Walkin' Dude (and Ladies)

I forgot to mention yesterday that the NaBloPoMo badge is a reference to LOL Cats. The slogan makes more sense if you've seen what it's based on. Those cats are frequently in something of yours, and they almost always misspell what they're doing there. Here's a sample:

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I'm bringing back iTunes Fridays for the time being. If not for any other reason, it gives me something to write about on Fridays, which might come in handy. The list is at the bottom of this here post. I'll just keep iTunes running until I'm ready to call it a day on this post.

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The Sunday before last was the annual Baltimore Walk for Autism, once again held at my alma mater. There were a lot more teams this year. Sadly, none of those teams were ours. Despite planning on putting together a team and raising money and the whole nine yards, we never got around to getting anything going. It was just as well, since most everybody who would have been on the team were busy helping my brother's kids, including Todd and Jason, for whom we were walking, move into their new house that day.

So we were a team by ourselves again this year. It was a larger team than last year, since PrettyGirl was with us this time (she didn't exist at all in June '06, when the previous Walk happened.) We donated the $100 that gets ya a T-shirt, so we did lend more than moral support.

Happily, as I mentioned before, there were a lot of teams this year to make up for our paltry contribution. It probably took about 5 minutes for everybody to get over the starting line and onto the course. It was good to see that.

As usual, there were signs posted along the course, giving us pertinent facts about the cause. They were:

* Autism costs the nation over $90 billion per year, a figure to double in the next decade
* At Autism Speaks, our goal is to change the future for all who struggle with autism spectrum disorders
* 1 in 94 boys is on the autism spectrum
* 67 children are diagnosed per day
* Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the U.S.
* More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes and cancer combined.
* 1 in 150 children is diagnosed with autism
* Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism
* A new case is diagnosed almost every 20 minutes
* There is no medical detection or cure for autism
* Autism receives less than 5% of the research funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases.

There were also booths for autism-related organizations, including Pathfinders for Autism, whose Vice President is former Oriole outfielder BJ Surhoff, whose son is autistic. I was hoping to meet him, since he's one of my all-time favorite Orioles, but I got to his booth too late, and I got just enough time to watch him leave. Oh well, it's not like I would have been able to say anything anyway. Famous people kinda leave me awestruck.

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Poor PG is still really sniffly with her cold. She woke M up several times last night with her snorts and terrible coughs, and the two of them finally just went downstairs so they could sleep in an arm chair that would allow gravity to keep the mucous out of PG's nose.

I'm not very good about waking up when PG is fussing, but I managed to get up and hang out with my ladies for about 45 minutes around 2:30. My own cold was keeping me up anyway. So I'm a little tired today, and M is probably exhausted.

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A cute thing happened this morning at daycare that's probably best told in the words of she who witnessed it. The following exchange occurred on Google chat this morning. Actual names have been changed to nicknames.

M: this morning I was talking to [the daycare lady] with PG on my lap

and Glasses McBlabberson came up with the toys PG always plays with

the blue chick that she always had and a cloth donut thing

he handed her the chick first

and she leaned over, took it from him, and started flinging it around

then he gently handed her the donut

and again she took it from him and enthusiastically flung it around

I was just shocked

it was the sweetest thing

I said, y'all are killing me

that is too cute!!

they have a little thing going on, I'm telling ya

me: PG's got a boyfriend! PG's got a boyfriend! Lalalalalaaala!

M: he really likes her

she's gonna be trouble for you! :)

me: sigh. The perils of having a pretty daughter

Gonna have to teach her how to box.

Gonna have to learn how to box first

M: lol

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iTunes Friday Revived!

1. "Tears Are Falling" - KISS
2. "Road To Nowhere" - Talking Heads
3. "Head Over Heels" - Tears For Fears
4. "Firestarter" - Prodigy
5. "Superman's Song" - Crash Test Dummies
6. "A Little Respect" - Erasure
7. "Lay All Your Love On Me" - ABBA
8. "Around The World (La La La La La)" - ATC
9. "Shout It Out Loud" - KISS
10. "Something About You" - Level 42
11. "Whatsername" - Green Day
12. "Walking On Sunshine" - Katrina and The Waves
13. "Here Comes Your Man" - Teenage Fanclub (a cover of the Pixies song)
14. "Breaking The Girl" - Red Hot Chili Peppers
15. "About A Girl" - Nirvana