bissextus

bissextus noun [bahy-seks-tuh s]

1. February 29th: the extra day added to the Julian calendar every fourth year (except those evenly divisible by 400) to compensate for the approximately six hours a year by which the common year of 365 days falls short of the solar year.

The Wrong Way to Offload a Train

Mr. Methane

Family?

One of these doesn't fit with the others.

Synopsis: A world traveling ghost hunter mysteriously disappears leaving everything to his niece; who accidentally releases a horde of angry spirits, imprisoned in liquor bottles, during her Fourth of July party

Distiller on IMDb.

Not my cuppa, but you might like it.  Not sure it's family fare, though.

It's got booze in it, after all.

The Origin of Smileys

The Results Show

These quizzes are stupid.

Your Dominant Intelligence is Linguistic Intelligence

You are excellent with words and language. You explain yourself well. An elegant speaker, you can converse well with anyone on the fly. You are also good at remembering information and convincing someone of your point of view. A master of creative phrasing and unique words, you enjoy expanding your vocabulary. You would make a fantastic poet, journalist, writer, teacher, lawyer, politician, or translator.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

Happy Valentine's Day!

There is no remedy for love but to love some more.
- Henry David Thoreau

Lovesick?

There is no remedy for love but to love some more.

 - Henry David Thoreau

Fwench Toast

Going through my Facebook pages feed, I noticed this on the Relish Magazine wall:

(click graphic for larger view)

Any mention of French toast always reminds me of a story told to me by a friend; he had met the friend of a woman I was dating at her house and because my date and I wanted some privacy, went home with her. (great friend!) The babysitter was there and the woman paid the young girl who was doing the sitting and after she was gone, went in to look in on her daughter asleep in her bedroom. After a few minutes, the woman came out and sat beside my friend who was waiting on the couch. One thing lead to another and...well, you get the drift, I hope.

My friend said he woke up the next morning to find the little girl standing by his side of the bed, silently staring at him, her hair mussed by sleep, a thumb stuck in her mouth and a grubby little blanket held in her other arm. They looked at each other for a while, then my friend asked: "What do you want?"

The little girl took her thumb out of her mouth and answered:

"Fwench toast."

Tough Love - Simon's Cat

Fits to a "T"

Make your own.

Dr. Nelson Spam Diagnosis

I hope it's not another stomach.

Upside Down & Inside Out - OK Go

No Funky Fonts for this Fella

Other than a long-ago fascination with Comic Sans Ms, I've always used the default font in most message boards and forums.

You Are Andale Mono

You are a geek, pure and simple. You spend a lot of time online. In fact, you probably love the internet more than anyone you know. You are picky about design, mostly for readability's sake. You are the type most likely to be irritated by a bad font.

What Font Are You?

It's Lent

"Bumped" from a couple of yrs. ago and updated*.

---

Not being Catholic, I am usually unaware when Lent begins. (*This year, Lent begins today and ends on March 24.) When a spate of pancake recipes hit my reader earlier this week, I was reminded that before Lent begins, there is Shrove Tuesday or "Pancake Day", when housewives would try to use up all the ingredients they couldn't use during Lent.

As I said, not being Catholic, I am not familiar with Lent, but I do know that when making pancakes, one should not over mix the wet and dry ingredients or the pancakes will become "tough".  A few lumps are all right - they'll bake out when the pancakes are cooked.

I used to brag that someone could bring up a topic and I would know a joke about it.  Since it's Lent, here's my Lent joke:

A couple had just gotten married during this time of year.  On their honeymoon night, they went to bed and the new bride eagerly reached over to her husband, but he gently pushed her away.

"I can't...it's Lent." he explained.

"That's silly." she sniffed.  "To who and for how long?"

800Notes

800Notes

Wonder who is calling you? Go to 800Notes and find out! Enter the phone number and you'll find posts by other people who also have been called from that number. You can even post a message yourself (no registration)letting others know about your experience(s) with the telemarketers/scammers/bill collectors.

I usually listen to the spiel once, but if they call again...well, that's why I keep an airhorn by the phone.

Spam Irony

Good News & Bad News

The bad news?  No more football for six months. (not counting the draft...and that really doesn't count)

The good news?  My email inbox will quit getting deluged with Pizza Hut adverts.

The day after the Super Bowl has always been the saddest day of the year for me.  Now, as I grow older, I care less and less about all sports, but I still enjoy football...although one has to be a bit of a masochist to remain a Cowboys fan. -sigh-  I care nothing about basketball and even less (if possible) about hockey and the only reason I like seeing baseball in the news is that it means spring is here. 

I get one, sometimes two, Pizza Hut mailings every week.  I don't eat a lot of pizza, but I signed up so I can order online and take advantage of the deals offered only to members.  This week, though, I was getting two, sometimes three separate promotional emails every day.  Enough already!  I think being a pizza delivery person would be one of the worst jobs, particularly on Super Bowl Sunday. 

Well, except for working for Roto-Rooter on the day after Thanksgiving.

I'm also glad that my recipe newsletters will focus on something else besides party dips and especially chicken wing recipes.  I never made any of them, but I read so many I started sprouting pinfeathers.  Every time I've ever seen wings on the buffet, the "drumettes" were gone by the time I got to them.  I finally figured out the best way to eat the "arm" part of the wing;  pinch off the end with the bit of cartilage and pull the two tiny bones out and then you can eat the entire thing!

Super Bowl Prediction

Not that anyone really cares what I think...and truth be told, even I don't much care about who wins it. 

I will be rooting for the Broncos.  I'm not a big fan of Denver, but I AM a fan of Peyton Manning and DeMarcus Ware.  I'd love to see Ware finally get a ring after all those frustrating years in Dallas and I'd also enjoy seeing Manning go out on top.  (I think he'll retire after this game, no matter the outcome.)

That said, I think the Panthers will win.  Cam Newton is a great player, but it's hard for me to root for him, especially over Manning.  Denver has a great defense, but Carolina's isn't too far behind.  I think it will come down to the Panther's offense being just a little better than Denver's defense.

I hope I'm wrong, but that's how I see it.  I wouldn't bet on the game, though.

My prediction:

Carolina 27 Denver 17

Not in the Mood

To anyone who cares, I just haven't felt like posting much.   Actually, I haven't felt too well at all.  (I'll be OK and am getting better) A couple of weeks ago my computer bit the dust and it took me several days to try to resuscitate it (and finally giving up), then a day or two after buying a new one to get IT all sorted out.  (still a work in progress)

I've also been a little burned out on not only doing things in my blog, but participating much at all in my other online activities - friend's blogs plus message boards and forums I frequent.  I've mostly been just reading and catching up on the TV shows I like to watch.   I've got a lot more time than money, but lately I've been having problems finding enough time to do the things I used to do on the Internet. 

So, that's basically it, the reason I've not been around much.  I'm not sure many people have noticed, but I learned a long time ago to not validate myself by some silly blog or website I've created.  I just do this for grins, anyway. 

Love to all my friends and family and this blog's readers, the frequent visitors and those who stumbled in here and like something I've written or posted....and as always, to hell with the rest.

The Day the Music Died

The Day the Music Died: Rock’s Great Tragedy

Referenced in Don McLean's American Pie
 

Need the meaning of the lyrics? They have a website of their own.

Words Per Minute

The average person can read 200-350 words per minute.  The rate is slightly higher on paper vs. screen.  Speed readers clock in at 1500+ words per minute.

Check your reading speed via the link on this earlier post.

 

Happy Garazon Day!

(A "bump" from 2009)

Well, it's actually Groundhog Day, but for the last 7-8 yrs. I always think of my online pal Garazon because he once said it was one of his favorite "holidays".

I've never really given the date much significance; around these parts there almost always are six more weeks of bad weather after the start of February...and we don't have groundhogs, either.

If you want to know more about the holiday, visit the official website of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.

One of my favorite movies is Groundhog Day, the hilariously funny 1993 release starring Bill Murray. Here's the trailer:


If you've never seen it, it's certainly worth the price of a DVD/VHS rental. Shoot, it's probably in the .49 cent section!

Back to Garazon Day....

For several years, our buddy "G" was alone

But now he's got some company!

Just like St. Patrick's Day when everyone is Irish, today everyone is a groundhog!

Here's me

Just like me...always looking the wrong way!

How Many Days?

How many days does Bill Murray spend stuck in Groundhog Day? (one of my favorite movies of all-time!)  The movie isn't very clear, but there are hints and the rest can be, as this video shows, fairly easily deducted from scenes in the movie.  I'm not for sure how accurate the final number is, but it sounds good to me!

1970 MNF Promo

Old MNF promo

"Old"...as in like me. (because I remember this)