I’ve got sympathy jitters.
My sister’s marathon is this weekend and she’s pretty nervous. She’s been battling injuries throughout her training and she’s worrying that she’ll push too hard and hurt herself and not be able to finish. Have any of you done anything similarly difficult? If you’ve got time, feel free to leave your story and words of encouragement in the comments. I know she’d appreciate it. (And it would probably be more useful than my suggestion to “see a hypnotist.”)

In case you missed the announcement, Ask MetaFilter launched this week. Cool. I found the digital camera recommendations pretty helpful.

The winter Knitty is here! I definitely think little Joey needs a knitted coonskin cap.

TechTV’s Top 20 Gifts for 2003. Also known by its alternative title, “Kris’s Christmas List.”

When did Anderson Cooper go totally gray? My friends and I had the biggest crush on him in high school. I once wrote him a (joke, I swear it was a joke!) obsessive stalker fan letter. We would swoon over his twee flannel shirts and badmouth stupid Rawley Valverde, who would inevitably be sitting on his ass back at the “Hacienda” while Anderson dodged bullets in Bosnia. It’s disappointing to think that Lisa bloody Ling is probably the most famous Channel One alumnus. Anderson totally deserves to be a news-reporting megastar. Now if only he’d do something about that gray… (Link courtesy of Adrien.)

Hmm. Too bad the evil bastards didn’t hire me or I might be able to comment on this. Kazaa sucks.

Damn. TGI Friday’s now has an Atkins menu! That is too cool. It actually looks fairly tasty too. Now, if only there was one on this continent… (Link courtesy of Tricia.)

Update: There are actually three in Australia! Too bad they’re all in Victoria. I sense a road trip coming on…

Hmm. I’m debating whether I should close commenting on posts after a certain point. I get annoyed policing the neverending flame wars about Paris Hilton and requests for Goonies videotapes. What do you think? How long should our discussions here last?

not martha alerted me to the fact that this season’s colors are pink and brown. Guess what colors the pretty Bonds underpants I bought were? Yay, I’m in fashion!

Things fall apart… the center does not hold.
I’m speaking of underwear, of course. It has recently come to my attention that all my underwear is falling apart (except for Hello Kitty, of course). Just about everything I have was purchased at Marks & Spencer on arriving in the UK four years ago, and four years is apparently the threshold at which M&S smalls start to disintegrate. Thus I found myself staring glumly at the lingerie department in Kmart yesterday. I hate shopping for that stuff. In desperation I went with the only brand name I recognized… Bonds. To my surprise, everything fitted well and looked nice. And hey, it’s all new and supportive and cute! And, oh, how nice it is to not have a wonky underwire digging into your armpit! I happily pranced out of the dressing room and dropped $80 on undergarments. Now I’m sitting here in 100% cotton comfort. I feel my overall outlook on life improving. Perhaps I should sell this as a self-improvement strategy…