One of my catchphrases (along with such classics as “This isn’t what it looks like,” “Sorry I’m late” and “No, it must have been the dog”) is “I’m old for my age.” I am of the distinct impression that it is abnormal for someone my age to have the regular chest pains I have, to have my bad back, knees, neck and everything else, and to feel as constantly run down as I.

Normally I’m the first to bitchslap people who think they know better than their doctor. They get lumped into the same category as people who decide that since scientists haven’t explained absolutely everything science is worthless. However, I do know that doctors are human. And sometimes they get lazy with diagnoses. For instance, an eleven-year-old boy comes into a pediatrician’s office complaining that his knees hurt. “Nothing to worry about,” says the doctor, “it’s just growing pains.”

Well, they never went away. They just got worse. Now I am in more or less constant pain. Not necessarily severe pain, but at any given point chances are something hurts: knees, feet, back, neck, pelvis, wrists, elbows, you name it. Of course I’ve grown to live with the pain, so I barely notice it unless it gets really bad.

Whoop! Time to take some muscle relaxants! Hmm… only a few left. I do notice some difference when these are in effect, but not much. Mainly I just get drunk a whole lot faster. Gah. I’m just waiting until medical technology advances to a point where I can get a spine replacement.

Stumbled across another one of those sites peddling black t-shirts with white monospace geeky slogans on: NinjaGear. Pretty cool. And some gems, like the above sticker. That made me laugh out loud. Prolly never get around to actually buying anything from them, but oh well.

Oh yeah, by the way I found the link through Real Life Comics.

Thing about rutted roads is that even if you try to walk on the higher grassy bits you keep slipping into the furrows if you’re not vigilant. Fact is, it’s just easier to walk in the ruts.

Work drags on.
Same thing every day, and I feel like I’m just biding my time until I get into something better. Which I guess I am. bleh.

Hm. That reminds me: I need to write a man about a dog.

Remember that post a few weeks ago about loss and my tendency to be separated from people? Well, some guy named Noah found my blog somehow, read what I had written and forwarded the link to Tabitha, who then added a comment and we’ve been emailing each other! Funny how this interweb thingy can bring people together, huh?

John Shirley is a Christian. Sort of. He’s christian in the sense that he likes to follow the teachings of Christ, and all that “might as well treat people properly” stuff. He’s not christian in the sense of following dogma without thinking. I don’t know him well enough to go into much more detail about his beliefs, but here’s one of his recent blogs about fundamentalism:

Waitaminnut…if they all move to South Carolina…sayyyyyyy…

Heh. I love John Shirley.

Funny thing I’ve noticed: my “fluff” posts, the ones that don’t actually say much, are the ones that seem to get commented on, while the posts where I actually say something seem to go unanswered. Let’s look through my June archives. I’ll discount my own comments in these numbers.

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There’re a few things, technology-wise, that really tickle me deeply. This week I got news on two of them:

Partly due to the success of the Mars Rovers, I’ve experienced a renewal of my interest in space-related news. Basically, I’ve dreamed of getting the hell off this rock for a while, and every step that indicates that populating Mars might be feasible, or that paves the way for further exploration, is a step toward that dream.

So now Cassini is in Saturn’s system. Why is this a Good Thing? Because I expect that Cassini and probes like him will discover untapped resources on other planets and their moons (hi, Europa!) that will convince megalocorps to fund space programs. And although the primary objective of said megalocorps will be strip-mining the solar system, this will create technologies that will benefit all space exploration.

Also, robots are cool. It’s good to know that people are still thinking up constructive uses for them, and not focussing on darkie-killer war-bots.

Thank you, Xeni, for the pointer to the Mile High Kit, a portable kit packed full of oils, condoms, lube, a vibrator, a cock ring and an assortment of wipes and mints. A take-anywhere fucking kit, for about 50$ USD. Très cool!

I decided that I didn’t trust diaryland to keep Iga’s blog archived in perpetuity. So I mirrored it here. There’re some good entries, short as the run was. It’s a nice read.

I don’t really care if you want to read through it; I just didn’t want it to be lost forever if something happens to Diaryland.

There was an article recently about an uproar in Colorado somewhere, because a professor expressed some unpopular opinions on the word “cunt.” Elizabeth Hoffman, president of the University of Colorado and a “medieval scholar,” said that yes, cunt is a swear word, but has much tamer and even affectionate roots. Says she: “I’ve actually heard it used as a term of endearment.”

Cunt is used, for instance, by Chaucer:

And privily he caught her by the queint,
And said; “Y-wis, but if I have my will,
For derne love of thee, leman, I spill.”
And helde her fast by the haunche bones,
And saide “Leman, love me well at once,
Or I will dien, all so God me save.”

And another passage:

What aileth you to grudge thus and groan?
Is it for ye would have my queint alone?
Why, take it all: lo, have it every deal,
Peter! shrew you but ye love it well
For if I woulde sell my belle chose,
I coulde walk as fresh as is a rose,
But I will keep it for your owen tooth.

Source: Project Gutenberg

But, of course, the local Up In Arms Association freaked. “Blah dee blah! How dare she demean all women everywhere by suggesting that there is any way to use the c-word other than as a tool of the sexist patriarchy!” Okay, I’m paraphrasing. The actual quote is :

The comment drew the ire of Regina Cowles, president of the Boulder National Organization of Women, who called Hoffman’s response outrageous and not acceptable.

She said Hoffman’s defense of the word, “doesn’t even pass the red-face test.”

“It is so clear what that word is about,” she told the Boulder Daily Camera. “It’s used to dehumanize a woman, and strip her of her decency.”

Yeah. Whatever the hell a “red-face test” is. The school is being sued for failing to protect some girls who were allegedly sexually assaulted by some stupid jocks and the prospective freshmen they were recruiting, you see. So the people on the victims’ side are using everything they can to demonize the school. If they can make a reasonable case of saying that the university president is insensitive to the plight of these poor mistreated girls then it helps their lawsuit.

Yeah, okay, if the football players assaulted some girls then fine, punish them. And if the school turned a blind eye to their “antics” then punish them as well. But don’t use your ignorance of the english language as a bludgeon to try to beat anyone you can. As near as I can tell this Hoffman chick wasn’t defending the actions of the alleged perps, nor was she saying the alleged victims had done anything wrong. She simply “would not say in a sworn deposition whether she considered a certain slur against women ‘vile’”. She said that although “cunt” is a swear word, the actual meaning of it depends on context.

Some different ways of using “cunt”:

• “That Hoffman woman is such a cunt.”
  Okay, using the word this way could be considered demeaning to women. I don’t think so, but I wouldn’t argue if someone else said so. I get the impression (couldn’t find the details) that the issue is that someone called the alleged victims cunts or something like that.
• “That Hoffman woman has a sweet cunt.”
  This is just talking dirty. This could be demeaning, or it could be sincere admiration/desire/whatever. Or it could be part of sexual play. All depends on context.
• “I’ve been trying to print to this printer for an hour, but the cunt just won’t co-operate.”
  Nothing to do with women. Get over yourself.

What is your opinion on the “c-word”? Post a comment, or blog about it and post a link.