Chicago Tribune Smoking ban OKd by Chicago City Council

Even as a smoker, I don't really have a problem with this. I can still go outside and have a cigarette. I do this all the time anyway. And I can understand that non-smokers really really hate the smell / other effects of second-hand smoke.

What pisses me off is the smugness and nastiness of so many online smoking-ban-supporting posters' comments about the ban. (Not related to the link above -- just what I've seen in various forums.) You won. Why do you feel the need to talk about what awful human beings the smokers are? It just completely aggravates me.

And this is not an argument against the ban, but I wonder how the city of Chicago is going to make up the revune it's losing from cigarette taxes. Obviously smokers are still going to be buying cigarettes, but not in restaurants and bars anymore. That's where they were even higher in price than anywhere else. Since tax is a percentage of the price, I'm assuming they got more money from cigarette sales at those places. Actually, I guess I'm wondering how much revenue they'll lose. (There's also the argument that they'll make that revenue up by the savings in health-care costs... I assume that could be true, but I really don't understand how all of that works.) I'm just curious what the number in dollars would be.

The ban is hardly going to affect me at all. And as I note below I'm planning on quitting in February anyway.

For you non-smokers in Chicago -- just be happy that the ban passed and be nice.

smoking
smokers
Chicago
manners

Updated 12/30/05:

I read a lot. No, really... a lot.

Last year a friend of mine asked me how many books I read in a year. I realized that I didn't have any idea. So, this year I've kept track. I'm pretty sure I've missed a few, but from what I have recorded, I've read 144 books between January 1, 2005 and December 30, 2005.

I once had a boyfriend (as he was becoming an ex-boyfriend) tell me that one of the reasons he was breaking up with me was because I didn't read enough. He then amended that to say that I didn't read enough serious stuff. When I tell people this little anecdote, I like to add that it took him months to read one of the Harry Potter books. Granted, English was not his first language. But, he was reading it IN his first language, not in English.

I do read non-serious books. Especially dating self-help books. I like them. But, I think there's a few "serious" books in the list, too, and probably more than the average American reads in a year.

Anyway, here's my list -- because I like lists -- of the books I've read so far in 2005. There's still a few weeks left of 2005, so I'll try to update it when I remember.

Warning Signs by Stephen White
Twisted : A Novel by Jonathan Kellerman
What to Keep : A Novel by Rachel Cline
Green River, Running Red : The Real Story of the Green River Killer--America's Deadliest Serial Murderer by Ann Rule
Single: The Art of Being Satisfied, Fulfilled and Independent by Judy Ford
Dog Handling by Clare Naylor
Can't Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel by Mary Pipher (Foreword), Jean Kilbourne
Slim Chance by Jackie Rose
The Secret Lives of Toddlers : A Parent's Guide to the Wonderful, Terrible, Fascinating Behavior of Children Ages 1 to 3 by Jana Murphy
The Plot Against America by Philip Roth
Codex by Lev Grossman
24 Hours by Greg Iles
The Curse of the Singles Table : A True Story of 1001 Nights Without Sex by Suzanne Schlosberg
100 Most Dangerous Things in Everyday Life and What you Can Do About Them by Laura Lee
Persepolis : The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi
Choke by Chuck Palahniuk
Double Homicide: Boston / Sante Fe (2 in 1) by Faye Kellerman, Jonathan Kellerman
Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk
Honeymoon by James Patterson, Howard Roughan
Afterlife by Douglas Clegg
Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult
Animals in Translation : Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior by Temple Grandin, Catherine Johnson
Death du Jour by Kathy Reichs
Entre Nous : A Woman's Guide to Finding Her Inner French Girl by Debra Ollivier
State of Fear by Michael Crichton
The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke by Suze Orman
Almost French: Love And A New Life In Paris by Sarah Turnbull
Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health by Marion Nestle
Deadly Decisions by Kathy Reichs
Stricken: Voices from the Hidden Epidemic of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome by Peggy Munson (Editor)
A Question of Blood : An Inspector Rebus Novel by Ian Rankin
Mercy by Jodi Picoult
The Librarian's Career Guidebook by Priscilla K. Shontz
Missing Persons by Stephen White
So Many Books, So Little Time : A Year of Passionate Reading by Sara Nelson
Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult
The Know-It-All : One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World by A. J. Jacobs
How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale by Jenna Jameson, Neil Strauss
Fatal Voyage : A Novel by Kathy Reichs
Keeping Faith : A Novel by Jodi Picoult
The Placebo Chronicles : Strange But True Tales From the Doctors' Lounge by Douglas Md Farrago, Gordon W. Marshall (Illustrator)
Behind Every Great Woman There's A Fabulous Gay Man : Advice from a Guy Who Gives It To You Straight by Dave Singleton
Vanishing Acts : A Novel by Jodi Picoult
The Birth of Venus : A Novel by Sarah Dunant
The Broker by John Grisham
Life Expectancy by Dean Koontz
Grave Secrets by Kathy Reichs
Night Fall by Nelson DeMille
The Pact: A Love Story by Jodi Picoult
Name All the Animals : A Memoir by Alison Smith
Falling in Love for All the Right Reasons : How to Find Your Soul Mate by Ken Abraham, Neil Clark Warren
Stranger Than Fiction : True Stories by Chuck Palahniuk
How I Fell in Love with a Librarian and Lived to Tell about it by Rhett Ellis
Perfect Match: A Novel by Jodi Picoult
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
Adventures in the Atomic Age : From Watts to Washington by Glenn T. Seaborg, Eric Seaborg
102 Minutes : The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers by Jim Dwyer, Kevin Flynn
Bare Bones : A Novel by Kathy Reichs
Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult
Keeping Faith : A Novel by Jodi Picoult
The Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
C'est la Vie : An American Conquers the City of Light, Begins a New Life, and Becomes--Zut Alors!--Almost French by Suzy Gershman
Burning Man by Phillip M. Margolin
A is for Alibi: A Kinsey Millhone Mystery by Sue Grafton
Around the World in 80 Dates by Jennifer Cox
Tara Road by Maeve Binchy
Second Glance: A Novel by Jodi Picoult
Monday Mourning: A Novel by Kathy Reichs
B Is for Burglar by Sue Grafton
The Innocent by Harlan Coben
Songs of the Humpback Whale : A Novel in Five Voices by Jodi Picoult
Superdate by Tracey Cox
I Can't Believe I'm Buying This Book: A Commonsense Guide to Successful Internet Dating by Evan Marc Katz
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond
The Hookup Handbook : A Single Girl's Guide to Living It Up by Jessica Rozler, et al.
D Is for Deadbeat by Sue Grafton
American Girls About Town by Jennifer Weiner, et al.
Deficiency by Andrew Neiderman
We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch
Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult
Final Target by Iris Johansen
Information Architecture for the World Wide Web: Designing Large-Scale Web Sites by Louis Rosenfeld, Peter Morville
Freakonomics : A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner
The Closers by Michael Connelly
It's You That I Want to Kiss by Maxim Jakubowski
Broken Prey (Lucas Davenport Mysteries) by John Sandford
Still Missing by Beth Gutcheon
Private Practices by Stephen White
Remote Control by Stephen White
The Best Revenge by Stephen White
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
The Namesake : A Novel by Jhumpa Lahiri
When You Ride Alone You Ride With Bin Laden: What the Government Should Be Telling Us to Help Fight the War on Terrorism by Bill Maher
Last Man Standing by David Baldacci
The Big Bad Wolf by James Patterson
A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby
The Known World : A Novel by Edward P. Jones
Rage by Jonathan Kellerman
The Twelfth Card by Jeffery Deaver
The Glass Castle : A Memoir by Jeannette Walls
Marker by Robin Cook
When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? by George Carlin
The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Phd Stout
The Washingtonienne : A Novel by Jessica Cutler
The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists by Neil Strauss
More Than Complete Hitchhiker's Guide: Complete & Unabridged by Douglas Adams
The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L. Friedman
Bait and Switch : The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream by Barbara Ehrenreich
YOU: The Owner's Manual : An Insider's Guide to the Body that Will Make You Healthier and Younger by Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet Oz
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
The Mermaid Chair: A Novel by Sue Monk Kidd
Predator by Patricia Cornwell
The Simple Truth by David Baldacci
Dear Valued Customer: You Are A Loser by Rick Broadhead
Dance of Death by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
Playing House : A Starter Guide to Being a Grown-Up by Celeste Perron
On Bullshit by Harry G. Frankfurt
Was It Something I Said?: A Novel by Valerie Block
Feeling Good : The New Mood Therapy by David D. Burns
C Is for Corpse by Sue Grafton
Why Do Men Have Nipples? Hundreds of Questions You'd Only Ask a Doctor After Your Third Martini by Mark Leyner, Billy Goldberg
What Nurses Know: And Doctors Don't Have Time to Tell You by Patricia Carroll
The Friendship Crisis : Finding, Making, and Keeping Friends When You're Not a Kid Anymore by Marla Paul
Decorating with Funky Shui: How to Lighten Up, Loosen Up, and Have Fun Decorating Your Home by Jennifer O'Neil, Kitty O'Neil
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
Woman's Inhumanity to Woman by Phyllis Chesler
The Official Patient's Sourcebook on Addison's Disease: A Revised and Updated Directory for the Internet Age by Icon Health Publications
Disobedience : A Novel by Jane Hamilton
The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Why Men Marry Some Women and Not Others: The Fascinating Research That Can Land You the Husband of Your Dreams by John T. Molloy
Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella
36 Views of Mount Fuji: On Finding Myself in Japan by Cathy N. Davidson
The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less by Barry Schwartz
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick M. Lencioni
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
50 Facts that Should Change the World by Jessica Williams
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
For Women Only : What You Need to Know about the Inner Lives of Men by Shaunti Feldhahn
Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
Are Men Necessary? by Maureen Dowd
Death Rounds by Peter Clement

books

I got my hair cut Tuesday. It's a short bob, with full bangs. Since then everyone has to tell me that I look like someone. So, far I've gotten Prince Valiant, Johnny Depp's Willy Wonka, Amelie (so far the most common comparison), Anne Rice, Catherine Zeta-Jones in Chicago, Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction, and Anjelica Huston.

The thing is, I was going for a "celebrity" look -- only it was Louise Brooks.

hair
bob

Small Town Misfit: "A selection of police blots from small-town papers"

Almost as amusing as Overheard in New York, except, you know, less urban.

smalltownmisfit
Overheardinnewyork

Who do you look like?

Whoa. This is the coolest thing. Upload a photo of your face to http://www.myheritage.com/ and the software will tell you what celebrities you resemble. It has to be a clear photo of your face otherwise it doesn't work.

Me:
Nina Hagen 71% match (well, at least it's a nice ego boost, if not actually true. I'm a sucker for compliments.)
Asia Argento 67%
Anne Rice 67%
Uma Thurman 65%
Keira Knightly 65%
Hilary Swank 65%
Annete Benning 65%
Bjork 64%
Sandra Bullock 62%
Emma Watson 62%

I have been told in the past (lots of times) that I look like Bjork. And I've been told I resemble Annete Benning a couple of times.

A totally different photo got me matched to Lindsay Lohan at 72%. It's totally the cheeks.

myheritage

I am in love with House, M.D.

I have this thing about getting crushes on fictional characters. Over the years, my crushes have included Fox Mulder, Dr. Joel Fleischman, Charlie Epps, and Christopher Dollanganger.

If I also include the two or three real-life guys I've been seriously smitten with, I've figured out (at least one of) the common traits among them. I have a thing for brilliant, arrogant guys. (Charlie's only arrogant when it comes to his career, but still...)

I'm doomed.

crushes
House
Mulder
fiction
arrogance

CNN.com - 'Wrap up' advice to stop colds - Nov 14, 2005: "British researchers into the common cold say 'catching a chill' really does help colds develop -- and are advising to 'wrap up warm' to keep viruses at bay."

This really bothers me. I have this ridiculous need to always be right. Which doesn't mean that I insist on being right when I'm not. Instead it means that when I find out I'm wrong, I feel like I have to correct myself. I don't know how many people I've told, "no, being cold doesn't give you a cold." I feel like I need to go find everyone I've ever said this to and admit that I was wrong. Eh, posting this will have to do.

colds

That Fat Bastard: Why the Dirty Librarian thing?

Librarians have a thing about their image. That Fat Bastard says we're "secretly pleased" about the dirty librarian fetish. I don't think it's such a secret!


librarian
fetish

ABC News: Improve Your Odds of Kicking the Smoking Habit: "Improve Your Odds of Kicking the Smoking HabitHelp Lines, Nicotine Replacement Products Increase Chances of Success

SEATTLE, Nov. 3, 2005 -- Every year, millions of Americans try to quit smoking, and millions fail. It's not surprising -- researchers say most are going about it all wrong. "

No kidding. A while ago, I tried quitting cold turkey. I lasted about a week. I was a complete wreck. I couldn't get anything done. I'd burst into tears. It was torture.

I have a new plan. My mom goes away to housesit for a friend in a very small isolated town for three months in the winter. I'm planning on quitting the week before I go visit her for a week. I read that the second week is possibly worse than the first. And this time I'm using the patch! So, if I'm still a wreck the second week, at least I'll be on vacation with little responsibility and my mom to deal with me being on an emotional roller-coster. Poor Mom.



quitting
smoking

Holding my nose, closing my eyes, and jumping in. Which is a weird analogy considering that I don't know how to swim.

I've been thinking of starting a blog since before "blog" was a word. I've been working on websites in some manner since about 1996, yet never had my own. I thought about it, though.

I thought, "How cool would it be to just have a page with my random thoughts. And then put links in the text to stuff I was talking about or to past postings that had to do with the current one..."

The first time I saw something similar to this was at The Misanthropic Bitch, which is amazlingly still around.

Yeah, so I'm finally getting around to it. And in honor of nanowrimo, I've decided to just jump in and stop planning it in my head.