LJ once again commits a FAIL

Gender will now be a required selection on the profile, and the only options will be "male" and "female".

See discussion here. Even if you personally don't care about this issue, I urge you to express solidarity with those who do care. Go to your Edit Profile page and change your gender to "Unspecified". You will only be able to do this now, before they push the code change. Then go to LJ Feedback and register a POLITE objection to the policy. Remember that the people who read feedback are NOT the people who make these stupid decisions.

The only reason I can imagine for this sudden change is a desire to target users with "gender specific" advertising. Regardless of gender, this is likely to be no more acceptable than pouring a stream of raw sewage on your head.

[EDIT: LJ has declared that this was all an error and will not be pushed to production. While I believe that they will not push it to production, possibly as a result of the furor it caused, I still consider it proof of poor management and/or bad policy on their part. See discussions below if you are interested. This wasn't a "false alarm" by any means, and I thank those who responded quickly.]

C-c-cold!

Down in single digits of F already and it's only 1930. Woodstove started but hasn't heated up the brick hearth wall yet so not helping much.

Much food discussion on Twitter today among a group of mostly horses. Result? I promised to share a recipe for cheese grits. This is not healthy stuff, I make no such claim for it, though it's sort of vegetarian in the lacto-ovo (milk and eggs) mode. Serve in place of rice or potato with just about anything.

Cheese Grits (Fanny Flagg's recipe)

4 cups water
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup regular uncooked grits
1/2 cup butter or margarine (1/4 lb.)
6 oz. Velveeta(tm) or other processed cheese food
1 cup shredded cheddar (mild or sharp as desired), divided
3 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan, add salt, and gradually stir in grits. (Don't dump them in all at once or you'll have lumps.) Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until very thick, stirring occasionally (10 to 15 minutes.) Add butter, processed cheese, and 1/2 cup shredded cheddar; stir until cheese melts. Remove from heat. Quickly stir 1/3 cup of hot mixture into eggs; add back to remaining hot grits, stirring constantly. Pour into a lightly greased 1 3/4 quart baking dish and bake for 55 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese and bake 5 more minutes. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

[Fanny Flagg is, of course, the author of that quintessentially southern novel, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café.]

House Pets Roasting by a Woodstove Fire

House Pets Roasting...
Originally uploaded by Altivo

Temperatures down to the low single digits and everyone wants to get close to the fire. Well, except Simon the sheepdog, who thinks we make it too warm indoors and tends to lie against an outside door to keep cooler. Sometimes the cats actually crawl under or behind the stove at night. I guess they like the warm bricks but that would be too hot for me.

House Pets Roasting by a Woodstove Fire

House Pets Roasting...
Originally uploaded by Altivo

Temperatures down to the low single digits and everyone wants to get close to the fire. Well, except Simon the sheepdog, who thinks we make it too warm indoors and tends to lie against an outside door to keep cooler. Sometimes the cats actually crawl under or behind the stove at night. I guess they like the warm bricks but that would be too hot for me.