While the Snook will be growing out his facial hair for Movember, I’ll be participating in NaBloPoMo. Basically, it means I have to post something here every day for a month. Hey, I do that anyway! This’ll be fun.

The women of MetaFilter answer the question: “How does it feel to have your period?” There’s a really good range of experiences represented there (including my own). Personally, I’m just glad to see a lot of other people mentioning downing ibuprofen like M&Ms. I mean, I hope they don’t get sick like I did, but at least it makes me feel a little less like a freak.

TC News: Our new shipment of Jordana Paige bags has finally arrived in the shop! But unfortunately none of the new colours have been sent. (I’m a bit partial to the red satchel myself.) We did get the Knitting Needle Storage Box though, and I’m happy to report that it’s a lot bigger and more solid-looking than it appears in the pictures.

This morning the Snook was getting dressed for work when his mobile phone buzzed. “You’ve got a message,” I said. “Do you want me to read it?” “Sure,” he said. I clicked on it and nearly fell over. It said: “REMINDER – TAKE A POOP THURSDAY 8:30AM-11:00AM.” What in the world? “It’s a reminder,” I yelled back. “You’re supposed to take a poop!” And then I collapsed laughing. He claims that he and Hank were merely testing out whether Google Calendar’s SMS reminder service would work in Australia, and that he entered that as a joke test item. Uh-huh. “Hey, if you have to schedule your bodily functions, I don’t judge!” At any rate, it looks like the SMS service works. We haven’t determined yet whether there’s any cost associated.

Those of you watching my training log (down there on the right) may have noticed that I’ve been doing a lot of workouts from the Biggest Loser DVD lately. I picked it up at Kmart a few weeks ago hoping that it would provide some exercise variety on rainy days. It’s actually really good! Trainer Bob leads six of the contestants from the US show through four different workouts (plus warm-up and stretch). I’ve been alternating the “Low Intensity Cardio” and “Strength & Sculpt” options for a while now. It’s funny; I was never a huge Bob fan while watching the show but I’ve definitely warmed to his style on the DVD. The hilarious part is that he knows the Bob fans are watching, and he totally plays up to it. He keeps turning to look straight in the camera and say things like, “You are looking so great. You are fantastic. You can do anything. I’M SO PROUD OF YOU.” (And cheesy as it is, it still works on me!) Unfortunately yesterday I thought I’d step it up to the “High Intensity Cardio”… and today I can’t move. I think it was all the trunk rotations and punches. My lower back is KILLING ME. And of course, I can’t take any ibuprofen, so I’ve just been gritting my teeth and rubbing Voltarin on it all day. So if you see me moving like an elderly person this week, that’s why. I did it all for the love of Trainer Bob.

This article about Dooce reveals what the mysterious lawsuit was that re-triggered her depression this past summer. I’ll admit I was a little curious about that.

Remember the massive scarf being knit to commemorate the rescue of the Beaconsfield miners? It’s growing…

Israeli researchers have shown that facial expressions may be hereditary. That’s fascinating! I would’ve thought it was just learned, the way you have your mother’s laugh or your father’s voice. But doing the experiment with blind people blows that out of the water. Neat!

Idol was shocking – SHOCKING! – this week. No, really. I’m reeling. Sunday’s performances were so good across the board (except for Ricky), that I had a really hard time trying to guess who was going to be in the bottom three (except for Ricky). I decided that I was going to be sad no matter who left (except for Ricky). Too bad it wasn’t Ricky.

I’m glad they’re letting Bobby come back tomorrow night. He deserves it. He was never meant to be the Idol, but he definitely brought a welcome dose of weirdness and musicianship to the competition. Okay, so who *is* going to win this sucker? At this point, it’s looking like a three-way race between Damien, Jessica, and Dean. Holden wants Dean so badly he can taste it, and I’m not, uh, unfamiliar with that emotion. Boy is hot, yo. And he’s getting better with each performance. As TallulahBelle said, he’s “left the cheesy aspects of his performances behind and I, for one, am exceedingly grateful.” I’ll drink to that. Of the other two… I have to pick Jess. I just love her! Her singing is just so effortless and joyous. I’d give anything to have a voice like that. So my prediction is that the next bootees are Ricky, Chris, and Lisa, with Damien getting third and Dean and Jessica going on to the Final. I guess I should probably vote or something, huh?