Links: CFS nomenclature and testing

Panel Says Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Is A Disease, And Renames It ...to systemic exertion intolerance disease (SEID). I'm not sure how much value there is in a name, especially at this point, but at least it's descriptive, and more accessible than Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.

A screening test for chronic fatigue syndrome is ready for the public, and targets common genetic variants known as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). "According to the researchers, in up to 80 percent of cases, an infectious disease such as glandular fever has triggered the expression of these SNPs to bring on the development of chronic fatigue syndrome."

Links: disaster porn from the 1920s

The Flood: St. Francis Dam Disaster, William Mulholland, and the Casualties of L.A. Imperialism.

On the hubris of William Mulholland, who built a dam in L.A. which turned into a fatal disaster. It's a horrific read, but fascinating history.

Role models are where you find them

Something broke loose about twenty minutes ago, and I just started crying. Sitting at my computer, nothing happening except the mental echoes of a TV episode I had just finished, and a thoughtful comment about the underlying psychology of play parties on my Facebook feed. And suddenly I was crying.

I let it happen. I'm not afraid of that sort of flood now; I know I won't wash away, and the torrent will be finite. I even knew something of why it was happening, though I'm still a little unsure of the details. I can guess, but that's all it is, because Amy doesn't have words for issues as complex and hugely simple as these.

( Life lessons from fictional characters )