Life and (a few) linketies
Really good "weekend" this week; we got a great deal done on the house and yard, it was payday for me, due to unexpected TV-death we're getting a flat-screen TV for the first time (just in time for the next Doctor Who episode tomorrow, which was a factor when deciding how much we were willing to pay for shipping) and the SANE training went really, really well. Also, Ringo does not like baths, and never just gives up and takes it (he actively fought to escape the whole damned time) but at least he forgives quickly. Given that he seems to consider it his job to turn himself utterly grey exploring odd corners (saves us on dusting, I suppose), this is good. And Leroy got his massive spring trim and a bath. I only trimmed from the neck down so far, so he's looking extra silly. All the long neck hair on the back of his head is giving him quite a mullet. Also, my folks and sibs are all safe from the rash of tornadoes in Alabama in the past few days, but not from lack of trying, at least on my folks' part. Mom and Dad decided to drive _through_ the tornadoes, up to northern AL for a clergy campus at a summer camp. *headdesk* Apparently they missed one of the tornadoes by a few minutes. Not sure where in hell they'd've found a basement at Camp McDowell, had the storms come their way once they arrived. We had really high winds up here, but nothing anywhere near so catastrophic. They made a mess of the yard and porches, and I know power was out in some areas, but we just had a quick flicker.
Also, I'd like to fall over go boom now. So very, very tired. Still, I actually did some of the yard work and some of the housework and feel much less useless and slackerish. Grafton's mostly responsible for the lovely new flagstone paving replacing one of our corners of gravel and dirt, though. It really expands the feel of the little side yard, and it now feels much less like sitting on the berm of a highway. Grafton got a line on a bunch of free bricks and flagstone (yay!) due to a friend being foreclosed (boo!), and is collecting even more today. He's already replaced the border of another side yard bed with brick, and things are looking less trashy every day. I actually think we may not hideously embarrass Christina when her house is on the homes tour on the 15th of this coming month, so hoorah for that! I took some pics of the progress the other day, and will try to get those uploaded soon.
The SANE (sexual assault nurse examiners) training was yesterday, and I'm really, really excited about the program we're creating. This was our third meeting, and first trial run-through of a session. Despite some dog-related delays to starting (one of the nurses found a stray in the parking lot, and was waiting for the APL to show up, so we all ended having a nice break out there for a while), it went wonderfully well. There are two experienced SANE nurses running the SANE training program, one trainee for us to practice on (an awesome, and hysterically funny, firecracker of a woman), Casey coordinating it for the Sim Center, and Amy and I working in a dual role-play/instructor role. It's the duality of our role that's really complicated in terms of design of the program, so this was a chance to try out some ideas about ways to handle that. It was also the first chance for Casey and the SANE instructors to really see what we can do, in terms of pelvic exam technique training. We impressed them, and I'm proud. We got hugs and high-fives on the way out; I think we did ok. Also, I survived doing something vaguely related to acting. That's a huge phobia for me, so I'm very pleased.
Some part of my brain is still wrapped up in my dreams from this morning. I don't precisely recall them, but that isn't stopping my brain from meandering back into whatever feeling they were giving me. I've been having more vivid dreams recently in general, I've noticed. I suspect it's a seasonal thing, since I haven't changed any meds recently.
Cashing In On Fear: The Danger of Dr. Sears -- because anti-vax crap came up recently, and I was looking for links. Figure it's worth sharing here, too.
More: While I'm at it, here's a bunch more links
More: And their entire Archive for the 'Vaccines' Category
Honestly, I don't care if folks kill themselves or their own kids by not vaccinating. It's sad, but it's their decision to live with. Unfortunately, it's not usually what happens. What happens is that they get other people sick. Infants too young to be vaccinated, people with HIV, the elderly, etc. Those are the people who die. That's what makes me ragingly angry about this topic. It's like antibiotic overuse; it endangers all of us. It isn't a decision that can happen in isolation. Questioning everything is good. Refusing to accept that once in a while the answers actually line up with with some element of the "mainstream"? Cutting off one's nose despite one's face. There's a lot to fight about our hugely fucked up medical system, this just isn't it. I highly recommend Jerry Avorn's Powerful Medicines: The Benefits, Risks, and Costs of Prescription Drugs as a starting point, although I've also found that almost anything by Atul Gawande is also well worth reading (more of a surgical focus there, though).
CenterLink's Job Board shows current job openings at LGBT community centers as well as at other organizations and institutions whose work is closely related to the needs and interests of LGBT communities
Joanna Russ (1937-2011)
More: How to remember and discover Joanna Russ
Oscar Wilde takes on Jersey Shore, hilarity ensues
Teacher’s novels upset parents
They are too racy, 2 moms complain -- Oh, good grief.
How many definitions of science fiction are there?
A Gay Girl in Damascus: My father, the hero
Quantum effects brought to light
Top 10 Underground Walks
Study: First stars were massive, fast-spinning
Treating Girls Like Women: Sexualization and Precocious Puberty
Intro to Migraines
More: Migraine Myths
More: Migraine Triggers
Also, I'd like to fall over go boom now. So very, very tired. Still, I actually did some of the yard work and some of the housework and feel much less useless and slackerish. Grafton's mostly responsible for the lovely new flagstone paving replacing one of our corners of gravel and dirt, though. It really expands the feel of the little side yard, and it now feels much less like sitting on the berm of a highway. Grafton got a line on a bunch of free bricks and flagstone (yay!) due to a friend being foreclosed (boo!), and is collecting even more today. He's already replaced the border of another side yard bed with brick, and things are looking less trashy every day. I actually think we may not hideously embarrass Christina when her house is on the homes tour on the 15th of this coming month, so hoorah for that! I took some pics of the progress the other day, and will try to get those uploaded soon.
The SANE (sexual assault nurse examiners) training was yesterday, and I'm really, really excited about the program we're creating. This was our third meeting, and first trial run-through of a session. Despite some dog-related delays to starting (one of the nurses found a stray in the parking lot, and was waiting for the APL to show up, so we all ended having a nice break out there for a while), it went wonderfully well. There are two experienced SANE nurses running the SANE training program, one trainee for us to practice on (an awesome, and hysterically funny, firecracker of a woman), Casey coordinating it for the Sim Center, and Amy and I working in a dual role-play/instructor role. It's the duality of our role that's really complicated in terms of design of the program, so this was a chance to try out some ideas about ways to handle that. It was also the first chance for Casey and the SANE instructors to really see what we can do, in terms of pelvic exam technique training. We impressed them, and I'm proud. We got hugs and high-fives on the way out; I think we did ok. Also, I survived doing something vaguely related to acting. That's a huge phobia for me, so I'm very pleased.
Some part of my brain is still wrapped up in my dreams from this morning. I don't precisely recall them, but that isn't stopping my brain from meandering back into whatever feeling they were giving me. I've been having more vivid dreams recently in general, I've noticed. I suspect it's a seasonal thing, since I haven't changed any meds recently.
Cashing In On Fear: The Danger of Dr. Sears -- because anti-vax crap came up recently, and I was looking for links. Figure it's worth sharing here, too.
More: While I'm at it, here's a bunch more links
More: And their entire Archive for the 'Vaccines' Category
Honestly, I don't care if folks kill themselves or their own kids by not vaccinating. It's sad, but it's their decision to live with. Unfortunately, it's not usually what happens. What happens is that they get other people sick. Infants too young to be vaccinated, people with HIV, the elderly, etc. Those are the people who die. That's what makes me ragingly angry about this topic. It's like antibiotic overuse; it endangers all of us. It isn't a decision that can happen in isolation. Questioning everything is good. Refusing to accept that once in a while the answers actually line up with with some element of the "mainstream"? Cutting off one's nose despite one's face. There's a lot to fight about our hugely fucked up medical system, this just isn't it. I highly recommend Jerry Avorn's Powerful Medicines: The Benefits, Risks, and Costs of Prescription Drugs as a starting point, although I've also found that almost anything by Atul Gawande is also well worth reading (more of a surgical focus there, though).
CenterLink's Job Board shows current job openings at LGBT community centers as well as at other organizations and institutions whose work is closely related to the needs and interests of LGBT communities
Joanna Russ (1937-2011)
More: How to remember and discover Joanna Russ
Oscar Wilde takes on Jersey Shore, hilarity ensues
Teacher’s novels upset parents
They are too racy, 2 moms complain -- Oh, good grief.
How many definitions of science fiction are there?
A Gay Girl in Damascus: My father, the hero
Quantum effects brought to light
Top 10 Underground Walks
Study: First stars were massive, fast-spinning
Treating Girls Like Women: Sexualization and Precocious Puberty
Intro to Migraines
More: Migraine Myths
More: Migraine Triggers