Ok so I joined weight watchers on-line...

Not wanting to wait and join all the other losers that decide to join weight watchers on January 1st as their new years resolution, I joined weight watchers on line ..... again....... a few days ago. I just finished my first week and posted my new weight Friday. I was impressed with the immediate high tech text message I received from WW: " So big boy, it looks like you gained a bit this week. Is this what you expected?  It looks like you were eating for the winter and trying to see how much body weight  you could actually put on before the next freeze?  Do you live north of the Arctic Circle? We are just sayin that perhaps you don't understand the concept of Weightwatchers?  The  game plan is to LOSE weight each week not GAIN weight each week. Are you with us on this fine point? And we are just wondering ,if you  have some ideas about what to change for  the weigh-in  this coming week? If you’re not sure what happened, look back over the last week and think about what you might be able to change.(We mean come on man, you are allowed 40 points a day and you averaged...yes we said .AVERAGED 75  points a day. ) Are you serious? Can you do it? Will you?

PS: We suggest that you reevaluate your membership commitment from a three month payment plan to a day by day plan.

Papa, where do reindeer come from?

Went to a neighbor's house for cocktails-n-cookies tonight. On our way home, well, it was actually out of the way by a half-block, we visited the reindeer display at another neighbor's house. Jay, having had a few too many rudolphs, decided to give baby Grayson a mini-lesson in livestock husbandry. A photo-opportunity if there ever was one, kids.

Oh, my!

Is america great or what????

As the Tim Tebow legend has grown, some wags have spoofed on his religion and miracle-making ways and said they won't believe in him until he performs a Jesus-like feat and turns the Gatorade into wine.

Well, how about beer?

The Bonfire Brewery, according to its Facebook page, is on the case. The Colorado brewery today posted an image of a kneeling (or "Tebowing") Tebow lookalike, in silhouette, holding a beer mug. And made this accompanying announcement about Tebrew beer:

"Tebrew Sunday Sipper -- a barleywine from Bonfire -- is almost here. In the style of 4th quarter heroics, we're waiting until the last minute to serve it up -- the moment the 10 oz. glasses arrive, the real games can begin. Stay tuned."

Rats have feelings too...........

I really don't give a rat's ass if you care about rats or not....but this story on NPR the other day was very interesting.......something to think about when you are done with all your chores, relaxing in the big chair in front of the fire place:

 A new study found that rats are actually quite willing to come to another rat's aid, freeing a rat trapped in a container. And they're not just doing it for a dose of sugar water or some other reward; they're doing it out of empathy of the other rat's plight."


http://www.npr.org/2011/12/09/143453479/rats-show-empathy-by-freeing-trapped-companions

Learned today: Boxelder bugs (aka stinkbugs) are positively fascinating. And indestructible. And perhaps a little salty.

If you ask nice, Plou will cook!

it is hard to beat a good home cooked meal: slow cooked pork roast, onions, bell pepers, carrots, mushroom soup, with a side of those good ole greenbeans with french fried onion rings, and home made buttermilk cornbread!!!

Foam Duck Lips?

plou and i heard this song on the radio...couldn't get the lyrics but sounded a lot like "all the little kids with foam duck lips".....texted polvo and he said it was either " Dump truck bricks" or "thumped up tricks" or " all the little girls with the frumped up sticks".....I still think it is foam duck lips!

Da'Osric, Nate G, and DJ Gray in 20 years....

wow we finally got it!!!

You know how we always wanted to be able to Search by Image? well Google has that option now....we can pop in a picture of a whatchamacallit and find similar thing!!!! Learn more about images on the web and your own photos http://images.google.com/ just to test it this is the image i put in a jpeg from my food pictures to search:

this is what I got:

is america great or what?

I'm jest sayin............

Dont get much better than this.................

Cool kids club. Yo.

I'll take your popped collar and gansta hand jive and raise you a rod stewart hairdo, outie belly button, and a 'who me?' straight up. Word to the next generation of cool kids.

I can sign too!

Today I learned that gangsta is apparently hereditary.

What Osric Learnt today . . .

How to pop his collar.
Aspirations: to join a frat
Major: Business
Personal Quote: "One at a time ladies."

Can your boobs save a life,or from breaking a limb?

I learnt last night that there actually is ONE good reason to have big boobs...when you take a dive over your bicycle handlebars, big boobs act as portable air bags. I know this is the only reason I did not have a scratch on my face, because my face could not get that close to the ground, even at high velocity with abrupt stoppage. Now mind you every other limb has several scrapes, and my left boob is almost a solid bruise colored dark purple & blue...I tried to get a pic of the boob, but then realized this might, just might be a little "TMI"...so I stuck with a safe pic of the leg.

I ask you again...if put in the same situation...Could Your Boob Do The Same?

"Does a bear sh*t in your yard?"

A: Yes! This weekend I learned - finally - not to roll the trash bin out the night before trash day. 'woke up Friday morning to heavy fog and trash shredded all over the lawn - 2nd time in 6 weeks. (George Bush: 'Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, I'm not putting the trash out until Friday morning.') On Sat, neighbor confirmed he had seen mama bear and 2 cubs picnicing at midnight

under the pine tree in our front yard. I actually had to shovel bear sh*t before mowing! (Hello - this is why I don't have a dog!) This followed the 6 a.m. Friday morning job of picking up trash and sweeping something that looked like flour* off the driveway and parts of the lawn. (*See previous blog entry below...perhaps)

Ribhard and Valencia's spouse deep fry chicken, onion rings, and wings

 This was some production last sunday.  Rob brought the cooker attachment from his grill and hooked it up to our propane tank. He also brought about 50 lbs of chicken and wings, seasoned, flourered  and all  ready to deep fry.  I bought a FryDaddy to do the onion rings. Plou made us cook outside after we did deep fried onion rings in the house the week before.  We had a great meal with all the sides. We kinda make this a sunday get together....lots of food...lots of beer!

Just when you think you have seen it all.........

Osric Bumbo 2.0

What Osric learnt today . . .

How to sit in his Bumbo!

i know very little about advertising...........

or the psychology of images and printed words to get a point across...but for some reason, this ad does not sit well with me.  (double click the picture to get full effect)

check out the local toll free number

Is this like the best phone number ever or what??????

14100 68th Street North
Largo, FL 33771 
License #: CFC046000

Local Phone:
727.438.2986
Local Toll Free:	Pay With:
866.867.5309

A glitch in the space time continuim?

What Grayson learned today: How to walk.

does st pete beach have it going on or what?

I have strolled down st pete beach past the Don CeSar for many years. Seen a lot of strange dressed  people, half dressed people, and undressed people, happenings, and events. new one on me this morning:Four poster beads with mosquito nets for rent like a beach chair or cabana.  Is america great or what?

Hamlet -- Act 5 Scene II

HAMLET:

Sir, his definement suffers no perdition in you;
though, I know, to divide him inventorially would
dizzy the arithmetic of memory, and yet but yaw
neither, in respect of his quick sail. But, in the
verity of extolment, I take him to be a soul of
great article; and his infusion of such dearth and
rareness, as, to make true diction of him, his
semblable is his mirror; and who else would trace
him, his umbrage, nothing more.

OSRIC
Nay, good my lord; for mine ease, in good faith.
Sir, I come here newly to this land; believe
me, for I an absolute gentleman, full of most excellent
differences, of very soft society and great showing:
indeed, to speak feelingly of myself, I am the card or
calendar of gentry, for you shall find me in the
continent of what part a gentleman would see.

Your Day In Court

For part of each of the last two days, I have been watching the performance of my favorite DA at work in a court of law. I learned that apparently anyone can bring a case to court. I also learned that security there is about as tight as at the airport. The only difference is that you can use a camera in the airport. Please double click to enlarge my courtroom sketches so that you may enjoy all the legal detail!

oats of Steel

s

So I kept hearing about Steel Cut Oats and finally bought some. I was a little taken back at the cost ($3.50 as my usual oatmeal is about $1.50)....I get the box home and open it up and see little rabbit pellets!...this disturbs me...but I figure WTF...start to fix a batch and read the instructions  which say to cook 20 - 25 minutes.....the old regular oatmeal takes about 5 mins.......and I honestly did not taste that much difference....just the texture ..... I am wondering what the big deal is about these steel cut oats? I'm just askin!

Keepin' It Clean with David Sedaris

So Saturday night we went with Valencia and Rob to see David Sedaris. What a funny little man he is! Read from his books mostly and didn't disappoint. He did, however, go on and on - perhaps just a little too long - about what a dirty and gross place China is to visit. Seems people there just spit, blow snot, and openly shit everywhere, making it tough to traverse the landscape. Even babies don't wear diapers; they just wear pants with a slit in the back, so that they are free to dump wherever. (Kind of puts an end to the cloth vs. disposable debate) He went on in great detail about this and commented that it is so extreme that he can't believe that anyone who has visited China neglects to lead with this detail when describing their visit.

I learned they make a refrigerator with a Sabbath Mode Switch

Did yall know they make a refrigerator with a switch  that cuts off on the sabbath? Well this was  news to me. We snagged an icebox at Lowe's  because our old one died. The new one  has this special switch. I wonder if they  have any thing for atheists? A Shabbat mode refrigerator includes, at a minimum, the ability to disable all lights or other electrical activity from occurring when the refrigerator door is opened. Some Shabbat mode refrigerators include a timer for the compressor so that opening the door, which will normally indirectly cause the compressor to turn on as the temperature rises, will have absolutely no effect on any electrical operation of the appliance.

Gamification: The next big thing?

March 27, 2011
Say you're zooming down the highway, when you spot one of those speed-limit enforcement cameras from the corner of your eye. You hit the brakes, but not before the camera's flash catches you breaking the law. A speeding ticket is surely on its way to your mailbox.

iStockphoto.com
A car passes a warning sign for speed cameras. Now, imagine that same camera also snaps a photo of your car when you are driving at orunder the speed limit. For your safe driving, you are entered into a lottery to win a portion of the money from fines paid by speeders.That idea was tested in Sweden with great success. It's an example of "gamification," considered the next wave of social engagement and Internet technology.
Gamification "is the process of using game thinking and game mechanics to engage users and solve problems," says Gabe Zichermann, co-author of the book Game-Based Marketingand chairman of the Gamification Summit.He tells Weekend Edition Sunday host Liane Hansen that the speed-camera lottery in Sweden turns the whole idea of fines and penalties on its head, in a way that only "game people" think of. Instead of being structured around punishment and negativity, he says, the speed-camera lottery is "all about positive reinforcement." If you drive the speed limit, or under it, you may win some money.

"And that positive incentive to create better behavior," he says, "is a core tenet of games.

what do yall think?

so polvo asked me if I wanted to do a little cornhole toss............

I ran into polvo at the beach the other day..he was talking about a game I have never heard of.......called cornhole toss........he invited me to play...being from the south, I was a little reluctant to commit to participating in a game called cornhole toss .....I'm jest saying....... Anyway, polvo showed me the set up:

you toss bean bags and try to get them to fall into a hole on a board...similar to horseshoes with out the stakes or the horse shoes...........so we begin to play....i assume polvo has played this game since the 2nd grade as he seems to know the rules and talks a mean game..........

needless to say...after a few practice tosses....i shellacked polvo 3 - 2 and he hung his head and cried in shame:

this really is a fun game...and would probably be even more fun with a couple of tasty beverages........if you are interested check out the site: customecorntoss.com

How hot is it?

Much like me, you are probably wondering: How hot is it inside Earth?

Earth’s core temperature is estimated to be around 5,000 to 7,000 degrees Celsius. That’s about as hot as the surface of the sun, but vastly cooler than the sun’s interior.

French Fried Onion Chicken

I fixed this French Fried Onion chicken dish the other night. I heard about it from a woman at work. This chicken is better to me than bread crumb,corn-flake,or panko chicken.... all of which I really like and have fixed many times. I say try it, you will like it!!


Ingredients:
2 cups (4 oz.) FRENCH'S® Original French Fried Onions
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
4 (5 oz.) boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 egg, beaten

Directions:
Place French Fried Onions and flour into plastic bag. Lightly crush with hands or with rolling pin. Transfer to pie plate or waxed paper.
Dip chicken into egg; then coat with onion crumbs, pressing firmly to adhere. Place chicken on baking sheet.
Bake at 400°F for 20 min. or until no longer pink in center.

keepin it simple in Colorado Springs

I learnt that UCCS makes it very clear how to flush toilets. The flush instructions include detailed instructions spelled out as how to flush these high tech water saver toilets. They take it down to the lowest common denominator.....way past just explaining the very technical flush functions "up liquid waste - down solid waste". They include the "#1 and #2" identifiers for users from south of the Mason Dixon line!

Eggstractor!

You guys are laughing at me for shopping at the ARC!....well after this find last week.. ,,,,,,.WHO IS LAUGHING NOW????????

this stuff is great!

if you are in a hurry and don't have time to mess around with real fresh garlic.....this is the ticket. It is easy to use and tastes great. P-lou's oldest daughter's husband's brother-in-law bought this for us!

Chiquita Curry

Pat contributed incredible withheld culinary knowledge tonight to our Curry Beef over Rice meal. She insisted that adding the robust, sweet taste of a banana to the concoction would infuse a "sweet-and-sour" twist to the traditional dish. (Let's just say that Vic likes it...but he's had more wine than the rest of us tonight...) I'll admit it, I added the banana, but only due to pier pressure from Vic after Pat's off the wall banana addition idea...but I'm warming up to the results :)

Not a Joke! These are real!

OK, so I've been coaching 8-12 year olds at Winter Park in freestyle skiing for the past 11 weeks. Gotta say, one of the best parts is learning crazy miscellaneous information from them such as the Narwhal! I honestly didn't think that my athlete was serious about a unicorn of the sea but it actually exists, and now it is a life goal to see one in the wild.

you gotta itch?

I learnt that if you rub this stuff on your ankle that has been itching for 2 weeks it will make the spot quit itching.

Auto correct...

http://damnyouautocorrect.com has got to be one of the funniest

websites out there...we peruse it weekly for fun.

"I laughed, I cried, it became a part of me"

side note: scroll to the bottom to see pages and pages of these.

WTF?

So I "learnt" how fast one's copay for an "eye exam" could go from $10 to $80+. If you request an "eye exam", and they find something (say a scratch, etc,) then it's $10 for the "eye exam". HOWEVER, if you call up and say you feel like you have a scratch or something else that then becomes a "Medical (Patient) Complaint" - which then turns the "eye exam" into a "specialist / doctor visit" which then falls under your medical health plan, under the "Specialist" upcharge category.

To review:
1. Go in for an eye exam and THEY find a scratch - $10.
2. Say you "think you may have a scratch" - go in, and and they confirm it - $80

Of course (as they later told me) the increase fee wasn't just "fluff" this also included a "Treatment plan" which was "continue wearing sunglasses" and "use eye drops"

Wing Cooker

I got an email from Chef's Catalog showing this item a week or two back. I eased down to their retail store and bought it. Made some chicken wings for superbowl. they were ok but nothing to write home about. I used it in the oven....can't wait for it to get warmer to try it out on the grill.

Someone Please Post....

Would someone please write a new post so that I do not have to look at Polvo's bloody toes whenever this blog comes up?! I would post but I have not learned anything new today.