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	<title>Oh, A Girl Dragon</title>
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	<description>Geeky Stuff For Humans With +2 to X Chromosome</description>
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		<title>Geeky Tools to Help Keep Your Resolutions</title>
		<link>http://www.ohagirldragon.com/geeky-tools-to-help-keep-your-resolutions/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=geeky-tools-to-help-keep-your-resolutions</link>
		<comments>http://www.ohagirldragon.com/geeky-tools-to-help-keep-your-resolutions/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 02 Jan 2013 03:18:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sabrina</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ohagirldragon.com/?p=223</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a great (and safe) New Year celebration. I stayed home and was in my PJs by 4:30. We did make steaks and twice baked potatoes, and stayed up til midnight, but that was the extent of our festivities. Just the way I like it. Did you make resolutions? [...]</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com/geeky-tools-to-help-keep-your-resolutions/">Geeky Tools to Help Keep Your Resolutions</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com">Oh, A Girl Dragon</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com/geeky-tools-to-help-keep-your-resolutions/2013oagd/" rel="attachment wp-att-224"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-224" alt="2013oagd" src="http://ohagirldragon.com/wp-content/uploads/2013oagd.jpg" width="600" height="600" /></a>Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a great (and safe) New Year celebration. I stayed home and was in my PJs by 4:30. We did make steaks and twice baked potatoes, and stayed up til midnight, but that was the extent of our festivities. Just the way I like it. Did you make resolutions? I have a good friend who years ago resolved to not make resolutions. She also gave up giving up things for Lent. She&#8217;s kept to both of those. I admire her dedication. If you have made resolutions, getting a little help along the way is always good, so here&#8217;s some suggestions on tools and resources.</p>
<h4>Lose Weight</h4>
<p>This one is popular. So what&#8217;s a geek to do? Quite literally yesterday someone told me about <a href="http://www.nerdfitness.com/" target="_blank">Nerd Fitness</a>. It&#8217;s quite literally a weight loss site for nerds. How awesome is that? They are also working on gamifing weight loss with <a href="http://blog.risingheroes.com/" target="_blank">Rising Heroes</a>. Not sure how that&#8217;s going to work out, but I&#8217;ll be keeping my eye on it.</p>
<h4>Get in Shape</h4>
<p>This one sometimes goes along with losing weight and a lot of these resources can be used for either or both. Sites that can help you keep track of fitness (or calories) include <a href="http://www.myfitnesspal.com/" target="_blank">My Fitness Pal</a> and <a href="http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/" target="_blank">The Daily Plate</a>. There&#8217;s also quite a few fitness trackers you can use. Popular ones include the Nike Fuelband and the Fitbit. There&#8217;s also quite a few smartphone apps out there that will do similar functions, depending on the features of your smartphone. I don&#8217;t have any, not sure if my smartphone would work with any of them, so I haven&#8217;t tested them out, but if you have, let me know!</p>
<h4>Get Out of Debt</h4>
<p>The classic computerized help for managing your finances is of course <a href="http://quicken.intuit.com" target="_blank">Quicken</a>. It&#8217;s been around for years and has been very popular. Another popular option is <a href="http://www.mint.com" target="_blank">Mint.com</a> which is pretty similar. Both have mobile apps, but Mint is free. Another free and somewhat new option is <a href="https://www.manilla.com/" target="_blank">Manilla</a>, which allows you to keep track of accounts and bills like utilities, credit cards, subscriptions, and loyalty programs. If you&#8217;re looking for help managing your healthcare bills, there are two options that I know of. <a href="https://simplee.com" target="_blank">Simplee</a> and <a href="https://cakehealth.com" target="_blank">Cake Health</a> which both work like Mint for your health care expenses.</p>
<h4>Read More</h4>
<p>In 2014 I&#8217;m hoping I&#8217;ll be able to participate in one of <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/" target="_blank">GoodReads</a> challenges. Once I no longer have textbooks to read. If you don&#8217;t have that problem, check them out. <a href="http://www.librarything.com/" target="_blank">LibraryThing</a> is also a good book collection management site. If you&#8217;re interested in eReaders, I can&#8217;t recommend a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=as_li_qf_br_sr_tl?_encoding=UTF8&amp;node=2102313011&amp;tag=dragontomes-20&amp;linkCode=ur2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325" target="_blank">Kindle</a><img style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" alt="" src="https://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dragontomes-20&amp;l=ur2&amp;o=1" width="1" height="1" border="0" /> enough. I have a 3rd generation, which came out the year before the popular Fire, but it&#8217;s still pretty cool. I love it. Another popular option is the <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/NOOK" target="_blank">Barnes &amp; Noble Nook</a>, but of course I&#8217;m partial to Amazon&#8217;s option.</p>
<h4>Get Organized</h4>
<p>This is something I&#8217;m constantly trying to do. Not even at new years. Like all the time. So maybe I&#8217;m not the best person to give you tips on this, but two things that I find that help me are to do lists and a note organizer. For these two tasks I use <a href="http://astrid.com/" target="_blank">Astrid</a> and <a href="http://evernote.com/" target="_blank">EverNote</a>. Astrid can sync up with your Google Tasks and Calendar and there&#8217;s an app you can download for your phone. Plus it gives you funny reminders to do things. For note taking, EverNote is awesome. I save blog ideas, recipes, sources for school papers, and everything else I can think of in it. They have web and mobile apps.</p>
<p>There are plenty other resolutions that people make, but these are some popular ones. I hope you find something that can help you. If you have any website, tools, or suggestions, please share, I&#8217;m always looking for helpful websites!</p>
<p>The post <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com/geeky-tools-to-help-keep-your-resolutions/">Geeky Tools to Help Keep Your Resolutions</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com">Oh, A Girl Dragon</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Winter &amp; Mid-Season TV Line-Up</title>
		<link>http://www.ohagirldragon.com/winter-mid-season-tv-line-up/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=winter-mid-season-tv-line-up</link>
		<comments>http://www.ohagirldragon.com/winter-mid-season-tv-line-up/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 21 Dec 2012 00:51:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sabrina</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Television]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ohagirldragon.com/?p=217</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>After a bit of a hiatus, I am back with your winter television shows that you&#8217;re dying to now are returning when now? Well, soon. Sooner than you think. I mean you&#8217;ll survive Christmas, the end of the world, and New Year&#8217;s and be thinking &#8220;Shit, here&#8217;s Valentine&#8217;s Day hot on it&#8217;s heels&#8221; but before [...]</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com/winter-mid-season-tv-line-up/">Winter &#038; Mid-Season TV Line-Up</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com">Oh, A Girl Dragon</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_218" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 352px"><a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com/winter-mid-season-tv-line-up/attachment/687332504/" rel="attachment wp-att-218"><img class=" wp-image-218 " alt="Game of Thrones returns Sunday, March 31" src="http://ohagirldragon.com/wp-content/uploads/687332504-570x843.jpg" width="342" height="506" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Game of Thrones returns Sunday, March 31</p></div>
<p>After a bit of a hiatus, I am back with your winter television shows that you&#8217;re dying to now are returning when now? Well, soon. Sooner than you think. I mean you&#8217;ll survive Christmas, the end of the world, and New Year&#8217;s and be thinking &#8220;Shit, here&#8217;s Valentine&#8217;s Day hot on it&#8217;s heels&#8221; but before it hits, all your free time will be sucked up by new episodes of your favorite shows and you&#8217;ll be stuck buying your significant other a gift certificate to ThinkGeek. Again. Well whatever, here we go. All times are Eastern.</p>
<p>Being Human – Syfy, Monday, January 14 at 9PM</p>
<p>The Big Bang Theory – CBS, Thursday, January 3 at 8PM</p>
<p>Castle – ABC, Monday, January 7 at 10:01PM (yes, really, 10:01, WTF?)</p>
<p>Community – NBC, Thursday, February 7 at 8PM (I&#8217;ll believe this when I see it!)</p>
<p>CSI: Crime Scene Investigation – CBS, Wednesday, January 16, at 10PM</p>
<p>CSI: New York – CBS, Friday, January 4 at 8PM</p>
<p>Doctor Who – BBCA, Tuesday, December 25 at 9PM (This is likely just the Christmas special, I don&#8217;t think this is a regularly scheduled time, or that this is a start of a new season or mid season. I&#8217;m REALLY FAR behind on my Doctor Who episodes. Like three years. It&#8217;s quite shameful.)</p>
<p>Face Off – Syfy, Tuesday, January 15 at 9PM</p>
<p>Fringe – Fox, Friday, December 21 at 9PM (This didn&#8217;t really take a break, but it is the final few episodes)</p>
<p>Game of Thrones &#8211; HBO, Sunday, March 31 at 9PM</p>
<p>Girls &#8211; HBO, Sunday, January 13 at 9PM</p>
<p>Ghost Hunters – Syfy, Wednesday, January 16 at 9PM</p>
<p>Grimm – NBC, Friday, March 8 at 9PM (OMGWTFBBQ I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL MARCH????)</p>
<p>Here Comes Honey Boo Boo &#8211; Are you fucking kidding me? If you keep watching that shit, they keep putting it on TV! Bad geek! BAD!!!</p>
<p>How I Met Your Mother – CBS, Monday, January 14 at 8PM</p>
<p>Modern Family – ABC, Wednesday, January 9 at 9PM</p>
<p>The Office – NBC, Thursday, January 10 at 9PM</p>
<p>Once Upon A Time – ABC, Sunday, January 6 at 8PM</p>
<p>Parks &amp; Recreation – NBC, Thursday, January 17 at 8:30PM</p>
<p>Revolution – NBC, Monday, March 25 at 10PM (I&#8217;m sorry to say this one sucked me in. CURSE YOU J.J. ABRAMS!!!!)</p>
<p>The Walking Dead – AMC, Sunday, February 10 at 9PM</p>
<p>Did I miss anything? Let me know. Or check out <a href="http://www.thefutoncritic.com/guide/when-does-insert-show-name-here-come-back/" target="_blank">TheFutonCritic.com&#8217;s guide</a>.</p>
<p>The post <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com/winter-mid-season-tv-line-up/">Winter &#038; Mid-Season TV Line-Up</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com">Oh, A Girl Dragon</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Guide to Pacifist-craft: Getting Started</title>
		<link>http://www.ohagirldragon.com/guide-to-pacifist-craft-getting-started/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=guide-to-pacifist-craft-getting-started</link>
		<comments>http://www.ohagirldragon.com/guide-to-pacifist-craft-getting-started/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 03 Oct 2012 23:43:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sabrina</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[MMORPG]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video Games]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mmorpg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pacifist-Craft]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[worldofwarcraft]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wow]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ohagirldragon.com/?p=212</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>In the last couple of weeks most folks talking about World of Warcraft have been focused on the new expansion, Mists of Pandaria. PANDAS! PANDAS! PANDAS! I will say, this is an awesome expansion and I&#8217;m having a lot of fun with it. However, that&#8217;s not the topic of this post. No, readers, I have [...]</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com/guide-to-pacifist-craft-getting-started/">Guide to Pacifist-craft: Getting Started</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com">Oh, A Girl Dragon</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_213" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 610px"><a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com/guide-to-pacifist-craft-getting-started/noncombat/" rel="attachment wp-att-213"><img class="size-full wp-image-213" title="noncombat" src="http://ohagirldragon.com/wp-content/uploads/noncombat.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="437" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Emary, my Tauren Druid dirty hippy</p></div>
<p style="text-align: left;">In the last couple of weeks most folks talking about World of Warcraft have been focused on the new expansion, Mists of Pandaria. PANDAS! PANDAS! PANDAS! I will say, this is an awesome expansion and I&#8217;m having a lot of fun with it. However, that&#8217;s not the topic of this post. No, readers, I have to be different.</p>
<p>In the lull after leveling my goblin priest to 85 (FINALLY) and MoP dropping, I was bored. Really bored. A few months ago I learned of a guy on Reddit that had leveled a character up to 85 entirely by gathering professions. I even wrote about it, <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com/world-of-pacifist-craft/" target="_blank">if you recall</a>. I know a few folks that have done this too and it intrigued me enough that I wanted to try it. So since I was bored, I rolled a new toon to do just that. I thought I&#8217;d write up a little getting started guide in case anyone else decides to do this as well. It&#8217;s not easy, and you die&#8230; a lot. But if you&#8217;re looking for a challenge or something different, it&#8217;s worth a go.</p>
<p>The basic premise is that you level entirely by not doing damage. You can&#8217;t hit anything, you certainly can&#8217;t kill it, and you can&#8217;t even group with someone else killing something, because that will also give you kill/combat credit. (You can find your combat stats by opening the achievement window and going to the Statistics tab) No PVP, no killing, nothing.</p>
<p><strong>Gaining XP</strong>: Your options for gaining XP then are gathering professions such as Mining and Herbalism. Skinning also gives XP, but you could only skin other people&#8217;s kills which would take awhile as you&#8217;re not always around people who are out killing things. Non combat quests are also an option, these are usually quests of the nature &#8220;Go take this there&#8221; or &#8220;Gather me 10 cords of wood&#8221; or &#8220;Deliver this to Whatever Town.&#8221; These aren&#8217;t something to rely on though, so you&#8217;ll have to pick up the two gathering professions. Exploration gives XP, but not nearly enough to level you significantly. Holiday quests are a nice bonus, for those quests that don&#8217;t require killing anything, but still give XP. Some dailies are also an option such as cooking and fishing dailies, though those can not be obtained until level 10 for the newer Cataclysm dailies.</p>
<p><strong>Race:</strong> Tauren. I chose this because Taurens have Cultivation, a racial that gives a +15 to Herbalism as well as a speed bonus. This has helped me gather many a time while something was deciding I looked like lunch. Taurens also get War Stomp, a stun that does not do damage, and Endurance, which increases base health by 5%. I primarily play Horde, so this wasn&#8217;t a difficult choice for me. If you are Horde-averse you could choose Dwarf, who have Explorer, which is a bonus to Archeology, giving you extra pieces for every dig and a faster survey.</p>
<p><strong>Class:</strong> Druid. This is a great choice for RPing if you happen to enjoy that. I affectionately refer to this toon as my &#8220;Dirty Hippie&#8221; and what&#8217;s more hippie than a Druid? But I actually chose Druid because once you get travel forms, you can gather while in those forms. Which means flying down, picking flowers, and flying away before some baddie can choose how well done he wants his Tauren burger. Take note: Dwarves can not be Druids.</p>
<p><strong>XP Bonuses</strong>: Whatever you can get, take it. I have my toon in a guild that has Fast Track, level 2 which gives a 10% bonus to killing monsters and completing quests. Sure I&#8217;m not using it on the monsters, but now and then when I do quests, it&#8217;s helpful. I also have heirlooms on my toon. I had some cloth ones left over from leveling my mage and priest, and since I&#8217;m only using it for the XP bonus and not the item stats, I just sent them to her to use. I did not previously have a helm heirloom as my rep with my guild wasn&#8217;t high enough, but now that guild rep gains have been nerfed, I have it and I did buy her a leather helm heirloom. I don&#8217;t care if she matches! Lastly for XP bonus is of course RESTED XP. Do not discount this. It&#8217;s 200% and when you can&#8217;t kill stuff or do most quests (because they all involve killing stuff) missing out on that extra XP is very noticeable.</p>
<p><strong>Tips:</strong> I would recommend obtaining a Gnomish Army Knife which you might find on your auction house or get an engineer friend to make for you. You no longer need a mining pick, however having one gives a +10 to Mining. A Gnomish Army Knife gives +10 to Mining <em>and</em> Herbalism. (And also Skinning, but again, not really an option). Herbalism will give you Lifebloom, a healing spell. Put it on your action bar and use it, it&#8217;s better than nothing. If you&#8217;re playing a Druid (or another class that can heal) you&#8217;ll eventually get other  healing spells as well, remember to put them on your action bar as well. Remove any combat spell that auto-adds to your bar, best not to even be able to accidentally hit it. You can smelt the ore you mine which will increase your Mining skill, but it will not give you XP. I wouldn&#8217;t bother unless you have managed to out level the area you&#8217;re currently gathering herbs in. Unsmelted ore will still sell on the auction house. Think about where you&#8217;re leveling. Most levels have multiple zone options on both factions, but not all are equal. For instance I found that my survivability was MUCH higher in Durotaur than it was in Mulgore. In Durotaur it seems to be a lot easier to avoid things that come after me. I have not tried out Tirisfal Glades or Eversong Woods yet.</p>
<p>Finally I would say, again, this is a very challenging way to play. You die. A lot. By level 3 I had died 21 times. No kidding. I&#8217;m now level 8 and that death rate has slowed down, though that is thanks to changing zones and Brewfest giving me &#8220;free&#8221; XP for dailies. Still while I was dying a lot I thought I was nuts for trying this and considered quitting many times. Keep playing though, it&#8217;s not a challenge for nothing.</p>
<p>The post <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com/guide-to-pacifist-craft-getting-started/">Guide to Pacifist-craft: Getting Started</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com">Oh, A Girl Dragon</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Female Geek Heroes</title>
		<link>http://www.ohagirldragon.com/female-geek-heroes/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=female-geek-heroes</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 18 Sep 2012 23:19:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sabrina</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heroes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[science]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[space]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[technology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[women]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ohagirldragon.com/?p=169</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Sally Ride, the first US woman to go in to space, died at the end of July this year after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 61. Her name being in the news reminded about why I started this blog. In part it was to speak up for those of us women who [...]</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com/female-geek-heroes/">Female Geek Heroes</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com">Oh, A Girl Dragon</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_208" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 580px"><a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com/female-geek-heroes/boudica/" rel="attachment wp-att-208"><img class="size-medium wp-image-208 " title="boudica" src="http://ohagirldragon.com/wp-content/uploads/boudica-570x427.jpg" alt="" width="570" height="427" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Boudica and Her Daughters statue near Westminster Pier, London, commissioned by Prince Albert and executed by Thomas Thornycroft.<br />© Copyright <a href="http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/13090">Oxyman</a> and licensed for reuse under this <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">Creative Commons Licence</a></p></div>
<p>Sally Ride, the first US woman to go in to space, died at the end of July this year after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 61. Her name being in the news reminded about why I started this blog. In part it was to speak up for those of us women who appreciate things that are supposed to be the interest of men. Space travel, science, math, science fiction, video games, fantasy books, all these are things women and girls aren&#8217;t supposed to like. But yet, here we are. I thought I would highlight a few women who have inspired the rest of us throughout history.</p>
<h3>Sally Ride</h3>
<p>Sally Ride was an astronaut, the first woman in space. NASA, from its inception, was a boys club. I don&#8217;t doubt that <em>The Right Stuff</em> was an exaggeration at all. Yet she broke the barrier, made it in, and made it to space.</p>
<h3>Elizabeth Blackwell</h3>
<p>The first woman in the United States to receive a medical degree.</p>
<h3>Dian Fossey</h3>
<p>An American zoologist who studied gorillas in the jungles of Africa. She was famously portrayed by Sigourney Weaver in the movie, <em>Gorillas in the Mist</em>. Sadly, she was murdered in 1985, possibly by poachers she tried to protect the gorillas from. The case remains open.</p>
<h3>Jane Goodall</h3>
<p>Jane Goodall is a British scientist, considered by most to be the world&#8217;s foremost expert on chimpanzees.</p>
<h3>Boudica, Queen of the Iceni</h3>
<p>There&#8217;s several different spellings of Boudica&#8217;s name, but her history is this: In the mid 1st century A.D. Queen Boudica lead an uprising against the Roman empire. Unfortunately, she lost, but her memory lives on to inspire other women to fight on even when the odds are against you.</p>
<h3>Ada Byron</h3>
<p>Daughter of the poet Lord Byron and born in the early 19th century, Ada was the world&#8217;s first computer programmer. <a href="http://cs-www.cs.yale.edu/homes/tap/Files/ada-bio.html" target="_blank">No, really</a>.</p>
<h3>Felicia Day</h3>
<p><em>The</em> geek woman, though in pop culture. Created, writes, and stars in the web series <em>The Guild</em>, and created her own Geek video channel,<em> Geek &amp; Sundry</em>. Now, I am by no means saying that Felicia Day&#8217;s accomplishments are the same as the other women on this list. Yes it&#8217;s awesome that she&#8217;s done well for herself, but as awesome as that is, she&#8217;s not curing cancer, and I&#8217;m sure even she would agree on that count.</p>
<p>There are many, many other women out there that inspire the rest of us every day. It&#8217;s important to remember that there are many sources of inspiration and that we should continue to encourage women and girls to not let anyone tell them they can&#8217;t do something just because of their chromosomes.</p>
<p>What woman, living or dead, inspires you?</p>
<p>The post <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com/female-geek-heroes/">Female Geek Heroes</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com">Oh, A Girl Dragon</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>How Meta: Charity, Podcast, &amp; Other</title>
		<link>http://www.ohagirldragon.com/how-meta-charity-podcast-other/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=how-meta-charity-podcast-other</link>
		<comments>http://www.ohagirldragon.com/how-meta-charity-podcast-other/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 13 Sep 2012 00:57:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sabrina</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ohagirldragon.com/?p=205</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>I hate blog posts about the blogs that the post is written on. Sadly, it is sometimes a necessary evil. Extra Life Donation Drive You may have noticed an Extra Life donation drive button on the right side of my blog. On October 20 at 8AM Central I&#8217;ll be starting a 24 hour video game [...]</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com/how-meta-charity-podcast-other/">How Meta: Charity, Podcast, &#038; Other</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com">Oh, A Girl Dragon</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I hate blog posts about the blogs that the post is written on. Sadly, it is sometimes a necessary evil.</p>
<h2>Extra Life Donation Drive</h2>
<p>You may have noticed an Extra Life donation drive button on the right side of my blog. On October 20 at 8AM Central I&#8217;ll be starting a 24 hour video game marathon. I&#8217;m asking for folks to pledge to support me. All monies go to the Children&#8217;s Miracle Network hospital in my area. The default goal was $100, and since it was my first year doing this, I went with that not knowing if it was doable. I already surpassed that goal, but further donations are also appreciated. To donate please click on the widget or go to <a href="http://www.extra-life.org/participant/sabrinafaire" target="_blank">my fundraiser page here</a>.</p>
<h2>The Spline</h2>
<p>I started a new podcast called <a href="http://www.thespline.com" target="_blank">The Spline</a>. The topic is The Sims and SimCity, two games I really love. I couldn&#8217;t find an existing podcast about either of them, so I decided to start my own. Episode four was recorded this past weekend and is available for download. You can find it on iTunes and also Stitcher Radio. Check it out and let me know what you think.</p>
<h2>Female Friendly Guilds</h2>
<p>As always I&#8217;m always looking for female friendly MMO guilds to profile on the site. If you are a guild leader or officer of one, please contact me! It can be ANY game and your guild does not need to be female only.</p>
<h2>Independent SciFi or Fantasy Authors</h2>
<p>If you are an independent author writing in the SciFi or Fantasy genre, I would love to interview you here on Oh, A Girl Dragon. Please get in contact with me! The interview can be via email or IM, or if you&#8217;re interested, I can figure out how to do an audio interview!</p>
<p>The post <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com/how-meta-charity-podcast-other/">How Meta: Charity, Podcast, &#038; Other</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com">Oh, A Girl Dragon</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Trek &amp; Wars: Let&#8217;s Call The Whole Thing Off</title>
		<link>http://www.ohagirldragon.com/trek-wars-give-peace-a-chance/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=trek-wars-give-peace-a-chance</link>
		<comments>http://www.ohagirldragon.com/trek-wars-give-peace-a-chance/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 07 Sep 2012 22:59:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sabrina</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fantasy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Geekosphere]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science Fiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[star trek]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[star wars]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ohagirldragon.com/?p=201</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>OK Folks, we need to talk. I&#8217;m sure you&#8217;re aware that there&#8217;s this whole Star Trek vs. Star Wars and which one is better and why thing. Horsefeathers, I say! It needs to stop. You can not compare the two, it&#8217;s like apples and oranges. Yes, that&#8217;s right. Two different things. Star Trek is Science [...]</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com/trek-wars-give-peace-a-chance/">Trek &#038; Wars: Let&#8217;s Call The Whole Thing Off</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com">Oh, A Girl Dragon</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_202" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 580px"><a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com/trek-wars-give-peace-a-chance/coexist/" rel="attachment wp-att-202"><img class="size-medium wp-image-202" title="coexist" src="http://ohagirldragon.com/wp-content/uploads/coexist-570x217.jpg" alt="" width="570" height="217" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Original image by Brian Nielsen</p></div>
<p>OK Folks, we need to talk. I&#8217;m sure you&#8217;re aware that there&#8217;s this whole <em>Star Trek</em> vs. <em>Star Wars</em> and which one is better and why thing. Horsefeathers, I say! It needs to stop. You can not compare the two, it&#8217;s like apples and oranges.</p>
<p>Yes, that&#8217;s right. Two different things. <em>Star Trek</em> is Science Fiction. And yes, I&#8217;ll say it. <em>Star Wars</em> is <strong>not</strong>.</p>
<p>I will pause while you recover.</p>
<p>Don&#8217;t start thinking that this is some sort of secret ploy to draw you in while I bash <em>Star Wars</em> and tell you how much better <em>Star Trek</em> is, it&#8217;s not. I simply hold the opinion that <em>Star Wars</em>, while set in space, is not Science Fiction. Yes, it is set in a universe that is more technologically advanced than us, but that doesn&#8217;t make it Science Fiction. No, instead I believe that <em>Star Wars</em> is in fact a fantasy tale.</p>
<p>Have you heard this story before? A young man, orphaned, is living a very modest life. One day something happens and he learns the true identity of his parents. He leaves home and goes on an adventure meeting new friends, and eventually leads the fight against a supreme evil. Sound like <em>Star Wars</em>? Yeah, well I also just described <em>Wheel of Time</em>, <em>A Sword of Truth</em>, and <em>Harry Potter</em>. Among others, I&#8217;m sure. Along with that plot line <em>Star Wars</em> also has a princess, a pirate, several wizards, and bumbling comic relief. Still sound like Science Fiction?</p>
<p><em>Star Wars</em> being Fantasy and not Science Fiction isn&#8217;t a bad thing, it&#8217;s just a genre change. A paradigm shift. Nothing more.</p>
<p><em>Star Trek</em>, on the other hand, <em>is</em> Science Fiction. It&#8217;s set in a possible Earth future where we, as humans, have overcome problems and united for the betterment of all. Eh, for the most part. There&#8217;s no Force or other magical system, it&#8217;s entirely science based. Except for Q, but we can file that under &#8220;Science we haven&#8217;t figured out yet.&#8221; <em>Star Trek</em>, in fact, like most good science fiction, is a parable. Except for most holodeck episodes. It&#8217;s a story to helps us learn right from wrong, though usually at the expense of some other hapless and less enlightened race.</p>
<p>Thus, other than personal preference, there&#8217;s no reason to argue over which is better. If you liked apples better would you argue with an orange enthusiast? No, because it would be stupid to argue over the virtues of two different kinds of fruit when the only reason you like one over the other better is taste and texture. Neither of you is right and neither of you is wrong. The same is true for <em>Star Trek</em> and <em>Star Wars</em>. You can like both of them equally for what they are separately, or you can choose to like one over the other based solely on preference. But really, fighting over it is just silly.</p>
<p>The post <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com/trek-wars-give-peace-a-chance/">Trek &#038; Wars: Let&#8217;s Call The Whole Thing Off</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com">Oh, A Girl Dragon</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>How To Find A New Web Host</title>
		<link>http://www.ohagirldragon.com/how-to-find-a-new-web-host/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=how-to-find-a-new-web-host</link>
		<comments>http://www.ohagirldragon.com/how-to-find-a-new-web-host/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 29 Aug 2012 23:24:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sabrina</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ohagirldragon.com/?p=192</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Last week there was no post here at Oh, A Girl Dragon because I was moving the site to a new host. Setting up new hosting and transferring a site to a new host is something I&#8217;ve done more times than I care to admit to. Thus, I thought I would put together a how-to [...]</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com/how-to-find-a-new-web-host/">How To Find A New Web Host</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com">Oh, A Girl Dragon</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_193" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 260px"><a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com/how-to-find-a-new-web-host/www/" rel="attachment wp-att-193"><img class="size-full wp-image-193" title="http://www" src="http://ohagirldragon.com/wp-content/uploads/www.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="168" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Courtesy sxc.hu</p></div>
<p>Last week there was no post here at Oh, A Girl Dragon because I was moving the site to a new host. Setting up new hosting and transferring a site to a new host is something I&#8217;ve done more times than I care to admit to. Thus, I thought I would put together a how-to for anyone who is thinking of setting up a new website or transferring their current one.</p>
<h1>Decide What You Want &amp; Need</h1>
<p>Sit down and list this out. If you&#8217;ve never had a website before, this part can be very tricky. If you tell this to a sales person at a large hosting company, they may direct you to a larger package than what you really need. Think about what kind of site you&#8217;ll have. A business site that will offer things for sale needs to be a lot more robust than a business website that just has company information on it. A personal blog even less so. The top two things you need to keep in mind are bandwidth and storage space. You will also need databases, the amount of which vary based on what you will be doing with the site. Most hosts will let you upgrade your package mid-contract. Ask how this is done, if there are fees involved, and what you&#8217;d be looking at if there&#8217;s bandwidth overages. Underestimating your needs can be just as expensive as overestimating them.</p>
<h1>Get Recommendations</h1>
<p>Chances are you know a few people that have their own website. Ask them who they have and if they like them. Generally you&#8217;re locked into a contract for a year or two when you set up hosting so just because someone is using a host, doesn&#8217;t mean they like them.</p>
<h1>Bigger Is Not Necessarily Better, But Neither Is Smaller</h1>
<p>I&#8217;ve had large web hosts, the kind you see TV commercials and billboards for, and I&#8217;ve also had smaller &#8220;mom and pop&#8221; hosts. I can&#8217;t say one is better than the other. I&#8217;ve had good and bad experiences with both kinds. Each host needs to be evaluated individually, and not just on their size. In theory a large host has a large staff, possibly available 24 hours a day, and can fix things fast. On the other hand a small host might be more willing to do &#8220;hand holding&#8221; with setting things up. Even when you know how to install a copy of WordPress, sometimes it&#8217;s nice to let someone else do it. There&#8217;s trade offs for both types. A large host can afford to have very cheap packages, which makes them appealing. Small hosts might charge a little more but might be willing to work with you on your budget or even sometimes have a free options to those truly in need.</p>
<h1>Register Your Own Domain</h1>
<p>I am currently not following my own advice here but hear me out. Many moons ago I had a personal blog and I hosted on a site that catered to blogs and was quite popular. I paid quarterly because it was cheaper than monthly, but I couldn&#8217;t really afford to pay a whole year at once. One morning I woke up to an email from the head of the hosting company saying that they had gone out of business. They were very sorry, would work with new hosts to get our sites transferred, and would try to refund money. Like other bloggers I scrambled to get new hosting. Some hosts even had &#8220;refugee sales&#8221; for people who were left in the lurch. I was able to move my site within a few days without too much problem. A big part of this, I was the registrar of my own domain. (There&#8217;s a Seinfeld joke in there somewhere, I just know it) People who had let the now defunct host register their domain had to wait not just for help transfering their data, but also their domain. It added a layer of headache they didn&#8217;t need, and it could have been worse if the host had gone belly up and not been willing to help at all. They could have lost their data AND their domain. Anyone who&#8217;s tried to search for the &#8220;perfect&#8221; domain name knows how hard it is to get just the right one. Imagine finding the right one and then losing it.</p>
<p>As I said above, I&#8217;m the contact for my domain, but my host registered it for me. It&#8217;s part of the package. I&#8217;m not overly concerned because he seems like an honest person who would not screw me over. Plus I know the area he&#8217;s from and I bet if I asked around I could find someone who knows him and could rough him up. <img src='http://ohagirldragon.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';)' class='wp-smiley' />  Just kidding. Kind of.</p>
<h1>Don&#8217;t Ignore The Free Options</h1>
<p>You can have a blog at MyWhateverDomain.com and not pay for hosting. As I said above, some &#8220;regular&#8221; hosts have free options, but you can add a domain to other blogging websites like Blogger.com or WordPress.com usually for a small yearly fee. You give up some control with this such as what kind of plugins you can have or sometimes templates. However, it&#8217;s a cheap option if you want to have your own domain name but don&#8217;t want to take the leap into full time &#8220;real&#8221; hosting.</p>
<h1>Educate Yourself And Research, Research, Research</h1>
<p>Lastly, this is something I would recommend for just about anything. Whether you&#8217;re planning a wedding, buying a car, or setting up a web host. Research what you want and what hosts offer. Educate yourself on terms. Don&#8217;t know what bandwidth is? Don&#8217;t know your Apache from your SQL? Aren&#8217;t sure what a virtual host is? Google it! You don&#8217;t need to be an expert, but I would suggest figuring some of this stuff out so you aren&#8217;t going in blind. You can buy a car without knowing how to rebuild an engine, but you should know how the steering wheel is used.</p>
<p>Did I miss something? Thinking about setting up a host and have some questions? Leave a comment and let me know.</p>
<p>The post <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com/how-to-find-a-new-web-host/">How To Find A New Web Host</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com">Oh, A Girl Dragon</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Fall Geek TV Line-Up</title>
		<link>http://www.ohagirldragon.com/fall-geek-tv-line-up/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=fall-geek-tv-line-up</link>
		<comments>http://www.ohagirldragon.com/fall-geek-tv-line-up/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 17 Aug 2012 22:21:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sabrina</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Television]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ohagirldragon.com/?p=185</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>One of my favorite new shows from last year, Grimm, started up season 2 this past Monday. I was totally taken unawares. I thought I still had time. Alas, I did not. So I decided to write up a guide to return dates of shows that might appeal to my fellow geek. Please let me [...]</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com/fall-geek-tv-line-up/">Fall Geek TV Line-Up</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com">Oh, A Girl Dragon</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com/fall-geek-tv-line-up/grimmintertitle-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-189"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-189" title="grimmintertitle" src="http://ohagirldragon.com/wp-content/uploads/grimmintertitle1-570x322.png" alt="" width="570" height="322" /></a>One of my favorite new shows from last year, Grimm, started up season 2 this past Monday. I was totally taken unawares. I thought I still had time. Alas, I did not. So I decided to write up a guide to return dates of shows that might appeal to my fellow geek. Please let me know if I missed any. All times are Eastern, please check your local listings.</p>
<p>Being Human &#8211; Syfy, Returning in 2013, probably January that&#8217;s when last season and season one started</p>
<p>The Big Bang Theory &#8211; CBS, Thursday, September 27 at 8PM</p>
<p>Castle &#8211; ABC, Monday, September 24 at 10PM</p>
<p>Community &#8211; NBC, Friday, October 19 at 8:30PM</p>
<p>CSI: Crime Scene Investigation &#8211; CBS, Wednesday, September 26, at 10PM</p>
<p>CSI: New York &#8211; CBS, Friday, September 28 at 8PM</p>
<p>Doctor Who &#8211; BBCA, Saturday, August 18 at 9PM</p>
<p>Face Off &#8211; Syfy, Tuesday, August 21 at 9PM</p>
<p>Falling Skies &#8211; TNT, Sunday, August 19 at 9PM</p>
<p>Fringe &#8211; Fox, Friday, September 28 at 9PM</p>
<p>Ghost Adventures &#8211; Travel, Friday, September 14 at 9PM</p>
<p>Ghost Hunters &#8211; Syfy, Wednesday, September 5 at 9PM</p>
<p>Grimm &#8211; NBC RETURNED!!! Mondays at 10PM</p>
<p>How I Met Your Mother &#8211; CBS, Monday, September 24 at 8PM</p>
<p>Keeping Up With The Kardashians &#8211; HAHAHAHAHA Just kidding.</p>
<p>Modern Family &#8211; ABC, Wednesday, September 26 at 9PM</p>
<p>The Office &#8211; NBC, Thursday, September 20 at 9PM</p>
<p>Once Upon A Time &#8211; ABC, Sunday, September 30 at 8PM</p>
<p>Parks &amp; Recreation &#8211; NBC, Thursday, September 20 at 9:30PM</p>
<p>Revolution &#8211; NBC, Monday, September 17 at 10PM &#8211; NEW SHOW</p>
<p>Robot Chicken &#8211; Adult Swim, Sunday, September 9 at 11:59PM</p>
<p>The Walking Dead &#8211; AMC, Sunday, October 14 at 9PM</p>
<p>If you&#8217;re wondering about other shows I might not have listed, check out <a href="http://www.thefutoncritic.com/guide/when-does-insert-show-name-here-come-back/" target="_blank">The Futon Critic&#8217;s Guide</a>.</p>
<p>The post <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com/fall-geek-tv-line-up/">Fall Geek TV Line-Up</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com">Oh, A Girl Dragon</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Wish I Was Going: Geek Girl Con 2012</title>
		<link>http://www.ohagirldragon.com/geek-girl-con-2012/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=geek-girl-con-2012</link>
		<comments>http://www.ohagirldragon.com/geek-girl-con-2012/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Aug 2012 17:13:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sabrina</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Conventions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cons]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conventions]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ohagirldragon.com/?p=177</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>If you are going to be in the Seattle area this weekend, check out Geek Girl Con. As one might assume, this is a Con for Geek Girls, and this is their second annual Con. Don&#8217;t dismiss this event as sewing lessons and pink Millennium Falcons. Actually there are sewing lessons, but do you know any of [...]</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com/geek-girl-con-2012/">Wish I Was Going: Geek Girl Con 2012</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com">Oh, A Girl Dragon</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com/geek-girl-con-2012/ggc250/" rel="attachment wp-att-179"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-179" title="Geek Girl Con" src="http://ohagirldragon.com/wp-content/uploads/ggc250.png" alt="" width="250" height="250" /></a>If you are going to be in the Seattle area this weekend, check out Geek Girl Con. As one might assume, this is a Con for Geek Girls, and this is their second annual Con. Don&#8217;t dismiss this event as sewing lessons and pink Millennium Falcons. Actually there are sewing lessons, but do you know any of us that would really want a pink Millennium Falcon?</p>
<p>GGC is put on by a group of volunteers and &#8220;celebrates and honors the legacy of women contributing to science and technology; comics, arts, and literature; and game play and game design by connecting geeky women world-wide and creating community to foster continued growth of women in geek culture through events.&#8221; Not only do they celebrate the female geek, but they don&#8217;t ask for geek cred at the door. They aren&#8217;t going to make you prove yourself or put up with catty bullshit that has cropped up in some geek circles lately. And just because they are Geek Girl Con, doesn&#8217;t mean that they are going to be burning effigys of males to symbolize throwing off the yolk of oppression or whatever. Or maybe they are, but it&#8217;s not on the programming list.</p>
<p>Speaking of the programming list, there is an array of panels over the two day event. Special guests include Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Ahsoka Tano on <em>Star Wars: The Clone Wars</em>. If I were going, I&#8217;d be making sure I went to Expressing Your Creativity Through Audio, “Go Make Me A Sandwich”: Barriers to Women’s Participation in Online and Fan Spaces, Gender and Race in the 74th Hunger Games, and Tech Jobs You Never Knew You Wanted. The list of cool stuff happening goes on. I would probably be loathe to figure out which to go to and which to skip and also how to eat with so much cool stuff happening. Dammit I really wish I was going.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s a ton of awesomeness wrapped up in two days in the Pacific Northwest. While there are hopes of having other GGCs in other areas, right now they are just in Seattle. Last year I couldn&#8217;t go because they made the unfortunate mistake of putting the Con on my anniversary. This year they scheduled it while I have other plans. Seriously they need to consult my schedule for next year so that I can go.</p>
<p>Geek Girl Con is this weekend, August 11-12, 2012 at The Conference Center (most boring name for a conference center ever) in downtown Seattle, WA. If you would like more information on ticket prices, hotel, directions, or how to help out or maybe get involved for next year, visit their website at <a href="http://www.geekgirlcon.com">GeekGirlCon.com</a></p>
<p>The post <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com/geek-girl-con-2012/">Wish I Was Going: Geek Girl Con 2012</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com">Oh, A Girl Dragon</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Pain, Pain Go Away</title>
		<link>http://www.ohagirldragon.com/pain-pain-go-away/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=pain-pain-go-away</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Aug 2012 16:16:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sabrina</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ohagirldragon.com/?p=172</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>I have talked a bit here about how OAGD was delayed due to pain issues I had last fall. Correction. Continue to have. Last October I woke up in the middle of the night with a thigh cramp. I jumped out of bed to stretch and in the process caused a disc in my neck [...]</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com/pain-pain-go-away/">Pain, Pain Go Away</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com">Oh, A Girl Dragon</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_173" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 410px"><a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com/?attachment_id=173" rel="attachment wp-att-173"><img class="size-full wp-image-173" title="Wong_pain_scale" src="http://ohagirldragon.com/wp-content/uploads/Wong_pain_scale.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="103" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Wong Baker Pain Scale</p></div>
<p>I have talked a bit here about how OAGD was delayed due to pain issues I had last fall. Correction. Continue to have. Last October I woke up in the middle of the night with a thigh cramp. I jumped out of bed to stretch and in the process caused a disc in my neck to bulge and hit a nerve. Likely it was already bulging and the quick jump up just sealed the deal.</p>
<p>At first, and for a few months afterwards, I was in searing pain all the time. Narcotic pain relievers do nothing for me. The only thing that worked, really, was ibuprofen, and I was taking 800 mg of that 3 times a day. Even so, that only took the edge off. I stopped taking it regularly in January as it can mess up your stomach if you take it long term. My pain is still present, though not as intense, and most days I don&#8217;t take anything for it. I have seen a few doctors, am in my third round of physical therapy, and am trying acupuncture. So far, nothing is working. If you have experienced chronic pain, you know my frustrations. If you haven&#8217;t, I hope you never do. It&#8217;s a constant thing that never leaves you and people don&#8217;t believe you, including sometimes people that are close to you and your doctors. Imagine being in pain 24 hours a day and your doctor thinks you&#8217;re just trying to get drugs out of him. Frustrating, no?</p>
<p>But my point here is not to complain and whine about my pain problems. There&#8217;s been a study done on chronic pain. And it&#8217;s shown that there&#8217;s something different in the brain of people who experience chronic pain over those who have similar injuries and who&#8217;s pain goes away. The proximity of two regions in the brain basically <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/03/news/la-heb-chronic-pain-brain-20120702" target="_blank">train the brain to feel pain</a>. Which goes along with my personal theory that pain begets pain &#8211; the more pain you are in, the more pain you will be in, it&#8217;s like it feeds off itself and if the cycle of pain is not interrupted, it will simply continue.</p>
<p>So what does that mean for pain sufferers? Well for chronic pain sufferers, not much at the moment. But it does mean that Science has not forgotten us and that they are researching ways to hopefully, eventually, make things better.</p>
<p>The post <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com/pain-pain-go-away/">Pain, Pain Go Away</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.ohagirldragon.com">Oh, A Girl Dragon</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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