Odds and Sods

J drew me some really beautiful pictures to take to work, and she taped "handles" to them, she said they were kinda like stop signs. One has a sun and flowers, and me and J playing outside and she wrote the word "HEART" on it, the other is just her outside by herself "waiting for me to come play with her". Really cool.

iPod listening today:

Bjork "headphones" and "aurora"
Guided by Voices "Bunco Men" and "Get Under It"
Elastica "hold me now"
Beatles "I'm Only Sleeping"
Doves "Pounding"
Smashing Pumpkins "Where Boys Fear To Tread"
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts "This Means War"
Beach Boys "I Get Around"
the Who - the entire "Tommy" album and parts of "Quadrophenia"

It is amazing how fast time travels- another year draws to a close. Getting out of debt(my goal is by March 1st now which seems doable), running in earnest(3 times per week to start until it is spring, then 4 times per week barring injury), and saving more money in our retirement fund are my priorites for the year(want to double it this year and then again next year). Note I said priorites not resolutions because I have found that my "resolutions" tend to fail.

And I still have not been drinking much, just water- let's see how long I can continue this. Plus I am taking some pills to supposedly remove toxins from my system, not sure yet if this is truly occurring.

I am still pleased that I ran twice last week but I cannot get all of the running shoes we saw at Niketown out of my head. Maybe next month we will go back and I will use the giftcard I got for Xmas(Thanks Dad)

Plus, my Mom gave me the first three seasons of Seinfeld on dvd for Xmas and I am trying to finish watching all of my Doctor Who stuff to watch the Seinfeld. Prestnly have watche about 20 of the Doctor Who and have 10 remaining. My plan is to watch at least 6 of the 10 by next Tuesday(Monday is a work day off).

The girls are growing up so fast that now I spend so much time in the evening watching them play, observing them and thinking about what will happen when they are older, will they still love me, will they still listen to me, will they get hurt bad in life, will they be happy. I decided being happy supercedes all other bullshit.

I just read an article that some kid left his high school and flew to Iraq, because when he is older he wants to be an "embedded Journalist". My question is, how did a teenager purchase a plane ticket to Iraq BY HIMSELF and fly all the way there. Obviosuly, his parents were freaking out because they thought he would be kidnapped, tortured, killed. Evidently he is on a plane back to the good ole US of A now.

iPod lately

Beatles- Blue Jay Way
Strokes - Under Control
REM - I Am Superman
Suede- Sleeping Pills
Franz Ferdinand - the Fallen
U2 - With Or Without You

Bye Mom!

Well all good things must come to an end and Mom had to leave to return home this morning. N was so upset that she cried until all the way until they got back to the toll booth! But now she is ok and calmer. It has ained so much the lst few days that practically all of the snow is now gone, which is weird to see. I ws used to the snow, it is winter, it needs to snow some more!

OK so now I have tons and tons of dvds to watch. I got lots of cool work shirts and pants from Aga and lots of dvds from my Mom. We watched the U2 Vertigo dvd on my birthday, it was filmed in Chicago and the show I was at with Aga so that is really cool. I really like how the dvd/concert begins, with a view of the Edge playing his guitar, the camera angles is above him, lookind down, very cool indeed.

I ran twice last week, 3.25 and then 2.25 miles. Baby steps, need to get my conditioning back gradually and make sure I do not reinjure my foot.

Also at some point I want to take N& J back to downtown Chicago and go on a horse carriage ride, they were so very enamored of the horses I am positive they would be unbelievably happy if they went for a special ride!

OK happy holidays everyone, stay healthy and happy.

Oh and yes I have finally watched Oprah's show- quite a bit lately as Aga got the 20 year anniversary dvd set. And I must confess, some of it is pretty inspiring, though I am reserving judgement on Oprah until I see some more.

Birthday

Today is my birthday, 36!

A great day from start to finish. Julia hugged me and said it was my special day, my birthday right when we woke up. then we all drove to Chicago and went to Niketown, the Apple store, and the Cheesecake factory.

Mpre later.

Christmas Eve

Brain is at an NFL game today!!!! The Chiefs.

Watched 2 more classic Doctor Who's - "Nightmare of Eden" yesterday and "Meglos" today.

Need to pick up the Christmas turkey at 4pm, and going to Mass at 9pm tonight.

Might attempt a 3 mile or so run when N&J nap!

Snowman

N & J made a baby snowman yesterday, he has a red scarf, a pink hat, button eyes. He is about their size, very cute.

Have been going out most of this way because my Mom is here visiting and helping by watching N & J. Mainly going out for dinner and then seeing a movie.

Everything is wonderful at home, the whole fmaily is ready for Christmas and we are glad we are not travelling this year so we can relax at home.

I have started focusing on my health because I had the unpleasant shock of having a co-worker abrubtly die last week- she was I believe 55, she had chest pains in the parking lot at the end of the day, asked that an ambulance be called for her, then went to the hospital and died that eveening, something went horribly wrong with her heart. I can only hope that all the walking and drinking water is helping. I will start running again when I am up to the task. Plus, I feel I owe it to N&J to be healthier so I can take care of them and be around them for a really long time. That is something I think about occassionally.

Sea Turtles Dietary Habits

Diet varies with species. Sea turtles may be carnivorous (meat eating), herbivorous (plant eating), or omnivorous (eating both meat and plants). The jaw structure of many species indicates their diet.

1. Green and black sea turtles have finely serrated jaws adapted for a vegetarian diet of sea grasses and algae. In adulthood, they are the only herbivorous sea turtles, but in an aquarium environment all sea turtle species can be maintained on a carnivorous diet.

2. Loggerheads' and ridleys' jaws are adapted for crushing and grinding. Their diet consists primarily of crabs, mollusks, shrimps, jellyfish, and vegetation.

3. A hawksbill has a narrow head with jaws meeting at an acute angle, adapted for getting food from crevices in coral reefs. They eat sponges, tunicates, shrimps, and squids.

4. Leatherbacks have delicate scissorlike jaws that would be damaged by anything other than their normal diet of jellyfish, tunicates, and other soft-bodied animals. The mouth cavity and throat are lined with papillae (spinelike projections) pointed backward to help them swallow soft foods.

5. Researchers continue to study the feeding habits of flatbacks. There is evidence that they are opportunistic feeders that eat seaweeds, cuttlefish, and sea cucumbers.

B. Eating habits.

Some species change eating habits as they age. For instance, green sea turtles are mainly carnivorous from hatchling until juvenile size; they then progressively shift to an herbivorous diet.

Hermie the Turtle

Christmas miracle: Turtle gets braces
December 16, 2005
from an article in the Boston Globe

WATERTOWN, N.Y. --Hermie the Turtle's little defective beak made meal time a struggle. Unable to close his mouth completely, the tiny 20-gram reptile's very existence was at stake.

But today, this map turtle has a new lease on life thanks to the work of two doctors who outfitted young Hermie with braces. Now, some are calling the orthodontic work a Christmas miracle.

"I've worked on animals before but nothing this small," said Dr. Peter M. Virga, a Watertown dentist who along with veterinarian Jeffrey G. Baier performed the unique procedure.

After receiving Hermie in May, zookeepers at the New York State Zoo in Watertown's Thompson Park noticed the turtle was having difficulty eating. Medical exams then showed Hermie's lower jaw growing downward.

"He may have adapted to eat like this, or he may have not made it," Baier said.

Turtles, who are toothless, use their beaks to break food down before grinding it with the plates in their mouths.

After Baier injected Hermie with two anesthetics Wednesday morning, Virga inserted four pins into the turtle's jaws, according to the Watertown Daily Times which published an account of Hermie's ordeal Thursday.

During a meeting with reporters, the doctors placed the immobile turtle, believed to be between 2 and 3 years old, on a table. As Baier held Hermie's head, Virga placed two rubber orthodontic elastics -- the same kind used by children with braces -- on the pins across the turtle's mouth.

While Hermie recuperates, zookeepers will remove the rubber bands once a day to allow the turtle to eat. In keeping with the spirit of Christmas, the doctors chose red and green rubber bands for Hermie's beak.

"It's very exciting and I was glad to help," said Virga, who's performed root canal surgery on dogs.

Baier's wife, Angela, the zoo's executive director, said she was thrilled such a small zoo could take part in such a rare procedure.

"Miracles happen this time of the year," she said. "Hopefully his beak will be fixed."

December 15th 2005

Hard to believe another year is drawing to a close. I suppose I am a bit wiser.

My latest thing has been going for long "constitutionals", was leaving the house and walking towards the girls school when they went to sleep, about 9pm, but this week managed to go about 7pm the last few evenings. It is good exercise but also it is cool to look at the many Christmas decorations and lights people put outside their homes. I wear my warm orange parka, it is the warmest coat I have ever owned, I really love it. Last night I managed to go about 4 miles, one of these days I will get up to 5 miles when possible.

Almost done with the Christmas shopping, just a few more people on my list.

I started downloading vintage "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" episodes onto my iBook, need to get them on the iPod eventually. These episodes always impress me as being so clever and I love them especially when they have that shocking twist at the end.

And I have been showing Julia the new trailers on the bbc website for the "Christmas Invasion" episode of Doctor Who. It amazes me how much Julia loves science-fiction- she really is interested in Star Wars and Doctor Who. Nicki still tells me stories about unicors, which is amazing, she is very creative. And they both have been drawing such wonderful pictures for us lately, it really makes me smile. They are so excited about Santa, and they also really talk about Rudolph often, they love how he has a red nose that guides Santa's sleigh.

Twins

Nicole is not feeling well today-she has a fever and a headache. N & J are playing with me tonight on the iBook.

Aids quote

"There are many who believe this disease is God's vengeance. But I believe it was sent to teach people how to love and understand and have compassion for each other."

Anthony Perkins

Linus Says....

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good will toward men.

- Linus
A Charlie Brown Christmas

Tibet

Was just thinking of that scene in Twin Peaks when Agent Cooper(as played by Kyle Maclachlan), assembles all of the sherriffs and deuties to recount his dream of Laura Palmer's killer, and flips around a chalkboard to display a map of Tibet.

Anyway, I found this info on Tibet of interest:

Over 1.2 million Tibetans have died as a direct result of the Chinese invasion and occupation of Tibet. Today, it is hard to come across a Tibetan family that has not had at least one member imprisoned or killed by the Chinese regime. These facts speak volumes about the "democratic reform" China claims to have brought to the "dark, feudal exploitative society" of Tibet.

Independent Tibet was certainly not an embodiment of perfect human society. But it was, by no means, nearly as tyrannical as it is today under Chinese rule. Its two biggest prisons, located in Lhasa, had, at any one time, no more than 30 inmates each. But, following Chinese invasion the whole of Tibet has been turned into a vast network of prisons and labour camps. There are reports that China even resorted to massacre of prisoners to keep the prison population within manageable limits.

Narnia/Xmas Shopping

I need to try and finish my Christmas shopping over the next several days, as we are not going home to Boston this year. Must ship all presents out ASAP!

I received a really cool email from my siter who lives in London-she went to the red carpet premiere of "Narnia" and there was an actual wardrobe with fur coats, and then when you passed through it their was snow and ice, and the waiters were all dressed up like characters from the book/film. I remember being so frightened of the White Witch when I read those stories, and being enamored of Aslan the lion. C.S. Lewis was a big on Christianity and Aslan obviously is Christ.

I can't wait to see this movie it should be good, on the radio this morning they were comparing it to the Lord of the Rings films, whcih are some of my favorites.

And the Apple store now has Alfred Hitchcock Presents vintage shows available to purcahse and download!

Snow

Snowfall today, shoveled, had a snowball fight with J and then took N&J for a ride on their sled, walked slightly over a mile.

I made the fantaasy football playoffs for the 5th consecutive year, hope I win again.

Andy's Poem

THE GREAT DARK by Martin Carter

Orbiting, the sun itself has a sun
as the moon on earth, a man a mind.
And life is not a matter of a mother only.
It is also a question of the probability of the spirit,
strength of the web of the ever weaving weaver
I know not how to speak of, caught as I am
in the great dark of the bright connection of words.

And the linked power of love holds the restless wind
even though the sky shudders, and life orbits
around time, around death, it holds the restless wind
as each might hold each other, as each might hold
each other.

Santa

Met santa this morning and J was thrilled- rushed to him and told of presents she requested. N was much more shy and refused to even look at Santa.

The set up outside Xmas decorations are a real hit with the twins- they even managed to open the blinds today to enjoy the decorations as they ate their dinner and watched "Dragontales".


What is amusing me most is how N & J keep telling me "You were good this year Daddy-Santa left you presents allready uner the tree.....maybe it is something Red Sox!!!".

Does Santa really think I need any other Red Sox gifts? LOL!

World Aids Day

Today, December 1st 2005 is World Aids Day. I have nothing profound to say about this, hopefully a cure will be found soon.