Independence Day, Plugs, and Chart Funny #2

Happy Fourth of July. There is nothing more perfect than a three-day weekend, unless it is an entire week off, an old-school summer vacation, or the complete liberty to do only as one wishes for the rest of one's natural life.

I didn't mention previously that I also write, and have been paid for, articles for Demand Studios.com. Mostly because I am not sure how to link to my stuff. I just finished one about whether or not h pylori infections can be transmitted in the womb. I am perhaps most pleased because I got to post a cute picture of a gerbil with it, since I cited a study done with pregnant gerbils. For the most part, though, I find the Demand Studios stuff difficult, because you have to select specific topics, and the list of things I know absolutely nothing about is embarrassingly large. Of course, I had to laugh when I saw a topic titled, "How to Remove Urine from a Laptop Computer." The article I would have written would not have met the length requirements--i.e., "Try not to be such a butthead that people want to pee on your computer!"

For the moment, I'm done with self-promotion, so I will turn to some plugs for others I have been meaning to make. One of the blogs I follow is http://livesofthespiders.blogspot.com. This is the work of my dear friend Robert McDonald, whom I have known since high school. He is an amazing poet, and his blog is a lot prettier than mine. He lives in Chicago.

I also want to say thank you to my first "follower" (I hate that word--makes me feel like I'm trying to start a cult), Margaret Bumby. She is a friend from U of M days--the most amazing mixture of determination and kindness you'd ever want to meet. She goes to a lot of science fiction conventions, and chronicles her adventures at http://mbumby.livejournal.com. I am so blessed in my friends.

Chart funny #2: "Breast augmentation in 1997. Breast reduction in 2000." Make up your mind!