Friday, October 31, 2008

Halloween Caption Contest!!

What do YOU think the lizards are saying?

Here's a few to get you started:

Is it Christmas already?

Hermione gets fed up with Ron and Harry.

She's the only one that finds this amusing.

That does it. We're giving her salmonella.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

I ♥ Colin!

Read all about it here

Now if we could just get Condi on board...

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Star Wars


Excerpts from the Yahoo! Newsroom blog...

If there's one rule in election-year politics, it's this: Don't mess with the science crowd. OK, labor unions and the NRA matter too, but John McCain may want to brush up on his stars and planets after Tuesday night's debate.

In the debate, McCain portrayed Barack Obama as an excessive spender, and he punctuated his attack (twice) with this example:
"[Obama] voted for nearly a billion dollars in pork barrel earmark projects, including, by the way, $3 million for an overhead projector at a planetarium in Chicago, Illinois. My friends, do we need to spend that kind of money?"

The Adler Planetarium even issued a statement, noting that the request, ironically, was not even funded:
"To clarify, the Adler Planetarium requested federal support -- which was not funded -- to replace the projector in its historic Sky Theater, the first planetarium theater in the Western Hemisphere.... To remain competitive and ensure national security, it is vital that we educate and inspire the next generation of explorers to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math."


I hereby demand a town-hall science debate hosted at MIT!


Moderator: We've assembled here the only 80 people in the U.S. that did not fall asleep during seventh-grade science class and polled them for questions in advance. I've selected the most dull and neutral to be asked here tonight, and the candidates are in no way actually obligated to provide an answer to the question posed. So let's begin with the first question: "As President, would you recognize Pluto as a planet?"

McCain: Maybe I'm just a renegade, but I recall it has been recognized as a planet ever since I was a boy. My opponent would have you believe we should reassess the status of heavenly bodies just for the sake of change, but I assure you that is a slippery slope. If it's good enough for Walt Disney, then it's good enough for the American people. However it's very far away and we can't be sure of its loyalty.

Palin: I can see Pluto from my house. Northern lights, too!

Obama: Is that right, Governor Palin? May I call you Tina? Tina, not only would I recognize Pluto, but I would include Ceres and and Eris as well, as I believe America should be all-inclusive. I'd sit down at the table with planets, asteroids and even comets and find some common space we can all agree on.

Biden: However, I'd like to point out that even if unrecognized, Pluto truly has no recourse under the Eleventh Amendment...

Moderator: Time is up. Thank you, candidates. The next question is, "Should Stem Cell Research be funded?"

Obama: I've always been a proponent of funding stem cell research. Just last week I met a mother of three named Shaquira Williams who had no health insurance for herself or her family. She told me if only she could sell a few stem cells, she could get caught up on her SUV payments... We need bi-partisan support of stem cell research increases that benefit all families, not just the wealthiest one percent the McCain plan would help.

Palin: Unlike the Democrats who favor using all kinds of stem-cells, even little baby ones, I only support using the cells from the stems of your lower plant forms. Nothing cruciferous. Like maybe grass, or dandelions. Really, it's what God intends.

Moderator: Thank you. Next question: "What is your stance on the Health Care issues facing the nation today?"

McCain: As an American who has had his share of health issues over the years, I just want to say that Senator Obama and I agree that every citizen should have access to prescription medications; much like my wife Cindy, but without the huge bribes involved in cover-up.

Biden: I love John, but let's face it. Here's a man who is probably going to need two or three colonoscopies a year. Honestly, how many times do you want the 25th Amendment invoked leaving Tina at the helm? Or can she see in his colon from the podium?

Palin: Very funny, Joe, very funny! But seriously, folks, John is too much of a maverick to let his health slide. If he needs any procedures you know darn well he won't need to be knocked out for them, not for a minute. No sir. He's got will power tough as nails. Not like some people who are off taking a few puffs behind the shed. And I'm sorry, but I don't think anybody has ever tried cocaine and not kept it up. I'm just sayin'...

Moderator: Thank you all. Last question: "What do you intend to do about Global Warming?"

Obama: All around us we can see the effects of global warming. High emissions have created conditions that endanger our planet. I think we should reach across the aisle form a bipartisan committee to determine which corporations we should tax more heavily for contributing greatly to the problem.

McCain: I guess I'll have to defer to Senator Obama on this one. He's the one who hangs out with Weathermen...

Obama: Once again, my opponent wants to deflect from the hard questions about the economy. How are you going to turn the tide, Republicans?

Palin: Print more money and get rid of the penny. More bills, like tens and twenties, will help stimulate the economy. That's cold, hard math. And math is science. So we're the science party. We win. (Smile. Wave.) God bless!

Moderator: That's all we have for tonight voters. Now YOU decide.

Biden: Actually, it's the electoral college...

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

I HATE it When They Don't Have My Size

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - A customer opened fire in a crowded shopping mall Wednesday afternoon, killing a clothing store employee before he was shot and wounded by police officers, authorities said. Witnesses said the gunfire sent people "stampeding" for cover.



Once again, I'm adding new shades of meaning to the old saw "Shop Til You Drop"...

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Famously Uncomfortable Footwear

No breaking (blister) news to report, but the white shoes did seem a bit better Wednesday. I stuck a band-aid to the inside top of the left shoe, and it seemed to help. I took the 'day off' today, as the yellow-tan ones matched my outfit, but I'll try the white ones tomorrow.

Note: I do not wear them all day, just to drive to and from work, and for walk into the building from the parking lot (hike!). It is best not to wear the same pair of shoes two days in a row, in order to let them dry out thoroughly between wearings. As soon as the white ones are broken in, or my feet toughen, I will not wear them twice in a row for even that little bit.

So kids... don't try this at home. I am a professional on an unlimited shoe budget. Your mileage will vary.

These are the ones I changed into at the office... cool, huh?

Tina Fey is a Genius

Speaking of Ski N' Shoot...


via videosift.com

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

World Series Mania!

How many cities can say they have TWO teams in the playoffs?

How many could not make it any further, despite those odds?

The OM Team

Yoga as an Olympic sport?

Sure! Why not?

No stupider than synchronized swimming. Or that thingie where you ski around in a circle and shoot...

I mean, I can see where once upon a time the skills of skiing and shooting could be linked to survival, but choreographed crawls? Is there some evidence linking precise repetitive flower-formation movements to a decrease in shark attacks or something?

Anyhoo... on the heels of a movement to make yoga an Olympic sport comes the news that my yoga teacher is moving away! No amount of 'cleansing breaths' is going to make that any better, she's the best one I've ever found. How can she move? Oh well, Om is where the heart is, I suppose.

Class time recently changed to a slightly later start, yet I'm still late. It's like football, miss that kick-off namaste and you might as well throw in the towel. So much for yoga fostering discipline.

Just the other day Louise was asking me what my class was like so we could compare it to hers....

Me: Militant.

Louise: Militant?

Me: Yeah, I think we're in training for some Hindu national army or something. I think chaturanga is a call to arms...

Louise: Mine is called Gentle Stretch, but it's a real workout.

Me: Everyone else in my class is so fit. And coordinated. I'm such a lump.

Louise: My group was impressed with how flexible I was from the first class I tried...

Me: Yeah, there's some real show-offs like that in our group. I think they're cheating.

Louise: Cheating?

Me: You know, like practicing throughout the week. It's a really challenging class. The most rigorous I've ever taken.

Louise: what is your class working on?

Me: Levitation.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Thank Goodness I'm Diversified!


Half my assets are in Acura, half in GM....

Actual Conversation

Me: Whew! I'm beat. It just took me two hours to buy two pairs of shoes. I should be eligible for a government grant, I did so much research. I wanted some new shoes to walk the dog with, but they had to look good, and you know how impossible that is...

Mom: Look good? You live five miles out in the country. Who on earth is going to see you?

Me: What if Carrie Bradshaw had the attitude that in a city of nine million, no one would notice what she was wearing? I mean, really... where would we be?

Mom: go on..

Me: So I had this ten dollar off coupon for Famous Footwear --

Mom: How do you get this stuff?

Me: There's this big group of retailers that take turns sending me coupons to stimulate the economy. It's a heavy burden, but I'm up to the task. Anyhoo... I tried on every brand of athletic shoe they make and decided Keds were my best choice. Most cute. Not a bad shoe for walking either. But they were $40, so $30 with my coupon, but then I saw the shoe I really wanted, a white Sketcher, but they're like evening gown shoes. Too expensive for walking the dog. They start at $50, but these were on Clearance for forty, or $30 with the coupon and I just couldn't decide, so then I went next door to Kohl's...

Mom: You had a coupon there too?

Me: Well of course. They do coupons almost every day. I only had 15% off, but I wanted to look anyways.

Mom: Only 15?

Me: Yeah, I usually won't walk in there for less than 20, but I really wanted the shoes. So I see they had Keds on sale, but they pulled the old 'our part number' trick.

Mom: What?

Me: That's where the store puts their own stock number on an item to make it much harder for you to figure out apples to apples when comparing their price to a competitor. The electronic stores have the manufactures make up different models just for them so you can't ever buy that item elsewhere. You have to make somebody open up the box so you can read ALL the specs and compare. They're not used to uber-consumers like myself who will actually do that. Most likely they aren't expecting Famous Footwear to be right next door, either, but I'm pretty sure it was the same shoe. Or at least close enough that the $33 sale on Keds plus my 15% off made me feel good about my research.

Mom: So what did you do?

Me: Bought the Keds for $26 after tax, and the Sketchers for $30 with the coupon next door. I'm pooped. Hope Al has dinner on.


Afterword: First off, allow me to admit that I already have one Keds and one Skechers in tan, so these were just the same thing in white. HOWEVER, something is very different between the tan suede and white smooth leather Skechers. (Note: these are designed to be worn without socks) The new white ones caused three agonizing blisters within thirty minutes of the first wearing. No wimp, I'm determined to break them in. I've been wearing them some every day since. I now no longer have feeling in my left foot. I pray that means the bleeding has stopped and the calluses have begun to form. Let's hope. My friend Martha noticed I was limping and told me she just donated her two barely used pairs of Skechers to a shoe drive since they did the same thing to her. Really? I said, pulling a box of band-aids out of my desk drawer. Readers, have you had this experience? The tan ones are a dream, I really thought I was getting another pair of slipper-soft shoes. The white are causing heel blisters and the left toe may have to be amputated to stop the ice-pick intense pain on that side. OUCH!!

What if They Picket the Wrong Theater?

Letter to the Shareholders

Dear Stockholders Who Just Lost Everything:

Remember me? The girl you laughed at? You said I was foolish, spending all my money. Scoffed at the way I enjoyed the moment, never thinking about tomorrow. Predicted I'd be sorry someday. Well you know what?

My closet is still full of shoes.

How's that portfolio lookin'? I thought so.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Let Us Inspect a Few, Would You?


EAST LANSING, Mich., Sept. 27 (UPI) -- Shipments of iceberg lettuce identified as a source of E. coli illnesses in Illinois have been stopped, a produce supplier said.


Once again, I'd just like to point out that zero cases of tainted pepperoni shipments have been reported so far this year...

Just Wondering



Have Gary Larsen and Scott Hilburn ever been seen in the same room together???

Soon to Stink Up a Beach Near You

from Variety...


Universal Pictures has made a splashy preemptive buy of "Moby Dick," a reimagining of the Herman Melville whale tale that Timur Bekmambetov ("Wanted") will direct.
Studio paid high six figures to Adam Cooper and Bill Collage to pen the screenplay.
The writers revere Melville’s original text, but their graphic novel-style version will change the structure. Gone is the first-person narration by the young seaman Ishmael, who observes how Ahab’s obsession with killing the great white whale overwhelms his good judgment as captain.
This change will allow them to depict the whale’s decimation of other ships prior to its encounter with Ahab’s Pequod, and Ahab will be depicted more as a charismatic leader than a brooding obsessive.
"Our vision isn’t your grandfather’s ‘Moby Dick,’ " Cooper said. "This is an opportunity to take a timeless classic and capitalize on the advances in visual effects to tell what at its core is an action-adventure revenge story."




Who cares? I'm still waiting for a decent Jaws remake where there shark wins. Spielberg's movie was great, but the shark was killed at the end. The phony 'franchise' jumped the shark on movie two...

Actual Conversation

Me: (wandering from room to room, looking for the yellow sandals that were on my feet not ten minutes earlier) I've lost a pair of shoes!

Al: I can't believe you noticed.

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Friday, September 26, 2008

Wish I'd Said That!

"Sarah Palin, you know, was at the U.N. yesterday, and she was a big hit. She's over there meeting all of the world leaders. She's still learning who the world leaders are. Right now, she thinks that Warren Buffett is the head of Margaritaville." --David Letterman

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Visa Ergo Sum

Score!!

Our local grocery store has a scam going called Gas Buddy.

Buy certain products, and earn a certain amount of cents off on your next gas purchase at their gas station. On the surface, this sounds great, but as a savvy shopper, I was able to see through the sham pretty quick. Anything that had a Gas Buddy sticker was no bargain. In fact, it was frequently up-priced.

So I end up floating about the store with my cell phone in hand (set to calculator function) trying to figure out if I'm really getting anything off on gas. I'm not. Anyhoo.... since this store has the cheapest gas station for 30 miles associated with it, I'm going to pop into the grocery and take a little look-see every week anyways.

Last week I bought some generic toilet paper that turned out to not be such a good deal. Walgreen's advertised the name brand this week for the same price, so whatever few pennies were saved on gas didn't amount to much if the generic doesn't last us as long (although I did make sure it was the same ply and square footage, I'm not sure it will be as good).

This week, I won. In fact, if I have a few more weeks like this, the store should go bankrupt. I wouldn't miss Gas Buddy, or the wilty produce, but I sure would miss the gas station.

Here's what I bought:

Two Pantene Shampoos. A premium brand, I can't get this at the Wal of China for under $3. Frequently I see it for $3.49. Their super-duper price was 2 for $5 with Store Coupon. (I had said coupon.) I think they were looking to discontinue the line or something. Who buys shampoo at the grocery store anyways? Bachelors? They don't have hair most of the time. But buying groceries at the shampoo store is fine, I do it all the time at Wal of China. They added groceries later. Grocery store toiletries are too expensive as a rule.

A Pantene Hair Spray. $4.19 - sounds high, but this is a grocery store as mentioned.

Skim Milk. Store coupon 2 for $5. I put one in the cart, hoping I don't have to buy two. Great price, milk is now as high as gas.

Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix. 69 cents. This is outrageous. Last time I bought this, a mere decade ago, it was 44 cents a box. However, it is good for two cents off each gallon of gas up to 15 gallons. OK, Gas Buddy, you got me.

Eggs. Store coupon for 99 cents. This is how much eggs should be! I should not need a coupon. Cluck you, high prices.

Saltines. $1.00. Oh, sure, I could buy Al Premiums, but if you've ever seen him use the whole sleeve of crackers in one bowl of soup, you'd seek out the dollar shelf too. In restaurants, the waitresses ask if he wants some soup with those crackers. It's that bad.

Silverware. $1.00. Couldn't help myself. Little roll of four spoons looked handy for dishing out pet food or taking to lunch with my soup. Anyplace you don't want the fine silver going. Impulse buy. So shoot me.

Soooo.... I get up to the check out and start waving coupons like a madwoman. Checkout girl says one milk is fine.

Now...for the coup de grace...I whip out two manufacturer's coupons for Pantene - one says, buy one conditioner and one shampoo, get any styling product FREE and the other says $2.00 off Pantene Select.

A) I bought two shampoos
B)They don't even carry the Select


But you know what? Cute little check girl said she'd take BOTH of them!! And... wait for it.... I got an additional five cents off for "Plastic Bag Refund"!!! I didn't even know there was such a thing! I just bring a cloth bag because I'm trying to do something nice for the environment! Grand total, with tax (Drum roll, please) $9.69.

I've been redeemed!!!!