As usual, the Straight Dope column comes through on a tricky topic: Passive Aggressive vs. Pain in the Ass.

Getfitnow and Hatherleigh publishers suggest that you can work out like a Navy SEAL (oooh!) or like the President (hmmmmm.)

It turns out I’m a geek. 40.63116% – Major Geek. If I got to include the whole Collective, the score would increase noticeably, since (inter alia) I’m not a librarian and didn’t marry a geek.

Justin has some interesting views on living and sleeping in Japan.

A very cool article on queer history in Seattle from the very cool Historylink. I’m looking forward to reading the new(ish) book on the subject, Gay Seattle: Stories of Exile and Belonging by Gary Atkins. I’ve heard Don Paulsen’s book An Evening at the Garden of Allah is excellent.

Earlier I mentioned that the Vancouverites are terribly frightened of sunburn- there are permanent warning signs in the parks reminding you to apply your sunscreen. The poo laws are given a lighter touch, apparently.

Someone was looking for Northender Abby by Jane Austin. So it turns out that my job does actually require some general cultural knowledge, and not just keyword searching.

I just scored a copy of the Better Homes and Gardens Baby Book from 1956. It’s filled with fabulous pictures of fifties moms and newly minted boomers, plus horribly dated medical advice (go ahead and smoke every once in a while while you’re pregnant). Yet the most ominous excerpt so far is this, on keeping your baby healthy on page 105:

“Guard Against Infectious Adults. Sometimes children contract diseases, such as syphilis and tuburculosis, from adult members of the household who may be infected and not be aware of it. As protection to children, parents and relatives, or anyone else living in the home, should have periodic physical examinations.”

The current guidelines for treating syphilis have this to say about childhood syphilis that was not contracted during pregnancy:

“After the newborn period, children with syphilis should have a CSF examination to detect asymptomatic neurosyphilis, and birth and maternal medical records should be reviewed to assess whether such children have congenital or acquired syphilis (see Congenital Syphilis). Children with acquired primary or secondary syphilis should be evaluated (e.g., through consultation with child-protection services) (see Sexual Assault or Abuse of Children) and treated by using the following pediatric regimen.”

So, rather than keeping your children from being molested, you should just make sure their molesters are healthy, huh?

When the Internet connection goes down at work, it’s like telling people “Sorry! We’re fresh out of heroin today!” Many seem to feel that I personally am depriving them of their rights. How many ways can you kill someone with a pen?

For some reason, the etherkiller and pals make me very very happy. It’s good just to know it’s out there.