So, uh, apropos of the Leia-Chewwie photo, apparently George Lucas and whoever else was involved in the costuming decided that "there's no underwear in space" for the original three Star Wars... Go figure.

66 Behind the Scenes Pics from The Empire Strikes Back:

But sugar is one atom from carbon monoxide too!!

If sugar is one atom away from cocaine, then I'm probably breathing out carbon monoxide as we speak!

Excellent.
I look forward to running in to the both of you. I have filed your numbers in my phone, and promise to text, particularly on Saturday/Sunday.

I will be going to the con Saturday, probably hanging out with Percy Friday.

Here is my cell: 780-221-6414

Hope to hang with you all this weekend.

I concur, Alison.
I'm one of the potential comic-con-ners this weekend assuming the craigslist guy that Ed is meeting up with to get me a post-sellout ticket isn't a scam. If that pans out I'll be there Saturday

In the meantime...
I thought we deserved the actual song.


Plus, did you know that Helen Mirren was the voice of Deep Thought? I totally missed that the first 9 bazillion times I watched this movie...
.

ugh... social niceties can be so trying sometimes...

I just (finally, two days after the fact) sent out my goodbye e-mails to clients and colleagues at work. I gave up really trying, though, and titled the one to the coworkers with the name of the fourth book of the Hitchhiker's Guide series. I'm kind-of hoping that my friends get the reference, and also that my boss thinks it's a complete f-off. ... because for him, it really is. He didn't even bother to say anything to me (like thanks, or best of luck, or ANYTHING) during the last time we talked, other than "what are we doing with your computer?" And didn't bother to show up for the goodbye lunch.

I am SO HAPPY to be leaving that company behind. Not because the work wasn't interesting - it was - and not because my coworkers were jerks - they weren't - but because management was pure shite.

Anyway...

- Roo: Congrats on the baby news, that's supremely exciting! And yes, I agree, the premature use of laptops on (even human) airplanes is definitely cause for concern, particularly where nonexistent electronic parts are in use.

- Par: Congrats to you and Nadeesha on a) your improved times and b) completing a serious running race, which is a milestone in itself. AND do you think the nearly identical-to-cocaine sugar would have a greater efficacy if snorted? [the part of the graph that actually interests me is the spike in alcohol deaths - I'm rather tempted to correlate it with Mad Men (which started in 2007). I wonder if that study's been done.]

- EVERYONE: After talking with Mary today, I'd like to propose that we start using this board again, more frequently. ... because, it would seem that a number of us are all doing the exact same thing this weekend without telling each other (i.e. going to the Calgary Comic Expo), and IT WOULD BE GREAT IF WE COULD ACTUALLY COORDINATE OURSELVES AND HANG OUT! This weekend is one example... There have been enough other events where a subset of us has run into each other and exclaimed things like "I didn't know you were going to this." We're friends, we should hang out!

(but you don't have to listen to me, it's really just a suggestion)

Chemists, prepare to have your mind blown. This is the chart for the article:



Interesting, not sure about the methodology, etc., but thought-provoking.


Then, the comments. The first comment is a rant about sugar being a drug. People question it, and the commenter comes back with this:

I am trying to insert, make publicly aware this drug like thing, food.
Sugar is as addictive as cocaine, and causes obesity, diabetes, cancer and heart disease: Researchers
http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/researcher-sugar-addictive-cocaine-obesity-diabetes-cancer-heart-disease-article-1.1054419
Sugar is One Atom Away from Cocaine
http://tugunchiro.com.au/articles/sugar-is-one-atom-away-from-cocaine.html

“White refined sugar-is not a food. It is a pure chemical extracted from plant sources, purer in fact than cocaine, which it resembles in many ways. Its true name is sucrose and its chemical formula is C12H22O11.The chemical formula for cocaine is C17H21NO4. Sugar’s formula again is C12H22O11. For all practical purposes, the difference is that sugar is missing the “N”, or nitrogen atom.”

So, sugar C12H22O11 has 12 carbon atoms, 22 hydrogen atoms, 11 oxygen atoms, and absolutely nothing else to offer. The chemical formula for cocaine is C17H21NO4. Sugar’s formula again is C12H22O11. So the difference is that sugar is missing the “N”, or nitrogen atom. Got it!