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Yay! Nicole got me the new Weird Al album! Those reading might think it’s strange that I didn’t have it before yesterday but from September through the end of the year I don’t buy anything. That way when people ask what I might like as a gift I don’t have to say “I dunno” because I already bought everything good. I just point them to the list I keep.

Anyway, another great album from Al! All the songs are great and the flip side is a DVD. The DVD has 6 music videos, the one for White & Nerdy, and 5 animated other ones. Also surround sound mixes of the album and karaoke mode! Oh yeah, there’s video of Al in the studio too.

I’m going to be listening to this all day!

In January 2006 Discover magazine changed ownership to be owned by Bob Guccione Jr. The change in content was immediate. Now a large percentage of the content is human interest stories about how a scientist felt about their research instead of abou ttheir research, tongue-in-cheek articles like the fight between Fahrenheit and Celcius, and a list of 20-things you didn’t know about X which is actually more like 15 because some of them are split into two to pad the list.

Anyway, they still manage to have good things from time to time (not good enough to subscribe anymore) but an interview with Newt Gengrich they ran in the October 2006 issue is one of the highlights of the past year. I didn’t know that he was a strong supported of sciences and probably would have ended up in a science related field had he not gone the history/politics route. After his time in congress he went to universities for a few years to catch up on what he had missed in science while he was in congress.

I thought the most interesting point of the interview was his suggestion that we pay kids to take math and science classes. I’ve heard pay schemes for kids before but this one sounded better to me because the kids would only get the payout if they got a B or better. The idea being that instead of kids spending time after school in a minimum-wage job, they can earn the same minimum wage and put the time to studying. I can see a few problems with it, especially as fights begin as to what is worth paying for, but the idea has potential I think.

I’ve now watched every episode of Scrubs and now I’m ready for the new season that starts at the end of the month. I’m glad I have two comedies to watch now (My Name is Earl is the other) and I’m really liking half-hour shows right now since it’s easier to find time to watch them.

We got the new color in the arrow ballots, and while they are more clear in what you are selecting, they are HUGE. They don’t even fit in the rickety voting booths. You have to juggle an over-sized envelope/folder, your voter’s guide, and maneuver this thing so you can color on the small part of the booth that is flat. At least it was busy there but that could be because the size of the ballot and number of things to vote on slowing everyone down.

I think the most disturbing part of this election though was a statement I found by one of the candidates after wondering why so many candidates had no statement or just a one-liner… “Candidate statements, once free, now cost $20 per word. Fight pay-to-play government–Vote Green. My statement: http://www.votecafiero.com/statement“. $20 a word?! That means that assuming pay-to-play and the URL are counted as one word, that statement right there cost $340. That blows the one chance some of the lesser funded candidates might have to get some votes.

But I still can’t remember much of them. About all I can remember from last night’s was that it took place about 20 years in the future and where Lulu Carpenter’s and the place next to are on Pacific was instead a public access restroom but it was open to the public. There was no front wall, just a dividing wall between the male and female sides, no stalls, everything out in the open for anyone walking by to see.

Apparently this was an effective way to keep people from doing drugs in the restrooms or camping out there. They were mostly safe but you got seriously looked down upon for using them. These were the toilets for people who couldn’t afford decent toilets.

I remember the looks people gave me as they walked by. How could I use these facilities. I recall that it was the only place to get safe potable water open to the public.

This weekend we planted a new ponderosa lemon tree to replace the old dead one. Hopefully this one makes it. It already has unripe lemons on it. Also all the dead weedy grass where the lemon tree is was removed, yay!

Then to top it all off we went to Ikea and got curtains. Tonight those will get hung.

We also tried out Leo’s Taco Bar on the corner of 17th and Brommer which makes it less than a two-minute walk from the house. The food was pretty good and reasonably priced. I think Taqueria Vallarta is better but this earns points for convenience. They also have breakfast burritos which I haven’t tried yet.

When I was leaving work last week my brake cable broke and the motor wouldn’t run. I called Rick at the Folks Cafe (formerly Volks Cafe) and he explained that power gets cut to the motor when the brake lever is pressed so unless I was holding it up it wouldn’t run. Good to know that I only needed to replace the brake cable.

Anyway, it was a really easy procedure. Unscrewed where it attaches to the wheel, removed the inner cable and taped the top of the new one to the bottom of the old one. Then I was able to pull the old one out the top and bring the new one up with it without taking off the front panel.

After that I just had to insert the cylinder end on the top in to the lever and feed the cable through the handle. Then attach the new cable end on the bottom to the front wheel. The longest part was walking from the bike cage to the office for some tape and scissors.

I was tired of my old dentist, Dr. Wickum. Mo told me about Dr. McClure. I didn’t call. After awhile I just stopped going. A few weeks ago I finally called and got to see Dr. McClure and I’m so happy now. He’s the first dentist I’ve actually liked! The hygenist seemed to take great joy in achieving smooth clean teeth. Unfortunately since she’s not full-time there she’s unlikely to be my hygenist in the future. Also I got an explanation for the migraine headaches I had in 5th grade (it was a stressful time and neurologists couldn’t find a reason for them). My first molars show signs of clenching my jaw or grinding my teeth that later ones don’t and those actions can cause migraines.

Does anyone want to dog/house sit November 22-November 25? Not too likely, I know, but I thought I’d ask. We want to go to my parent’s hosue, we want to not take the dogs and we want to not board them.

This one is fairly strange coming after God Emperor of Dune. 1500 years after Leto, the God-Emperor, dies there is no centralized ruling body for humanity. Conflicts still happen but they are fewer by far. There are powerful bodies but without a government to influence, what is the point of their power? You either get power for the sake of power, or you get power to perform noble causes and try to aid society. The Ixians (machine makers), the Spacing Guild, the Bene Theilax, and the Bene Gesserit are all in it for themselves.

Leto forsaw a famine and then the scattering of people far and wide. It is the scattering that would preserve humans, but now those people are starting to come back to the old empire. One group in particular from there are the Honored Matres. They seem bent on taking over the old empire worlds and gaining control of the spice. They have their own stimulant drug though it’s no spice.

There is a girl who can control the sand worms. After the worm carried a group to a hidden message for the Bene Gesserit I started thinking about the pearl of consciousness orf Leto that was supposed to be locked in each worm. He seems to still be running things, could the worms as a distributed intelligence still be holding everyone on the path Leto saw long ago? Well yes, that got confirmed later. The more the worms get destroyed, the more the path of humans is free from anyone’s control.

The Atriedes bloodline is still playing a big role in the universe. Their ability to not be seen by the prescient is in large demand, and the prescient abilities of the Atriedes are still right beneath the surface. The awakening in one of them is what shows them what needs to be done to attain freedom for the future.

Still no idea why Duncan Idaho is brought back over and over. This one has been grought back with upgraded reflexes though. He’s fast even for that time, but not as fast as Teg becomes.