Alright, so I installed disqus. I'm not sure I'll keep it around because I like handling comments on my end, but we'll see.

later: Yeah, disqus seems nifty, but I think it was meant for high volume blogs. My poor blog needs to build up its audience again.

Since Friday I've noticed something odd happening to my Amigo scooter. It stopped stalling (KNOCK ON WOOD!). Literally, no stalling. Hit the forward button, and instead of no movement, I moved. I haven't had any issues since. I even went to the gas station by work today and it was business as usual. Nada. No squeaking by or repeated willing to push my scooter forward. Zilch.

This is totally freaking me out.

A part of me is convinced it's going to do it again. The last great stall to rule them all. Then I'll be stranded and stuck going in reverse till the rental gets approved or the new scooter arrives.

Am I being paranoid? Why is it working now? This is why I'm not a mechanic.

The disability carnival is back up and running. There are some great stories on there, so do please check it out.

The Cardinal's Heir by Jaki Demarest
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Guerite, as she's fondly called, is a base born woman living during the time of Cardinal Richelieu and the musketeers. Only two of the famous quartet appear, but this is not a continuation of their story. Guerite is Richelieu's niece and the leader of his spy network. She's been tasked with uncovering the perpetrators of his murder, and thus, many hijinks ensue.

This was a fun read. Guerite is a spunky protagonist who embraces her sex and finds love in the process. Being a fan of alternative history, I realize that many of the plot points found in the book would never happen, but that's the point. Guerite is believable as a woman of strength and resolve. Though she's bound by the limits of her society, the fact that she's respected and placed in a position of power is refreshing.

The secondary characters could have used a bit more development. And I think I missed a bit having not read The Three Musketeers.

View all my reviews

Ever have so much to do and no time to do it?

Story of my life!

I have all these plans, tiny projects that I've been aching to tackle. If I had to make a list it would reach into the twenties and never stop. I like being a jack of all trades, but as per usual, time slips by and I'm not there to catch it.

I want to write! So I'm blogging instead of creative writing.

I want to learn php, and I've made it through the second lesson. That was last weekend.

My goal is to read at least 50 books this year, but I have this uncanny tendency to pick the longest books, making my chances of finishing almost superhuman. After all, work and the previous two things have to fit into this jumbled mess.

And I'm sure that along the way I'll find more things to keep me busy. Forgetting that I have no time.

I mean, just yesterday I learned how to make a backup copy of my dvds. I'm determined to back up all my movies now!

The master of sci-fi may be directing the new Star Wars. Yikes!

It's not that I think he'll do a horrible job. His Star Trek reboot is awesome, and I'm anxiously awaiting the sequel.

My worry is that it might be too much for him.

Then again he could do no worse than the previous trilogy. I still can't rewatch them.

Seriously, who did not see this coming?

Citing "false, deceptive" and "misleading affirmative statements of fact," two New Jersey men, John Farley of Evesham and Charles Pendrak of Ocean City, sued Subway on Tuesday to regain losses of 5 to 8.3 percent on the several "Footlong" sandwiches they bought from the sandwich store -- about $.41-$.54 per sub, depending on whether it was the $5 or $6.50 kind.

I hate frivolous crap like this. Sure, some of the bread tends to be on the slight shorter end of things, but claiming disinformation is ridiculous.

They know this.

It's about the bucks.

I go to work everyday with a little bit of built up anxiety. If I hit 'forward' will I move? What happens when the juice no longer goes through and I'm stranded? I wouldn't be. My co-workers are awesome and have pushed me those few times that I've stalled. I hate having to rely on them, but I just have to deal.

It's the entire situation that has me frantic. When the scooter issues began, I suddenly had to rely on paratransit to get to work. I was just as abruptly reintroduced into the insanity of disAbled transportation. They never had my times, they ran close to an hour late, and the Star shuttle service that contracts with VIATrans never trains its drivers. Last week Star picked me up, loaded me into the back with a walker. The walker was precariously balanced on the side, jammed into the seat in front of. When the driver made a sharp turn, the walker fell on my legs. It was 40lbs of ow.

I especially love the way they attach the blue straps to my scooter. They're never placed in the same spot twice, and I thank my lucky stars that the back of the van is small. I only have to worry about slamming into the back versus tipping over.

I have complained in the past. I'd get lovely form letters from VIA saying I expect too much. Well then, invite me to the next lawsuit. That would be fun.

In the meantime I have to hope that work won't get mad at my tardiness, and that the scooter will behave until the new one arrives.

The liberal arts are disappearing from college campuses. Majors like philosophy are being deemed useless, while accounting appears to be on the rise. Or something.

I get that philosophy majors won't get jobs. A future in academia, yes, but not a position at that banking firm (yet we wonder why many of them are crooks). It was the big joke on campus between those of use who chose our degrees in Humanities, Socrates or bust. Yet, we relished what we learned. Socrates taught us to question while Kant showed us another way of viewing the world. We came out thinkers and questioners, never accepting anything at face value.

Life is boring that way.

St. Mary's President Thomas Mengler expects its business school to grow. And there's a value in having such professional degrees in liberal arts schools, said Edward Speed, retired CEO of Texas Dow Employees Credit Union. He and his wife have given $287,500 to St. Mary's, his alma mater, in the past three months, most to liberal arts programs.

Speed credits that type of education with propelling him to the CEO's chair and said he could easily spot recruits with similar backgrounds.

Businesses are social organizations, he said, and employees “without that background in literature, the arts, language and politics — they're mechanics.”

'Nuff said.