1. I can vote.

2. Sometimes, it makes a difference.

3. Talking to poll workers.

4. Third (and fouth and fifth) parties (though I would settle for a second one.

5. Wearing an "I voted" sticker.

6. It is the end of "political ad" season.

7. My polling place still has the old school machines that actually count the vote, unlike those paperless, hackable, make-up a number Diebold machines.

8. Now that I finally live in the city, I have a voice in city politics (it was so embarrassing not being able to sign nominating petitions and such when I lived in the suburbs)

9. Schools being closed.

10. It reminds me that we live in a constitutional republic with representative government (on my more cynical days, please insert the phrase, "pretend to."

I am reminded of the bumper sticker. "If voting made a difference, it would be illegal." I guess that didn't make the list but I wanted to share.

Time to go vote!

I think that we should get an extra hour of sleep more often. It makes for such a great day. I realize that this would cause all sorts of logistical problems, but really, I think the day after clocks "fall back" makes is SO worth losing the other hour in the spring.

So if anyone can come up with a way to do this more often, I would be very greatful.

Seriously, I think I may be built on a 25 hour circadian rhythm. I wish the rest of the universe could coordinate with that.

This is in response to the question I had over in (e:Paul)'s journal.

The crazy treatment I received is called NAET. I never would have tried it if my brother (who was allergic to milk, eggs, nuts, and soy) did not try it first, successfully (he had tried EVERYTHING to treat his allergies before this).

It was done to me by a guy named Dr. Whiner (not sure about the spelling) in Pittsburgh, and it DID make my egg allergy go away, and eggs had wiped me out before.

And yes, to answer the first question, it can work for all sorts of allergies, not just food ones.

What did I like about the treatment? The obvious: my allergy went away.

What did I not like?

The doctor was weird. He wouldn't answer my questions (most of the time if I asked one he would ignore me or talk about something else).

The treatment felt goofy. Basically, it goes as such:

The doctor would put the allergen, enclosed in glass, in one of my hands. I would sit, with the other hand on my knee, palm up.

Then the doctor would use a funny metal thing to tap spots on my back. I think he also rubbed spots on my feet and hands.

Then I would sit there, for 30 minutes.

During that time, I could feel energy flowing out of my upturned palm. If I turned my hand palm side down, I could feel it clog up. I am not a new-agey guy in the least bit, but this is what I experienced.

At the end of the 30 mins, I had to rub my hands together.

After that, I had to avoid the allergen for 30 hours. After that, the allergy is gone.

The last thing that I didn't like about this treatment is that I got other allergies. Now, I'm not saying that this guy put one allergy in as he took another out, but I am saying that he had a lot of return business. Everybody kept talking about how they were getting better, but everybody had to keep going back for treatment. That, and his selling of supplements made it seem like a racket.

Since I have moved to Buffalo, I met a woman who does similar treatments, but isn't a jerk. I have her card at work if you want to call her.

Anyway, that's the crazy voodoo treatment. It works, but I won't recommend it without reservation.

This is another challenge post. My animals are making it hard for me to love life right now.

1. If and when it lands in the backyard, rain washes it away.

2. At least right now, it is standard brown (I hate the green stuff).

3. Cat litter works quite well on diarrhea.

4. It hasn't spread to any people I know.

5. Each bout is now small in quantity.

6. It came on my day off, allowing me to get the dog out more quickly and monitor our cats.

7. As much as I hate the mess, it still hasn't stopped our pets from being quite loveable (but they shouldn't push it).

8. (e:Janelle) never asks for another cat when the two we have are ruining everything (good move, btw).

9. They eat less when they are sick.

10. People tend to be sympathtic when one explains that he was late because he was cleaning up runny poo.

I just found out that the Hyatt is unloading used mattresses TOMORROW, and they must be gone by 4pm TOMORROW. Catholic Charities knows of a lot of people in need that can use said mattresses but does not have storage space. Lafayette Presbyterian Church (yes that was a shameless attempt to boost our link count) knows a few people that can use them, AND has some storage space.

So, I am going to spend a few hours tomorrow hauling mattresses, but I could use some help. If you can lend a hauling hand (we have a truck, we just need some man- or woman-power), you would get the satisfaction of people in need (can you imagine not even having a mattress? It's a reality for more people than I we would like to think), and lunch at ETS (or some other place, but hey, I like Tacos. Of course, I like Kuni's too. tempted?)