Lovely things have arrived by mail

A birthday card from my Dad to the Kid

She's eleventeen

Also from Dad, a box of Weet-Bix cereal

The inimitable HH Munro wrote a short story about Weet-Bix but

 to avoid copyright infringement he called it Filboid Studge.

tastes better than it looks, especially as a fry breading ; )

And best of all,

LOOT!

music from one of the best bands ever, BeHeld

(think Peter Paul & Mary but with ukelele and quirk, or just go have a listen)

including a genuine Cardboard Reality Intervention(TM)

AND the new demo CD

 (I rub my hands together in hipsterish glee and fancy that I have the only one in existence) 

which will be more widely distributed as soon as Spaceman finds the time and the use of his eyeball.

 

There, I Fixed It

fig 2, Where the washing machine used to drain

fig 1, (red arrow) where the washing machine drained previously to being
diverted out the window via waterslide, back in the good ol'days before the
metal pipe collapsed somewhere underground; fig 3, (green arrow) where the
washing machine drains now since I diverted it via PVC pipe thru the old dryer vent

So my Syrian friend isn't dead, but his cousin is. Things were bad in Damascus over the weekend.

 Despite the proposed cease-fire for the Eid-al-Adha holiday, government airstrikes killed over 500.
I've no clue what to do about that, other than post a gif of candles for those killed. I'm sad for my friend, and unable to wrap my head around the reality he's living and attending university in.

I'd vote for her!

<insert rant about the inefficacy of two-party politics>

Beautiful music!

Things worth knowing

tube, additive, test, department

s Yellow             no additive                       Blood Culture                                                        Microbiology

s Red                  no additive                       Chemistry, Serology, Blood Bank                           Chemistry

p Light Blue         Sodium Citrate                 PT, APTT, INR, D-Dimer, FDP,                          Hematology
                                                                   Fibrinogen, Platelet Function(hand carry)

s  Gold, Tiger,       silicone clot activator       Chem Panel, CMP, BMP, Electrolyte,                    Chemistry
 Red w/additive     (5 minute)                       Serum Myoglobin, Serum Calcium,
                                                                   Serum Bilirubin(protect from light)
                                                                   Gold tube for cold agglutinins(warm sample)

pst Light Green      Lithium Heparin gel         Stat Chemistry, Stat Potassium, BUN                     Chemistry  
                                                                    Uric Acid, Blood Alcohol  Amylase/Lipase
                                                                    CK,MB(creatinine kinase), Calcium
pst Dark Green     Sodium Heparin gel        Stat chemistry, CMP, electrolytes, ABG's                Chemistry                           
                                                                   Ammonia(ice sample)

p   Lavender          EDTA                            CBC, BNP, H&H, HgBa1c, ESR(sedimentation),
                                                                    platelet count, Reticulocyte count                         Hematology

     Gray                Potassium Oxalate           Blood Sugar, Glucose, Lactic Acid(ice sample)      Chemistry
                            Fluoride(inhibits glycolysis; can be room temp 24hrs, refrig 48)

    Pink                  K2 EDTA                       Blood bank samples (Red tube for antibodies)      Hematology,
                                                                    compatibility tests                                                Blood Bank

p  Tan                   Heparin                            Lead analysis                                                       Chemistry

   Royal Blue         Heparin, EDTA, none       Toxicology, trace metals, nutrition analysis             Chemistry

   Black                 Sodium Citrate                  Sedimentation rate                                               Hematology

   Pearl                   Polymer gel w/EDTA        Viral loads                                                        Microbiology

and the spacing looks really spectacular in "edit" mode, buit it's crap once published. Figures.

Animal of the Week

lately the Youtube has been too good not to share.

Weather Control

Those who were unaware of the extent of my superpowers can file this one next to "Car windows open/Car recently washed" and feel free to try it for yourself.
I can make it rain just by washing all the laundry and hanging it on the clothesline (minimum of 4 loads).
I can make the clouds disperse and the sun appear by taking down all the wet laundry and hauling it to the Launderama to use the dryers (minimum $2.50 in change).

Gave my Mom a tattoo for her Birthday last month.

now we are both badasses

I'm hoping to hear back from my Syrian friend who randomly befriended me via chat. It's been a few days, so he's probably either dead or arrested. We talked about horror movies, Islam, families, work, school, the sorry state of the world. The most poignant thing he said, and profound in the midst of election season here: "I hope one day I will choose my President". I hope so too, friend.

Oh say can you C

another one for the Illuminated Alphabet.

Corazon, cordis morbus, courage, cash, credit, cancer, casino,
cigarette, castrate, castigate, chasm, charmed, committed, competent,
capable, compassionate, companionate, Castle Nebulous,
charisma, cantata, catamenia, cosmic, creative, caught by the cunt

Largely inspired by a fragment of poetry

(with a nod to the wondrous work of Rima Staines)

also I currently have a Cold for which I am taking the relevant Vitamin.

and i've unpacked my winter Pajamas
which will enable me to survive anything

on the Career front, I've dived into a class for Phlebotomy which involves poking folks with needles. If you say it sloppily it can be mistaken for Lobotomy which isn't widely practiced anymore.