It wasn't just a creepy encounter -- like a lewd comment made on the street -- that she could shake off. "I had to have my fiancé for about a whole year walk me in and out of our house," she said. "I have had a loaded gun next to my bed ever since. I constantly think someone is following me." She says she'll stare at a small sliver of her bedroom window that isn't covered by the blinds and become convinced that "someone is watching me, someone is looking."

I've actually been RAPED and it didn't traumatize me that much.

Look, this is extremely creepy and pathetic, and I think women ought to call men out on it if they notice it (public humiliation is an excellent weapon). But I just can't get too worked up about it otherwise.

Sometimes casting is just casting. It's rather funny that the one openly gay man in Velvet Goldmine, Eddy Izzard, plays the one definitively straight character. But the casting in that movie is perfect. Who's to argue?

I don't think Eddie Izzard is gay. Totally agree with you on Velvet Goldmine, though--that is, without a doubt, one of my favorite EVER movies.

The GOP lost a congressional seat in Ohio. Or does that not count because the vote happened on November 4th, even though the results weren't certified until early this week?

Oohh, minivans are LAME. Bullshit. They hold a lot more in cargo and people than an SUV, and get better gas mileage to boot. You're just too cool for one.

Cept you're not, You bred. You have to haul kids and groceries and dogs around. You were driving a VOLVO WAGON fer chrissakes.

I'm tired, oh so tired, of hearing about how horrible minivans are. They're practical. Worrying about your image based on the vehicle you drive is silly--and trust me, everyone's already got you pegged anyway.

I believe that while I might have mentioned MPG (and in truth, my old minivan got very good MPG, much better than the estimate) my main complaint was that minivans are dismissed because they're "lame". Meaning the author just plain doesn't want to be seen in one. Puhleeeeze. What a tool.

My old boss has a sport utility bicycle, and they just bought a used Scion to transport themselves, 3 dogs, 2 kids and one exchange-student teenager. THAT was a little more honest than this dude.

Yeah, right now I have a Subaru Impreza Outback Sport wagon, in which I transport 3 dogs (to Agility and Flyball tournaments) 2 people and camping equipment. IF we need more space, we use the boyfriend's Ford Focus wagon, which holds a bit more. If we're feeling lazy and don't want to pack carefully, we borrow my parents' well-used Odyssey. Probably the Focus gets the best mileage. The Subaru was great when I lived in the Chicago area (and still is for occasional heavy snow) but I probably don't need AWD at this point. However, it's 7 years old and paid for.

Jesse White didn't sign Burris's credentials. Technically, Burris could not be seated. He knew this. That he chose to go and present his credentials, knowing they'd be turned away, and then *walk* out into the rain was HIS bit of political theater.

Eventually, I suspect, Burris will be seated, though I think much of Illinois isn't overjoyed about it. I really don't see how this is anything but a blip on the radar. Criticize Reid all you want, but this isn't *his* failure.

The old idea of writing being a skill that could earn money belongs to the era of buggy whips and printing presses.

It's called Technical Writing. There's nothing romantic about it, and mostly you're writing instructions for people who won't read them anyway, but (touch wood) so far I have yet to be unemployed. And I get to play with cool technology, learn about it, and document it.

Just saying.

DTMFA

Don't seem ever to have actually USED one.

There are 3 ipods, 2 Zunes, and a weird little Chinese knockoff of a weird little MP3 player in my house. Guess what always goes to the gym with us? (hint: the only one with an FM tuner).

Zunes are just as easy to use (slightly easier in the case of turning the volume up and down, which is always a problem for me on the iPod) and they're cheaper. Sound quality is better with the same headphones, and they have nicer screens.

Apple is more of a faith than a product.

I love my dogs--3 Shelties, soon to add a 4th--about as much as any reasonable person can, and my boyfriend loves them just as much. But we don't treat them like people:

1) We get 3 meals/day, they get one. We choose what we eat, they eat what we give them (and much less than they'd like)

2) My youngest dog is crated while I'm at work (due to his still-puppyish insistence on finding things to chew up while we're not looking). I hope to start letting him loose during the day soon. Crating for dogs=training. Crating for children/people=prosecution.

3) Aforesaid youngest dog will be neutered soon. Neutering for male dogs=nearly de rigeur. Neutering for male people=not so much, especially if they don't choose it.

4) My dogs have a job. They get to do Agility and Flyball with us. Thus, for certain things, we require unthinking obedience (though they get a lot of leeway in other areas). Unthinking obedience from people is unlikely.

5) When you are involved in dog sports, you meet a lot of people who are also involved in dog sports, and make a lot of friends--people who you otherwise would not have come across if you weren't doing dog sports. It's a very diverse community of people.

6) I get a lot of rewards from my association with dogs, and very little pain. I suspect that if I had children, the rewards would be greater, and so would the pain.