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ANYONE ON the fence about having cataract surgery has good reasons to delay— mainly the general advice given about elective surgeries: Wait until the issue interferes with your life, specifically with an activity you enjoy. For example, early cataracts can make it difficult for sailors and skiers to see in bright sunlight.

At least three out of five people over age 60 will develop cataracts.

The process begins with clouding of the eye’s lens that makes it harder to see—described as looking through a car’s dirty windshield or dirty eyeglasses—caused by breakdown of tissue that stiffens and hardens the lens. For many, difficulties decrease with prescription glasses and brighter ambient lighting.

As cataracts expand, they can cause dim, blurred, yellow and double vision, and dull color vision—and around bright lights create halos or what have been described as “star bursts of light.”  Trouble focusing can interfere with playing a sport, and night vision can become so impaired that it’s impossible to pass the driver’s test vision assessment. Cataracts can also affect depth perception, making it hard, for example, to pour a cup of tea.

Cataract surgery usually lasts less than half an hour. Some activities are curtailed for weeks afterwards, such as driving and leaning over to pick up heavy objects. For cataracts in both eyes, surgery is usually scheduled several weeks apart.

For the procedure, the eye is numbed with anesthetic, a small tool is inserted to break up and suction out the cataractous lens, and a new lens is implanted. These lenses are made of plastic, silicone or acrylic —and reputedly last forever. For clouding following surgery—caused by fragments from the original lens—a laser procedure to create a small hole in the capsule alleviates the problem.

In the past, cataract patients were offered only monofocal lenses, which focused vision at a single distance.  Prior to surgery, patients chose which distance they wanted—based partly on whether they had previously been near- or far-sighted, or had normal vision. Unlike with eyeglasses or LASIK surgery to correct nearsightedness, however, it wasn’t possible to try out the new vision beforehand —and not everyone was happy with their choice.

A recent alternative is the multifocal lens—often compared to progressive eyeglass lenses—which obviates the need to choose between near and far vision for the replacement lens. These can work by presenting two images to the retina, one focused close, and the other, far away. Or they can incorporate a flexible lens that enables the eye muscles to focus either to close or far away.

For now, though, awaiting further development of multifocals is another reason to delay cataract surgery. Those currently available risk creating haloes around lights at night and decreasing contrast—which makes it harder to see in dim light—the same issues caused by cataracts. A plastic gel injected into the eye to create a “highly pliable new lens” is currently under investigation, according to the New York Times.

Another new lens design, called toric, corrects astigmatism. Considered “specialty” lenses, and thus not medically necessary, neither is covered by insurance—with multifocals costing more than $3,000 per eye.

“I definitely tell my patients about multifocal lenses, but I don’t recommend them myself,” Dr. Peter Egbert, Cataract Service Director at Stanford University, told the New York Times. “The fact is, I wouldn’t want one in my eye.”

Other experts disagree, saying, for example, that how well multifocals work depends in part on how healthy the eyes are—a good reason not to wait too long for the surgery. Also, if a lens becomes too hard over time, it can become difficult to remove—creating greater risk of complications.

A final reason to wait is that all surgery carries a slight risk. In as many as 2% of eyes, infections, swelling and bleeding can occur. In the end, it’s a personal decision —but most of those who’ve gone ahead agree: You will know. When your vision bothers you, you’re ready for surgery.

—Mary Carpenter
Mary Carpenter keeps her eye on living healthy for MyLittleBird.  

HELEN MIRREN has played a queen so often, it’s easy to think she’s royalty. In 2003, she was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, so there’s that, and in 2015 the 72-year-old actress became one of only 23 actors in the world to win acting’s triple crown—an Oscar, an Emmy and a Tony. She rebels against using the term “anti-aging” in an interview in the September issue of Allure. A champion of women’s rights, she joined the NYC Women’s March in January. A role model for sure, and that’s before we get to chatting about her sense of style.

Mirren at the 69th Annual Directors Guild Of America Awards, Beverly Hilton Hotel, February 4, 2017. / Photo by Tinseltown. / Shutterstock.

JANET: Instead of going for the expected glamorous gown, Mirren mixed it up for the Director’s Guild of America Awards last February wearing a shimmery white skirt with silver dots, topped by a simple gray V-neck sweater with silver necklace and drop earrings. Those who don’t like to bare arms, take note. The gray, white and silver complement one another, and the look reads unified. What pops are her eyes and lips.  The message: I know what I like and what flatters me and I’m not afraid to experiment.

NANCY: You have to be supremely confident to pull off this understated look. Even now I can hear the stylists clucking about how down-home she looks (and not in an admiring way). I would look as if I had forgotten where I was going! I think it also helps to have a famous face, another attribute most of us are lacking: When the kleiglights hit, all attention is on her wonderful, glowing countenance.

KATHY: I bet the sweater is cashmere. Silk? Whatever. It looks so soft and light. Pairing it with the shimmery skirt is a terrific idea. The combo has a wonderfully dressy/comfy look. I know I harp on comfort (a lot), but I really feel it’s impossible to look good when you aren’t comfortable in your clothes. So many gowns seen on red carpets look so difficult to wear. As if the wearer must spend time worrying about keeping the gown in place. Dame Helen looks as though she could thoroughly enjoy the evening in this combination.

Dame Helen Mirren at the 2016 Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala. / Photo by Featureflash Photo Agency. / Shutterstock.

JANET: Looking very Queenie in head-to-toe royal blue, Mirren again pairs a curve-hugging soft-knit long-sleeve cardigan with a skirt, this one shiny and full, with practical pockets.  A metallic belt adds a touch of glitz while showing off her trim waist. Pear-shaped dangly sapphire earrings are the perfect matching accessory, along with an over-the-shoulder powder-blue bag that keeps hands free.

NANCY: This look was Oscar de la Renta’s gift to modern woman, here adapted and interpreted by this most-modern woman: an evening dress that’s a comfy sweater on top, a glamorous swish of skirt on bottom and deep pockets in between to let you look as relaxed and elegant as you feel. I can’t quite see a young girl wearing this to a gala; I think she would feel underdressed and unremarkable. But for a woman of standing, of experience and, okay, a fabulous figure, it’s definitely a good way to go. (About that fabulous figure: Some years back, while people [magazines?] were talking about Dame Helen’s “attributes” and how she used to show them off, I was doing a deep dive into old James Mason movies and stumbled upon the 1969 movie “Age of Consent.”  In it, James Mason is an aging painter, and Mirren is a wild island girl looking to lock in a sexual rite of passage. So, one day, she waits for him in the surf and then rises  slowly from the water, clutching a towel or something and revealing exactly why people have always talked about Helen’s belle poitrine and sensuous hips. It’s always good to go back to the source!)

KATHY: Geesh, she’s gorgeous. Look at the décolleté! Absolutely no call for beauty-enhancing (or distracting) beads on that neckline. She looks beautifully at ease in this monochromatic skirt and top and quite elegant. Even though she’s covered up, her figure isn’t, and there’s a lesson for all of us there: You don’t have to be bare to be beautiful.

Dame Helen at “The Leisure Seeker” premiere, Toronto International Film Festival, Sept. 9, 2017. / Photo by Michael Hurcomb. /REX / Shutterstock.

JANET: All hail Mirren in this fitted Dolce & Gabbana aubergine knit dress with a flouncy hem,  which she wears with black tights instead of more predictable pale hose. A demure look, but the bejeweled pumps and purse provide the sparkle and an Italian fan, the movie prop.

NANCY: Wait a minute. This isn’t the Mirren I know and love. I find the dress contrived, as well as the bag and shoes; probably on-trend, but why? She’s not the Sicilian tart of Dolce and Gabbana’s dreams. Of course she has the figure to pull it off, but I’ll just stand over here on the side and wait until the real Helen Mirren shows up.

KATHY: Let’s talk hair for a moment. I, for one, am weary of seeing long hair all over the place. It’s refreshing to see short locks such as Mirren’s. Her hair always looks fabulous, and I especially like the loose, wispy flip she sports here. They tell us as we age our hair style should get shorter. Okay, I guess I can go with that, but that doesn’t mean it has to look old ladyish, right? Mirren’s certainly doesn’t. Sexy is more like it.

Backstage at the L’Oreal show, during Spring/Summer 2018 Paris Fashion Week. / Photo by David Fisher./ REX / Shutterstock.

JANET: Proving she’s just a regular dame and that she’s not perpetually red-carpet ready, Mirren turns up backstage before her turn on the runway at Paris Fashion Week wearing a navy blue bouclé biker jacket, long white shirt, jeans with cuffs turned up and suede ankle boots. Note to self and to readers: We can all wear this!

NANCY: She looks great! But can we stop for a moment to acknowledge that America has given the world the single most important piece of clothing . . . ever. Do I exaggerate? Perhaps. But jeans, blue jeans, dungarees, denims, whatever you call them, are tough enough and stylish enough to clothe the world. I know we complain about the ubiquity of jeans, but that’s only when we notice them at all. Most of the time they are the silent soldiers of the fashion army, allowing us to dress them up or down, wear them with a sweatshirt or a bustier, with diamonds or squash blossoms. I’m glad, though, that Dame Helen’s jeans, at least this pair, are not in any way shredded or holey. It’s an affectation that remains weird to my eye, and it would be too much with the fringed, unraveled edges of the tweed jacket.

KATHY: Meh. Maybe any of us could wear this look. However, I’m not so sure we should. But then I’m the one who has that thing against skinny jeans. Just don’t like them. Even when they’re completely intact. Even when they’re on Helen Mirren.

Mirren on the L’Oréal catwalk, Spring Summer 2018 Paris Fashion Week, October 1, 2017. / Photo WWD./ REX / Shutterstock.

JANET: Who says you can’t walk in a fashion show when you’re 72? Not L’Oréal, which sent a diverse group of about 50 models (featuring the brand’s makeup and the clothing of 15 designers)  down the Champs-Elysées. Mirren exchanged her red-carpet looks for black lace-up dress brogues, a dark redingote-style coat with white stitching, wide-legged trousers and a cane she playfully twirled.

KATHY: I wouldn’t wear those pants, and if someone else hadn’t decreed that she wear them Mirren might not either. But you have to hand it to her. She wears them with panache.

NANCY: I bet Kathy’s right, that the L’Oréal stylists put this outfit together for Mirren. The very horizontal pants in particular are a dicey choice, for anyone below 5-foot-11. Mirren is only 5-foot-4; why would they do this to her? She’s giving it her sporty best, but the jeans outfit she wore before or after the show (the previous image) shows more common sense regarding silhouette. In a way it’s the same outfit: jacket, white shirt and pants, proving that fashion is all about the details. (I would wager, though, that she’s sporting the most comfortable shoes on the runway that day!)

—MyLittleBird

David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock
L’Oreal show, Backstage, Spring Summer 2018, Paris Fashion Week, France – 01 Oct 2017
Helen Mirren backstage
1 Oct 2017

David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock
L’Oreal show, Backstage, Spring Summer 2018, Paris Fashion Week, France – 01 Oct 2017
Helen Mirren backstage
1 Oct 2017

Photographer Michael Hurcomb/REX/Shutterstock
‘The Leisure Seeker’ premiere, Toronto International Film Festival, Canada – 09 Sep 2017
Helen Mirren
9 Sep 2017

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MORNING HOURS of sleep can provide some people the best and deepest sleep of the night—music to the ears of those who relish morning snoozing—maybe because for them, natural (waking with no alarm clock) sleep includes more and longer “sleep cycles.”   People generally need four to six sleep cycles, which last from about 90 minutes to two hours, during which sleep quality moves from very light to very deep, followed by REM sleep during which dreams are likely.

Adding minutes with the snooze button provides “crappy sleep,” according to Michael Breus, PhD, sleep expert for Web MD and in private practice in Los Angeles. Breus suggests setting an alarm for the last possible moment so there’s no temptation to go back to sleep; and when it goes off, sit up and breathe deeply to “orient yourself to the real world.”

Up to one-third of people living in industrialize countries suffer from “poor sleep.”  Those for whom medical and behavioral solutions have proven unsatisfactory are generally advised, first, to pay attention to the length of their natural sleep time over a period of days.  Then, in order to get more deep sleep, go to bed later and sleep later in the morning.  The recommendations also apply to those struggling with restless legs, which can be triggered by sleep deprivation.

Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) affects approximately 10% of the population and is one of the most prevalent neurological disorders in Europe and North America, with women being afflicted almost twice as often as men. Though the cause is unknown, nearly half of sufferers have a family member with the condition, suggesting a genetic explanation.  Some are helped by medication; others by the FDA-approved Relaxis vibrating pad.

For all troubled sleepers, weighted blankets have recently become popular.  Swedish researchers at the University of Gothenberg found blankets weighing more than 10% of a person’s body weight “provided beneficial, calming effects.”  Of 31 healthy participants who completed the protocol, most chose the 8 kg (about 17½ pounds) chain-weighted blanket, and all experienced better sleep as measured both objectively and subjectively.

Chain-weighted blankets cost upwards of $1,200.  Alternatives for lower cost (at Brookstone and on Amazon ranging from $100 to $200) and weight, starting at around 12 pounds, have beneficial effects, at least anecdotally.  The Brookstone model, often available on sale, has been criticized for having a strong odor right out of the box but this dissipates once aired out.

Other sleep-improving suggestions include warm baths before bed; heating pads or ice packs—because a change in temperature can be soothing; and releasing tension with slow deep breaths, dim lights and soothing music.

Then there’s what to reduce or avoid: alcohol and cigarettes, and caffeine—with effects lasting up to 12 hours.  Too close to bedtime, avoid electronic devices like computers and TVs; and exercise—although getting more during the day can improve sleep.  During long periods of sitting—at work, on airplanes, even during long movies and lectures—try to walk around.

Also, pay attention to medication: iron supplements can help by increasing dopamine levels, while some anti-depressants as well as antihistamines have been linked to RLS and other sleep issues, although many OTC sleep aids contain antihistamines.

Melatonin can not only help with sleep but might be useful in long-term brain health.  Among the array of prescription sleep drugs, some are targeted to help with falling asleep and others, for staying asleep.  In the first category, the most popular is zolpidem or Ambien, though taking it can lead to both tolerance, meaning the drug no longer works, and dependence—so that without the pills, it becomes difficult to sleep at all.  The new oral spray, Zolpimist, might help with short-term treatment.

Ambien and Lunesta are long lasting and, when there isn’t time to sleep for seven or eight hours, can cause grogginess the next day—as can the benzodiazepines, and these also risk dependence.  Sonata, a newer medication, stays active in the body for the shortest period—meaning you can try falling asleep on your own, and then, if unsuccessful, take Sonata in the early morning hours.

Finally, less appealing behavioral measures to improve sleep suggested by MedicalNewsToday include “Stimulus control therapy—only go to bed when sleepy.  Avoid watching TV, reading, eating or worrying in bed.”   Also the more challenging: “Sleep restriction—decrease the time spent in bed and partially deprive the body of sleep, this increases tiredness ready for the next night.”

In personal experience, both anxiety and sleep have improved for one family member using a weighted blanket, and for another after a course of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction.

—Mary Carpenter
Want to read more well-being posts? Click here. 

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I RECENTLY spoke with an attractive young woman, still single as she approaches 40, who shared some of her negative thoughts about Internet dating. Apparently people don’t always turn out to be true to their online descriptions. (Imagine that!)

My generation had its own version of web dating with “personal ads” placed in magazines and newspapers read by the so-called intelligentsia. I answered more than a few of those, finding them an easy way to meet interesting people from other walks of life. Unlike today’s dating sites, where an alluring photo is the primary motivation for getting together, the old personal ads were all about crafting a description that implied brains, wit and a decent income. Once you found someone that fit the bill, a phone call or two gave you a glimpse of personality. If all went well, an in-person meeting was arranged.

The worst one I ever had was with a psychiatrist who sounded great on the phone. We talked for an hour or more. He was funny, another of my requirements, and since I was prone to insanity I figured dating a shrink would save me a lot of money in the long run. I had clarified that I only dated men 5’10” or taller, and he assured me he was well above that, describing himself as “towering.” When we met in person I was appalled: The top of his head barely reached my chin. (Even worse, from that vantage point I could see his bald spot.)

My advice to young people looking for a mate these days is to forget about Tinder and eHarmony and Match.com and do it the old-fashioned way: Live your life. You’re bound to bump into someone you can stand who also can stand you.

—Andrea Rouda
Andrea Rouda blogs at The Daily Droid. 

“SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE” comic actress Leslie Jones made headlines in June 2016 when she tweeted she was having a hard time finding a designer to make a dress for her “Ghostbusters” premiere. Christian Siriano, who came to the attention of most of us by winning “Project Runway” in 2008 and then launched his own fashion company, stepped up to the plate and created a lipstick-red off-the-shoulder couture gown that caressed Jones’s curves.

The duo again collaborated for the 2017 Emmy Awards, when Jones wore a custom-designed Siriano black glittery gown. The previous week, the comedy star was front row at Siriano’s runway show during New York Fashion Week. Because Jones, who recently celebrated her 50th birthday, is clearly loving her clothes, we took the opportunity to look at her new event-ready wardrobe and see what lessons we might learn.

Leslie Jones on the red carpet at the 69th Emmy Awards September 17, 2017 in Los Angeles. / Photo by Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.

JANET: Sequins are on trend this season, and Jones sparkled at the Emmys for her first nomination in this curve-hugging Siriano gown. The dress’s combination of beading and sheer overlay alternately hide and reveal Jones’s décolletage, arms and legs. The thigh-high slit lets her show off one of her toned legs.

KATHY: Full disclosure: I am one of Leslie Jones’s biggest fans. It cracks me up when, in a split second, she bounces from “raging black woman” to flirty vixen while sitting next to Colin Jost during Weekend Update. I just wish SNL would find more room for her. Now, about the black gown. It’s smashing. It plays up those long, strong legs, and since I’m not a fan of baring too much, I’m on board with the sheer fabric that holds it together. It’s sexy. She’s sexy.

NANCY: It’s a sweep—I think this look is dynamite. It has lessons for those of us who have only a few assets we wish to share with others; the peekaboo sleeves can camouflage so many of the upper-arm realities we learn to live with as we age. And the shaping of the bodice gives much-needed structure (one glance at the green dress below will demonstrate that) that allows the rest of the dress to drip romantically. And yes, Kathy, sexily.

Jones, who made it onto Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2017, at the Time 100 Gala on April 25, 2017. / Photo by Debbie Wong / Shutterstock.

JANET: In an above-the-knee black-lace and sheer-paneled keyhole dress by Tadashi Shoji for his Resort 2017 Collection, Jones followed the formula for the Time 100 Gala she had favored for the Emmys. Note the flattering three-quarter sleeve that stands slightly away from the body. The diamond hoop earrings and coordinating bracelet are all the jewelry she needs. I might have swapped out those ankle-wrap stiletto sandals, though, for a pump. The sandal strap interrupts the long line of the leg.

KATHY: I see what Janet means about the stiletto strap, but a pump just doesn’t feel like Leslie to me. Plus a pump would have hidden those blue toenails. The woman just seems to like to put it all out there. I’m with Janet, however, on everything else. This is a lovely look for a statuesque woman. Sophisticated, yet girlish at the same time. Plus it shows off her waist.

NANCY: Tadashi Shoji is the go-to design house for the more robustly figured celebs (and non-celebs: Every Junoesque woman I’ve buttonholed at the White House Correspondents’ dinner over the years has been wearing a Tadashi Shoji confection). It’s not that the Japanese-born Shoji specializes in large or tall sizes; it’s just that, like Christian Siriano, he seems eager to embrace all body types. Take a look at his shopping site;  you can select not just by size but by silhouette (full bust, apple, hourglass, etc.) and neckline and sleeve length. That said, I’m not sure exactly why, but this dress just doesn’t do it for me. Being short, it winds up looking (to my eye) more horizontal, something most of us do NOT need. Then again, if it were long, Jones would risk being swaddled in too much fabric and would look enormous. I’ll just sit this one out. (But I love it when she spikes her hair out like that.)

The Saturday Night Live comedy star at the BET Awards 2017 on June 25, 2017 in Los Angeles. / Photo by Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.

JANET: As host of the BET Awards, Jones wore a long green gown with plunging neckline and a thigh-high slit. I suppose she wanted a daring look for one of the music industry’s biggest nights, but too much exposure is, well, too much exposure. She would have been better off with just the leg slit. A halter top is challenging for even the most flat-chested among us. Add pleating and it just looks like a wardrobe malfunction.

KATHY: This is my least favorite of her choices. Admittedly she wears the color well, but it isn’t a color in my rainbow. Leslie, we know you have boobs, but we don’t need to see them. This is a complaint I have with so many red-carpet gowns: They bare far too much.

NANCY: Amen. I want to tell all those red-carpet celebs to put “the girls” back inside the dress; that’s why God invented clothing. Beyond that, a halter is a tricky thing: It can emphasize swanlike necks and emergent collarbones, but it can also make the more robust, as I’ve taken to calling it, look like members of the college wrestling team. With her thousand-watt smile, Jones can make anything work, but no amount of double-sided tape could make one of these bust-baring halters work for the rest of us.

One of the outfit changes for Jones at the BET Awards Show in Los Angeles. / Photo by Michael Buckner / Variety / Rex / Shutterstock.

JANET:  Bold jewel tones suit Jones as in this monochromatic (read: slimming) orange pantsuit, one of the outfits she wore for her BET hosting stint. I like how the white shirt worn underneath her blazer makes the color pop. Should that shapely jacket be left unbuttoned? I prefer that.

KATHY: Yes, Janet. It should. I would prefer that too so when she moves the jacket doesn’t get all cinched up. She looks fabulous in orange, a color too often overlooked, in my opinion. Bright, hot colors really suit her.

NANCY: I don’t have much to add. Great color, great fit, and yes, unbutton the jacket if you’re going to be flailing around like that. The monochromatic message is one many of us should heed.

Jones was front and center at Christian Siriano’s Spring/Summer show at New York Fashion Week September 9, 2017. / Photo by Clint Spaulding / WWD / Rex / Shutterstock.

JANET: At Siriano’s New York Fashion Week show earlier this month, Jones glowed in a shocking-pink cape and black leggings. This is my hands-down favorite look for the 6-foot-tall Jones, who thoroughly enjoyed her front-row status and whooped and clapped at the fashions as the models sashayed down the runway.

KATHY: She looks so ladylike in this cape. It’s one of my favorite looks for her as well. She was smart to choose a necklace that mimicked the neckline of her blouse. A nice touch of understated sparkle. It’s a swell daytime look for an important event.

NANCY: Agreed, agreed! So fluid. And perhaps more ladylike than Jones sometimes wants to be. But it’s a classic look that would arguably work for anyone. I could see Grace Kelly in this outfit, also any recent First Lady; hell, Queen Elizabeth II! But remember what I was saying about boobs a while ago? The woman seated next to Jones in the red dress is just as eye-catching as Jones but for the wrong reasons. Really? Marching the girls out in the middle of the afternoon? Leslie Jones wouldn’t do that!

—MyLittleBird staff

BECAUSE THE pumpkins and candy are already being shoved down our throats by merchants hoping to score big this Halloween, I figured I might as well write my Halloween post right now instead of waiting until October. Besides, the ways things are going in our chaotic world these days, I may not even make it until then.

Once I was done with making costumes for my son and getting drunk at neighborhood parties, I continued to celebrate Halloween by carving jack-o’-lanterns. Sadly, last year I was even bored with that, finally coming through about an hour before dark on the big day with a sad entry: just eyes and nose and mouth, not even any teeth or eyebrows. It was obvious I was turning into that old person who rails about the holiday being bad for your teeth and devoid of all meaning. I was finished with the whole thing, heading down that path leading to a bowl of candy out front with a sign saying “Take one.”

But then yesterday at the post office, the clerk announced that the first holiday stamps had arrived, and they are for Halloween. He brought out a strip of twenty orange jack-o’-lanterns on a black background, all with big grins. Of course I had to have them. My purchase engendered a lengthy conversation with the postmaster, a man roughly my age, about how far Halloween has fallen from “our day,” back when you got all sorts of interesting things, not just the same boring wrapped candy bars and lollipops. “What’s it for anymore?” I asked.

He had a great answer, pointing out that Halloween is the only time people will open their doors for strangers and greet them with a smile, and a treat! It’s also the only time children are encouraged to approach strangers, and they do so without fear. People talk to one another on the streets, and it’s all very happy and festive, with almost nobody looking down at their cell phones. Really, when you think about it, Halloween is pretty much how life should be all the time. Except for the costumes. And the candy. (And maybe the pumpkins. )

Andrea Rouda
Andrea Rouda blogs at The Daily Droid.