Facial recommendation?
I'm thinking of getting a friend a facial for a b-day present.  Any recommendations for a place/person in/around Davis Square that is quality, friendly, won't lecture about skin care and won't try to push unwanted products on clients?

Thanks!

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Muhahahaha!
We did a hive inspection today and more pictures will follow once I get them all into the web album, but I just had to share this one.
What we have here is a fracken beautiful sight, and a wonderfully good sign of a healthy hive...this is a durn near full frame of honey.
The white is "capped" honey, little cells that have little wax caps on them.  The non-white area is also full of honey, those cells just aren't capped yet.

The frame weighs about 5 pounds, and it's only half full, it's only this one side.

HONEY!!

mmmmm....honey...

 

(1 Comment |Let me tell you this about that!)

1-br apartment in Malden, Sept 1
Saw one person for it today but not sure they will be a good fit, so i'm mentioning it again here: 1-BR apartment for rent in Malden, friendly landlady (me!)
the details
Can show it Wed, thurs, fri this week. Maybe even Monday midday if someone's hot to see it.

Current Mood: hopeful

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Fresh Thread

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/bRuz/~3/340982741/2008_07_20_archive.html

In a plane.

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I am a silly little girl with a silly little crush. I should see to that.

That being said, I'm very happy that Lisimba is here, and so far his visit is going well. I am, however, reminded of just how very hard I am to live with. Eldrad must be a saint or something.

-K

Current Mood: amused

(4 Comments |Let me tell you this about that!)

Wanker of the Day

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/bRuz/~3/340905394/2008_07_20_archive.html

Patrick Beach.

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expression
It calms me to look at things that have caught my eye that I've been able to capture and share with others. It is another form of expression I've been lacking at over the last few months. So I've been going through some pics from the year to see if there's anything worth posting. Have found a handful. Unfortunately, have found that there is a possible failure on my media drive that is corrupting files...wonderful...guess I should have gotten that backup back when I first thought of it. Hopefully I'll be able to recover from most of the corruption, but we'll see. Back up your files kids, you'll regret it if you don't - I know I do.

Anyways, here are a couple I pulled out before I got disgusted that were decent and unfuxx0r3d...

http://pics.livejournal.com/autumnsshadow/gallery/0002b3ks

...would love to go back and get the jellies with the new cam...the old didn't do them much justice by any stretch.

Current Mood: annoyed

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Calling All Geeks! Call All Geeks! Come in, Geeks!
I need help from my Dr.Who and Torchwood geeks, please!

OK, for some reason I think I may not have seen the actual Dr.Who episdoe where Jack becomes immortal. I mean, I watched the season - but did I accidentally send that disk back unwatched? Did I miss an episode?

What are the specific Jack episodes in Dr.Who? I need season, episode number and name. I'm going to re-rent and refresh.

Thanks!
N.

Current Mood: geeky

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I disagree with Parag's advice; How to answer "the FISA question" [me, on dailykos]

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Is he willing?
Can he play?

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Storms
The weather today is matching my mood; gray, with a cooling deluge; a calm, but dark and murmuring sky....soon to split.

I've tried at length to put down what's been going on with me the last couple months and it's been really difficult. I've not been in the habit of putting much down for years and I've forgotten how to get it out.

I've significantly lost the ability to express things that are important to me.

I'm left with storms that split the sky and shake the walls.

Current Mood: disappointed

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The Truly Awful Harold Ford

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/bRuz/~3/340833203/2008_07_20_archive.html

I only caught a bit of the Great Orange Satan/Harold Ford lunchtime discussion at Netroots Nation, but at one point he was chastizing all of us dirty fucking hippies for wasting time worrying about inconsequential things like FISA when people in the country were worried about their jobs, gas prices, health care, etc.

It would have been a powerful criticism had he, you know, aimed it at the United States Congress which spent weeks wasting time on this inconsequential issue when people in the country were worried about their jobs, gas prices, health care, etc.

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Inconvient Truths

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/bRuz/~3/340809611/2008_07_20_archive.html

I've had a bit of a cable news vacation so I don't know what's going on there, but it's certainly the case that the Maliki/Obama story is being underplayed in print world.

All of this is ultimately due to the fact that the reason we're in Iraq, mostly, is to prop up the egos of George Bush and Fred Hiatt. Because they've defined leaving as failure, and therefore the mission is simply "to say," it's unpossible to insert into the narrative the idea that maybe Iraqis want us to leave no matter how true that is.

Every time I get near the "why did we invade Iraq and why do we stay" question, people always email me the word "oil." I don't deny the importance of oil in all of this, but 5 years later there's really a simpler explanation. Washington elites are simple-minded people with the emotional maturity of toddlers, and they are unable to accept their responsibility for this disaster. And so we stay.

SUCK ON THIS FRED HIATT

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All I Can Think Of When I See Gavin Newsom

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/bRuz/~3/340771876/2008_07_20_archive.html

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Dr Horrible
So I finally watched all of Dr Horrible - and it was decidedly ok+ - the best part was, of course, Felicia Day who really plays that type of character quite well (for those unfamiliar with watchtheguild.com - its worth checking out). Dr Horrible did get the laugh down - in any case one thing I did learn was just how awesome Hulu is

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Crisis In Condit Country

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/bRuz/~3/340744123/2008_07_20_archive.html

We are on day 7 of the Washington Post's 12 part serial on Gary Condit.

Please make it stop.

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Mayor Curtatone at PJ Ryan's last night
I stumbled into PJ Ryan's around midnight last night and saw Joe Curtatone and a medieval celtic band from Italy.  Anyone know the back-story to this?  I overhead someone saying that the mayor had arranged for them to come to Somerville.  What a bizarre scene.

(15 Comments |Let me tell you this about that!)

PSA
My wife makes a friggin' awesome breakfast.

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Carl Sciortino Fundraiser
YOU’RE INVITED TO:

A Reception for Carl Sciortino
featuring Governor Deval Patrick

Tuesday, July 22  7-9 PM

Sabur Restaurant
212 Holland Street
Teele Square, Somerville (Directions: click here)

Suggested Donation: $30 $150 $300 $500

Everyone is Welcome!

Click Here To RSVP or to Donate Online

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Community yard sale for the SHC
One week to go!

I'm nervous and a bit stressed out about this event. Its the biggest thing we have attempted. We are going to need a lot of help for this to pull it off, so I hope many of you are going to be around on the 27th. The davis_square community yard sale is going to take place Sunday July 27th from 11am to 3pm in Hodgkins Park. All money raised will go to the Somerville Homeless Coalition.

We are going to need (in no particular order).

1) People that day to price items for sale. Basically, you will be telling people how much an item will be selling for and marking down the total price for the items sold to a person (who will then buy the item from the person handling the cash).

2) We will need blankets, tables, anything else you might have to display items. If you are able to get these things to the event early that morning that would be awesome. Please comment or email me.

3) Transportation. If you have a car and could be willing to drive items from our drop off locations to the event or after the event to goodwill in Davis Square, that would be awesome!

4) We hope it is a family friendly and fun event, so if you want to bring music, games, etc. please do.

We set up an email for the event (davisyardsale@gmail.com) so please email if you have any questions.

(9 Comments |Let me tell you this about that!)

any casual woodworkers in need of tools ?
i have: too many of the same kind of tool and too little shop space.

you have: some esoteric unmet need for small-ish power tools and a yummy coookie recipe.

i've inherited a handful of duplicate tools at my workshop and i'd like to use the space they occupy for other stuff.  there's a couple of small but sturdy old crafstman routers (1/4" collet) with decent bearings and a delta 22-540 portable 12" planer. i'd like to get $75 for the planer, but i don't have any illusions about living large on the income from the routers (ie - willing to trade for some good cookies, a bodacious story, etc).  the routers are easy enough to tote (we're in magoun square) but you'd have to be a dedicated masochist to try to carry the planer very far on foot.

ding me if you think we might be each others' missing piece.

EDIT: the planer has left the building, two routers remain.

(5 Comments |Let me tell you this about that!)

Pig Pickin' Monday August 4 for Somerville Homeless Coalition
Mmmmm, I smell a hot juicy repost...

Redbones will sponsor its annual Pig Pickin’ and Benefit for the Somerville Homeless Coalition on Monday, Aug. 4, from 6 to 9 p.m. Rain date is Monday, Aug. 11. Tickets are $25; $10 for children under 10. Reservations are not necessary.

Current Mood: hungry

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Sunday Bobbleheads

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/bRuz/~3/340662167/2008_07_20_archive.html

Document the atrocities.

ABC's "This Week" — Pre-empted by coverage of the British Open golf tournament. ___ CBS' "Face the Nation" — Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. ___ NBC's "Meet the Press" — Former Vice President Al Gore. ___ CNN's "Late Edition" — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.; Paulson.

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Bedding down with Big Pharma
So what happens when Big Pharma comes to visit. I've been to plenty of the meetings with doctors (in hospitals, pharmacists are often in charge of the formulary) so saw first hand how this goes. It's not the dirty business dealings you might imagine. Laws have changed that, and may even hamper any dealings with the drug companies.

They can't just show unannounced anywhere I know of. They have to make an appointment. Physicians are too busy dealing with patients to drop everything to talk with them. It's annoying to have to tell someone to go away if you are busy.

So we wait for them to show up. Debate whether or not to let them in if they didn't bring us at least coffee and donuts. Hell, they make enough money so they can at least feed us for listening to their spiel. They show up and present their info usually on Powerpoint. Give us a bunch of literature and answer any questions. The end. No bribes or shady dealings, unless you consider pens an effective bribe.

I already said laws prevent them from offering the exorbitant gifts that used to be given. Which is a good thing. What do they give now? They bring coffee and donuts. Pens, book bags, and my favorite 'cause I can never find them-post it notes. Of course they have the drug company product on them. Sometimes they cater lunch, which is pretty good. It always made me feel guilty at the VA because there were plenty of homeless vet hanging out who could have used the food more than us. They also do give the docs free samples of medication to be given out to patients.

One creepy thing I notice about the drug company reps-They are all fabulous looking and seem to have the same personality. Isn't there a horror movie out there with characters like that? I think I'd trust a fat balding scientist type much more.

Now I think that prohibiting the large gifts by law is a good thing. Most physicians have ethics and really want to help their patients. But a few rogues decided to accept these gifts and write scripts just for that company's products. Not in the patient's best interest obviously. However government is now trying to halt all business meetings as I described above. They are trying to ban the pens and other free handouts.

I think this is going overboard. Really. Who is going to prescribe something because they received a pen and went to a luncheon sponsored by a drug company? My bigger problem with this is that I want the info the drug companies have on their product. If a new drug comes out, they are the expert on the product. We need this info to make the decision whether or not it is a therapeutic option. I did have one drug company rep even tell us "you didn't hear this from me but an unpublished study showed drug Y (not their product) worked better".

Yes, we are all very aware that these studies are sponsored by the drug company. We keep this bias in mind. We ask hard questions which the drug reps have to answer. Drug companies also have to answer to another watch dog put in place regarding their literature. It's called peer review. Your study literature isn't shit unless it has been evaluated by a group of doctors, and other scientists. No one takes it very seriously unless this group of experts have gone through it line by line for evaluation of bias and validity.

Pharmacists and doctors know how to evaluate literature and recognize the bullshit within it. I had a semester long class that I absolutely hated called Drug Literature Evaluation. But after that and all the journal club articles I had to write, they got it through my head. I can look at the study and within 2 minutes tell you what aroma of bullshit is wafting from it. Doctors have been trained to do the same. Peer review experts are even better at it. It's in the drug company's best interest to produce an accurate paper.

I think the government is pushing it too far at this point. Not allowing the free samples can impair patient care. Drugs are so expensive that sometimes they are needed for patients that cannot afford them. The pens and other things aren't really that important, but impeding access to the drug companies is going to decrease the flow of information which we need. We are not all amoral idiots and can make fair decisions without government interference. Government ought to be looking at the whole screwed up health care system rather than worrying about pens.

Current Mood: awake

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Occupying Army

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/bRuz/~3/340617074/2008_07_20_archive.html

Until our public discourse allows for the fact that it is an occupying army we will be unable to have an honest conversation about what we're doing.

Wolverines!

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