I've been asked to signal boost this by AJ, one of the few people whom I would say in public that I trust.

Lapis, a friend of his, is a transwoman who is disabled and is also at this time homeless.  Lapis is undergoing a mental health crisis at this time and is actively seeking assistance.  However, the mental health system has judged that Lapis is not undergoing a sufficiently bad crisis to warrant hospitalization (which would mean getting her off the street).  As far as I know, Lapis is estranged from her family so they are not an option …

While visiting some friends in Portland, Oregon in October, I did a little exploring of the Portland State University campus physics lab with Amberite. Here are some of the things we found.

Seen in an elevator on the campus of Portland State University.

Every once in a while around Portland you'll find something odd worked into the environment, like sweaters and cozies knitted for things that don't make sense - poetic terrorism, some people call it, or yarn bombing. While on our way back from Free Geek (which is run by some awesome folks - I highly recommend donating time, money, or parts to them) Amberite and I stumbled across a cardboard dog head peeking out of a tree.

No, really. It's a piece of grilled Spam on a bed of sticky rice and held in place with a strip of nori. The US dime on the corner of the plate is there to give you an idea of how big it is. It's actually quite tasty and not gelatinous at all because it's been cooked, though it's also too large to eat like most sushi. I recommend using a knife to cut it into bite-sized pieces before eating.

Served with love at Ohana in Portland, Oregon.

If you're wondering where I've been for the past couple of days, I've been busily preparing to go on the road again, by way of the downright amazing Roger Waters concert at the Verizon Center on Monday night. Work's not sending me out and about again, Lyssa and I are on vacation in beautiful Portland, Oregon for the next week or so. We didn't get to go anywhere earlier this year due to work obligations but we have some friends whom we've been meaning to visit for a while (namely, Blue Heron, Teaotter, and Amberite). It took us a couple …