desole mon franscais ecrite est tres mauvais. i want to know from long or semi-long term wvo drivers can you still use oil in january or do you have to switch to regular or biodiesel exclusively for the winter months? also how long do you have to run your vehicle on diesel before switching over to wvo? a couple of minutes? ten? fifteen? the same question for switching back when shutting off the engine?

Lately I have really struggled with my body. I have felt tired, physically vulnerable, achy and occasionally fatigued. (No, I am not having a flare-up, I'm still far too energetic and engaged with the world around me for that.) But the combination of the weather, global and local financial stresses and the realities of living long-term without health insurance do get me down from time to time, and a friend's comment about how blase I've been about it all seems to have struck a chord deep within me, making the emotional weariness really present and in my face right now; so (deep breath) here I go.

Warning: I'm going to admit to some very dark, heavy shit here, and I'm not going to care what people think about it. If this disturbs you, or disturbs your image about what a "nice" person you think I am, maybe you should skip this post.

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Fifteen people were able to escape from a large fire Tuesday at the Oregon Iron Works building in Vancouver.

Fifteen Illinois law enforcements officers face federal charges after agents set up an elaborate sting targeting corrupt officers.

io9

If you'd like to donate to a geek cause this holiday, we've got a big list of fifteen organizations you might consider helping out with a charity gift. Let's say you'd rather not get another sweater for the holidays (even if it has a Star Wars pattern). Consider asking people to give that gift money to a charity instead - the kind of charity that helps nerds in need.

All the organizations...

A creamy blue cheese pairs beautifully with fruit compote for an easy, festive cheese course. This recipe is nice for mid-winter since it doesn't rely on fresh fruit. The concentrated sweet and tart flavors and firmness of dried fruits provide interesting contrast, and the jewel-like colors are very pretty against a blue veined cheese. You can use almost any dried fruit ? cherries, apricots, pears, plums, figs, and raisins are especially good ? just be sure to have a variety of colors and sizes.

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15 days until the election.
Too much math in the news.
Too many numbers in the polls.
Is there any escape...

...from numbers?

Numbers
10/20/08 - 10/26/08

1. Sixteen | Lucero
   
2. 24 | Jem
   
3. 107 | Citizen Cope
   
4. 23 | Blonde Redhead
   
5. Ninety-Nine, One Hundred | The One AM Radio
   
6. 101 | Albert Hammond, Jr.
   
7. 15 | Rilo Kiley
   
8. Thirty-Three | Smashing Pumpkins
   
9. Twenty One | The Cranberries
   
10. 42 | Coldplay
    
11. Twentysomething | Jamie Cullum

Fifteen days to go.
Fifteen days to go.
Fifteen more days.
Whew.

my husband likes to build guitars. well, he likes to decorate and assemble guitars that end up being works of art. he's built somewhere in the neighborhood of fifteen this year-- all with a certain aesthetic in mind. he's explored decorating guitar bodies (mostly telecasters, but with some variance) with paint, designs, iron-transfers, collage, japanese wallpaper and fabric. a lot of our friends have been trying to tell him that he could totally start a business and, thus, get to indulge his hobby without turning our house into a guitar museum.

do you guys think a business like this would have demand in portland? we haven't found anybody else who has exactly his hobby or any business like it. he also has obsessive knowledge about modding guitar hardware for sound. it would obviously be a personal service: working with people to produce an outrageous, intricate guitar that sounds the way they like it to. right now he builds more guitars than he plays because of wanting to try new design/sound ideas on them (light it on fire and leave the shape of a heart unburnt! geometric wallpaper! orange sparkle!). i totally think these skills could be appreciated and he would get to have more fun building pretty guitars for other people. what he does goes beyond decals or just finishing bodies-- it's really artisan stuff and he's found ways to do it pretty cheaply.

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