Blah, blah, blah.

First, a question: what sort of posts do y'all like reading? I don't get many comments, even to posts that I think might generate some controversy, or at least thoughtful discussion. I'm not trolling for comments, here; just wondering if I'm boring everyone to death.

Idea
I have an idea for a post based on something A said months ago, about the difference between liberals and libertarians. It's sort of the synthesis of his comment, some comments leora made on facebook, and months of my brain working on the whole thing. The words "monstrous" and "inhuman" may be involved.

Illness update
Tinnitus persists. Cognitive issues, like difficulty finding words, are also there. It's sort of like trying to think with a migraine, except without the icepick in the skull. I've slept poorly the last two nights. The eye doctor saw nothing in my eyes, so no eyestrain or vision changes or other signs of disease that are visible in the eye. I may have found a cyclical pattern that maps to my menstrual cycle, joy. Appointment with the headache clinic is in about a week. Should also be about a week till my period starts again.

Football
Hertha beat SpVgg Greuther Fürth 2:0 on Friday, making them the only undefeated team in the pro Bundesliga (1st and 2nd), and putting them nicely on the top of the league table with 23 points (7x3 wins, 1x2 draws). Only 25 matches to go this season, and if they keep this up, they'll be back in the 1st league next September. Unfortunately two of our top players were injured in the match. Nikita Rukavytsya strained a thigh muscle and is out for two weeks, and captain Andre Mijatovic will be out for six with a knee ligament injury (outer ligament, Außenband). They join usual goalie Maikel Aerts (ACL, at least four more weeks) on the injured bench. Coach Markus Babbel can put 17-year-old Nico Schulz in for Ruka, which he did a few weeks ago when he banned Ruka for coming late to practice, and he's got another option or two for Mijatovic. The other GK, Marco Sejna, has done well the last two matches, except for one spectacular fumble Friday that came dangerously close to a goal for Fürth. He's kept a clean sheet so far, and the Hertha defense has only conceded 5 goals in 9 matches, which, actually, is the lowest number of conceded goals in the entire pro Bundesliga.

Wolfsburg, on the other hand, lost to Nürnberg 1:2 on Saturday. After 9 matches, they have 10 points (3-1-5) and are in 13th place. The defense has conceded 16 goals, on par with 15th place Schalke, and better than Bremen (18 goals, 8th place), Stuttgart (17, 14th), K'lautern (17, 15th), Gladbach (27!, 17th), Köln (17, 18th). Apparently, last year's Wolves had some issues with their defense, so Dieter Hoeneß (Uli of FC Bayern's brother) went out and bought some defensive players, including young Danish international Simon Kjaer and German international Arne Friedrich. Unfortunately, Arne hasn't been able to play this season thanks to a back injury, but he hopes to be back for the second half of the season. Adding to the defensive woes is the injury of goalkeeper Diego Benaglio (Swiss international). The team doesn't seem to have gelled yet, especially the defense. After the match, striker/captain Edin Dzeko expressed his frustration, stating that "we're not playing as a team." I get that sense from watching them on the field, myself.

Writing
I'm still in chapter 1 on revisions. It's been difficult to concentrate at times, and the ringing in my ears doesn't help. I'm going to use November's NaNoWriMo as motivation. I'm not participating, but I'll be using the framework to motivate myself to finish these revisions. I need deadlines to get things done.

To be addressed in a separate post
Sanity/Fear rally plans!

Sanity/Fear: the planning

My sister called last night to discuss our plans (more specifically, my plans) for Saturday. My plans are still rather vague, so that doesn't quite help her.

Here's what I have so far:

Friday
3 pm: leave NC
8-9 pm: arrive in Gaithersburg, MD [assuming 95/495 aren't doing good imitations of parking lots]

Saturday
morning (9?): to Metro station, into the city
upon arrival in city: brunch
12-3: Rally
post-rally: ??

Sunday
morning (9?): leave for home
mid-afternoon, gods willing: arrive home
evening: contribute to dental cavities in children

Here's where you come in! There's a variety of eating establishments as well as drinking establishments that serve food within a couple Metro stops of the rally, according to my sister. What do you want to do with me when we're in DC at the same time?

Do you want to meet up before the rally and hang together?
Do you want to meet up after the rally and get something to eat and/or drink?
Do you want to meet up after the rally and go to a museum and then get something to eat and/or drink?
Do you want to meet up after the rally and go wandering around Dupont Circle and then get something to eat and/or drink?
Do you have other ideas?

(Getting something to eat and/or drink isn't really negotiable ;) I'm going to be doing that for certain, whether any of you are with me or not.)

My sister knows somebody who lives in the city somewhere, and they're having a low-key party of sorts, and she's thinking of making an appearance there. (We're not invited.) I don't know whether she's up for hanging out etc, or if she'll be doing her own thing. There's another party she was invited to, but she didn't sound very interested in going to it.

The main reason we need to make at least firmer vague plans is so we know whether we'll need to take one car to the Metro Saturday morning or two. If Ben & I are going to be in the city later than she's planning to, or vice versa, we'll need both cars. She's going to give us the spare key to her apartment, so we can go separately from her.

How late do y'all plan to be out after the rally? What sort of things do you want to do? I have tsubaki_ny's number, and I sent smarriveurr mine in a PM. Is anyone else going? (Yes, I know there's a smallish COUP crowd going; I'm not going with them. Wm and G are planning to leave almost immediately after the rally.)