What Flavor Kit Kat Are You?

You Are a Dark Chocolate Kit Kat

You are a passionate and quick-tempered person. You know what you love, and you know what you hate. You are very competitive and even a bit ruthless when you need to be. You have what it takes to get ahead. You are a daredevil that loves to take risks. You pride yourself on your courageousness, and you love to test your own limits. You have a real flair for adventure - and it starts with being impulsive. You do what you feel like, and you often feel like flying solo.

What Flavor Kit Kat Are You?

Not to wax philosophic about candy, but these results are spot-on...well, maybe I'm flattering myself a little bit...although I do like the regular milk chocolate ones, as well. Dark chocolate is supposed to be better for you, I've read.

They're just about my favorite candy bar. I don't think I ate them much until I saw Richard Simmons being interviewed and he was asked how to deal with chocolate cravings. He said he liked Kit Kats because he could open one up and eat just one segment and satisfy his craving. I was thinking "Yeah, right. Don't think I could stop at one little piece." and he added that he sometimes ate the whole thing. He went on to say that they were fairly low in fat compared to other candy bars.

These days I'm not so much worried about the fat than I am the grams of sugar, but it doesn't seem to affect my glucose levels as much as other sweets and doesn't even come close to what rice or pasta does to my blood sugar.

Tough Teddy

On October 14, 1912, Theodore Roosevelt was shot, and then went on to give a 90 minute speech while covered in blood, the bullet still lodged in him.

D-Day, the 6th of June

Note:  A "bump" from 2008.

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All day today the History Channel had several programs (three, I think, repeated) on D-Day. It's one of the most important days of the 20th century and arguably the most important of the war. It's a wonder the death toll wasn't much higher, almost a "perfect storm" towards success.

Churchill had all hospitals emptied because he feared the worst and according to one program, told his wife before she went to bed that night that "when you wake up, 20,000 men may have died while you slept."

There was Ike's decision to postpone the invasion for one day and immediately after the landings, the weather turned impossible again, absolutely no chance of postponing it again.

There was something like 5000 bombers that dropped their bombs well inland, killing nothing but cows and scaring only French farmers out of their warm beds.

There was Rommel, taking off for his wife's birthday because he thought there was no way the allies would attack in such weather and low tides.

Hitler was asleep and no one else could give the order to move the Panzers forward.

The paratroopers were dropped all over the place, far from the intended drop zones....so many things that could've led to defeat.

The only thing I can attribute the ultimate victory to is the Hand of God.

I have a cartoon strip saved, but cannot find it to scan and post. I don't even remember what the normally funny and light-hearted strip was, but it was in '94, the 50th anniversary. A boy was asking his mother why the butcher looked so sad today and she told him he remembered his buddies who died that day 50 years ago and how he had to wade through their blood to get to the beach. To be honest, it made me tear up then and still does at this moment, thinking about all of those brave young men.

Do you remember then-President Clinton on Omaha Beach during the ceremony that year? That was when he was walking along the beach and when he saw the cameras on him, he quickly kneeled down in the sand and made a cross with some rocks. Whatever little respect I had left for him disappeared in that moment because I knew why he was doing it, not out of respect for the fallen, but merely for a photo-op.

I feel guilty bringing him up in a thread devoted to REAL heroes, God Bless them all.

God Bless US all.

Hair Raising Trivia

In the 1700s, barbers not only gave haircuts and shaves, they also pulled teeth, performed minor surgery and did bloodletting.

From Wikipedia : The origin of the red and white barber pole (often red, white and blue in the U.S.) is associated with the service of bloodletting and was historically a representation of bloody bandages wrapped around a pole. The original pole had a brass wash basin at the top (representing the vessel in which leeches were kept) and bottom (representing the basin that received the blood). The pole itself represents the staff that the patient gripped during the procedure to encourage blood flow.

CURRENT CAPCHA CRAP

I went to reply to a comment under a post and saw this:

I noticed this new - and much better than previous versions - verification process on other Blogger blogs I frequent, but this was the first time I had been required to do it on my own blog.  At first I thought it was just a setting that needed to be changed, but apparently it's not something I CAN change, so I'm sorry for the extra step.

I have required OpenID or a Google account in order to post, but that's just to keep my blood pressure down and not have to delete asshole anonymous comments from anyone who wants to criticize me or something I've posted in here.  I don't intend to be offensive in here and don't think I am, but it IS my blog and if someone wants to curse me out or rebut what few controversial things I've said, then they can get their own damn blog and do it there, not in here.

So, again, I'm sorry for the extra step.  I wish I could change it, but at least it's fairly easy to read and is only 3-4 digits to type in.  Maybe this will keep the spam I get now 'n then to a minimum.

A Buggy Day

Earlier this morning I was trying to finish up a documentary I had started last night;  it was a YouTube video I had saved and uploaded to my tablet.  For some reason, the video would quit playing after ten or so minutes and I'd have to reset the table and start the video again.  Not sure what's causing it, probably due to the fact that I've disabled several apps that warned me before I terminated them that it might cause problems.

What, me listen to a machine?  My folks, teachers, coaches, various girlfriends and one ex-wife will attest that I'm not too good at listening to humans.

Anyway...I stepped outside on the porch earlier this morning to feed my clowder of cats and one of the wild kittens got close enough for me to grab it and see what its sex was.  It was a female cat - seems like every one of them is female and I put it down.  I came back inside and felt something on my arm, a flea!  I pinched it between my fingers and it hopped away, unfazed by my attempt at crushing it to death.  With my luck, it was a pregnant female and it wound up on my bed where it will have 10,000 offspring and I'll have all the blood sucked out of me later tonight.

I needed some things, so I made a quick trip to the nearby dollar store.  I wasn't but a couple of blocks from the house when I heard a buzzing.  "Oh no." I thought.  "It sounds like I've blown a speaker."  I turned down the volume on my radio, but the buzzing persisted.  "Oh no." I then thought. "It might be my alternator going out." but the dashboard gauge didn't show anything out of the norm.  Then something small and black and yellow flew right in front of my face, a wasp!  I almost crashed, taking both hands off the wheel and waving away the stinging insect.  Stopping at the church parking lot down the street, I  jumped out, leaving the door open.  I went around to the other side and opened that door and the fierce wind that's been blowing all day swept away Lord knows what-all, prob. bank deposit slips, credit card receipts, etc.  If my identity gets stolen and bank account drained sometime over the next few days, I'll know where it started.  I didn't see the wasp, so I figured it had been blown out the door with the papers.  Good.

I got my stuff at the store, then headed home.  I was just about to turn down my street when the damn wasp landed on my arm.  This time the panic was even worse and I pulled over and jumped out.  I saw it on the seat and grabbed an old golf towel I keep in my truck and swatted the wasp with it.  Nope, didn't kill it, but I think it got angry.  It flew around the cab for a minute, refusing to fly out, then landed on the rear window.  I wrapped the small towel around my fingers and tried to crush it but I didn't and it fell into my reusable grocery bag. (I must really be getting weak in my old age, not being able to smash two small insects.  In my defense, I was probably still tired from trying to crush the flea, not to mention the two adrenaline overloads I had recently experienced.)  I took the sack outside, turned it upside down and shook the wasp out.  I fully expected it to attack me, but it flew off where it was swept up in the breeze.  I expect it's already in Dallas, what with how windy it was today.

Got home, thankful I wasn't stung, made a cup of tea and sat down at my computer.  I was just taking a sip of tea when I saw something move along the bottom of my monitor.  Narrowing my eyes (I had taken off my glasses), I leaned in to see what it was- I thought my monitor might be going out.  Leaning in, I saw it was a big grasshopper...and about that time it launched itself at me, landing squarely between my eyebrows on the bridge of my nose.  My tea went flying, I knocked the mouse off the desk and overturned my chair, all the while flailing my arms.

I'm not afraid of grasshoppers, not even as much as I am a flea and especially not as much as a wasp, but I hate the feeling of them on me;  they have some sort of claws on their legs (which is probably how it got in, latching onto my pants when I got out of my vehicle earlier) but the worst thing is when they spit that "tobacco juice" on you, that horrible, nasty excretion they exude from their horrible looking, ugly mouths.  

I've had enough bugs for the day, both electronic and insect.

Chinese TV Dinners

I'm not sure how long my favorite supermarket has carried them, but I recently discovered Tai Pei frozen dinners. My favorites are Beef & Broccoli, Pepper Beef, and the Combination and Chicken Fried Rice varieties.  I've also had their egg rolls, but there are only three small ones in a box.

TV dinners sure have come a long way, especially Chinese food. I wouldn't have bought these, thinking of bad experiences from years ago, but Tai Pei was on sale, 2/$4 and I bought just one, thinking I wouldn't be losing much by trying it.  I've really been craving Chinese food, particularly rice...and that's one of the things that really raises my blood sugar. -sigh-

So, I put it in my shopping cart and brought it home, popped it in the microwave and less than ten minutes later (cook and resting time), I was munching down on some pretty darn good Chinese food.  It was just enough to satisfy me and not so much I went into a carbohydrate near-coma.

Plus, I wasn't hungry again 30 minutes later!

I wholeheartedly endorse this product!

A Lot of Blood

An adult man's body contains - on average - 1.25 to 1.5 gallons of blood. People who live at high altitudes, where the air contains less oxygen, may have up to 1.9 liters more blood than people who live in low altitude regions. The extra blood delivers additional oxygen to body cells.

Blood doesn't have it's own keyword/label in this blog, but maybe it should.

Death by Mashed Potatoes

I don't get to eat much mashed potatoes these days, but certainly wasn't surprised with these quiz results;  it's always been one of my favorite dishes, not only at Thanksgiving but for any other meal.

It's a shame there are SO many carbs in the dish - carbohydrates raise my blood sugar higher than does a candy bar. -sigh-  It's not worth the spike in blood sugar for me to fix them as much as I'd like, but I do keep a pkg. of instant potatoes on hand most of the time, splitting it into several servings, doling myself out a tiny portion when the craving gets too great.

You Are Mashed Potatoes

You are easygoing and content all year long - especially during Thanksgiving.   How could you not be content with all of the delicious comfort food served up this time of year? You ignore holiday stress and drama. You focus on what's important... filling up on delicious food! You like an uneventful holiday that's pretty predictable. That may be boring, but boring can be good.

What Thanksgiving Dish Are You?

Mashed Potato Time - Dee Dee Sharp 

 

What Fall Spice Are You?

Not so sure about the "tact" part.

I've bought quite a bit of cinnamon over the last year, prob. more than I'll be able to use before it loses its flavor.  I've got some Saigon cinnamon and Ceylon.  I prefer the Ceylon; the flavor is good, milder than the Vietnamese kind which has a bit of a "bite" to it.  They're both good, I just like the Ceylon better.  I sprinkle a bit on my breakfast oatmeal, not only to add some flavor, but for the health benefits;  it seems to keep my blood sugar in check. (as long as I don't eat a chocolate bar later)

You Are Cinnamon

You are warm and friendly. You are a social creature and a true extrovert. You are welcoming, and you love to have people over to your place. You make everyone feel at home. You are sweet, but you aren't overwhelming. You know how to be subtle with people. You have tact. You love life, and people love to be around you. You are very popular without trying to be.

What Fall Spice Are You?

Cinnamon - Tommy Roe

Breaking Bad

I'm sitting here, whiling away the hours until the newest episode of Breaking Bad airs tonight by listening to the first episodes of the last season which are on the TV behind me.  Listening, because I've seen them and I'm on the 'net, reading any articles I can find about the award-winning series.  I want some clue, some insight as to how the last shows will play out.

WARNING:  If you haven't seen any of the show and intend to, then quit reading now.  I won't reveal everything that happens on the show, but have to mention an important part that explains what led me away from the show and what led me back to it.

I started watching Breaking Bad when it first started, but early in the series I grew extremely uncomfortable with the storyline.  The episode that made me turn away was the one where Walter White has a drug dealer named Krazy-8 tied up in his basement and is conflicted about what he will do with him.  White talks with the drug dealer, more-or-less bonding over shared interests and decides he can't kill him and goes to get the key to release him.  When White realizes Krazy-8 has hidden a shard of glass in order to kill him, White has no choice but to kill his hostage.

What made me so uncomfortable was my own thinking, thinking that agreed with Walter White's decision to murder the dealer in cold blood.  White had been a sympathetic character until that moment and he truly hadn't got to the point of "breaking bad" until then.  What disturbed me was how I also saw there was no other way to resolve the situation and I agreed with his actions.   In other words, I saw a part of Walter White in me and I couldn't stand knowing that about myself.  I quit watching the series then.

Now, I'm not saying I would ever have started manufacturing meth, but I certainly understood how quickly good intentions can turn to bad.  After all, the road to hell is paved with them.  You can't play a game with the devil because the stakes are your soul.

A season or two went by and one night when there was nothing else on (or the Cowboys were playing poorly, I can't remember) I tuned in the show again. I was a little confused at how the plot was progressing, so I searched online and found the Breaking Bad Wiki site and got up to speed. The shows were thrilling to say the least and I regretted my quitting watching. Since that time, I've watched all the episodes on AMC or at other sites (I'd rather not link to). I found forums that discussed the motivations of the characters, the tiny details I had missed - the hidden meanings in colors and plot points I had overlooked and while I knew the writing was brilliant, I now think it's nothing short of genius.

I'm having a hard time waiting on the end to begin. What will be the ultimate result? The writers have left clues, but nothing definitive, at least not to me, not now, but I expect that after the end credits roll on the last show it will all become clear.

spelunk

spelunk spe·lunk [spi-luhngk] verb (used without object)

to explore caves, especially as a hobby.

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Even though I have a pretty good case of claustrophobia, I've always liked caves. My phobia isn't a full blown raging case of it, but I just don't like being in tight, cramped spaces and if I wasn't crazy when you put me in a straitjacket, I would be in a matter of a few minutes.  I've been to "civilized" caves, such as Carlsbad Caverns (and want to go back to see the bats come out at sundown) as well as the Inner Space Cavern near Georgetown, Texas (video tour), but I've also explored several lesser-known and smaller caves.

When I was in junior high, I had one of the best teachers I ever had the pleasure of knowing. He was a brilliant man, a full-blood Cherokee Indian with something like six master's degrees and hundreds and hundreds of college credits to boot. I don't really know why he deigned to teach a bunch of knotheads like us, especially since he didn't have much patience for kids, but if you showed an interest, he would go the extra mile to teach you all you could absorb.

He took us on several class trips, one of which was an extended tour of the western part of Oklahoma where he grew up - a bee farm and tombstone factory were two of the stops -  and we spent the entire morning going through a cave system on private land belonging to an old friend of his.

Looking back, it was amazing that we did that; these days schools certainly wouldn't want to be exposed to the potential liability that crawling through caves full of rattlesnakes, bats and other dangers would entail. I could write a thousand words about all the things we did on that one day, but will just relate one story in this post about that trip.

Most of the other kids went fairly far into the cave system, but another guy and I went so far back, we had to start crawling. I stopped when it got too cramped for even that position, but the other guy scooted along on his stomach for another hundred yards, only coming back when he disturbed a colony of bats. (it was too narrow for him to turn around,so he had to scoot backwards) It sends a shiver down my spine thinking about that now.

When we came out, the teacher, the two parents who took cars (my dad being one) and the rest of the class were waiting on us. We were a sight, clothes torn on the rocks, wet and dirty from our spelunking. The teacher just smiled when we told him how far back we had gone and said he had always thought about going even farther, dressing in a wetsuit and greasing himself up so he could fit through the tight spots. He said he thought he could find an underground river that fed some springs in the area.

I'm glad I did that, but wouldn't care to do it again.  I guess that's the difference between that carefree (or careless) boy I was then and the cautious old fart I am today.

Dirty Laundry - Don Henley

This song describes the media thirsting after the blood that was shed.

 "If it bleeds, it leads."

Mosquito Ringtones

From the site:

What is the Mosquito Ringtone?

The short version, A tone outside the audible range of hearing for most people over the age of 30. This means that you can get phone calls and receive text messages in class or school without teachers hearing it.

Mosquito Ringtones

Lots of other fun stuff on the site; mosquito games, printable mosquito coloring pages even some variants of the mosquito ringtones available for download.  One useful thing is the Hearing Test.

When I first came across this site, I thought "Oh, I bet my hearing is still pretty good...I certainly don't have "old" ears." I was wrong; I couldn't hear the upper ranges of the tones and after checking out the Hearing Test, I was dismayed to find that the only sounds I could clearly hear were the 10000 and 8000 Hertz Tones.

Dismayed, but not totally surprised. After the years of working on extremely loud drilling rigs, some hearing loss is to be expected. Up until a few years ago, I suffered from Tinnitus but that's gone away to where it's nearly unnoticeable. (I think getting control of my blood sugar has something to do with it, but I'm not sure.)There were times, however, during the dead of night it was maddening.

So, I guess I DO have "old ears".  I might not be able to hear like the young whippersnappers, but I bet most of them can't wiggle my ears like I can!

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EDIT TO ADD: I had several tabs open and before closing the Hearing Test tab after posting, I tried a few more frequencies; I could barely hear some of the others, then thought to check my volume control.

Duh.  I had it turned down quite a bit while listening to online radio earlier. I could clearly hear the 14000 Hertz Tone. I can barely hear the next one, but not well enough to use it as a ring tone.  I don't need a ring tone anyway...don't have a cell phone, for one.  No one ever calls me, so I hardly need a land line except for my DSL. 

Anyway, good news and bad news:  the good news is my hearing isn't as bad as I thought it was.  The bad news?  Not checking my volume control means my mind is slipping.

If You Want Blood - AC/DC

(You've Got It)



Note: noticed the video had been taken down, so it was replaced with this version. Not as good, sorry 'bout that.

Spittin' Mad

Did you know the horned lizard (or "horny toad") defends itself by squirting blood from its eyes?



We've got some horny toad posts. (with pictures, if you don't like to read!)

Bite Me!

At first it started buzzing around my head, but I was engrossed in something on the 'net so I just waved my hand and shooed it away.  When it started flying close to my eyes, I stopped what I was doing, picked up a flyswatter and waited for it to land so I could get my revenge.  It landed my my bare thigh and I saw it wasn't a fly, but a huge mosquito.

When I raised the swatter to whack it, it flew off.  I still wanted to kill it, especially with the recent West Nile cases in Texas.  I waited for the mosquito to land again and it did, very near to where it had landed before on my leg.  I slowly raised the swatter but it took off again.  It didn't fly but a few inches when it landed again on my leg.  I lowered the swatter and watched.

It kept taking off and landing, looking as though it was testing the best place to stick me.  It tried at least a dozen times until I finally swatted it with the flat of my hand.  It was just a smashed piece of flesh on my palm, but there was no blood in it, so I must have not been bitten. 

I got to thinking that it was the first mosquito I had seen this year and then started remembering all the times over the last few years when I was with people who complained of being bitten but I never was bothered. I recalled a time when I stopped by the side of the road to take a photo of a horse in a nearby pasture.  To get to the fence, I had to go through a damp ditch with knee high grass and swarms of mosquitoes making a cloud around me...but not being bitten. (I was more concerned with a rattlesnake in the high grass, to be honest)

I haven't been bitten by a mosquito in years and years and I don't think it's a coincidence that the last time I suffered mosquito bites was before I developed diabetes.  A quick Google search shows plenty of folks with diabetes complaining they are bitten more than their non-diabetic friends, so that's probably not it.  Still, there's got to be some reason.

Maybe I'm TOO sweet for the skeeters, both literally and figuratively.   Nah, that can't be it.  The mosquitoes probably avoid me because of my sour disposition.

Clip art courtesy of DailyClipArt.net

In Russia

The weight loses you!

I follow a pretty cool website in my reader,  English Russia.  They post a lot of photos of ordinary people plus those of abandoned buildings & missile complexes, rusting military equipment, polluted areas, etc.  (It doesn't do much to allay the conception that life in Russia is bleak) Some of my favorite posts are of pretty girls and aspiring models, cheer leading teams and the like...IOW, women.

There's a place for comments after each post and as is almost always the case, there are some trolls trying to stir up trouble, with some saying the girls look like prostitutes and the regular Russian readers replying that all American women are hookers (or fat or stupid).  It's like a cold war of words. 

I don't comment there anymore, not since a year or so ago when I used another Gmail account as my address; before the day was out, it got hacked and I immediately changed my password and deleted everything out of my contact list and all mails I had saved. (I was warned because I have an alert that will email me in case of any suspicious activity.) I think I've commented once since then, but left a fake addy and name, something like "putin_sux@drunkrussians.com"   (Hey, if the cold war is firing up again, I want to shoot a round at 'em) If this had happened when I first got online, I would never have visited the site again, but I think I have my computer locked down pretty well and I haven't had any trouble since then.

This post just hit my reader:  Good Job, Tatiana! and it has a series of photos of a young woman from childhood all the way to now as a young woman.  She was a chubby little thing as a girl, then looked pretty good for about a year or so, but now she's *almost* painfully thin. (JMHO)

I'm not going to post a photo from the site because just today I found a site that had nabbed some of my Cast Away photos and passed them off as their own and I don't want to be a hypocrite by doing the same thing. (and besides, I'm leery of asking permission since the hacking job) If he had only asked, I probably would have given him permission to use them as long as he had credited this blog as the source.  I left a scathing reply and if he doesn't take them down or give me credit, I will contact his hosting service.  It's just the principle of the thing, y'know?

I bet he's got some Russian blood in him.
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If you're wondering about the title "In Russia...the weight loses you" it's a tribute to that great Russian comic Yakov Smirnoff and his "Russian Reversal" jokes.

Good News!

Only my head is fat.

I was reading a post in my reader - How I Eat - by well-known food author and personality David Lebovitz, and saw a link to the CDC BMI Calculator (BMI - Body Mass Index)

I've figured my BMI before, but it's been a while. I remember doing it about 10 years ago on my mom's computer and getting the results that I was "morbidly obese". Yikes. I was concerned, but my mom reassured me (which mothers do so well) that I wasn't all that fat and that she was sure there were other variables to take into consideration, such as body frame, muscularity, etc. Still, when I have seen BMI calculators since that time, I avoided them.  I didn't need the reminder that I was fat - the little tag on my pants told me I was every time I put them on.

I went ahead and plugged in my height - 5'11" - and weight - 185lbs - and it told me this:

Your BMI is 25.8, indicating your weight is in the Overweight category for adults of your height. For your height, a normal weight range would be from 133 to 179 pounds.

Overweight? Six lousy pounds and that makes me fat? Good grief, if I was 133 lbs. I'd have to move somewhere there was no wind, far away from the Texas Panhandle.  Remembering what my momma had told me, and hoping for different/better results,  I found another BMI Calculator. It gave me the same number but also added this:

People falling in this BMI range are considered overweight and would benefit from finding healthy ways to lower their weight, such as diet and exercise. Individuals who fall in this range are at increased risk for a variety of illnesses. If your BMI is 27-29.99 your risk of health problems becomes higher. In a recent study an increased rate of blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease was recorded at 27.3 for women and 27.8 for men. It may be a good idea to check your Waist Circumference and compare it with the recommended limits.

So, that's what I did, going to the Body Fat Calculator. As a male, all I had to supply was my waist measurement. Women have to input their wrist, hips and forearm measurements. I'm not sure why that it's so simple for men. I found it odd that women have to input so much more to quantify their body fat, but I went on. I don't think I have any sort of tape other than a retractable one, but I did know my pants size - 32 - so I used that. After hitting the Calculate Body Fat button, I got this:

You have a Body Fat Percentage of 12.55%.

Hmmm...that didn't sound so bad. Maybe not good, but not bad. I remember the chart from using the calculator at mom's that I was something like 30% fat back then.  My pants size back then was larger too, probably a 40. I clicked on the Body Fat Chart and found this:

Body Fat Percentage Categories
Classification    Women (% fat)    Men (% fat)

Essential Fat   10-12%                 2-4%
Athletes          14-20%                 6-13%
Fitness            21-24%                14-17%
Acceptable      25-31%                18-25%
Obese             32%+                   25%+

Wow. I fall within the "Athlete" category, never mind that I'm far from being one these days. I understood the results, though and was pleased that while I'm technically overweight, I'm by no means FAT.

Of course, there's also the need to factor in that there are days I'm a few pounds more than I was today and that on other days I'm a few pounds less. Water weighs 8.3 lbs/gallon and my weight can go up when I'm fully hydrated, down when I need to drink. I drink a lot of water because I know that doing so helps me control my weight and blood sugar.

Yep, water weighs a lot and that's why I shake the heads of broccoli at the grocery store before putting them in the sack. I don't want to pay $1.99/lb. for excess water.

If I was broccoli, I'd cost $368.15. Any bidders? You gotta take the 23 lbs. of fat with me, though.

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Edit to add: I bought some broccoli at the store earlier; it was .99 cents/lb. on sale.  I'd be willing to cut MY price by half, too.

So Far, a Lucky Week

This just hit my email inbox:

I forget why I entered the contest; I'm sure the Grand Prize was something I really wanted or I wouldn't have made the effort. A magazine subscription isn't too bad of a consolation prize - I love to get magazines and after reading, they're good to line my trashcan with or to tear pages out of and put under the Beej's water and feed bowls. I used to take my old magazines to the laundromat but they would get stolen within the day.

It's been a fairly lucky week for me; I won this magazine subscription, fifty extra points for correctly answering the movie trivia question at StartSampling and last night I won $12 on the Powerball lottery.

It was also a very lucky week for some young punk in a red car.  I was out earlier and about to turn onto a busy street.  The light was red and there was a car ahead of me.  I started slowing as I normally do, easing to a stop. (saves gas, saves brake wear) There wasn't but a few car lengths between me and the other vehicle when the red car zoomed around me and cut in front.  I had to slam on my brakes to avoid slamming into the car.  I saw him glancing in his rear-view mirror and I gave him the bird.  He didn't look back again.  I was itching for a fight- he had scared me and that just about makes me angrier than anything else.

As we sat there waiting for the light, I got more angry.  He wasn't saving any time, he had to wait anyway.  When the light changed, he sped off, zipping from lane-to-lane w/out signalling. He also ran a yellow light when he got to the next intersection and turned. 

I wasn't in a very good mood, anyway.  I had tried to drop off my vehicle insurance payment last week, but there was a sign on the office door "Be Back Soon". I went back by several times, but there was no one there.  I put the check and invoice on the passenger seat and forgot about it.  When I got in my truck earlier, I noticed it and remembered that it was due tomorrow.  I got to the insurance office and saw the same sign on the door.  I went to the Dollar Store, did a little shopping and dropped back by only to see the business was still closed.  I killed a little more time and went back - the sign was still up, the door still locked.

Fuming, I went home and called the after hours number listed on the door.  Nothing.  I then called the regular number and a woman answered.  I told her I had been trying to bring my payment by and wanted to make sure someone was there to take it.  "Oh, I stepped out for a little while." she told me.  Yeah, a week is a "little while" I thought, but didn't say it.  She then informed me that the boss was gone, had been for a week.  That made sense then - she was enjoying her four hour lunch breaks.   She's lucky I didn't lose my temper with her.  She's even luckier I didn't have to file a claim for rear-ending that red car.

I'm lucky to win the few things I have this week.  To be honest - I'm even more lucky I haven't stroked out.   I seem to be getting more and more angry at things here lately.  I got a little angry earlier at a reply to my license plate post on Facebook.  An old friend and schoolmate wrote "Why would I want a license plate with 'Mike' on it?"  It shouldn't have, but it hit me wrong.  I started to reply "Well, it would be just as well....'smartass' wouldn't fit."  I've been a little snarky on Facebook myself lately, though, and didn't want to be a hypocrite.

To top all that off, the stray cat I've been feeding has been in heat. (I thought she was pregnant, but she is just fat.  I've cut back on her food- all she gets is B's leftovers now) I love cats, but the only thing more disgusting than the smell of cat urine is a female cat in heat.  Thanks to her "condition", there has been a dozen tomcats hanging around.  I've been woken up a dozen times  this week by the caterwauling;  it's either her and a male cat or two males dueling for her affections.  I've discovered one thing about cats;  you can't tell whether they're fightin' or foolin' around by the sounds they're making. 

It would probably help a great deal if I quit frequenting political forums.  If the Republicans nominate Gingrich, then they will have to give up the "party of family values" label they brag about.  If they nominate Santorum, then they'll lose any chance of getting a gay person to vote for them ever again. Both of them are a little...let's say "ethically challenged".  The Republicans definitely need to stop touting that they're for limited govt. and need to quit pretending they're conservative. (and the TEA Party has allowed itself to be hijacked by the neocons) I'm lucky I'm too old for the draft, because we'll need one for the war machine if we take on Iran.

I know I lowered my blood pressure at least fifty points by not reading posts in Dallas Cowboy forums.  The "Tony Homo" posts infuriated me.  Probably Santorum supporters.