Something New

Last Saturday I joined an email list devoted to cooking and recipes. and believe me, the recipes are coming very fast. I’ve got folders set up in my email and have different categories so that I can move the recipes into the different areas. It’s kind of a nice way to build a cook book without really having to try very hard.

Anyway, I’m all about quick things, so when someone posted a whole batch of crock pot recipes I was all over them. However, there were some rather interesting ones.

I’m trying one tomorrow and I can’t wait to see how it turns out. I’m going to try crock pot lasagna. It sounds really good, and it should be fairly quick to prepare. I’ll write tomorrow to let everyone know how it turned out, if I’m alive to talk about it later. SMILE!

In other news, the podcast is coming along. I’ve recorded the base, but there’s still a lot to do with it before it’s ready to see the light of day. I guaranty you that if this becomes a regular thing I’m not going to do this same thing with each and every one of them or I’d be here forever!

Well, gotta go put our TV dinners into the oven. Yes, it’s Friday night and I have absolutely no inspiration, so Hungry Man is providing us with our meals tonight. Later.

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Random Things

Well, I’m waiting for about eleven files to transfer to the Book Port, so I figured that while I was waiting and listening to my computer speakers play the scales I’d write another entry. I’ve had stuff to write about and have just sort of been putting it off. So, let’s see what I can think of off the top of my head.

First of all, Gmail. I’ve had an account now for about a week and so far all reviews are positive. I’ve switched pretty much every email list I’m on over to Gmail, and messages have been sending and coming in very fast. Unfortunately, (and I think it’s more a list-specific thing on a couple of the lists), I’m not receiving my own posts, so can’t always confirm that my messages are getting through. At some point I’m going to have to go up to the list settings and set it to send me a delivery notification message or something. Back to Gmail though. After the initial confusion with getting it set up for POP3 access things have really gone well. The site is a total pain to navigate, but with a little help from people on a list I was able to get things going. And, the amount of spam messages that I’ve been receiving has dropped drastically so that’s another plus. If anyone’s interested in creating your own Gmail account leave me a comment and I’ll send you an invite. I have 15 that I can send out.

Now, for an announcement; for what it’s worth. SMILE! I’ve set up an account over on Feedburner. What does this mean? Well, for some of you it means an alternative way to read my blog using RSS. Unfortunately though, comments are included in a different feed so they aren’t shown by default. I need to add this as a feed I guess. To others, it probably isn’t really that big a deal accept that, I believe anyway, this account puts me one step closer to podcasting. Yes, I’m debating the merits of trying my own podcast. I’ve been listening to several, and to be honest, (and I’m not criticizing anyone here so please don’t take this wrong), I don’t think what I have to say is any less interesting than anyone else so I figure I don’t have much to lose accept for the fact that I absolutely hate the way I sound on recordings. Other than that, I’m sure I can come up with something remotely interesting. SMILE! Everything I’ve listened to just makes it sound so fun, and I’m getting ready to start writing a script. Yes, I want a script, and once the thing is recorded you’ll understand why I’m doing it this way. I’ve got some really cool ideas. It may not have anything as far as content, but what I do say is going to sound really cool; or at least I’m hoping so. So, my next step is to get things written and then recorded, and then I need to figure out where the file gets posted. I don’t know if it gets posted here and then Feedburner picks it up, or if I’m supposed to post it somewhere on feedburner itself. So, I’ll work on that one. I know I’ve got at least two readers who are using Feedburner, so if you’ve got any comments, tips, or suggestions, I’m open to them. Oh, and for anyone who’s interested, I’ll add my feedburner address to my links list. If you can’t access it for any reason let me know and I’ll put it in an entry.

You know, speaking of blogs and podcasts and that kind of thing, I’m really starting to feel kind of lost. I consider myself to be a techno geek, but with all this new stuff popping up all over the place it’s kind of overwhelming. And, I suppose that I’ve never really figured that what I have to say is all that interesting. SMILE! But, I’d like to be able to say that I’m keeping up, so I’m really working on it.

I’ve mentioned in the past that in June I will be attending the alumni reunion of the Wisconsin School for the Visually Handicapped. I went there for seven years when I was a kid, and for several of those years I went between that school and a local public school for classes that I couldn’t get at WSVH itself. Jim went their for a little less than a year himself, but I wasn’t there at the time. In the weeks leading up to the reunion, Jim has decided to write a sort of memoir about his times at the school. He plans to make this an ongoing project that will take him up to the time of the reunion as kind of a way to reflect on the eighteen years since he graduated. I still can’t believe I’ve been out of school for eleven years! SMILE! So, take a look at what Jim has to say. He’s got some really funny stories to tell along with some maybe not-so-funny ones. Enjoy.

Okay, I think that’s about it for me this time. The files have long since finished transferring, and I’ve got a script to write and a link to add to my links list. More later.

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B is For …

I was given this letter by John. The idea is that I have a letter and I have to come up with ten words starting with that letter and then talk about them. Let’s see what I can come up with for the letter B.

  1. Books. One of my favorite things to do in my spare time (I know, that’s kind of funny), is read books. I’ve always liked reading, even when I was too young and had books read to me instead.
  2. Brown. The color that my hair would be if it weren’t somewhere between the red that I’m coloring it and the grey that it wants to be.
  3. Brief. Something that I honestly have never learned how to be when writing or talking. SMILE!
  4. Bubble Bath. Okay so that’s two words, but it’s all one thing. I never seem to have enough time anymore for these, but I used to love sitting in the bubbles and trying to squash them all in the tub. I kind of made a game out of it.
  5. Breakfast. This is the meal that I most often don’t bother eating. I don’t like getting up early, but I like eating something early in the morning even less. It kind of makes my stomach turn.
  6. Blush. People enjoy embarrassing me, and unfortunately there are times when it happens a lot. I’ve been told that people can really read my moods on my face, (which means that I’m an absolutely terrible liar too by the way), and people love to embarrass me. It’s all good though, nothing cruel.
  7. Brownies. Is that too close to brown? Too bad. I absolutely love brownies, especially if they don’t have any nuts. I’ll have to write an entry about the ones I made for Jim’s birthday though. Man, what a disaster!
  8. Breathing. Something that we all have to do, but typically don’t even think about. Hey, I’m getting desperate here, leave me alone!
  9. Burgers. Give them to me any time! I love them with mushrooms and cheese, and pretty much any kind of sauce.
  10. Bubble-wrap. Now this stuff is fun! I love to take it and try to pop it as quick as possible, and get as many of the little bubble things as possible at one shot. I finally end up giving up and jumping on it. Kind of dorky maybe, but it’s a great stress-reliever.

Okay, so now it’s your turn. If you’re feeling so inclined, comment on this and I’ll assign you a letter. We’ll see what happens.

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Have a Banana!

I got this as an email, so not sure exactly what the source is, so hope I’m not going to get arrested by the cyber police. Just think, bananas are one of the fruits that I’ll eat!

After Reading THIS, you’ll NEVER look at a banana in the same way  again!
Bananas, containing three natural sugars -  sucrose, fructose and glucose, combined with fiber, give an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.  Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout.  No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world’s leading athletes.  But energy isn’t the only way a banana can help us keep fit.  It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and  conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression:
According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst  people suffering from depression, many felt much better after  eating a banana.  This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a  type of protein that the body converts into serot onin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS:
Forget the pills — eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which  can affect your mood.

Anemia:
High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure:
This unique tropical  fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it  the perfect way to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to  make official claims for the fruit’s ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power:
200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power.  Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation:
High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers:
One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to  make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood  sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn:
Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness:
Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites:
Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin.  Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves:
Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the  nervous system.

Overweight and at work?
Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads  to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients,  researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs.  The  report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood  sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

Ulcers:
The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness.  It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases.  It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of  the stomach.

Temperature control:
Many other cultures see bananas as a “cooling” fruit that can lower both the physical  and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand, for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is  born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD):
Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Smoking:
Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking.  The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress:
Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body’s water balance.  When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes:
According to research in “The New England Journal of Medicine,” eating bananas as part of a  regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills.  When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrates, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals.  It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around.  So maybe its time to change that well-known  phrase so that we say, “A banana a day keeps the doctor away!”

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Oops

Well, I gave the site a facelift yet again. I noticed the other day that the theme I was using didn’t have the archives listed, and I wanted to make sure they were there somewhere. So, since It’s late April, and spring is really trying hard to come, I figured I’d go with a theme that might make people think spring. I just wish sometimes that I could create my own custom theme instead of having to pick from an existing one. Oh well, things could definitely be worse. Please let me know if it’s hard to read or navigate and I’ll try again.

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Jim’s Last Birthday Present; The Wave of the Future?

At 8:45 this morning our phone rang. It was FedEx delivering Jim’s package that I wrote about on Monday. I got a shipment notification yesterday, but wasn’t expecting it until later this week or the beginning of next week. If this is any indication of the company’s customer service, I’ll take it. Anyway though, I can talk about it now because Jim knows what it is, and in fact, has played with it.

One of the podcasts on Blind Cool Tech talked about something called Play Away audio books. The idea behind it is that there is this little device, (basically nothing more than an MP3 player), that has the audio book loaded onto it. It’s small, (smaller than the Book Port for those who have those or know the size of them), and has 8 buttons on the front. There’s a little tiny visual display, but that’s not important for the functioning of the book. It comes with a battery preinstalled and a set of ear buds which will likely never be used by either of us because we can’t stand them. The buttons allow you to play and stop (of course), navigate by chapter, rewind and fast-forward, change the volume, and change the speed. Apparently changing the speed doesn’t have any effect on the voice quality either, but I haven’t played with that yet. There is also a bookmark button, but the review I listened to indicated that the bookmark may have been pretty visual so I don’t know much about it. The nice thing too is that the buttons are really well defined. They’re not like the buttons on some newer cell phones that only take up about a quarter of the size of the phone. (Sorry for anyone using a Nokia phone that matches that description. SMILE!)

Anyway, ever since Jim was a kid he’s always liked Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. All the way through school, and even all through college pretty much, he’d get that book from the library at Christmas time and read it. He’s watched both movies also. I heard that this was one of the titles available and thought it’d be a really cool thing to get him. I went to the web site to see where the closest retail location was, only to discover that there was one possibility in our area, and it was a location I had absolutely no intention of going to. So, the other option was to purchase online. I went and looked at their titles and found Charlie, with a bonus. Not only does it have the original book, but it also contains Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. So, on this little MP3 player thing he’s got two books, read by a guy that he really likes, and it’s something that he’ll be able to keep and read any time he wants.

I said that it came with a battery all ready, but obviously you can change the battery if you need to. It’d be kind of pointless if it only worked until the battery went dead. It would sort of defeat the purpose of paying for the audio.

So, that’s it. I personally think that if this thing takes off and becomes available in more stores, it’s going to be the new wave in audio books. I mean, who wants to carry around a box of tapes or CDs when they can carry around a little thing in their pocket or purse and not have to change the tape or disk every hour or so. Kind of a no-brainer, right? Let’s hope that this thing takes off!

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Man I’m Weird!

I saw this on another blog yesterday morning, but wasn’t tagged. Today however, I was tagged by Puppybraille so thought I’d do it. Let’s see what I can come up with for this. SMILE!

  1. I like to mix chili with macaroni and cheese. It makes this really interesting yet flavorful meal.
  2. When at a place, like McDonalds, I don’t mix foods. I start with my fries and then my burger. It is, however, all right to mix soda with fries and burgers as long as the fries and burger stay separate.
  3. When riding in a vehicle I have to be on the right side. If I’m on the left I feel really funny and tend to get nauseated.
  4. I keep my cell phone on 24 hours a day just in case it rings.
  5. I don’t like any sport; baseball, football, basketball, that kind of thing.
  6. I don’t like seafood or eggs, and they tend to make me sick. However, I can eat tuna on a sandwich or in casserole, and I will eat deviled eggs by the pan.

Okay, that was actually harder than I thought it would be. Now though, the next part of this is to pick 6 people to tag to do this next. Two of my regular people have done it all ready, so not sure I can hit 6, but here goes anyway.

  1. Sas
  2. Wynter
  3. Jim
  4. Snowflake
  5. Anyone else who has a blog and is reading this. If you do this and I didn’t list you, please leave a comment so that I can see what you’ve written.

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Pizza Pizza

Well, today is Jim’s birthday, and he wanted to celebrate it by going to Rocky Rococo Pizza which is his favorite pizza place around. For anybody not familiar with Rocky’s, they specialize in square, deep dish crust pizzas. If you don’t like thick crust, don’t go here! I happen to prefer thick crust so this wasn’t a problem for me. So we ate there and went to Barnes & Noble and got him a couple of books on the history of Great Lakes Ship wrecks. I got his main birthday present of two Chicago Cubs shirts a while ago. He doesn’t consider the Milwaukee Brewers to be a real team even though we’re right in Milwaukee, so he’s a diehard Cubs fan. I got him one other thing, but I can’t write about it here yet because I ordered it at about 10:30 PM last night and it won’t be here for a couple of days. If he didn’t read my blog I’d write about it but since he does … I could always write about it in a passworded entry and then have anyone who wants the password send me an email and ask for it, but I don’t think I’m even that cruel. SMILE! The one thing I will say is that it’s something I heard about on the Blind Cool Tech podcast from a couple of days ago. It’s a review of something done by two women. I’m not saying any more than that, but if you listen to that podcast you may figure out what it is, even if you don’t know which one I got.

Last night I decided to try putting Calamine Lotion on my neck and I’m really impressed. Despite the fact that typically expensive medications are prescribed to get rid of this thing, the calamine is doing a really good job of both reducing the itch and shrinking the blisters. Who needs the doctors anyway! SMILE!

Well, I’m going to go for now and read a book. I’m currently reading The Worthing Saga by Orson Scott Card. It’s different, but I’m enjoying it. It’s a Science Fiction book about a group of people on a planet who lived their lives with no pain or accidents until one day it’s as if someone tampered with their minds and made them start feeling again. Then these two people show up who can read minds, and they want a 14-year-old boy to write a book about their story. I’m not good at giving descriptions of this kind of thing, and from my description it sounds kind of boring, but it’s really not. So, I’m going to go read.

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Sunlight Is Not My Friend!

Well, so this isn’t entirely true. I actually really like the sun. Unfortunately, it doesn’t like me very much. I don’t tan in the summer, I burn. My skin is so light that some people have said that it looks like I never get out. This is, in effect, mostly true, but there’s a good reason; one that I tend to forget about each year until I am painfully reminded.

During my senior year of high school I was around some kids who had Chicken Pox. I’ve all ready had it, thank you very much, so I wasn’t overly concerned. Unfortunately, the same virus that causes Chicken Pox is also responsible for a couple of other things. Not long after being exposed to these kids, I developed these major sores on the right side of my neck. They were painful and itchy. I had a really hard time turning my head, and my right ear felt like it does when I’ve got an infection. It took several doctors, and about three weeks of no treatment to discover that the source of this problem was caused by Herpes Simplex Virus 1. Don’t confuse this with HSV2, which is the genital form; I most likely wouldn’t be writing about that if it were the case. Anyway, there are also a couple of other names for this, the most common one is Shingles. Unfortunately, unlike Chicken Pox, this is not a one-time deal.

My first outbreak was, as I said, during my senior year, and the dermatologist I saw attributed it to being around the kids with Chicken Pox. The next time I got it I did at least know what it was, but not what caused it because I hadn’t been around anyone. It turns out that because this thing stays dormant there are several things that can trigger it. One thing is stress. I’m pretty sure it was during my first semester at college, and that was the semester from hell, so I’m not surprised that I broke out.

Since then I’ve had it several times, and in most cases it’s been okay. I broke out around the time Jim and I got married, (again probably due to the stress of planning a wedding), and other times. None of them were as bad as the first time as far as the discomfort, size, and number of blisters, with the exception of last summer. I went to the Wisconsin State Fair and spent several hours in the sun. A couple of days later, there it was, and it was awful! I can’t even begin to describe the way it feels, but people have told me that on me it looks like a giant hicky. It doesn’t help that it’s always right on my neck either. SMILE! So, add another way of calling up the magic, so to speak.

So, I know that putting myself in the sun can cause this thing to come to the surface, but I never seem to be able to remember. On Thursday when I went on my road trip I was in a car and the sun was coming in my window both coming and going because of the time of day. I didn’t even give it a second thought, until yesterday morning. I happened to reach up to the spot, and there it was; the beginning of yet another outbreak. It didn’t itch, and it really wasn’t all that painful, so I hoped that it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. Well, today it’s as annoying and painful as it usually is. So, this means I need to start making sure that I keep my hands clean, don’t touch the spot, and avoid, whenever possible, coming in contact with people. It’s contagious, and normally requires medication to treat. Unfortunately friends and neighbors, that’s not in the cards so it’s just going to have to do its thing and go away on its own. Just keep reminding me though that sunshine is not my friend. Sunshine is my enemy.

It kind of reminds me of that song that Peter, Paul and Mary did about the Lemon tree.

Lemon tree very pretty, and the lemon flower is sweet. But the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.

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What Does My Name Mean?

I agree with most of these. Not too bad …

CAROLINE
C is for Charismatic
A is for Arty
R is for Relaxed
O is for Outrageous
L is for Lucky
I is for Intense
N is for Naive
E is for Emotional

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I’m a Flower?

Well, I have a really hard time thinking of myself as a flower but … And me, delicate?


You Are a Blue Flower


A blue flower tends to represent peace, openness, and balance.
At times, you are very delicate like a cornflower.
And at other times, you are wise like an iris.
And more than you wish, you’re a little cold, like a blue hydrangea.

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Caboom!

Well, the title about says it all. Today I went down town to the Wisconsin Regional Library to meet with someone that works at the Volunteer Services for the Visually Handicapped, which is housed in the same facility as our regional library. Everything went well, and I was ahead of schedule. The buses were on time, the weather was nice, and I was enjoying the day. The only problem was that since Milwaukee is right on Lake Michigan, every spring if the wind is out of the east everything smells absolutely horrible because of all the stuff that has been washed up on the shore, so I had to deal with that for a while.

So anyway, I was walking home from the bus stop, which is only about a block and a half away from my apartment building. I have to cross one street, but the crossing isn’t a big deal at all, and normally I have absolutely no trouble with it. Unfortunately, today I wasn’t so lucky. I brought Jim with me today just for fun, and he and I were talking while we walked home. When we were almost up to the corner this person on a motor cycle pulled up to the intersection. Those engines are so loud, and even though I seriously doubt that this machine was a Harley it was still loud enough. It messed up my orientation just enough for my left foot to slip off of the curb and I went down. Considering what could have happened I’m just fine. I’ve sprained my ankles so many times that normally every time I fall it’s because of a twisted ankle. Not this time. I can say that for once my ankles didn’t twist. I landed on my right hand and my right knee. I skidded a little bit and was expecting either torn pants, torn and bloody skin, or both. When I got home though I discovered that there was neither. I’m really sore from the knee down to my shin, so I’m sure it’s pretty bruised up, but I’m not sure I want to know. My muscles everywhere else are pretty sore now too; probably because I think I tensed up really bad as I was falling. I know, probably the wrong thing to do, but it was sort of instinct. So, we’ll see how I’m doing in the morning. Just call me grandma. SMILE! The only other averted tragedy in this was my Pac Mate. It landed face-down on the cement. Fortunately it’s working normally and was very well protected in the Executive Products leather case that I bought for it. Way to go leather!

Speaking of leather, me and my Book Port have had some interesting experiences all ready. It’s typically in my purse with me whenever I leave the apartment. Unfortunately, even with the keypad locked, I’ve had a couple of occasions where it had reset itself to factory settings, or lost my place in my book. So, I placed an order on Friday for the leather Book Port case, also from Executive Products. It’ll be here on Friday. I didn’t exactly like the $44.95 price tag for a little case, but I really feel that in the end it’ll be worth it, especially for protection.

Well, I’ve got to pack up my laptop because I’m going on another road trip tomorrow, and American Idol is coming on in about fifteen minutes, so I’m going to go for now. more later.

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Stuff

Well, I’m back. I was really hoping to post yesterday, but due to the fact that Word Press was down I couldn’t. Anyway though, I’m back today.

First off, I finished My Sister’s Keeper last night. All I can say is, WOW!!!! I totally wasn’t expecting that ending. I’m not going to give anything away here but WOW!!!!

Yesterday I made pretty much the traditional Easter dinner of ham. We also had corn, cheesy mashed potatoes and biscuits. We ended up with a 5-pound ham, so we’ve got lots of left-overs. I really like it that way though because it means sandwiches and other things. I divide it up enough so that we don’t start getting the uncontrollable desire to go rolling in the mud squeaking and squealing. It’s nice too because then I don’t have to make something new every single day. Left-overs are just never a bad thing, unless they were bad to begin with, and then they’re even worse later. SMILE!

Last week I decided to make home-made pizza. Okay, so I cheated just a little; we got frozen crust. It turned out really great though. I got a pound of ground sausage and a pound of sliced mushrooms, and we won’t even talk about the amount of shredded cheese! A jar of pizza sauce and I was set. I ended up making two pizzas since the crust was a 2-pack, so we had one one day and one the next. It was great, and you can’t compare a home-made pizza to a frozen one or even from a pizza restaurant. My toppings were the best! SMILE!

Well, not too much else has been happening for me. I’ve been working as usual, and enjoying the chances I have to sit around and do nothing. Tonight is the first of the last four episodes of Seventh Heaven, and I’m totally bummed about it. that’s an awesome show and I’m really going to miss it. I’ll have to find some other way to spend my Monday nights.

Okay, so that’s about it for now. I’ve got to get on Skype pretty soon for a conference call for the AAWSVH Program Committee/exhibits subcommittee meeting. Is that a mouthful or what? My two committee members are both on Skype, so I figured I’d use that for our way to meet rather than using another form of conference call. Hey, it’s free, right? SMILE!

Well, that’s it for me. More later.

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Interesting Thought

At the suggestion of Sas, I have started reading My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult, which I was able to get unabridged from Audible. I’m about two hours into the book and I’m absolutely hooked. The thing is, it really brings up some interesting questions about ethics. The book is about a family with three kids. The oldest girl has a rare form of Leukemia, and the younger daughter was pretty much hand-picked to be her perfect match donor. I’ve actually heard of parents who have chosen to have another child to attempt to save the life of another, but I’ve never heard of anyone going quite this far to make it happen. It’s really bringing up some interesting questions for me though. In my mind I’m asking how any parent could create a living human for the sole purpose of using him/her to save someone else. But, at the same time I’ve never had kids, I don’t know what it feels like to watch someone you love die slowly and painfully, and therefore I can’t put myself into the shoes of these parents who did this. I’m not normally one to analyze the books I read, and that’s why I had such a hard time in school trying to dissect books. When I read I read for the fun of it, not to determine why the main character did this or that. This book though has changed all that.

I think the book is made even more enjoyable by the fact that it alternates between each person’s viewpoint, and each time this happens a different narrator takes up the reading. So it’s as if you start to actually hear the voices of the characters. I’ve actually heard of this author before, and started reading Salem Falls, but haven’t gotten very far with it, not because I didn’t like it, but because I don’t seem to have any time to actually really read. At least with audio books I can do things while I’m reading. I’m going to see what other books Audible has by Jodi. This book is definitely worth the read though.

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Podcasts

Well, over the past couple of days I’ve been listening to several different sessions of Blind Cool Tech. I have of course been using the Book Port to listen with a pair of headphones. I read on the Book Port user list that there is a hardware issue that causes stereo audio to be reversed, so that what is normally in the left channel is heard through the right, so on and so forth. But, before going to bed last night I listened to two of these files. I don’t know what Larry uses to record, but he said that he’s using two microphones. The sound that he gets from those two microphones with a pair of stereo headphones is absolutely unbelievable! I was listening to one thing where he was eating lunch with a couple of people, and I felt like I was there with him. I heard cars on the street, and could even tell what direction they were coming from. (Actually at one point it sounded so real that I thought a car was going to hit me.) Then he had something up there from April 10 that I listened to. He was walking home from work at APH. He said the day was really windy, but I really didn’t hear too much wind sound. What I did hear though, was again, absolutely terrific stereo sound. In this situation as he walked I could tell what kind of streets he was crossing, and even if he was passing by buildings. I don’t know if what he’s doing is intentional, or if it’s just because of the equipment, but whatever it is, I love it! It was like being in some sort of 3-D soundscape thing and being right in the middle of everything. Now that I have a little bit more room on my card I need to check for new episodes but I wanted to talk about it because it was just the coolest thing I’ve heard in a while.

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