The Thanksgiving break is over. We stayed close to home this year, visiting friends for Thanksgiving Day camraderie and a wonderful meal. The turkey was juicy and so were some tales about gate-crashers at a recent WH event.

I am thankful to be in DC. This weekend gave me a chance to get out and connect with people and also some time to get away, walk in the woods, and relax.

Here's a toast to everyone at the LJ virtual table. Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving break!

Our "local" paper, The Washington Post, has just discovered that Virginia produces wine. Over the past several months, the paper has reviewed local wine, written several articles about local winemakers, and promoted some tourism in VA wine country.

One especially nifty thing they did was a mini "Judgment of Paris." In 1976, Californian wines were judged in a blind tasting against french ones outside Paris, France. The wine world was shocked that California wines were as good or better than European ones; this Judgment propelled substantial growth and maturity in California wines. Perhaps hoping that history would repeat itself, the Post brought a group of wine experts to Paris, Virginia this summer to taste wines from France, California, and Virginia.

Virginia didn't win the contest. Two VA wines placed at the top of their groups and most of the highly-ranked VA wines were much less expensive than either of their counterparts. But perhaps this summer's Judgment of Paris will give some momentum to the winemakers of Virginia and propel the state's industry toward greater maturity and world class wines.

Old habits aren't hard to break. What is difficult is establishing NEW habits. The habit of coming home and getting on the computer didn't quite take, I guess.

So the interfaith group is having a community action tomorrow talk with the candidates for governor and to celebrate one year of advocacy for justice in the Old Dominion. The race between Deeds and McDonnell has been heated; I think the Republican has made more promises to support healthcare for unisured adults but I doubt that the putatively open-minded non-partisan folks within the interfaith group will give him much credit for it. We'll see. The group did have a big win to improve the condition and safety of a local low-income housing project. The residents keep coming to our meetings to say thank you for the help --and--this is kinda the goal of the group--the residents have organized themselves to represent themselves more effectively in the future.

Of course, work is all about health reform. My opinion in fifty words or less: Don't believe it. The reforms will not lower costs and we still have at least 10 million uninsured people AFTER we've spent $1 trillion on all of this. Here's a thought experiment: why not just give every uninsured person $100,000 to cover their medical costs for the rest of their lives and call it a day?

Dog is driving me nuts. I know its just because she's old...but...we haven't slept for more than three hours in a row for three or four months. She has two chronic conditions that interfere with sleep that a special home cooked diet(yup, every day she gets a homecooked meal), more exercise, and finally a pharmacy of drugs can't stop.

Well, the interfaith group voted on their top issues. Number one is immigration, then homelessness. The lowest on their top issues list is "healthcare accessibility" whatever that means.

I'm pretty bummed that they did not identify any environmental or transportation issues. Now I am torn about whether to continue to devote time and energy. I certainly do not want to work with this group on healthcare--9 to 5+ is more than enough healthcare for me. On immigration I feel strongly that any reform needs to allow legal immigrants already in the process of seeking citizenship to get their hearing and decision first. It is unethical in my view to give amnesty to illegals and leave those who have played by the rules in limbo, or worse, denied and shipped home. I don't think that view will prevail.

I am also disappointed becuase I think that the issue they chose is not one where there is common ground or really much effort to leverage. I thought we were trying to increase the effectiveness of what we do--not find a new battleground.

Not much news on my end, just wanted to say hi to everyone...

Saw Prince Caspian this past weekend. Has anyone else seen it? I enjoyed it, but wasn't wowed. Good pacing on the final duel/search for Aslan finale. More Liam Neeson!! I believe in you ;-)

Read a little bit about a new politcal organization that has moved out of DC and into Silicon Valley. Some very old hands (Newt Gingrich) want to apply "new tech thinking" to enduring social problems to see if folks outside the beltway can come up with novel ideas. Could be interesting, I think. One of the tasks they've already been thinking about is a redesign of the Census.

Again, not too much say, but best wishes and howdy and good to read about your goings-on.

But sadly, I do not. Because today I finally went thru that right of passage: the haircut so bad you almost cry while you're in the salon.

Sure there are bigger issues in life like global warming and gun control and peace and stuff. But those are not on the top of my head.

I have growing out a cut since November. For short-hairs like me, that is a long time. Partially it was due to being busy at work, but partially I thought it would be fun to have a longer, softer style. I just wanted a trim, really, and some layers to make it easier to style. I had four different pictures of similar cuts I liked and we talked about them for several minutes.

If a crazed, blind woman who meant me harm had attacked my head with garden shears, I would have a more stylish cut than I have now.

Wish me strong follicles and a continued sense of humor as this aberration grows out. (No, I will not post pics, that would be cruel.)

Hope you have a great day.  Best wishes.  

If I could do just one thing today to benefit all of womankind:

I would change reality so that "working your ass off" actually made your butt get smaller.

Can I get an amen?

I have been involved for a couple of years now in an interfaith group for Northern Virginia. The idea really appeals to me: many churches and synagogues are trying to do similar things for their communities--they would have more power and could be more efficient and effective if they worked together.

It has been encouraging sometimes. At this past meeting a couple of weeks ago, 35 congregations sent over a hundred people. We voted on a name for the group and learned how to conduct "house meetings." This group is affiliated with a very old community organizing foundation that began in Chicago and has a lot of real-world experience with getting people to work together effectively. They have succeeded in Baltimore and Washington DC to build hundreds of low-income housing units and make improvements to schools and community programs.

The process also underscores how much people of good faith and intention can disagree. Quite a few members of our group want to tackle immigration as an issue but nobody really agrees about *what* to do about it. The mortgage crisis is another big issue with people divided about how to address it.

For me, getting involved in the process has been a good chance to reflect on the issues that matter to me and how much of my own time I want to dedicate to them. I had hoped that this group would get involved in public transportation
and environmental issues. It still might choose those issues; we'll see.

Had a nice weekend. I've been working weekends quite a bit lately; it was nice to take off Saturday and Sunday. (Though I was a bit on the job yesterday at a formal, professional dinner-dance-party.)

Today I baked a batch of oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies on my nice silpat sheet. I wish I'd gotten one of these sheets a while ago--many cookies in my home would have had a better life. Isn't the smell of baking choclate one of the nicest things?

We've had a fair bit of sun for this time of year. I walked along the Mall in DC and arounf the 'hood with doggo and husband. It does wonders for the mood in dreary February.

I caught up with a good friend/former colleague on Saturday. She's hoping to get a nifty internship with the organization that researches comparative effectiveness for the UK. I hope she gets it; I think this realm of work is a big part of the next wave for health services research.

We're off to a big Game party tonight. I hope there are some good commercials this year!

Wow. This was an incredible wine. The bottle was a wedding gift from two good friends. The four of us got together to enjoy it with a terrific dinner at Charlie Palmer's in DC.

The celebration was at least three-fold: wedding anniversary, new job, and old traditions. It was a superb occassion for the champagne.

Onto the champagne itself: This was the top bottle from one of the premier producers of champagne. Clos des Goisses is a single-vineyard, 5.5 acres, the chalky soil surrounded by an ancient wall. The style is meant to be aged; so though it seems old for a champagne, this was the right time. The producer just released some more of the 1990 juice a couple of years ago.

The first thing that struck me was the wonderful aroma of sherry. There was just enough oxidation to bring out layers of toast and yeast. The flavor really demonstrated the difference between the impact of proper aging and plain old poor storage.

The mid-palate was cream and nuts. The tasting notes said hazelnut; I'm not sure it was that distinct. But it was certainly a hazelnut-walnut-almond note.

Next was the backbone, baked fruit, and zing of crispness--like a bite of cinnamon in an apple pie. The lingering finish returned to toast, warm fruit, and cream. Really an astounding wine. Though it was a challenge to put off opening this bottle several years ago, I can appreciate why this wine has risen to something of a collector's price tag today.

Truly great wine--in wonderful company--is one of life's finest luxuries. Cheers!

This is the avatar I created over at Yahoo. It was a lot of fun. Kind of like playing with paper dolls for the mildly-grown-up. Dunno if it is really clear, but the background is supposed to be a vineyard.

How does this look? Too small?

Yet another terrifc book from Gaiman. This book picks up a character from American Gods and follows his son on a journey to learn how we all create our own worlds. When your Dad is a deity, "finding yourself" takes on a new level of meaning.

I really enjoyed American Gods; Anansi Boys was a fun way to revisit that world, though it is not truly a sequel. Aside from the main character's father, we don't get to revisit characters from the first book (unless I missed something). This book uses African and Carribean mythos, whereas the first book featured Norse and European gods and spirits. Perhaps because many readers are less familiar with African myths (I certainly am), this book has longer sections that retell myths. It is fun to watch the modern day characters as their stories are shaped by the myths.

Anansi Boys lets the mythic world intrude liberally on the real world. The effect is less trippy than in Neverwhere and has less to say about the role of gods in the modern world than American Gods. As a very positive point, it avoids the fairly preachy bits in American Gods where Gaiman self-rightously informs us that money and power have become the new American Gods.

My employer gave me a treo 700w. It's pretty spiffy. I have been a hide-bound paper planner and paper calendar person for the past 10+ years. This gadget's planner is friendly enough that I have started to integrate into my system, though I have not yet been willing to give up all of the paper. My new office is geographically distributed--so I like the way it helps me coordinate fairly seamlessly with many travelling and remote colleagues.

It was especially nice to use mobile web services when I was in New York.

I'll have to get some pointers from my very savvy treo friends about how to REALLY use this little thing. . .

A couple of years ago, I purchased a faux Kate Spade handbag. It was cute: small, satin, lined in a funky zebra print. I carried it a fair bit. I began to notice that a certain set of women would comment on the designer bag. It was fun to have a "luxury" item. As my wardrobe and other accessories upgraded, the Kate Spade bag went with my outfits. I was photographed with my Kate Spade and my brother's monster truck, much to my friends' amusement.

With the new, somewhat more image-conscious job, I decided this year to buy my very first real designer bag. To assure you that I have not had a complete personality transplant, I proceeded with this task in classic fashion: researched key opinion leaders, read several books on the subject, observed handbag choices of a cross-section of washingtonians, defined key criteria, found a good price, *then* bought the bag.

The find: a B. Makowsky. It's a shoulder bag/clutch hybrid--medium volume with a rigid frame and top closure but also a handle/strap and chains with a drop that allows me to tuck my elbow thru and hold the bag to my side under my arm. It's a deep red, crocodile-embossed leather with a big buckle closure (it looks like it will take about ten minutes to open, but it's really a magnetic closure which I really dig). The lining is a tri-color tiger stripe. Everything I need just fits inside and stays very organized.

I am surprised by how happy I am with my new bag. I like luxury as much or more than the next gal, but I've never thought of myself as the be-happy-about-a-handbag type. WHo knew?

I have just finished the first season of Heroes on DVD. What a good show. It was really refreshing to get past all the post modernist crap about "Everyone is flawed" and "Evil people are just misunderstood." Who doesn't like a story where the bad guys are bad, the good guys are good, a couple of people who were on the fence get redeemed, and the really BAD bad guys get whacked? That's good stuff. Throw in a dose of "Anyone can strive and be a hero" and the enjoyability is further enhanced.

Thre aren't too many new superpowers under the sun, so characters who can intercept wi fi with their brains and a guy who just soaks up other proximate powers were kinda innovative. It was very fun when Claire discovers that Nathan can fly and simply says: "That's cool." It was one of those moments when I-the-fan felt as if I had been allowed into the world of the story(Serenity had many of these).

If I know my friends, one of you caught this, but it was also fun when George Takei's character's limo pulled away and the tag was NCC 1701. (For those who didn't catch that, please put the Geek-o-meter away before you bend the needle.)

I'm off to read the graphic novel. Husband read it and said it complements the show without being redundant. The art looks good, too.

Against all odds, the fall here in Va has been a beautiful one. Today it's sunny and 70 degrees, the trees are flame red and glowing yellow and even some stubborn green. I went out for an hour with the dog and played in the woods up the street. Hopefully she'll be napping for most of the rest of the afternoon.

I went out to see Nature's Best Photos of 2007 yesterday at the Natural History Museum. There was a terrific shot of a red fox's tail end sticking up out of the snow as the fox chased a mole in its hole. Another striking image was a trio of bison walking with determination across a snow-covered clearing. At the National Geographic museum, an exhibit on the history of the "critter cam" suggested that powerful images are an essential tool in conservation because they help the public connect to wildlife, and perhaps by extension, give a darn about the environment and the creatures in it.

Book wise I have lightened up considerably: I am on book two of Tales of the Otori. It's pulp fantasy set in feudal Japan. Not too much sorcery and no dragons.

All in all, the final phase of my break is going very well. I've traveled, read, relaxed, crafted, taken care of my health, taken care of my home, and visited friends and family. Stay tuned for the beginning of the next phase...

I have just started this book and gotten completely hooked. I liked Lexus and the Olive Tree from him several years ago, too. My initial reactions have been to wonder why healthcare seems so impervious to the forces of information and communication that he describes and it has my creative juices flowing about ways to talk about personal health information. If we can get some patients hooked on getting relevant information about providers and treatments and forming networks around disease and wellness, could healthcare blossom into the Flat Earth of Friedman?

I'd also love to hear my friends' reactions to this book since so many of them were right there for the people and events he describes --the beginnings of the Net and the Web and browsing and redesigning workflow. Have you read Friedman? What do you think about his ideas???