Misc Updates

I am finally out of the splint for my thumb! Yay, just in time for the release of Final Fantasy Tactics A2. The original FFTA was the first game I bought for my Gameboy Advance and was a game I sunk well over 200 hours into, mostly as I recovered from my various surgeries. I expect FFTA2 to be firmly entrenched in my DS for a good long while.

Yesterday I went to Stitch DC in the district to try to take an introductory knitting class. After sitting in traffic for about 2 hours (coming from work in Dulles) and standing out in the rain/storms for 30 minutes, the class was cancelled, as the instructor seemed to be MIA. The only good thing to come out of yesterday was that I got to see a really cool double rainbow, which other DC-area people took photos of (pictures at The Capital Weather Gang's site). I, unfortunately, was on 395 at the time, so there was no stopping on the side of the road to take pictures. I'll have to rely on those taken by others (which are quite good).

Kottke has linked to a very interesting article about itching and perception. [Edited to add] I must confess, this link caught my eye because of my experiences with itching in an area where I have had a nerve removed. [end Edit] Since having a portion of my sural nerve removed in 2004, if I have any itch in my ankle and try to scratch it, I don't get any relief from the scratching. I've found slapping works better, oddly enough. The article is quite interesting, I highly recommend it. [Added] This article talks more about perception as it relates to itching, and gives a bit of a history of a patient with a persistent itch problem. It also discusses various related disorders, treatments, and a bit of history about the research into itching (and scratching, and also the related perception, tickling).