I tried to donate blood again tonight. Once again, my iron level was too low. It's in the normal range, but for blood donations they have a narrower range of acceptance. I got some tips from the phlebotomist and I'll give it another try. However, it's occurred to me that maybe blood donations are simply not the…
Last night, as I was eating dinner and watching The Last Starfighter on Blu-Ray, I got a phone call from a hospital emergency room. My mother had been feeling chest pains for the past week, and finally they got so bad that she called 911.
On the surface, here's what happened: I went to Fires of Venus. After spending a day there, I left.I'm not going to discuss why. It's much too personal for a blog post, even a private one.There's something I want to make clear: Yes, I had problems at Fires of Venus. But I do not have a problem…
So the guy I talked about before called when I was home.It was indeed about Wicca. I already know from the brief conversation that he's not a good candidate for my group. For one thing, someone without e-mail access is going to have a hard time interacting with the rest of the group.Still, it's a process. I'll…
This morning and this afternoon, someone called to leave a message on my answering machine. They wouldn't say what they were calling about, just that needed to speak with me and get an "interview." They asked me to call them back, and left their number. They were calling from a cell phone, and the quality of recording…
Not only is it National Talk Like A Pirate Day (which ye'd already know if ye not be a scurvy dog of a landlubber) but it's also the 29th anniversary of invention of smiley emoticon :-) To celebrate, write something humorous that's constructed well enough to make it obvious that it's a joke, and doesn't require an…
There's a database of high-energy physics papers called SPIRES. If you click on the HEPNAMES section and type "find seligman, william" you'll see my entry; it can lead you to the physics papers with my name on it (only one of which I wrote).What's interesting is that you'll also see my thesis advisor. Click on his name,…
Yesterday (Labor Day 2011) I visited the New York Renaissance Faire after a two-year absence.
OK, last night I whined.If you're one of my LJ friends, you saw the post. If you're not, it's not worth becoming one just to see it. Believe me.One of my personal rules is: It's OK to whine once in a while, as long as you offer something to the universe to make it worth tolerating the…
It's been 29 hours without power so far at the time I write this. The last time there was a power outage due to windy weather on this block, several years ago, it took them four days to fix it. My mood right now can only be described as "crappy." I got very little actual work done…