Tomorrow is the CSA pickup

So *today* I'm frantically trying to use up everything from last week's CSA that I haven't used up already. At the very least, I want to get rid of my kale. Kale for breakfast, kale for lunch!

I have one bag of kale left, and I decided to save time in the evening by spending time now ripping the stems off the kale. The stems are in a bag in the freezer, waiting for me to get gardening gloves so I can clear a path to the compost (I haven't been out there that much, residual angst over the foreclosure thing, which looks like it's resolving nicely although honestly, it's like pulling teeth to get information from my mother) so I can toss them in there.

The kale stems are most definitely half the kale by volume, and more than that by weight. And I have to wonder - is there anything I can do with just the stems of the kale? Because this is ridiculous.

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Can it really be true that men and women understand language in different ways? Nonsense, says Deborah Cameron.

How did I miss this when it was first printed?

Malarial Mice Smell Better to Mosquitoes

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Writes Scathing 35-Page Dissent In Birth Control Case

Are You Afraid of Holes?

Trypophobia is a real aversion and may relate to unconscious associations

The statistical sleight of hand that makes the U.S. crime rate seem lower than it really is.

More Secure Credit Cards With Chips Coming To The U.S.

55 Canadianisms You May Not Know or Are Using Differently

Students challenge free-speech rules on college campuses

Black Dog Syndrome

Why do people discriminate against dark pets?

A new composite material that can simultaneously withstand mechanical loads and store electrical energy has been created by scientists in the UK and Belgium. Based on activated carbon fibres, the structural supercapacitor has been formed into a full-size car boot lid that can power LEDs.

Idling workers, distracted housewives and a decline in reading: Alan Connor looks at the great crossword panic of the 1920s

Reminder: Birth Control Does More Than Just Prevent Pregnancy

This SHOULD be a cultural norm. I, too, am reblogging it.

Study of animal urination could lead to better-engineered products

The death of a Palestinian teenager sparked clashes between protesters and Israeli police in East Jerusalem on Wednesday after rumors spread that the youth had been lynched by Jewish vigilantes to avenge the killings of three Israeli teenagers.

In striking down Kentucky's ban on gay marriage, a federal judge Tuesday rejected Gov. Steve Beshear's argument that the ban is needed because only opposite sex couples can procreate and maintain the state's birth rate and economy.

"These arguments are not those of serious people," wrote Senior U.S. District Court Judge John G. Heyburn II.

Iraqi Kurds Dig Frontier Around Disputed Areas

Researchers Now Able To 3D Print Working Blood Vessels

Ukraine pressed ahead with a renewed military offensive against pro-Russia militants in the east Wednesday, saying it has inflicted heavy losses but that rebels are still attacking border checkpoints and army positions.

The evolution of the ribosome, a large molecular structure found in the cells of all species, has been revealed in unprecedented detail in a new study.

How to Teach Old Ears New Tricks

Security researchers confirmed on Monday that a vicious new cyberattack has compromised the computer systems of over 1,000 organizations in 84 countries. Dubbed "Energetic Bear," the Stuxnet-like malware is largely targeting energy and utility companies. It's almost certainly from Russia.

Autistic boy, 11, allegedly kept in cage; parents arrested

A single gene from bacteria has been donated to fungi on at least 15 occasions. The discovery shows that an evolutionary shortcut once thought to be restricted to bacteria is surprisingly common in more complex, eukaryotic life.

Fear and cash shortages hinder fight against Ebola outbreak

Tommy and Sandy have been caught snuggling each other.

Which is adorable.

And Tommy no longer bounds up to Mama Cat and swipes at her. Instead, he bounds up to her and sniffs her right in the face for several seconds until she hisses at him. Well, she hisses at her own now-grown kittens if they do the same thing.

If only we could convince Callie that Tommy is here to stay and not just a random furry interloper. It's a work in progress....

Still, just a few months ago the fur was very nearly flying, so this really *is* progress.

In other news, today Eva referred to the hero of The Hunger Games as "Hummus". You know, Hummus and her friend Pita? LOL! Pretty sure she hasn't read the book yet, I'll have to ask her tomorrow. Ana has, though.

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Study: Drivers Less Likely to Stop for Black Pedestrians

The Vatican Finally Admits That Most Catholics Ignore Church Teaching on Sexuality

Inside the Secret Building That's Bringing Cell Service To NYC's Subway

Did You Know Kangaroos Have 5 Limbs?

The US homeland security department has said it will put into place "enhanced security measures" in certain overseas airports with direct flights to the US.

But men...!

Congress has passed just 56 public laws this year, for a total of 121 since the beginning of 2013. This virtually guarantees the current Congress will be the least productive in history, well behind the “do nothing” Congress of 1948, which passed more than 900 bills.

U.S. discloses secret Somalia military presence, up to 120 troops

Interactive: New York’s Shadow Transit System

Ageing: The girls who never grow older

Spider wasps are known (and feared) for having an intensely painful sting. Now there’s a new reason for revulsion: They build nests with the corpses of dead ants. The newfound species of spider wasp has been given an appropriately hardcore name: Deuteragenia ossarium, or “bone-house wasps,” after graveyard bone houses and ossuaries.

The Vancouver Sun reports on the increasingly popular southeast Asian lime with the shockingly racist but obscure in Canada name.

In the comments: A shockingly racist term for Brazil nuts.

Barriers to Effective Medical Care for Autistic Adults

SCOTUS: Ruling Applies Broadly To Contraception Coverage

The Hobby Lobby Ruling Isn't About Religious Liberty—It's About Conservative Sexual Morality

Child Migrants and Media Half-Truths

Homeless Shelter Residents Booed, Told to 'Get a Job' at Queens Protest

Simon Baker entered the bathroom to see if a warm shower could ease his pain. “I looked up at the shower head, and it was as if the water droplets had stopped in mid-air”, he says. “They came into hard focus rapidly, over the course of a few seconds”. Where you’d normally perceive the streams as more of a blur of movement, he could see each one hanging in front of him, distorted by the pressure of the air rushing past.

Workers Resist Scofflaw Employers in Wage Theft Capital of the US

Astronaut Sally Ride and the Burden of Being The First