Meyer Lemons

I always figured that Meyer lemons were not available in the store because they weren't as good as real lemons and no one wanted them.  I just learned that they are, in fact, a pretty awesome fruit. They are not generally available outside the southwest due to their delicate skin, which makes them difficult to ship.

This new makes me even more exited about the south-facing window in our new house.  For the first time ever, I won't be living in middle of a forest and may actually be able to grow some house plants.  Meyer lemon just made the candidate list.

Vet School Open House

UT's College of Veterinary Medicine is having it's annual open house this Saturday, April 14th from 9-4.  It's worth checking out. Here's my post on last year's event.

Johannes Cabal

I recently listened to the audio book versions of Johannes Cabal: Necromancer and Johannes Cabal: Detective, by Jonathan L. Howard.  These were right up my alley, in that they were dark, but not too dark, and laugh-out-loud funny in places.  Imagine a less creepy Neil Gaiman. 

In Necromancer, we meet Cabal, a brilliant scientist who has sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for knowledge of necromancy.  Alas, necromancy does not work quite right for the soulless, so Cabal wants it back.  A bored Satan makes him an offer:  If Cabal can collect 100 souls in one year, he can win back his own. To this end, the Devil lends him an evil, traveling carnival, a la Something Wicked This Way Comes.

In Detective, Cabal is escaping a death sentence in a foreign land by disguising himself as a government official and catching a ride on the last aeroship out of a county descending into civil war.  Unfortunately, he finds himself on board with a murderer.

Both books were lots of fun. I'm looking forward to reading the third book in the series: Johannes Cabal: The Fear Institute.

Celebrity Feminists Embrace the Stereotype

It's like an Onion satire of a humorless, feminist scold... but it's real. 

There's a lot wrong with this piece, but I liked this line: "His longtime favorite term for women, "femi-nazi," doesn't even raise eyebrows anymore..."

 Um....ladies?  Rush doesn't call all women femi-nazis.  Just you.  Your creepy desire to set yourselves up as arbiters of acceptable speech makes me think he's got a point.

The Start Up of You

The Start Up Of You: Adapt To The Future, Invest In Yourself, And Transform Your Career by Reid Hoffman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Reid Hoffman is the co-founder of LinkedIn, so I thought this book might just be an extended commercial, but, in fact, it was quite useful. It helps the reader understand what a network is, how to build one and how to use it in a non-creepy, mutually beneficial way.

Mitt at CPAC just now:

"I served in government, but I didn't inhale."  Cute. And really good speech overall. 

Knoxville Man Arrested For Death Threat Against AZ Sheriff

Don't let your yankee friends tell you Tennessee is full of right-wing wackos.  We have left-wing wackos too:

The postings read in part: "I plan to kill Arpaio first. He will be filled with a thousand bullet holes before the year is out. I promise you this. He won't **** with Obama. He will be buried 10 feet under and his whole family will be murdered along with him."

This is like totally accurate.... you know?

I'm not sure this is a completely modern phenomenon.  I recall teachers encouraging my junior high self to make declarative statements. "Are you asking me, or telling me"?, they would inquire.  Yet still, I persisted:  "Paraguay? 42?  Thomas Jefferson?"  Whatever the question, I answered with another question.

Either way, this video completely captures the desire to achieve consensus before committing to a position.



via Bookworm

Never Enough

Am I the only one who was a bit disappointed to find out that Mitt Romney only makes $21 million a year?  We'd need at least 23 Romneys taxed at 100% just to pay off that bad loan we made to Solyndra. 

I'm generally against higher taxes, but somehow...... I thought there'd be more.  It still surprises me every time I see how little money is available to pay off our enormous debt.

Speaking of which:  Bill Whittle strikes again.