"Ornament inspiration?" written by Heidi on estrip.org

12/14/10 06:21 - 19.ºF - ID#53273

Ornament inspiration?

I took these shots from my bedroom window this afternoon. Were Christmas tree ornaments inspired by such little gems as this? Matthew's fantasy Victorian tree with its vintage ornaments (e:matthew,53209) made me think of a big bag of shiny red fat teardrop ornaments with snow caps that I used to have, which I loved and hung on the chandeliers. The tree also reminded me of those. I left them, along with nearly every other holiday item I owned, with my brother when I left for school and sold him my house. I can't find an image of those exact ornaments, but these red ones are kinda close and at least show the style. My dad used to work for Corning Glass Works, which was a supplier of classic "Shiny Brite" ornaments, so I think that's where they were from. He'd bring home ornaments every year.

(same shot, different cropping)

Permalink: Ornament_inspiration_.html
Words: 158
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 12/14/10 06:32

Category: weather

12/13/10 10:00 - 12.ºF - ID#53268

If ya didn't know...

It's snowing.

Permalink: If_ya_didn_t_know_.html
Words: 3
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 12/13/10 10:00

Category: school

12/13/10 12:48 - 13.ºF - ID#53259

Final tally

Three empty waterman pen refills for 58 handwritten pages of notes.

I couldn't find replacement nibs for it that (e:tinypliny) suggested are fun to trade. I'd love a fine point. The medium point is quite broad and doesn't give the nice thick-thin strokes that I like. I might not have been as picky about fine point pens when I bought it about 12 years ago. I still like the purple ink :-)

Permalink: Final_tally.html
Words: 72
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 12/13/10 12:49

Category: school

12/12/10 04:48 - 35.ºF - ID#53249

Fountain pen refills

I broke out my waterman fountain pen to work on studying for my local government law final tomorrow. I'm on my third refill.

Permalink: Fountain_pen_refills.html
Words: 24
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 12/12/10 04:48

Category: school

12/08/10 07:54 - 20.ºF - ID#53222

Random photos

I have my first of three finals this morning... Wish me luck! Here are some pix from the last few days. Sunshine!

Permalink: Random_photos.html
Words: 26
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 12/08/10 07:54

Category: home

12/01/10 05:30 - 33.ºF - ID#53188

Excellent summary video

... of issues with natural gas drilling. It was shot mostly in Bradford County, Pa., the county east of Tioga and does a nice job of capturing how beautiful it is there. 14 minutes.

Oh, and the guy who sold his natural gas drilling company, East Resources to Shell for $4.7B wants to buy the Sabres, after he gave Penn State $88M to build an arena for their to-be-developed Div.I hockey team. East/Shell owns most of the gas rights in Tioga County.

Permalink: Excellent_summary_video.html
Words: 100
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 12/01/10 05:34

Category: school

11/30/10 10:11 - 55.ºF - ID#53183

in class today...

I brought up an article I read this week about Tea Party members being against sustainable development efforts, or most zoning in general, that they think it's to create "human habitation zones" and it's a UN plot.

Later, someone else brought up about the new food safety bill that passed today and he thought it was a good thing because of the salmonella and e-coli breakouts in peanut butter and cilantro and whatever.

The bill gives the FDA more power over food inspections.

A classmate got REALLY upset and ranted about the FDA doing more harm than it's ever done good, citing an example of the FDA raiding a raw food coop in California

and you know, people have died waiting for drug trials. She then essentially said I was calling the Tea Party people crazy and that they just want smaller government and government is so bad, and then quoted Glen Beck to support her argument.

blink*

Do people really believe that the FDA is bad? I'm not very interested in the topic outside of appreciating that they do recall drugs that kill you or make you fly airplanes into houses on suicide missions. In general, it feels like a "too little too late" kind of agency.

The prof was very very diplomatic in calming the ruffled feathers.

jason writes at 06:42:36 12/01/10 - Comment #59507: Ok, sorry for the MJ rant. I'll just drop it as it isn't pertinent to your post. I'm honestly sorry for that, even if I really do hate them.

Appeal to authority is always a logical fallacy, regardless of whether it is Glenn Beck, Noam Chomsky, the Cookie Monster, or whoever else. Your classmate made a bad argument worse (Died waiting for drug trials? Ridiculous, and comparable to people claiming if only GWB weren't President, Michael J. Fox would be cured).

I, for one, am thankful that the FDA exists. I'm glad I have clean water and safe food. I can go through life and feel satisfied, without having ever eaten unpasteurized Brie. That's an agency I like in general.

jason writes at 05:32:24 12/01/10 - Comment #59505: A Tea Partier wrote an analysis of Agenda 21, and came up with some reasons they find it objectionable. I talk with Tea Party types every day, unlike their critics, and this is the first time I've even heard of this so called issue. The part of MJ's article I find suspicious is the idea that it constitutes some kind of "threat". Against what?

It is reminiscent of another bullshit "threat" Mother Jones wrote about earlier this year - the idea that soldiers are lining up to wage war against the Obama administration.

The cover had a mean-looking soldier, with AGE OF TREASON next to him. He's not alone! Watch out! But what did the STORY say? It was about the Oath Keepers, another thing MJ said was a "big deal" among people they don't understand or communicate with. The story was meant to scare gullible progressives into thinking that there was violence afoot, and the cover was meant to blur the distinction between regular American soldiers and the Oath Keepers.

Not only were they dead wrong on the threat and the importance of Oath Keepers to hard core conservatives, the only violence from soldiers was at Fort Hood, the kind of violence Mother Jones types want to pretend isn't a threat.

So, yes. I advise you guys take anything Mother Jones says about people they hate with two giant, heaping spoonfuls of salt.

heidi writes at 04:28:28 12/01/10 - Comment #59502: Um... sure (e:jason), here's what the Tea Party is saying: :::link::: or :::link:::

(e:jbeatty) - I thought her argument was stuipd, too. And you're right... I don't think I really meant that the FDA is too little, too late. Thanks for your input.

jason writes at 03:26:42 12/01/10 - Comment #59501: I would take anything Mother Jones says about Tea Party members with giant scoops full of salt.

jbeatty writes at 10:05:01 12/01/10 - Comment #59500: What bothers me about people who want smaller government at all costs is the elimination of agencies like the FDA. I can't comment on the food inspection side of things because I have no familiarity on the subject. I am however a drug manufacturer. I'm regulated on a daily basis by the USP and FDA on how I compound drugs. I don't see them as a "too little too late" sort of agency. They are very proactive about making sure the drugs you get are safe and efficacious. I have drugs fail quality control on a monthly basis. Believe me it would be much more cost effective to release a drug that didn't meet strict guidelines than it would be to re-synthesize them. Your classmates argument that "people have died waiting for drug trials" is quite frankly stupid. Drug trials take a long time for a reason. The last thing anyone wants to see happen is another thalidomide being approved.

tinypliny writes at 10:40:43 11/30/10 - Comment #59494: I don't think the FDA is bad, in general. It has several merits as a regulating authority. (Seriously, raw milk enthusiasts need to get most of their facts straight and look at food poisoning statistics in less fortunate countries around the world before crying blue murder.)

However, the FDA is only as good as the people who run its offices. If they are non-scientifically inclined, then decisions that pass through them are bound to be stilted and ridiculous. What it probably needs is a rotating non-biased external scientific advisory expert body/panel that assesses key issues before major decisions are set in motion.

Permalink: in_class_today_.html
Words: 241
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 11/30/10 10:11

Category: comedy

11/30/10 06:14 - 53.ºF - ID#53180

Dykes of Hazard: It's not easy being white

I was at this show and I'm in class at the moment, but this tune was freakin' hysterical live. so hopefully it comes across just as awesome on vid:

I think too few people in my facebook friends list would get this - thanks, (e:peeps)!

Permalink: Dykes_of_Hazard_It_s_not_easy_being_white.html
Words: 57
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 11/30/10 07:08

Category: holiday

11/27/10 02:41 - 36.ºF - ID#53171

A happy thanksgiving!

I had a wonderful thanksgiving in maryland at my best friend's mom's :-) here's a picture of felicia in her thanksgiving apron and one of michelle and her cousin's 5 year old. So cute! Hope you all had a great time also!

Permalink: A_happy_thanksgiving_.html
Words: 43
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 11/28/10 12:32

Category: gas e&p

11/20/10 01:19 - 47.ºF - ID#53139

Petition to extend NYS fracking moratorium

The NYS Senate passed a bill Aug. 3 to extend the DEC moratorium on high water volume, horizontal drilling, hydraulic fracturing for natural gas extraction until May '11. The Assembly hasn't acted and the session is getting very short. Petition:

AND/OR:

Call Assembly Speaker Silver (212-312-1420), assembly member Robert Sweeney (631-957-2087), and Buffalo's Sam Hoyt (716-885-9630). Tell them to vote â€œyesâ€ on this moratorium (A11443), as well as asking that they recommend this to their fellow assembly members, and tell them to bring this moratorium to a vote AS SOON AS THEY RETURN! We cannot wait on this! Tell Governor Paterson (518-474-8390) to support this legislation and sign it as well!

Also, don't believe the "natural gas is cleaner than coal" crap. If you only look at the moment of burning, yes, it's cleaner, but if you take into account the whole process, it could be dirtier than the entire coal extraction & burning process, according to the

(PDF)

We urge caution in viewing natural gas as good fuel choice for the future. Using the best available science, we conclude that natural gas is no better than coal and may in fact be worse than coal in terms of its greenhouse gas footprint when evaluated over the time course of the next several decades. Note that both the National Academy of Sciences and the Council of Scientific Society Presidents have urged great caution before proceeding with the development of diffuse natural gas from shale formations using unconventional technology.

Permalink: Petition_to_extend_NYS_fracking_moratorium.html
Words: 277
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 11/20/10 01:19