Saturday, February 28, 2009

Short Circuit

How many of us could live without X?

Pick X.

X could be a car or a credit card or a cell phone or a computer.

For some of us X might be broadband.

I cast my thoughts back to my childhood when we mailed letters, just like Charles Darwin.

"I say, old chap, I've been observing the drainage ditch near my house and, by Jove, I think there's a new species of lizard living there!"

Three months later might come a reply.

"Sorry, old chap, but your letter got soaked in a freak rain storm and I could only read "observing lizard." Well, of course we all observe lizards so what's your point?"

And so it goes.

OK, well the point of all this is that a friend of mine carries all of the electronic gadgets known to man in her purse. Cell phone, iPod, electronic keys, Blackberry or two, backup cell phone, thumb drives and some stuff that's classified. Possibly a military grade Taser and a micro-fusion power supply.

Anyway.

All this stuff which was crammed into a small purse ended up at the bottom of a hotel pool.

Sunk.

Glug.

Shorted out, as in Short Circuit.

Electronic stuff doesn't swim well and it all drowned.

R.I.P.

Imagine what you would do if your entire electronic life fried. What would you do? You can't call for help. It's fried. You can't look up a number to call for help 'cause that's fried, too.

All you can do is ...

... order a margarita, catch some rays and watch the sunset.


Which, all things considered, is not half bad.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

It's a Mystery

I was going through a cupboard looking for something and came across this note in my handwriting:

The cable you unplugged was the keyboard cable!


I don't remember writing the note nor (exactly) what caused me to write the note.

It's a Mystery.

Did I receive a phone call?

"Hey, I plugged my camera into the computer but then it quit working."

Or.

"The computer isn't working. I didn't touch anything. Much. Hardly at all."

Or.

"I tidied up all those messy cables but now the computer won't work."

Hmmmmmmm, what to do?

I know, I'll ask my trusty assistant if she remembers the note or anything about it.

Upon further scrutiny, punctuated by stretches of silence, my assistant reminded me"

"You remember you're writing your Valentine's Day blog, right?"




The plot thickens.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Lamz

Whew! It's been a while.

Here's an update.

Some time ago we bought a lamb from a high school student who is a member of the Future Farmers of America club. One of the things club members can do is raise an animal for ultimate auction and a possible prize. Students learn that raising an animal isn't easy.

There are food problems, disease problems, parasite problems and all sorts of problems. Also, the student is responsible for the feeding of their animal. Nobody's going to do it for them.

In short, it's a chore. And a half.

Fast forward, we bought a lamb raised by a student, but one that didn't place at the Animal Fair. We had the lamb "processed" at a local butcher and by all accounts it's a fine lamb. We have a freezer full of ribs, chops, "ground lamb," legs, back, and more ribs.

So, tonight I was given the command from afar to do Moussaka. A ground lamb dish with spices, tomatoes, eggs and eggplant.

We had all the ingredients except one: tomatoes. Also, I couldn't remember the exact recipe so I was concerned about returning home with roma tomatoes and not "something else."

There I was in the Kroger's parking lot with my iPhone. I cued up Google Mobile App and spoke at the tone: moussaka recipe.

In an instant Google directed me to a Greek cooking website with a recipe listing the ingredients needed. It was a slightly different recipe than I've used before, requiring Greek cheese and breadcrumbs, but the basics were there.

I was saved.

More than that I decided to go with the new recipe and it's in the oven.

Smells great.

Thank you iPhone. Thank you Google.

And thank you Unknown High School Student who raised such a fine and tasty lamb. I'd invite you to dinner but I don't know who you are!

Sunday, February 01, 2009

Superbowl! Superbowl!

Yes, the Steelers won Superbowl 43.

Good for them. A real football team from where football is played.

They play football in Pennsylvania.

They play golf in Arizona.

Simple as that.

If the Cardinals needed a 40-foot putt in the fourth quarter, I'm sure they would have made it.

Alas.

Anyway.

In my euphoria I mistakenly tried to pop Kink with a kitchen towel. A small towel for a small butt.

But, (haha - he said But), Kink turned around mid-pop and snatched the towel from my hands.

I knew that Kink is a Cardinals supporter, but that was just sour grapes.

He also bit me on the ankle in spite.

Well, buddy boy, we'll see you next year! Yes, we will!