Archive for January, 2004

American Idol

// January 29th, 2004 // 2 Comments » // tagged:

We've been tivoing all the American Idol audition shows ..... and it still amazes me how deluded some people are. They go in, sing off key, gross you out with their "dance" moves and then they go off on Simon, Randy & Paula when they tell them they aren't good singers. What I want to know is WHO told them they WERE good singers? :crazy: First of all ... it's very staged that these people get through to Simon, Randy & Paula in the first place. They obviously had to sing for the "prelim" judges and they obviously were horrible singers. But they let through a select few really crappy singers so that the auditions won't be a total bore for us at home. Because really .... who watches this show to hear the good singers? :tongue: For me, I stop watching the show after the auditions are over. When all the good singers are left .... it's just basically a few weeks of karaoke and a popularity contest with all the teeny boppers. The auditions are the best part of the show. However, NO ONE has come close to the hilarity of "Like a Virgin" Keith from last year. :wide-eyed: So funny and so sad at the same time! There were a few interesting ones, especially in San Francisco and Houston seemed to be inundated with horrible singers .... but none have been so deluded, nor so "stricken" when told how bad they were.

Morons Opening Attachments

// January 27th, 2004 // No Comments » // tagged:

I love this article .... Idiocy Imperils the Web Allow me to quote my favorite part:
"Imagine if there were a rash of car thefts where thieves stole a bunch of cars that were left running with the doors open. Reporters wouldn't focus on the cleverness of the car thieves; they would point out the stupidity of the car owners. Or imagine thousands of cases of food poisoning from people eating completely raw chicken. I'm sure we would be reading plenty about the cluelessness of the "victims." ...... Instead of a headline like "Dangerous Fizzer Worm Attacks the Internet," how about "Thousands of Morons Open Obviously Virus-Laden E-mail Attachments"? I kind of like it. It has a light, comedic feel similar to headlines found at The Onion. But as Homer Simpson would say, it's funny because it's true. Stories like that should embolden smart users so that, instead of accepting their co-workers' incompetence, they will feel free to mock and ridicule these Typhoid Marys of the computer world."

In these here United States ….

// January 26th, 2004 // 1 Comment » // tagged:

Following in Kristine's footsteps, who followed in Lisa's .... Those states in bold I have visited, those states in bold/underline I have lived! 1) Alabama 2) Alaska 3) Arizona 4) Arkansas 5) California 6) Colorado 7) Connecticut 8) Delaware 9) Florida 10) Georgia 11) Hawaii 12) Idaho 13) Illinois 14) Indiana 15) Iowa 16) Kansas 17) Kentucky 18) Louisiana 19) Maine 20) Maryland 21) Massachusetts 22) Michigan 23) Minnesota 24) Mississippi 25) Missouri 26) Montana 27) Nebraska 28) Nevada 29) New Hampshire 30) New Jersey 31) New Mexico 32) New York 33) North Carolina 34) North Dakota 35) Ohio 36) Oklahoma 37) Oregon 38) Pennsylvania 39) Rhode Island 40) South Carolina 41) South Dakota 42) Tennessee 43) Texas 44) Utah 45) Vermont 46) Virginia 47) Washington 48) West Virginia 49) Wisconsin 50) Wyoming and 51) DC

It should have been simple

// January 20th, 2004 // 2 Comments » // tagged: > >

When we bought our house, the only thing in the house that needed to be replaced were the attic stairs. It was a wooden set, and whoever had installed them hadn't done it correctly and our inspector told us not to use those stairs, that they must be replaced with a new set. We haven't really needed the attic space yet and therefore it wasn't really high on our priority list, so the fact that the stairs couldn't be used wasn't really an issue. But now we're finally getting around to cleaning out one of the guest bedrooms upstairs -- and we have 14 gajillion computer, tv, stereo, tivo, and christmas tree boxes that we want to move up into the attic. So we need to be able to get up there safely. So this weekend, we trot out to our friendly Lowe's and purchase a nice sturdy aluminum attic ladder. It looks fairly straight-forward in it's installation and we figure we can get it done in a night. How wrong could we possibly have been? First, we had to get Steve up into the attic without using the old stairs. Here was the first problem. We own a 6-foot ladder and a 28-foot ladder. The 28 foot ladder certainly wasn't coming inside the house, and the 6 foot ladder was about 5 feet too short. Still, he managed to get up in the attic by using the top stair on our step ladder and then lightly using the existing stairs to kind of springboard himself into the attic. Then he started removing some of the lag-bolts that were holding the existing stairs in place. Then we realized that the hinge and side supports were fastened to the joists with RIVETS. You can't "unscrew" rivets. So ... that meant we had to pry the ladder off of the joists with a crow bar. It took us at least two hours to get the existing attic stairs removed. During this time, one of the springs on the existing ladder came off and knocked Steve back on his butt, and the other one flew down and almost hit me in the chest. It wasn't a pretty sight. Not really thinking clearly, we lowered the existing stairs down using a rope -- with Steve slowly lowering it down from the attic and me manuevering it against a wall. Can anyone now guess what our problem was? Steve is now stuck in the attic. :uhh: He managed to get IN the attic by using the existing stairs as a "gripping" point -- but now those are gone. After trying a few exit strategies, he settles on swinging his legs down, while he puts his arms on either side of the opening in the ceiling. I pull his foot down to touch the very tip of the top of our step ladder and he jumps down from there. All that was going through my head was how the obituary would read "And he died from a fall while trying to install a new attic ladder while his wife stood holding his foot". :worried: Thankfully, he got down with only a bruise on his elbow from the springs popping off and knocking him down. We give up for the night -- and last night we finished the project. We spend about an hour trying to get the NEW stairs aluminum frame installed .... and whoever said on the box that one person could do this was on crack. :dizzy: We had the two of us, both of us with quite a bit of experience in carpentry & building projects, and yet we are stumbling through getting this thing installed. So, we finally manage to get the frame installed, and then we're supposed to lift the 60 pound ladder up above our heads and hook it on the frame we've just installed. Let me remind you that, according to the directions, this ladder can be installed by ONE person. So that ONE person is supposed to lift the ladder above their head AND be able to see to attach two little slots over two little protruding hangers. Yeah Right. :banghead: So once we get the ladder hung, it takes a little over an hour to screw in lag bolts, get the gas struts to work properly for lowering and raising the ladder (no more springs, yippee!), and get it all flush and level with the ceiling. We still have to paint it white and reattach the molding around it ... but it's up, Steve isn't stuck in the attic anymore, and we can cart all our boxes up there with ease. Success, even if we did curse :censor: that ladder and the company who made it about 200 times in the process!

Alias Thoughts

// January 19th, 2004 // 2 Comments » // tagged:

So ... last night's Alias episode. Interesting, and yet I'm not sure I know what to think about everything. A few thoughts: :pi: Sark doesn't know that Lauren is the covenant "double-agent" within the CIA. Interesting. And he's showing extreme dissatisfaction with how the covenant is doing business ... do I sense a possible "defection" for Sark in the future? I doubt he'd ever turn completely good ... but I could totally see him working in tandem with Sydney et al to bring down the covenant. I'm also thinking that the whole meeting, eventual relationship and marriage between Vaughn and Lauren was obviously a set up from the very beginning. The covenant was responsible for Sydney's abduction, so why wouldn't they put in place a "double-agent" (Lauren) to keep an eye on Vaughn and get him to stop looking for Sydney and move on. (And did we all recognize Mr. Zisman? The actor formally known as The Mummy? I liked that movie!) Vaughn being snippy to Sydney on the plane and Sydney falling for it and saying one of them is going to have to go ... that was kinda silly to me. Sydney knows that Vaughn still has feelings for her. :duh: When Lauren originally turned Sydney in for assasinating Lazarey (thanks for Sark's info .. again proving he doesn't know she is the covenant mole inside the CIA) ... Vaughn helped Sydney escape and when they were at the airport they almost smooched. She knows he still has feelings for her. Silly scene. And then there is Katya, Irina's sister, portrayed interestingly by Isabella Rossellini. What is UP with that kiss at the end? And as much as I like Katya ... I still want Irina back. She has amazing chemistry with both Jack and Sydney ... and Vaughn! I know thats not going to happen, but a fangirl can dream can't she? Sloane and Jack's scene was bizarre. :uhh: Who knows what is up there. We know Sloane is a bad guy ... but he does seem to care for Sydney and Jack. He's had opportunity to kill them both and yet he doesn't .... are we still thinking he could be Sydney's dad? I don't know ... I don't even care that Lauren is a bad guy. Do we even care about her character at all? Is it believable that she could be a double agent? Not really. Anyone at the CIA with half a brain watching would have seen her expressions of dispair when she learned Vaughn was still alive ... and who makes top-secret-double-agent phone calls to the covenant from within the CIA? Like Marshall couldn't figure that out in a New York Minute. Ah well. Maybe it's just bad acting? Anyway - and she's just a little gnat in the big scheme of things. Eventually she'll get blown away (hopefully by our super spys Vaughn & Sydney) -- and then we'll move on to a better storyline. Something with Sark. I like him. He's cute AND bad. :bigthumb:

Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake

// January 15th, 2004 // 2 Comments » // tagged:

In Lieu of a real blog entry ... as promised ... here is the recipe for my Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake that I made for Thanksgiving two months ago. It was a HUGE hit and was super easy to make. There's lots of ingredients -- but I had never made a cheesecake before and this one turned out great. Enjoy! It's delicious!!!! MAPLE PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE Ingredients for Cheesecake 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup margarine or butter, melted 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened 1 (14-ounce) can Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT evaporated milk) 2 cups canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie mix) 3 eggs 1/4 cup maple syrup 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon salt Maple Pecan Glaze 1/2 cup maple syrup 2/3 cup Whipped cream 1/4 cup chopped Pecans, optional Instructions 1. Preheat oven to 325ยบ. 2. Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter; press firmly on bottom of 9-inch springform pan. 3. With mixer, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Add pumpkin, eggs, syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt; mix well. Pour into prepared pan. 4. Bake 1 1/4 hours or until center appears nearly set when shaken. 5. Cool 1 hour. Cover and chill at least 4 hours. 6. Maple Pecan Glaze: In medium-sized saucepan, combine 2/3 cup whipping cream and 1/2 cup pure maple syrup; bring to a boil. Boil rapidly 15 to 20 minutes or until slightly thickened; stir occasionally. Stir in 1/4 cup chopped pecans. Cover and chill until served. Stir before servings. To serve, spoon Maple Pecan Sauce over cheesecake.

Window to My World

// January 5th, 2004 // 2 Comments » // tagged: >

Got a phone call the other day from another Known Clueless UserTM in the office. Me: Hey. KCUTM: I'm down here trying to log on to my computer, and I can't seem to get my password right. Do you know what it is? Me: It's your daughters name. You called me yesterday about this, remember? KCUTM: Oh, yeah. Me: No problem. Note to Self: Why did I bother changing his password status to static instead of keeping it like everyone elses (who has to change their password every 90 days)? It wouldn't matter what the password was, he wouldn't remember it. Silly of me to think he could remember his daughters name. Silly Silly Lacy.

Hit & Run

// January 5th, 2004 // 1 Comment » // tagged:

Another fives list

// January 1st, 2004 // 2 Comments » // tagged:

Happy New Year thoughts ... once again, kudos to Christie! FIVE THINGS I'M GOING TO TRY TO DO MORE OF IN 2004 1. Cook (as in cook different foods than we always eat) 2. Exercise 3. Read :book: 4. Garden 5. Save money :money: FIVE MOVIES I WANT TO SEE IN 2004 1. Troy 2. Ocean's Twelve 3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 4. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason 5. Spider-Man 2 FIVE BOOKS I WANT TO READ IN 2004 1. The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd 2. The DaVinci Code, Dan Brown 3. The Last Juror, John Grisham 4. Divided in Death, J.D. Robb 5. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold FIVE THINGS I'M GOING TO TRY TO CUT BACK ON IN 2004 1. Diet Coke 2. Chocolate 3. Fanlistings (I'm coming to the brilliant conclusion that they just aren't that important & not worth the time to manage ... lol) 4. Hanging out with people I don't like out of a feeling of obligation (I think everyone has a problem with this) 5. Laundry (I wish .... :crazy:)