Feb 6, 2011 | General Chit-Chat |
So as you can tell I decided to move to WordPress – so far so good. I got it installed and a template picked and most of the options setup – yay! I also got all the old posts transferred over and am going to start working on the replys. I think I can do this just by posting as a guest and using your emails – so don’t be surprised if you appear on this site but don’t remember visiting here before 🙂
I have some posts ready to go so once I finish the transition there should be a goodly amount of new and exciting material to read. I also think WordPress will be an easier medium going forward so it won’t be that difficult to keep up on new posts. I configured an email-to-post addon too so I am excited to try it out! I am also looking into a facebook connector so when I do get a new post up it will automatically update my facebook status. For now you can subscribe to the RSS feed so you will never miss one of my genius thoughts!
I wanted a good picture for this first post on the new site – one that really defines “me” so obviously I searched for “Unicorn and Cats” and there are a surprising amount of cat + unicorn pictures on the internet. I couldn’t pick just one so I hope you enjoy the mini gallery of this post. Also – let me know what you think of the awesome screw-like horn on the Unicorn below. Those two are obviously a Pegasus-killing team!! Go Team Kittycorn!
Anyway – talk to yall soon!
Jan 25, 2011 | General Chit-Chat |
I have some new blogs ready to post but I have been holding off while I make a decision about this site.
I’m thinking of moving this blog from SMF (which is an awesome message board system) to WordPress which from what I hear from friends is great for straight blogging – which is more of what I do here anyway. It should allow me to keep the site more up to date – both in terms of blogs and patches and allow the use of some pretty cool mods. I am looking forward most to an easy to use and install spam control which should decrease the amount of time I am in here deleteing posts and increase the amount of time I can actually post new blogs.
I do want to give a shout out to SMF because I love there system and if I ever need a forum system (which, with the amount of video games I play will happen sooner rather then later) I will be sure to choose them. Its just a little bigger then I need right now.
If I do switch I am going to try and save the blog posts and responses. At the very least I will be able to save the posts but lose the responses that you guys made. The polls will probably be lost since I’m not sure how to migrate those but that might be okay, since the Unicorn vs Pegasus Poll was obviously hacked (there is NO way a pegasus is better than a unicorn!!)
So stay tuned guys, I hope to be up and running on a new system in the next week or two. I appreciate your continued support!
Jan 4, 2011 | Current Events, Philsophy, Politics |
The holiday season for 2010 is done and I am left reflecting on something I never gave much thought before – Thank You Cards. That’s not to say I don’t thank people for my gifts but I don’t know if I ever wrote formal notes. I still don’t now. More importantly, when I was younger, if someone wasn’t in the vicinity when I opened my gift, I wouldn’t say thank you at all.
I remember once when I was younger being scolded for not sending a thank you note to one of my relatives. I was told that if I didn’t start sending thank yous I would stop receiving gifts. After that, fear of being cut off made me to be sure to thank the giver in some manner, although I still saw it as a bit of a unnecessary endeavor.
However, the older I get the more I identify with the tyrannical rule of my elders.
These last few years I have become more and more disgruntled at people who do not acknowledge the gifts I send them. I am not expecting a handwritten note or anything so formal. A text, facebook IM, phone call, email, or any of the other many means of communication would be fine.
I find it interesting that I am now annoyed by the very thing I used to do. Is it because I am older now and see the error of my ways? Is it a biological clock thing? Is it just turning into a crotchety old lady?
After sending a gift and hearing nothing back, my first concern is that you didn’t get the gift at all. The second thought is more selfish – did you like it? Wasn’t it great?
If you didn’t like it that’s ok, but I am still hurt when I don’t hear back. I feel like you don’t like me personally. That your dislike of the gift is a mirror of what you feel toward me. I wonder if my relative felt the same way?
This isn’t just from individuals either, I have donated to many nonprofit organizations both big and small. Some will send a thank you note or email while others just ignore me. I’d like to think the money I give your cause is going to something special – even if I know logically its going into a big fund. I like to receive thank you notes detailing all the items my money will be used for or just thanking me in general for supporting the cause.
This may be selfish, and reading it back it definitely comes off that way. I’m not looking for a gift back, all I’m really looking for is a “Got the gift, thanks!” I think we all want to be recognized for the things we do and as much as I try to fight against it I too need that recognition. I find it interesting that I need something so primal, and I do try to work against it. I mean, in reality I do not know the other side of the story about why thanks wasn’t sent – I am too busy focus on myself and the irrational perception that I have somehow been wronged.
In the end I realize that what I feel is irrational emotion so I don’t act on it. I will not stop sending gifts nor will I require a thank you. I think it’s important to examine our knee-jerk reactions to see how we can better ourselves. Sometimes just looking at something under the microscope highlights just how silly it is.
But what do you guys think? Do you feel bad when you don’t get a thank you note? Does it change how you interact with those people/organization?
Dec 10, 2010 | Current Events, General Chit-Chat |
So for whatever reason I get the National Geographic Holiday Catalog.
Not sure what I donated to or signed up for that got me this but I don’t mind – it makes me feel sophisticated.
I imagine it like
“For Buffy and Jeeves I got matching hand knitted sweaters made by Himalayan Sherpas”,
as I drink tea with my pinky finger out.
Anyways, as I was paging through I noticed that on page 58 Tom got this lovely puzzle from Debs for his birthday:
But then on page 65 he got this other puzzle from Beth:
Hmmm, seems like someone has been playing both sides of the fence!
How do I know its the same Tom? What other Tom do you know that likes puzzles??
Nov 28, 2010 | Business, Philsophy |
I wasn’t concerned about this, but now I am…..
Nov 2, 2010 | Philsophy, Politics, Polls |
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Oct 31, 2010 | Bright Ideas, Current Events, General Chit-Chat |
When we first got our apartment I had big dreams of being the friendly apartment who handed out candy to all the kids. Sadly, no one trick-or-treated in our apartment complex so we had to eat the candy ourselves. (We actually ended up returning a lot of it too)
So when we bought our house I was super excited to actually have trick-or-treaters!! I always loved going out as a kid, then sorting and counting my haul later. (I never really ate the candy as a kid, just sorted and counted…)
K also had fond memories of trick-or-treating when he was a kid. He was in a more rural area so he especially remembered the houses that would give out full size candy bars. So we decided that’s what we wanted to do.
The first year we gave out full sized bars it was a huge hit. Kids were all very excited, some to the point of changing costumes and coming back a second time. (Yes these were the teenagers). The next year we did it again and we were already developing our reputation. We’d hand out the bars and the kids would tell their friends “see I told you!”. Excellent!! The third year K actually had to run out halfway to buy more since we were such a popular house!
So the fourth year we decided to up the ante to KING SIZED bars. I’ve never heard such squeals of delight from both boys and girls. We even got a few parents who came up to the house to get in on the action. So here we are, year #5 and the king sized bars are back! There is no greater joy then watching a kid walk away from your house screaming “Look Dad its KING-SIZED!”
Now a lot of planning goes into pulling something like this off. We want to avoid having to go out halfway to buy more candy, we want to make sure we get stuff the kids actually like, and we need to keep track of what we are pilfering from the fund. So last year we started keeping a log of what we bought, the weather, times of trick-or-treating, what we took, etc.
2009 –
Weather: Clear but coldish. Forcast from www.weather.com
Trick-or-Treat was from 1pm-4pm, kids came to about 5pm
12:05 PM Cloudy 43°F
From W 12mph
1:05 PM Cloudy 42°F
From W 9mph
2:05 PM Cloudy 43°F
From W 9mph
3:05 PM Cloudy 44°F
From W 10mph
4:05 PM Cloudy 45°F
From WNW 6mph
5:05 PM Cloudy 44°F
From W 12mph
We had 4 boxes of king-sized bars (kit kat, snickers, twix, reeses peanut butter cups) and used them all.
Each box was 24 ct
2 peanut butter cups went into the “j-fund”, 1 kit kat bar went into the “k-fund”
We also had 1 box of regular sized caramello bars (36 count) and used 29.
Twix and Reeses Cups were most popular, followed by Kit-Kat.
Twix was probably the more popular of the two, but they were very close.
Snickers were the least popular of the king-sized bars with many kids asking to trade them in for other types. Only 1 kid asked for snickers by name
Kids weren’t given a choice on the caramellos (they were saved until we ran out of other candy) but upon eating the leftovers decided they weren’t very good. (low quality chocolate)
For 2010 trick-or treating is from 2pm-6pm (+1 hour from last year), its on a sunday and the weather is forecast to be high of 50, low of 45 – a bit warmer then last year. So I’m expecting more kids. We ditched the snickers and caramellos this year and went with Butterfingers (what can I say I love them) and peanut butter m&ms. We also doubled up on Reeses and Twix. We purchased an additional 2 boxes of king sized bars. This gives us 6 king sized boxes and 1 regular sized box. I’ll let you know how it goes. 🙂
« Reply #1 on: October 31, 2010, 01:54:13 PM »
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So far its going well – Reeses have an early lead as the favorite, but Kit kat and Twix are also doing well.
Some of the kids are asking to trade their candy for others which is fine. I let them do that.
Several have already run away from the house screaming about the king-sized bars – so yay!
right now the temp is 48 degrees but it feels like 52 according to accuweather.com
Kids have been relatively steady since 2pm.
Will try to update again later!
« Reply #2 on: October 31, 2010, 03:01:37 PM »
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OK its 3:56, and accuweather says its still 49 degrees, but the sun is shining into my house so it feels more like 80.
By 3pm we were onto the second box of Twix and Reese’s. By 3:30 we were out of Butterfingers (esentially…there is 1 left but I am not giving it up until I have to!) by 3:45 we were out of Kit Kat.
I’m getting a little nervous now, however the flood of kids seems to have died down a little so that is good.
One kids tried to get double treats…gotta watch out for those sneaky ones – greedy little bastard! Another one told me a story about her sister who needed some treats. I asked how I could know she had a sister and her friends backed her up so I gave her one. I had to make some pre-teen boys explain their costumes cause they were everyday clothes….apparently they were characters from video games. Weak but I let it slide.
Interestingly several kids have asked for Hershey’s by name…will have to consider that for next year.
Oct 15, 2010 | General Chit-Chat, Hobbies, Travels |
Saw this at the Mall today – its a window display where the mannequins are being flanked by flying cats. Flying cats in a superman pose to be percise. Not angel type wings either – I would describe them more as seagull wings.
Weirdest Display Ever.
I wish I could tell you the name of the store but their font was so crazy I couldn’t read it. Also I was mesmerized by the flying cats….
I just noticed that the window text in the picture says “Magic Cats”
I need to talk to their Marketing Director…..
Jul 14, 2010 | Hobbies |
This is one of the best desserts I have made up with leftovers in my house ever. Basically the idea was hatched after I bought 2 boxes of Sweet N Sara Vegan Marshmallows in anticipation of rice krispie treats. I made a batch and everyone thought they were good but not necessarily good enough for a second batch. Now let me just point out that these marshmallows are delicious and good enough to just eat or make smores with or whatever but I’m trying to be creative so I wanted to up my game.
K threw out some ideas of things that would be good on marshmallows – peanut butter, chocolate – so I tasked him with creating a delicious treat that I could scarf.
sorry for the bad picture, it was taken with an iphone.
So the basic construction is a Sweet N Sara Vegan Marshmallow, dab of peanut butter, with chocolate drizzled over the top. If you want to spice it up you can add a Keebler Town House Flipsides cracker to the bottom but this step is totally optional
These treats are best enjoyed at room temperature and the name (thought up by K) is because they are so delicious they are almost deadly!! (However you absolutely must try them!!)
So the recipe (no exact measurements, its all kinda to taste)
Sweet n Sara Vegan Marshmallows Original Flavor
Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
Smuckers Natural Peanut Butter Creamy
Keebler Town House Flipside Crackers Original Flavor (optional)
On a baking sheet or plate, place the marshmallows separated from each other. (If you want to utilize the crackers, place them under the marshmallows at this point, we did half a cracker per “mushroom”) Place a teaspoon of peanut butter on top of the marshmallow. Put in the refrigerator.
In a small saucepan melt 1 cup of chocolate chips over the stove. You need to stir constantly and watch it close or it will break. You could use a double boiler here if you have one (or stack two pots like we do). You can also add a bit of heavy cream or milk to the mixture (start with a teaspoon, stir, add more if necessary) to help the chips melt.
when the chocolate is melted take the Mushrooms in training out of the fridge. Pour a bit of chocolate (about a tablespoon) over the top of the mushroom so it coats the peanut butter and top of the marshmallow and starts to drip down the side.
Let cool so chocolate hardens before eating and enjoy! For storage keep them in an airtight container and put them in the fridge. Let them warm up a bit before eating them, but slightly chilled is ok (marshmallow should be soft, but chocolate shouldn’t be melting).
I couldn’t tell you how long they last because we ate them all that day…..
Some things we tried we didn’t like
freezing the mushrooms – made them too hard
eating them while they were hot – made them too gooey
Some adjustments we might make the next time
Different peanut butter – chunky was suggested although that is not my favorite
graham crackers
Sweeter chips – I felt the bittersweet chips were a good mix but a sweeter chip may bring out more of the salty in the peanut butter
Let me know if you try them out and what you think. If you make any adjustments to the recipe let me know I’d love to try it out!!
Jun 16, 2010 | General Chit-Chat |
PCat sent this in…..not something I would look forward to sitting on!!
“Barbed wire encased in acrylic. Scary toilet seat! The lovely decor at the “7B Ranch” restaurant in Frankston, Texas.” –PCat
Apr 13, 2010 | Polls |
If you like peanut butter, you must try the fresh ground honey roasted peanut butter from Whole Foods. Trust me – its not to be missed!
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Mar 22, 2010 | Current Events, Media |
This was sent in by reader Carmie Jo who found it in the latest WIRED magazine while pooping!
Mar 12, 2010 | Polls |
The answer options for this poll are totally unbiased and neutral. Anyone who disagrees is a savage monkey.
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Feb 28, 2010 | Current Events |
With the Winter Olympics in full swing I am bombarded every day on Bing.com with images of various Olympic type things. Things I don’t really care about like how many medals we have or whether the US Bobsled team is winning.
Like most celebrity driven Americans I care about the good stuff – like when Tonya Harding clubbed Nancy Kerrigan or Scotty Lago let that fan chew on his medal. (Note to Olympic committee: what did you expect from a snowboarder…seriously….)
I don’t want to give the impression its all about the gossip. There are some wholesome things I like about the Olympics and I think this video from Hammerfall featuring the Swedish Women’s Olympic Curling Team 2006 is the best example of that.
An oldie but goodie – make sure your sound is up for this classic then let me know what you think.
Feb 9, 2010 | Polls |
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Feb 6, 2010 | Literature |
I have just finished reading this book by JRR Tolkien and I think its some of my favorite works since Hobbit/Lord of the Rings. This compilation contains 4 novellas and 1 book of poems:
Farmer Giles of Ham
Leaf by Niggle
Smith of Wootton Major
Roverandom
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil(poems)
The four stories do not take place in the well known Middle Earth and only Roverandom comes even close to mentioning it. They all contain a bit of “magic” in terms of wizards, fairies, elves, dragons, etc.
By far my favorite story in this book was Roverandom which is a about a little dog who bit a wizard and was turned into a toy as punishment and the hijinks that ensue. The dog, originally named Rover, meets a moon-dog and a mer-dog both also named Rover so to distinguish him they take to calling him Roverandom. The story is rich in its descriptions and really pulls you in to not only the scenery but the thoughts and attitudes of this little dog who must learn his lesson and make amends to be turned back into a real dog. The story is touching and uplifting. Even if you don’t get this compilation I suggest you find this story on your own and read it.
My least favorite was The Adventures of Tom Bombadil which was disappointing since his appearance in The Lord of The Rings is one of my favorite parts. The poems are said to be written by various people – Tom himself, Sam Gamgee, Bilbo, etc. The poems didn’t do much to further my knowledge or interest in Middle Earth. I am not sure if this is because I have already read much about Middle Earth, I don’t like poems, or they weren’t very good – I will leave that up to you to decide.
The other 3 tales: Farmer Giles of Ham, Leaf by Niggle, and Smith of Wootton Major were great in their interest and story. They all contain elements of an underdog who rises to the occasion when called upon and becomes a hero – even though they aren’t searching for that type of fame nor do they particularly want it. I felt Leaf by Niggle struck close to home since he puts his own feelings and interests on hold to help his neighbors, friends, and family who don’t seem to really appreciate it. I think we all have a little bit of “Niggle” in us and we have to be careful to balance our needs with the needs of others. This goes both ways – we can’t be overly helpful but we also shouldn’t be selfish. Life is a balance and in the end everyone works together – whether we know it or not.
If you are interested in purchasing this book I recommend Amazon: Tales from the Perilous Realm or if you’d just like to check out Roverandom
Jan 6, 2010 | General Chit-Chat, Media |
Came across this ditty while drying off after a shower.
Now I know where all my aunts live so I think I would like to collect them myself and save on shipping.
Jan 6, 2010 | Bright Ideas, Philsophy |
Saw this in a public bathroom today. Its a chair you can strap you kid into while you on the toilet. Two things here:
Is the bathroom stall really that big that you can’t keep an eye on your kid in there?
Maybe I am shy but I don’t think I could go when a little kid whose strapped into a chair is staring at me. It just brings it to a new level of weird.
Jan 4, 2010 | Bright Ideas, General Chit-Chat |
So I came up with the idea of this website almost 3 years ago, registered the domain name (1/18/2007!!), then did nothing. Then I thought about it again, installed SMF, setup the forums, then did nothing. Then I remembered it, upgraded SMF, installed the template, set permissions then did nothing.
This cycle of laziness continued until tonight when I decided to write my opening post to outline the vision and mission of this website and clear the way for my “blogging” or “bathroom logging”
The basic idea behind this website is that everyone – everyone! – has great ideas in the bathroom, no matter what you are doing in there. I wonder how many times the federal budget has been balanced or cancer has been cured while someone has been doing their hair or taking a crap. The problem with all these great ideas is that once you leave the vortex of the bathroom – poof! – your good ideas disappear.
Enter the internet!! Well not just the internet, but also the means to communicate from anywhere anytime via laptops, netbooks, mobile phones, etc. Now not only can you capture your moments of clarity but you can also post them for the world to see.
So in closing, welcome to my site of in theory genius ideas! Feel free to comment on my posts or share great ideas of your own.
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