Holy crap! Amy posted pictures of the Harry Potter coins we made on Friday (for our train trip this coming Saturday) and they got linked on Boing Boing! And here I was being lazy by not posting mine yet…

We just finally saw Batman Begins and, much like Ebert, I thought it totally kicked ass. The only negative was the pair of FLAMING IDIOTS who brought toddlers to the show. Toddlers! I wish I were joking. The kids cried through the whole damn thing. As the Snook put it, “The whole plot was about a guy tramatized as a child, and now those dumbass parents just did the same thing to their kids.” Finally one of the other moviegoers yelled out to get the damn kids out of there, and the father actually had the nerve to look annoyed. That’s the kind of crap that makes me laugh whenever people mention my “biological clock.” I DON’T THINK SO.

Forgot to mention: Any of you Sydney Apple users looking for a new keyboard and mouse? The new machine came with a brand new Apple keyboard and mouse, which means I’ve now got three sets. (I’ve got the wireless ones on my desk, while the Snook has my old black ApplePro keyboard on his now. “I think it makes my computer go faster!” he says. The assimilation has begun.) Anyway, I don’t need it and I’m not feeling charitable enough to return it to them. Anybody want to make me an offer? Interesting swaps considered! (Lets be honest; buy me a beer and it’s yours.)

Ladies and gentlemen, DeskCam is BACK! Also note that I have changed my hair yet again. The colour is still red – lovely deep refreshed shocking red – but I had her chop a few inches off. We started with a classic bob but then cut into it and thinned it out a lot. (I have way too much hair.) Paige said that her official name for the cut is a “shattered bob,” which I totally love. It goes with the punk rock image.

The Ridiculously Thorough Guide to Making Your Own Pizza. How useful! My few attempts at homemade pizza have seriously sucked. (Link courtesy of not martha.)

After eleven-and-a-half weeks… I finally got a new computer! About damn time.

Oh my God. We just saw the news. The Snook and I were sitting in a bar when he noticed a reflection of a TV screen behind us and recognized the words “London” and “bomb” as they scrolled past. We recognized Tube stations that we had both been in dozens of times. It’s unbelievable. Londoners like to act blasé about the IRA threat, but something like this is just shattering. I remember how it felt on September 11, 2001 as we watched the World Trade Center fall from our kitchen in Hammersmith, getting reports of the City evacuating and wondering how safe we were. We’re sending e-mails and SMSes to friends over there right now. Any of you Londoners able to tell us what it’s like in the city?

This is a sad time. I hate to say it, but the possibility of something like this happening was part of the reason we left. As the Snook said on September 12, “If America goes to war, we’re going to Australia.” I’m really glad we did.

Good grief. How many times do I have to say it? Willy Wonka didn’t “hate children”. That’s just WRONG. This Patrick Lee guy has obviously never read the damn book. This is half the reason I stopped updating my Dahl site. No matter how much misinformation I try clear up, the same myths and inaccuracies persist. It’s like shouting in the wind sometimes.

Look, I may indeed have muttered “I wish these damn candy bars were off the shelves” during my darkest diet moments, but I swear the whole Masterfoods extortion threat wasn’t from me, okay? (Although I will admit to a certain “If I can’t eat Snickers, nobody can eat
Snickers!!” shadenfreude.)

DietBlog: So yeah, I registered a gain this week. I’m actually, really, truly kinda glad about it though, you know? I mean, I deserved it. I had a wonderfully rich dinner at Rosalina’s on Thursday, pancakes and sausage followed by a mega-pig-out at the Food Show on Saturday, a massive portion of lamb tagine on Sunday, and an All-American Fat Fest on Monday. And here’s the thing: I’ve had a loss every single other week and I think I was starting to take it for granted. My cheating has been getting more and more egregious because I just don’t know where the boundaries lie, you know? But now I do. Now I have a better idea of how much I can indulge but still remain on the right track. It’s a good thing. Plus I had this constant fear of gaining and it was like waiting for the other shoe to drop. Now I’ve faced my fear and gotten it out of the way, so I can quit obsessing and continue my progress towards goal.

That said, I got some major inspiration from the meeting tonight. First, I received a little star achievement pin for making it to thirteen meetings. (I guess most people peter out before then, but it’s still nice to get an award just for showin’ up!) Then I had a nice chat with Catherine, a naturopath who just started the program last week and who registered a two kilo loss tonight. That’s like four pounds! How awesome is that? See, this is exactly how Weight Watchers is working for me. I’m at the stage where normally I’d get bored and give up, but now I’ve got this support network of totally inspirational and amazing people. Catherine was so excited telling me about the changes she’d made – more exercise, watching portion size, tracking Points – that I started to get fired up too. I told her that my goal is to join her in weight loss again next week!