Eighty one

Today I was farting around on Wikipedia and I read the article on three-card Monte. It's late though and I don't really feel like going into it. You can read it for yourself, if you want.

Eighty

Just now I learned about Lyme Disease. You get Lyme Disease from ticks, which I knew. Symptoms of Lyme Disease include fever, fatigue, soreness, and a rash around the tick bite. Onset is usually 1-2 weeks after you're bitten, but it can happen with in a couple of days or even take months. If you're diagnosed early, you'll be given a couple weeks of antibiotics and then you should be all better. But some people have joint or muscle pain, fatigue, and neurological problems that last for YEARS after they're diagnosed. The longer the tick is on you, the better your chances of getting Lyme Disease; it may have to be on you for 12 hours before you can catch anything. Only ticks in the nymph stage can transmit the disease. Only 58 people in Ohio in 2005 were diagnosed with Lyme Disease, which sounds like a lot, but the cases are well into the thousands per year in New England. So only .5 people per 100,000 in Ohio will get Lyme Disease in any given year.

Bill got a tick on him Sunday at Blendon Woods, and I'm now convinced that he's going to die a slow and horrible tick-related death. PLEASE DON'T DIE, DUDE.

Seventy nine

Today I learned about polydactyl cats. I was reading about Key West, because I secretly long to go on a super-ritzy, possibly romantic vacation there (or maybe live there, though I'm not super keen on getting killed by a hurricane). Anyhoo, I saw some of these little mofos running around during the one day I spent on Key West. It's a genetic mutation; I thought they just had one extra toe in the front, but apparently they can end up having up to like one billion toes on any combination of paws. Sometimes the extra toes help them learn to do things like open latches. Um, yikes!

Seventy eight

Today I learned how to ID poison ivy...sort of. I actually kind of figured it out on my own just by looking around, but I just checked a web site to get a better idea of what it looks like. My mom's horror stories have made me scared to death of getting poison ivy, and the stories on that site about how breathing in smoke from poison ivy/getting its sap into scrapes can send you to the hospital now have me even more freaked out. No poison ivy in '07! Make it happen, people.

Seventy five, Seventy six, Seventy seven

Thursday I learned who picks Nobel prize winners...people are nominated in the beginning, then they are discussed by experts in the field and ultimately they're chosen by a small committee.

Friday I learned about the origins of Spider Man, because I saw the movie.

Today I learned about Skybus and how ridiculously cheap their plane tickets are. I mean, RIDICULOUSLY cheap. I'm totally going on vacation this summer, don't try to stop me!

Seventy four

Um, Jared tried to teach me about binary over IM today, but it didn't really take because I was watching Idol and in between messages I was all "OMG CHRIS RICHARDSON OMG LET'S HUG." I mean, I pretty much understand it, but I want to read that whole huge Wikipedia entry and it's totally not happening tonight. I'll, like, put it on the list or whatever. I should have a list.

Hey, have you seen that Skittles commercial with that weird rabbit that sings? That rabbit is weird!

Oh, damn. Learnings. Um...okay. Hey, look at this: How Clapperboards Work. I really did not know that. I don't know that I ever even thought about it. Well there you go. That was a fun one.

Seventy three

Today I learned what a yurt is. I came across the word while looking at camping stuff online, and then later THE SAME DAY I came across it while reading Wicked. Isn't that weird? 24 years without ever wondering what a yurt was and then there it is twice in one day.

A yurt is a wood-framed, round dwelling with a thatched or fabric roof. A teepee/tent sort of setup, I gather.