This thread will remain up here for some time (since the old one is getting cluttered this seems simpler than moving it up). I'm going to re-link the spreadsheet, though I'm not sure how useful its total unordered-ness will be for planning things, especially if people want to plan para-outings around the main event.

"What if you really liked someone but then found they were way into RenFaire—like, every single weekend into RenFaire?"

On its face, it seems like a typical price-of-admission/dealbreaker question. Is this characteristic something I can abide, or do I run screaming for the exits now?

Every single weekend at Renaissance Faire, if that's even possible (about which I'm doubtful), is a lot. It'd be a lot for any one partner's hobby to gobble up all the weekends.

On the other hand, meh, who knows. If you're with someone you really care about, there are probably worse things in life than RenFaire.

So they lied about the content of the Benghazi emails. The thing that befuddles me is, isn't it monumentally stupid to lie about content of emails, when the other side can easily produce the actual email and reveal you to be a lying liar that lies?

Di Kotimy writes:

Running my second annual 10-miler next weekend and need to start working on my playlist for the race. I think I can safely say I'm looking for somewhere between 1:45 to 2 hours of tunes to keep me energized. Music thread?

Personally, I've been running to a lot of Blink-182 songs, especially the hyper-produced ones off the self-titled album, like "Feeling This". But other people can probably make suggestions that don't suck.

I was surprised by the news that Toronto Mayor Rob Ford was reportedly caught on video smoking crack. When I went to read a little more about Mr. Ford, I was even more surprised I hadn't heard of him previously. Some highlights:

• In June 2006 Ford came under fire for making a controversial remark during a Council meeting. During the meeting Ford spoke out against the city donating $1.5 million to help prevent AIDS. Ford argued that most tax payers should not be concerned with AIDS because "If you are not doing needles and you are not gay, you wouldn't get AIDS probably, that's bottom line...those are the facts." After then Mayor David Miller pointed out that women are the largest growing demographic of people contracting AIDS, Ford responded that it must mean 'they are sleeping with bi-sexual men'.
• On March 7, 2007, Ford made controversial comments about cyclists' use of the roads, saying, "What I compare bike lanes to is swimming with the sharks. Sooner or later you're going to get bitten... Roads are built for buses, cars, and trucks, not for people on bikes. My heart bleeds for them when I hear someone gets killed, but it's their own fault at the end of the day." On May 25, 2009, Ford said, "It's no secret, okay. The cyclists are a pain in the ass to the motorists."
• At a council meeting on March 5, 2008, Ford said, "Those Oriental people work like dogs. They work their hearts out. They are workers non-stop. They sleep beside their machines. That's why they're successful in life. I went to Seoul, South Korea, I went to Taipei, Taiwan. I went to Tokyo, Japan. That's why these people are so hard workers (sic). I'm telling you, the Oriental people, they're slowly taking over." Ford later apologized for using the term "orientals", but stood by his remarks, claiming that they were meant as a positive assessment of their work ethic.

This guy's mayor of a major Canadian city that's not located in Alberta? Seems like a real gem.

Everybody's talking about the Microbiome. Is this good scientific journalism? I have no idea. (All I know is the tic in my brain is incapable of reading micro-biome, and insists on reading my-crobby-yami. The same part that insists on reading "snow peas" as "Snoopies" and goarmy.com as, well, how would you say goarmy?)

The Science of Loneliness. Some very good parts and some weak parts to this article. (As Nick S. put it, when he submitted this article independently, "I have lost track of whether the New Republic is a reputable source these days, but this article is interesting.")

It's not news that moods have a biological manifestation, and that that can add up over time to have health implications. But the specific studies and what they've gleaned is still interesting. I'd say more but I gotta run.