While it's certainly a comfort to know that in Pennsylvania there's a less likely chance that you'll will be run into by a drunk driver; there's also the unfortunate circumstance that there's no doctor-patient confidentiality, especially if you can handle your liquor.
Now, I'm not saying that the doctor shouldn't be concerned that this guy was drinking more than a 6 pack a day. I'd be concerned too if this guy was swerving down my street everyday and showing a history of bad work performance, etc. The thing is, he wasn't. There's more to it than that. What about confidentiality? What about due process? The guy hasn't had a conviction in over 20 years when he was a young adult, and he doesn't drive drunk. He goes in to the hospital for heart problems, confides in his doctor his habits, and the next thing he knows his license is revoked. What's next? 3 drinks on a weekend? 2 drinks?
While the state may have a legitimate concern in keeping drunk drivers off the roads, it shouldn't be at the extent of one's privacy, and doctors have no business divulging this information.

I'm gone for 10 days. I've been ordered to eat tons of paella, which has me uneasy now that I found out what it is. Seafood and I don't mix even if it is mixed with rice.
I also have my mothers iPod, which is now mine. Dear god, I love it. I have now finished my conversion into glorified dorkiness. I took off yesterday, iPod in the basket, remote control attached to my jean shorts, and the easy to spot headphones sticking out from beneath my hair. The music was full blast, and I just took a stroll around my parent's neighborhood.
I'm an easy convert. A glorified cult member willing to sing the iPod's highest praises, but please someone get rid of iTunes. It did a number to my mp3 collection. I think I almost wept with frustration after what it did.
Of course packing wouldn't be complete without my trusty notebook full of essay outlines and mnemonics. Can't leave home without the bar. Oh no. The guilty conscience follows me around wherever I go. Who cares if these plans were made months ago and the tickets are nonrefundable. Not the evil Board of Law Examiners.
I'm still coming back with my future husband in tow. See ya on the 10th.

What better way to say I'm stressed than to ramble on about other things than the cause of my stress (I'm flying home, and then flying to Spain for 10 days and no bar study -- ahhhhhhh, bad yazzy!!!! I am taking outlines, but the guilt factor is killing me. I can picture the noose around my neck, slowly squeezing... Think I'll win a web Oscar?)
So.
I recently purchased a MT personal unlimited license.

Mattie Stepanek is no longer among us, and this saddens me. You want to talk about amazing, that boy had it all. I never read his poetry, but I wish I had. I even thought it was pretty impressive that he was published and not even a teenager.
I never met Mattie, but I could relate to him because he was someone like me. He was a person who never let his problems get the best of him. Rather, he used his hidden abilities and turned them into something profound and beautiful. Everytime he was on Good Morning America I would stop whatever I was doing and just watch him talk. He was just a child after all, but as children we have such dreams. It's important to always strive for what we want and never let go even if everyone is saying, "No, you can't."
I remember when they surprised him with the visit from former President Jimmy Carter. The look on his face was just priceless.
You could tell that the anchors were near tears on GMA when they announced his passing this morning, and I'm heartbroken. He was such a special boy, and where ever he is now, I hope he is at peace.

Wizbang is reporting that the South Korean hostage has been beheaded by the Iraqi militant group. A video was released to Al-Jazeera, but it does not show the murder taking place.
This breaks my heart. Who cares if he wasn't American. I got chills when I saw the first video of him captured, and he was pleading in broken English not to be killed. Even if it was staged by his captors, you have to admit, he must have been scared.
So many civilians are in the Middle East right now trying to do their jobs, trying to make a difference, and it's ridiculous that they're being murdered like this. I know we can't protect everyone, but something needs to be done so there won't be another Berg, Johnson, or Sun-il. I'm sick and tired of these terrorists thinking that they're going to convince my country to retreat. They obviously don't know us that well.
update
There's also a possibility that there already might be more hostages. It could be more South Koreans, but I'm willing to guess that if true, these hostages are from the other countries helping in the reconstruction of Iraq.
Via Backcountry Conservative

I have three gmail invites. Does anyone want one? The catch is I have to know you, ie you've either commented here before, or I have you linked, or I've commented on your blog. If I get no bites then they're going to Wil Wheaton's lovely project.

Beat me, bleed me, do whatever to tease me. In the end, someone will be doing some begging, and it won't be me.
Thanks to the lovely, Kristine, who by the way is my web goddess and a fellow Domer, I am now the owner of a new email account from Gmail. The funny thing is, I'm not sure why I wanted one. I'm pretty sure the novelty of the thing is what made it most attractive. That and well I wanted to see if I could get the same username as my current email.
Been there, done that.
If I start getting invite codes I'm half tempted to use one other one for a different username, but that would be evil. Since when have I not had an evil streak in me?
As for the program itself? When i first logged in, it was a little slow, but now it seems ok. I absolutely love the features. I sent an email to a friend, and he replied. His reply appeared below my first email, and when I replied again it just automatically appeared below his email. It's hard to explain, but I liked that I could see his email as I was replying. It was just neat.
I still have tons of other stuff to test, and it would be nice if google would allow control of fonts and text. Maybe it does and I haven't seen it yet.
Anyway, help me test this. Send me an email at nimsay [at] gmail [dot] com.

Coolness! Good news comes to those who wait. At least I think that's how the saying goes. These days my mind is full of legal jargon and japonese (long story). Hehe.
Anyway, the lovely people behind MT have changed their licenses yet again, and this time they're reasonable. I'll be buying one as soon as I can afford the $35 or so that it will cost me. Yes, I can't even afford that much. Ah well, I'll pass the bar this time!!

Poor Hani. Apparently he was mistaken for a would be terrorist. These days if you're seen taking pictures of buildings on the subway in New York City, you couldn't possibly be doing it for any other reason than planning the downfall of the United States of America. I mean look at these gorgeous pictures. Think of the utter devistation if we were to lose the PepsiCola sign. Quite frankly, it's unthinkable, but what are we to do when we have unverifiable threats, and the only way to protect ourselves is to prevent people from taking photographs on a subway.

I guess I'm too subtle. Maybe I'm not.
I do enjoy going to a library and opening a forgotten book or two to do research. Sometimes the pages stick together, and you have to carefully pry them apart with your fingernails. Sometimes you have to go in with a mask because there's just too much dust on the poor things. Accidently sneeze and cause an asthma attack as the light powdered stuff goes flying in all directions. Then of course you have the idiots who underline in the precious tomes. As if these were your personal copies! Dish out the nickles, make a xerox and scribble to your hearts content, but don't be an idiot and leave a mark where it's not wanted.
And, if you're going to use an analogy, make sure it works. Online research is useful, but it's incomplete without the library, unless you work in a rich firm that can afford Westlaw. Besides, in my original post about RSS newsreaders, though I was making fun of the whole idea, I was also making fun of myself, since I linked to the one I use, and my RSS feed is at the very bottom of this page sans the orange button, which I still consider to be unaesthetic.