Zero G fan post

IRON MAN: A WALK IN THE STARK
- "THERE ISN'T MUSHROOM IN THE
SUPERHERO BIZ FOR A FUNGI !!"
Originally uploaded by zero g

I'm crashed on the couch with my lymph nodes in my neck swollen up to obnoxious proportions, watching a dog show and wandering around flickr.

Ya'll probably already know I'm a fan of Zero G's photography, sculpture, radio show (when I can catch it - dude, podcast already! *wink*) and amazingly creative brains.

I couldn't roll a saving throw against being amazed by his work with Sculpey if I had a feat that guaranteed it.

Not so hot

A combo of mittelschmerz, upset stomach, and hot and cold running chills has kept me at home. Curled up on the couch with a stuffed manatee, while my Mister takes phone calls from potential employers.

He also decided to experiment with a bread baking method we hadn't tried yet. The whole house smells like fresh bread. He cooked it in a clay crock, with a lid on, preheated to about 500° F. When he pulled it out of the crock to cool, it started to crackle and snap as the crust contracted in the cooler air. It smells beautiful. It is a lovely crusty brown. It even sounds good. So my Honey's loaf of crackly bread is my beauty observed for today.

Now I'll go back to blearily watching reruns of Tony Bourdain's No Reservations through half closed eyes.

Catrina on Squirrel Patrol

Catrina on Squirrel Patrol
Originally uploaded by Pockafwye

Working from home one last day. Might've gone in today, as I'm nearing ready to entering a bunch of data into our database, which is slower over the vpn. But I started antibiotics yesterday for what might be strep (culture isn't back, definitely an infection of some kind) and I don't want to be near a pregnant co-worker until we know I'm not contagious.

Meanwhile, There are about 5 squirrels outside as I type this. They're fighting over the dish of corn outside the window.

The cats have been taking turns making sure the squirrels don't come inside. It must be a big deal having squirrels by the window, to make it worth interrupting the kittons' mid-day naps.

Zabartik tried to dig his way through the window for a few minutes. The squirrels were not impressed. He stalked away in what looked like a huff before I got out the camera. He's back now, watching them again, but the camera has been put away so I can get back to work. (edit: I did eventually pull the camera back out and take some shots of Zabster, too, but later on in the afternoon.)

Catrina has long since given up trying to actually reach the squirrels. She watches intently, but with none of the agitation the other cats display.

Back and forth

Back and forth
Originally uploaded by Pockafwye

Back and forth from home today to visit my doctor. Picked up a bug somewhere along the line that turned into a sinus and throat infection. I've been sick for two weeks, and getting progressively worse. Fortunately, it's the kind of thing that responds quickly to the miracles of modern medicine.

Also lucky for me it had warmed up quite a bit today, so I wasn't uncomfortably cold while out running around while sick. With temps around 20°F (-6° C), and no breeze, the locals were mostly out and about without hats or gloves, jackets unzipped. The fellows at the local Lunds grocery store who carry groceries out to your car even had on short sleeved shirts. I'm still "not from around here" and I am sick, so I had on a hat and warm jacket.

Also on a medical note, we just got the results back from the autopsy on our pet rat. The cause of G'Kar's death was apparently a heart defect that made him too weak to be anesthetized. The good news is that he tested completely negative for mycoplasma, which is very common in the domestic rat population, and highly contagious.

This is good news because we didn't have a proper quarantine period when he came into the house, and his cage was in the same room with our lady rats for several weeks. Our vets says that since he was clean, it is nearly certain that they don't have it either.

We're still very sad to have lost him. But we're so very glad to know he didn't die of something contagious.

Now, when we decide to bring a new male rat into the house, we'll need to try to seek out a breeder who is fairly certain that s/he doesn't have mycoplasma in her/his colony. You can't be positive with such things, I know. But outside of finding a lab rat, a reputable breeder is our best chance to avoid introducing the illness into our home. We just got lucky with our adoption from the Humane Society, and then a pet store rat.

Shhhh. We's nappin'

Shhhh. We's nappin'
Originally uploaded by Pockafwye

I have pretty much figured out by trial and error that there aren't many cold medicines that I can tolerate given my current daily meds. Even 12mg of Benadryl these days will make me too loopy to focus on difficult concepts (or read for pleasure, or type without liberal use of the backspace key and spell checker.)

Afrin seems to do alright, but since you can't use it for more than a couple of days, it doesn't help with a persistent cold. Guaifenesin seems to be side-effect free so it's on the approved list, but has limited effectiveness for a cold all by itself. Vitamins, liquids, the humidifier and healthy foods help, but not with immediate symptoms.

So this cold gets to run amok for the rest of the day, while I take a break from work before I do more harm than good to my project under the influence of a child's dose of Benadryl.

Going to have to make up the time tomorrow. In the meantime, I think the cats snoring on the sofa and in the sunbeams nearby have the right idea. All the critters in the house are napping except me.

100% Chance of snow

Just a quick post as I dive into a working from home frenzy.

According to NOAA it's 4°F (-16°C) out there right now with a wind chill of BRRRR!!! Well, -10°F (-23°C) wind chill, actually. But they're roughly the same. NOAA's also saying we've got a 100% chance of snow for tomorrow. Guaranteed. You betcha!

The rats all seem to be on the mend today. Hardly any sneezes from Dureena and Talia, and Delenn sounds a lot better. Keeping the humidifier running all the time isn't bad for the humans in the house either. The ratties are getting canned pumpkin and other moist treats, too, which is quite popular with all of them.

Well, break's over. Back to work.

The mummy speaks

29°F (-2°C) According to NOAA.

Working from home today. Thank goodness for the vpn.

I managed to catch one of the colds that was being shared all over the airplane, either on the trip out or a fast pouncing one on the way back. I can talk, but my voice sounds like a mummy recently risen from the tomb. Hmm... no, wait. Boris Karloff had a lovely voice as Im-ho-tep (dba Ardath Bey) in my favorite mummy film of all times: The Mummy (1932).

At any rate, I sound lousy. And I'm sick enough that the other denizens of our cube farm would really rather I didn't come in today.