This article about a DNA test that can tell the sex of a fetus at six weeks blows my mind. They test the mother’s blood for Y-chromosomes? I didn’t think the mother’s and baby’s blood intermingled. I didn’t know you could do that. Huh.

How to Spray Block Crocheted or Knitted Squares. That’s an excellent Flickr photoset. Now I want to make a blocking board.

Hey, Dad! Looks like the General Lee is for sale. Edited to add: Holy crap! I just realized that Bo Duke is the one selling it.

Ooh, juicy yarn industry scandal! Apparently last year rumors started going around that Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino had no actual cashmere in it. The Australian distributor has researched these claims and was told by the manufacturer that they are categorically false. According to them, an industry competitor had a dodgy test done last year and leaked the results to weaken Baby Cashmerino’s position in the market. Debbie Bliss has since had numerous chemical and DNA tests done to prove that cashmere is, in fact, in there. Pretty scandalous, huh? This is the only link I can find with more details.

Note to self: Go through unwanted books this weekend and use BookFinder to see if any are particularly valuable. Take others up to Elizabeth‘s and see if they want them.

Last night at the SnB, it suddenly popped into my head that Worldwide Knitting in Public Day was probably approaching. When I got home, I idly surfed over there to check the day. Crap! It’s on June 9th, and the deadline for signing up as a host is, oh, TOMORROW. I quickly sent off an e-mail offering to coordinate for Sydney CBD. (The only other Australian location currently listed is Bankstown.) I’ve tentatively put down last year’s location of the Sidewalk Cafe and Bar at the Opera House, but Mary-Helen and I both think it would be better to find somewhere else. That was a good location in terms of foot traffic and amenities, but the seating wasn’t really conducive to a big group. Can anybody else think of somewhere better? Preferably it’d have nice seating, food, drink, bathrooms… and be as public as possible! I’m investigating Darling Harbour, but please let me know if you have any other suggestions.

Junk Food Confession: I actually had a McDonald’s Cinnamon Melt on our trip. It was the morning of Space Camp, and that was the only place open we could find for breakfast. I wasn’t too hungry (TOO! MUCH! ADRENALINE!) so I just thought I’d get a pie or something. I had no idea they were a new thing when I ordered it; I just saw the sign above the cashier. Unfortunately about two seconds after I was given my change, a shout rang out from the kitchen. “WHO SOLD A CINNAMON MELT? WE DON’T KNOW HOW TO MAKE THOSE YET!” Apparently it was, like, Day One of the Cinnamon Melt and our cashier had unknowingly sold one before the kitchen was even prepared. I said I’d be more than happy to take something else, and after much back-and-forth I was provided with two(!) Cherry Pies. A little while later, my cashier appeared triumphantly at our table with a cardboard box in her hand. “I made one!” she announced. “That’s okay, really; I just ate a Cherry Pie!” I said. “No, you have to try it! They’re really good! And it’s on me.” Well… okay. It was pretty darn tasty! I don’t like dry, cakey cinnamon rolls, and this one was pretty much the opposite of that. Moist, gooey, loaded with icing… I guess that’s why it has 460 calories, huh? (Yeah, I gained like eight pounds on that trip.) If you can spare the nutritional deficit, I recommend the Cinnamon Melt. (Link courtesy of PCJM, who thinks they sound nast.)

Oh, and I tried Diet Coke Plus too. I thought it tasted exactly the same as regular Diet Coke (i.e. DOUBLE-PLUS AWESOME).

“We Has Tribbles and Also Troubles.” GENIUS. The Snook and I do enjoy the lolcats.