Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Puppy Sign

The magic of Stumbleupon brought me to this amusing photo originally hosted on fantm.com:


I have to admit, as far as threats go, its a clever way to remind folks to keep their kids in check.

Hell, even if they only follow through on the Espresso, it will guarantee the parent learns a valuable lesson.

Monday, August 20, 2007

WTF??? Tree Ripe Grape Juice??

Yes, I know, it's a brand name, but all I can think about when I see this is that grapes do NOT grow on trees!

Lunch

Lunch consisted of some leftover stuffed peppers. The peppers came from the recent Farm Share. The filling was made from pearl buckwheat, ground turkey, mushrooms, onion and diced zucchini.



To make this lovely dish:

Preheated the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit

Wash, halve and hollow the peppers.

Peel and Dice

Brown the ground turkey in a 12 inch skillet using just a dash of olive oil.

Remove the ground turkey to a bowl using a slotted spoon.

Using the turkey fat still in the pan, brown the diced onions. When done, remove them to the bowl with the ground turkey.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

The article "4 (Harmless) Ways to Make a Man Jealous" is a blueprint for how to be a vapid, pathetic "partner." Head games like this are not the building blocks of a healthy long term relationship, but the way in which short term, high drama abortions get lionized and relabeled as "relationships." The article above won't contribute to a relationship, it will merely help degrade it.

I can't help but wonder who David Zinczenko thinks less of, men or women. The article makes it clear he thinks men are easily manipulated morons whose feelings exist only to be toyed with for a woman's own ends. On the flip side, he apparently sees women as heartless puppet masters who view men as little more than a wallet and potential sperm donors. One wonders what kind of loveless, high drama "relationships" David Zinczenko has lived through if he thinks this article is good advice.

I pity anyone who reads David Zinczenko's drivel and tries to implement it. They're clearly so lost when it comes to love and relationships that the average Cosmo article is beyond them.

The only good thing about the article is response at kindlypogmothoin.com

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Lunch


Lunch today consists once again of Leftovers. I've got two Veggie Burger patties on a toasted sesame bagel, with a bit of mustard and ketchup. The Mac & Cheese is some leftover Annie's Rice Pasta Mac & Cheese.

I've been doing better about eating leftovers, having has leftover hot dogs, thawed buns and a can of baked beans for lunch yesterday. Sadly, the last of my alphabet soup had to be tossed.

I need to get into the habit of packing my lunch the night before, so I can just grab it and go in the mornings. Realistically, having as much prepped and ready the night before as I can tends to make the mornings far more pleasant.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Telemarketer from "Dish Network or Direct TV, whichever you prefer."

I received a call on August 11, 2007 at 11:14 am

It was a recorded message saying my area had "been selected to receive Free satellite" and inviting me to press "1" for more details.

I pressed 1, and got a male voice. I asked what company he was with and he said "We can offer you Dish Network or Direct TV, whichever you prefer."

I said, "No, I want to know who you work with, not who you're reselling for. According to the US Telecommunications Act-"

That's when he hung up.

I used *69 to find out he'd called from 866-909-6115, but when I dialed the number no one answered.

Friday, August 10, 2007

bash.org is a riot

http://www.bash.org/?789709

[xchlathx] "Dumbledore returns from the dead and declares it to be hammertime, Harry proceeds to break it down, Voldemort is unable to touch this."

http://www.bash.org/?789388
[Duskmon] It must have blown to be one of the first outsiders to convert to Christianity.
[Duskmon] Like, you're reading through the Bible for the first time, and then a bunch of Hebrews burst into your Church shouting "CAIN KILLS ABEL IN GENESIS FOUR VERSE EIGHT!"

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Garfield is Dead

Despite the efforts of Jim Davis to assure us otherwise, it was revealed in 1989 that Garfield is either dead, lingering in the memories of his own past or trapped in an abandoned house, slowly starving to death.

Kinda puts a whole new spin on the comics since then, doesn't it?

Feel free to read the comics for yourself, or read the discussions on Garfield's sad fate snopes.com

October 23, 1989
October 24, 1989
October 25, 1989
October 26, 1989
October 27, 1989
October 28, 1989






Wednesday, August 8, 2007

In which our hero almost becomes an agent of Darwin

I was late to work Monday. Part of my commute takes me past a Church and its parking lot. As I approached the parking lot, I saw a group of kids playing with kick balls and one lone, distracted adult apparently pretending to supervise them.

By reflex, I slowed down to about 20 miles an hour. This is just something I do when I see kids on the side of the road. This proved to be a good reflex, as in short order one of the kids bounced her kickball into the street. I screamed at the kid to "Stop" as I slammed on my brakes.

The woman screamed "No, it's going into the street!" but the kid was already darting in front of me to retrieve her ball.

I screeched to a halt stopping inches from the kid.

The woman came up and slammed the palm of her hand against my car's hood and started screaming at me , using phrases like "Driving like a maniac" and "You nearly killed my niece!"

My first impulse was to let her vent. After all, a kid in her care had nearly been run over, so she had good reason to be upset. After a few minutes, I tired of her verbal abuse.

I leaned out my window, and she backed away as if I'd threatened to hit her. Mustering all my self control I said as calmly as I could, "I was driving UNDER the speed limit, and it looks like I was paying more attention to those kids," I pointed at the parking lot, "than you were."

She continued to yell at me, more and more profanity creeping into her tirade. The child had long since reached the rest of the group, and most of then were watching her scream at me, some laughing.

The woman stepped forward again, raising her arm as if to hit my car again.

"What the HELL are you doing?" I said.

She looked shocked.

"Listen" I said, "If I'd been speeding, if I'd been going the damn Speed Limit, I wouldn't have been able to stop in time. I'd slowed down because I assumed you were an incompetent hag who can't babysit a spider plant and you proved me right. Now get back to those kids and WATCH them until a GROWN UP shows up to take over."

"You fuc-"

"And watch your language, there are kids around."

By this point she'd backed away from my car.

I called out the window, "Is there anything in front of my car?"

"What?"

"Have any of the kids you're supposed to be watching wandered in front of my car?"

"No," she said.

I put my car in gear and pulled away, going very slow for the first couple car lengths in case any other kids decided to get in my way.

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

What's behind here?


What's behind here?
Originally uploaded by flakingnapstich
Bunny But!

Just thought I'd share.

This is an old photo of either Soot Sprite or Samson. You can't really tell from the rear view. The babies were about four or five weeks old when this was taken. Weighing in at around 11 to 13 ounces each, they now weigh 5 to 6 pounds each.

My how they grow. "Sniff"

Monday, August 6, 2007

Red Sky at Night...


Red Sky at Night...
Originally uploaded by flakingnapstich
Nut Island is a 15 minute walk from my house. The name is a bit misleading, as it's not so much and "island" as the tip of a peninsula. Perhaps there was a point in the past where it WAS and island, and landfill, silting or another process connected it with the mainland.

Regardless, the bulk of the area is a nicely landscaped park surrounding what appears to be a small water treatment plant. I've been there a handful of times and taken some photos. It's a lovely area, and you'd never guess you were a 15 minute drive from Quincy Center.

My wife and I are planning to make a habit of walking there after dinner, and I intend to spend more time taking pictures on the island. The island provides a lovely view of the recreational boating portions of the harbor. So far it appears to be rather light in terms of wildlife, but it's a serene and relaxing area, an unexpected perk discovered after we'd discovered only after closing on the house.

Google Blogger blocks Google adsense ads

I got an e-mail this weekend that Adsense would no longer be serving ads to some of my sites.

Specifically, blog.matthewmiller.net and a Blog I manage for a friend. Both sites are hosted by Blogger, and when I go to the Adsense "Site Diagnostics" page I learn the reason for the sites are blocked is because of a problem with the robots.txt file.

The thing is, blogger users don't have the ability to edit their robots.txt unless they host their site themselves.

What has Blogger done? Simple, they've changed the robots.txt to reduce the search engine ranking of blogger hosted sites, and broken adsense in the process. Specifically, the Adsense Crawler is being blocked from indexing the site, which in turn causes Google Adsense to block the site, as it can no longer produce targeted ads.

Inexplicably, adds sometimes appear on this Blog, and the Adsense Site Diagnostic Page is erratic in when if it even lists blocked sites, sometimes claiming that I have no blocked sites. And yes, before you ask, I DID clear the browser cache.

Inside AdSense: Run, don't crawl, to the new Site Diagnostics page

Friday, August 3, 2007

Ten Reasons Gay Marriage is Un-American (Satire)

I've seen this floating around the Internet without attribution. Enjoy

1. Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.

2. Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.

3. Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.

4. Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can't marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.

5. Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Britany Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.

6. Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world needs more children.

7. Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.

8. Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in America.

9. Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That's why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.

10. Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven't adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.

Thursday, August 2, 2007

Lunch

Lunch was largely leftovers. On the plate is the chicken mushroom risotto my wife made Monday. In the cup is some chicken alphabet soup I made last night, as my wife, feeling ill, needed something easy on the stomach. The can of Pepsi was an unnecessary indulgence. I need to get back into brewing Ice tea to take to work.

Finally, in the plastic bag were a couple of Pluots. Pluots are one of my favorite summer fruits. They're a cross between a Plum and an Apricot, both of which I love, that results in a fruit with a smooth skin and a juicy texture. They have a higher sugar content than either of the parent fruits, which explains their sweet flavor.