Dream

Last night, I dreamed the Land of the Dead was a place we could and did regularly visit. Apparently this was something I did on a regular basis, as I had a small apartment there. No idea what I did there, but I'm sure that if I could have a private getaway in the Underworld, I'd totally take it.
At some point, I actually died. (No idea how.) My parents took me to the entrance, where it was very crowded and it was hard to find a quiet space to say goodbye. Normally, I'm content with a casual wave goodbye, but this time, I was upset, because it was the last time I'd ever see them. (Only the living could come and go.)

So then I was dead and actually living in my underworld apartment full time. It was just like our world, except there was no need for jobs. At first, I realized I was going to be an incredibly bored soul; then, I realized I finally had time to read everything I wanted to read!

I went to a shopping center. The cashier* was my old boss from the Whatcom Independent. I asked what she was doing there, and she said she'd died a few weeks after I had. I got the impression time passed more quickly outside.

In order to buy something, you had to fill a card with credits by sticking it in a machine and focusing on old, unpleasant memories. I never did figure out if the memories vanished entirely or were left intact and could therefore be reused.

*Yes, I know I said there was no need for jobs. It's a dream, shut up.

Links!

[EDIT: Hey, it seems that my links try to append my livejournal url to the start of the link url, thus resulting in a 404 error. Anyone know what's up with that?]

Another take on health care reform. “Instead it [Obama’s reforms] will put yet more patches on the walls of an edifice that is fundamentally unsound—and then build that edifice higher.” Fascinating stuff. He’s hopeful but cynical about Obama’s reforms, so he throws out a few suggestions as to what we can do to make the consumer, not the insurer, the focus of the health care market. Via New Advent

Touchable Holography Via BoingBoing Gadgets

SA fury over athlete gender test Ahem, technically they mean sex, not gender, but whatever.

Deep Sea worms defend themselves with bioluminescent bombs.

Also on io9: The Shakespearean Heroes Science Fiction Should Steal From

The only mounted whale in the world. I love that it’s riveted together like an old submarine.