Lack of Concen- hey, a Metaphorical Squirrel!

I've got all this stuff in front of me to work on creating a presentation for my poli-sci class this coming week. Books, notes, a few images, ideas. Yet it's still so hard to just sit down and work. I'm not sure why that is. Maybe theraphy will help track that down.

I'm so glad today's Woot.com shirt has the space shuttle on it. May the dreams embodied in that project live forever, as they have since before the days of Vostok and Mercury.

This SMBC comic makes me really happy. It honestly does.

Title: Never Date a Physicist. Two people, a man and a woman, are embracing, perhaps about to kiss.

Man: "I will love you forever."
Woman: "Unspecified reference frame."

It kind of makes me think of my relationship with Danae. Never forever, but for as long as you want to be mine, and I yours.

Huh. I've been using this dog icon long enough that I'm starting to turn gray, kind of like her. Not in the muzzle though; just on top of my head.

Birthday Present

My parents sent me an Amazon gift card for my birthday. I spent a little of it on a case for my new phone (a pretty one with cherry blossoms!), but I have some left. I want to buy something enjoyable for myself but I can't decide what. Normally it would be a board game, but I haven't even opened the five boxes of board games I brought with me when I moved, so that would be kind of depressing. I'm thinking about a Spacerail marble roller coaster. I had one of those when I was younger and have wanted one for years. I even have a bunch of parts still in a box in Wisconsin. (I haven't built anything with them because some plastic parts have become too brittle with age to use.) But I have no where to put one here in my apartment. And I'm not sure if the distraction factor would outweigh the relaxation factor of watching it run.

I just don't know what I want for my birthday I guess. I want something that will make me feel happy; a real present to myself that I wouldn't buy with my own money. But I don't know what that is. Regardless, this is an issue the existence of which makes me feel loved, and I am grateful for that.

Atlas V Launch

Oh crap! I almost forgot about the rocket launch today! That'll be worth a break! https://youtu.be/M90MB93o_xQ

Completely unrelated, I want to find some good non-fat greek yogurt that's cheaper than Chobani. I'm penny-pinching groceries. Any suggestions?

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Uh-oh; it's not looking good for launch so far. Winds keep exceeding limits and they're running out of time.

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Launch is scrubbed for the day; the winds just wouldn't cooperate.

National Cookie Day? Ok!

A friend's post on Facebook reminded me that this is national cookie day! Of course, I have to celebrate. This evening I'm baking more of this cookie dough I bought at the discount grocery store. The brand name is, amusingly enough, Litefluff, but the nutritional information is exactly the same as the more expensive Price Chopper store brand, so I suspect it's the same product in a different wrapper.

Yes, I just ate some Ben and Jerry's "Chocolate Therapy" ice cream. But it's cookie day! One does not just walk away from cookie day without cookies, right? (The relative healthiness of my diet has not been, objectively speaking, so great lately. But I'm still eating lots of spinach!)

Healthcare Anger

Damn it, I'm so tired of seeing people forced into doing things like creating go-fund-me accounts to pay medical bills. This is god-damned ridiculous in this country. There is no legitimate reason for the United States' healthcare system to be structured this way. There is no reason to continue to accept this system as it is. There were moments in my 700 mile drive to get dental care for my girlfriend and I that were enjoyable. But the fact that I had to make that trip is inexcusable. Just inexcusable. And you know what's worse? The fact that I *could* make that trip puts me in a position of privilege. I had the *privilege* of driving three states away for healthcare and a part of me is grateful that I had the car and disposable income to do it with. The United States may not be a third world county, but there are sure as hell people living here who, in very significant aspects, wouldn't know the difference.

I was just finishing that rant up when Miriam called. We talked for a bit which is a wonderful thing. I'm not as angry as I was when I started this, and I can look at it with some distance. Doing so, I'm still content to let it stand as is. I do not see this as an acceptable situation.

It's hard to know what to do. One thing I can do, as can you if you're in the US, if laws and regulations allow, is to vote for Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary. Especially if you're in a contested state. He's the best option available at the moment for national implementation of things like a single-payer healthcare system, free higher education, and similar socialist policies.

(I know some people will argue that voting is useless. There's a rational argument to be made for that, but here and now is a poor time to make it. We can talk about it another time, but I can't do so calmly at the moment.)

Better Living Through Chemistry

In other news, I took my first dose of Escitalopram today. I'm glad I have a weekend to get used to the worst of the side effects. Now comes the fun of deciding what's an actual side effect vs. what my brain is doing to me all on its own because I'm *expecting* side effects.