adventures in and out of public transit

water parks are super awesome until you have to go to the bathroom and you realize that you're flip flops are in your locker because they fly off on the rides and suddenly you're in a public toilet with bare feet and you're crying thinking about all the germs.

a crazy guy on the bus was talking to himself or someone i couldn't see about something when he blurted out,"the last time i saw Morgan Freeman he was god," i laughed. that was probably the least memorable of Morgan's roles.

call of action/birthday eve/thursday

david sedaris will laugh at you if you fall down, he thinks its hilarious and i agree.

also, if someone could take care of the fires it would be greatly appreciated, its hurting my head.

cursory glance

yesterday i listened to george carlin on three different podcasts. each one played the seven words you can never say on television with all the good words bleeped out. its still really funny.

and now i have to ask, since when does the price is right play during primetime? seriously? i haven't watched it since drew took over, mostly because i have a real job and am never home for daytime television. but it seems wrong to have it play at night.

eh

i am almost too hungry to blog. its a cold monday.

however, its nice to know that someone is putting sports bras to good use.

what is the world coming to?

this blows my mind. ultrasonic welding? seriously?

p.s. evolution is real people, get with it.

fitchburg, mass

i found this really great key on the ground today. its old and i have no idea what it might unlock. the top, isn't shaped like my boring house key which has that distinct 80's shape and for some reason makes me think of datsons. it has a clover feel to its shape and has decorative dots and swirls. on one side it reads

independent
lock co
1004
fitchburg, mass


the 1004 part is what really has my imagination working. is it an address? but whats the street name? it couldn't be a year because well... for so so many reasons. its not like i had it excavated, it was on the sidewalk of parnassus. it does however have a lovely brassy color. being the good scientist that i am, i soaked the key in 70% ethanol, followed by a bleach/hydrochlorite mixture and water. i did my work and listened to my podcasts but my mind kept on drifting back to the key. from movies like skeleton key (i know, ridiculous) to wondering if it was a house key why someone would have a massachusetts key in california, i mean its not like key making is some lost art. but on the flipside this fitchburg is one fine looking key, precious and inviting.

so instead of imagining i took to google and did some research. (typical)

the independent lock co was in fitchburg, mass from 1930 to 1960, at 35 daniels street. it was bankrupt by 1970 and bought by A. Fish

the number 1004, is the model number, which is sadly obvious and not so exciting. a model 1054 was taken and listed in a really really long list of items of personal property taken inventory by the FBI in the US supreme court case, kremen vs. united states.

and lastly that this lock company must have been pretty fancy because i found at least four different obituaries that list it as a place of employment.

i think i'll turn my 38+ year old key into a necklace.

on a totally different note. ursula k le guin thinks you should read doctor zhivago.

dress up

its time we all came to terms with the fact that some people are gay, let them marry and be merry, jeez.

on a separate note, i got to play mommy today with my friend's 10 month old son and people really react to you differently when they think you're a mom. so many smiles, it was lovely. oh and when you pass other moms with strollers there's like a secret hand shake. its awesome.

my monday; pondscum, world records and essentials for summer afternoons

today was a painfully boring monday, but thankfully my podcasts and co-workers enlightened me with the following thrilling anecdotes. (take thrilling lightly)

pondscum is considered by many marine biologists to be a derogatory name for phytoplankton, those poor diatoms and dinoflagellates. its nice to know that people are finally sticking up for a very important part of marine ecology.

this just might be the coolest thing ever, dare i say. thank you baron bob, i had almost forgot about go fishing day. let me know when you can help me with an it's it too!

i did learn that, thankfully, i am not tone deaf, which was not really a big concern of mine, but is still a real relief since i come from a family with a long history of musical talents. so although i lack talent at least i can hear the right tones.

and lastly, something completely ridiculous. the world record for keychains is 41,418 but i'm pretty sure mr tyler from topeka will disagree.

a bad day for bush

so i'm a regular nine-to-fiver, sad but true. what this means is that i spend the majority of my days trying to get through the day without feeling terribly like a nine-to-fiver and being very angry about it. i am addicted to podcasts and with the fiscal year ending and the rush for grant writing, there is very little work for me to do.

this is what i learned today.
the prosecutor that put away charles manson just wrote a book about how to put george bush away too.
kucinich wants to impeach bush. because we could handle the last eight years, but six more months is unbearable.
r. kelly didn't testify in his trial and the chicago journalist that received the sex tape pleaded the fifth. which to my non-tv mind is so cool, i didn't think people actually did that all that often, but i guess if the verdict would mean that you were in possession of child pornography then that would be the time to do it.
there is a website help group for women procrastinators.
oh and i'm a bit behind on my naked scientist podcasts, a month ago they spent almost thirty minutes talking about poop and/or farts and/or intestines.
and of course, habeas corpus literally means having the body.

whew, i'm exhausted. its the weekend and its windy. enjoy.

the dental amalgam conspiracy

apparently the FDA is just now realizing that maybe putting mercury in people's mouths is not the best idea. this only reinforces my theory that at some point dentistry left science and sold their collective souls in order to cause people pain and take their money.

on a brighter note, it was a beautiful day and mostly mercury free

insert throat clearing noise here

and then she said... let there be blogging.