Silly Imp

There is something both exhilarating and nerve-wracking about hitting the send button at the end of a project. I'm always glad to see it gone, but panicked that I forgot something crucial. And of course, it's never good enough. (But that's why there is a deadline, right?)

Score another one for literacy!

Duke researchers show reading can help obese kids lose weight.
DURHAM, N.C. -- It's no secret that reading is beneficial. But can it help kids lose weight? In the first study to look at the impact of literature on obese adolescents, researchers at Duke Children's Hospital discovered that reading the right type of novel may make a difference. <link to press release here>

In an effort to try and work my way out of this deepening, paralytic writer's block I've been in for what seems like an half an eternity, I present... a meme, courtesy of mousme . Anyone want to play?

Everyone has things they blog about. Everyone has things they don't blog about.

Challenge me out of my comfort zone by telling me something I don't blog about, but you'd like to hear about, and I'll write a post about it.

Repost in your own journal so that we can all learn more about each other. Or not.

(I'll qualify that to I *may* write a post about it, since as most of my friends know, I have some serious privacy boundaries about what I'll share about myself online. But that doesn't mean I won't answer the question. It might just be over drinks instead.)

(otherwise known as a procrastination device....)

* Grab the nearest book. * Open the book to page 56. * Find the fifth sentence. * Post the text of the next two to five sentences in your journal along with these instructions. * Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.

Clinical Oncology, 3rd Edition

hmmm... page 56 is actually a pages of references
**Gold LI. The role for transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) in human cancer. Crit Rev Oncog 1999....**

Tonight I made a Sunday roast. I ventured to the market and got a pork loin from the local-organic butcher. I slid garlic and rosemary into it and roasted it along with maple-rosemary potatoes; and served it with apple sauce, peas and gravy. It was moist and tasty and very yum. I am very proud of myself.

 I am so excited. The postman just delivered my new baby. And at 9pm, no less! Excitement. Excitement!

I have no email.  I'm not sure if anything send to me is simply going into a void or if folks are actually get bounce notices, but if you sent me an email after Saturday, chances are I did not receive it.

Backstory: My hosting package expired and since the notices *all* got caught in my spam filter, I didn't see any of them. I missed the advance notice, the 'it's getting close' notice, the "it's this week "notice, the "expired today but we'll give you a week grace" notice, and the "okay we're really cutting you off now" notice! And that for three accounts!  Service should be back soon....

 Hey, anyone reading this ahve an opinion on the Neil Gaiman books for children? I'm decidedly curious....

 "The spelling is killing me as I write for these American clients," I thinks, as I type out c e n t e r ....

Now that I'm eating meat again, I'm trying to learn more about what consitutes 'certified organic,' 'certified humane" or "certified sustainable."  I'm a bit suspicious of 'certified' or  'organic' anything.  Right now I'm buying most of my meat directly from the farmers. This means I can actually talk to the farmers and find out how the animal was raised and fed, which for me is a more comfortable choice than relying on some certifying body. But occasionally I do pick up an organic chicken or organic eggs from the supermarket, so I'd like to know what the standards are.

According to the CARTV, to get organic certification in Quebec:

1) Animals can not be caged, must have enough room to move around, must have access to the outside as much as possible but also have protection from the elements available at their disposal, and must have access to feed upon demand. They should be of robust breeds or strains adapted to the local conditions.

2) The environmental impact of the animals must be considered. Livestock density should be low enough to avoid soil deterioration, and poultry areas must be rotated to allow renewal of plant life between flocks. Waste management must be adequate to prevent soil and water contamination.  Application of manure should be done in such a way to minimize run-off into streams, ponds and bodies of water.

3) Feed must be 100% certified organic, GMO-free, and balanced to meet the nutritional needs of the animals. Anitbiotics, protein substitutes, fibre substitutes (ie, plastic pellets!), and slaughterhouse waste can not be added to feed. Forage must be provided for herbivorous animals, as well as poulty and pigs. Vitamins, minerals and supplements may be used. Force-feeding is prohibited. 

4) Animals must be slaughtered in in an establishment that is has been certified to slaughter organically-raised animals.

There are also specific criteria for different types of animals. These seem to generally include how much space is needed for each animal and in some cases, the maximum allowed number of animals on the farm. 

Sigh. I was just putting finishing touches on a long post about my vacation, when my finger slipped. Gone.

So, the redux version...

I'm back.
Need another week.
Re-entry is tough.
I don't recommend Parc de la Mauricie for canoe camping. Very disappointing.
Read lots.
Slept lots.
Cooked little.
Been offline for two weeks. I'm not going to try to catch up. Let me know if I missed anything important.
August Writing is not happening for me this year. Sigh.
Blueberry crop is slim this year. And late. No sun.
Discovered 'hairy cow' sausages and meat. OMG! indescribable.
Thanks ai731and baronscartop for looking after the critters and picking up the CSA!

I have clients with job openings. 

One is for a web integrator.  He/she needs to have experience and good understanding of HTML and basic javascript. Quick learner and motivated. Some experience with Java Server Pages, SVN or Linux is a plus. 

Another one is for a production manager, also for a web company. I think that they are ideally looking for someone with familiarity or experience in managing/trafficking for a company doing interactive web products, but are also very willing to consider someone with project management experience in any software environment.

Interested, or want more details to pass around, let me know.

 

 I'm currently reveling in the taste of cherry tomatoes, plucked fresh from the vine only a minute before. Mmmm. Sweet. 'Better than anything bought in the store or from my CSA, but still nothing compared to the ecstacy of delight from the heritage varieties graciously given to me last year bynightdemons. Those were soooo sweet and tasty: a veritable symphony of taste.

I know there are some fabulous writers out there... why not join the challenge? My intention is do something daily but I won't be posting every day since at least one week of my vacation will be spend out in the wilds without electricty, never mind without Internet!

Jan's August Writing Challenge: Write something every day in the month of August.

Sounds tough! What do I have to do?
Write. Something. Anything. Any length. Prose or poetry. Every day. For a month. And share it.

Sounds cool! How do I sign up?
Join the august_writing community if you're not already a member
Link to this post in your LJ so that we can get as many people involved as possible. Post either your writing, or a link to your writing to the community every day in August, starting on Friday, August 1st, 2008.

Sounds simple! Are there any other rules?
Nope. Well, not really. It has to be creative writing - prose or poetry, of any any length, on any subject. Stuff you would normally be writing anyway counts (so, for those who write serials, that counts) but stuff you write for your job doesn't. But it can be anything. Short fiction, short-short fiction, essays, character studies, stream-of-consciousness, writing exercises (I post a different writing exercise every day during the month of August for anyone who would like to use it), sections of a larger work you have in progress, etc. Anything at all, so long as it's a piece of writing that you did that day. It would also be really cool if you could read and comment on a couple of other posts every day.

And here's a sample of the wide variety of stuff people are inspired to produce in August, by sorceror:

Come join our great group, august_writing!
The premise is rather inviting.
You write what you please,
Whether prose, verse, or sleaze;
The results are quite fun and exciting! 

 Apparently we get funnels in Montreal as well. Like today:

(Pic here: I'd post it but that'd be violating some copyright somewhere I'm sure.)

It wasn't a tornado funnel cloud, rather a water spout - but impressive nontheless, and apparently potentially quite destructive as well.

Lots of good things going on right now or recently (and some not so good - but no space for those here. Moving right along...).  They seem to be mixed in or fly by in my mad flurry of trying to wrap up all my work contracts before vacation, so I haven't really been posting much (or reading posts much for that matter), but a few things I felt were really worth mentionning.

On Saturday I finally managed to introduce two talented authour friends of mine to each other: Brendan Myers and Arin Murphy-Hiscock. I'd been plotting to get them together ever since I met Brendan at Gaia Gathering in Halifax a few years ago.  I was delighted to see them enjoying each other's company, as I long suspected they might.

Brendan was in town for the official release of his latest book, The Other Side of Virtue at Le Melange Magique. So I went to that earlier in the day. It was very well attended and I (of course) bumped into many people who I haven't seen in a while. Next week, two more friends of mine are doing book signings at 'Melange'. Rob St. Martin and Marc MacKay will be signing and reading from their short stories in the DAW anthology Misspelled. Rob will also be signing copies of his book Truthseekers. I have such amazing friends! 

On Sunday I managed to sneak in a brunch with grrscaryand Brendan before he left.  grrscaryand I so rearely get to spend time together, despite living practically around the corner from each other. It was a real treat. She also introduced me to a wonderful local brunch spot a nice walking distance from my home, and then even sent me off with her signed copy of The Scar by China Mieville for my reading pleasure! Have I mentionned that I have amazing friends?

Two of my close friends gave birth within the last month. Welcome Summer and Tristan! I still haven't had a chance to go visiting, but anticipate setting aside some time over my vacation. Also two handfastings this past month as well. I only managed to attend one, much to my chagrin, but my heart was with both. I was also very delighted to see poly relationships very much not in the closet at the handfasting I did attend.

The man has spending a all his spare time smithing recently. He got the forge going full steam...errr coal... last month and has been busy honing his skills. He's even got a few commissions already!  It was interesting the other weekend to come back from camp in New Hampshire where we did a lot of IP/PP and then spending the very next day helping/watching the man forge hot iron and quench/temper.

Looking foward to vacation despite the current madness.

 

I miss my friends.
I'm *so* looking forward to my vacation.

 My frustrations with my computer this week that eventually forced me to turn off my firewall as a work-around were, as I suspected, due to a recent Microsoft update. Today I got a security update and a fix from them It doesn't help the 4+ hours of lost work time, but at least my back is no longer bare when I hop online.

This is being held on beautiful land with some wonderful folk about 4-hours south of Montreal.  Sadly, we already have plans that weekend, otherwise we'd be so there!

Sacred Brewing and Fermentation Workshop
August 3, 2008 10am-6pm
Grantham, NH
Cost: $75-$125, sliding scale, includes lunch and materials fees, no one will be turned away for lack of funds, contact registration for possibility of work-study scholarships
Registration contact: registration@casachaos.net

"The sacred power of fermentation is one of the greatest natural gifts through which we work transformative magic along with our green allies from the world of living, growing things. From the earliest times of humans on the Earth, we have gathered the bountiful harvest of grains, fruits, and honey, and by transforming them through the art, science and magic of fermentation...."

More info about workshop here.

My reward for being still at my clients this evening is that theJazz fest programme appears to have started for the evening and music is wafting in through our open loft windows...