wtf

• 20:45 Hey Kanye! Stop embarrassing my city! #

• 15:34 I'd like to think that I've gotten good at reading patterns, but this Norah Gaughan book is written in, like, Vulcan. Or something. #

• 13:25 Internet! Y U SO SLOW T_T #

• 11:58 Hollywood Palms is having a job fair through Friday, 10am-7pm! #
• 13:46 I'm TOTALLY GONNA MAKE THIS! bit.ly/MW7cF #
• 13:47 Also, Cruella DeVille went and skinned some Popples. Or Tribbles. www.glomp.net/lj/frivola.jpg (From the latest Vogue Knitting) #

Dear Self,

No, you may not start a shawl. You have two sweaters on the needles right now (remember that other one? Hmm?), and the laptop bag, and if you cast on another giant project you will go cukoobananas. Put that laceweight down right now, missy.

You may, however, cast on a new pair of socks if you want. I am not entirely cruel, and that yarn you got for that sekrit project is not going to work for said project but would make a lovely pair of socks.

Oh, and remember: you have 14 swatches to knit for TKGA! Yeah, you were hoping I wouldn't say anything, weren't you?

Love,

The sane part of your brain.

In other news, I made Monkey socks! They are, well, Monkey-like. But they fit! Huzzah!

iatros

THE TRUTH IN RATIONING
We already ration health care. Health care is a scarce resource, and like all scarce resources, it's rationed. It's just that right now, it is rationed based on ability to pay.

YOU ALREADY HAVE A PRICE ON YOUR HEAD
We already price a human life in other areas of governance and the private sector. The Department of Transportation values a human life at $5.8 million. The CPSC rejects new safety standards if the cost is too high in relation to the number of lives saved.

THE CURRENT SYSTEM IS STUPID AND EXPENSIVE
Health-insurance premiums have more than doubled in a decade, rising four times faster than wages. We spend much more on health care than any other nation on the planet. Americans spend 1/6 of their money on health care, which will be up to 1/3 by 2030.

A recent study of car accident victims in Wisconsin estimated that those who had no health insurance received 20% less care and had a death rate 37% than those with health insurance.

60% of bankruptcies are related to illness.
53% of Americans (and 43% of Americans with insurance) reported going without recommended care because of cost, as opposed to 13% in the UK and 7% in the Netherlands.

OH, AND ABOUT THAT TERRIBLE BRITISH HEALTH CARE
73% of Canadians and Brits are satisfied with their health care as opposed to 56% of Americans. Besides, there's no rule saying we have to copy their systems.

LIES, DAMN LIES, AND THE BIG BAD BILL
The health care bill does NOT outlaw private insurance.
The health care bill does NOT keep people with employer-supplied insurance from using the public option.

ON A PERSONAL NOTE
I wonder how many people opposed to a public health care option have had the problems listed above. Obviously the system works fine for many people, mainly those who don't get seriously ill. I would like to point out that despite the fact that my family is fortunate enough to have been insured for our entire lives, we:

1) Have foregone recommended treatment due to cost
2) Gone bankrupt, partially due to medical bills
3) Spend over $2000 per year, out of pocket, on health care and insurance.
4) Have, in the course of our 6-year marriage, spent an additional $3000+ on hospital bills, after insurance.
5) Spend approximately $150 per month on prescriptions. Unless it's allergy season; then it's $200.
6) Are still paying off Caroline's birth (she's two)

And I still consider us lucky.

FINALLY, A LITTLE OPINION
I do have concerns about paying for health care. Mostly I'm mad because we could have used all that money we've spent on a pointless war in Iraq to, I don't know, keep ourselves healthy. People bitch and moan that OMG OBAMA SPENDS THE MONIEZ without remembering that it was the previous administration that left us broke in the first place. Besides, while spending money to fix health care is expensive, in the long run it will save us a ton. It's like putting solar panels on your house: yes, they cost a lot of money, but the cost is eventually recouped in energy savings. Putting money into fixing health care is expensive in the short term, but will curb the spiralling expense of the current system.

aylara

HAY exit_halo, WANNA CARPOOL TOMORROW

• 10:43 Trapped in TVTropes. Send help. #
• 23:32 Half our power is out - as in, one phase but not the other. It is exceedingly weird. #

• 10:19 Pissed at MSNBC for preempting Maddow AGAIN. I can understand Thursday, but rerunning an MJ documentary in her slot, twice? Grr. #

• 12:52 Seriously? It's perfectly legal for news organizations to lie and still call it journalism?? tinyurl.com/o8sg8s #
• 15:35 Am kind of nervous about fitting my AA table in a suitcase. #

• 07:43 Oh lord, Spud and Chloe is adorable. Curse you, Blue Sky Alpacas! www.spudandchloe.com/ #knitting #
• 09:05 Dead from cute: CJ is using a scrap of paper as a pretend Band-Aid and is putting it on her knee. #
• 14:40 Pondering going to Starbucks to knit tonight, just to get out of the house and somewhere cooler and quieter. #
• 16:30 According to TMZ, Michael Jackson is in bad shape. Wow, we were being facetious when we talked about the celeb-death-trifecta! I swear! #
• 16:44 Oh my God, now they're reporting that Michael Jackson died. This is surreal. #

• 13:19 What can I say, I'm a prize whore. #
• 13:37 This Sanford business is the most entertaining political trainwreck I've seen in quite some time. #
• 16:47 I am having a horrid day. How about some yarn from @shepherdsusie? :D bit.ly/yobdz #

• 11:24 For @knitchick1979 and other Whovians/MAME fans: Tardis MAME console! With fancy automation! www.asciimation.co.nz/tardis/index.html #
• 12:06 Oh God! I found a colony of EW underneath the high chair's chair pad. EWWWW #
• 14:42 brb, dead from LOL. bit.ly/vhBlG #
• 18:32 Boo! I need size 7 needles for my Masters knitting, but my Options needles are residing in my fair isle project. #
• 18:46 Score! I do have a non-interchangeable size 7 circ. *dances* #
• 19:56 I sometimes hate planning trips. I don't like being responsible for other people's vacations. #
• 20:19 Oh hey! A high-up shelf full of books just randomly FELL OFF THE WALL. Amazingly, nothing broke. #
• 20:54 Oh hey, my tension sucks! Also, I don't think I like this yarn. Methinks some Cascade 220 is in order. #

• 00:36 The gremlins are conspiring to keep me from updating my craft blog. #squarespace #
• 12:25 Caroline is trying to eat a PB&J sandwich without getting sticky. This will be fun. #squarespace #
• 22:53 Perez Hilton totally had it coming. I mean, it is generally not kosher to punch someone, but if I had a free swing? He'd be on my list. #

• 10:12 This week can just suck it. Seriously. #
• 10:32 My friend's husband was killed in a car crash yesterday. kgmb9.com/main/content/view/18509/40/ Please keep them in your thoughts. #

• 10:48 Greg took CJ to gymnastics class! I am enjoying an extremely rare bit of solitude. #squarespace #

• 09:25 Looks like my family's plane managed to avoid the storms and land on time. Lucky them! #squarespace #

• 12:21 Maybe today will be the day I win! #squarespace #
• 12:39 Fire up the laminator! I just ordered 300 pouches for AX. Yikes. #squarespace #