The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher.
The series starts with Storm Front.
They're fast paced fantasy/thriller/mysteries about the only wizard in the Chicago yellow pages. They're great. They're page turners that will have you laughing and trying to figure out whodunit.

Goodness, this excited me so much, getting the news from the HRC... But seeing it on Neatorama makes my day. And I'm glad that none have said anything negative in the comments. It's exciting that California, unlike Massachusetts, doesn't have residency laws for marriage. Unfortunately, that still means the marriages will only be recognized in states whose constitutions do not specify that "a marriage is between a man and a woman". Which is basically Massachusetts, New York, and California. Nevertheless, it's a big step. I'm 17 and gay, and looking forward to being able to marry one day... even though I'm in Pennsylvania. :]

Steampunk librarian's date stamp. It was developed at the dawn of time, and became obsolete when the 99th day passed. They're really rare now, especially in such good condition. Usually, in the millenia since, they've acquired a good bit of damage or were incorporated into the technologies others have listed on this page.

Oh. Some of my friends have those... Punk rockers use them to iron their clothes!

I find this quite amusing. The people of Lesbos is suing because a term coined by their most famous inhabitant. I mean, c'mon, Sappho was an amazing poet... Not to mention one of the first to write about people of all different sexual orientations.

As a lesbian (not the kind from Lesbos), I have got to say, I can't see how calling oneself a Lesbian (note the capitalization), could cause significant social duress. Surely the Greek know their own culture better than they know the gay culture.

Definitely a steampunk AC adapter.

I haven't had a lot of experience flying, but my best experience was definitely with Air France. Then again, I've only flown with Air France and Delta.

I think this is an absolutely wonderful story. Mr. Beatie was intelligent to only publish in the Advocate, though, as it seems there is so much transphobia in the world. People all over the internet are calling them as a same sex couple, when it never even struck me to think of them that way. Maybe it's the fact I deal with homophobia all of the time, but I just can't fathom why people fear people because of their gender identity.

I was talking about this story with a friend. He told me he could accept gays, but he couldn't understand transsexuality. Why is it that big of an issue? So there are people in existence whose gender doesn't match their sex? Does that threaten people's conceptions of the world so much that they must reject it as immoral?

I'm very happy for Mr. and Mrs. Beatie (oh goodness, though his name reminds me of the chief fire fighter in Fahrenheit 451), and I wish them the best. I hope that their story opens eyes inside and outside of the LGBT community.

That is definitely an iron venus fly trap (ferrum flyeateris). They're native to volcanic vents and feed upon young children.

Oh yeah.. I forgot to mention... Our lovely USA hasn't grasped the fact that you cannot fight an abstract.

You have to know what you're fighting in order to actually wage any sort of half-effective war. You can't fight things like "drugs" or "terror". There is no monster loping around with a nametag that says "Hello, I'm DRuGs." While "drugs" is a great deal more concrete that "terror", the government and school systems haven't been honest or open about it.

Oh, and what happened to America the free? The stuff under the sink and in the medicine cabinet can mess me up worse than most of the stuff I can get on the street. The war on drugs is just a fancy name for prohibition. I don't use drugs nor have I ever. But I still don't think the government should be able to say what one can and cannot put into their body.

Very interesting read and all... but I'm not liking Neatorama being plagued by all of this political stuff. Don't get me wrong, I think things like this are absolutely important to America... but there also rather depressing. No where near as cool as glowing cephalopods or Monty Python slippers. :)

Don Carl, I didn't automatically dismiss the scientists' opinions, rather, I openly said, feel free to dismiss mine (and it seems you did). If such discoveries were conclusive (they had said to have done the same with a worm, but later found out they messed up its gender identity), then it would provide definitive proof for the nature vs nurture debate that has raged for years.

DietAether, you are correct. It's not a burden to be attracted to someone (as a lesbian female), but it is a burden to be ridiculed for it.

I am disinclined to believe that they did anymore than confuse a flies gender identity or as they said "sexually overstimulate". But if they did, I hope people realize that this sort of research often times cannot be applied to higher animals. Forgive me if my opinion is irrelevant; I happen to be very biased on the subject.

The effects of the plant catnip is hereditary, and about 2/3s of all cats are susceptible, except in Australia, where the gene pool is relatively small, and few cats are affected.

The Tara Vine gives off a strong, cat-nip like smell, that often leads to cats rubbing against it, which often times breaks off new shoots and can prevent the plant from thriving.