How to Twice Someone

From Cyanide & Happiness



This is not one of my peeves, it is The peeve...


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Assorted interesting stuff!

I have a long running battle with my dog over his nails. He actually chews them so I don't have to clip them, but that leaves ragged edges...so I was excited to read an excellent system for making the whole thing easier!
The Nail Wars

Skeptifem asks: Is weight loss surgery a feminist issue?

The idea of weight loss as a goal in and of itself is scientifically controversial. Obesity has only been correlated with health conditions, not identified as a sole cause of any condition. Lifestyle and genetics play a role in the conditions typically associated with obesity. There is also controversy over the danger associated with the surgery itself

Weight loss may or may not be a 'good' thing, but being healthy is more important than being thin: something lost in the national discussion. And one can exercise and eat right and be healthy and still be overweight.




And Mike the Mad Biologist has an excellent point about school reform:

It's the environment students live in that is the largest determinant of student performance--and, despite claims to the contrary, we can do something about poverty

And yet we don't do something about poverty.

Side note: children also have priorities. I volunteer as a Guardian ad Litem, and I am always appalled at teachers who complain about a student not being focused in class and barely passing when they know this child is on their second or third foster home, having been removed from an abusive or neglectful situation. With everything going on, why would getting a good grade even be on the child's radar? They are busy trying to survive...

We need to find some compassion, and a method that doesn't penalize students. It's not fair to keep holding a kid back; and it's not fair to promote them when they have no mastery of the subject matter. There needs to be a third and fourth and maybe even fifth or tenth option here...

And for no reason at all:


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The Most Important Thing

"The most important thing that parents can teach their children is how to get along without them."
- Frank A. Clark



H/T to @enlightndparent

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My first 10 mile run

(This is from March of 2007, but since I'm starting to run again I think it's important to remember my first long run. Photos from www.giftedrunner.com)

Well, I had my absolute worst run ever. I mean, worse then the very first time I ran, with the totally opposite kind of shoe then I needed, after 37 very fine years of sitting on my butt and refusing to break a sweat for anything that did not involve food at the end, (although running DOES involve food at the end, which is why I decided to start. It fell into my strict parameters of acceptable behavior. In fact, it involves EXTRA food, so it's okay by me.)



But this...this was bad. Bad in the way poison ivy over 40% of your body is bad. Bad in the same way watching the chef walk out of the restroom without washing his hands--after finishing your meal--is bad. I ran out of water before mile 6, and lost all energy midpoint at mile 8. I started bad, and then, with great determination and digging deep down into the bottom of whatever will I have, got steadily worse.

I've been doing about a 12 minute mile. My best was 11:15, I've had some shorter runs (3 miles, give or take) at a steady 11:40 pace, and my 9-miler I did a fabulous (for me) 12:21 pace. I am not a zippy fast runner, by any stretch.



But today...well, you decide:

12:37
13:27
13:22
13:04
13:25
13:49--ran out of water, couldn't take a GU.
14:36
14:49
16:22
16:58
I actually walked the last mile and half. Well, if by "walk" one means limping along, cussing inventively under my breath, and cataloging all the bits of me that hurt--many of which, may I take this opportunity to say, I had no idea I even had. Oh, and shivering in the sudden wind.

I actually didn't want to count it as my very first double-digit run. For one thing, it wasn't a 10 mile run. It was an 7 mile run, a one mile hop, and a 2 mile crawl. (I wonder if it's a sort of triathlon?) I was considering logging it as a 7 or 8 miler, and happily repressing the memory of those last 2 miles.

My husband, however, pointed out that I actually did cross the finish line, metaphorically speaking. Well, and literally speaking. And he pointed out that, at a race, crawling across the finish line counts. But it feels vaguely like cheating. Like winning the Daytona 500 under a caution flag. Like winning the World Series because of a referee error. Like crawling across a finish line...

I suppose I should take heart in that I didn't--as my body was crying out for me to do--just lay down on the path and quietly expire, or at least take a short nap.

Well, I did do 10 miles. My first double digit. I hated almost every step, and several times thought that stopping would be an excellent idea, but couldn't, because my car was still 3 miles away (yet another reason to do an out-and-back, because after the halfway point, you really have no choice. No choice at all.)

So, yes, I logged it as 10, with an average pace of 14:15. I walk faster then that, but hey, it's done. Now I will work on forgetting the last half, and remembering only the first few miles, when I was almost enjoying myself.

I suppose that all runners either have had a Very Bad run, or will have a Very Bad run. I've had mine. In a way, this, too, was a Rite of Passage, and allows my entry into that circle of runners... "Oh, you think THAT'S a bad run? Well, let me tell you about the time I was running with iron boots on, uphill the whole way...it was the MC Escher half marathon, and we figured we could finish before the hurricane really hit..."

Another milestone (pardon the pun) completed...


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Perspective

From here.

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Running With Dogs!

Pooch to 5k is sheer awesomeness!!

From the site:

"Personal training for dogs. You're kidding, right? Actually, no, we're not. Research suggests up to 40% of our dogs are overweight, and they suffer from the same health complications that overweight people do. Veterinarians (including myself) are becoming more and more concerned about the increase in joint pain, heart disease and other obesity related illnesses in dogs.

Hence, Pooch to 5k. Dogs can't lift weights, or use the gym. If you're going to increase their fat burning, you need to increase the intensity of their exercise. This means that a daily stroll just won't cut it any more, it's too laid back. The Pooch to 5k program will help you get your dog from doing nothing much to comfortably running 5km, over a period of 12 weeks."

My Little Mac does an easy 7 miles with my husband...


I think this is great, a real win-win. So lace up, leash up, and get running! Meet you at the track :)


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Article: A Forced Eugenics Survivor Speaks Her Truth

"When North Carolina's Eugenics program ended in 1974 more than 7,600 people were sterilized.  North Carolina had one of the most coercive eugenics program sterilizing people for "epilepsy, sickness and feeblemindedness."  Though the aforementioned were the stated reasons they also sterilized for promiscuity, homosexuality and so-called criminal intentions. "

They were doing this DURING MY LIFETIME. My current state was, during my lifetime, sterilizing people WITHOUT THEIR PERMISSION. 

While there isn't enough money in the world to somehow make this right, I hope NC stands up and does something to atone for this violation.

Please read the article. While it is heartbreaking it also serves as a reminder of why the State--or anyone else-- cannot have the right to determine who can be a parent.

A Forced Eugenics Survivor Speaks Her Truth
http://www.womanist-musings.com/2011/08/forced-eugenics-survivor-speaks-her.html

(Sent from Flipboard)

Weekend with Dogs

So I went with some friends to their beach cottage, and of course their dogs went with. We had a wonderful dinner and relaxed on the porch and then I crawled into bed, hoping to rest up for a day on the beach.

But at some point in the night my door sllloooooowly crept open, and on soft paws came a dog.

And another.

And another.

I drifted awake feeling vaguely crowded, looked across the bed and saw this:


Three Dobermans sharing my (full-sized) bed!

Tilly was sharing my pillow, Bonnie was using my knees as her pillow, and Duke was staring out the window.

Here is a better shot of Duke:


He looks so pensive. Maybe he wishes he could be outside chasing the bunnies and foxes. Maybe he's remembering the days before he was rescued. Maybe he was planning his next big bark...we will never know.

Bonnie, however, was quite content to be with me:


Either that, or she was protecting me from floating up in the event of a sudden lose of gravity...

Yes, sleeping with three large bed-hogging dogs can be...positionally challenging. On the plus side, eviction is easy.

Just say the magic words, "Breakfast? BREAKFAST!"


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Squee!

Pallas kittehs! SQUEE!





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Sex Scandal in the Mennonite Community

Trigger Warning for rape and assault...

This is horrible:
_____________________
But the nightmare appears to be all too real. Wall is among 130 women and girls of the Mennonite colony in Manitoba Colony, who claim that from 2005 to '09, the same cloudy horror visited them. They're the victims of what is allegedly one of the ugliest sex scandals in the history of the Mennonites, a pacifist Christian Anabaptist denomination founded in Europe in the 1500s, if not Bolivia and South America. In a criminal trial now under way in nearby Santa Cruz, Peter Weiber, 48, a Mennonite veterinarian, is accused of transforming a chemical meant to anesthetize cows into a spray to be used on humans. For four years, Weiber and eight other Mennonite men allegedly sprayed the chemical through bedroom windows in Manitoba at night, sedating entire families and raping the females. One of the men is a fugitive, the others have pleaded not guilty. If convicted, each faces a maximum 30-year prison sentence.
________________________

The age range of victims: 3 to 60.

The problem with closed communities is that the bad is also closed in.

My heart goes out to the victims and their families, and the community.

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Where Children Sleep...

I was reading a wonderful blog and discovered a project of photos showing where children sleep...

Here are a few:

Jasmine, 4, in Kentucky




And Indira, 7, Nepal



The stories they tell can be heartbreaking.

Here is a four year old in Romania:





And Erien, in Rio. She is 14, and slept on the floor until the last stages of her pregnancy...



I'm going to buy the book. Well, as soon as it is back in stock.

See more at The New York Times.

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Found Dog

Thursday I found a dog. He was on the side of the road, skinny and covered in fleas. I stopped the car and raced across the road and he went belly up, tail wagging. I had to carry him to the car, and then carry him out to the SPCA.

Don't worry, they have my number. If they can't find a home for him I've decided I'll name him Paco. Because he looks like a Paco, that's why. Don't judge...


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Guardian ad Litem

I am a Guardian ad Litem. That means I volunteer. I volunteer to go meet with children who have been removed from their homes. And I talk to parents and friends and relatives and counselors and anyone else that might be involved.

And I go to court and I speak for the child.




It has bad moments. Long histories of abuse, broken families, tragedy.

But it also feels good to lend my voice to someone who is silenced. Who is tossed into the fray of buracrecy and competing agendas with no weapons and not even a clue as to what's at stake.

It's well worth the sleepless nights and hours hunched over a computer trying to get a court report just right...

Because it matters. What I say matters. To the life of a child.

So even when I can't sleep, I can still rest easy.

Do it. Call today. Donate some time, be the voice for a child.


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Ancestors

Sometimes I do think of my long line of ancestors...


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Indeed, a shirt to make people keep their distance...





I need to buy several!


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Things that make you say...

Hmm? Is self esteem over rated? (Hint: yes!)

"The modest correlations between self-esteem and school performance do not indicate that high self-esteem leads to good performance. Instead, high self-esteem is partly the result of good school performance. Efforts to boost the self-esteem of pupils have not been shown to improve academic performance and may sometimes be counterproductive."

::YAWN:: Why am I so tired in the mornings?

Since I've had insomnia issues, this one made sense to me, especially this bit:

"7. You get a full night’s sleep but feel groggy all the time or get sleepy while driving.

What it’s a symptom of: This signals circadian rhythm problems or, more simply, getting out of sync with night and day. Irregular sleep patterns, staying up late under bright lights, working a shift schedule, using computers and other devices in bed, and having too much light in the room while you sleep can disrupt your body’s natural sleep-wake cycle."

So staying up late to write blog posts? Not such a great idea, actually...

WTF?! Because housing teen girls with sex offenders makes perfect sense in Kansas...

And

Aww, I want more arms!


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This...

...is my dog:





He is awesome. True fact.

He runs 8 miles with my husband. Because I don't run fast enough, that's why.

Plus, he climbs under the covers and cuddles up tight.

His name is Mac. Or Mac-A-Doo. Or Mac-A-Doodle. Or Doodle. Or Doodle Bug. He also answers to "Cookies!"

And he will chase a tennis ball forever, or until he gets tired, which ever comes first.


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