All the senators who voted for state-sanctioned torture:

• Alexander (R-TN)
• Allard (R-CO)
• Allen (R-VA)
• Bennett (R-UT)
• Bond (R-MO)
• Brownback (R-KS)
• Bunning (R-KY)
• Burns (R-MT)
• Burr (R-NC)
• Chambliss (R-GA)
• Coburn (R-OK)
• Cochran (R-MS)
• Coleman (R-MN)
• Collins (R-ME)
• Cornyn (R-TX)
• Craig (R-ID)
• Crapo (R-ID)
• DeMint (R-SC)
• DeWine (R-OH)
• Dole (R-NC)
• Domenici (R-NM)
• Ensign (R-NV)
• Enzi (R-WY)
• Frist (R-TN)
• Graham (R-SC)
• Grassley (R-IA)
• Gregg (R-NH)
• Hagel (R-NE)
• Hatch (R-UT)
• Hutchison (R-TX)
• Inhofe (R-OK)
• Isakson (R-GA)
• Kyl (R-AZ)
• Lott (R-MS)
• Lugar (R-IN)
• Martinez (R-FL)
• McCain (R-AZ)
• McConnell (R-KY)
• Murkowski (R-AK)
• Nelson (D-NE)
• Roberts (R-KS)
• Santorum (R-PA)
• Sessions (R-AL)
• Shelby (R-AL)
• Stevens (R-AK)
• Talent (R-MO)
• Thomas (R-WY)
• Thune (R-SD)
• Vitter (R-LA)
• Voinovich (R-OH)
• Warner (R-VA)

Pass it on!

In bold text are both my state senators. They don't surprise me. Yet, it's one more reason I'm voting for McCaskill in November when she runs against Talent.

I'm most disappointed, however, that McCain voted for this, given some of the things he's said on the issue and that he better than anyone knows what torture is like. I can only think he's trying not to politically alienate his party; however, I'm so used to thinking he's not one to vote party lines that this definitely makes me shake my head.

There's a guy who started playing baseball before the Negro League was invented, who's still alive and kicking. The dude was born the same year as Babe Ruth (1895), making him 111 years old in a couple weeks.

Damn.

So... am I being a big dumbhead for being weirded out when someone IMing me for the first time, whom I don't know via internet or real life or any other conceivable way, almost immediately starts in with the age, married, kids questions? I mean, "where do you live" is pretty innocuous and makes a good conversation starter over IM. But, "how old are you" proceeding to "do you have husband" and "do you have kids" is a little... um, nosey to be asking a complete stranger you've never talked to before. At least, it seems that way to me. I'm not offended by the age question as much as some are, I guess (i.e. those who refuse to tell anyone their age, and get all pissed when around friends and someone "spills the beans"). I guess that could be a somewhat standard IM question; you can get a feel for how much you're going to have in common with someone that way, possibly, and start making your decision on whether you want to have them as a longer term IM buddy or move on. However, I can't imagine ever asking someone who's been IMing with me for all of 2 minutes whether they're married or have children.

Is this something new? Is this something "normal"? Is it just that it's normal for a different age group than I'm in, and I may as well buy that cane now, 'cause it'll come in handy soon with the chasing of those damn kids offa my lawn? This most recent occurrence is the first that I've gotten the married/kids question right off the bat.

Oh, and the other thing I'm confused about: why do people, usually teenagers who primarily speak Russian and only speak English well enough for me to mostly understand them (but not always well enough for them to understand me) immediately asking "u have photo?" Seriously folks, I would think it's a bad idea not to IM people with pics of you that you've IMed for all of 5 minutes. So it should also follow that this isn't a question to be asking someone in those first five minutes of an intarweb relationship. Is this another thing I'm bristling over for no reason?

This person asked me if I had one, and I said "no". Then comes the "why?" question, with me stating that I don't share pictures with strangers on the internet (not 100% true; I've posted mine in FO threads here & there, and occasionally on my site... but I don't send 'em via IM). Then she(?) said "Oh I too". Which I assume means "oh, neither do I." Uh... bullshit? People who don't share their pics to strangers via IM, don't generally ask strangers to share pictures with them via IM. At least, that sounds logical to me. So, language barrier aside, that reads suspiciously like, oh I dunno, a lie. Why do that?

I guess I should just chalk it all up to "kids these days" or something, but I guess I can't help wondering if I'm missing the boat, or if I'm not the only one who'd be weirded out by such things.

I've felt very withdrawn lately. It's as though my limit on desired social interaction is really low right now. I got all kindsa stuff to say, and I even "write" it in my head as though I were writing it here. But then I get to thinking about actually expending the effort to do so, and I get a big fat "Meh!" Then I don't.

No clue why. I'm sure not having a normal sleep schedule isn't helping, but that's been practically a constant for years now and I certainly haven't felt hermitish for years.

I'm still reading up on everyone's journals, occasionally even replying, though mostly not because I don't feel like I have anything worth saying most of the time.

Bleh. I'm also feeling extra emo today from having a whopping 4 hours of sleep last night. Not going to anymore 10pm ZG raids that aren't on weekends, and none of 'em are. Only raid I'm going to that starts that late on a week night is Ony, 'cause it's such a short fight divying loot takes longer than killing her.

Just haven't felt like writing. No recap, that'd be several intarweb pages long.

Life is overall decent. Work is... meh. Not-work life is far better. Gonna see Spamalot in November (it's here from Halloween through the whole Nov. month, I think). That'll be fun. Our workout class session ended on the 23rd of August with the next session not starting till last night, because Monday was a holiday and the week before they had the whole civic center closed. So, I hurt worse than usual today, because I was a slouch and didn't exercise at all last week, whether cardio or crunches or what have you.

Brennh is now 60 in WoW, yea! Of course I managed to miss getting a screenshot of the ding, but ah well. I have my 3 BoE tier 0 pieces, with one of 'em up to tier 0.5 from the first part of the upgrade chain. I'm slowly working through that, but I probably wont' bother past the BoE pieces. She's been to UBRS, UD Strat, and Scholo now, and didn't nub it up too horribly. Strat was attempted as a 45 minute Baron run but we died 'cause we had a rather large double pull with the double being a group we were trying to avoid altogether, and then we still almost would've made it (within less than 5 minutes I think) cept we died again. Meh, whatever. She's also done as much as J's druid char and she could duo in BRD (i.e. Pyron and Incendius, plus most of the backpacks or whatever, and I think one other quest).

She now has her two kitties, Pele and Zephyr, instead of just Zephyr. Pele is the nightsaber stalker from way back in Darkshore (so black & grey striped) and Zephyr is a stealth frostsaber so now I can teach Pele dash & prowl. I need to respec my talents, 'cause I know I screwed up on a few, so I haven't bothered allocating the last 3. I also need to see what talents are best to train the cats on, perhaps both with armor or stam and then one with some specialty one and one with a different specialty one, dunno yet.