I have some extra time today and have decided to clean up and update my three “Links” pages:
If you see that you’re not included and would like to be, please leave a comment and I’ll add your site. If you feel that I’m missing anything (or have suggestions of blogs you think I would enjoy), please feel free to chime in also.
And just so you don’t feel like you’re doing this for naught, here’s a picture of a baby seal asking “Pretty please?” to entice you:
I’ve always sucked at math and science, but if I had to pick a scientific field of choice, it would be chemistry. Perhaps it’s because I loved the visual aspect of the subject? Or maybe it’s because I loved the idea of tiny elements interacting with with other. Nonetheless, I actually did well in high school chemistry (unlike biology and physics) and even pondered taking a chemistry class or two in college.
It goes without saying then that I was thoroughly excited to read of Slate‘s new series of posts on the periodic table of elements. Over the next few weeks, author Sam Kean will write a separate post about 25 of the most interesting elements.
Each post will feature numerous facts about the element; its role in history, culture, and the arts; and its influence on modern day life.
In other words, more than enough nerdy facts to satisfy this geek’s desire!
Read the introduction to the series here. Be sure to hurry up, because the first two elements — antimony and hydrogen — are already up!
Great news — Comang is okay! The vet found an object lodged in his front left paw, something that J and I had earlier dismissed as being part of the paw. The doc got it out with a clamp and the object looked to be a very sharp piece of gravel. There was some bleeding, but after cleansing and treating the wound Comang was as good as new.
Comang looked sooo much happier within just seconds of dislodging the gravel that I knew this had to be the culprit. 15 minutes later, he was running again and acting his silly self.
My dog was back. 
After a brief physical examination and re-checking all his joints to make sure that Comang was doing better, the vet and I had another discussion about the N-word.
Neutering.
Comang’s previous owners had chosen not to neuter him as he hardly ever came into contact with other dogs and did not have any behavioral problems that might warrant the procedure.
I personally have always been an advocate of neutering and spaying your pets (unless you were planning to breed) for the many physical and psychological benefits it offers. So I was all set on neutering Comang when we got him, but J vehemently refused.
“Why would you touch a man’s balls if there’s nothing wrong with them? WHY?” he would say.
Comang is one of the most docile and well-behaved dogs I have ever known. And since he hardly comes into contact with other dogs, I couldn’t convince J otherwise.
Then this past weekend, we dog-sat for Dante, my sister’s dog.
Dante is the only dog that Comang goes absolutely nuts over. As I have written before, Comang turns into a completely different animal when Dante is around. Needless to say, the weekend turned into quite a spectacle.
The more I observed Comang’s behavior around Dante, the more I realized that this was a sexual problem (perhaps my dog is gay?). Dante is a significantly more aggressive dog than Comang and Comang knows this. So he never mounts Dante…rather, he follows him around and humps the air around him.
I think the most disturbing moment of the weekend was when I stepped on a wet spot on the floor. I thought that it was just some water dribble from one of the dogs. But as I bent down to clean it up, I realized that it wasn’t entirely clear. And it was a bit…thick.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen. My dog had shot a load in his excitement and I had stepped on his spunk.
This incident, in addition to the accidents (Comang never pees in the house otherwise), the knowledge that we can’t keep Comang and Dante apart forever, and the fact that we have a baby on the way finally convinced J to say “yes” to the procedure.
Comang will be getting neutered next Monday.
J is still upset about the prospect, but he knows that it’s for Comang’s best interest.
Thank you for all the concerned comments on this morning’s post about Comang! I would really appreciate it if you can pray and hope for a speedy recovery for Monday’s procedure as well. And if you want to get more Comang updates, follow the Twitter account that J created for him: @Comang.
I love Italian photographer and artist Federico Mauro‘s clever take on a modern digital artist’s workbench:
It reminds me of another “manual” re-interpretation of a modern artist’s tool…
See more from Mauro’s Flickr Set Creative is Hard Work. Love them all!
Via Neatorma.
I have no need for an alarm clock because Comang always wakes me up at around 7:30am to take him on his morning walk.
This morning, however, he didn’t come get me until well past 8:30am. ‘That’s strange,’ I thought, but I figured he hadn’t slept well and just brushed it off.
The second sign that something might be wrong was that he wasn’t his energetic self. He usually runs ahead of me to the elevator and jumps as I bend down to attach his leash, ecstatic at the thought of going on a walk. But this morning, he trailed behind me and didn’t seem excited at all.
Again, I thought that he was just having an off day (doesn’t everyone?) and didn’t think much of it.
We commenced on our route around the block. That’s when I noticed it: a slight limp.
“Walk it off, little guy!” I urged him.
Never have I seen him look so miserable on a walk. I knew that he was really feeling horrible when we approached his nemesis, the husky that lives across the street. Comang usually goes crazy as we approach the husky — he knows that the husky can stomp his little butt to the ground, but is also aware that the husky can’t do anything to him with a fence between them. As such, he usually barks at and taunts the husky, almost as if to say, “HAHA YOU CAN’T GET ME!”
But this time, my little guy shrank away from the husky.
A few more painful steps later, he stopped. He sat on the ground and stared up at me. We had barely made it to the end of our street. I knew then that something was definitely wrong.
I picked up my poor dog and carried him home.
I shouted for J as soon as we returned. We targeted the leg (or foot) that must be bothering Comang, but couldn’t find anything wrong on the surface. The little guy didn’t wince or whine at our flexing his joints and searching his paws…he just seemed to be in pain.
I called our vet, but he is in surgery until 3:30pm and won’t be able to see us until 3:50. Since this isn’t an emergency, the receptionist told me to keep Comang off his feet as much as possible and keep him comfortable until the vet could see him.
Comang has refused to eat this morning, and even ignores the treats I place in front of him. The sound of his growling stomach, coupled with the sight of him looking so downcast breaks my heart. He has been resting on the couch all morning, as you can see in the photo above.
I really hope my little guy is alright. I would be devastated if the vet finds something horribly wrong.
3:50pm cannot come fast enough today.
Today is a typical day after a holiday weekend in that there were TONS of goodies to be read and discovered on my Google Reader. Instead of creating a separate post for each one of them, I’ve decided to do a monster round-up post of my favorite reads of the day.
Some of these are a bit old (and by that, I mean about 12 hours old) but still deserving of mention. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
How the Nursing Home for Superheroes Would Look Like
A funny but indefinitely sad sculpture of the lives of aged superheroes.
25 Blockbuster Movies Posters Recreated Using Lego
A must-see for any Lego fans! My favorite? “The GodVader,” of course.
Stoudemire has agreement with Knicks
The possibility of All-Star forward Amare Stoudemire signing for the Knicks has been discussed at length throughout the weekend, and they have finally made a deal this morning (to be finalized later this week) with a five-year, $99.7 million contract. I personally don’t think he’s worth the almost-max amount, but I, like Stoudemire, am hopeful that another powerful player (or two) will join the Knickerbockers, and all Knicks fans are crossing their fingers for LeBron.
Robin down, Batman to go…
LeBron Tweets, Blames Chris Paul For Making Him Sign Up
In related NBA news, The King has finally signed up for a Twitter account! You can follow him at @KingJames, and apparently he had over 100,000 followers before he even made his first tweet, shown below.
Some are speculating that LeBron created a Twitter account to announce where he’ll sign. Come to NY, LeBron!
Arrested Development Action Movie Trailer
Four years after its cancellation, Arrested Development still remains one of my all-time favorite TV shows. There has been much talk of a movie in the works, which has been verified and then debunked over and over again. I guess a fan finally decided to take matters into his own hands by creating his own trailer for the Arrested Development movie…only he’s decided to turn it into an action flick!
9 Things Us 90’s Kids Realize Now (Part II)
Technically, I am an 80’s kid, but I wholeheartedly agree with every single one of these points! Blowing into Nintendo cartridges! The horrifying Nickelodeon show “Are You Afraid of the Dark?”! Oregon Trail (although being an 80’s kid, I played the black-and-white, 2D version of the game)!
I particularly liked the caption under the image below: “If Kobe played for the Tunesquad he’d kill team moral with his selfish, ball hog tendencies — then he’d rape the girl Bunny.”
Pac-Man iPhone iOS4 Wallpaper
I don’t post many things for the iPhone here because I am not an iPhone owner. However, I found this Pac-Man wallpaper to be absolutely charming and appropriate for the iPhone interface. Go download a copy now!
A Tale Told by a Printer
I love this simple love story told by the printing of each individual frame!
Dog
Hyperbole and a Half remains one of my favorite blogs for good reason: the hilarious storytelling coupled by the funny illustrations make for one heck of a read!
This particular post hit home, as my own dog’s intelligence levels are always questionable. I might have to take a page from her book and administer a dog intelligence test on Comang!
I was reading Lifehacker’s The Worst Email Habits and Annoyances You Should Avoid (or At Least Be Aware Of) and was surprised to read that email signatures containing “Sent from my iPhone/iPad/BlackBerry/mobile” made the top of the list.
I honestly don’t mind these signature lines, as almost all of my iPhone-toting friends still use the default “Sent from my iPhone” email signature that comes standard on the device. If anything, I like seeing how my friends and acquaintances keep in (electronic) touch.
As a matter of fact, I have set the default email signature on my own phone to say the following:
-Jenny
Sent from my Moto Droid
(Powered by Evil Ninja Monkeys)
Most of my friends are aware of my obsession with evil ninja monkeys (see the footer on this blog) and I figured that adding that line would add some personalization in addition to showing my pride as an Android fan. Furthermore, by adding this signature I hope that the recipient of the email would understand if the reply is short, as most of my emails tend to run long and personal.
I will, however, use a more professional email signature or none at all if the recipient is a professional contact.
What about you? Do you use an email signature on your mobile device? Do you dislike the “Sent from my…” email signatures?
Yesterday, Canon revealed the Wonder Camera concept at the World Expo 2010.
Canon is confident that by the year 2030, technology will have advanced enough that the need for different lenses will become obsolete. The Wonder Camera would be equipped with a single lens that is capable of shooting macro to 500mm.
The non-interchangeable lens will be accompanied by an all-touch interface, an extremely high-resolution sensor, and image stabilization so advanced as to make shooting at that unspeakably high zoom range a viable option.
The best part? The Wonder Camera does not take pictures. Instead, it’s a video-only device that shoots extremely high resolution — so high, in fact, that if you fail to take advantage of the integrated mega-zoom, mega-stabilized, perpetual-focus lens at the time of shooting, you can zoom into your shot later without noticeable image loss. To capture a still, just pause the video, because each frame is a usable photo unto itself.
As much as I love technology and the new options it offers numerous fields such as photography, I’m not entirely sure I like the new concept. I like being able to pick and choose the best lens for different settings/environments, and the act of physically exchanging one lens out for the other. I like the various dials and buttons on DSLRs, and I actually prefer that my camera offered more (so that I don’t have to navigate menus to tweak a setting).
The Wonder Camera even makes me long for the the days before digital photography, when I waited in darkrooms to manually develop films. Heck I loved the smell of film processing solutions, and I’m sure I’m not the only one.
What is your take on Canon’s Wonder Camera concept?
Via Engadget.
It stretches! It bounces! It tears!
It also has a mind of its own when put into contact with metallic objects.
Sold at Vat19 for $13.50 (currently sold out 
), the Magnetic Thinking Putty also comes with a super-strong neodymium iron boron magnet that lets you play with the stuff straight out of the box.
Take a look at the video below and tell me that it doesn’t remind you of T-1000:
Via Gizmodo.
This morning, a fellow pregnant woman on my birthboard caught a lot of flack for posting that pregnant women who are “only” 6 months along should not be waddling or rubbing their bellies in public. She believes that this act is only meant to draw attention to oneselves in order to seek special treatment.
I vehemently disagreed with this statement because I have been waddling slightly since month 4 — my loosening hip joints sometimes really feel like they’re about to pop loose, and waddling eases the pain somewhat. As for rubbing my belly in public, I have found myself doing this more and more often as the intensity of my braxton hicks contractions increase and rubbing helps with the discomfort. In addition, my belly is becoming quite heavy; supporting it with my hands is the easiest option until I finally give in and purchase a maternity support belt.
However, I chose not to voice my opinion to this growing thread because this woman was being thrown insults left and right. I was actually beginning to feel sorry for her and so began to wonder…do some pregnant women act certain ways to act smug and seek special treatment?
The video above, titled Pregnant Women are Smug, caught quite a bit of attention when it was first released a few months ago. While I found it funny and partly true, I was also a bit offended because not all pregnant women act this way.
As a matter of fact, I don’t particularly like discussing my pregnancy ad nauseum. Sure, I’ll talk about it when people ask, but I do not want my pregnancy to define who I am. And I certainly do not expect the world to cater to my condition — I always feel bad whenever someone gives up their seat for me, and I actually dislike it when people treat me like an invalid because I’m pregnant.
This isn’t to say that I do not appreciate these gestures, because I really do! I just don’t mind when the offer isn’t made, because anyone could have their own reasons for not giving up a seat, not offering to carry heavy items, etc.
But that could just be me.
Do you know anyone who is a smug preggo? Do you go out of your way to give pregnant women special treatments? Do you think pregnant women deserve special treatment?
I like books, gadgets, spicy food, and art. I dislike shopping, hot weather, and the laws of entropy. Although I am a self-proclaimed computer nerd, I still have a love for handbags and makeup... and I am always teetering on high heels. To learn more about me, visit the "About" page.
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