Yes, Time Warner, I am flat-out accusing you of theft. Sue me for libel/slander. I dare you.

Sorting through my pictures in iPhoto, I got this:

Technology for the win. How do they do that?

A coworker bringing in Custard Squares?

Or another coworker replying to the email:

Stop, collaborate and listen
Ben is back with his brand new invention
Cake that grabs a hold of me tightly
Flows like cream filling both daily and nightly
Will it ever stop? Yo -- I don't know
Turn off his oven, he'll still glow
To the extreme, he bakes a cake like a vandal
Heats it up with his brain, doesn't even need a candle

Slice Slice Baby Vanilla Slice Slice Baby

Then it all cleared. Saturday and today is just totally clear. Well, yesterday was clear, and today's been occasionally punctuated with blurriness. But it's awesome, a hint of what's up.

Tomorrow I go in to get my bandage contact lenses out, and I can stop taking the Vigamox. Still have to keep taking the Omnipred, and the Vitamin C is going to be going for a year.

I just want to know how much longer I have to wear sunglasses.

Middle of last year, though, they changed the formulation. Now they're called Air Optix Night & Day, but as soon as I put them in my eyes my eyes had what, as far as I could tell, was an allergic reaction. Watery, mucus, it was just terrible.

And I loved having contacts, to have the whole world available to me, to not hide behind a big lens.

So Monday I got laser eye surgery.

It's a hilarious self-aware parody, and I love the kissing couple homage in the hotel lobby scenes. If you dig around, you'll find the original commercial this is based off of:

Not only is half of it a shot-for-shot remake, the music is note-for-note the same. I didn't realize (until digging around) that you can date these ads by the music (this one and that one share the music and are from the '80s, while this one is much newer, this one goes for a harder rock sound, and this one is a horrible retro abomination).

There haven't been too many good places I've been to here in NYC. Here's a brief overview:

Arthur Treacher's
251 E 14th St
★☆☆☆☆
A sad joke. The fish is a rectangular block that mocks the natural shape and taste of fish.

One and One
76 1 Ave
★★★☆☆
The fish is good, but someone there needs to take Batter 101. Presentation is nice but the slightest touch causes the fish to fall to pieces and the batter to slide off. Redemption comes from the 2-for-1 special on Sunday nights at 7pm.

A Salt & Battery
112 Greenwich Ave
★★★★☆
The star off isn't from the awful name, but the prices. The meal is good, but rather expensive. And how can you sell fish and chips separately?

Chipshop
129 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn
★★★★★
Yes, to get awesome fish and chips you have to go to Brooklyn. Suck it up. The price is reasonable, the serving size is large, and the taste is great.

I started using a new kind of wick about four nights ago, and it's working out well. It's the type with a metal tab at the bottom with a wick sticking straight up. You fill the little glass with oil, drop the wick in - make sure there's some wick above the oil - and light. Thank goodness.

All is well here. Hope all is well with everyone out there.
Shira

It's the third night of Chanukah - and they did it again. I had changed the oil (in case it really was the oil) but I'm thinking it's the wicks. I used these wicks last year, so I didn't expect trouble. Tomorrow I'm going wick shopping - we'll try something else.

I didn't want to change the oil and the wick at the same time, otherwise I wouldn't know what worked. So one thing at a time - oil today - we'll try wicks tomorrow.

I'll let you know!
Shira

I'm in Toronto (shockingly enough) and thank G-d all is going well.

Immigration Front - we've received a notice that Jeff has given the okay to be my sponsor. The rest of the permanent residency application has been forwarded to the Canadian Consulate in Buffalo, New York to be reviewed.

The Apartment - it's finally shaping up. We're due to put up pictures (hopefully) this week. Yay!

My Writings - not to worry, I'm still involved. I have two websites:
http://shiradrissman.com - political musings
http://shiradrissman.org - Jewish musings - new article up on Chanukah!

That's my life. I'm still not allowed to work, but various projects are keeping me busy and out of trouble.

Wishing everyone a very Happy Chanukah!
Shira

Twenty two minutes into the movie I learned a new logical technique I'm calling Advanced Logical Bullshitting. It goes something like this:

1. Make a bad analogy: “In empty space, matter flits in and out of existence. Kinda like thoughts do.”
2. Turn it into a simile: “Matter is like thought.”
3. Assume it to be literal truth: “Therefore, we've established that thoughts create matter.”

I'm not joking. That's the actual argument made by the movie 22 minutes in. That was enough for me; I turned it off.

This seriously angers me. I've seen girls on Facebook who list “Quantum Physics” under “Interests.” Nuh, uh, honey. Not with nothing else in your profile listing the slightest bit of scientific interest. (And no, random quotes from Einstein about God don't count.)

If you want to claim that you create your own reality through your thoughts, fine. That was done in the 70s by Jane Roberts and her Seth books. But don't defend it by making a mockery of logic and science.

Bounce a check and you're Dubai, well, too bad.