Now that the car is taken care of, I can do something completely impractical and fun with my tax refund. I decided to buy a new computer, to replace my 6 year old system.
The roommate helped me pick out a nicely priced machine from HP. On that advise of Yomper, I'm upgrading the video card and the power supply. It kind of defeats the purpose of buying a pre-built system, but it should be a pretty sweet system when it's all together. I just received the new monitor from Newegg. Holy quick shipping Batman! The rest of the computer should be here Wednesday or Thursday next week. So right now, I have a ginormous LCD monitor hooked up to my old system. All things considered, it looks really good. And it even fits on desk.
Friday, February 27, 2009
The Bad and the Good
First, the bad.
While I was in Wisconsin, someone hit my parked car at home in Vermont. I had left the car in my apartment complex's upper lot in case it snowed while I was gone. We have opposite side parking here. When it snows, they plow one side of our street at 8am and then the other at 1. Usually I move my car on my lunch break, as I live across the street from my office. If you won't be available to move your car for plowing, you're supposed to park in the overflow lot behind the complex. That is exactly what I did.
Saturday after I returned home, I found a pretty big scrape all down the driver's side, along with some denting of the front door. The estimate I got from the body shop said it will cost about $1700 to get the whole thing fixed.
And now for the good.
Vermont is one of only two states (the other being Virginia, I believe) that has a no fault accident law. Usually, if the accident is not your fault, your insurance company will go after the other driver, or, more likely, the other driver's insurance, to get the money. In the case of an unknown driver, such as a hit and run on your parked car, you're out of luck. In this situation, Vermont's law forces your insurance company to waive your deductible and provide a rental car for you while your car is being repaired.
This is not something that the insurance company will advertise or even offer. I was tipped off about the law by the helpful people at Autonahn body shop (a big thank you to Jon, who helped me with the insurance process). I had to argue with Geico. The person who took my claim over the phone was not aware of the law and refused to waive the deductible. In speaking with the local insurance adjuster, who was familiar with Vermont's laws, everything was straightened out. My car goes in on Monday morning. Hopefully, she'll be good as new.
While I was in Wisconsin, someone hit my parked car at home in Vermont. I had left the car in my apartment complex's upper lot in case it snowed while I was gone. We have opposite side parking here. When it snows, they plow one side of our street at 8am and then the other at 1. Usually I move my car on my lunch break, as I live across the street from my office. If you won't be available to move your car for plowing, you're supposed to park in the overflow lot behind the complex. That is exactly what I did.
Saturday after I returned home, I found a pretty big scrape all down the driver's side, along with some denting of the front door. The estimate I got from the body shop said it will cost about $1700 to get the whole thing fixed.
And now for the good.
Vermont is one of only two states (the other being Virginia, I believe) that has a no fault accident law. Usually, if the accident is not your fault, your insurance company will go after the other driver, or, more likely, the other driver's insurance, to get the money. In the case of an unknown driver, such as a hit and run on your parked car, you're out of luck. In this situation, Vermont's law forces your insurance company to waive your deductible and provide a rental car for you while your car is being repaired.
This is not something that the insurance company will advertise or even offer. I was tipped off about the law by the helpful people at Autonahn body shop (a big thank you to Jon, who helped me with the insurance process). I had to argue with Geico. The person who took my claim over the phone was not aware of the law and refused to waive the deductible. In speaking with the local insurance adjuster, who was familiar with Vermont's laws, everything was straightened out. My car goes in on Monday morning. Hopefully, she'll be good as new.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
More Wisconsin Root Beer
I got a chance to try some more local Wisconsin root beer. Tonight's travels took me to The Great Dane, a pub and brewery located in Downtown Madison. In addition to a large selection of beer, they have a pretty decent menu; I had the Dane Burger and it was tasty. I had never considered putting artichoke dip on a burger before. As for my choice of beverage, I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to try their root beer brewed in house.
The root beer came to me in a big frosty mug (yay for frosty mugs!), so I can't give you a run down of the ingredients. The root beer itself had just enough vanilla to make it smooth. It definitely had anise (yay for anise!). This root beer was spicy compared to others that I've tasted. There was a very strong taste of something that I couldn't put my finger on. The overall flavor was strong, without being over whelming. It was a nice change of pace; most of the root beers I've tried have been good but not exciting. This one was exciting. (Side note - for those of you keeping track at home, that's a total of two uses of the semicolon in this use. Let's here it for under used punctuation!)
Compared to the Sprecher's that I tried yesterday, Great Dane is by far the superior Wisconsin root beer. I will definitely have this again the next time I find myself in the area.
The root beer came to me in a big frosty mug (yay for frosty mugs!), so I can't give you a run down of the ingredients. The root beer itself had just enough vanilla to make it smooth. It definitely had anise (yay for anise!). This root beer was spicy compared to others that I've tasted. There was a very strong taste of something that I couldn't put my finger on. The overall flavor was strong, without being over whelming. It was a nice change of pace; most of the root beers I've tried have been good but not exciting. This one was exciting. (Side note - for those of you keeping track at home, that's a total of two uses of the semicolon in this use. Let's here it for under used punctuation!)
Compared to the Sprecher's that I tried yesterday, Great Dane is by far the superior Wisconsin root beer. I will definitely have this again the next time I find myself in the area.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Midwestern Root Beer
I've been in Madison, Wisconsin all week for work. I'm taking a week long training class at the General Electric plant here. My class only runs until 4 in the afternoon and I've had my evenings free to explore the area.
In my travels this evening, I came across a locally brewed root beer. Yeah, you know I can't pass that up. (For those keeping track, I am still on my self-imposed caffeine fast. March will be one complete year).
That brings me to Sprecher root beer. It gets bonus points for coming in a full pint sized bottle. That's a whole 16 ounces, as opposed to the normal 12 ounces we're used to seeing in soda/beer bottles. It gets even more bonus points for using honey as a sweetener. However, it loses some of that bonus since it still uses high fructose corn syrup. In fact, the corn syrup is the second ingredient listed (meaning that it's the 2nd most abundant), right after carbonated water.
On the plus side, the root beer is very smooth and creamy. The honey adds a very subtle taste. It's well balanced. On the flip side, nothing really stands out, taste wise. This doesn't make it bad, just not as exciting as Maine Root or Harpoon.
In my travels this evening, I came across a locally brewed root beer. Yeah, you know I can't pass that up. (For those keeping track, I am still on my self-imposed caffeine fast. March will be one complete year).
That brings me to Sprecher root beer. It gets bonus points for coming in a full pint sized bottle. That's a whole 16 ounces, as opposed to the normal 12 ounces we're used to seeing in soda/beer bottles. It gets even more bonus points for using honey as a sweetener. However, it loses some of that bonus since it still uses high fructose corn syrup. In fact, the corn syrup is the second ingredient listed (meaning that it's the 2nd most abundant), right after carbonated water.
On the plus side, the root beer is very smooth and creamy. The honey adds a very subtle taste. It's well balanced. On the flip side, nothing really stands out, taste wise. This doesn't make it bad, just not as exciting as Maine Root or Harpoon.
Monday, February 09, 2009
Off Topic
And the award, for most assinine question asked of a world leader, goes to...... Michael Fletcher from the Washington Post, for asking about A-Rod's use of steroids.
A little background: Obama gave the first prime time press conference of his presidency. The topic, of course, was the horrendous state of the economy and what needs to be done to remedy the situation. He did a good job explaining the importance of the stimulous package and some of its nuances. But that is really not what I wanted to comment on.
Keep in mind that this is a press conference about the dire state of our economy. About thress quartes of the way through the question and answer period, Fletcher sees fit to ask the president, "What is your reaction to Alex Rodriguez's admission that he used steroids as a member of the Texas Rangers?" Seriously. It was one of those surreal WTF moments.
Obama's response should have been "What the f*ck does that have to do with anything?". You know he was thinking it.
A little background: Obama gave the first prime time press conference of his presidency. The topic, of course, was the horrendous state of the economy and what needs to be done to remedy the situation. He did a good job explaining the importance of the stimulous package and some of its nuances. But that is really not what I wanted to comment on.
Keep in mind that this is a press conference about the dire state of our economy. About thress quartes of the way through the question and answer period, Fletcher sees fit to ask the president, "What is your reaction to Alex Rodriguez's admission that he used steroids as a member of the Texas Rangers?" Seriously. It was one of those surreal WTF moments.
Obama's response should have been "What the f*ck does that have to do with anything?". You know he was thinking it.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
When Bakeries Know No Bounds
It's a well known fact that supermarket bakeries tend to stock yummy baked goods decorated for whatever is the most recent upcoming holiday/event. Think pink frosting and hearts for Valentine's or spider webs for Halloweeen. Our most recent event was the Super Bowl and there was a whole host of football themed sugary treatsd around.
I guess the bakers down at the PriceChopper got a little over excited and decorated everything they could get their hands on.
Yep. Those are loaves of bread, decorated to look like footballs. To the baker's credit, I'm pretty sure that it's not actually chocolate icing, but rather a darker dough on top of the lighter loaf.
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Hey, I Really Do Have a Facebook Page
I've been getting emails from people asking to be my friend on Facebook. My reaction so far has been, huh? I don't recall ever signing up for a Facebook page. Out of curiosity, I searched for myself and did, indeed, come up with my own profile.
Judging by the 2 messages on the page, I'm guessing that I signed up at the request of one of my friends, as a way to keep in touch, of course, and then promptly forgot about it. Thinking hard I vaguely recall doing this.
And, so, that brings me to my dilemma. Do I simply delete the page and disappear in the ethos? Or do I actually put some content on the damn thing and get back in touch with people who took the time to look me up? Decisions, decisions.
Judging by the 2 messages on the page, I'm guessing that I signed up at the request of one of my friends, as a way to keep in touch, of course, and then promptly forgot about it. Thinking hard I vaguely recall doing this.
And, so, that brings me to my dilemma. Do I simply delete the page and disappear in the ethos? Or do I actually put some content on the damn thing and get back in touch with people who took the time to look me up? Decisions, decisions.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Lilly Ledbetter Becomes Law
After passing both the House and the Senate, President Obama has signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act into law. This makes me very happy.
The Ledbetter Act was discussed heatedly during the last presidential election. McCain opposed the bill on the grounds that it would open up lawsuits. Um....yeah...the bill's supposed to open up lawsuits to companies engaging in pay discrimination. Instead of equal pay protection, McCain felt that women needed more education and training and also stated that the he didn't think the Ledbetter Act would do anything to help the rights of women.
That line of reasoning seems to have stuck, because when discussing this issue with people, I've found that an instinctive fear of frivolous lawsuits and a lack of understanding of what the Ledbetter Act actually does. After explaining what the Ledbetter actually does, they tend to agree that it makes sense.
Prior to Ledbetter, workers had 180 days from the time of the first unequal paycheck to file a complaint for pay discrimination. The problem with the law as written was that companies just had to hide unfair pay practices for 6 months and then they could continue to do so with no legal recourse. In practice, employees tend to not discuss how much they are getting paid with one another, especially if they are new at a company, which would be when one would receive her first paycheck.
The Ledbetter Act says that workers have 180 days from each act of unequal pay to file a complaint, so basically 180 days from each discriminatory paycheck. It does not change the definition of what pay discrimination is, nor does it make it any easier to file a frivolous lawsuit. It simply changes the timeframe when someone can file a lawsuit, taking into account that you may not know about the pay discriminition for years.
President Obama, after signing the bill stated, "If we stay focused, as Lilly did, and keep standing for what's right, as Lilly did, we will close that pay gap and ensure that our daughters have the same rights, the same chances, and the same freedom to pursue their dreams as our sons."
The Ledbetter Act was discussed heatedly during the last presidential election. McCain opposed the bill on the grounds that it would open up lawsuits. Um....yeah...the bill's supposed to open up lawsuits to companies engaging in pay discrimination. Instead of equal pay protection, McCain felt that women needed more education and training and also stated that the he didn't think the Ledbetter Act would do anything to help the rights of women.
That line of reasoning seems to have stuck, because when discussing this issue with people, I've found that an instinctive fear of frivolous lawsuits and a lack of understanding of what the Ledbetter Act actually does. After explaining what the Ledbetter actually does, they tend to agree that it makes sense.
Prior to Ledbetter, workers had 180 days from the time of the first unequal paycheck to file a complaint for pay discrimination. The problem with the law as written was that companies just had to hide unfair pay practices for 6 months and then they could continue to do so with no legal recourse. In practice, employees tend to not discuss how much they are getting paid with one another, especially if they are new at a company, which would be when one would receive her first paycheck.
The Ledbetter Act says that workers have 180 days from each act of unequal pay to file a complaint, so basically 180 days from each discriminatory paycheck. It does not change the definition of what pay discrimination is, nor does it make it any easier to file a frivolous lawsuit. It simply changes the timeframe when someone can file a lawsuit, taking into account that you may not know about the pay discriminition for years.
President Obama, after signing the bill stated, "If we stay focused, as Lilly did, and keep standing for what's right, as Lilly did, we will close that pay gap and ensure that our daughters have the same rights, the same chances, and the same freedom to pursue their dreams as our sons."
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Alphabet Soup
I've started hanging out with a group of friends on Thursdays for ladies' night. We basically either cook something or go out to dinner and then talk/play a game/generally hang out for the evening. Last week we decided that it would be fun to try to go through the alphabet and cook a food for each letter. With each lady assigned a letter, it should take us a month or so to get through the entire alphabet. We're also going through the alphabet backwards, just to keep things interesting.
This week we're doing Z-T. I have the letter X. This will be a challenge. My first thought was to just pick up some Dos Eqis. This still remains my fallback plan if things go horribly, horribly wrong.
After a little research, I've come up with two options. Option 1: Xuxu, more commonly known as chayote or merliton. It's a South American squash. Option 2: Xigua, a Chinese watermelon. And yes, I understand that neither if these is an English word. I'm working with the letter X, cut me some slack!
I'm planning on going with option 1, assuming I can find chayote (or xuxu, in keeping with the X theme) around here. From what I've read, chayote can be substituted in any recipe requiring squash. I think I'll do some sort of chayote au gratin. Stay tuned for how this turns out.
This week we're doing Z-T. I have the letter X. This will be a challenge. My first thought was to just pick up some Dos Eqis. This still remains my fallback plan if things go horribly, horribly wrong.
After a little research, I've come up with two options. Option 1: Xuxu, more commonly known as chayote or merliton. It's a South American squash. Option 2: Xigua, a Chinese watermelon. And yes, I understand that neither if these is an English word. I'm working with the letter X, cut me some slack!
I'm planning on going with option 1, assuming I can find chayote (or xuxu, in keeping with the X theme) around here. From what I've read, chayote can be substituted in any recipe requiring squash. I think I'll do some sort of chayote au gratin. Stay tuned for how this turns out.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
And Only 3 Months Late
I finally got aound to posting my pictures of my uber cool Halloween costume. For those just tuning in, a friend of mine had a Star Wars themed party. I went as a Jawa.
Here's the costume again with the LED eyes lit up. It had a wonderful creepy appearance. (Try to ignore the lamp behind me, even though it kind of looks like I'm balancing some kind of bowl on my head.)
Here's another shot with the eyes lit up. In dim light, the costume looks creepy. I'm very happy with how the eyes turned out. They really made the costume.
And one last, parting shot. Doesn't this look scarey coming out of the shadows at you?
For those of you who don't remember your Star Wars lore, Jawas were the short, robed and hooded residents of Tatooine. They drove the sandcrawlers and were the ones who sold R2D2 and C3PO. Here's a reference picture, to jog your memory.
Here's my costume in full light. The face is actually completely blacked out. The black burlap that I used had the neat effect that I could see out relatively clearly, but you couldn't see my face.
Here's the costume again with the LED eyes lit up. It had a wonderful creepy appearance. (Try to ignore the lamp behind me, even though it kind of looks like I'm balancing some kind of bowl on my head.)Here's another shot with the eyes lit up. In dim light, the costume looks creepy. I'm very happy with how the eyes turned out. They really made the costume.And one last, parting shot. Doesn't this look scarey coming out of the shadows at you?Sunday, January 18, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
Attack of the Giant Humongous Coffee Mug
Last year for Christmas one of my friends gave me a really nice and very large mug. It is by far the largest mug I own. I use it to drink tea at work. It makes me feel spiffy because I drink out of the largest mug in the office.
One of my co-workers now has a mug that puts mine to shame. It is not so much a mug, but rather a ceramic bucket.
Take a look. The first picture shows the mugs side by side. For a little perspective, here are the mugs with a more normal sized large coffee mug for reference. My mug feels small and inadequate.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Blu Ray Vs. DVD
In short, yeah, it is worth the investment for a Blu-Ray player.
Over the weekend, my roommate broke down and purchased a Blu Ray player to go with his ginormous television. (Have I mentioned how wonderful it is having a technophile for a roommate?)
We both purchased a few Blu Ray movies to go with it. The first movie we watched was Hitman, because it seemed appropriate to watch something with a lot of explosions for the high definition experience. It was a gorgeous picture. Unfortunately, I haven't seen this on regular DVD and don't have a base of comparison for this movie. The other night we watched Serenity, because I love Firefly and it's something I've already seen on DVD. The space scenes are particularly pretty. Part of me wants to watch the DVD and Blu Ray back to back for comparison.
My thought is that if you have a high definition television, then it's worth getting a Blu Ray player for the improved picture. This is especially true for action movies, and modern movies that can take into account filming in high definition.
I'm not sure how some of the older movies will do on the Blu Ray format. As an example, I noticed that there are several James Bond collections available, including the earlier movies. Dr. No was filmed in the early 60's, using the technology of the day. I don't think that putting this film on a Blu Ray disc is going to improve the picture significantly. I feel the same about television series. These shows were filmed specifically for standard definition broadcast.
With that said, newer movies, and possibly even newer TV shows since high definition broadcasting is becoming more common, have a much better picture. Over New Year's, Bluemule was showing off his fancy new set up and I was impressed. We watched a few scenes from the last Pirates movie. Water looks great. You could see the texture and detailing of the costuming. Definately an improvement over the DVD version.
I plan on watching WALL-E in the next day or so and I bet it will be absolutely beautiful.
Blu Ray movies are still more pricey than regular DVDs. My highly scientific statistical method of price gathering (meaning I glanced at the prices in BestBuy) found that the average new release DVD is around $20, compared to $30 for the same movie on Blu Ray. I'm won't be re-purchase all of movies on Blu Ray anytime soon, particularly since Blu Ray players will play DVDs. However, I will be buying new movies on Blu Ray from now on.
Over the weekend, my roommate broke down and purchased a Blu Ray player to go with his ginormous television. (Have I mentioned how wonderful it is having a technophile for a roommate?)
We both purchased a few Blu Ray movies to go with it. The first movie we watched was Hitman, because it seemed appropriate to watch something with a lot of explosions for the high definition experience. It was a gorgeous picture. Unfortunately, I haven't seen this on regular DVD and don't have a base of comparison for this movie. The other night we watched Serenity, because I love Firefly and it's something I've already seen on DVD. The space scenes are particularly pretty. Part of me wants to watch the DVD and Blu Ray back to back for comparison.
My thought is that if you have a high definition television, then it's worth getting a Blu Ray player for the improved picture. This is especially true for action movies, and modern movies that can take into account filming in high definition.
I'm not sure how some of the older movies will do on the Blu Ray format. As an example, I noticed that there are several James Bond collections available, including the earlier movies. Dr. No was filmed in the early 60's, using the technology of the day. I don't think that putting this film on a Blu Ray disc is going to improve the picture significantly. I feel the same about television series. These shows were filmed specifically for standard definition broadcast.
With that said, newer movies, and possibly even newer TV shows since high definition broadcasting is becoming more common, have a much better picture. Over New Year's, Bluemule was showing off his fancy new set up and I was impressed. We watched a few scenes from the last Pirates movie. Water looks great. You could see the texture and detailing of the costuming. Definately an improvement over the DVD version.
I plan on watching WALL-E in the next day or so and I bet it will be absolutely beautiful.
Blu Ray movies are still more pricey than regular DVDs. My highly scientific statistical method of price gathering (meaning I glanced at the prices in BestBuy) found that the average new release DVD is around $20, compared to $30 for the same movie on Blu Ray. I'm won't be re-purchase all of movies on Blu Ray anytime soon, particularly since Blu Ray players will play DVDs. However, I will be buying new movies on Blu Ray from now on.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
New Year Resolutions
I made 2 New Year's resolutions this year. The first, half jokingly, is to stay employed. With the economy in the toilet and getting worse, the university that I work at is facing budget cuts. It looks like my department is escaping intact. In addition, I had a pretty good performance appraisal yesterday, so it looks like I'll be here for a while longer.
My second resolution, and this one I'm serious about, is to give up chocolate for the year. Why? No real reason, it just seemed like a good idea at the time. I seem to have blown that one already. I got some really yummy looking chocolate as Christmas gifts, and I wanted to at least taste it. Last night I indulged in one last chocolate fest. It was delicious. Now that that is out of the way, my plan is to give up chocolate until this time next year.
On another note, I am almost nearly a whole year caffeine free, or at least caffeine minimal. My roommate likes to point out that chocolate has caffeine in it and I was still eating that. My response so far has been, 'So?'. My self-induced one year caffeine fast will be complete in March. I am looking forward to adding tea back into my normal beverage consumption. I have a thing for tea. Coffee and soda I can do without; tea not so much. And herbal tea just isn't the same. I had considered adding tea back in after the start of the year, but a whole 12 months just seems so much more symmetrical.
My second resolution, and this one I'm serious about, is to give up chocolate for the year. Why? No real reason, it just seemed like a good idea at the time. I seem to have blown that one already. I got some really yummy looking chocolate as Christmas gifts, and I wanted to at least taste it. Last night I indulged in one last chocolate fest. It was delicious. Now that that is out of the way, my plan is to give up chocolate until this time next year.
On another note, I am almost nearly a whole year caffeine free, or at least caffeine minimal. My roommate likes to point out that chocolate has caffeine in it and I was still eating that. My response so far has been, 'So?'. My self-induced one year caffeine fast will be complete in March. I am looking forward to adding tea back into my normal beverage consumption. I have a thing for tea. Coffee and soda I can do without; tea not so much. And herbal tea just isn't the same. I had considered adding tea back in after the start of the year, but a whole 12 months just seems so much more symmetrical.
Holiday Wrap Up
...Get it? Wrap up? Ok., I'll stop.
So, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and all that stuff. Can you believe that it's 2009 already?
I actaully celebrated Christmas on December 25th this year. My family tends to celebrate what I've dubbed Rafuse Orthodox Christmas. It falls on the day closest to Christmas that everyone can get together.
I did minimal decorating in the apartment, but did manage to put up a rather nice tree. Space is very limited in the apartment, and because of that I decided to go without a tree last year. Then I discovered that not having a tree made me sad, so I bought a small pre-lit tree and called it done. This year I bought some small sized decorations to put on it. I tried putting on my normal sized decorations, but it looked silly. In any case, the tiny star that I found in a random aisle at Wal-Mart worked perfectly. The fun part is that I searched the Christmas decoration section for a while, found no trace of tree toppers large or small, and then gave up the search. I wandered through the pet supply aisle for something and found the little star lying discarded on a random shelf. A Christmas miracle? You decide.
I managed to get all of my sewing projects done before gift giving time. I ended up finishing a few after Chrsitmas, but that was ok, since I wasn't giving these out until Yomper's post-New Year LAN party. Let's hear it for procrastination!
My roommate and I had decided to not give each other presents. He has gift giving anxiety and neither one of us has room for extra crap. I woke up on Christmas Eve morning and found a gift under the tree for me. The roommate had gotten me an Ipod, engraved with my name on it. Surprise! I felt a little guilty, since I didn't get him anything, but I really do appreciate the gift. I've been wanting an Ipod for a while now.
The weather on didn't cooperate. Depending on what part of the road you were on, it was raining, snowing, sleeting, or a combination of all three. I had to pick up a couple of last minute things and discovered that 9am on Christmas Eve is a great time to shop. The 2 stores that I went to were nearly deserted.
I trekked down to the Kingdom to spend Christmas at my sister-in-law's parents' place. My brother and sister-in-law were there, of course, and my siter and her husband made it down from PA, even after the icey roads added another couple of hours on to their driving time. At my brother's suggestion, we all wnet out and played in the snow. It was a blast. The rest of Christmas was the nice kind of chaos that comes from having to many people in too small of a space. Alyssa slept through most of her first Christmas.
I spent New Year's eating yummy food and playing poker with BlueMule and friends. They were more than happy to take my money. As a consolation prize, I scored a recipe for some tastey chicken divan. All's well that ends well, right? Actually, I had a blast, and it was still cheaper then going out. I must be getting old, because for the last few years I have had absolutely no desire to go out to the bars on New Year's Eve.
Yomper had his annual LAN party that Friday. I ended up using his wife's computer because mine just isn't up to running any new games. This worked out for me because that meant I didn't have to schlepp my system to his place. We played Left 4 Dead all day long. Let me say that this game is the bomb diggity, and I'm not usually a huge fan of first person shooters. I've been playing the Xbox version with the roommate since late November. The basic concept is that it's the zombie apocolypse and a team of 4 survivors is trying to, well, survive. With 5 players, we decided to try the versus mode.
Playing the infected is even more fun than playing the survivors. It was with glee that I did all of the asshole-y tricks that the zombies have done to me in various run throughs of the main game. Smoker dragging a survivor into a witch, resulting in eviceration? Check. Boomer standing on top of a car with a sensitive alarm, so that shooting the Boomer results in alerting the zombie horde? Check. Multiple infected completely screwing over the survivors? Check and check. Playing this game with 8 players (4 survivor, 4 infected) would be insanely fun.
So, how have you been?
So, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and all that stuff. Can you believe that it's 2009 already?
I actaully celebrated Christmas on December 25th this year. My family tends to celebrate what I've dubbed Rafuse Orthodox Christmas. It falls on the day closest to Christmas that everyone can get together.
I did minimal decorating in the apartment, but did manage to put up a rather nice tree. Space is very limited in the apartment, and because of that I decided to go without a tree last year. Then I discovered that not having a tree made me sad, so I bought a small pre-lit tree and called it done. This year I bought some small sized decorations to put on it. I tried putting on my normal sized decorations, but it looked silly. In any case, the tiny star that I found in a random aisle at Wal-Mart worked perfectly. The fun part is that I searched the Christmas decoration section for a while, found no trace of tree toppers large or small, and then gave up the search. I wandered through the pet supply aisle for something and found the little star lying discarded on a random shelf. A Christmas miracle? You decide.
I managed to get all of my sewing projects done before gift giving time. I ended up finishing a few after Chrsitmas, but that was ok, since I wasn't giving these out until Yomper's post-New Year LAN party. Let's hear it for procrastination!
My roommate and I had decided to not give each other presents. He has gift giving anxiety and neither one of us has room for extra crap. I woke up on Christmas Eve morning and found a gift under the tree for me. The roommate had gotten me an Ipod, engraved with my name on it. Surprise! I felt a little guilty, since I didn't get him anything, but I really do appreciate the gift. I've been wanting an Ipod for a while now.
The weather on didn't cooperate. Depending on what part of the road you were on, it was raining, snowing, sleeting, or a combination of all three. I had to pick up a couple of last minute things and discovered that 9am on Christmas Eve is a great time to shop. The 2 stores that I went to were nearly deserted.
I trekked down to the Kingdom to spend Christmas at my sister-in-law's parents' place. My brother and sister-in-law were there, of course, and my siter and her husband made it down from PA, even after the icey roads added another couple of hours on to their driving time. At my brother's suggestion, we all wnet out and played in the snow. It was a blast. The rest of Christmas was the nice kind of chaos that comes from having to many people in too small of a space. Alyssa slept through most of her first Christmas.
I spent New Year's eating yummy food and playing poker with BlueMule and friends. They were more than happy to take my money. As a consolation prize, I scored a recipe for some tastey chicken divan. All's well that ends well, right? Actually, I had a blast, and it was still cheaper then going out. I must be getting old, because for the last few years I have had absolutely no desire to go out to the bars on New Year's Eve.
Yomper had his annual LAN party that Friday. I ended up using his wife's computer because mine just isn't up to running any new games. This worked out for me because that meant I didn't have to schlepp my system to his place. We played Left 4 Dead all day long. Let me say that this game is the bomb diggity, and I'm not usually a huge fan of first person shooters. I've been playing the Xbox version with the roommate since late November. The basic concept is that it's the zombie apocolypse and a team of 4 survivors is trying to, well, survive. With 5 players, we decided to try the versus mode.
Playing the infected is even more fun than playing the survivors. It was with glee that I did all of the asshole-y tricks that the zombies have done to me in various run throughs of the main game. Smoker dragging a survivor into a witch, resulting in eviceration? Check. Boomer standing on top of a car with a sensitive alarm, so that shooting the Boomer results in alerting the zombie horde? Check. Multiple infected completely screwing over the survivors? Check and check. Playing this game with 8 players (4 survivor, 4 infected) would be insanely fun.
So, how have you been?
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Dairy Overload
Brie cheese + horseradish cheddar + egg nog + cheese cake = a very unhappy tummy
And to think at the time I was a little sad because I didn't have room for the peppermint stick icecream.
And to think at the time I was a little sad because I didn't have room for the peppermint stick icecream.
Monday, December 15, 2008
A New Christmas Tradition
Last year, myself and some friends decided that it would be fun to get together, watch some old Christmas specials, decorate Chrsitmas cookies, drink egg nog, and generally have a merry time. I made up some sugar cookie batter and brought it to the party. For some reason, I lined the cookie sheets with wax paper instead of parchment paper. I discovered the mistake when the oven got a little smokey. Yeah. I'm a bad baker.
This year we carried on the now-annual Christmas get together. I joked about my past cookie problems. This year I just bought a tube of sugar cookie dough and let the others go at it. I'm not sure what happened, but the couple of batches were all burnt on the bottom and still raw on top.
Sonja and I have decided to rename this the party the Annual Let's See How We'll Mess Up the Cookies This Time Party.
Actually, other than the burnt cookies, we had a really fun time. Here's a shout out to Sonja, our hostess, who let us dirty almost every dish in her apartment. It was fun.
This year we carried on the now-annual Christmas get together. I joked about my past cookie problems. This year I just bought a tube of sugar cookie dough and let the others go at it. I'm not sure what happened, but the couple of batches were all burnt on the bottom and still raw on top.
Sonja and I have decided to rename this the party the Annual Let's See How We'll Mess Up the Cookies This Time Party.
Actually, other than the burnt cookies, we had a really fun time. Here's a shout out to Sonja, our hostess, who let us dirty almost every dish in her apartment. It was fun.
Friday, December 12, 2008
The Annual Christmas Crafting Conundrum
Every year I get it into my head that it would be really nice and special if I gave everybody homemade gifts. And then every year I procrastrinate about starting said gifts. And then every year the realities of the amount of spare time available during the Christmas season catches up with me. And then every year I vow to either, A) start these projects a whole lot earlier, or B) not try to do so many homemade gifts.
And then, of course, me being an intelligent creature, I promptly forget that yearly vow and do the same thing over and over again every year.
Don't get me wrong. Every gift I make for someone is a labor of love. Plus, I just really enjoy sewing. I'm slightly (OK, more than slightly) neurotic and stress about every imperfection that I wouldn't care about if I was making it for myself. I'm getting better at that.
The trouble is, there are only so many things that I make for gifts and I have to keep track as to who I gave what in previous years. This person's already got mittens? OK, then, it's a blanket for you!
And then, of course, me being an intelligent creature, I promptly forget that yearly vow and do the same thing over and over again every year.
Don't get me wrong. Every gift I make for someone is a labor of love. Plus, I just really enjoy sewing. I'm slightly (OK, more than slightly) neurotic and stress about every imperfection that I wouldn't care about if I was making it for myself. I'm getting better at that.
The trouble is, there are only so many things that I make for gifts and I have to keep track as to who I gave what in previous years. This person's already got mittens? OK, then, it's a blanket for you!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Should I Have Been Concerned?
I saw a strange sight today as I walked to work. Walking up the hill was a disheveled looking young man wearing a leopard print bath robe. I couldn't help wondering if I should have been more concerned about that, although he did appear to be wearing pants and shoes.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Just A Second
Well, it's been a long year, and it looks like it's going to get longer. December 31 will be just a second longer, as a leap second will be added on to the last day of the year. The extra second will be added between 6:59:59 and 7:00:00 pm, Eastern Standard Time.
Apparently, there are two time scales - one based on the Earth's rotation and the other independent of the Earth's rotation. Atomic time is based on a signal emitted by electrons changing energy state within an atom.
The International Earth Rotation Reference Systems Service monitors the two timescales and makes adjustments when necessary. The Earth does not have a steady rotation and is gradually slowing down, causing the time scales to get out of synch. Leap seconds have been added at various intervals since 1972. The last leap second was December 31, 2005.
2008 is the first year with both a leap day and a leap second.
2008 is not, however, the longest year on record. That goes to the year 46 BC, when Julius Ceasar introduced the Julian calendar. In order to correct the difference between the calendar date and the season, determined by the position of the Earth in its rotation around the sun, Ceasar added 2 months and 23 days, making the year a total of 455 days long.
Apparently, there are two time scales - one based on the Earth's rotation and the other independent of the Earth's rotation. Atomic time is based on a signal emitted by electrons changing energy state within an atom.
The International Earth Rotation Reference Systems Service monitors the two timescales and makes adjustments when necessary. The Earth does not have a steady rotation and is gradually slowing down, causing the time scales to get out of synch. Leap seconds have been added at various intervals since 1972. The last leap second was December 31, 2005.
2008 is the first year with both a leap day and a leap second.
2008 is not, however, the longest year on record. That goes to the year 46 BC, when Julius Ceasar introduced the Julian calendar. In order to correct the difference between the calendar date and the season, determined by the position of the Earth in its rotation around the sun, Ceasar added 2 months and 23 days, making the year a total of 455 days long.
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