Broadband Setup

I've been using broadband via the cable company for the past couple years while we waited for Verizon's fiberoptic DSL to arrive in our town in Fall '06. Well, it didn't come, but we were fed up with the cable company and jumped ship to DSL and then upgrade to fiberoptic later. Setting up the cablemodem was a breeze. While I had heard that setting up DSL wasn't that hard, problems would most likely arise. Well, ya know, setting up Verizon's DSL ain't that easy. =( Actually, it totally sucks and now my computer isn't quite the same. Grrr!!! And no one seems to know how to fix it. I'm just squeeking by on a work around, but I can just feel my computer slowly destabilizing. Each time I boot up, I wonder whether today's the day it will crash. =\ Plus, a lot of programs that use the internet here and there (like getting necessary updates and what not) won't work. Gah!! Curse them!! Curse them all!!!

Hoo-ing Spies

I heard the strangest thing! It was a very familiar sound, yet quite foreign. I heard what sounded like more than one owl gently hoo-ing in the trees in the backyard! Yes! Owls in the neighborhood! Either that, or I've got spies communicating like out of a movie with bird calls. =( In all my years here, I've never heard owls in the area, though I know they can be found in the parks or the more forested area around the county. I wish I could determine the type of owl but unfortunately, I am unfamiliar with the different owl birdcalls. The vocalizations did not last particularly long, but I did not hear them flap away either...then again...it's supposed to be quite silent so that they can catch their prey. I didn't see any movement (in the dark...heh...) either. Perhaps they fell silent to watch me for threatening behavior?

Accidental Food Experiment

No need for a bunch of food scientists in lab coats to discover new flavors, nor professional chefs fiddling in the kitchen for a new dish. Sometimes, it's the spontaneous and the accidental that create the most interesting discoveries. That sounds grander than my food stumble, but for me, it was exciting to the taste buds...that eye opening 'Ah!' feeling as you realize the pieces fitting together despite thoughts otherwise. What was it?

It all began quite innocently on a dessert platter of an assortmen tof ice cream. On the side were some wedges of lime that surrounding the giant dollops of strawberry, and green tea ice cream. As the ice cream began to melt, the lime wedges began to slip around the plate as we devoured the objects of interest. Upon tasting the portion of strawberry ice cream that came in contact with the juices from the lime, I was astonished at the unexpected taste combination! Curious as to the limits of the success of such a combo, I squeezed a lime wedge on the strawberry ice cream. It was awesome! Strawberry ice cream isn't my favorite (even a really good one), but I don't mind eating it. With the addition of the lime's tartness and citrus flavor, the strawberry turned into something like a creamy, semi-tart, semi-sherbet instead! I find sherbet much too sweet and so here was my answer as an alternative to it!

Excited with the success of the experiment, I tried it with the green tea ice cream. Yuck. The wonderful flavor of the green tea turned bitter. Ah well! Should I come across strawberry ice cream again, I'm whipping out the limes! Try it! I think you'll be impressed by how it makes a mediocre strawberry flavor into outstanding!

Old is New

I used to eat Edy's ice cream and found it not bad at all until I found tastier ice creams. As a result, I did not buy any for ages until most recently when I bought some for my folks. However, they decided they didn't want to eat the flavor I bought (Toffe Crunch) so I ate it. I suppose my tastebuds have gotten spoiled over the years as I found their ice cream as too sweet and the texture not to my liking at all. Ah, the childhood joys of simple ice cream has been "adultified".

Snakes on a...Petrified Rock

I read in the newspaper about scientists reporting the discovery of a fossil of a snake with a pelvis-related bone for legs! The fossil suggests that snakes evolved on land since they were found on land versus a water basin, etc...Nor was the area previously a region of water either. It's been land the whole time. It must be quite exciting to piece the past together! An online article covering the topic.

TV Turnover

Dessert with your tv dinner? Actually, I learned that reality shows turn over quickly from shooting to showing. In a matter of about a week or so of finishing up filming, that episode could be on the air! Or at least, that was the schedule given to us from one of the producers requesting sample materials to use on the show. Was it legitimate? Or merely someone playing the part to get free goods? It seems plausible considering it would be merely a matter of editing and timing the segments to put the show together. Well, we'll never know since they chose to go elsewhere for the materials even after providing an affirmative response.

Mmm...Fried...

How can you go wrong when something is fried? =9~ I was watching some Food Network and came across sopapillas of New Mexico being made by one of the locals. Apparently, it's quite the staple food there and is much like Native American fry bread. It can be eaten sweet or savory. FN showed it being eaten up with some southwestern style meaty goodness. Looks quite tasty and I always wanted to try my hand at fry bread. I guess every cuisine has some version of fried dough. =9~

Bloody Tarts

Eh? A tart version of a Bloody Mary? I wish...Rather, in making a Bakewell Tart today, I made a bloody mess of myself while handling the tart pan. The stainless steel edges seemed rather thick and harmless but if grabbed just the right way (easily done), it will slice you right nicely. Despite discovering this in a painful manner, I did it twice. =( I guess I wasn't quite careful enough...

Inside-Out Squirrel

I found the most curious item out in the yard today. At first, someone mistook it as a giant rat as it was relatively fur free and had a long skinny tail. However, when I went to inspect this (since when did suburbia have sewer rats?) I determined that it was actually an inside out squirrel!! My theory is that a predator must have caught it and began eating it. As it tugged at the innards, it was 'skinned' and thus became "inside out". I doubt it was purposely skinned by strange anti-squirrel neighbors or the predator because the rest of it was intact. Only the innards were missing (considered the tastiest parts) though there was no mess. There appeared to be no bones but it must have been somwhere! Very weird! Perhaps it was not a fully formed squirrel in that it appeared to be a juvenile (hence the mistake for a giant rat). Young squirrels are born rather naked and perhaps cartilagenous hence the 'lack' of bones. The entire body was very smooth and clean with a thin membranous 'skin' covering. I wish I had taken a picture of it as I seem to take photos of everything else! =P

On a completely different note, I also learned a lot about vacuums in doing research about purchasing a Dyson. Such as that musty vacuum smell when your cleaning house? Well, that's the dust in the bag passing through the paper bag and back out! Ick. So much for cleaning...and no wonder I have an allergic reaction when vacuuming despite having a HEPA filter on the Hoover...

Paper Mashe!

I remember as a kid in school, we made paper mache masks in art class. It wasn't that hard as far as I recollect. It was rather fun! For my nephew's birthday, I decided to create a pinata for some good old fashioned whacktastic fun. I bought all sorts of little toys (not dangerous when dropping on their little heads) and good snacks (no candy) for the innards all optimistic for the project's outcome. Well, as it turns out, I suck at making pinatas. I really should have chosen a very simple design, but no, I decided to make a rubber ducky. It is not so easy to get the right shape and proportions and that stupid head with beak! As its shape was starting to come together, I was informed that he was getting a pinata for his party! As a result, the surprise pinata was no longer going to happen. It's just as well because it was the funniest shaped duck. For its funeral rites, I bashed it to bits. =) And ate the snacks. But the toys? I'm not sure what to do with them yet except pass them around to all the kids I know...which isn't that many. =\

Worker Bee

They say that you should never hire friends or family as they often won't do a great job (more lax since they know you) and it's difficult to reprimand them without straining relationships. Well, I discovered that when I work even with friends, I enter "professional" mode and treat them differently. That is, my attitude towards them changes to being more distanced respect than say being like coworkers who become friends. I suppose in that sense, I can get work done in a timely fashion as I certainly wouldn't want to screw them over. So whereas I'd be usually relaxed and laid back with them, I become more uptight and aware of the time. But when not working together and just hanging out, I'm normal. =P Normal? Nah, I must be just strange. ;D

Lumber Support Please!

I learned a hard lesson today as work on the house continued. In installing the door, the existing moulding had to be removed as it would not match (dimensions and what not) with the new set up. The workers sent one of the guys to the local lumber shop in town to match our moulding to something pre-made. When he came back, he had the new stuff (which didn't realy match at all) but not the old stuff. No one paid much attention as so much was going on and the workers of course didn't care particularly since most folks don't keep the old stuff when it's getting replaced. Also, it appears to be quite common for contractors to leave stuff behind at lumber yards...like moulding! Argh! By the time the old moulding was discovered to be missing, the lumber yard had already thrown it out. =( Though the old moulding was not going to be used with the new door, we had plans to use it elsewhere in the house. The old stuff was also quite nice and intricate compared the crap you find these days. You'd have to get a custom job to get anywhere close to what we had. What a shame. No wonder new houses these days look so cookie cutter and boring. Old houses are awesome! So don't let this situation catch you off guard either!

Werevultures

I'd always noticed up around here how holiday sales turn normal, nice people in to maniacs fighting for the products at bargain prices. Hence, after-xmas sales are madhouses. The Christmas season is "over" hence ideals of peace on earth abruptly end on 'Boxing' day...aptly named. I've grown accustomed to the crazed shoppers at the big holidays but...Labor day?

I suppose any time there is a relatively large-ish sale, people morph into vultures. This Labor day, I saw maniacs! At the grocery store!! It was a re-enactment of last Christmas with a showdown at high noon for the last xmas ham all topped off with a race to the shortest till line! Other stores were no different in shopper behaviour. Is this materialism showing its worst in people? I definitely chose the wrong day to go to the market and to go return something. The lesson learned is to stay home during sales...and maybe even take the day off!

Smart Fish

They say that eating fish will make you smarter. At least, that's what my folks always said to me. Disregarding the biology/chemistry behind how fish flesh is nutritious for human brains, let's assume it's because the fish itself is smart. As a side note, there's plenty of evidence of folk eating things because they believe the food's characteristics can be "absorbed." So I've discovered more of the paradise fish's mental prowess. Apparently, he knows me, follows me around and even knows when I'm not looking at him! If I'm not looking at him, he doesn't expend the energy to beg for food or whatever. Oftentimes, he'll swim *to* me to get my attentions and then swim to the feeder ring like a cat or dog begging. Ha ha! I can only imagine if he could be at the dinner table. He'd probably steal whatever I'm eating like some dogs or at the very least sit at my fit with those begging eyes. ;)