay carpet

Stop it - if you think your gonna make a profit



TRANSLATION:

I enjoy playing my music loudly on my car stereo. Apparently, women enjoy this also because they become sexually aroused when they see me driving. Oddly enough, when I visit the Native American reservations, some of the more sexually promiscuous Indian women attempt to seduce me in their homes. Their intent is to divest me of my earnings. Such actions are unacceptable.

The brief version of the section of my paper on tampon safety:

There are rumors on the internet that tampons have asbestos in them, and that there are dioxins in tampons from the bleaching process that cause cancer. The asbestos claim is false - tampons do not have asbestos in them. The dioxins, however, are another issue. Dioxins are the results of the process used to bleach tampons and pads. These chemicals cause cancer and are very, very potent. The FDA says that the level of dioxins actually present in tampons is very tiny and hardly detectable, and therefore, tampons (and similary bleached pads) are safe. However, the FDA has not done a totally independent study of the levels of dioxins, they've simply asked the companies to submit samples for testing. They also argue that dioxins are present in the environment due to pollution (hmm, i wonder who is (partially) respsonsible for making that pollution?), so women shouldn't be concerned about the teeny exposure to dioxins in tampons. However, exposure is exposure, and just because I am exposed to dioxin in the water, should I accept further exposure, however tiny, in my tampons? Women use a lot of tampons in their lives, and the effects of the teeny amounts of dioxins are cumulative. (Women take in twice their body weight in chemicals in their lifetime, whereas men take in only half their weight.) According to one doctor, who wrote a book on the subject, "a tablespoon of dioxins would be enough to kill the entire planet" (I'm not sure how, but that does put things in perspective a bit).

Switching to unbleached tampons helps, but conventionally-grown cotton is one of the most pesticide-intensive crops in commercial agriculture. About 10% of the world's pesticides and 22.5% of all insecticides are used on cotton. According to the Sustainable Cotton Project in California, nearly one-third of a pound of chemicals is used to make just one cotton T-shirt.

For non-bleached tampon alternatives, check out this page and click on the items for more information about them.

Interesting article on tampon safety Sorry, I've been knee deep in tampon research for days. Soon, the links will stop flowing from me. :)

Go to google.com. Type in "miserable failure". Hit the "I'm feeling lucky" button. See what comes up.

Really, go do it. Now.

dear crystal, morgan, vicki, lindsey, ian, carrie lynne, and bob,

i will miss you all and your paintings and your company. in fact, dear painting class, i will miss you all and all your talent and all your company and listening to music with you.

and dear dr. weisbord,

i would tell you i will miss you and your class but i will be seeing you in 11 days for your scary scary final, so you know, for now you just get a mention. (afterthefinaliwillmissyouthough) :)

this semester went by too fast, and i will miss these classes and these people. and i am not ready. but i'm working on it.

Look, we are famous! Eep! :)

This from snopes.com, on the issue of toxicity in tampons, for a paper I'm writing:

"The Environmental Protection Agency monitored the level of dioxins in tampons in the late '80s and again in 1994. In both instances, the amounts present were barely detectable. Is it still too much, though? A number of researchers say even small amounts of dioxins are unacceptable in any product.

Though moving to all-cotton unbleached tampons will eliminate any possibility of contact with dioxins from that source, there's danger from another direction: conventionally-grown cotton is one of the most pesticide-intensive crops in commercial agriculture. About 10% of the world's pesticides and 22.5% of all insecticides are used on cotton. According to the Sustainable Cotton Project in California, nearly one-third of a pound of chemicals is used to make just one cotton T-shirt. Don't even try to imagine how much of it ends up on a tampon. "


Hence, these are my friends and from the sound of that, organic cotton t-shirts should be my friend too!!

http://www.perilith.com/~io/files/resume.txt

"George Bush's Resume"...heh heh

Velvet Vulva Bags

These are the coolest things ever, and I want one. If only I had a hundred dollars to spend on a bag. Le sigh! But go look and drool. Heh heh. :)

In other news,

I downloaded the GSLIS program application today. To be filled out tonight. Then I need money for the application fee, two letters of recommendation, a current resume, a statement of purpose, a sealed transcript of my undergraduate credits thus far, my MAT scores delivered by the testing center, and a partridge in a pear tree. Phew.

Grad school, here I come. Puffing and panting, but still. :)

Vagina Monologues at URI are on February 19th, 20th, and 21st. Whoop whoop! I'll be in it, so I know you all wanna come see! :)

We're also going to be hosting a "That Takes Ovaries" open mic event of some kind, and Darcie, our director, is teaching a self-defense workshop during V-Week as well.

I am excited. :)

Painting assignment:

A mythological representation of yourself - not a literal or imagined self-portrait, but a non-literal portrait that represents you or something about you. Yourself in symbols, your mythos.

Any colors, any size - but we've been encouraged to go big.

Two weeks.

This is difficult, and I'm struggling with how representational I want to be, and how I want to interpret the things I'm thinking. But in the process, I have like 3 new ideas for paintings, and it's exciting. :)

This article is about a 7-year-old boy who was punished by his teacher for explaining to a friend that he has two moms, not a mom and a dad, because his mother is gay. The teacher objected to his using the word "gay", because it's a "dirty word".

"I was concerned when the assistant principal called and told me my son had said a word so bad that he didn't want to repeat it over the phone," Huff said. "But that was nothing compared to the shock I felt when my little boy came home and told me that his teacher had told him his family is a dirty word."

The Big Five Personality Test

Extroverted	||||||||||||	50%
Introverted	||||||||||||	50%
Friendly	||||||||||||	48%
Aggressive	||||||||||||||	52%
Orderly	||||||||||||||||	64%
Disorderly	||||||||||	36%
Relaxed	||||||||||||	48%
Emotional	||||||||||||||	52%
Openminded	||||||||||||||||	70%
Closeminded	||||||	30%

Take Free Big 5 Personality Test