Posts by Emma Hart

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  • Hard News: Awesome,

    Pennyroyal anyone? (Ok, this probably is in questionable taste, but extra points if you don't need to look it up).

    SCORE! Now I shall run round the field with my shirt over my head.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report

  • Hard News: Awesome,

    I've been mulling this since the announcement, trying to work out how it was suppposed to work. And I think it is just a total misunderstanding of women.

    McCain has a 'problem with women'. Okay. So you've decided to go for the 'female swing voters who vote on the basis of things that aren't policy' - because otherwise, as Craig pointed out, you'd pick a moderate. And those women exist, for all we'd like to pretend they don't - there's no shallow to which some voter won't go. A friend of mine from Atoka refused to vote for Kerry last time round cause she didn't like his tan.

    But if you're after those people, your ideal pick isn't a pretty plucky young woman. It's not women you distract, by and large, by yelling 'look, boobies!'. Your ideal veep candidate is Jack Ryan as played by Alec Baldwin in The Hunt for Red October.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report

  • Hard News: Awesome,

    Samantha Bee was very funny on the Palin choice on Friday's Daily Show.

    I'd link to just that part of the show, but the sucky Comedy Central website doesn't like my browser.

    Mine either, but the clip is up at the Kos.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report

  • Southerly: The Joys of Unclehood,

    The last KFC I recall eating was a chickenburger in Taupo 20+ years ago. It was really, really horrible.

    We used to live in Mandeville St, and when the hot nor-west wind blew, it brought the smell of the Riccarton Rd KFC right into our backyard. We used to frequently bemoan the fact that the stuff didn't taste as good as it smelled.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report

  • Southerly: The Joys of Unclehood,

    I never realized before how massively unfair it was that I never got issued with my proper share of childfree aunts and uncles.

    What's boggling me now is that my daughter's 'cool uncle' is the brother I hated so passionately when I was her age. (And younger, and older.)

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report

  • Up Front: The Innocent Sleep,

    One "early" habit that I can't get into is the idea of eating at 6pm. I'm much happier dining at 8pm or so, but that gets strange looks in some places. Is it a Kiwi thing? Or is it just that I've never had kids, and never had to get into a routine of feeding hungry hordes and getting them into bed?

    It was kids that finally fixed our evening meal at half five. It seemed silly to feed them and then send them straight to bed, and even sillier not to all eat at the same time.

    For a year or so just before we had our first child, my partner was working night shift. It was an easy slide for me to just keep his hours. Not sure how the upstairs neighbours felt about me vacuuming at 4am. We still had our main meal in the early evening, though, which got us down to two meals a day. It suited us fine, but there was a sense of being completely out of sync with the rest of the world.

    Is that melatonin? My doctor tried me on that for a while. It didn't seem to make any difference to my sleeping, but I did get the vivid dreams.

    Melatonin is the only thing that's ever had any effect on my sleep. My dr gave it to me along with a prescription for sleeping pills if that didn't work, because I was verging on psychotic. It helps with my inability to adjust to seasonal changes, and I do feel better when I wake up when I've been taking it. It's serotonin that gives me weird dreams.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report

  • Hard News: Awesome,

    Obama, even with a manicured wife

    Dear gods, Andrew, are you actually refering to her hands, or did you perhaps mean to say something like 'intelligent' or 'articulate'? Or do you think people are watching that speech and thinking 'wow, she managed to brush her hair'?

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report

  • Up Front: The Innocent Sleep,

    But seriously, one of the ways we've learned to avoid stress the younger boy (on his part and ours) is to acknowledge his sleeping patterns.

    I'd love to be able to do this with my daughter - normal school routine makes her grumpy and less productive. The high school my (morning-person) son will be starting next year does at least allow the kids to attend from 10-4 if that works better for them.

    It probably makes sense in rural cultures, and since most cultures have been rural until a few generations ago, the values of rising with the cock's crow are still ingrained.

    There's always been some work that needs to be done at night though, even if it's just guarding against nocturnal predators. It's safer to not have your whole group sleeping at the same time.

    I believe that's the theory behind adolescents having a slightly different circadian rhythm - so they're less in direct competition with adults for mates and resources.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report

  • Up Front: The Innocent Sleep,

    It's the moralistic overtones about morning people being more virtuous that piss me off. Wait until I'm in a position of power and I'll be scheduling meetings at 10pm and see how they like it. :)

    Yeah, I'm not sure why there's this perception that people who sleep from ten until six are virtuous, but people who sleep from two until ten are lazy degenerates. I'm sure it's not been deduced from observation or anything.

    I have friends who get all worried about me if I try to walk home at 7pm in summer.

    Yeah, me too. I really don't get it. Unless they're worried about vampires?

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report

  • Up Front: The Innocent Sleep,

    Did that spring from sleep deprivation? If so, it's clearly not all bad.

    Image, that comes from sleep deprivation. Assembling of sentence to convey that image coherently most definitely requires sleep. Sometimes I feel like I'm collaborating with myself.

    I miss night times and the unslept morning blah just doesn't replace it

    Yeah, sing it brother. I can, with force, wake and sleep at normal hours, but I can't shift my good brain hours from being about 10pm til 2am. I just lose them altogether.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report

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