The importance of cleaning mouse traps

EWWW! Ew eweweweweww.

So there was a mouse trap in my room. And apparently a mouse got caught in it awhile ago and I didn't notice until this morning. And I took it to put the mouse in the garbage so I could reuse the reusable trap... and there were maggots of some sort in the trap! I dropped it in the garbage can because I was so surprised and grossed out.

NOT making that mistake again. EWW! Now I feel like there are little things crawling on me. ugh.

(no subject)

Most of us care about our figure/weight/fat content because of vanity, and hence lots of body image issues are formed.
While I have some body issues and simply some desire to be thinner because its what I find attractive, I've also always been aware that I'm treading a thin line with regards to my health.

Apparently, I was more right than I knew... I just read part of this article and it was very interesting. Some quotes, and then the rest of the article behind a cut.

It was the accepted wisdom that these cells lived quiet lives as the body's cushions, insulation and fuel tanks. But in recent years, scientists have been stunned to learn fat is very busy indeed.

When fat cells accumulate into a large enough mass, they begin pumping out a toxic array of chemical signals.

and

Our new understanding of the secret life of fat has transformed the field of obesity research. Scientists now understand that blocking the molecular signals that fat transmits to the brain and body could lead to a thin pill. And that could be worth billions of dollars.

( The whole article. )

Birthday not-plans

As some of you may know, my 23rd birthday is coming up, on Sunday, October 5th.

I wanted to do something for my birthday sometime in October. I wanted to do something for unseelie's birthday, which is a week after mine.

But I'm all planned out. I am constantly planning things, and everyone here has these crazy schedules that require ridiculously long term planning (not something I'm used to having to deal with). What's more, a lot of the things I've been planning have not borne as much fruit as I'd like. Plus, I tend to not enjoy parties that I plan as much as I'd like (especially since I came to California, strangely. Er, well, I was like that before college and then chill about parties in college, and now the stress level has risen again).

I need a break. So.

I might do a birthday dinner the weekend of my birthday. It will be, "I'm going out to dinner. Come if you want, don't if you don't want to." I might not. I'm sick of planning things and then being disappointed by the outcome, so I might not even do that, because with your crazy schedules, its likely no one would show up.

So yeah. Basically, unless someone throws an interesting birthday celebration in my lap, I'm through. I'm putting down the planning conch and taking a break. So pffft. Or something.

Updates and free stuff

Rockport Shoes:
Anyone out there want a pair of black women's Rockport walking shoes, size 8? I bought them and then discovered that they really didn't work well with my feet. For someone going through financial difficulty, they'll be free; otherwise, I'd want barter or money for them, but not much--I got them really cheap at an outlet.

Star Trek:
Anyone out there want a book about the Religions of Star Trek? I spotted it in the free stuff bin but didn't grab it.

DDR soft pad for PS2:
I still have this game pad from Mad Catz. Anyone want it, or should I bring it back into work and leave it in the free stuff pile?

Shower Shock Caffeinated Soap Verdict:
My editor thinks it works great. joedecker tried it and says it is like having about a half cup of coffee. So it seems to work, believe it or not.

Night Blooming/Chelsea Quinn Yarbro:
Found it in the book pile... looks like my kind of thing but I won't have time to read it any time soon. Anyone want to borrow it? Is her writing any good?

Cameras:
I will be bringing a review unit of the Minox DD1 camera with me to S&P tonight, along with my own Casio Exilim Z3. So anyone who wants to compare these two mini-cameras should ask nicely. I'll probably have the DD1 for the next week or so. If you care, you can contact me through the usual channels.
I think that's all... if I think of other things to add, I will edit this post!