Rogue, the camouflage cat.

I either have the cold from hell or a killer new allergy — I can’t decide which. In either case, I’ve been stuffed up and congested for a week now, so a few days ago I went to the store for some over the counter relief. The “legal” pills are a joke, so I stood in line at the pharmacy and asked for a box of Sudafed Sinus.

You’d think I’d requested heroin.

I had to hand over my driver’s license, from which they wrote my name, address, and license number in their book. I had to fill out the purchaser section, including my birth date. The pharmacist then wrote down the brand and number of pills I was buying. I was ready for the strip search order at any time.

All for a grand total of $3.69.

This song and dance is the product of a nifty little law that says because pseudoephedrine is used in the manufacture of meth, the medicine itself must be treated as a controlled substance. Ironically, making allergy sufferers jump through hoops doesn’t seem to have touched the meth trade in town a bit. Now they just order the drugs off the internet.

What’s next? Keeping baking soda behind the counter because it’s used to make crack?

How about a little common sense, legislature. When Sudafed is a crime, only criminals will have Sudafed. The rest of us will just keep on wheezing.

I’m going to pick up Billie’s end of year reflection meme and post the first sentence or two from my first post of each month of the previous year.

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January: From the Jacksonville NC Daily News: The first Muslim elected to Congress says he will take his oath of office using a Quran once owned by Thomas Jefferson to make the point that “religious differences are nothing to be afraid of.”

February: From AP via the Jacksonville (NC) Daily News: Comedian Al Franken to Run for Senate

March: March 1 is Self-injury Awareness Day.

April: When my grandmother’s arm was amputated in 1962, the hospital put out a call to all their emergency O negative blood donors (universal donor), which is slightly more common than her type of AB negative.

May: By an overwhelming margin of 420-3, the House of Representatives passed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2007, which forbids discrimination in employment and health insurance.

June: From Crooks and Liars, which has video and a link to McCain’s website: Bill O’Reilly: But do you understand what the New York Times wants, and the far-left want? They want to break down the white, Christian, male power structure, which you’re a part, and so am I, and they want to bring in millions of foreign nationals to basically break down the structure that we have.

July: Seen at Shopko. (Love my new camera phone!) Tooth Tunes come loaded with songs by Ashley Tisdale, Beach Boys, Black Eyed Peas, Queen, Hilary Duff, Kiss, Kelly Clarkson and others.

August: Just when you thought the anti-choice movement couldn’t get any crazier, this news comes out of Ohio. They’d like to give men veto power over a woman’s decision whether or not to carry a pregnancy.

September: This morning I found this comment in my Akismet spam bin: hello , my name is Anna and my job is to leave ads on sites , if you dont like the comments please send me an email to REDDACTED and i will not leave comments on your site . Sorry for inconvenience. Following was a full page of porn links.

October: First it was toothpaste. Now it’s children’s toys. Not concern over lead, but fear that a remote control car could be used to blow up an airplane.

November: The number of Americans lacking health insurance rose by nearly 8.6 million to 47 million from 2000 to 2006, according to a study done by the Economic Policy Institute.

December: In the last year or so, Chuck Norris has turned into an internet meme. I leave that to the kids.

Interesting. I’d say that’s a fair sampling of what I wrote about in 2007. What does your list look like?

“Your True Age is the Real Secret.”

I got this postcard in the mail two weeks ago, early enough that I could add their services to my Christmas list, I imagine.

Happy Day-After-Christmas, everyone! I’m counting this year as a success — I got through the holiday without a major meltdown, despite being in the middle of a med change. I stressed myself into anxiety attacks when Julie’s presents, traveling via UPS, got hung up in Phoenix for 3 days, but I finally could relax when she called on Christmas Eve to tell me the box had arrived at last. It was tough, this first year without her home, but we talked a long time on the phone, which helped some.

Now to put together my shopping list for New Year’s Eve. The menu, fondue.

Is this for real? My first reaction is that it’s got to be a spoof, but Next Energy looks legit. Anyone know?

From Next Energy News:

December 17, 07 Toshiba Builds 100x Smaller Micro Nuclear Reactor

Toshiba has developed a new class of micro size Nuclear Reactors that is designed to power individual apartment buildings or city blocks. The new reactor, which is only 20 feet by 6 feet, could change everything for small remote communities, small businesses or even a group of neighbors who are fed up with the power companies and want more control over their energy needs.

The 200 kilowatt Toshiba designed reactor is engineered to be fail-safe and totally automatic and will not overheat. Unlike traditional nuclear reactors the new micro reactor uses no control rods to initiate the reaction. The new revolutionary technology uses reservoirs of liquid lithium-6, an isotope that is effective at absorbing neutrons. The Lithium-6 reservoirs are connected to a vertical tube that fits into the reactor core. The whole whole process is self sustaining and can last for up to 40 years, producing electricity for only 5 cents per kilowatt hour, about half the cost of grid energy.

Toshiba expects to install the first reactor in Japan in 2008 and to begin marketing the new system in Europe and America in 2009.

Is this is the same company that had to recall laptops because their batteries might explode?

Via Slashdot

While these white beluga whales are being used as Christmas entertainment in Japan, their humpback cousins are being hunted down and killed by Japanese whaling fleets.

Too bad letting them live in peace doesn’t seem to be an option.

Recently extinguished, a fire this morning at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which houses nearly all of the White House staff, including White House speechwriters, White House communications, senior staff from the Office of Management and Budget and the National Security Council, as well as Cheney’s ceremonial offices.

I wonder how many CIA interrogation tapes were stored in that building ….

Today is the 3rd anniversary of this incarnation of I See Invisible People. Though I don’t post as frequently as I did in the beginning, writing this has become a huge part of my life. Thanks to all of you for sticking with me through the ups and downs - I appreciate every one of you.

Baby panda playtime.