Oh, my god, there is a mosquito gene. Has to be true, I just saw it on tv. Experientially I always knew this because mosquitos, and other bitting bugs, love me. Eat me alive. Now they're talking about altering this gene but I know it'll be much to late for me. We must be sweeter than other people. Right!

See, I still say "oh, my god" even though I don't believe in god. It bothers me but what else can you use? My mother occasionally said "oh my goodness gracious" but that's a little wordy. She also very occasionally said "oh my stars and garters" but that was more to be funny. She didn't cuss so had to come up with other words. Even gosh and darn are just dumbing down god and damn. It's so hard to be a pc atheist when you want to make an emphatic point, or just stubbed your toe. I know some atheists who try to not use god in swearing but I probably will. I feel more comfortable using that than some other words.

I read a letter in "Yes!" magazine that objected to some other letter dehumanizing the opposition. This really bothers me too. I've heard it from both sides but I know too many people from both the conservative and liberal sides and they aren't as black and white as the dehumanizers make them out to be. When I hear someone making hateful remarks about a goup of people because they don't believe like the speaker does, it turns me off and causes me to dislike and not listen to the person making the hateful remarks.

I made a very pungent potato salad today:

Raffy's Potato Salad

Ingredients:
4 to 6 potatoes boiled and diced
1 to 2 cups of balsamic vinegar, imported
1/4 cup olive oil
1 handfull of fresh cilantro chopped
1 large red onion diced
1 can diced tomatoes & green chilies (RED GOLD or Hunts)
1/2 cup rasins
1 can black beans drained
fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup soy sauce
salt to taste
1/4 tsp red pepper

Directions:
Boil potatoes, cool rinse, and cube. In a large bowl mix vinegar, olive oil, soy sauce, tomato sauce, and all ingredients except the potatoes, then stir well. Garnish with additional cilantro. Add the potatoes and chill. I add Calamata olives sometimes. Enjoy!

Serves: 4-8
Preparation time: 1/2 hour
Nutrition Information: Dairy free! No eggs or milk. Fat is low unless you are too generous with the olive oil.

It was good but I'm still trying to decide how much I like it. Sometimes you taste something good but you aren't sure how often you would want it. It's a dish that you would want in small portions with rather bland accompanying dishes. I couldn't eat much so I divided it up in portions and put some in the refrigerator and some in the freezer to see how it holds up to freezing. Quite interesting. I didn't have the diced tomatoes and green chilis so I used canned tomatoes and added a more red pepper.

I read "Bone House" by Betsy Tobin today. It's set in rural England during the seventeenth century. A woman who makes her living as a prostitute dies and affects the whole village but especially a young chambermaid to the mistress of the village. It's a mystery that reads more like a novel. The threads reach to Belgium before everything is known. Excellent.