Friday, December 31, 2010

Let your kids watch YouTube too much & they'll try to copy what they see *gasp!*

Let your kids watch YouTube too much...

But that's not necessarily a bad thing. After watching Numa Numa Lego more times than I care to count, LilGirl decided "I could do that!" and is now making her own Lego stop-motion movie.

Once she's done, I'll post the video. I love it when she gets these ideas and acts on them.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

New York Blizzard time-lapse video

Wow. I've got to give kudos to the photographer. When we have a blizzard, my instinct is definitely NOT to keep digging a clock out of a snowdrift, even in order to create something so cool.


December 2010 Blizzard Timelapse from Michael Black on Vimeo.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Did you get an e-reader for Christmas?

Amazon Kindle eBook Reader

Whether you got a Kindle, or one of the other e-readers, or even an iPod, iPhone, iPad or an Android device, you probably want to start filling it with books. I don't have an e-reader, but I've put the free e-reader apps on every compatible device I've got, and I found Books on The Knob to be very helpful in finding free and bargain books to (over)fill my virtual TBR pile.

Just pay attention to which format the book is free for - sometimes it's free for one type of reader, but not another (e.g. free at B&N, but not at Amazon) or sometimes it's only free in a certain country. And she usually updates when something she listed is no longer free, but I've missed it & accidentally paid for a book before (Darn 1-click! My husband just nods and goes "Yeah, 'accidentally,' suuuure"), so there's that to look out for.

I love finding free books. I've found some great stories through BoTK I wouldn't have picked up otherwise. I've also grabbed one or two which I didn't care for and then removed from my collection, but since they were free I was only out some time, not cash.

Photo by goXunuReviews

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Christmas Countdown: Story of the Nativity 2.0

My friend Cheryl posted this on her blog the other day. I have to wonder how Joseph has time to play Farmville, but then, I wonder that about everybody...


Story of the Nativity 2.0 - Inspirational Videos - GodTube

Monday, December 20, 2010

Christmas Countdown: Why we put an angel on top of the tree

Vintage Christmas Postcard      Santa and Angel
Another funny story that finds its way to my email every year:

When four of Santa's elves got sick, the trainee elves did not produce toys as fast as the regular ones, and Santa began to feel the pre-Christmas pressure. Then Mrs Claus told Santa her Mother was coming to visit, which  stressed Santa even more.

When he went to harness the reindeer, he found that three of them were about to give birth and two others had jumped the fence and were out, Heaven knows where.

Then when he began to load the sleigh, one of the floorboards cracked, the toy bag fell to the ground and all the toys were scattered. So, frustrated, Santa went in the house for a cup of apple cider and a shot of rum.

When he went to the cupboard, he discovered the elves had drank all the cider and hidden the liquor. In his frustration, he accidentally dropped the cider jug, and it broke into hundreds of little glass pieces all over the kitchen floor. He went to get the broom and found the mice had eaten all the straw off the end of the broom.

Just then the doorbell rang, and irritated Santa marched to the door,  yanked it open, and there stood a little angel with a great big Christmas tree. The angel said very cheerfully, "Merry Christmas, Santa. Isn't this a lovely day? I have a beautiful tree for you. Where would you like me to stick it?"

And so began the tradition of the little angel on top of the Christmas tree.



Try your hand at making electronic snowflakes!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

All I want for Christmas is a Cr-48...and, look, Christmas came early! #ChromeOS

Remember how I said I was getting off my Google fangirl soapbox in yesterday's post? I had no idea how fangirly I would be by the end of the day...

Cr-48 box

My 6-year-old hand-me-down laptop died the day before Thanksgiving. It's not in the budget to buy a new one right now, and anyway, all the post-holiday (or even post-CES) sales are coming up later, so I've been biding my time with our little netbook (which is difficult to type on) and hubby's desktop computer (which has its own obvious time-sharing issues). I was still sniffing around for a replacement (read "hand-me-down") laptop when Google came along with their Chrome OS Pilot Program on December 7th.

For those who don't know, Chrome OS is Google's (until last week) mythical operating system. It basically looks like the Chrome browser, but it's your operating system, like Windows or OSX. Beta testers in the pilot program receive a free laptop, the CR-48, in exchange for "kicking all the tires you can find" and sending feedback to Google. Before the live-streamed announcement was even over, the moment Google revealed the site to apply for their pilot program, I clicked over and filled out the form...and did it wrong.

When I'm over-excited, I don't follow directions well (who does?), plus I took a phone call halfway through. After I clicked send, I IM'd hubby to see if he'd applied and when he mentioned the 140-character limit for the answer to "What would make you a unique Pilot user?" I just about fell over. 140 characters? The length of a tweet? I had completely ignored that bit of the instructions and written a four-sentence paragraph the length of about five tweets! Gah! I quickly went back to the page, re-did my application and hit send once more, but with little hope. In a last-ditch effort, I visited the Google Chrome fan page at Facebook and filled out the survey there which would also enter my name in the running. Feeling I'd done the best damage control I could, I sat back to wait (and drool) and wait.

By Friday, reports that some people had received their Cr-48 via FedEx excited me. I came home, eagerly looking at the front step for a box. THERE WAS A BOX ON THE FRONT STEP! Alas, it was not from Google. Expecting a mostly unexpected package turns out to be extra torture when we're in the only time of year we regularly receive boxes on the front step (we do most of our Christmas shopping online).

The weekend passed. I checked the front step on Saturday, despite being almost certain FedEx doesn't deliver on Saturdays (I did keep myself from actually checking that fact) and despite not hearing the doorbell even though we were home the entire day. No box. The mistake in my application haunted me.

On Monday, I looked when I got home. No box.

Tuesday, no box.

Sometime on Wednesday something happened without my really noticing. I accepted that I would not be getting a Cr-48. I'm not really sure when that came to be, but it was sometime before This Week in Google started at 3pm. As I listened to the show, it hurt a little when the hosts discussed their Cr-48s, but looking for a box on the front step when I got home later didn't even cross my mind.

I had to run an errand on the way home, so hubby picked up LilGirl and was home before me. The latest storm was on the verge of hitting us (in a matter of minutes, it turned out), so I didn't think much of it when hubby texted me to ask where I was. I stopped for the mail on the way up our street (another box, not from Google) and got home just after the storm hit (nasty little ice pellets, not even snow).

When I got inside, hubby was cleaning the stove, which seemed a little weird, since I knew he wouldn't be cooking - we had an entire leftover pizza in the fridge from the night before (now I realize he was just keeping himself distracted). Hubby sat down to go through the mail and asked me to turn on the Christmas tree lights. I did, and came back (in hindsight, I can only imagine now how frustrating this little action must have been for him) and we had the following conversation:

Hubby: I should call [my friend] & see if he's still coming to pick up [his daughter]'s gift.

Me: He doesn't need to come in this weather. Don't worry about it.

Hubby: But it's getting crowded under the tree.

Me: Crowded? There are two presents under there.

Hubby: Didn't you see that there are more now? Go look.

I looked and found a shipping box with a curly ribbon stuck to it, shoved behind the other two presents (I was supposed to see that?). Figuring it was something he'd ordered for my birthday (after all, it wasn't even a Christmas ribbon) I lifted an eyebrow, shrugged and headed back to the kitchen.

Hubby: Aren't you even curious what it is?

Me: I can wait.

Hubby: You need to look more closely at that box.

I went back to the tree, picked up the box, and realized the shipping label had my name on it, not hubby's. Odd. The name on the return address was someone I'd never heard of, in Kentucky, and it came via UPS. Even more odd. I hadn't ordered anything that I could think of.

A bit of hope sparked back to life. The box was the right size...It was about the right weight...

Me: Nooooo [in a long, disbelieving gasp]

Hubby: [chuckling]

I pulled open the box. Inside was another box featuring a design I'd grown painfully familiar with through the many social media posts I'd seen over the last few days (that's the box at the top of this post).

Google, how could I ever have doubted you?

Oh, @Google, you DO love me!! #ChromeOS

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Christmas Countdown: Broken Glass Jello

Once again, as I do every year, I was having little panic attack about what to bring for the staff holiday lunch/meeting (as I do for every party where I'm supposed to bring food). Here's where you get my usual disclaimer of "I am not a cook!" (Can you hear the Nixon impersonation?) Luckily, Monday morning I popped into Google Reader and someone had shared an entry from The Food Librarian with instructions for Christmas Broken Glass Jello and I thought "This, I can do!"

First, I'd like to show you that, yes, I did manage to make something that looks good as well as tastes good, and I even put a little thought into presentation (though not up to Martha Stewart's standards, I'm sure, but I was also limited by the fact that I have to be able to walk about a block with this dish, presents and my purse, so it needed to be in something sturdy and not too elaborate or unwieldy). I hope it goes over well at the lunch today.

From Mary's Ramble

Second, I would like to point out how much I looove Google Reader. The recipe came from a blog I didn't even know existed, but because Google Reader has a sharing option, a librarian hundreds of miles away who does read The Food Librarian saw the post, thought it was cool, shared it, and I saw it just when I needed it. If you're looking for a good RSS reader, I don't think you can do much better. Okay, off my Google fangirl soapbox for the day...I'm off to lunch!

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Christmas Countdown: I'm Dreaming of Christmas Music

I tend to forget the existence of The Rat Pack and their ilk the rest of the year, but it just isn't Christmas without them. I need Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Nat King Cole (those three at least!) or something is just off about the season.

Here's one of my favorite Christmas songs, and it's just not right unless Bing sings it:



What's your favorite Christmas song, or which song is it just not Christmas without?

Monday, December 13, 2010

Christmas Countdown: Carols for the psychologically challenged

Another email. This one seems to be all over the internet, but I couldn't figure out where it originated:

  1. Schizophrenia: Do You Hear What I Hear, the Voices, the Voices?
  2. Amnesia: I Don't Remember If I'll be Home for Christmas
  3. Narcissistic: Hark the Herald Angels Sing about Me
  4. Manic: Deck the Halls and Walls and House and Lawn and Streets and Stores and Office and Town and Cars and Buses and Trucks and Trees and Fire Hydrants And...
  5. Multiple Personality Disorder: We Three Queens Disoriented Are
  6. Paranoid: Santa Claus Is Coming To Get Us
  7. Borderline Personality Disorder: You Better Watch Out, You Better not Shout, I'm Gonna Cry, and I'll not Tell You Why 
  8. Full Personality Disorder: Thoughts of Roasting You On an Open Fire
  9. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells 
  10. Agoraphobia: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day But Wouldn't Leave My House
  11. Senile Dementia: Walking In a Winter Wonderland Miles from My House in My Slippers and Robe
  12. Oppositional Defiant Disorder: I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus So I Burned Down the House 
  13. Social Anxiety Disorder: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas While I Sit Here and Hyperventilate
  14. Attention Deficit Disorder: We Wish You..... Hey Look!! It's Snowing 

And to one and all, a very Merry . . . wow! It IS snowing!!!

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Christmas Countdown: Doggy ornaments

Missy & Quinn

I hadn't planned on buying any new ornaments this year, but when we found these two together (and half price, to boot!) we had to get them. They're a Pomeranian and Dachshund, just like our dogs.

How I spent my afternoon

Thursday, December 09, 2010

Christmas Countdown: Please Share Alike this holiday!

I saw this on TWiT Live between shows the other day and had to share



via BoingBoing

Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Christmas Countdown: Fruit Cake recipe

Here's another recipe someone emailed to me. I think I sense a theme here...

Fruitcake
Photo by Matthew Bietz 
  • One cup water
  • One cup sugar
  • Four large eggs
  • Two cups dried fruit
  • One teaspoon baking soda
  • One teaspoon salt
  • One cup brown sugar
  • Lemon juice
  • Nuts
  • One bottle whisky

Sample the whisky to check for quality. Take a large bowl. Check the whisky again. To be sure it is the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink. Repeat. Turn on the electric mixer, beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar and beat again.

Make sure the whisky is still okay. Cry another tup. Turn off the mixer. Break two leggs and add one to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit. Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers pry it loose with a drewscriver.

Sample the whisky to check for tonsisticity. Next, sift two cup of salt. Or something. Who cares? Check the whisky. Now sift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one table. Spoon. Of sugar or something. Whatever you can find.

Grease the oven. Turn the cake tin to 350 degrees. Don’t forget to beat off the turner. Throw the bowl out of the window, check the whisky again and go to bed.

Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Christmas Countdown: Crown Royal Christmas Cookie Recipe

Here's another item someone emailed me sometime or another. I don't cook much, but I do enjoy baking cookies. I think I'll especially like trying these.


Cookies!

1 cup of water
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup of brown sugar
lemon juice
4 large eggs
1 cup nuts
2 cups of dried fruit
1 bottle Crown Royal

  • Sample the Crown Royal to check quality.
  • Take a large bowl, check the Crown Royal again, to be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink.
  • Turn on the electric mixer...Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl.
  • Add one teaspoon of sugar...Beat again.
  • At this point it's best to make sure the Crown Royal is still OK, try another cup.. just in case.
  • Turn off the mixer thingy.
  • Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.
  • Pick the frigging fruit off floor...
  • Mix on the turner.
  • If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers just pry it loose with a dewscriver.
  • Sample the Crown Royal to check for tonsisticity.
  • Next, sift two cups of salt, or something.... who giveshz a sheet.
  • Check the Crown Royal.
  • Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.
  • Add one table.
  • Add a spoon of ar, or somefink.... whatever you can find.
  • Greash the oven.
  • Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over.
  • Don't forget to beat off the turner.
  • Finally, throw the bowl through the window.
  • Finish the bottle of Crown Royal.
  • Make sure to put the stove in the dishwasher.
Cherry Mistmas!

Monday, December 06, 2010

Christmas Countdown: Awesome lightsaber Christmas "tree"

I just love this. So clever! (Update: The picture doesn't seem to "stick" here in the post, so here's the direct link: http://twitpic.com/3bt05r)

by @seangirvan
via @StarWars

Thursday, December 02, 2010

Christmas Countdown: What if it had been three wise WOMEN?

Someone emailed this to me last year. I'm not sure of the origin, but thought I'd share:

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Christmas Countdown: "Phew! It took all weekend, but I got the tree up!"


I can't help but think this must look amazing lit up at night! Of course, the person who set his up probably got pretty "lit up" in the process, as well. :-)


This picture seems to keep floating around via email and pops up all over the internet (with the caption in the title of this post), but I can't figure out who took it. The url in the bottom right seems to be the same everywhere I look, but I couldn't actually find this picture on that site (and I doubt it originated there anyway). Oh well, enjoy.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Oh No! Rogue Apostrophe!


I love Twaggies. They take interesting tweets and illustrate them. I especially liked this one they did for a tweet by Steve Martin.

Those rogue apostrophes strike when you least expect them. :)

Friday, November 26, 2010

New tree skirt #huskers


New tree skirt #huskers
Originally uploaded by mdesive

A remnant of fleece I found at Hobby Lobby. This wasn't what I planned to do
with it (not that I really had a plan) but I guess that's what I get for
decorating the tree while the game is on

If the founding fathers had Twitter


I laughed out loud at this one - especially John Hancock using a large font for his email sig:


Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Geek and Gamer Girls [Video]

Possibly slightly NSFW (though no worse than the original by Katy Perry) but I love this song. Besides Seth Green, keep an eye out for Stan Lee and Katee Sackhoff.


Geek and Gamer Girls - Director's Cut - Watch more Funny Videos

via Bonnie Burton

Thinking about ideas

I love Seth Godin's blog. The posts are often short, making them easy to read during a busy day, but they almost always hit me in the gut. He's usually referring to business, but his thoughts often stretch quite easily to writing and the rest of my life. This morning's post was a list of where ideas come from. I've included the ones which spoke most loudly to me here (with my notes in brackets). Click the link for the entire list.

Idea Bulb

1. Ideas don't come from watching television [I think mostly this is true, although once in awhile, something on TV will send me down the path to an idea]

2. Ideas sometimes come from listening to a lecture [This is true for me. I especially like the TED Talks]

3. Ideas often come while reading a book [Boy, do they ever!]

8. Ideas fear experts, but they adore beginner's mind. A little awareness is a good thing [I find when I've started researching a subject I know little-to-nothing about, I'm soon bursting with ideas. Further down the road, when I'm more familiar with the subject, the ideas are fewer, so I have to agree with this one. This might make me tempted to be a dabbler, but I find that you need to keep learning in order to bring those ideas to reality]

9. Ideas come in spurts, until you get frightened. Willie Nelson wrote three of his biggest hits in one week ["Spurts" of creativity or activity are when I do my best work]

10. Ideas come from trouble [What's that old saying? "Necessity is the mother of invention" I think creative thinking is best when it solves a problem]

16. Ideas come out of the corner of the eye, or in the shower, when we're not trying [The shower! My fountain of ideas :) ]

picture by qisur (Ramunas Geciauskas)

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Skype Hits New Usage Record. So glad I could help.

Talking to a kitten via skype


I'm usually an early adopter, but I drug my feet on Skype. The only real reason I hadn't used it was that we didn't have a webcam or working microphone on any computer in the house and I just never got around to addressing that issue. Since our Thanksgiving trip didn't work out, I was pushed into action at last. Sunday night I finally got all the needed equipment together, signed up for a Skype account and made a test call, which worked perfectly the first try. Yay! Now I'm just waiting to actually use it...

Then I came across this story on Mashable today:


"With an IPO looming, Skype is touting a major new milestone: 25 million concurrent users. The number was reached on Monday for the first time, and the company says it represents a new all-time high"

Glad I could help. :) On some level, I feel like I've finally joined the 21st century.

How do you do Buffy without Joss???


Warner Bros. Rebooting Buffy; Joss Whedon Has "Mixed Emotions":
"I always hoped that Buffy would live on even after my death. But, you know, AFTER...I don't love the idea of my creation in other hands, but I'm also well aware that many more hands than mine went into making that show what it was. And there is no legal grounds for doing anything other than sighing audibly."
At least he has a little sense of humor about it: 
"This is a sad, sad reflection on our times, when people must feed off the carcasses of beloved stories from their youths—just because they can't think of an original idea of their own, like I did with my Avengers idea that I made up myself."
But, seriously, no Joss Whedon, no Sarah Michelle Gellar? I doubt I'll be seeing this movie. I don't see a link yet at IMDB. Can we hope Warner Brothers is not that far along with the project and could still decide not to do it? I'm crossing my fingers.

Disclaimer: Back in the day, I was a big fan of the original Buffy movie and was horrified the WB was going to make a TV series out of it. I had the same "Get your hands off!" reaction I'm having now. So, I might be surprised in the long run, but I will remain doubtful for now. I don't think they can manage to turn me around twice.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Saturday, November 20, 2010

I want a snuggie! But not just any snuggie...

I think the Snuggie is one of the stupidist inventions ever. Half of it is because of the name. I mean, I have to smirk every time someone says "I want a Snuggie," or "Would you like a Snuggie?" or "Do you have a Snuggie?" or any variation I haven't thought of here. However, tonight I found one I actually do want:


This is just freakin' made of AWESOME!

If someone has taken the hint and wants to give me one for Christmas (hey, my birthday is coming up, too!), or you just want to get one for yourself, Hot Topic seems to have them.

via Meljean Brook

Thursday, November 18, 2010

An Ounce of Prevention by Wallace McRae

I was going through some old papers and found a photocopy of this:



I love Google Books! It keeps me from having to keep those old photocopies in some file or box where no one (including me) will ever see them again. I also have a strange love of cowboy poetry that I can't explain.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Arrrrr! It be a pirate doodle!

Yes, it's another Google Doodle, but this one has pirates! The doodle marks Robert Louis Stevenson's 160th birthday today.

Oddly, I've had Treasure Island on my TBR (to be read) list for about 30 years and somehow have still never read it. I think that's what Nathan Bransford would refer to as a gap book:
"We all have our "gap" books, those books that everyone in the world has read and talks about all the time and look we are really meaning to read them but we're all very busy and there are a lot of books to read and no one could possibly be expected to read them all and why do I have to defend myself aha;sldkjf;aj"
 I guess I need to get on that.

Monday, November 08, 2010

Playing with X-rays


Google has another clever doodle today (it's hard not to post EVERY time they have a special doodle), to celebrate the 115th anniversary of the discovery of x-rays, and GeekDad has an easy way you can "play" with x-rays with your kids:

 "While it’s not so simple to do x-ray activities with your kids at home or in the classroom, there is a related activity tied to an interesting discovery made in 2008: you can actually generate x-rays by simply ripping a piece of clear adhesive tape off a roll. That’s it. Just regular household tape. Of course, you do have to do it in a vacuum. But even if you don’t have a vacuum chamber handy, you can observe a similar effect by taking an ordinary roll of tape (clear or duct tape works well) and ripping it off the roll in a totally blackened room. Give your eyes time to adjust, and you’ll see a flash of blue light — the same kind of emission, except given off in the visible spectrum." via GeekDad

Is there anything duct tape CAN'T do?

Bonus: If you click through the logo's link, it takes you to the search page for X-rays, and the very first image in the smple of image searches is this:


(Unfortunately, the link to the image itself no longer seems to work correctly. D'oh!)

Time Management for Writers #nanowrimo

My friend *lizzie shared this on her blog the other day:




So, there's just one thing you all should say to me during November: "GET BACK IN YOUR ROOM!"


YouTube

Sunday, November 07, 2010

Keeping you from embarrassing yourself? There's not an app for that

Artsy Keyboard (due to beer)

From Mashable:

Don't Drink and Facebook: New Plugin Mitigates the Fallout: "The deal is simple, download the plugin [for Firefox] and customize the settings for a variety of social media sites — from Facebook to MySpace toTumblr (for the bloggers among us) to e-mail accounts like Gmail or Hotmail....Set your hours of intoxication, and if you try to sign on to one of those sites during those times, you’ll be asked to pass a test."

Okay, great idea, but...

"This plugin doesn’t work on mobile devices, which means that when one is out and about — Android or iPhone in hand — one’s only protection is one’s own common sense. Good luck with that."

So, it only works if you've made it home before you try to update, or if you stayed home to get drunk in the first place. Um...yeah.

Friday, November 05, 2010

Remember, remember...I almost forgot!

lewes bonfire night 2010


Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, 'twas his intent
To blow up the King and Parli'ment.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England's overthrow;
By God's providence he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Hulloa boys, Hulloa boys, let the bells ring.
Hulloa boys, hulloa boys, God save the King!

It's raining (regency) men!



video via Risky Regencies (yes, I've been hanging on to this one for awhile)

Wednesday, November 03, 2010

NaNoWriMo Angel


I found this calendar with a great quote when I was poking around last week for a calendar to use for NaNoWriMo. I ended up going in my own hacked-together DIY direction to track my progress, but this was too cute not to share.

Tuesday, November 02, 2010

#NaNoWriMo Day 2: Full of FAIL

Well, I've got a big, fat goose-egg of a wordcount tonight. Plenty of excuses. None worth sharing. 
I WILL do better tomorrow!

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkins by LilGirl and Auntie Erin

Saturday, October 30, 2010

It's Talk Like Jane Austen Day!

What an amiable and agreeable thing, to speak like our dear Jane today! 


Since it's so close to Halloween, I thought I'd share a video that mashes up the holiday with Jane's work quite nicely:



The book trailer for the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies prequel, Dawn of the Dreadfuls, was perhaps more fitting, but it's not for the squeamish (I have one foot in that camp), so I'll just link to it here for those more stout of heart.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Check out how you can get free tickets to Haunted Hollow!

I know it's last minute, but if you're interested, Haunted Hollow has free tickets here.

Happy Halloween!

Scary!

Bwahahahaha!!! }:)

Zombie apocalypse hits Sears!

Sears has embraced its "Zombie Side" with a special website - you can view it in English (if you're shopping for your zombie friends) or Zombian (if you are a zombie). They've even got some helpful videos:



I tend to exercise just like this!




I think I've been on an elevator with this guy...er, zombie




Don't let your zombies get cold!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Behold the power of Lord...er, I mean...Lady Vader!

I'm pretty strict about my rule on not putting pics of LilGirl on the Internet, but last night, hubby got by with tweeting this one because she's wearing a mask. It got retweeted by the official Star Wars Twitter account, which was pretty cool. So here's her 15 seconds (if that) of (fairly anonymous) fame:

http://twitter.com/#!/starwars/status/28936718957

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Would you give up your ipod to stay out of jail?

Apparently, this guy's got his priorities confused:

iPod > Freedom
see more Failbook

Houston, we have a check-in!

I don't use Foursquare, but I'm always interested in hearing about the more interesting check-ins. This is one badge not too many people will unlock:

Friday, October 22, 2010

You'll be humming it all afternoon

I'm always amazed when people can rewrite lyrics so well (it's a talent I absolutely don't posses).

JoT thumb

JoT 1458: Bye bye polycarbonate pie as sung to Don Mclean's American Pie.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

So, pumpkin seed oil is really interesting...

Pumpkin goop
This is just craaazy and cool:

"The oil in pumpkin seeds has a very rare quality. In a thin layer, it's green. In deep pools, it is red. Pumpkin seed oil is one of the most dichromatic substances in the world."

io9 has an explanation here.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

What did I learn from NaNoWriMo last year?

If you're thinking about trying NaNoWriMo this year, I'm over at Heartland Writers Group today talking about what I learned from NaNo last year.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Friday Fun: Zombies in Plain English...yes, again

I know I post this every October, but I still love watching it, so here we go again:

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Want your kid to read? Let them pick their own book!

Reading
According to the Kids & Family Reading Report Online Press Kit:
"Nine out of ten children say that they are more likely to finish [a] book they choose themselves."
Um, no offense, but "Duh!"  

Finding a book on your own, whether by chance or through the grapevine, is half the magic of reading books. Amazon counts on this. Teachers and parents tend to forget.

In fact, I've started to realize the more I push a book, the less likely my daughter is to want to read it. Gee, I have no idea where she gets that (I once gave a book report in high school for an assigned book in which I mostly listed the reasons I didn't finish it.)

Report via @gregpincus via @glossaria

Monday, October 11, 2010

Grover takes on Old Spice. Awesome!

You may remember my earlier near-obsession with the Old Spice ad campaign and the subsequent spoofs (like this and this, plus a remix). My friend Cheri LaClaire found one more & posted this video on her blog last night (addressed to me, no less). I love it!



If you're not familiar with the original commercial, you can watch it here.

Thursday, October 07, 2010

Want to mutiny against your teachers? Call on Capt. Jack Sparrow!

Cute story! I wonder if Captain Jack would help me start a mutiny at work (not that I need or want to, but, hey, if it'll get ol' Jack to show up...)

Captain Jack Sparrow to the rescue as Johnny Depp arrives at Greenwich school: "When nine-year-old Beatrice Delap wanted to organise a mutiny against her teachers, she knew who to call on. And it took just one letter to enlist the aid of the world's most famous pirate: Captain Jack Sparrow."

Wednesday, October 06, 2010

Target targets me (and hits the target)


I mentioned to Hubby how disturbing this commercial is (as in, hitting too close to home) because this is how women think when they buy hats, and probably some other items (been there done that).  

Hubby replied that men buying hats think [in his best Hulk voice] "Sun bright. Hat shade."

I find it interesting that most commercials want to get us to think what this woman thinks, while this commercial just shows her thinking it. But then, this latest series of Target ads has been focusing on these odd little moments in life and this kind of fits into that, even though it's a little different form.

The sad thing is, most of the time I buy a hat and then NEVER wear it, because I totally don't wear hats (Don't tell hubby. I just got him to order me a couple hats online. But they're really cute! And they were really really on sale. And if I wear them, I'll have a really great life! Right? Right?)

Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Penny, you're in my spot




Bill Prady posted this picture via Twitter yesterday. Kaley Cuoco broke her leg recently, but is now back at work on The Big Bang Theory and she got to sit in Sheldon's spot!

If you're not a fan (Gasp! You should be!) and you don't yet understand the significance of Sheldon's spot, watch this.


Monday, October 04, 2010

Sometimes, you shouldn't add "in bed"

We had Chinese food tonight, and all was well until we opened our fortunes and did the usual game where you add "in bed" to the end:

My fortune is a little disturbing with the addendum:



Hubby's is even more so:


Come visit Stonehenge with me!

Isn't this awesome! I was checking out the Seven Continents of Street View in the Google Maps Street View Gallery and I found that you can walk around (virtually, anyway) within Stonehenge! Not as good as really being there, but maybe the next best thing. :)


View Larger Map

I also spent way too much time wandering Pompeii. There are a lot more places to wander if you visit the gallery.

Saturday, October 02, 2010

Good Grief! 'Peanuts' Turns 60

And I still read it almost every day...



To celebrate, I think LilGirl and I will sit down and watch A Charlie Brown Christmas. Here's a clip:




Thanks to Jade Walker for the heads up!

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Check out Google's Yabba-Dabba Doodle


The Flintstones first aired on TV 50 years ago today and Google is celebrating with a cute doodle. 

Friday, September 24, 2010

Happy National Punctuation Day!

Today is the 7th Annual National Punctuation Day - check out the official site.

The Savage Chickens are celebrating with a new cartoon
(once you're there, scroll down to see their earlier punctuation-related cartoons).

And check out "another" of my "favorite" funny "sites" - The "Blog" of "Uneccessary" Quotation Marks