Joelle said in the early afternoon on July 20, 2008
Flapjack is hanging on by a thread. It appears he’s in advanced stages of stress and there’s not much else I can do. Neil Patrick Harris and Bill are doing great, thriving even… but Flapjack, not so much.
I had live plants in their bowls for a while, per the fish guy at Petco. But while Bill and NPH seemed ok with it, Flapjack just wasn’t having it. The plants started to die and I had to remove them. I replaced them all with fake ones and while I kept doing 20% water changes to keep the water free of ammonia and as clean as possible, Flapjack’s water kept getting cloudy and he’s become increasingly listless. Again, Bill and NPH are fat n’ happy.
A week or so ago Flapjack started burrowing his head into the marbles at the bottom and stopped moving his fins. He’d just float vertically, sometimes thrashing about erratically and smashing into the plants and sides of the bowl to the point of exhaustion. It really bums me out. I’ve tried changing the water, but you can’t do that too much or it just causes more stress. Today he started swimming in “twists”, like a corkscrew… around and around until he’d collapse on the bottom.
I know it’s just a fish, but no one likes it when a pet dies. I feel like a bad fish mom. I’ve followed all the recommended advice: slowly warm up the water by putting a lamp over the bowl (Bettas like warmer water), using de-stress drops, 20% water changes, etc. He’s lost total interest in food now, which used to be the only thing I had left, so I think it’s only a matter of time. His color is all washed out, too… he’s kind of grayish-pink instead of deep red. I scooped him out, thinking I’d just flush him, putting him out of his misery. But then I started to question if that would work or if he’s just swim through it and end up living in the sewer. What if he doesn’t die? Then I’m the jerk who flushed a perfectly good fish.
So, I put him back in his bowl, where he sank like a stone to the bottom. Even though it’s sad to watch, I’m not sure what else to do. Boo. 
Joelle said in the early morning on July 18, 2008
I was having a conversation about pens the other day, specifically markers. Most people know I’m a Sharpie fiend — I have been for years. Sure, I dabbled in Pentels in middle school. One crazy night in college, I even experimented with watercolor markers. But my first markers, my gateway markers, the ones that freed my mind, that opened my eyes, that showed me the wonders art had to offer… were Mr. Sketch.
For those who aren’t familiar, Mr. Sketch markers are these fragranced, semi-thick markers with a slant tip that come in a flat Styrofoam tray slipped inside a cardboard sleeve. The packaging is much fancier now than it was in 1982, though. And we only had like, 8 and 12-count sets; now they go all the way to 18. Luckies! Each of the colors had a corresponding scent: Black/Licorice, Red/Wild Cherry, Blue/Blueberry, Green/Mint, Yellow/Lemon, Brown/Cinnamon, Purple/Grape, and Orange/Orange, Pink/Melon, Turquoise/Mango, Magenta/Raspberry, and Dark Green/Apple.
Clearly, black was a big loser. I think that’s why I ended up loving color so much and not using black in a lot of my art. Licorice scent = bad. Unfortunately, this therapy didn’t work for my Jagermeister consumption in the ‘90’s.
I also hated Blue. I love the color, but the scent was right up there with Tidy Bowl. Aqua was alright… oh, ‘turquoise’, they called it. In my opinion, it’s aqua, but I won’t split hairs. The Blue, however, was downright repelling. It didn’t smell anything like blueberries! I feel similarly about the blue “blueberry” Jelly Belly. Same medicinal smell and taste… like what I imagine that blue barber comb disinfectant would taste like with a bit of Splenda. *shudder*
I liked most of them, but my faves were Brown because I looooooove cinnamon and well, pink… for obvious reasons. I had, on more than one occasion, been told I had ink on the end of my nose from sniffing Mr. Sketch so often. Did I have a problem? Of course not! I could quit any time. It’s not like they were highlighters or heaven forbid, Marks-a-lot! It was just fruit, I swear.
When I got to middle school, you weren’t down if you didn’t have the too-good-too-be-true golden 24-count Pentel folder filled with exotic colors like Ochre and Carmine, so I was forced through peer pressure to say goodbye to my first love. Mr. Sketch couldn’t go on with me any further. I had to brave the harsh world of art supplies and pre-teen judgement alone.
Eventually, I found a bunch of other ways to get my fix… pastels and Ticonderoga #2 pencils, mostly. And a new box of 64-count Crayolas with the sharpener in the back. Oh yeah, baby…
Now I’ve graduated to a house full of every Sharpie in every color at every stroke size. Yes, even the metallics. But I never forgot my first time with Mr. Sketch. Sometimes we indulge in a few stolen moments together in the aisles of Office Depot, but then it’s back in the box until we meet again. *sigh*
Joelle said around lunch time on July 16, 2008
Over a salad, Kathy and I were perusing our new guilty pleasure, TrueHookupConfessions.com. If your eyes are virginal or you’re pure of heart or… whatever, don’t read any further.
Joelle: Whoa, it’s Blogasm 2.0! 
Remember that old site? http://truehookupconfessions.com/
Kathy: “I never got a BJ when I was single. Now I’m married, and my wife doesn’t do it. Somehow I feel like I’ve lived an incomplete life. Isn’t every guy entitled to at least one BJ in his life?”
Kathy: DUDE.
Joelle: Dude.
Joelle: Your wife is a bitch.
Kathy: totally!!!
Joelle: “please let me get laid today”
Kathy: damn, people are horny!
Kathy: “I want to try anal with my new fella but last time it was awful… there was a mess and it hurt. Someone give me pointers.”
Kathy: here’s a tip....don’t do it in the ass.
Joelle: hahahaha!
Kathy: try your VAGINA.
Joelle: HAHAHA!
Kathy: hahahaha
Kathy: “I love tossing salad, and having it tossed. I get shivers thinking about it.”
Kathy: Remind me not to share drinks with people
Joelle: *puts down fork*
Joelle said at some point on July 16, 2008
I made a total impulse purchase last night. Impulse purchases for me are usually relegated to $5 DVDs at Target or maybe the occasional lip gloss or mid-priced bottle of wine. But I was just having that feeling yesterday, so I went to Fry’s.
For those who aren’t familiar with Fry’s, its like a Costco for geeks. It’s just bits n’ parts n’ drives n’ cables, laptops, fans, ports, electronics, movies, music and… games. Now, I’ve never been a big “gamer”. I like few video games and I have specific criteria: it must be cute, it must engage and challenge, but not be so hard I curse the game within 5 minutes. And, preferably, it’ll be nil on the fighting and Battle Royale aspect that many games have taken on lately. I think I talked about this before… I prefer adventure games and puzzle games, for the most part.
After chatting with my friend macgeezel, who is much more of a gamer than I, I picked up an XBox 360, along with Viva Pinata, Viva Pinata Party Animals, Ratatouille (because I love, love, love the movie and the game got good reviews) and my favorite… Beautiful Katamari.
Like, I said, I don’t really get into the whole role-playing aspect or the war-angles of games. I just want to unwind sometimes and let my brain kind of hang loose, so to speak. I want to see peaceful, pretty things that makes me happy, not a bunch of angry soldiers gunning down a village or whatever. I have a Playstation 2 which I don’t play that much except for sporadic bouts of Dance Dance Revolution when I’m not inclined to go to the gym, so I’m not entirely sure what possessed me to get this, but… well, I just did. 
Though, to save a little cash, I gathered up all the PS2 games I don’t play and traded them in for a couple of the new XBox games. Waste not, want not! Someone else can attempt to enjoy that crap version of Jeopardy
for the PS2. My version had Alex Trebek with a ‘stache, though.
But, now I can play Beautiful Katamari with my friends online! Hooray! I don’t have my screenname yet, nor have I set up my profile with the 360 online gaming thingie, but if you’ve got a 360 and a screenname, maybe we can roll up some stuff together sometime…
Joelle said around lunch time on July 15, 2008
Kathy and I were bombarded this morning with assorted ways our content and/or design work was being highjacked by other people. So I spent my morning drafting DMCA violation notices or otherwise calling out said peddlers of plagiarism. Good times, good times.
One of these offenders was [name removed because it made me feel icky], which I normally would not call out in such a public fashion except for the fact that their about page says they are a Christian-centric company. That their “primary focus in life is God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost”. Muh!? 
Jesus is going to be pissed. It’s been a while since I read the Bible, but I did spend a significant portion of my life in parochial schools. The last time I checked, Big J wasn’t down with theft. Did I miss that amendment to Exodus 20:15? “Thou shalt not steal, unless it’s on the Internet”? I think we need an 11th Commandment – “Thou shalt not be a hypocrite.”
Now, I am not a Christian, but this is double standard by any measure. This is also a great example of why I have a hard time buying into the idea of Christianity. I’m not knocking Christians, so don’t get all up in holy arms, nor am I suggesting that all Christians do this kind of thing. Of course not. But this kind of entitlement drives me mad.
So, in Jesus name, I sent a cease and desist. Amen.
Moxie Design Studios™