Home & House

--- On Mon, 7/30/12, Jette Goldie <jgoldie247@btinternet.com> wrote:

> I didn't realise England was so different in that
> respect.  Unless you
> actually get a trial, jury duty lasts one week in Scotland -
> and if you
> do get a trial and it ends in less than a week, you have
> finished your
> duty when it ends.

Nope. They mean two weeks here when they say two weeks. Last Monday, I was sent home at 1pm, then I was on an actual jury for a trial that started on Tuesday morning and ended late Thursday morning/early afternoon. There weren't any new trials starting on Friday, so we were sent home. The folks on that juryn in their second week of jury service were done, but those of us in our first week were told to return at 10am on Monday.

Once again, it's a Monday and I was sent home at 1pm. One trial from last week continued this morning and should end today. Another started late in the morning. Those of us not called for the latter were sent home to return tomorrow at 11am. I assume we'll be called up shortly after 11am. I really don't want to be on a trial that goes into next week. My sinus surgery is a week from Thursday and I'd like a couple of days off before it!

Scotland also has 'not proven' as a possible verdict in addition to guilty and not guilty. I wish we had that down here!

Oh, I must add that now that the Olympic sailing events are well underway, the trains to Weymouth (Dorset, not Massachusetts :) are quite crowded, more so than usual for this time of day. My train home today from Southampton ends in Weymouth and it was packed. Also, as Olympic sailing events are happening in both Weymouth and Portland (Dorset, not Maine nor Oregon :), the train now is labelled Weymouth and Portland, instead of just Weymouth. It just starttled me to see the longer listing.

Ellen, back at home eating lunch with the Olympics on the TV.

On 30/07/2012 07:55, Ellen Rawson wrote:
>
> --- On Mon, 7/30/12, bardi <bardichaun@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> SO I feel bad a bit, and am ever so glad I am
> just one person out of hundreds..so it is the other guys fault if the
> nice person loses to ...well...a nice person. Although one of the
> writers has exposed himself as being an anti-semite. Alas, he was also
> arguably the best writer in his category. Sometimes it is just so
> confusing.
> ***
>
> All right, I'm a bit out of it when it comes to sf/f fandom... Which writer is this? I've just glanced at the nominees and I don't know which person you mean nor which category. Wow, I am out of it!
>
> Ellen, who hopes to attend Worldcon in London in 2014 or at least a day or two of it, but for now has to finish breakfast and get going for Week 2 of jury duty. Yes, jury duty lasts two weeks in the UK.
>
I didn't realise England was so different in that respect. Unless you
actually get a trial, jury duty lasts one week in Scotland - and if you
do get a trial and it ends in less than a week, you have finished your
duty when it ends.

--
Jette Goldie
jette.goldie@gmail.com

--- On Mon, 7/30/12, bardi <bardichaun@gmail.com> wrote:

SO I feel bad a bit, and am ever so glad I am
just one person out of hundreds..so it is the other guys fault if the
nice person loses to ...well...a nice person. Although one of the
writers has exposed himself as being an anti-semite. Alas, he was also
arguably the best writer in his category. Sometimes it is just so
confusing.
***

All right, I'm a bit out of it when it comes to sf/f fandom... Which writer is this? I've just glanced at the nominees and I don't know which person you mean nor which category. Wow, I am out of it!

Ellen, who hopes to attend Worldcon in London in 2014 or at least a day or two of it, but for now has to finish breakfast and get going for Week 2 of jury duty. Yes, jury duty lasts two weeks in the UK.

On Jul 29, 2012, at 5:11 PM, bardi wrote:

> Although one of the writers has exposed himself as being an anti-semite. Alas, he was also arguably the best writer in his category. Sometimes it is just so confusing.

I say this without sarcasm: I think everyone involved is glad that someone who weighs their decision this carefully is involved. Good show.

So I submitted my ballot for the Hugo awards this year, and it is never an easy thing. I realise for some people it is a glorified attaboy sort of award. There are fan writing, fanzines semi this that the other categories. In fairness perhaps some of them do want to be more than fans but some people are content to be the driving force of the genre. Imagine that.

On the other hand though, there are some people for which these awards are very important. They could help pay the mortgage or a child's dental bills etc from the blurbs on the jacket. Winner of best novel, or the John Campbell Award, etc. I am not sure that being an award winner has given me the incentive to read a book, but I do know people who have picked one up and said..wow..Hugo/Campbell/ABA/Nebula what have you.

SO I feel bad a bit, and am ever so glad I am just one person out of hundreds..so it is the other guys fault if the nice person loses to ...well...a nice person. Although one of the writers has exposed himself as being an anti-semite. Alas, he was also arguably the best writer in his category. Sometimes it is just so confusing.

--
Beware of mail postmarked infinity

Mac:
>> Thanks. Yeah, the next time somebody piously states that "God never
>> gives you more than you can handle", I don't think that I will be very
>> polite.

Jenny:
> I think that would deserve that someone getting slugged in the face! What a
> horrible thing to say!

I've gotten that--I tend to answer that God has vastly overestimated
me and needs to cut the crap.

Donna
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
You can call yourself whatever you want; it's what you do that matters.

--
"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded." Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Jax
--
"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded." Ralph Waldo Emerson.

There's a character in Dandelion Wine that collects everything. I
think she called herself "a saver". <g>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dandelion_Wine
Chapter 15-16 (Season of Disbelief)

Deep in the closet, behind the towels, there's a doll with cloth body
and porcelain head (she closes her eyes when you tilt her back and
makes "ma-ma" sound when you tilt her forward). I have no idea how she
made it here, when so many things that I liked more (mainly books)
stayed behind. She even is not connected to a specific memory and I
thought about throwing her away to many times to count.
Yet she is still there. <SHRUG>

--
ilana

Mac,

My mother also was a hoarder. She survived the Depression with very little, so that was her excuse for it. She could have opened a convenience store in our cellar, she had so many cans and boxes of food that would last for a while, along with stacks of light bulbs, paper towels etc. Our cellar was like that ever since I could remember. Once, after I'd moved away and was visiting, I went down there and took pictures as friends in Colorado didn't believe me. They did after they saw the photos.

The dementia caused by strokes made it even worse, though. When we finally got her out of the house and into a care home, it was time to clean out the house. We had to sell it in order to pay for the care home. She had limited funds (as did my siblings and I). We found an excellent facility that charged over US $7000 a month, but they would take federal government monies after Mom ran out of cash. (We'd found another good place that was only $4500 a month, but once you ran out of money, that was it. You were out. Alas, the one county facility had an 18-month waiting list, and we didn't have that sort of time.) In order for the federal government to take over payments, though, we'd have to prove that Mom had gone through all of her assets, including the house. Therefore, it had to be cleaned out and sold as soon as possible. The problem was that you could barely walk into and through the house for the stacks and piles of stuff.

We did what we could, but it was obvious that it would take months, literally, of full-time work, which we couldn't do. We had full-time jobs and we had a deadline for getting the house ready for sale. We wound up hiring professionals to deal with it. They were used to doing such things. We went in and procured items that we knew we wanted and we knew their location. And then the pros came in. Their fee came out of what they salvaged and were able to sell, so we didn't actually pay them anything out of pocket. We had first dibs at everything, though. My sister took Mom's big freezer, and my brother took the washing machine as his was on its last legs and Mom's was newer and in better shape. I couldn't have anything big like that, of course, as I couldn't afford to ship it. I have photos, some books, letters, a bit of jewellery -- little things like that.

In a way, though, I wish I could have spent the time going through everything myself, if only to have more personal closure. Do tell us the yard sale stories. And I must say that one night, when my sister, brother-in-law, Ian and I later started going loads and loads of old photos that Mom had kept in albums, bags and boxes, it was very, very therapeutic.

{hugs}

Ellen

On Sat, Jul 28, 2012 at 5:07 PM, Maida 'Mac' Cain <maida.mac@gmail.com> wrote:
> I am back in what some of us local kids call "Drama Town", going
> through Mom's things.
>
> When I say my mother was a hoarder, I wasn't joking. Reading the cases
> in the book Stuff was like seeing multiple different facets of Mom.
> Although she didn't collect the stereotypical newspapers and
> magazines, she saved quite a bit of trash.
>
> Because she was on Social Security almost 20 years, she didn't buy new
> things, but she had a ridiculous number of yard sale "finds". It
> didn't help that she had really rather...tacky tastes. Did she really
> need two gold-painted ceramic hula girls?
>
> Right now, I'm going through stuff from my boys. It's kind of sad,
> realizing that my mother saved every toy, even the broken ones, that
> they brought here or she bought them. It's like she expected them to
> be as dear to them as they were to her. Even my budding hoarder, Kie,
> won't touch most of these things and has asked me to not bring them
> home.
>
> I loved finding all the family photos, going back 100 years or more.
> Memorabilia from my grandma, who died when I was 10, made me cry. My
> great-grandmother's taste was rather like my mother's, but it's still
> been neat history to talk over with my elder aunt. However, I could do
> without all the tchotkes and plain crap. Also, all the "true crime",
> rapey old school romances, and sucky thrillers are not quite my taste
> in books. :p
>
> It feels like all I have been doing is going through her house for the
> past two months, but I've only been up here once in a while. I can
> finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and it isn't a train.
> You may get more stories, though, as I will be getting ready for a
> yard sale in a couple weeks. :p

--
Maida 'Mac/Lys' Cain

"I think maybe we started to forget when we stopped looking up.
Instead of remembering there was a world of sky up there above our
heads, we'd sit on the ground and look at our feet."
- Jack Daw in Charles de Lint's Someplace to be Flying

On 7/27/2012 3:52 PM, Maida 'Mac' Cain wrote:
> On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 5:52 PM, Jenny Tait <piratejenny@verizon.net> wrote:
>> Holy crap, Mac! I'm so sorry you're going through all of this. I mean, wow.
>> Just no words.
>
> Thanks. Yeah, the next time somebody piously states that "God never
> gives you more than you can handle", I don't think that I will be very
> polite.

I think that would deserve that someone getting slugged in the face!
What a horrible thing to say!
>
>> Regarding your son with the stomach pains. Have they checked for celiac's
>> disease? It may be to simplistic an answer for something that severe, but
>> it's worth a shot.
>
> It's the on the short list. I've also suggested a possible lactose
> intolerance, as the boy drinks milk like it's as necessary as
> breathing. They're basically just going to slowly start testing for
> everything and probably do a full scope, as it's none of the obvious
> things. Of course, I had much the same problem, at much the same age,
> and they never did figure out what was causing it.

Believe it or not, celiac and lactose intolerance often go together. It
could be both.

I know the stomach pain from celiac can be excruciating. Maybe try
gluten and dairy free for a bit to see if that helps. It's much easier
to find both these days.

I hope they figure it out sooner rather than later. And I hope you're
doing as well as can be expected.



--
Jen
___________
"You cheated."
"Pirate."

--
"If you are a dreamer, come in. If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, a hoper, a prayer, a magic-bean-buyer. If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire, for we have some flax-golden tales to spin. Come in! Come in!" - Shel Silverstein

--
"If you are a dreamer, come in. If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, a hoper, a prayer, a magic-bean-buyer. If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire, for we have some flax-golden tales to spin. Come in! Come in!" - Shel Silverstein

--
"If you are a dreamer, come in. If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, a hoper, a prayer, a magic-bean-buyer. If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire, for we have some flax-golden tales to spin. Come in! Come in!" - Shel Silverstein

--
"If you are a dreamer, come in. If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, a hoper, a prayer, a magic-bean-buyer. If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire, for we have some flax-golden tales to spin. Come in! Come in!" - Shel Silverstein

On 7/27/2012 10:00 AM, Everett Warren wrote:
> On Fri, Jul 27, 2012 at 9:40 AM, Jax Goss <royaldragon@gmail.com> wrote:
>> I sympathise deeply, especially on the breakup thing,
>> since I am going through a similar malarcky at present.
>
> Ditto, times two maybe. One and a half, at least.
>

<snippage of various breakup things>

I just want to say I'm sorry about this for all of you. Jax, I briefly
glanced at what was going on with you on lj, but I was completely
swamped at work for the past two weeks and hadn't been able to reply.
You're in my thoughts as well. I can't comprehend what you're going
through either.

Everett, thinking about you also. I can come closer to understanding
your situation.

Breakups suck, that much I can relate to.




--
Jen
___________
"You cheated."
"Pirate."

On 7/26/2012 9:29 PM, Manda Kalmar wrote:
>>>
>>> ~ Mac, the former Liss, etc.
>>>
>> Holy crap, Mac! I'm so sorry you're going through all of this. I mean,
>> wow. Just no words.
>>
>> Regarding your son with the stomach pains. Have they checked for
>> celiac's disease? It may be to simplistic an answer for something that
>> severe, but it's worth a shot.
>>
>> I wish I had more advice, but I'm at a loss.
>>
>> But you can always vent here.
>>
>> --
>> Jen
>
> Well done, Jen.
>
> I was just about to suggest that as my gorgeous ex-sister-in-law was
> diagnosed only a
> year ago with same.
>
> After years of Very Bad Things happening in her tummy.

Yeah, the husband has it. And gluten shows up in the strangest places.
And many people even have contact reactions.

Tony was told he had colitis or Crohn's and was seeing specialists for
two years. He was getting sicker and sicker. My regular doctor also help
treat some diseases, including colitis, through nutrition. All it took
was a simple blood test.

The reason T kept getting so sick? His go-to foods when his stomach hurt
were cream of wheat and french bread. Every time he ate, he got sicker.

It does also seem to have a genetic component. Most of his family has a
gluten intolerance on some level and a few also have full-blow celiac.

Jen
___________
"You cheated."
"Pirate."

On Fri, Jul 27, 2012 at 1:55 AM, Ellen Rawson <silme13@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Oh, Mac... Who or what is supporting you in all of this? What resources, if any, are available to you?

Surprising even myself, it turns out that I have a LOT of real friends
locally. They have been helping me as best they can and providing a
support system.

I am back to seeing my old therapist every other week, which has been great.

My family, despite the years that my mother swore that they would
never do anything for me, having been amazing. My aunt and multiple
cousins worked to clean the house up around my mom's stuff, so I could
survive in the house and have a clean place to cook, eat, bathe, and
sleep. When someone broke into the house and stole my laptop and
medicines from my mom and me, my aunts, uncle, and cousins were right
there. They helped me clean up the house, boarded up the window, and
helped me with the police. They went all out to help me with the
memorial dinner as well. I'm counting on them to help me with the last
of the house, which is mostly trashing picking up and bagging. I am
finally almost at the end.

A paralegal friend is helping me apply for disability. I am looking
into displaced homemaker programs and working on updating my skills.
People have been sending me job postings.

As we have been poly, my boyfriend has been wonderful. All the times
that G failed to step up to support me, P was there to make sure that
I was taken care of and that things were handled. He was even at the
memorial dinner, as well as two of my friends, to support me, when G
couldn't make up his mind if he was even willing to go.

I know that I will eventually make it through. Under all the confusion
and emotional upset, I know that I'm in a better place than I've ever
been mentally and it will all work out. It's just trying to get it
there that's pushing me over the edge.

--
Maida 'Mac/Lys' Cain

"I think maybe we started to forget when we stopped looking up.
Instead of remembering there was a world of sky up there above our
heads, we'd sit on the ground and look at our feet."
- Jack Daw in Charles de Lint's Someplace to be Flying

On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 6:51 PM, Grey Malkin <grymalkyn@gmail.com> wrote:
> I'm so sorry to read all of this, Mac. I knew some of it, of course, but....
>
> I'll be thinking of you.

Thanks, Laurie.

On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 6:56 PM, Malachi Kenney <kfringe@gmail.com> wrote:
> It's not often I get to say this to someone, but...
> Look on the bright side! You could get hit by a bus in Portland!

*laugh* It's true, I could!

> Seriously, though, venting seems like a pretty reasonable course of action. Have at it.

Thanks.

On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 9:04 PM, Susan <dragonmom7@onebox.com> wrote:
> my oh my - I have been happy to help you in what ever small ways I can.

Thank you. You really have helped me in a lot of ways. For one thing,
the electric kettle and the rice cooker are gifts that really keep on
giving!

--
Maida 'Mac/Lys' Cain

"I think maybe we started to forget when we stopped looking up.
Instead of remembering there was a world of sky up there above our
heads, we'd sit on the ground and look at our feet."
- Jack Daw in Charles de Lint's Someplace to be Flying

I am working on combining some replies, so I don't totally spam the list.

On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 6:24 PM, Jane Lindamood
<jane.lindamood@gmail.com> wrote:
> Aww Mac, I'm so sorry to hear that things are so much more difficult than
> you had let on in other places.

Thanks, Jane. I had been keeping my mouth shut, as I wasn't sure that
this was going to go mutual and amicable, both of which I need to be
able to find my feet again and be in somewhat of a ready state to move
out. That likely won't be until the end of the year.

> I wish I had more to offer than my ongoing good thoughts and prayers, but
> you have those in abundance.

Trust me, they help, more than most people ever know.

On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 6:29 PM, Manda Kalmar <zacandmanda@bigpond.com> wrote:
> I was just about to suggest that as my gorgeous ex-sister-in-law was
> diagnosed only a
> year ago with same.
>
> After years of Very Bad Things happening in her tummy.

As I told Jen, it's on the list. It wouldn't surprise me, as there is
a little history of it in our family.

> & you are so right - there really are no words. I can only offer empathy to
> Mac from far away,
> & send her positive thoughts, as I suffered *all* the bad things in my own
> life over 5 years.

> Manda, praying for many positives along Mac's journey.

Thanks, Manda.

On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 6:35 PM, Donna <scanlon.donna@gmail.com> wrote:
> Holding you in the Light, Mac.

Thanks, Donna. Appreciating it more than you can know.

--
Maida 'Mac/Lys' Cain

"I think maybe we started to forget when we stopped looking up.
Instead of remembering there was a world of sky up there above our
heads, we'd sit on the ground and look at our feet."
- Jack Daw in Charles de Lint's Someplace to be Flying

On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 5:52 PM, Jenny Tait <piratejenny@verizon.net> wrote:
> Holy crap, Mac! I'm so sorry you're going through all of this. I mean, wow.
> Just no words.

Thanks. Yeah, the next time somebody piously states that "God never
gives you more than you can handle", I don't think that I will be very
polite.

> Regarding your son with the stomach pains. Have they checked for celiac's
> disease? It may be to simplistic an answer for something that severe, but
> it's worth a shot.

It's the on the short list. I've also suggested a possible lactose
intolerance, as the boy drinks milk like it's as necessary as
breathing. They're basically just going to slowly start testing for
everything and probably do a full scope, as it's none of the obvious
things. Of course, I had much the same problem, at much the same age,
and they never did figure out what was causing it.

--
Maida 'Mac/Lys' Cain

"I think maybe we started to forget when we stopped looking up.
Instead of remembering there was a world of sky up there above our
heads, we'd sit on the ground and look at our feet."
- Jack Daw in Charles de Lint's Someplace to be Flying

On Fri, Jul 27, 2012 at 12:51 PM, Grey Malkin <grymalkyn@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Yeah, I've been pretty much glued to AO3.
>
> I seem to always have a window open.
>
> I managed to read the next chapter during my lunch hour! Lovelovelove!
>
> Laurie

Glad you enjoyed it!

Gwyn

--
Rain and sun shall feed me now,
and roots, and nuts, and wild things,
and rustlings in the midnight wood,
half-mad, like Myrddin, wandering.

--Terri Windling

one day I am going to bloom
patient and proud
with fish in my mouth
and eyes in my wings

--Noe Venable


LJ: http://gwynraven.livejournal.com/

> Yeah, I've been pretty much glued to AO3.

I seem to always have a window open.

I managed to read the next chapter during my lunch hour! Lovelovelove!

Laurie

On Fri, Jul 27, 2012 at 12:32 PM, Grey Malkin <grymalkyn@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Fri, Jul 27, 2012 at 9:14 AM, Deb Counts-Tabor <just.deb@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Fandom is one thing I still think LJ is best for - the community
>> system is great and not well duplicated anywhere else.
>
> I've been spending a lot of time at AO3. The fic exchange I'm
> currently in originated on LJ, but posting will all be over at AO3
> instead.
>

Yeah, I've been pretty much glued to AO3.

Gwyn


--
Rain and sun shall feed me now,
and roots, and nuts, and wild things,
and rustlings in the midnight wood,
half-mad, like Myrddin, wandering.

--Terri Windling

one day I am going to bloom
patient and proud
with fish in my mouth
and eyes in my wings

--Noe Venable


LJ: http://gwynraven.livejournal.com/

On Fri, Jul 27, 2012 at 12:32 PM, Grey Malkin <grymalkyn@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Yeah...I've committed a couple of pieces myself. (And I'm waiting for
>>> *your* next chapter.)
>>>
>> It's up!
>
> And NOW I'm waiting for time to read it!
>
> Laurie

Doesn't that suck?

Gwyn

--
Rain and sun shall feed me now,
and roots, and nuts, and wild things,
and rustlings in the midnight wood,
half-mad, like Myrddin, wandering.

--Terri Windling

one day I am going to bloom
patient and proud
with fish in my mouth
and eyes in my wings

--Noe Venable


LJ: http://gwynraven.livejournal.com/

>> Yeah...I've committed a couple of pieces myself. (And I'm waiting for
>> *your* next chapter.)
>>
> It's up!

And NOW I'm waiting for time to read it!

Laurie

On Fri, Jul 27, 2012 at 9:14 AM, Deb Counts-Tabor <just.deb@gmail.com> wrote:
> Fandom is one thing I still think LJ is best for - the community
> system is great and not well duplicated anywhere else.

I've been spending a lot of time at AO3. The fic exchange I'm
currently in originated on LJ, but posting will all be over at AO3
instead.

Laurie

On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 10:06 PM, Deb Counts-Tabor <just.deb@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 6:46 PM, Grey Malkin <grymalkyn@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> > I've been *committing* Avengers fan fiction lately, in addition to
>> > reading it.
>>
>> Yeah...I've committed a couple of pieces myself. (And I'm waiting for
>> *your* next chapter.)
>>
>> > On the one hand, I'm writing again, on the other, I'm a
>> > little embarrassed :)
>>
>> That's kind of how I feel about it, sort of like the writing
>> equivalent of a middle-aged woman wearing her teenage daughter's
>> clothing. On the other hand, I'm having fun and I'm not stressing
>> about it like I always did about The Grey House or any of those other
>> dreadful original pieces I committed.
>>
>> Laurie
>
>
> I see it as immediate feedback for how my characterization, plot and
> storytelling are doing.
>
> D.

Exactly!

Gwyn

On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 9:46 PM, Grey Malkin <grymalkyn@gmail.com> wrote:
>> I've been *committing* Avengers fan fiction lately, in addition to
>> reading it.
>
> Yeah...I've committed a couple of pieces myself. (And I'm waiting for
> *your* next chapter.)
>
It's up!

Gwyn



--
Rain and sun shall feed me now,
and roots, and nuts, and wild things,
and rustlings in the midnight wood,
half-mad, like Myrddin, wandering.

--Terri Windling

one day I am going to bloom
patient and proud
with fish in my mouth
and eyes in my wings

--Noe Venable


LJ: http://gwynraven.livejournal.com/

On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 7:06 PM, Maida 'Mac' Cain <maida.mac@gmail.com> wrote:
[snip well-deserved venting]

I'm so sorry, Mac. I knew most of that already, of course, but I've
been out of touch on Facebook for awhile, so I probably haven't been
offering as much support as I should be. I really hope things start
getting better for you, and you're always welcome to vent to me -
either on-list or privately.

Gwyn

--
Rain and sun shall feed me now,
and roots, and nuts, and wild things,
and rustlings in the midnight wood,
half-mad, like Myrddin, wandering.

--Terri Windling

one day I am going to bloom
patient and proud
with fish in my mouth
and eyes in my wings

--Noe Venable


LJ: http://gwynraven.livejournal.com/

On Fri, Jul 27, 2012 at 9:40 AM, Jax Goss <royaldragon@gmail.com> wrote:
> I sympathise deeply, especially on the breakup thing,
> since I am going through a similar malarcky at present.

Ditto, times two maybe. One and a half, at least.

Still waiting to finalize the divorce, although things have been going
much better lately. We probably won't be drinking buddies when it's
all over, but we can talk cordially, and I'm comfortable enough
offering to work on her car (it's covered by the same repair manual as
mine, so tools/knowledge will be pretty interchangeable), and so
forth.

Haven't written about it on FB or LJ or anywhere else, really, but my
inability to force companies to hire me (or even call for an
interview, most times) is hurting my relationship here with my
girlfriend. I've been pretty much living on her charity while the
company flailed uselessly, and it's put an additional strain where
there's already enough issues she's dealing with. In short, we're
planning an exit strategy there. She's pretty sure we'll still be
together while living apart, but then until recently she was pretty
sure we would still be living together. I've been preparing for it
for a while, as I've been almost positive this was going to happen.
All it will take is for me to be able to support myself and my kids
and pay for the moving costs and replace all the stuff I got rid of
moving here because I never thought I'd be doing that again... sigh.

At least one breakup is becoming amicable and the other is, and should
hopefully remain so.

>> However, somehow, I am going to make it to Portland next week. I'm
>> still working on the logistics, but I'm looking forward to seeing some
>> of you that I haven't met before now.
>>
>
> Since you have long been one of the people I most wanted to meet on TH, I am
> very very happy to hear this. :)

Really wish I could get to Portland and see everyone!


--
Cheers,
Everett

everett@everettawarren.com
ellyssian@gmail.com
everettawarren.com

--
"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded." Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Fandom is one thing I still think LJ is best for - the community
system is great and not well duplicated anywhere else.

Sent mobile!

On Jul 27, 2012, at 3:49 AM, Grey Malkin <grymalkyn@gmail.com> wrote:

>> I see it as immediate feedback for how my characterization, plot and
>> storytelling are doing.
>
> I do love collecting those kudos!
>
> Laurie

> I see it as immediate feedback for how my characterization, plot and
> storytelling are doing.

I do love collecting those kudos!

Laurie

Oh, Mac... Who or what is supporting you in all of this? What resources, if any, are available to you?

Ellen
"Literature stops in 1100. After that, it's just books."
-- JRR Tolkien

my oh my - I have been happy to help you in what ever small ways I can.

Susan Allen
Kill them with kindness. Unless you have a gun."


-------Original Message-------
From: "Maida 'Mac' Cain"
Sent: 07/26/2012 04:06 PM
To:tamson-house@googlegroups.com
Subject:The incredibly mundane saga of how Mac's world fall apart.

Hey, all.

I've been enjoying reading a list that's a lot more like old times.
You've been cracking me up.

Anyways, I guess I needed to vent some more, since I've been keeping
this from Facebook. I know that I'll pick myself back up and start
kicking ass again, I'm just kind of tired of it. Now you know, if you
care, why I've generally been so damn quiet, though.

~ Mac, the former Liss, etc.

--
Maida 'Mac/Lys' Cain

"I think maybe we started to forget when we stopped looking up.
Instead of remembering there was a world of sky up there above our
heads, we'd sit on the ground and look at our feet."
- Jack Daw in Charles de Lint's  Someplace to be Flying

On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 9:46 PM, Grey Malkin <grymalkyn@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On the one hand, I'm writing again, on the other, I'm a
>> little embarrassed :)

Writing again is a good thing. I've been doing a lot of that lately. =)

One story just went to a second editor tonight, and it's going to be
ready to go to it's anthology before the deadline (wasn't sure I'd
make it!) so now I can start work on one of the two stories for two
anthologies due on September 1st...

Also (self) published my first collection of poetry today, and did
business cards for the collection of short fiction for a while ago.

As I gear up to promote books that are not self-published, I'm trying
to promote the ones that were...

Also took over my former company's website and repurposed it for
"Natural News and Mythical Meanderings" ~ hope to spend some more time
on that, reworking the Green Man logo from the company (i.e. designing
some text to go with the face).

(Of course, most of you have seen this on Facebook and/or LiveJournal,
most likely, so you know it already... if not, you can track down most
of the stuff at my website, in my signature below! =)


--
Cheers,
Everett

everett@everettawarren.com
ellyssian@gmail.com
everettawarren.com

<snippage>

I'm so sorry to read all of this, Mac. I knew some of it, of course, but....

I'll be thinking of you.

Laurie

> I've been *committing* Avengers fan fiction lately, in addition to
> reading it.

Yeah...I've committed a couple of pieces myself. (And I'm waiting for
*your* next chapter.)

> On the one hand, I'm writing again, on the other, I'm a
> little embarrassed :)

That's kind of how I feel about it, sort of like the writing
equivalent of a middle-aged woman wearing her teenage daughter's
clothing. On the other hand, I'm having fun and I'm not stressing
about it like I always did about The Grey House or any of those other
dreadful original pieces I committed.

Laurie

>>
>> ~ Mac, the former Liss, etc.
>>
> Holy crap, Mac! I'm so sorry you're going through all of this. I mean,
> wow. Just no words.
>
> Regarding your son with the stomach pains. Have they checked for celiac's
> disease? It may be to simplistic an answer for something that severe, but
> it's worth a shot.
>
> I wish I had more advice, but I'm at a loss.
>
> But you can always vent here.
>
> --
> Jen

Well done, Jen.

I was just about to suggest that as my gorgeous ex-sister-in-law was
diagnosed only a
year ago with same.

After years of Very Bad Things happening in her tummy.

& you are so right - there really are no words. I can only offer empathy to
Mac from far away,
& send her positive thoughts, as I suffered *all* the bad things in my own
life over 5 years.

Also, it wasnt the doctors who discovered celiac's disease, but someone
already known to have it, that enabled my Karen to get the help she
required.

Manda, praying for many positives along Mac's journey.

On Tue, Jul 24, 2012 at 5:07 PM, Grey Malkin <grymalkyn@gmail.com> wrote:

> I'm still working my way through the Discworld books. I started Going
> Postal the other night. I've also been reading a lot of Avengers fan
> fiction, but we won't talk about that.

I've been *committing* Avengers fan fiction lately, in addition to
reading it. On the one hand, I'm writing again, on the other, I'm a
little embarrassed :)

Gwyn



--
Rain and sun shall feed me now,
and roots, and nuts, and wild things,
and rustlings in the midnight wood,
half-mad, like Myrddin, wandering.

--Terri Windling

one day I am going to bloom
patient and proud
with fish in my mouth
and eyes in my wings

--Noe Venable


LJ: http://gwynraven.livejournal.com/

Donna:
>> Sweet feathery lemon scented Odin, Mal!

Manda:
> I love this! May I please have permission to use it in my real life?

Of course! Except I'd leave off "Mal."

Donna



--
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
You can call yourself whatever you want; it's what you do that matters.

On Wed, Jul 25, 2012 at 11:01 AM, <piratejenny@verizon.net> wrote:

> And Mal and I are real, individual people. We've even been seen in the same place at the same time.

And the skies cracked open, and fire rained down...

Oh wait, never mind, that was something else...

Kirsten

Kris said:
> Are any of you familiar with The Great Courses website?
> http://www.thegreatcourses.com/
> They have university level courses in a wide variety of subjects available
> to download, or on CD, or on DVD. I've enjoyed many of them and am a bit
> amused at myself as I always seem to pick a science based course. Given my
> preference for literature and language over math and science in college I
> had assumed when I started looking through their catalogue that I would be
> picking from the literature courses. Currently, I'm waiting for the once a
> year sale on all science courses so I can get Understanding the Human Body
> and/or Understanding the Brain at a less 'ouch' price.
>
> Kris
>
>

Oh! That sounds really neat! I will have to look into it. I have a
commute to school of over an hour, and I've been looking for something
to pass the time.

Maybe you enjoy the science courses better because there isn't a grade
attached to it? Less pressure to succeed, so that you can concentrate
on actually learning?

- Carol

--
Ancora Imparo ( I am still learning) ~Michelangelo

On 07/25/12, Sibyl Smirl wrote:

On 7/25/12 12:20 PM, piratejenny@verizon.net wrote:

> Jen: I'll tell you what a lot of people have against it. You use it as an excuse. Every time you fuck up, you blame your Asperger's. Which, if I've read correctly, has only been diagnosed by your daughter telling a doctor what you're like, not by you actually seeing a doctor and being diagnosed with it. Which is more a "it sounds like she might have it" not a real diagnosis.
>

S: Actually, my daughter first figured out what it was. She knew me better
than anyone else, from thirty-some years with me, and had taken a couple
of modern Counseling courses in college. I was going to the local
Mental Health Center for my antidepressant prescriptions for my
long-standing Clinical Depression, and she told the administration
people there about her speculation. At that place, they didn't have
anyone qualified to diagnose it, especially in an adult. But they did
send me to the State Children's Hospital, fifty miles away, to a PhD
specialist in Autism, who was writing a paper about adults with
undiagnosed Aspergers. She did diagnose me, as well as getting more
data from me, test results and memories, for her paper.

__

J: I stand corrected there.

S: As far as I can see, I don't "use it for an excuse". I like for people
to know that I have it, so that they'll have an idea _why_ I don't
"smell right" socially.

___

J: Oh, but you do. Every time someone takes exception to what you say, you play the AS card. "It must have been my Asperger's. Therefore I'm not responsible." Wrong. You are responsible for what you do.

> Like I said yesterday, we own our shit here. We fuck up, we admit to it. And some of us even learn from it. YOU insist that everyone else is wrong. That WE are not connected with reality. Like I said yesterday, look in the mirror, dearie. It seems as if your concept of reality is tenuous at best.

S:Trouble is, I can't admit to what I can't see. As far as I can tell,
I'm just discussing, not fighting.

J: Telling us we're disconnected from reality? Not a discussion.

>
> Jen says: it's not that you don't understand it's that you don't WANT to understand. You've appeared to show you're perfectly capable of understanding when you want to.
>

S: How do you know what I "WANT"? What I want is to be known, and to learn
and know as well as I am able.

J: From dealing with sociopaths in the past maybe? And if you want to be known, you certainly are. Most of us would like to be known in a positive way or not at all. That's why it's a good idea to lurk on lists until you know the rules.

> Whoever you are? That sounds like something a troll would say.

S: It's that _I_ don't know who I am. A lot of the indicators are from
other people, reflecting back at me like mirrors, and it's like
fun-house mirrors, because I can't even recognize what I see in them,
especially when it's you and Mal reflecting. It could be a reflection
of somebody else.

J: If you don't know who you are by now, I think you could use some heavy-duty therapy.

And Mal and I are real, individual people. We've even been seen in the same place at the same time.

On Wed, Jul 25, 2012 at 2:14 AM, Manda Kalmar <zacandmanda@bigpond.com> wrote:
>>
>> Sibyl Smirl
>> mailto:polycarpa3@ckt.net
>> Asperges me, Domine!
>
>
> FUCK your 'Asperges me' soliloquay!
>
> People on this list are MAZING HUMAN BEINGS - - who have (before now)
> helped me SO MUCH for my "professionial life" hey.
>
> PLEASE, Sibyl............
>
> DONT keep FUCKING UP THIS LIST, hey!

Hey, I know that Sibyl's been driving a lot of people crazy, but I was
actually enjoying the conversation on this thread. Can we please make
sure when we're tempted to respond with such intensity that it's
actually warranted?

I know, I know, far be it from me to intervene, but just as I don't
want Sibyl to derail, I don't really want other people to derail
unless it really seems necessary. Manda, maybe it seemed necessary to
you, in which case I'll shut up, but this one sort of made me go,
"Whoa, where'd that come from?"

Kirsten

On 7/25/12 12:20 PM, piratejenny@verizon.net wrote:

> Jen: I'll tell you what a lot of people have against it. You use it as an excuse. Every time you fuck up, you blame your Asperger's. Which, if I've read correctly, has only been diagnosed by your daughter telling a doctor what you're like, not by you actually seeing a doctor and being diagnosed with it. Which is more a "it sounds like she might have it" not a real diagnosis.
>

Actually, my daughter first figured out what it was. She knew me better
than anyone else, from thirty-some years with me, and had taken a couple
of modern Counseling courses in college. I was going to the local
Mental Health Center for my antidepressant prescriptions for my
long-standing Clinical Depression, and she told the administration
people there about her speculation. At that place, they didn't have
anyone qualified to diagnose it, especially in an adult. But they did
send me to the State Children's Hospital, fifty miles away, to a PhD
specialist in Autism, who was writing a paper about adults with
undiagnosed Aspergers. She did diagnose me, as well as getting more
data from me, test results and memories, for her paper.

As far as I can see, I don't "use it for an excuse". I like for people
to know that I have it, so that they'll have an idea _why_ I don't
"smell right" socially.

> Like I said yesterday, we own our shit here. We fuck up, we admit to it. And some of us even learn from it. YOU insist that everyone else is wrong. That WE are not connected with reality. Like I said yesterday, look in the mirror, dearie. It seems as if your concept of reality is tenuous at best.

Trouble is, I can't admit to what I can't see. As far as I can tell,
I'm just discussing, not fighting.

>
> Jen says: it's not that you don't understand it's that you don't WANT to understand. You've appeared to show you're perfectly capable of understanding when you want to.
>

How do you know what I "WANT"? What I want is to be known, and to learn
and know as well as I am able.

> Whoever you are? That sounds like something a troll would say.

It's that _I_ don't know who I am. A lot of the indicators are from
other people, reflecting back at me like mirrors, and it's like
fun-house mirrors, because I can't even recognize what I see in them,
especially when it's you and Mal reflecting. It could be a reflection
of somebody else.


--

Sibyl Smirl
mailto:polycarpa3@ckt.net
Asperges me, Domine!

On Wed, Jul 25, 2012 at 10:39 AM, Ellen Rawson <silme13@yahoo.com> wrote:

> I think that my sister was 12 when a rather conservative teacher caught her reading my mother's (hardcover) copy of the recently published "To Kill a Mockingbird". The teacher exclaimed that it was a highly inappropriate book for her to be reading and asked if her mother knew she was reading it.

And now it's routinely assigned reading for middle school age kids! I
wonder if said teacher lived long enough to see that happen?

Kirsten

--- On Wed, 7/25/12, Maida 'Mac' Cain <maida.mac@gmail.com> wrote:

>
> Gods know, I read an huge pile of age inappropriate novels
> at a much
> younger age...

I think that my sister was 12 when a rather conservative teacher caught her reading my mother's (hardcover) copy of the recently published "To Kill a Mockingbird". The teacher exclaimed that it was a highly inappropriate book for her to be reading and asked if her mother knew she was reading it.

The teacher was very surpised when my sister responded that it was her mother's copy of the book and that her mother had recommended that she read it. And then my mother later told the teacher that she felt it was a very age appropriate book for my sister.

That's one marvelous thing about my mother. She never restricted books -- never said we were too young to read something. Otherwise, I'm sure I wouldn't have read "Lord of the Rings" at 10 and "Beowulf" at 11.

Ellen

--- On Wed, 7/25/12, Malachi Kenney <kfringe@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> There's the problem. I have the old man's instinct of
> thinking that those damned kids are just going to eat candy
> anyway, so I should offer them I high fiber diet. Tolstoy!
> That's what teenagers need! And Hemingway! He talks about
> lesbians; it'll be good for 'em. And let's make 'em read
> Huxley! And... oh, hell... this is how english class ruins
> books for people, isn't it?

I try not to have my English lit classes ruin books for students. I really do. :)

Here in Britain, I do have to deal with lists. Exam boards tell us what books the students have to read for their exams. If we don't study those books, the kids are screwed. But I'm honest with the students. I'll tell them the books on the lists. I'll give them plot summaries and show them the Amazon reviews. I'll tell them if the book put me to sleep, if I liked it etc. But I'm a radical. :)

And when I get to choose the texts all on my own, I try to find ones I think the kids will enjoy. When Ian and I first saw "Jerusalem" in the tiny Royal Court Theatre (in London, but not the West End -- and our seats, which were great, cost £18 each, so the train fare was more expensive), I knew I wanted to share that play with students. Therefore, last year, when I had to teach two post-1990 plays for the kids to compare for coursework, "Jerusalem" was an easy choice for the first play.

The students loved it. The play returned to the West End from NYC last autumn and I took them to see it. They loved it even more and actually thanked me for arranging the trip. Wow.

I'm always happy when I manage to select a piece of lit that both the students and I like.

Ellen

On 07/25/12, Kirsten Brodbeck-Kenney wrote:

On Wed, Jul 25, 2012 at 3:35 AM, Bernard Peek <bap@shrdlu.com> wrote:
> Personally I wouldn't recommend any of the sequels to anyone, regardless of
> age. Herbert wrote some very good stuff but most of his work is dire. I'd
> recommend Dune and Dragon in the Sea (vt: Under Pressure) but can't recall
> anything else worth reading.

I read the rest of Frank Herbert's Dune books earlier this year --
hadn't even gotten around to them before. I definitely adored them,
but I sort of feel like you have to be the kind of person who will
happily watch the entirety of "I, Claudius" in one or two goes to
enjoy them. It's all talking!

____

Jen: OH! That explains why T adores them!

However, he avoids Brian Herbert's stuff like the plague. Seems he's nowhere near as good as his dad (but it is a hard legacy to live up to).

On 07/25/12, Kirsten Brodbeck-Kenney wrote:

On Wed, Jul 25, 2012 at 6:32 AM, <piratejenny@verizon.net> wrote:
>> Jen says: I think there's something about the computer screen that doesn't make things stick in your brain. Or something. We've found that since electronic copyediting and such, there are many more mistakes than when we worked entirely on paper. And I know I find more mistakes in the paper passes.

Yeah, if I'm editing for punctuation, etc., I much prefer having a
printout to work from. I like making the changes on the computer
screen, because it's fast, but there's something tactile missing
without having a printout. Which makes me feel bad -- I hate to print
things out only to recycle them a day later.

__

Jen: at least you recycle them. Most people would just toss 'em.

But I utterly agree about the tactile thing.

On 07/25/12, Kirsten Brodbeck-Kenney wrote:

On Wed, Jul 25, 2012 at 6:22 AM, <piratejenny@verizon.net> wrote:

> Jen says: Besides, did any of us ever claim Mal was human? :-)

Oh, c'mon. He's human. He mistypes "cannon" when he means "canon." He
snores. Sometimes he admits he's wrong. He's actually pretty GOOD at
admitting he's wrong -- better than a lot of people -- if he thinks
the admission's warranted.

___
Jen says: yeah, okay. And he's actually a pretty nice guy. When he's had his coffee/beer/beef. :-) I was just teasing, really.

> Also, it's not like Mal hasn't come down on people he likes. If you remember the conversation about profiling a few days ago. If he thinks something's wrong, he'll call the poster out. >And that's expected here. So we disagree on aspects of FBI profiling. We disagree about a lot of things. And if that comes up on list, it keeps things interesting.

There is honestly nothing Mal enjoys more than being disagreed with in
an intelligent and informed manner. And he's not the only one on this
list who feels that way.


____
Jen says: Nope.

On 07/25/12, Sibyl Smirl wrote:

On 7/25/12 4:14 AM, Manda Kalmar wrote:
>>
>> Sibyl Smirl
>> mailto:polycarpa3@ckt.net
>> Asperges me, Domine!
>
> FUCK your 'Asperges me' soliloquay!
>
> People on this list are MAZING HUMAN BEINGS - - who have (before now)
> helped me SO MUCH for my "professionial life" hey.
>
> PLEASE, Sibyl............
>
> DONT keep FUCKING UP THIS LIST, hey!

Where did that come from? I rather like my sig line, and it's the
custom in a lot of e-mail places to have one.

___

Jen says: It comes from you fucking up the list.


Sibyl: Probably the origin of Dr Asperger's surname had to do with the Mass in
some way or another:


___

Jen: wow, that's a completely unfounded theory.

Sibyl: What do you have against it? I need all the
blessings I can get, and sometimes it seems as if the AS is a blessing
as well as a curse.

__

Jen: I'll tell you what a lot of people have against it. You use it as an excuse. Every time you fuck up, you blame your Asperger's. Which, if I've read correctly, has only been diagnosed by your daughter telling a doctor what you're like, not by you actually seeing a doctor and being diagnosed with it. Which is more a "it sounds like she might have it" not a real diagnosis.

Like I said yesterday, we own our shit here. We fuck up, we admit to it. And some of us even learn from it. YOU insist that everyone else is wrong. That WE are not connected with reality. Like I said yesterday, look in the mirror, dearie. It seems as if your concept of reality is tenuous at best.



Sybil: I still don't understand in what way I'm "FUCKING UP THIS LIST", though
some other people seem to agree with you. Since I don't understand what
that means, or what untoward things I've been doing (though others have
tried to tell me), I guess that means just one more indication that I
(whoever I am) am not wanted and should absent myself entirely.

___

Jen says: it's not that you don't understand it's that you don't WANT to understand. You've appeared to show you're perfectly capable of understanding when you want to.

Whoever you are? That sounds like something a troll would say.

On Wed, Jul 25, 2012 at 4:37 AM, Donna Scanlon <scanlon.donna@gmail.com> wrote:

> In any case, a woman who puts
> up with you screaming about corn subsidies at 1 in the morning is not
> a woman to patently abuse a textile instrument.

To be fair, it was more like a pronouncement.

> I once wrote a short short about a guy trying to hijack a plane that
> happens to be full of knitters/crocheters/weavers/spinners on the way
> back from a wool festival. When he threatens to set off a bomb in the
> hold, the prospect of all the yarn, fleece, spinning wheels, etc in
> their luggage being destroyed turns the passengers into a raging mob
> who swiftly overcome him as well as his confederates and truss them up
> with vintage acrylic yarn (circa 1973). Only the admission that the
> bomb threat was a bluff spares him. In the end, a sweet, white-haired,
> grandmotherly type offers him some advice: "Never fuck with the
> stash."

I LOVE it. I'm picturing someone using a circular needle as a garotte!

Kirsten

On Wed, Jul 25, 2012 at 3:35 AM, Bernard Peek <bap@shrdlu.com> wrote:
> Personally I wouldn't recommend any of the sequels to anyone, regardless of
> age. Herbert wrote some very good stuff but most of his work is dire. I'd
> recommend Dune and Dragon in the Sea (vt: Under Pressure) but can't recall
> anything else worth reading.

I read the rest of Frank Herbert's Dune books earlier this year --
hadn't even gotten around to them before. I definitely adored them,
but I sort of feel like you have to be the kind of person who will
happily watch the entirety of "I, Claudius" in one or two goes to
enjoy them. It's all talking!

Kirsten

On Wed, Jul 25, 2012 at 6:32 AM, <piratejenny@verizon.net> wrote:
>> Jen says: I think there's something about the computer screen that doesn't make things stick in your brain. Or something. We've found that since electronic copyediting and such, there are many more mistakes than when we worked entirely on paper. And I know I find more mistakes in the paper passes.

Yeah, if I'm editing for punctuation, etc., I much prefer having a
printout to work from. I like making the changes on the computer
screen, because it's fast, but there's something tactile missing
without having a printout. Which makes me feel bad -- I hate to print
things out only to recycle them a day later.

Kirsten

On Wed, Jul 25, 2012 at 6:28 AM, <maryann@kih.net> wrote:
> What is FTW? If it's good, same for me.

For The Win -- I don't know where it started, but I feel it should be
accompanied by a fistpump.

Kirsten

On Wed, Jul 25, 2012 at 6:22 AM, <piratejenny@verizon.net> wrote:

> Jen says: Besides, did any of us ever claim Mal was human? :-)

Oh, c'mon. He's human. He mistypes "cannon" when he means "canon." He
snores. Sometimes he admits he's wrong. He's actually pretty GOOD at
admitting he's wrong -- better than a lot of people -- if he thinks
the admission's warranted.

> Also, it's not like Mal hasn't come down on people he likes. If you remember the conversation about profiling a few days ago. If he thinks something's wrong, he'll call the poster out. >And that's expected here. So we disagree on aspects of FBI profiling. We disagree about a lot of things. And if that comes up on list, it keeps things interesting.

There is honestly nothing Mal enjoys more than being disagreed with in
an intelligent and informed manner. And he's not the only one on this
list who feels that way.

> At least he says he likes me.

I'll let him handle that one. ;)

Kirsten