CritterKeeper

...this sounds like a really, really bad idea to me. I am NOT confident in my ability to accurately spot what might be wrong with a cat or a dog. Back when they were alive my kitties tended to be mostly happy and healthy, but whenever they did look like they had some kind of problem I promptly took them to the vet. And while it could be a little pricey I felt so much better knowing that I had had a professional look after their health.

My cat is remarkably calm when going to see our vet--he does not complain or struggle at all, even when getting stuck with needles, and he has almost no problem with going into the pet carrier.

Except among veterinarians -- the woman was the public face of an ad campaign that drilled into peoples' heads that taking their dog to the vet is a huge hassle and should be avoided whenever possible.  The dogs mostly love getting to go in the car, saying hi to lots of nice people, getting petted (albeit in strange ways sometimes), and getting treats from the nice people.  Shots are barely worth registering for most dogs.  But no, taking your dog to see their vet is awful and you should avoid them!  Just buy your pet's medications online, supporting a massive corporation instead of your vet, and yet expect the vet's prices to stay ridiculously low compared to human medicine for everything else when a health problem (that's been brewing for months and might have been diagnosed sooner if you'd brought them in) becomes an emergency and suddenly you realize you do need your local veterinarian....
Sorry.  Bit of a sore spot.  She may be a very nice lady, but the very thought of her is forever poisoned by her being in those commercials.

Except among veterinarians -- the woman was the public face of an ad campaign that drilled into peoples' heads that taking their dog to the vet is a huge hassle and should be avoided whenever possible.  The dogs mostly love getting to go in the car, saying hi to lots of nice people, getting petted (albeit in strange ways sometimes), and getting treats from the nice people.  Shots are barely worth registering for most dogs.  But no, taking your dog to see their vet is awful and you should avoid them!  Just buy your pet's medications online, supporting a massive corporation instead of your vet, and yet expect the vet's prices to stay ridiculously low compared to human medicine for everything else when a health problem (that's been brewing for months and might have been diagnosed sooner if you'd brought them in) becomes an emergency and suddenly you realize you do need your local veterinarian....
Sorry.  Bit of a sore spot.  She may be a very nice lady, but the very thought of her is forever poisoned by her being in those commercials.

It's been a trying two months, full of stress and uncertainty. But, I can finally say it's paid off.
We finally, finally, got the house.
Tomorrow begins the process of unloading the storage unit, but as we own the house, we can handle it at a more...reasonable pace.

Is it this one?  'Cos that's definitely my favorite!
I may have mentioned here before, for many years on the internet newsgroups I frequented, there was a gentleman by the name of Brian Woodcock, whose signature file at the end of his messages read, "Yes, splinterlips, that *is* my real name!"

The open shirt definitely confirms for me that Sam is transformed into a physically male body now.  His expression and body language in the first and second panels he's in here confirm it for me.  It's smart of him to keep wearing the same shirt, just as an outer layer now -- someone with such a trademark look would draw a lot of attention if he suddenly stopped dressing that way, even if the pockets did originally serve to help mask the presence of unwanted body parts and are thus no longer needed.  
I expect lack of pockets in female clothing would be a big one of the many things he'd hate about having to present as female, seeing as how he's overcompensating so much!  ;-)
Wanna bet he's going to be ready to start snuggling and kissing on his next date with Sarah?  And good thing Grace is going to let him know Sarah knows about magic, so he won't hesitate to come out to her just for fear she wouldn't believe him!

This contains my favorite joke I've ever written for one of these. See if you can spot it.
On January 11 in History:
705 – Pope John. Vi dies, missing the bonus round by a day.
1158 - Vladislaus II of Bohemia becomes Vladislaus I of Bohemia. I swear this makes sense.
1755 – Alexander Hamilton is born. Tickets for the musical are already sold out.
1787 – Two moons of Uranus, Oberon and Titania, are discovered by William Herschel. When Uranus moons Titania and Oberon, its Bottom looks like an ass.
1815 – John A. Macdonald is born. Canadians know who George Washington is; you have no excuse.
1907 – In an astonishing example of nominal determinism, future French prime minister Pierre Mendès France is born. Imagine how awkward it would be if his family had stayed in Portugal.
1935 – Amelia Earhardt is the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California. No word on the in-flight movie, but my money’s on “Around the World in 80 Days”, “Land of the Lost”, or “Gone Girl.”
1964 – The U.S. Surgeon General publishes a report that smoking may be hazardous to people’s health. In related news, the head of the Geological Survey concludes that recreational lava fights may cause burns.
1972 – The citizens of East Pakistan rename their country to what everybody’s already calling it anyway.
1973 – Major League Baseball decides it’s all right that if American League pitchers suck too much at hitting, old guys who suck to much at fielding can take their place.
1994 – Helmut Poppendick dies. Yeah, yeah, get it out of your system. Don’t feel bad for laughing at him though. Dude was a Nazi doctor; fuck ‘im.

Grimaldi was the only one disguised as a monk. The rest of his men were disguised as rich gamblers, race wagon drivers and nun strippers. The guards at the gate actually saw through the scheme but decided to let them pass because this was the most awesome invasion ever.
 

Someone read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and decided that Dolores Umbridge would be a perfect role model.

Though Grace is secretly wishing she could use such a wand on George. The guy could use some bubbly for a change.

Sam would not count, unless it turns out Sam is slightly gender-fluid rather than strictly trans, *and* happens to be female at the time of the kiss.  However, all indications so far are that Sam is male, all the time, and only pretends to be female when he has to due to various social constraints and pressures.

Sam would not count, unless it turns out Sam is slightly gender-fluid rather than strictly trans, *and* happens to be female at the time of the kiss.  However, all indications so far are that Sam is male, all the time, and only pretends to be female when he has to due to various social constraints and pressures.

That seems rather intrusive.  Does Grace really have cause to spy on Sam?

Sam would not count, unless it turns out Sam is slightly gender-fluid rather than strictly trans, *and* happens to be female at the time of the kiss.  However, all indications so far are that Sam is male, all the time, and only pretends to be female when he has to due to various social constraints and pressures.

"After a while, you just don't see it anymore.  Everything.  I look at a star and it's just a big ball of burning gas, and I know how it began and I know how it ends, and I was probably there both times.  After a while, everything is just stuff.  That's the problem, you make all of space and time your backyard, and what do you have?  A backyard.
But you...you can see it.  And when you see it, I see it."     -The Doctor to Amy Pond, on why he brought her with him in his travels

"After a while, you just don't see it anymore.  Everything.  I look at a star and it's just a big ball of burning gas, and I know how it began and I know how it ends, and I was probably there both times.  After a while, everything is just stuff.  That's the problem, you make all of space and time your backyard, and what do you have?  A backyard.
But you...you can see it.  And when you see it, I see it."     -The Doctor to Amy Pond, on why he brought her with him in his travels

I have one regular Pichu and one Pichu wearing a witch's hat.  I was really hoping to get a Pichu with a Santa hat, to match all the similarly-clad Pikachus, but the darn game just refuses to give me one.
I have, BTW, renamed one of my cyndaquils "Justin".

Yeah, the anesthesiologist and I had a nice, long discussion about what strategy she would follow. She mentioned that she usually used Propofol as a lead-in to the real anesthesia drug, but in my case, since I wouldn't be under long (a total of 15 minutes, literally), she could keep me on the Propofol drip and not have to resort to the drugs that give me side effects like nausea and horrible shivering. Her strategy worked wonders - I felt great waking up, like I'd never been under at all.

Wow.  Propofol is what we use for our older and/or sicker patients, although we usually have them under long enough to follow that up with isofluorane gas.  Despite the bleeding, to my eye at least the incision doesn't look so bad.  (Of course, you are the one species on the planet I'm not allowed to diagnose or treat....)

If there is something you vaguely remember from years past, there is a decent chance that it can be found on the internet
 

Regarding the author's comments: Don't worry, Dan, I don't think you're old.
 

This amazing insight deserves a post of its own. Maybe a lab coat, too. And nerd glasses.
Camdin is the one with the cloud mark. He appears out of a cloud, which might mean he teleports with a cloud special effect, like a stage magician, or, say, a real genie. Or maybe that he can just make a cloud which would make him even more noticeable and Luke was distracted enough to be surprised despite Camdin's lame power.

Wait just one night. One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble.

Well it is not all that trivial for you.
Incidentally, I am recovering well. I am able to manage stairs and walk a decent distance without getting exhausted. Not quite ready to run yet, mind you.