blinder: (watching tv show on science channel) I can't imagine how a black hole can be so small and have so much mass.

dragon: good things come in little packages. Like dragons.

tv: There's this dark star,like a hungry dragon, it will grab you if you get too close but won't actively chase you, and it will utterly destroy you, it has big sharp teeth and a ravenous appetite and if you get too close it will tear you limb from limb...

Well, and here it is. Yeah, I know. Not New Year's.

I learned to fold an origami lotus before the clock ran out on '06. You may think that's a useless bit of paper, but unless you can fold one, don't knock it. Took me a month to learn because i suck at the paperfolding.

Code Widow: One who is left alone in the evenings, to have dinner alone, or with the codewriter's other family, while said codewriter slaves away in the code mines for long hours at a time. The codewriter will arrive home fatigued and stressed, to grab a few scant hours' sleep before returning at break of day to the mines.

And yet, blinder's the one i feel sorry for. At least i never have to work late. Being unimportant does have its good sides.

does, "Family-free holidays" mean, "Please come visit the day after christmas, and plan to stay a week"?

Apparently, English.

Don't get me wrong. I love blinder's dad- he's a sweet guy with a heart of gold.

On the other hand, this is not what i ignored my mother's phone calls to preserve. (Yes, my mother still calls when i ask her not to.)

Panda hippo gnu deer!!!

Well, here we are, the halcyon days (actually starting around the 14th), the end of the year.

The end of the year is when we consider not just the making of new resolutions, but the changing of things, the leaving things behind.

I'm not a huge fan of resolutions. This year has seen a lot of changes. Marriages, divorces, babies born, relatives passed on, and the endless progression though the adventures that make up life.

Merry Christmas!

I got a fountain pen. And a table of elements tshirt. And the ugliest lamp i've ever seen (from a coworker). And lots of candy and stuff. And knives, of course. Blinder got monkeys and robots. It's not about loot, but we had a lot of fun watching each other open little evidences of care and thought.

It's christmas eve. Yes, i went to work with blinder yesterday; i wasn't about to get cheated out of my time with him, so i just went to the office with him. Brought my knitting, told his project manager they need a 'code widow,' spot in the office where we can hang out.

He's out running errands, i'm home cleaning. I'll run over to the store in a bit. We're trying to have a very quiet tomorrow, so we want to get stuff done today.

1 cup raisins
1 cup bite-size pitted prunes
1 cup dates
1 cup candied cherries, dried cherries, or dried cranberries
(The theme here is you can use just about any dried fruits that you happen to have on hand.)

1 cup walnuts
1/2 to 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
granulated sugar

ring christmas bells i make a song

don't mess with blinder's kitchen he gets so angry and he might kick you

really really really kick you

but not at me cause i'm the dragons
i get away
with everything
get away with everything
get away with everything

ay mira mija mira mija mira mija

look out for the dragons look out for the dragons

****

Co-worker whom i don't know (hey, it's a big office) is going by my desk.

Lady: Hey, what an unusual name.

Dragon: Thank you.

Lady: No, i mean it's really unusual.

Dragon: Oh. Yes, i suppose it is.

Lady: Do you like it?

Dragon: Yes.

Lady: I've never seen that.

dragon: Oh.

Lady: How did you get it?

dragon: What?

Lady: I mean, what were your parents thinking?

dragon: WHAT?

Lady: No, seriously. Tell me about it.

We put up the tree last night.

Yay!

The best part is opening all the wrapping off the ornaments and seeing what we've got, because i never remember.

We didn't put all of them on, we mostly did the ones that looked classiest, because we have a smaller tree than last year.

It's purty.

NOW it feels like Christmas.

I was not allowed to get out the ornaments, because they are stored in the studio closet.

My question regarding the firehose/submittal question has been sent to CmdrTaco. If i get a response, i will post it.

Thanks,

sol

Per Short Circuit

And yes, if you go to the Firehose you'll see this Journal there.

I can't even begin to fathom the thought process behind this "behavior change".

At 11:02 -0500 2006.12.04, Michael Mol wrote:

The "Submit" checkbox in journal writting is currently being
ignored---and treated as CHECKED.

That's not a bug, but a behavior change. Journal entries without a
checkbox are sent to the firehose, but come in at a lower score.

What it will have:

Quorn roasts (slice them diagonally, it looks disturbingly like turkey and tastes similar but not quite the same.)

Mashed potatoes. And/or baked potatoes. Sonjamum sent us home with homegrown taters and we can't wait to serve them.

Stuffing. Blinder has his family's stuffing recipe. It's pretty good, we use gluten-free bread.

Peas. I like peas. Not everyone does, but we'll compromise. (see note below regarding squash)