Stitches and traitorous chickens

I've been working through the new version of .TEXT for much of the day, trying to convert this to a usable RSS feed. Unfortunately, I've run into to problems. The first is NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE. If you haven't installed Windows Server 2003, just wait until your SQL Server-based Webs start returning this as a login error. There are about 1000 suggested ways to fix this, each of them not quite working. I finally got that part working (by adding the account to the list of SQL Server logins and granting it permissions on the blog database), but now I have another problem.

For some reason, my NetGear router can't figure out LAN requests to my domain. When I go to cynicor.com from anywhere, it passes through to my Web server just fine. When I go to cynicor.com (or even my IP address) from the LAN side of the router, it goes to the router's Web-based interface instead of passing back through on port 80. Going to my server's internal name works fine, but only from the LAN side (naturally). NetGear won't answer me to explain this bug in their firmware, and it causes problems with software like .TEXT. I don't want to add cynicor.com as a local address to the host files on my LAN machines, because I travel with some of them. Anyone else have this problem? Drop me a line.

I also got my stitches out today. It was relatively quick - a seam ripper, a dab of iodine, another five days on antibiotics, and I'm good to go. They gave me Levaquin, which can cause “minor” side effects like “ruptures of the shoulder, hand, or Achilles tendon,” “phototoxicity,” “convulsions,” and most minor of all, “suicidal thoughts or acts.” I also got a new bandage for the stitch area, which managed to sneak itself down my leg by the time I hit Citarella. Deep flesh wounds look a lot better when they're displayed prominently above two feet of loose, streaming gauze in a fine foods market. But hey, Cotswold cheese.

The Amagansett Fire Department is hosting a chicken dinner in a week, and they're advertising this event with a sign that highlights a chicken on it. The bird has one “hand” on its hip, while the other one makes an "OK!" sign. THIS ISN'T CUTE. This is ghastly. He's inviting us to feast on what might be family members - siblings, children, who knows? - and all he can do is tell us that it's OK! What would compel him to sell out his own like this? What evil brainwashing cult is the Amagansett FD perpetrating?