The most recent 20 comments posted to Making Light by Michael Weholt:

The excerpted IM motif reminds me of something I've been trying to re-find, off&on, for a while now. These are all the half-remembered clues I have. I hope I haven't just deluded myself into thinking I actually read this...

I believe it was in here. I believe it was a quote from an IM conversation. I believe the quotee was Patrick. It had a line in it that went something like: "The women of Science Fiction are on the move".

It was a masterpiece of comic timing and I wanted to save it off, but I neglected to, and now I can't find it again.

If somebody has it, and doesn't for some reason want to post it, kindly do me the awfully big favor of sending it to me by email. TIA.

Wow. I just noticed that the profile of infamous LJ-user "pnh" has been deleted, presumably as a step toward dealing with the problem described herein.

I'm disappointed to see this, of course, but even more of course I understand the reasoning behind it and have to think it will help a great deal.

Nevertheless, it seems quite a momentous event to me and that it ought to be marked in some way, which it probably was or has been elsewhere and I'm too out of the loop to know any better.

So, my own little tribute here: so long LJ-user pnh. Thanks for the memories. May your electrons rest in eternal peace... except, of course, for whenever they are dragged forth from the grave by various search engine caches and so forth.

If you are interested in rigorous criticism of various studies on the efficacy of chiro and acupuncture, may I recommend the "Skeptics Guide to the Universe"? Search on the Archive page for podcasts on various subjects that interest you. I have no connection to the New England Skeptical Society other than the fact that I am addicted to their weekly podcast.

If we are nervously chattering (which I certainly am), then we are not the only ones.

Brian Lehrer on our local NPR station (wnyc.org) was having a call-in this morning. A woman out in Queens, originally from Kenya and not a citizen yet, called in and said she was weeping with frustration at not being able to vote.

She went on to say that she spoke with her father back in Kenya last night and he told her that the government there had declared that if Obama wins today, tomorrow will be declared a Kenyan national holiday.

I'm taking my own personal national holiday tomorrow. With luck, I'll be sleeping off an election night joy-drunk. With no luck, maybe I'll just stay in bed until 2012.

Voted!

Got to my polling place 10 minutes before it was to open at 6am. There were already 50 people in line before me.

They aren't kidding about the lines, folks. Get there early and plan on waiting for as long as it takes. If you are voting in New York, figure out your Election District number before you go to the polling place. You will still have to wait to get into the polling place, but once you are in the room you might be able to spot and go directly to your Election District's machine. Might save you 10 or 15 minutes.

Best. Campaign. Ever.

Sadly, though, not all things are under the control of even the best run campaigns...

Barack Obama's grandmother has died one day before her beloved grandson is elected, with luck, the 44th President of the United States of America.

And just to be sure, I checked the Indiana gov site and found out that, yes, indeed, Indiana polls close at 6pm "local time". As most will know, Indiana is split between the Eastern and Central time zones, but the vast majority of counties are in the Eastern zone.

#66 Bruce Schneier: All poll closing times are here...

Actually, those closing times are from 2004. The only reason I bring it up is because I've seen a couple of sources now that say, hard as it may be to believe, that Kentucky and Indiana close at 6pm Eastern Time, not 7pm as shown in the 2004 CNN chart.

For example, here and here.

I'll be providing Election Night Live iChat/iSight coverage to my yankophile pals in London, and they will be providing the same back to me of the Beeb's coverage, and we will all be engaging in a Trans-Atlantic drunk and both sides have taken the next day off so no worries there. I must say this is one election night I have been looking forward to for a very long time, knock on wood. I'm psyched in all the ways it is possible to be psyched about this.

#38 Arwen & #46 Jo::

Remarq! Yes, of course, that was it. Can't remember if Avram's guerilla tactics were part of that same episode, or what, but I suspect it was.

Ah, those were the days...

#21 Avram:

Oh, yeah, that sounds right. Maybe the "triggering event" I was thinking of was people discovering all the nefarious uses of the X-Header dealie. I do recall having to knock it off because it was creating havoc for all the AOL users.

It was pretty funny while it lasted, though.

It's a shame when you can't precisely remember something that happened on the internet once, but wasn't there some hilarious tag-assault on... I can't remember... dejanews when it first started? google when it tried highlighting/linking words in usenet posts? something like that? I just remember this tag-assault being conducted from rasff... oh, and I remember laughing my ass off at some of the results.

It is my understanding, or at least impression, that recovery of people who are suffering from a brain injury is speeded greatly by helping that person to feel like they are still themselves, in spite of the problems they are currently having.

It is my understanding, or at least impression, that helping the patient to feel empowered is therapeutic.

It is my understanding, or at least impression, that Scraps was looking forward to voting for Obama.

People who are closer to him than I am would know better than me, but I'm thinking that if arrangements could be made for Scraps to be able to vote on November 4, it might cheer him greatly and maybe even add to what sounds like already increasing improvements. It would, perhaps, deepen the feeling in him that he "still belongs here" despite the difficulties he's currently having.

With that in mind, I checked the New York State Board of Elections page for instructions on how to vote absentee which reads in pertinent part:

================

Qualifications to Vote by Absentee Ballot

* unable to appear at the polls due to illness or disability;

How to Vote by Absentee Ballot

* Applications for Absentee Ballots are available at your county board of elections.

* You may also download a PDF version of the New York State Absentee Ballot Application Form. (pdf 55KB)

* Upon completion, applications must be mailed to your county board no later than the seventh day before the election or delivered in person no later than the day before the election.

* You may also request an Absentee Ballot by sending a letter to your county board of elections. The letter must be received by your county board no earlier than 30 days and no later than seven days before the election. The letter must contain the following information:

o the address where you are registered

o an address where the ballot is to be sent

o the reason for the request, and

o the signature of the voter

An application form will be mailed with your ballot. The application form must be completed and returned with your ballot.

If you cannot pick up your ballot, or will not be able to receive it through the mail, you have the right to designate someone to pick it up for you. Only that person designated on your application may pick up and deliver your ballot

Note that according to the application linked to above, "Remember to sign the application, or if unable to sign, have your mark witnessed."

================

I dunno. It might, at least in small part, help hurry along his recovery.

Yeah, okay, give now folks! You can send a check, forward funds through your PayPal account, or if you don't have a PP account, you can give via credit card. (Just like Obama's page!)

#176 beth meacham: Is there a pay pal address yet?

Coming very soon. My understanding is that it will be announced fairly loudly when it is ready.

#141 Caroline: And has there been a consensus on where to send some assistance with the bills? I would like to send something via PayPal or by check -- either way is fine.

So far as I know, there isn't, yet. I'm just keeping my "helpful bucks" handy and waiting to see what happens in this regard.

#92 Velma: The same doctor, at the end of the day, told me that the odds of Soren's recovery, and even survival, are very low.

Holy shit. I refuse to believe that. That simply isn't true. I don't give a fuck what any doctor says.

#79 Fred: Michael @ #67- That's an excellent idea; when next I speak to Velma, I'll ask her about it, and see if I can't help coordinate something.

Thanks. I do work for a 501(3)(c) and it is my feeling that something like this does not require all the hoo-haw involved with making it into a charitable thing. That's a lot of paperwork for probably not a ton of money, not to mention other legal questions. I am not a lawyer and that is not a legal opinion, but I just think it ought to be kept to the level of friends helping friends without it turning into tax-exempt situation.

Some folks we know could use some bucks. We send them some bucks. Nobody needs to make, in the words of 1930s gangster movies, a Federal case out of it.

I can't give much money, but I'm happy to give more than I should in order to maybe give Velma and Scraps a little peace of mind and maybe something a bit more than a scrap of help. Considering our effed up medical care system (at least with regard to money) I fear even as a group we can't do much to really help, but perhaps there is a way to make a dent in things.

I would like to see a PayPal account set up for those of us who can use credit cards, and a mailing address to which people can send checks. Of course it would be best if someone closer to Scraps could do this -- I have met him only a few times but have always found him to be a fascinating and wonderful guy -- but if no one else can do it, I will gladly do it.

I am as honest as the day is long, to which, I think, people who know me in here can probably attest, and I will give an exact accounting of all monies received. I will do it if nobody else closer to Scraps and Velma can, though I think it would be better if a close friend did it for them.

And I don't imagine for a moment that if even the entire sf community gave $10 it would come close to covering costs, but it might help some.

And I don't doubt there are other deserving people in the sf community who could use such help. I happen to know Scraps and like him and hate to see him suffer this way. So, you know, you do what you can.

If Velma or Patrick or Teresa or someone else certifiably close to Velma and Scraps wants me to do this, please ask. Otherwise, if someone else wants to do this, please let us know the PayPal and/or mailing address.

Never mind. I've had it. This is bad faith. I'm taking ML off my bookmarks so you don't have to worry about it anymore.

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