Whenever I get unusually thirsty I always think "MAYBE I HAVE DIABETES!" This is because when Stacey from the Baby-Sitters Club first developed diabetes, she was very thirsty all the time. Also, she peed in Laine Cummings' bed (looking back, WTF was Anne M. Martin thinking giving that poor girl such a pornstar name?), but I've never done anything like that. YET.

Note: Also, everything I know about autism comes from Kristy and the Secret of Susan, and everything I know about stupid girls who love horses comes from Mallory Pike. God, she was annoying.

UPDATE: Googling to see whether I'd spelled Ann M. Martin's name right (I didn't--there's no "E"), I came across a whole lot of rumors claiming she's a lesbian. Awesome!

I don't understand why banks always take up prime real estate on busy street corners. Is it just that they're SO rich that it doesn't matter how much they spend on location? Or is being located in a high-traffic area actually a worthwhile investment for a bank? I understand that the sense of respectability and solidity conferred by brick-and-mortar is an advantage when your whole job depends on making people trust you with all their money EVER, but aren't they taking it a little too far?

My awesome city is kicking out the Boy Scouts from a municipal building for openly discriminating against homosexuals. Great article, too:

The issue became a local concern in Philadelphia in May 2003 when the national Boy Scouts held their annual meeting in the city. During the conference, a local scout challenged the organization’s policies by announcing on television that he was gay and that he was a devoted member of the organization. He was promptly dismissed by the local chapter, which is called the Cradle of Liberty Council.

Buuuuurnnn. I hope something great gets put in the building where they were. Philadelphia has a real lack of quality Roman baths.

I thought about writing this last Christmas season, but worried that it was too soon to tell. Now I'm positive.

Cashmere is a hoax.

Every single holiday catalogue will tell you (women) that you need a timeless cashmere cardigan and a classic cashmere turtleneck and a modern cashmere v-neck and you (men) that she will love you forever when you present her with cashmere, the ultimate luxury.

I'm sure that back when all of our clothes were made by hand and your choice of sweater came down to Dirty Sheep, Leather Jerkin, or Hairshirt, then a fabric that didn't make you break out in rashes DID seem like the ultimate luxury.

Today? Well, cashmere is perfectly nice. It's relatively soft, it looks pleasantly sweatery, and it comes in lots of colors. But you know what's even softer? Polar fleece. And acrylic. And cotton blends. And the new non-itchy wool. And pretty much anything else made by chemistry and robots.

"Oh no!" you say. "Cashmere lasts forever, not like all those trashy new clothes." You know why cashmere lasts forever? Because it says on the label "dry-clean only." So you wear it all winter long, then wash it once and put it away till next year. But you're throwing your non-cashmere sweaters into the washing machine every other week, and then you're all surprised when they start pilling up.

So I'll take the side of the robot chemists on this one. Leave the poor goats alone--I'm sticking with turtle fur.