alumiere

Sorry to say, the cuts fuck up searching, and Google advanced search is not picking up what I need from twitter so, these are no longer being hidden.

Turns out the BP gulf oilspill is actually 95k barrels a day, not 5k. Almost 20%, no big. http://bit.ly/cfo5dp (via @claytoncubitt)

Heartfelt memories ahead from Neil Gaiman: "I write about Ray Bradbury in the TIMES." http://bit.ly/cKNRT6

Why dancers are hardcore athletes: http://youtu.be/5i9TfkayvKM?a

New art print from LA artist Nate Seubert: http://n8-zilla.livejournal.com/433567.html

A meme that amused a lot of people over the last few days on twitter; these are my posts and you can see more here : Lesserbooks

1 Year of Solitude

The Art of Skirmish

The Books of Broth by Clive Barker (from T)

The Lord of the Dance by JRR Tolkien

Health (or lack thereof):

20:44 (Thurs) No idea if I've done one of these or not; today's 1 thing = nap, t/t Drs. & make lasagna. Still tired. Left to do: eat, more sleep. If I was awake, I was in pain and numb. #almeds

11:47 (Fri) Another day of being woken early by neighbors, this time they were vacuuming. Grumpy. Pain/numb 7/10 at waking. Now 7/8. Lunchtime. #almeds

11:51 It's been ~ 3 hours since I woke, finally able to type, hold things w/ one hand, etc. Feet numb/cold too. Today's plan: workout. #almeds

19:25 Also, workout accomplished. I hurt more, but at least it's pain I earned; I need more days where I have energy/pain spoons and am not too numb for a real workout. #almeds

"Tweaking the nipple of hypocrites in power can be dangerous." http://bit.ly/aP3PxX Nice comedic video response to Teaparty bullshit.

Dear Abby? Forced sterilization is wrong, no matter who's doing it or what the disability of those being sterilized. http://disabledfeminists.com/?p=3268 #ableism

Brilliant New Panera location: pay what you can. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g__EQ-OG9DhU1YwC4Fo4s5QREdbgD9FPI2380

Student NonDiscrimination Act bans discrimination in school based on sexual orientation/gender identity http://bit.ly/cIiB83 I wish we'd had policies in place like this when I was in school, and we knew they existed; maybe then it wouldn't have been so hellish. I still would have been an outcast, but at least I might have had the courage to say something to someone.

Flash mob protests to @ladygaga tune http://is.gd/ceQhY Sweet video. LGBTQI; equal rights; fairwage.

The one and only Jay Smooth, and an important note about what folks are getting wrong re Rand Paul: http://is.gd/cjzKb RT @maddow

IBM: doin' what comes naturally? http://bit.ly/9ilUYG Gives virus laden USB to attendees at Australian computer security conference. Way to go big business.

Gulf Coast Community to BP: Never Again! by Dan Bacher" via Alternet http://bit.ly/dngsnC RT

Morning Glory http://bit.ly/bBCxMr a solar powered mechanical flower light by Wendy Legro Green art via William Gibson.

Oooh pretty art: http://coilhouse.net/2010/05/fairy-tales-by-sperber/ - reminds me of some of ego_likeness's mixed-media stuff a bit, only probably more literal.

Scientists use synthetic genome to create life (for better or worse, this one is big, guys): http://bit.ly/aVTI0S (via greygirlbeast) More on the synthetic bacteria from the BBC: news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science_and_environment/10132762.stm I love living in the future.

Gulf oilspill: Coast Guard protects BP. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/19/bp-coast-guard-officers-b_n_581779.html "Land of the what" indeed? (via flemco)

However, I am now editing what posts here, and these are selected for you from my tweets yesterday... after Loud Twitter ships them to my email

May is Gluten-Free Awareness Month: http://glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/2010/05/gluten-free-cookbooks.html inspired me.

I try really hard not to bitch about how much work my diet is and the added costs of it. But since it's Gluten Free Awareness month, I thought it was worth posting about.

I'm not technically gluten free in that I don't have a full-blown food allergy nor am I celiac. However, due to the health issues I have I eat a ludicrously low carb diet (less than 20g net carbs/day and a minimum of 15g of fiber), no yeast, and I rarely eat anything containing wheat/rye/etc. I also cannot have soy products and am allergic to seafood/shellfish/anything that grows in the ocean, sea, river, lake, etc whether farmed or natural. Didn't used to be allergic to seafood, etc, but the mercury poisoning in college "fixed" that, apparently for life.

So the things I can eat are severely limited, especially starches. No regular rice, pasta, potatoes, breads, beer, sugar/honey/HFCS, etc. Minimal amounts of alcohol, beans, many vegetables and fruits, and some types of dairy. Lots of meats, cheeses, salads/low carb veggies, and eggs are my primary food choices. It gets old, going out to eat is difficult (and chefs hate me), and my grocery bill is nearly double because the starches need to be replaced with something. I have to buy a lot more organic foods as they don't usually contain added carbs as fillers, which is part of that cost, but a lot of it is the expense of buying more meat, veg, etc and no carbs - carbs are cheap. And I have to make most everything myself as nearly all prepared foods add sugar or HFCS to them, which makes them a no-go too.

I am lucky to be able to have a small amount of carbs, so I'll occasionally splurge on a plate of refried beans with cheese or a drink or some watermelon. I'm also lucky I gave up sweets, coffee and soda for the most part when I was in grad school, so I don't miss that often. But I have entirely too many days when I'm physically unable to cook (I learned the hard way that cooking when you cannot feel your hands leads to burns and cuts you didn't notice), so that makes all this a lot fucking harder to deal with too.

But I'm also lucky, in that I don't have to worry about being poisoned by cross contamination as someone with celiac does. I can eat dreamfields pasta (5g net carbs/serving) or a 1/2 a piece of matzoh as a treat once in a while (16g net carbs) as long as I really watch how often I do that and make sure I don't go overboard. And I have reasonable access to fresh foods that are on my diet (which a lot of people in America's "inner cities" do not have, not to mention what's available in a less prosperous country even in pricy stores).

I'm just glad I don't hate to cook, and I'm not a bad cook either. I can make satisfying meals without the carbs most of the time. And I'm still working on a bread recipe that I like with almond and coconut flours - it's edible and tastes ok, but still really heavy, and comes out more like a flat-bread than anything.

But spending a couple of hours on cooking and food prep every other day or so gets old. Not being able to stop for a burger after a night out or order in when I'm feeling lazy or too shitty to cook sucks. Not being allowed ritz or toast and flat gingerale when I'm puking my guts out again because my body hates me today is even worse. Having to think about whether I've hit my limit for carbs today or I can have a few strawberries for dessert is a pain in the ass. And, fiber supplements are a must - benefiber powder is my first choice, but it needs a fair amount of liquid to dissolve it; and there's fiber choice tablets (yuck!!) as the thus far least offensive for the amount of fiber for those meals when I need a chewable.

I almost wish I liked artificial sweeteners sometimes, but they all taste like ass. So even things like diet soda, most foods made for diabetics, most foods for celiacs (they remove the wheat/etc, but still contain lots of carbs and yeast), fruit juice (same problem - too many carbs), light yogurt, etc are all no-goes.

That said, I know it's probably too late for this weekend, which is as noted in the article linked above Gluten Free Challenge weekend. I'd love to hear how all of you deal with these limitations, even if it's just for a weekend.

Try it; you'll be surprised how much work staying below 20g of carbs really is, especially if you also need to make sure you meet your minimum calorie needs and consume enough fiber. And a reminder: no yeast, no soy, no fish/kelp/etc. Let me know how you do and what it really costs you above your normal expenses (20% more? 30% more?). I suspect you'll be amazed. On the bright side of things, it did bring my weight down to the thinnest I've been since oh, about 13 though, and now I struggle to stay at the bottom of the acceptable BMI for my height, but that's OK. I am, however, waiting for the day when I can walk into any store and find safe prepared meals to heat up for those days I don't feel well, although I suspect it'll be years - even the Atkins and South Beach meals which are low carb are usually not safe for me to eat.

T says the part about people being afraid of me is true. The mohawk is apparently threatening or something. Whatever.

Thought this was kind of amusing though, enough to share.

Also, if I don't answer that I prefer night to day the answer changes to intensely shaded Indigo, Green & Red: You are a proud person. You are a proud person. You feel strong ties to nature and your mood changes with its cycles. Those around you admire your fresh outlook and vitality. You get bored easily and want friends who will keep up with you. Those around you admire your fresh outlook and vitality. You get bored easily and want friends who will keep up with you. More accurate in some ways, less in others.

Finally, both rainbows look ugly. If I could create my own it would be all jewel tones: Ruby, Emerald, Royal Blue, Indigo, Violet.