Continuing with the French theme :)
~~
lais·sez–faire, noun \ˌle-ˌsā-ˈfer, ˌlā-, -ˌzā-\

1: a doctrine opposing governmental interference in economic affairs beyond the minimum necessary for the maintenance of peace and property rights

2: a philosophy or practice characterized by a usually deliberate abstention from direction or interference especially with individual freedom of choice and action

Etymology:

French laissez faire, imperative of laisser faire to let (people) do (as they choose)

First Known Use: 1825

Further historical info: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/328028/laissez-faire

Slightly late but it's here.

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six
Part Seven

So I followed her out via the service entrance, into the back corridors of the station, away from the public area. The station had been built originally to provide rotational gravity, until artificial gravity had become cheap enough to retrofit onto it. A station built to handle rotational stresses was usually good for several centuries of operation once it stopped spinning, and from the looks of the half-arsed repairs along the wiring trunks and life-support shafts, it already had.

( In which Snarli does some investigating and I do some arguingCollapse )

http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/adhd.asp

Did Dr. Leon Eisenberg say in his last interview that “ADHD is a prime example of a fictitious disease”?

I'm remembering a book about a girl who was could divine (sense/locate) fire, or coal. This was a really important ability because the world was cold and freezing and her ability allowed her to locate a means of survival. There was a village/community that lived down in the earth or near a volcano, because it was warm and possibly tropical there.

There is a group of people who were the antagonist who wanted to use her powers to find the coal (or heat energy of some sort) for evil purposes, to fuel their armies, or control the population, etc.

I read this book back in the 90's, but it very well could have been much older as I got it from the school library. Thank you for your help.

Out of curiosity, what exactly constitutes a "cheap weenie casserole"? I make beanie weenies for my sisters once in a while when I babysit (And I'll post the recipe I use below) but I'm wondering what everyone else here is thinking when we use the phrase to mock Elly's cooking.

( Read more...Collapse )

I'm calling this the five dollar vacation because the only money involved in this trip is the five dollar tax I had to pay for my free flight.

Despite my usual pre-flight jitters, I managed to fall asleep at a decent hour last night. I also managed to wake up at around seven in the morning, so I wasn't even rushed when leaving the house. Unfortunately, I overestimated the amount of caffeine I needed, and this left me feeling a little stretched too thin on the seventy-five minute train ride to the airport. Not a huge deal, though.

When I got to the airport, I had the opportunity to be bumped to a later flight in exchange for another flight voucher. I almost did it, but the earliest I could have made it to Vegas would have been later than the window for registering for the slot tournament. Of course, I found out later that there is a late registration window tomorrow morning, but by the time I learned this, all the required volunteer bumpers had been found. I'm hoping I'll have another opportunity on the way back, because my flight is at a similar time.

The flight itself was uneventful. Not even any turbulence this time. I spent all two hours of it reading an incredibly interesting book called Alif the Unseen, by G. Willow Wilson. It's a kind of cyberpunk fantasy set in an unnamed middle eastern country, with hackers and djinn and ancient tomes and all kinds of fascinating things. It contains a lot of elements I am familiar with from various urban fantasy novels, yet it's completely steeped in a culture I know very little about, and that makes it extra fascinating to me. I honestly don't think I will be able to wait for the flight home to finish it. I doubt I'll make it through the weekend without devouring the rest. ♥

After landing, I took the free shuttle to M Resort, where this weekend's slot tournament is being hosted. I registered for the tournament, and snagged some free lemonade from the open bar. (An open bar is really wasted on me, though.) I didn't get to see what this tournament's free gift is. M Resort always gives a gift when you play in a slot tournament. Sometimes it's a hat, sometimes a commemorative coin, and once it was even a real pearl necklace. This one has a cat theme, so if it's not another coin, I'm guessing some kind of stuffed animal.

Speaking of cats, I also learned at registration that there are going to be lions at the tournament! Apparently the lion sanctuary that used to supply the lions to MGM Grand is involved with this event, and they are setting up a lion habitat on the tournament floor. (It's in a giant pavilion this time instead of the conference room they usually use.) Hopefully, I can bring my camera and take some lion pictures. I picked a relatively early start time of 10:20 so the tournament won't really interfere with the rest of the day. This is why I'm doing my journal before 9pm!

No gambling today. As I said, this is the five dollar vacation. I have some free slot play here, but it doesn't activate until tomorrow. Now, I am going to watch the newest episode of Hannibal, and then try and get some sleep.

So I read this book when I was in middle school, so at least a good 10 yrs ago. I know I didn't make it up because both my sister and I remember it, just not the title

It starts off like a typical YA novel, about a girl who has just moved into a new town (can't remember if she has a younger sibling) and as she's walking to get the school bus, she meets is this cute guy who lives near her block. They become friends.
Because she lives in the middle of nowhere, she can't often get online to chat with her friends from her former school, and when she does she starts receiving weird warnings about being in danger. These other beings link her to a news article, where she finds out about a previous fire having happened in the house she lives at.
The article states that they don't know the cause of the fire, but believe it was started by a boy, who wasn't ever found after the fire(or something like that). That boy happens to be the one she had first met. It is at that time that the ghost boy shows up at her door, demanding to be let in. His eyes change to a creepy yellow tint, as he morphs into his ugly being. He starts a fire (don't remember if it is after he gets in or not), and she's forced to run from where the fire is coming from.
These supernatural beings get in contact via the internet with her friends, using the girls computer, and ask them to concentrate on a door that has white light behind it and let it open.
The ghost boy follows her through a hall way that is half part of the former house and half part of the new one. With the help of the friends, the ghosts to get out and are able to help and save the female protagonist. They realize that the reason the kid can't rest in peace if because while trying to flee,the boy fell into a ground well, having never found the body, they rebuilt the house over essentially his grave sight.

It ends on a semi cliffy: since at the ends she meets the ghost's ancestor because he is the one that called the fire department when the house went aflame. they become friends, and as she's leaving on her school bus she doesn't see his eyes turn yellow.

I know it's all over the place! OTL

I can't remember this book!!! When you're 16 you get marked after going through a test. The main character (male) has a sister who "died" during the testing. The main character gets messages on paper that burn from a well-known activist against the government. The main character figures a way out of this marking and becomes a fugitive. He finds his sister in an underground prison as a highly respected member of society. She turns the character and the unmarked friends in to the government!

You would think that with a name like Triple X, it would be to treat the other kind of lice. I wonder if Susan ever contaminated her entire class with that! 

A young boy always tries to tag along with his older brother, who is a very good cyclist. One day the older brother rides to a tournament and the younger brother isn't allowed to go. He sneaks out and through the heavy rain finds the place his brother is staying. "What are you doing here, kid?"
Older brother calls parents, he's allowed to stay. The older brother competes in races. The younger one gets to enter a race for youth which includes obstacles. He doesn't win but the older brother is proud of him for trying. They'll both try again next year.
This may be from the 1960s but most likely I read it in the 1970s or early 80s in North America. Everyone is riding 10 speed bikes. Nice illustrations tended towards realism. Not sure if it's a chapter book.
Sound familiar? I'd really like to see it again. Thanks.
My Google searches failed.


cat: bicycles & cyclists
cat: brothers &/or sisters
cat: coming of age
decade: 1960
decade: 1970
decade: 1980
main genre: children & kids
main genre: young adult