balmofgilead

I saw a giant sign that said "Poly Pride" the other day. In Baltimore. 

And then I realized it was on the edge of the football field of Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, one of the magnet science-and-engineering high schools here, known to most as Poly.

Why metafilter wins at everything, ever:

http://ask.metafilter.com/154334/Help-me-help-my-friend-in-DC

"Are you anybody else's missing piece?"
"Not that I know of."
"Well, maybe you want to be your own piece?"
"I can be someone's and still be my own."
"Well, maybe you don't want to be mine."
"Maybe I do."
"Maybe we won't fit..."
"Well..."

A while ago I was going to start using twitter and then I stopped because I was going to try to use a private twitter account to keep a record of when I felt fatigued. Last night I realized that it seems I haven't really been feeling that kind of fatigue in a while - I haven't tweeted anything about it. Granted, it might be the wired anxiety of the past week and a half counteracting any tiredness, but I prefer to think the iron (and maybe vitamin D) supplements are doing their magic.  Yay.  YAY.

n.b. to people reading this: serum ferritin levels can matter even if you have lots of hemoglobin.  At least that's what my anecdata says.
n.b. n.b.: "anecdata" is an awesome word

*I take iron with vitamin C and also often try to eat a grapefruit (yes, a whole one, they're delicious and only 50 cents and why bother storing half in the fridge?) around the same time.

[Poll #1553773]

I was flipping through Newsweek in my doctor's waiting room today. They had an article about the iPad, and in it they had a blurb where they interviewed Steve Wozniak.  Quoth (well, paraphraseth) Steve: "I solved the battery life and lack-of multi-tasking issues on the iPhone.  I have two, and when the battery runs out or I need to multi-task, I use the other one."

Ahahahaha.
----
I found myself needing to type a bit on an iPhone (not mine) the other day and I couldn't stand it.  If there were any question in my mind about ever wanting one, it's gone.  I don't like touchscreens and I particularly don't like touchscreens that have zero give like the hard glossy iPhone surface.  I think I can generalize this up to the iPad (although we're getting one for the office so soon I'll actually know on that).  I'm hoping that someday the $30/month unlimited internet that can be used with ipads makes its way to the netbook-with-keyboard world soon.  And maybe not on the AT&T network?

From a friend:

"The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum" -Noam Chomsky

In some ways, this fits Orthodox Judaism to a T. 

Hah. I am so using the first two of these next time I want to avoid talking about work:
http://www.savagechickens.com/2008/10/a-little-less-conversation.html

What a story...
http://www.unpious.com/2010/03/the-wrong-questions/