Tulgey Wood
Below are the 25 most recent journal entries recorded in the "Robynne" journal:[<< Previous 25 entries]
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06:10 pm
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Cat psychology
I give my cats treats after I make them do something unpleasant, like clip their claws and give them Advantage. For Yakko, this means he looks for the treat immediately after he's had his claws clipped. He has figured out how this works.
For Dot? It has made her afraid of the treats. I shake the treat bag, and she cringes, glares at me, and runs away. I have to convince her that it's okay to eat the treat, and I have to keep Yakko away from her share or he'll just eat all of them. I think maybe I should start giving them treats without an accompanying task, which is what I just did, and Dot was still afraid of the treat bag.
Yakko, of course, agrees with me.
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01:50 pm
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More things seen
A tiny active octopus, tooling around on the sand, black and spiky and smooth and tan by turns, not quite scared enough by the giant maybe-predators to ink.
A yellow nudibranch, looking exactly like a lemon wedge on an ocean cocktail.
Teeny tiny sand dollars and sanddabs. No relation.
Sun stars, bat stars, leather stars, ochre stars in a profusion of colors.
Sunlight streaming through a rocky kelp forest.
A brown rockfish chasing my divemaster out of its territory.
Two large sea cucumbers, looking like kelp leaves until I noticed they had curvature and a suspicious mouth at one end.
Big waves at the entry point, which knocked me down and stole my fin. Twice. Fin was miraculously found again, twice, and I made it through the waves eventually.
A juvenile harbor seal, wanting to play and possibly see if we had fish in the float nearby (that wasn't ours).
(Being knocked down by waves while wearing scuba gear is pretty scary. Under normal circumstances, you get knocked over and it's no big deal. You might get saltwater in your mouth, but you can stand up pretty easily multiple times as you make your way back. Wearing scuba gear is a different matter: It's so heavy that standing up is no small task, and if you end up on your back without enough water to support you, it's even harder to get up again because you have no leverage. Fortunately that didn't happen to me and I got out pretty quickly. I had to take a break before getting back in, though, and even sitting down in scuba gear is tiring.)
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12:52 pm
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Invertebrates Unite!
Octopi Oakland!
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12:00 am
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Under the sea
I was under the Pacific Ocean today with four of my favorite people and it was awesome.
Things seen: An otter up close on the surface, washing and rolling and washing and wondering if we had abalone to steal.
Lots of tube anemones - a garden of them.
Little bubbling things on the sandy sea floor; these were either crabs or anemones.
Kelp. Of course. It was Monterey.
Two cormorants buzzed right past me underwater at eye level, about a foot away.
Lots and lots of sea stars: a rainbow assortment of ochres, bat stars, a leather star, and an ochre star the size of a dinner plate. A BIG dinner plate.
Tiny strawberry and aggregating anemones on the rock wall.
Things I didn't see, but my friends did:
Several fried-egg jellies.
An octopus!! Little, but still: octopus!
A sculpin (probably).
Lots of flatfish, probably juvenile sanddabs.
A goby (again, probably.)
There will be more of this.
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01:49 pm
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Why I'm sad at Richard Dawkins
First, he left a couple of really dumb comments on Pharyngula. (His first comment is #75, second is #104.) I totally thought it was a better than average troll at first, but PZ confirmed later that it really was Dawkins. He's had a tin ear regarding women's issues before, but I hadn't seen anything nearly this bad. PZ made another post in which he disagrees with Dawkins and outlines exactly why. At #50, Dawkins asked people to explain exactly why it was a problem in the first place. It's astonishing, but he apparently really is that obtuse.
A bunch of people wrote letters explaining why at Skepchick. My letter is included. It's a good deal more restrained than it could have been - I'm furious with him, and I really hope he he figures things out and apologizes to Rebecca Watson and the rest of the feminist atheist community.
Current Mood:  sad
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05:05 pm
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Dear National Geographic
It's 2011, as you may have noticed, and yet you have the following headline in your March issue: "The Age of Man."
Really?
Really?
You should know better.
Current Mood:  annoyed
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11:59 am
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I Write Letters
...and so does ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=91.7) summer_jackel.
To the Board of Directors of Peninsula Peace and Justice,
We would like to bring an issue to your attention regarding one of the vendors at your upcoming Holiday Craft Fair. We have deep concerns about the ethics of Mickaboo, who are holding three cockatiels belonging to James Spaid.
The birds were joint property of James and Cody Spaid, who are now divorcing. They had verbally agreed that Mr. Spaid would keep them, but Ms. Spaid surrendered the birds to Mickaboo without Mr. Spaid's knowledge or consent. Mickaboo has refused to return them despite the fact that Mr. Spaid has provided them with proof of ownership, including vet records and written statements of the birds' previous owners. Mickaboo has refused to work with Mr. Spaid to resolve this situation, instead forcing him to join it in a divorce suit and expend enormous legal fees to regain custody of his pets.
One of the birds is elderly and all three have special medical needs. Recent legal communications revealed that one of the cockatiels is gravely ill with cancer, but Mickaboo has not allowed Mr. Spaid to see her, nor have they provided much information about the health of his beloved birds.
As parrot owners and firm believers in social justice, we believe that Mickaboo is an unethical organization and it should not be supported unless it dramatically changes its policies and returns Aki, Aya, and Alycone to their home. We are deeply concerned about this issue. As a Palo Alto resident who has worked with other pet rescues, I am shocked at how Mickaboo has handled this situation.
We ask that Mickaboo be removed from your list of organizations represented at your upcoming craft fair. Thank you very much for your attention in this matter.
Sincerely,
corpsefairy and summer_jackel
If anyone else out there in lj-land would like to send a similar letter, the relevant email address is board@peaceandjustice.org. Their website is here. Feel free to crib from this one as much as you like. More background on this can be found here and here. Yes, that means that the cockatiels that Mickaboo stole have been gone since MAY.
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07:41 pm
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Emails I Really Want to Send, but Shouldn't, Pt. 1
Dear Ms. Basil,
Please stop giving Ms. Rosemary grief over the scheduling at your workplace. It's causing her stress, and it's totally unnecessary. The fact that you do not wish to work on the same day as Ms. Rosemary is completely your problem, not hers. The fact that you keep trying to make it her problem is unprofessional, not to mention discourteous.
Ms. Rosemary is your co-worker. It is completely normal to request that a co-worker switch days with you. It is completely absurd to ask a co-worker to not come in at all on days when you happen to work.
It's bullshit. Grow up and cut it out.
Current Mood: aggravated
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03:35 pm
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Totally creeped out
Okay, so I listen to the radio in my car. I try not to listen to ads because they make me stabby, but sometimes I can't change the channel immediately - maybe I'm merging, or looking for a new street, or I'm just not paying attention, and so I do hear some ads. Today I heard part of one that totally creeped me out, and I'm going to share it with you all so you can be creeped out too.
First Woman: Hey, that's a great new blouse you're wearing! Where did you get it?
Second Woman: I got it from Chase!
First Woman: I didn't know you were dating a guy named Chase. Hey everyone, did you hear that? Margaret's got a new boyfriend named Chase!
At this point, I turned it off because I was totally skeeved out. Obviously, the ad is for Chase, the bank, and it's probably about some reward thingy to get you to use your credit card. Anyway, that's not important - what's important is that the ad was constructing a bank as your romantic partner. Equating your bank to your boyfriend - how gross is that? They just sexualized a financial institution.
Ew ew ew ew ew ew. *scrubs brain out with bleach*
Ew.
Current Mood:  nauseated
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09:50 pm
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Silas & Natasha
Can anyone help Natasha and Silas?
I'm moving to Palo Alto, which means I can no longer foster for ICRA, which
is based in Alameda. (Also, my lease stipulates two cats, so I can't justify
moving in with four even if two are temporary.) Normally, Natasha and Silas
would go to another foster home in ICRA, but they are completely out of
foster space. Merry, who runs ICRA, is looking for space for them, but all
her foster homes already have a full complement of cats.
This means that Silas and Natasha will end up in a cage in Merry's
garage, which is basically ICRA's mini-shelter. I am really worried that if
they go into cages, they will regress significantly. They were feral rescues
and they're still shy with strangers, although they are incredibly sweet and
affectionate at home. (Natasha woke me up this morning by walking over me
and purring, and then she sat up and clapped.)
I really don't want them to live in a cage! They've been in my house for almost a year, and they've made incredible progress with their socialization. If anyone can help, even for a little while, please call or email me.
Edited to add links to their ICRA pages.
Current Mood:  anxious
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07:15 pm
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SLEEVES OF DOOM
I'm building an early 1890s day dress out of ivory and blue plaid in silk dupioni.
OH MY GOD THE SLEEVES ARE HUGE. They did not fuck around with sleeves in the 1890s.
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12:40 pm
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Berkeley Humane Society fire
This is just awful. If anyone can help, please do. Fifteen cats died in a fire this morning at the Berkeley Humane Society shelter. They need donations to rebuild and temporary fosters to care for the 10 surviving cats.
Current Mood: sad
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09:40 pm
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Voting recommendations
Election day is coming up, and there are some important propositions on the California ballot. We won't have a big turnout this time because it's a primary in a non-major election year, and there are props that really oughtn't pass. My recommendations follow.
Proposition 14: A resounding NO. This is the "open primary" proposition. On the face of it, it might sound like a good idea - it opens up primary elections to non-party members, so any voter regardless of party affiliation can vote in any primary. However, if you look at the analysis, it very clearly reduces voter choice in the main election. Under the current system, only registered party members can vote in the primaries, but every candidate who wins their primary will make it to the main election. This means that you have about half a dozen different candidates to choose from in the main election from the different parties.
Under the proposed system, only the top two candidates across all parties will make it to the main election. This will reduce voter choice, not increase it as the proposition claims. It's also vulnerable to the possibility that voters in the main election will be forced to choose between two candidates from the same party. The overall effect of this proposition will be to squeeze out any candidates from minor parties, even more so than they are now. Vote no on 14.
Proposition 15: Yes. This proposition repeals the ban on public funding for political campaigns. At the moment, most campaigns in California must be privately funded - which means corporate donors. I think we have enough corporate control of government without encouraging more. This proposition (I hope) will reduce a small bit of corporate control. (I don't have a strong opinion about this one; my Yes recommendation is mild.)
Proposition 16: OH HELL NO. This proposition was written and funded entirely by PG&E. Cynically titled the "Taxpayers Right to Vote" act, Prop 16 will increase PG&E's monopoly hold on California by making it much more difficult for municipalities to create their own utilities or purchase energy from sources other than PG&E. It will nearly eliminate the possibility of any kind of competition for PG&E. This is the worst proposition on the ballot, and we need to soundly defeat it.
Proposition 17: Dude no way. This is another proposition that was written for the sole benefit of a corporation. It will allow auto insurance companies to base their prices on your history of insurance coverage. What this means is that if you have a lapse in coverage for any reason, no matter how small the lapse or what the reason, your insurance company can raise your rates. The proposition is worded as if it will allow insurance companies to offer you a discount for having continuous coverage, but what that really means is that they will prey on you if your coverage is ever discontinuous. Again, it's worth noting who sponsored this proposition, and the answer is Mercury Insurance. No on 17.
Current Mood:  hopeful
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06:30 pm
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Cats: still cute.
This is why the Internet was invented, right?
That's my foster kitten Natasha. She is up for adoption!
Current Mood:  amused
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09:59 am
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Well, that was no fun.
So I'm driving down 580 at about 11:30 pm, on my way home from seeing "The Princess and the Frog" with the delightful Nicole. I see a cluster of brake lights ahead and think, huh, odd that there's traffic this late at night, and start slowing down to 40 mph. Suddenly, the truck that was a good ways ahead of me is now RIGHT in front of me, so I think, ack, I need to slam on my bra-
*CRUNCH*
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Car accidents are SCARY.
I'm not hurt, and the driver of the truck wasn't hurt. The other cars involved pulled over to the other side of the freeway, and I couldn't really tell what was going on with them. One of them was perpendicular to the freeway, with its headlights pointing across the lanes. I think somebody spun out, which made everyone else stop suddenly. The truck driver said he did exactly what I did - saw brake lights, started to slow down, and suddenly had to slam on his brakes. He came within inches of hitting the car in front of him.
Eventually (I don't know how long, but standing on the left side of the freeway at night with cars whizzing past does not make time go any faster), CHP came and told us that if all we had was property damage, then we just needed to exchange information and we could go. However, we couldn't stay where we were, so they escorted us off the freeway to the next exit, which I was grateful for. Merging into freeway traffic from the left side is extremely scary.
Now I have to call my insurance company. I don't really know how these things work; I've never been in an accident.
Really not what I wanted to do with my Saturday. And I really don't look forward to driving again, which is going to make getting to work suck a lot.
Current Mood: distressed
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11:27 pm
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Is mine. You can not has.
OMG THE CUTE IT BURNS.
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04:52 pm
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Holy cats!!!
I got BoingBoinged!
Current Mood:  bouncy
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09:31 pm
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Carhartt corset
Look what I made for the fabulous Nifer! It's a carpenter's work corset, based on the Carhartt line of work clothing.
Special note for those of you in Florida: I will be in town the week of Sept. 14 - 22, and I am available to do fittings. If you are interested in having a corset or other specialty item made, contact me as soon as possible, and I will see about putting together a muslin. Custom corsets are really only possible with a personal fitting; that's how I can achieve those lovely curves and make them comfortable!
Current Mood: pleased
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09:02 am
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Another reason to love YouTube
Several of my favorite things, wrapped up in one shiny little package:
There's Halloweeny goodness
and animation geekery
and CAB CALLOWAY
and OINGO BOINGO.
It is SO SO GOOD.
Current Mood: bouncy
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08:49 am
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Ow.
My left jaw hinge has been hurting for the past few days, and my occlusion is off. I can bite down on my right side, but I can't close at all on the left side. It's very strange and painful. It feels like my whole jaw has been shifted to the right.
I hope this goes away soon.
Current Mood:  blah
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04:18 pm
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5-6-7-8
OhmygodIneedtodomorelindyhopping.
Current Mood: energetic
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11:42 pm
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Pacific Spiny Lumpsucker.
Cutest. Fish. Ever.
I should mention that it's about the size of a quarter and perfectly spherical.
Current Mood: amused
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01:22 pm
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Coraline
is a worthy successor to Nightmare Before Christmas. You all should go see it as soon as possible. Multiple times.
Current Mood:  satisfied
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01:43 pm
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The Constitution: Ur Doin It Wrong
California's Attorney General Jerry Brown is being a hero and fighting Proposition 8. Kenneth Starr (yes, THAT Ken Starr) filed a response to Brown's legal brief, and wow are his arguments ludicrous. Here's one argument:
"If the attorney general's argument [that marriage is an inalienable right] prevailed, it would be virtually impossible for voters to amend the state Constitution whenever the courts determined that inalienable rights were involved."
Um, YES.
That's what "inalienable" MEANS.
O hai, Ken Starr, you fail!
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09:25 am
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Edwardian Ball
I think I am going on Saturday. However, I have not yet bought tickets, so anyone who wants to make a convincing argument for Friday should speak up now.
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