yesterday i learned...

...what "prima facie" means. i have basically had a working definition of it for years now. in my world it means when a DHS client doesn't show up for a trial-either to establish their child as a ward of the court, or to terminate their parental rights-and the state goes ahead and presents evidence anyway and an order is made without the client having a chance to argue his/her side. but i had to do one of those yesterday and it always makes me feel weird, like the state is playing God or at least Big Brother, so i actually looked it up on wikipedia. this is what it said:

"In most legal proceedings, one of the parties has the burden of proof, which requires that party to present prima facie evidence of all facts essential to its case. If that party fails to present prima facie evidence on any required element of its case, its claim may be dismissed without any response by the opposing party. A prima facie case may be insufficient to enable a party to prevail if the opposing party introduces contradictory evidence or asserts an affirmative defense. Sometimes the introduction of prima facie evidence is informally called making a case or building a case.
For example, in a criminal prosecution, the prosecution has the burden of presenting prima facie evidence of each element of the crime charged. In a murder case, this would include evidence that the defendant's act caused the victim's death, and evidence that the defendant acted with malice aforethought. If the prosecution were to fail to introduce such evidence, then its case would fail on grounds of "failure to make out a prima facie case," even without rebuttal by the defendant. This evidence need not be conclusive or irrefutable, and evidence rebutting the case may not be considered."

there was more, like other uses of the phrase. you can find it all here.

you learn something new every day.

and today i learned that those gel heel protectors--you know, the ones you stick to the heel of your shoe to help them fit more snugly and not cause blisters--don't work. a) they are nearly impossible to peel from their backing, and b) they just roll up and make your heels sticky and finally end up in a little silicone wad.

i also learned that if you have shoes that you really love but are half a size too big, you can shove rolled up latex gloves in the toe. they don't get sticky, and they don't make your toes sweat. and they keep your heels from coming out of your shoes when you walk.

two unrelated pumpkins and an also unrelated dorky dog

i am a little buzzy on my favorite trader joe's red wine (washington hills shiraz, in case anyone wants to know). i have been going through some rough times lately, so i haven't been blogging. but i'm starting to feel better and starting to miss writing to my friends and whatever random internet surfers are reading this blog. i don't have anything profound or even coherent to say this time, but oh well. you'll surf away from this page if it sucks too bad.

1. on the worst of the suckiest days of the recent sucky days, matt and i went to a new place here in eugene called agate alley, hoping a new and interesting place might cheer us up or at least distract us. it worked, because i discovered my absolute favorite martini ever. if you know me, you know i do say things LIKE that lightly, but let me assure you, i never say exactly that lightly. i have been loyal to my previous "absolute favorite martini ever" since 2002, when i discovered the "ad lib", a cilantro martini served at 820 in north portland. i almost feel like i'm cheating on the ad lib by writing this. but this martini is incredible. it is pumpkin pie in a glass. it is the "pumpkin martini," made with vanilla stoli, pumpkin (real pumpkin!), cream, cinnamon, and nutmeg, with a sugar and graham cracker rim. if you live in eugene or plan to be anywhere near here sometime this fall, i HIGHLY suggest you get yourself to agate alley (and bring me with you!) to try this martini. here it is:

2. matt, troy, ashley, myself, and some other ninkasi folks went up to corvallis on saturday for the "septembeerfest" at the fairgrounds. we brought our ipa and a fresh hop beer that was specially brewed for this fall's beer festivals. (brewing "secret": it has MILLET in it! yum!) it will be on tap in the ninkasi parking lot at the fresh hop fest on the 25th. but that's not the story. the story is that next door to our booth was a booth where instead of kegs, the beer was being served from GIANT PUMPKINS! look at this...

3. the other day when i was at work feeling a little sad, matt took this picture of otis and sent it to me on my phone:

look how cute and dorky he is with his tongue hanging out! :) matt is wonderful that way. he knows i'm a sucker for the dog, especially when he's sleeping. and he knows getting picture messages makes me happy. if i didn't have him to go through all this crap with, i don't know what i'd do (but it would probably involve a lot more pleasurable yet self-destructive behavior, and a lot more feeling sorry for myself). but you know what? even with the shit i'm going through lately, i really do have it pretty good.