http://www.daisypit.net/ change for the sake of change produces learning, even if the only thing we learned is that we shouldn't have changed. en Copyright 2010 Sat, 06 Mar 2010 07:27:55 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Sometime this morning, I was woken up by one of my little cats meowing. She had come up on the bed and was making this pathetic little noise like she was upset about something. Normally, I don't believe in rewarding behavior that I don't like, but there is also a rational time to examine what's really going on. Is the cat upset for a good reason? So I got up to check the auto-feeder. A couple of weeks ago, I checked the settings only to realize that we'd been under-feeding the cats a little which is why they were going ape-shit at 5am. So better to check than ignore another problem, I figured. So its 6am, and I stagger around looking for a bathrobe before heading out to the kitchen. My cat is talking to me the whole way and making sure I follow her out. And when I get there, I discover... One of the other cats eating at the feeder. We have four cats, and one feeder. My cat, who has apparently advanced to the mental level of a 5 year old now, hauled my ass out of bed so that I could "cut in line" for her at the feeder. urggghhhh. http://www.daisypit.net/2010/03/those_little_furry.html http://www.daisypit.net/2010/03/those_little_furry.html Sat, 06 Mar 2010 07:27:55 -0500 The Hangover'. This is the movie that seems to have brought Zach Galifianakis into the bounds of social conversation, and for me, its the probably the movie of the year (one of these years at least...). If you understand (and love) the amazingness that was "Dude, Where's my Car" then this movie will become an instant classic (if I may borrow the term from Disney). Its just like "Dude.." but in Vegas. Its what "Very Bad Things" should have been (and if you care, I thought very bad things was a sloppy and failed exercise in dark comedy). And like the delicate cherry on a pristine white cake of delicacy and grace, the movie showcases the amazing talents of Ken Jeong, who you better recognize as Senor Chang in 'Community'. So in short, if you haven't seen this movie, go see it. or just buy it. I promise, if you don't love it it will make an excellent gift for someone else.]]> http://www.daisypit.net/2010/02/i_heart_you_bradley_cooper.html http://www.daisypit.net/2010/02/i_heart_you_bradley_cooper.html Sat, 27 Feb 2010 10:45:45 -0500 There is a small cafeteria in my office building. The food is ok, and i mean that in the sense that most people go for the salad bar cause its what is "ok". and though I am one of those people, I always take a look at the meals they're serving at the food stations, just in case something amazing happens. One day, I'm taking a look at "hot/grill" serving station, (and I made that name up. the other stations, I've dubbed "skillet meals", "sandwiches", and "scary cold salads"). Anyways, the hot/grill area is serving a slab of roast beast with sides. I don't do beast, but I like sides and I'm wondering if I can just get a plate of those and what it might cost. Also wondering the same is this girl who comes up next me, as I'm trying to decide if the vegetables look over done, but she's more direct than me and she doesn't mind going for the goal. So when the "corporate chef" (note: this is the actual title of the food services workers, I did not make this one up) asks her if she can take her order, the girls says, "yes. Can I just get a plate of the vegetable sides?" and the chef says sure, which ones do you want. And the girl starts off "Macaroni and Cheese,.." and WHAM, the chef totally cuts her off! "Macaroni and Cheese is NOT a vegetable!" and I'm like wow! harsh! but then, the chef is correct. That mac-n-cheese is not a vegetable, but it was the one thing that was making me consider getting a plate of sides, which I was then going to justify by also getting a couple of pieces of broccoli or something.. but back to the action. then, the chef continues. "Macaroni and Cheese is a STARCH", but she's still scooping some mac-n-cheese and then informs the customer that she just wants to make sure she's got her nutrition facts clear before taking the rest of the order. I thought it was pretty funny but decided to go for the salad bar afterwards. You know, where the real vegetables are. http://www.daisypit.net/2010/02/with_two_snaps_on_the_side.html http://www.daisypit.net/2010/02/with_two_snaps_on_the_side.html Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:24:16 -0500 ducats on. And I have to admit, this surprised me.. (though probably not anyone else who knows me and definitely not the loml) but the first thing I could really visualize was some dinner. Like $20 of sushi, or I could save my money up and maybe get a fancy $40 thali at the local indian restaurant and a drink, and maybe an appetizer for the loml or something... I know, its not thinking huge or anything.. I mean I did consider, just for a second, saving up to $120 for a really fancy tasting menu at a fine dining establishment run by one of the winners of Top Chef, but that would take too long. and I like to eat. now. but then, I got a 15 minute chair massage from one of the on-site masseuses at work. It was $18 and, boy did I feel better afterwards. Though really, I think I could stand to move on up to a 30 minute session for some real health benefits. So there you have it folks. I've just discovered a funding source for my new habit: chair massage at work! ]]> http://www.daisypit.net/2010/02/black_gold.html http://www.daisypit.net/2010/02/black_gold.html Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:52:44 -0500 Today I am working on breathing, because if I don't, I may harm something... Its day "Ican'tscountanymorecauseI'vebeenstuckinthehousesodamnlong" of the snowpocalypse and the god-forsaken snowplow has not shown up yet. I got tired of eating my own cooking a day ago, we're just about out of fresh fruit and vegetables (unless you count the three onions on the counter), and the cats and I have started competing for resources (do not ask, I'm still kinda pissed at the cats about this). This morning I made soysage and berry pancakes for breakfast. Last night, sweet-n-sour chick'n with vegetables. Night before that was tomato soup and baked potatoes. I made king cake and we've been eating it for 3 days now. The loml joked this morning that I was trying to fatten him up. I just looked at him and thought about that Uruguayan soccer team that crashed in the Andes. I've cleaned up my serenity room. If we had the right paint, I'd be painting. If I had enough wood, I would have built some pet stairs for the cats. I have to go do some yoga nidra now... but before I do, I'd like to rant about one thing. Its not that I hate snow. Its all about the context. Snow on mountain top = pretty. Snow in a cone, drenched with syrup = yummy. Snow covering over 2 feet of the street that leads to the outside world = STUPID! WHAT AM I DOING HERE??? I'm from the SOUTH. I HAVE A PERMANENT TAN! ARRRRRrrrghhh... Do you know that in some places, they actually clear snow off the roof when it gets like this? We don't have a ladder that reaches the roof, it turns out. ok - I have to go now. lots of breathing to do. http://www.daisypit.net/2010/02/snowpocasuck.html http://www.daisypit.net/2010/02/snowpocasuck.html Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:51:36 -0500 So today, the loml and I are stuck in the house due to the snowpocalypse that's moving across the country. But fear not! I am prepared. On Thursday I went to the grocery store and bought two bags of Cheetos, two boxes of Triscuts, and some fancy cheese to go with. Oh, and the ingredients to make King Cake. Can't forget about dem Saints! We're going to need something to eat during the SuperBowl! So the King Cake. For those of you who are unfamiliar, here is a two sentence summary: King Cake is a ring-shaped sweet bread, usually with tasty (cream-cheese or fruit) filling and covered with colored sugar and icing, that is served during the Mardi Gras Season (12th night to Ash Wednesday)! Its traditional to hide a small plastic baby jesus in the cake (for someone to find while eating - not choking is part of the fun!), symbolizing the three wise men's search for the baby jesus and now used to determine who brings the King Cake next week! ok - so 'nuff of that. Turns out that I am out one baby jesus. For some reason, I don't have one of those suckers around and the local grocery store didn't stock them in the baking section. Unbelieveable! Savages! Anyway, if it all turns out, the internet says I can use a dried bean or pecan or something instead. So I found an internet recipe off the food network by Emeril Lagassi. But then I was thinking, "this guy's from new york or something... and some of the reviews on the website aren't so great. I don't want to use a recipe that people only like cause they've never had a REAL king cake". So I googled around some more until I found another recipe off nola.com. It had all the earmarks of a good authentic recipe: contributed by someone with a cajun last name who was the food columnist for the the Times-Picayune, and it also used twice as much butter as Emeril's recipe. That butter part pretty much convinced me, so I went ahead and made the dough this morning. But the thing is, a butter rich dough is a little different from a "normal" one, like pizza dough which is what I've done before. Usually you add flour until the dough stops being too sticky and you can make a happy ball with it. And you knead (not too much) til smooth. but the stuff I made this morning... the dough looks so soft that I want to add more flour! Its not sticky because its coated in butter. so I dunno.. I added flour, I made a ball, I kneaded til smooth. And now, I'm hoping to god it rises. Being snowed in and all, it might be too cold. I dunno. But we'll see how it goes. If all goes well, I have a chocolate/cream-cheese filling planned and I'll post the recipe. And - Go Saints! http://www.daisypit.net/2010/02/tis_the_season.html http://www.daisypit.net/2010/02/tis_the_season.html Sat, 06 Feb 2010 09:41:21 -0500 I bought this thing as a splurgy type gift to myself for Christmas. 50% of my house flooring is hardwood or tile, so I figured I'd have some opportunity to use this sucker, and boy have I. Now, I'm not particularly a fan of its brother, the Roomba, because I have four cats and I fail to see how anything could do a better job than my Dyson. But, when it comes to my floors, I'm a whole 'nother animal. Neither the loml nor myself 'do' floors. The only time we clean those suckers is when something bad (the cats, miscellaneous flying objects) happens. So I read an excellent review for this product that summed it up quite well: The scooba fits the 80/20 rule. It will clean up 80% of the junk on your floor (the easy stuff). If you want the rest of it (the not-so-easy), you'll have to do it yourself. "Well," thinks I, "right now, we are doing 0% so 80% sounds great" and I bought it! And you know what, that little thing works great! But, I still read a lot of negative reviews for this little machine, and since I have foolishly grown emotionally attached to it (It cleans my floors!), I can tell what it won't do:

• It won't clean your floor well if you leave all your crap all over it. Even a paid maid won't do a good job there.
• It won't get that cruddy multi-week old stain of your floor either! its just a little machine, not a refugee from the DR!
• It won't pre-sweep anything larger than a piece of small animal kibble. So again, don't leave your crap on the floor.
• And I haven't tested this, but I'm not sure it works that well as a pet transport though I have seen the Roomba used for this purpose on the youtubes.

So really, if you have a moderately tidy home (aka a million light years away from anything you see on Clean Sweep) and you have floors, I recommend the scooba. Cause that little sucker will just clean while you do more important things.. like blog.. or practice your ukulele playing.. or something. warning* when I first bought this thing, we spent at least the first twenty minutes of each cleaning session just watching it move. And by 'we', I mean me and the cats. The loml just thought we were nuts. ]]> http://www.daisypit.net/2010/02/maturity.html http://www.daisypit.net/2010/02/maturity.html Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:55:25 -0500 half a pound of christmas ribbon which subsequently had to be surgically removed, and consistently does not recommend extra medical procedures for the sake of money. sigh. which is why when she noticed that two of our cats (siblings) had identically rotten teeth (2 each), I knew it was for real and now we have to go back to the vet for surgery. wahh.. Is this what happens when your cats get old? How do cats deal with this in the wild? or do they just die? oh well. Anyone who lives near us or northerly, who wants a vet recommendation? Ours is great. Technically, its an office of several (three I think) vets, but they're very good. ]]> http://www.daisypit.net/2010/01/my_cats_have_cavities.html http://www.daisypit.net/2010/01/my_cats_have_cavities.html Sun, 24 Jan 2010 09:50:37 -0500 well, i finally got a chance to pick up my uke today and I spent a few minutes working on "ring of fire" again. but I have to admit, I got pretty bored pretty fast with mr cash. So I went and looked for something else to test my strings (and fingers) on. After a bit of poking around (I was unable to locate a uke version of "Bitch" by Meredith Brooks, which I think would be great on a ukulele) I found "One" by U2 which only takes 4 chords. This is a bit of a stretch up for me, since "Ring of Fire" only takes 3 (at least my version does) but I love U2 so I tried it. And wow, I think I sound great! Awesome even! and then I thought, "what would this sound like to the loml?" So I played it again, listening with a more critical ear, at which point i realized that I have a lot in common with the American Idol rejects that are playing on television right now. So I practiced some more, and more, until my fingers started to cramp. Which I find hilarious because its not like a ukulele takes brute strength to play or anything, but whatever.. I'm still learning. The loml thinks I should get a "Ukulele for Beginners" book or something but I really don't want to get stuck playing "Row row row your boat" or "Here come the saints" or something like that. Not that I have anything against the Saints. For them, this season, I also have nothing but love. Who DAT! Let's go superbowl! http://www.daisypit.net/2010/01/i_heart_u2.html http://www.daisypit.net/2010/01/i_heart_u2.html Fri, 22 Jan 2010 19:13:15 -0500 Alive'), I'd have been eating people in the first two days. cause man, I sure get hungry. ]]> http://www.daisypit.net/2010/01/the_corpse.html http://www.daisypit.net/2010/01/the_corpse.html Fri, 15 Jan 2010 17:00:35 -0500 "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell. I'd heard about this book when it hit the best seller list and it sounded interesting. And be damned if it wasn't! The book is basically about how little things can really make the big difference. In this book, the author specifically focuses on the three factors necessary for an idea to become popular (some of the things he examines are: sesame street, the crime rate in new york, and underage smoking). I thought it was a great read and reinforces another idea I've been reading up on which says, nature vs nurture isn't as important as who you are hanging out with. As in, in doesn't matter how good or bad your parents are or how they raised you, your behavior depends more on who you're with and where you are. But I'll leave the book up to you to read about should you get bored. but the one thing that I really liked about it was that it was interesting to me. Which leads me to the next book, which I am currently not reading "The PayPal Wars" by Eric Jackson. Eric Jackson, a PayPal insider, writes about the beginnings of PayPal and their efforts to be successful. Now this book won some acclaim for its writing style and what-not but I'm having a hard time reading it. Because I'm having a hard time caring about the fate of a large corporation fighting off another corporation, cutting costs by increasing charges to the user, etc.. etc.. I'm not saying its not interesting and valuable insight into corporate america, its just that the narrative as told from the point of the insider sticks in my craw. Eric Jackson probably cared a whole lot when they made business decisions, but his caring about his career and livelihood is not what will make me care. So I'm going to try again to read this book and I just hope that the author is capable of spinning it in a way that makes me actually want to know what happened. ]]> http://www.daisypit.net/2009/12/into_the_wild.html http://www.daisypit.net/2009/12/into_the_wild.html Wed, 30 Dec 2009 17:59:19 -0500 So I'm on break (from work) this week. And i'm sitting on top of the bed, because the sheets need to be changed and all I smell is salt. This is a weird combination of the neti pot (which uses salt water) and the fact that I've been getting nose bleeds due to the dryness of the winter air. (but do not worry. I'm setting up a humidifier today). anyways, I'm sitting on top of the bed and I see this ridiculously ugly pair of pajama pants that my sister gave me for christmas. They are plaid. yellow-orangey with red-ish? striped/plaid and a red drawstring ribbon waist. and I think, "yeah. I can do this. I don't have to leave the house today." up with plaid! ----- note ------ someone left a comment that I was perhaps giving a mean hint to my sister about the gift she gave me. I'd like to correct any notions in that area and say the following: 1. no, my sister doesn't read my blog so its not a hint. 2. the pants are hideous and I love them. wearing them today was like the cherry on my "i'm not working so haha" sundae. 3. however, they are quite clearly house pants which is too bad cause I actually had to answer the door today and the guy on the other side was pretty amused by them. http://www.daisypit.net/2009/12/ridiculous.html http://www.daisypit.net/2009/12/ridiculous.html Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:52:16 -0500 So every year i get older, the more I have to look around for things to ask for at christmas. While a sweater may be a reliable standby, I thought this year I'd expand my horizons and ask for a neti pot. For those of you who are not in the know, don't worry. I'll get to that soon. So neti pots are getting pretty popular and since I'd actually been to Vrindavan, India (allegedly the place where the neti pot was invented) I thought I'd try it. So the point of a neti pot is to flush your nasal passages. You fill the pot with 8 oz of warm salty water, lean your head down and to the side, and fit the pot to the higher nostril and pour water in.. into your nose. (do I need to mention that you have to do this over a sink?) If you don't tip your forehead lower than your mouth, then water comes out your mouth.. so make sure to get that right. note* this topic was deemed not suitable for holiday conversation by family * So I do this. I heat up some water, mix some kosher salt in and get over a sink. The loml is watching, so I go ahead and pick up the pot...and.. put the spout to my nose. and I can feel the water in my nose .. yargh.. am I drowning!? I quit for a second and then try again. more water in my left nostril.. and I'm waiting, waiting.. there's no water coming out. What the hell? I'm pouring water in my nose, where's it going? but then I can feel the water making inroads, somewhere.. and real quick I try to think about what the nasal passages in my head look like, but i can't. which is too bad cause that water is doing something. and eventually, after a whole minute, water comes out my other nostril! Hah! Success! So I manage to get about 4 oz of salt water into the left nostril and then I do it again on the right. And this one goes easier, I figure cause the I managed to flush it out once already. and that was it. and I must say, I do feel less congested. http://www.daisypit.net/2009/12/and_a_neti_pot_in_a_pear_treee.html http://www.daisypit.net/2009/12/and_a_neti_pot_in_a_pear_treee.html Fri, 25 Dec 2009 15:57:30 -0500 mcguffin in disguise. but to go into detail. Yes, the plot line of Avatar is not original by any stretch. However, I was able to ignore it for the first 2 hours of the movie due to the amazingly well done CGI and acting which really enhanced the movie. Its only until you get to the last 40 minutes where the cheese starts showing up. but the rest of the movie was so good that I didn't mind. In fact, the only part of the movie that bothered me was the ridiculous ground tactics used during the final battle. What kind of idiot tells his cavalry to charge, in a single line no less, a group of militia possessing far superior firepower? They're supposed to be natives in a jungle, hello?! The friggin ewoks did a better job at the battle on Endor, and they still got their asses kicked which was the point of the scene... SO come on.. death with dignity, not stupidity! I could see maybe there was supposed to be some kind of comparison with how the U.S. army used to massacre native americans out on the plains, but that's pretty weak imho. Especially cause this guy leading this is supposed to be a marine with tons of combat experience. So other than that (minor point but still annoying) and the mild cheese factor of the last 40 minutes, the movie was pretty good. I do recommend. note* after reading this entry, the loml protested my characterization of the main character as an idiot for his ground strategy. He believes that the guy was too busy doing a bunch of other stuff to dictate ground maneuvers. I still maintain that even if it wasn't his idea, its still his fault as he was the only one who knew the enemy forces and somehow didn't manage to let everyone know that its suicide to run straight at a bunch of people with high-powered automatic weaponry when your main weapon is a bow and arrow. Again, even the ewoks knew to use guerrilla tactics when fighting against the Empire in a forest. ]]> http://www.daisypit.net/2009/12/sir_i_am_an_ass.html http://www.daisypit.net/2009/12/sir_i_am_an_ass.html Thu, 24 Dec 2009 19:23:58 -0500 webpage full of the sounds of a ukelele in tune. I thought I was saved!! But no, instead it was another 30 minutes of "why can't I make my ukelele sound like the webpage?" Luckily my sister was there and being waaaay more stubborn (and having been in band -> flute) took over the process. Where upon, she discovered a few things: 1. My ukelele has geared tuning knobs. I knew this, but did not know what it meant. What it means is, unlike the guitar my dad has, you can't turn all the knobs away/towards from yourself to go higher/lower. It uses gears, which means they go clockwise or counter. So if you aren't paying attention it looks like half the knobs turn away from you to get higher, while this same action causes the other half to tune lower. I know this sounds stupid, but this will really mess you up if you don't know what you are doing. 2. "My Dog Has Fleas" sounds like this. Note* this little girl is better than me but I still can't make it past the first 15 seconds of the video cause its really annoying. 3. The pitch pipe sounds exactly what my ukelele is supposed to sound like, if I just had a clue. So the short of it is that I can now play that classic song "Row Row Row You Boat" on the ukelele. It only takes two chords and as far as I can tell is the "Hello World" of music. Right now I'm working on "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash. It takes three chords and has cooler lyrics. ]]> http://www.daisypit.net/2009/12/where_dem_tiny_bubbles.html http://www.daisypit.net/2009/12/where_dem_tiny_bubbles.html Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:16:38 -0500