Hello 
I'm Siobhan Curran/Kisa Naumova, and this is my weblog. I tend to write about stuff like crossdressing, Macs, code, cats, wine and Second Life, but in general it's just an ongoing conversation about all sorts of stuff. If you'd like to know a little bit more about what this all is, I recommend starting on this page which has a little bit of info on who I am, and what I'm trying to do — or you could dive into my five years worth of archives if you like.
Otherwise, feel free to close this box and explore...
Casualty
Rather gutted with myself. I broke one of the straps on my favouritest ever little purple dress last night — possibly through some over-enthusiatic drunken manoeuvre.
Fortunately, I think this one is repairable.
Currantly
Well, I never knew! 
And I've been drinking that particular deitific nectar for quite a year, now!
The best place in New York City for Guinness is a place on 35th St, just off 7th Avenue. (I forget the name, sorry. I went there because the barkeep was a decent chap, and he could pour a pint of Guinness like no one!)
Oh: I did qualify for a 'gold' glass, once. A long time ago, in a country far away (3,000 miles — that's pretty far, I think), I drank a reasonable quantity of the aforementioned diet drink, and the Guinness Rep gave John (the pub owner) and myself "special" glasses. It was quite the "thing" to have a beer poured into a special glass when on a date... )
Right now, I'm enjoying another deitific nectar: Macallan's 12 year old. (Sorry, I'd didn't think you were actually interested! I'm rambling... I'm tired.)
Carolyn Ann
@ Carolyn Ann: Mmm ... I've just had a nice large Jamiesons with a dash of water
Years ago, I usually had my lunch at an Irish pub-restaurant just down Broad St, near Wall St. The landlord used to give me his "special" Jamiesons — the one he kept under the counter. That was good stuff!
Turning into work on wobbly legs was all the rage then; expense accounts were loaded with booze-sodden lunches (including mine), and sobriety wasn't quite deemed a character-flaw. It's a wonder we got anything done! (This was just pre-dot-com...)
Carolyn Ann
The head remains
Guinness stout is made from water, barley malt, hops, and brewers yeast. A portion of the barley is flaked (i.e. steamed and rolled) and roasted to give Guinness its dark-ruby colour and characteristic taste. It is pasteurised and filtered. Despite its reputation as a "meal in a glass", Guinness only contains 198 calories (838 kilojoules) per imperial pint (20oz UK) (1460 kJ/L), fewer than an equal-sized serving of skimmed milk or orange juice and most other non-light beers.
The water used comes from Lady's Well in the Wicklow Mountains. The barley used is Irish-grown.
Draught Guinness and its canned counterpart contain nitrogen as well as carbon dioxide. Nitrogen is very much less soluble than carbon dioxide, which allows the beer to be put under high pressure without making it fizzy. The high pressure of dissolved gas is required both to enable very small bubbles to be formed and to force the draught beer through fine holes in a plate in the tap, which causes the characteristic "surge" (the widget in cans and bottles achieves the same effect). The perceived smoothness of draught Guinness is due to its low level of carbon dioxide and the creaminess of the head caused by the very fine bubbles that arise from the use of nitrogen and the dispensing method described above. "Original Extra Stout" tastes quite different; it contains only carbon dioxide, causing a more acidic taste.
Although Guinness may appear to be black, it is officially a very dark shade of ruby — just like your dress!