Eeek Rising Food Costs!

Corn Prices are rising, and the sky is falling!

In what seems to be the new trend, magazines and blogs all over are falling prey to the hype that ethanol is going to make food so costly that we're all going to end up starving.

To add a little more common sense to the panic stream, a very well written article at The Ethicurean on "Who wins, and who whines, when corn prices rise" gives a little more perspective to a growing panic.

So if you're worried about the pending increase in food costs, you should read this article. With everything, there is always two sides to the story and its best to know all sides.

As for me, since I don't eat corn-fed or corn-derived products.. I really don't see this impacting me a whole lot, unless everyone starts buying up all the grass-fed meats and leaving me none. :)

Just Ask V

For a long time (as long as I can remember) people have come to me for advice. As with anyone, sometimes its good advice, sometimes its great advice and sometimes its just plain rotten advice.

Or so I thought.

Last night I got a question from a friend which made me wonder if the "cosmos" had something else in mind for me.

But before I get to the question, let me preface it by explaining some of my basis for this wonderment.

Earlier yesterday, I recieved a skills/interest study result which proclaimed that I should really pursue three different areas of study. Counceling (no duh), Fashion (wtf?), and *drumroll* becoming a Religious Leader.

The result of Religious Leader caused me a whole lot of giggles and laughter. For years, I'd been facetiously claiming that I needed to start my own religion. From making fun of Global Warming, to half-seriously considering a religion based in corn avoidance.. Starting a cult has been a running joke.

So to see in text from a respected skills/interest survey, that I should indeed consider this Religious Leader fascination.. Really had me rolling.

Then came this conversation.. which made me stop and wonder if maybe I not only had the power to be a Religious Leader, but maybe I could in fact become a "God" myself...

My friend, in all seriousness, asked me this. (quotes as close to verbatim as possible) We had been talking about shoes.

"On that note, You know I've been meaning to ask you something, because I know you'll most likely know the answer... Lately, I've been driving down the road and I see on the side of the road, one shoe. Just one shoe..."

At this point I interrupt her with "Seriously? This is the answer you think I'M going to KNOW?"

She responds in all seriousness, "I haven't got to the question yet. And yes"

(I and anyone else knows where this is going, so to be polite I let her finish, but I'm laughing anyway)

"So I see these shoes on the side of the road. Just one adult sized shoe. The left shoe. And I was wondering if you knew why?"

Her tone was that of complete seriousness, as if she just asked me if I knew why they used yeast in bread, or who was the first President of the USA.

So I'm thinking to myself.. Ok.. WHY in the world would someone think that "I" would know why adults in Nebraska (I live in Austin) would throw their left shoe out the window of their car.

My only conclusion is that people really do think I'm a God (or have a very special information relationship with Him) or they're insane... in which this "God" thing might actually work.

Seriously, I didn't need any more fuel for that fire. :)

King Corn: Movie Review

I finally got to see the movie, King Corn, on Sunday. It was interesting and had a fair amount of humor. It definitely wasn't boring.

It also wasn't as hard hitting as I expected, nor did it get into all the different derivatives that are made from corn.

It was a rather cursory overview of corn farming and where that corn goes, which I'm certain is quite eye opening to many people across the nation who aren't very in touch with America's corporate farming roots. It also touched on heath issues caused by overindulging in corn, both for humans and animals.

Since I've been researching corn, corn syrup, subsidies, etc for quite a while now, most of the movie was pretty elementary for me.

The one thing I did find educational and highly amusing was the portion of the movie focused on Ian and Curt's attempt to make corn syrup in their kitchen. (Since they couldn't get a film tour of a corn syrup refinery.) Anyone who thinks that corn syrup is "natural" really needs to see that part of the movie. I'm not exactly sure what was added to the corn to make syrup, and maybe Curt and Ian can give us the recipe? A couple of the ingredients they added looked like poison, and the directions for making it were very long and involved. Not exactly what I'd consider "natural".

This movie is still a "must-see" in my book, and something that I plan to buy if it comes out on DVD. I will probably buy several copies and give them out as Christmas gifts. That way my friends and family can have visual proof of the things I've been trying to say for years now. :)

Change isn't going to happen overnight, but with books, movies, and public demand, maybe we can get the ball rolling a little faster.

ShortPacked Comic - Anti-Semitic

It's been bugging me all week. Sitting in the back of mind, haunting me during idle moments.

I like to think I'm open minded and forgiving of others opinions and biases, and I've tried all week to read this comic with rose colored glasses. Unfortunately, I cannot find a tint of rose-colored glass that covers over the glaringly anti-jewish statement.

The thing is David Willis could have stopped at "like Abe Rosenberg, Israel Finkelstein" Or he could have added "and others", but instead he wrote "Jacob McJewLastName" thus labeling all writers in the strike as Jews as if their ancestry/beliefs had anything to do with it.

There are times that people mis-speak, or absentmindly let their biases take over, but I don't consider this one of those times. I also believe that people should have a right to their views as well.

But I also have a right to mine.

And that is why I'll not be reading ShortPacked! or any other David Willis comics ever again.

King Corn

King Corn is coming to a theatre near you (hopefully) so look for it. If its not coming to a theatre near you, pester your local cinema to get it.

I haven't seen the film yet, but it's really bringing a lot of education to the world (USA at least) about the overuse of corn in our diets. (Yeah!!!)

The makers of King Corn are also doing a "Corn-Free Challenge" for the month of November, which I enourage everyone to at least attempt to do as much as they can.

Its not an easy feat, but it will definitely be a good experience, not to mention the health benefits.. because you can't really do corn-free and eat junkfood.

My IQ

Yes I am a genius, you may bow to me now. :) jk.

Name that Drug

Because today seems to be "How can I possibly waste all my time?" I decided to take this drug test. Disclaimer: Despite my ranking, I have never used drugs. Just thought I'd put that out there.

This drug test though was very informative and I'd definitely recommend it for parents to learn more about the drugs out there and signs to look for in their children. It's a great learning tool, and kinda fun as well.


NameThatDrug.com - Test your drug knowledge

How dumb are you?

Am-I-Dumb.com - Intelligence Test

I don't even want to know (or admit?) which questions I got wrong.

I wanna be a Popstar too..

This was too funny not to post here..



If that doesn't work, click here to go to YouTube: Spoof - Popstar

My Dream Home

Referred to this "dream home" planner by Howard Tayer of Schlock Mercenary, I decided to give it a go. You know cats & curiosity.

I have to say that its not too far off.. though I'd replace the Ferrari's with a variety of cars ranging from a Hummer, to sports cars, to ecological cars... so that I'd have one to fit whatever mood I was in that day. The dog would probably be a border collie or something similar. I will never own a doberman. (oh and I have no idea what "Rich Man, Poor Man" is.)

To see my dream home plans.. Magic Magnate's Manor.

Drama

I hate having to eat my words. Earlier today before I left the house to run some errands (ok, I went shopping). I sent a message to an old friend about how much less drama my life has now.

I should have known to cross my fingers when I hit send.

While I'm out shopping, my husband calls and says he can't get to the house because its blocked off by the police. So he asks an officer if he can get into the house, they said no, but wouldn't tell him what was going on. He also saw a SWAT team getting out and ready for action. So he went back to work, and told me to call him when I went home if I could get in.

So about a half hour later, I'm done shopping (yeah like I'm ever really done) and I went home to check on things. Neighbors, which I've never met, are standing out on the corner just outside the taped off areas talking.

Everything is still cordoned off, so I can't get to our house.. though I can see it clearly and there are cops, and cop cars, and lights flashing. Seriously it looked like our house was under arrest.

So I ask the people gathered on the corner watching the action.. "Do you know whats going on?"

Evidently, a kid (male) was mentally disturbed.. rumored to be bipolar.. and had locked himself up in his house with a gun. The father supposedly got out and called the police.

I don't know any of these people, and honestly I'm a little glad that I haven't taken the time to get to know all my neighbors after this incident. :)

I'd left the house at 4pm, and we finally sneaked into the house after parking the cars a block or so away at around 8:45pm. I was starving and starting to panic about not being able to eat as I cannot eat out due to multiple food allergies. I even went to Whole Foods to pick up a can of tuna and a can opener. :)

And our poor dog.. When we got home, we found her hiding under the back deck scared. Evidently, sirens and flashing lights is too much drama for her as well.

The flashing lights and drama cleared up around 10pm. Which we finally could go get our cars and park them at the house.

So much for being drama-free. This just isn't something you'd expect in our neighborhood. I lived in Chicago in a newly reformed crackhead neighborhood without this kinda drama, but in a rural upscale neighborhood in Austin ? The scene was just so out of place all I could do was laugh. I wish I'd have taken pictures. :)

New Insight into Gay Marriage

Again Schlock Mercenary comic, Howard Tayler has pointed me... ok, he indirectly referenced a comic strip... which I began reading.

I think I'd probably enjoy the comic more if I was male and a child of the 80's, but David Willis has a few "LOL" strips in the SHORTPACKED mix for all persons of any age (ok, any age that lived through the 80's).

One strip though caught my eye. It's not entirely "LOL" funny, but its definitely a new conspiracy theory twist on Gay Marriage.

Definitely, a mind that would make even a persistent pessimist envious.

Who to vote for?

On a Delphi Forums group, someone posted this handy-dandy test to take in order to pick which candidate to vote for.

Minnesota Public Radio: Select a Candidate 2008

Unfortunately I had to have done something really wrong, as I ended up with John McCain as the one to vote for..

Scary Stuff.

Texas moves to England

Can someone stop the RAIN!!! Seriously, enough already.

During spring, it was nice. "Oooo I don't have to water the plants. YEAH!"

But I realized today, that I hadn't seen sunshine all freaking week.

My lawn is starting to look like a swamp. No.. my yard isn't flooding and we're not in a flood plane. Half of Austin would have to be completely UNDERWATER for us to have flooding. But that doesn't mean that the poor soil doesn't "squish" and release a puddle of water when you step on it.

I will say though that the oranges on my orange tree have never looked bigger, but dang it, I wanna see some sun!

One of the benefits of living in Texas is supposed to be the sunshine, and nearly constant sunshine during the summer. Its summer, and its not suppose to feel like an English Summer. I didn't move to London. I moved to Austin.. TEXAS.

So you global warming people stop hoarding my sun, and give it back! I'll even throw some clouds in on the exchange! :)

Traveling Back in Time

I was doing my daily addiction (reading Schlock Mercenary Comic) when I saw Howard Tayler made a blog reference to Weregeek Comic.

So being the geek-wannabe that I am, I went to go check it out. The first "strip" of it that I saw caught my attention.

"OOooo must know more.. what is this Weregeek?"

So I went to the begining of Weregeek's strips and began reading. I read, and read, and read. Ooo this is fun!

It was a total travel back in time. The "new geek friends" he makes.. Totally the crowd I hung out with in college (cept my crowd was all guys, I'd probably be more geekified if there was another girl there).

I have never laughed so hard.. ok.. I exaggerate.. I haven't laughed that hard in a LONG time as I did while reading that comic.

Definitely something worth reading.. Even if you're just a pseudo-geek. :)

Ron Paul Presidential Candidate

I was pointed to this YouTube video by another blog that I was reading, and I found a couple comments made by Ron Paul in this video which makes me hope that come the elections he's on the ballot.

A couple quotes that make me think he might not be all bad:

"I think a lot of our government is very wasteful."

"We've taught a couple generations to be very dependent on government.. I think you have to have a transition period... I happen to think that the market can deliver any service better than the government can."

So maybe there is a little hope of getting more local control someday? I'll have to look into him a bit more.

Prey - Video Games Crossing the Line?

I'm really not the one to be pointing fingers on video games as I play them so rarely that my input is really of no value.

I also don't play violent video games. Ok, I have on occasion been convinced to try a violent video game, and I did play one willingly for a little while though I cannot remember the name any longer. It wasn't very "graphic" or gory, and consisted of you being on the side of good and fighting demons or something.

Other than that I tend to play games that are computerized board games or such things similar to RISK, Monopoly, etc.. Like I loved the first Warcraft, Age of Empires, XBOX 360's Catan. That's about as "violent" as I get with video games. Otherwise I'm playing puzzle games, mancala, backgammon, etc.

But for those of you, really into violent video games.. Here's a review of Prey.

It's definitely a review you should read before buying.

Scarlet Letter

24 hours.

The last 24 hours have been strange. Odd. Almost creepy. Looney.

It all started with a friend-request on MySpace from a guy I went to High School with a long long time ago.

Which seems normal enough, except I don't know this guy. I had to read his profile to figure out that we probably went to HS together, and then I had to get out my yearbook to even place him. I have never in my life spoke to him, and he wasn't in my grade. I still don't know why he wants to add me.

Then on his profile, I found in his friend's list the younger brother of my best friend in HS. Last I remember seeing him, he might have been a freshman in HS. He's now all grown up with 3 kids. I feel so old.

While both of these aren't anything to write home about, a conversation I had tonight with my best friend is.

She and I have (had?) a network of friends, some mutual, and some not, but they all vaguely know each other. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why several of them hated me so much. I knew there were rumors rolling around, but I could never get anyone to tell me what they were.

Anyway, we began talking about these old friends, most of them we are no longer in touch with, and comparing stories. Then she hinted something about that we'd "shared" the same men.

I have to say that made me laugh quite a bit. I'm actually still laughing about it. Its so preposterous that I couldn't help but laugh.

Controlling my laughter for a bit, just to say: "but we haven't shared the same man" I also racked my brain trying to find a man that we had shared or at least had been both physical with. I even tried to comb through those drunken college nights of "wild abandon" and I couldn't come up with anyone.

Turns out, that a couple of her boyfriends had told her while she was dating them that they and I had had sex.

I seriously cannot stop laughing. How she believed them? That I don't know. She said back then she didn't have much self-esteem. Well with boyfriends like that, who can blame her?

Anyway, we got to the bottom of it, and cleared the air. But it seems she had told a couple people in our friend-network, and of course gossip got out.

No wonder people hated me and kept trying to tell her I wasn't really her friend.

Its so far back in past history, that all one can do now is laugh. Though it is finally good to know why I had that scarlet letter.

(I do sorta feel like going to a gathering of our old friends, and wearing a t-shirt stating "No, I did not have sex with that man!" But that would be all to Clinton-esque and I doubt they'd believe me anyway.)

MAC vs Microsoft - Take Two.. And Action!

I love my Mini don't get me wrong. It's not that hard to "figure out" and its been really reliable (though I can't say so much for my internet router).

Unfortunately, the MAC Mini doesn't seem to have all the bells and whistles that I'm used to.

I'm certain I must be doing something wrong, but I can't figure out where (nor can the MAC-addict hubby). For those of you tech-support people reading this: 1. Yes I've restarted the computer. 2. Yes I have clicked on and read every possible button in the printer setup features in order to find the options I was looking for (so has hubby). 3. Yes I have the most current driver installed.

My printer is awesome. While most of my previous printers have been thorns in my side with little to no features other than color or grayscale options, my current printer is cool. I can print double sided pages, booklets, etc, plus the options of grayscale or color.

I should say I have these options in Windows. In MAC, I can print and thats about it. Ok.. so I can adjust margins and print portrait or landscape.. Whoop de doo.. I cannot print grayscale if I want. There is no option to select grayscale, actually there are very little "options" in the print mode period. If there is color on the page, it prints it. Which means with the webpages that I print out from time to time, I can easily run out of my color in my printer as the color cartriges are at least 1/3 the size of the black. And if the colors on the page that look black, aren't really black but lets say dark blue, or other "color" that might look black but isn't, my color cartriges are going to be used to print it.

So I'm a bit peeved about it all. I am currently using Google Docs to paste links or store documents that I want printed, then I access that page on my Windows computer, load the links/documents, and print them.

Its a lot more work, and I'm still debating on whether the Mini is worth the freaking hassle.

I am btw liking having two computers, as it splits up the work and my Windows computer hasn't been tempermental much at all. Or maybe it sees the MAC Mini, and is on its best behavior.

I'd just like to be able to utilize all the functions of my printer. Right now, I feel like MAC put "idiot guard" on the print features so that all you can do is "click print" to save people from manually messing with their options and thus screwing up their printing. Which might be good for computer idiots and those that completely lack creativity, but for those that actually have a need to use the features that the particular printer was PURCHASED to do, its not very useful at all.

Cholesterol - Women & Children

Proof that sometimes you can't believe everything you read, and sometimes you have to follow the money.

Is there anything in this country that isn't corrupted?

And is everything from the medical community just "guessing"?

Apple Mini

This weekend we went out and purchased an Apple Mini. I was hesitant at first about switching to MACs, well mostly because they're SOOOOO different from Microsofts layouts that I got lost just trying to get them functioning.

Not to mention the previously discussed fear of change.

Anyway, this is my first blog post from the new Mini-Mac and tonight I found a feature of the MAC that will have people tearing it out of my cold dead hands.

See... with MAC's there is this handy-dandy "dashboard" feature, which is mostly just a bunch of gadgets that you can set up, that are on a separate screen... a semi-transparent overlay on top your real screen, when you're not using the computer, or if you just want to check on them.

You hit a key, and woosh the dashboard goes up and you can check things like weather, dictionary, address book, time, stocks, or whatever. The dashboard also shows when you log into your machine or when you come out of screen saver. It disappears with one click on the screen as well, which makes it easy to use.

Now most of that doesn't sound that fabu-lous, and those features aren't really all that.

What I do love is the post-its that it lets you put up on the dashboard. Post-its with grocery lists, notes of things to do, reminders.. Now when I'm in the middle of doing something on the computer and I remember "Oh yes, tomorrow I should go do" I can click to the dashboard, make a post-it and remind myself.

The other feature, is this widget (thats what they call all these fancy-pants dashboard things) that imports your google calendar into it. So you can see at a glance any meetings you have for the day or scheduled errands, doctors appts, etc. (now if only my phone would sync with Google Calendar). So far I haven't done much of anything with it but put in a few reminders, but I'm imagining much much more.

8am Breakfast
9am Gym
10-12pm Errands
12-1pm Lunch
1-4pm Get cracking on that novel. jk
5pm Put on Superhero suit & Save World
6pm Cook
7pm Serve Dinner
8-11pm Relax & Watch TV (Superhero's have to have their downtime)
11pm Sleep

Yes, I am easily amused. :)

I hate my Computer

Warning: Temper Tantrum

For months, years.. I can't remember how long actually. My computer has been ticking me off.

When I first got it, it was amazing. Then things went down hill.

It had memory errors, so we switched out the memory. It worked fine for a while.

It had internet issues, we switched routers. It didn't help much.

It blew up! (seriously, I had black soot all over my office to prove it)

So we replaced all the insides, and reused the case.

I still had issues. Ok thats an understatement. I've had nothing BUT issues since.

The stupid thing won't boot up without the original CD in the freaking CD drive, even though it doesn't run off the CD while its working, just needs it there like a freaking safety blanket. We've tried to figure out why, but it hasn't been that big of a deal.

Then it would suddenly need rebooting for no apparent reason. I'd get some "failure" message, then it would start a countdown to reboot. If I tried to save anything during this countdown, the file would be corrupted beyond repair. I did figure out how to stop the countdown, but the computer wouldn't let me do anything anyway so I still had to reboot.

On top of this, it wouldn't stay connected to the internet and acted like it hated the router. Which we finally discovered was because the freaking router which is supposed to do wireless and cable connections both, would switch between the two cutting out one or both of the services for no apparent reason. So we shut off the wireless feature on it, and its been behaving 90% better. I only have to reboot the router and cable modem every 3 days, vs every 3 hours.

Hubby checked the thing several times for hacking and found nothing. My computer has been checked for viruses, and does a full scan.. I mean FULL FREAKING SCAN every night.

I also have to restart the computer about every 2 days.

Now I could understand this better if I did something highly taxing on the computer like active games that require a lot of memory and CPU. But the most I do, is have 2-3 documents open, a few webpages, and a couple IM programs.

We've souped up the computer with lots of memory, a fast good quality CPU, and a SATA drive. You would think that it could handle it?

Now today's lovely problem!

Datarat posted a link to a You-Tube video about something that Ayn Rand wrote.

I really really wanted to watch this video. I also wanted to watch a couple other You-Tube Ayn Rand videos. Which I can do, if I could be satisfied with only watching the first minute of each video.

Instead, I get interested in it. I'm waiting at the edge of my seat for the next words, and it stops. I tried it both in FireFox and IE and neither will freaking show me the video, though FireFox does show me more of the video than IE but thats hardly any consolation.

When hubby gets home, I think we're going to have a talk about getting that Apple Mini we've been discussing.

I really hate change, and having to learn how MACs work is not going to be easy for me (or for my hubby as I am going to bitch about it), but I have to do something.

I just want the damn computer to work. It shouldn't be rocket science.

Email Mysteries

Most of the spam email that I recieve is advertisements for "male enhancement" or how I can click this link to get laid.

Occaisionally I'll get a spam email with some kind of gibberish in it where nothing in it actually makes sense. It looks like it might be a story, but its like tearing a page of a book in half length-wise and trying to make out the story from partial sentences.

And then... There is today's spam mail.

I honestly can't wait til the next one. They are very interesting in a spooky, who-the-hell-comes-up-with-this-and-why kind of way.

The first one:

"Subject: Helen, the mother of great Constantine, nor yet Saint Philip's daughters were like these" (so far normal spam babel, then I read the one sentence contents.)

"For purposes of this Section, a series of related events shall constitute a single material breach."

Kinda creepy. To me it reads like some kind of sci-fi horoscope. What does it mean? What events? What breach? OMG am I in trouble? Crap, while I was playing games did I accidently hack into mission control?

The second one is from Vit Loftus, which is a very strange name and reminds me of a sci-fi alien character or something. And after reading the creepy material breech spam, I'm a little on edge. The message simply states:

"I forbid you to tell the boy anything."

What boy? Crap, I don't know what boy, but rest assured if I see said boy, I won't be telling anything I swear. Don't kill my doggie, I swear I won't tell.

(Now just to figure out what it is that I'm supposed to know.)

Are you the government's whore?

Scary.

You know those secret plots we hear about that our government is secretly tracking us… etc.

What if they are true?

According to a recent article on JunkFood Science talks about mandatory medical record keeping that the federal government is insisting on implementing.

Honestly, this is the problem with federal income tax. It gives the federal government too much power over the states, as that is how the federal government is getting these mandatory programs to go over. States are “voluntarily” switching to these recording measures, because if they don’t, there will be no more federal funds.

Scary Snippets from the JunkFood Science article:

“For example, mandatory electronic reporting of glycosylated hemoglobin (A1c) values by laboratories to the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene was recently enacted in New York City. The mandatory program is without patient’s knowledge or informed consent, nor are people free to opt out, according to World Net Daily. Add to that, we’ve already had glimpses of how this information can and is being used by government officials. Pennsylvania’s new plan to manage “chronic illnesses, as described in a recent post, includes identifying and tracking those with diabetes first and putting them under state disease management.”

“A number of states, including Maine and Colorado, have introduced legislation making all Medicaid and food assistance recipients, and state employees, who are deemed overweight be required to undergo weight loss interventions, including “behavior modification” and prescription drugs.”

While most of the article is about HIV testing no longer being anonymous, its these two things that really got me freaking. So, not only are we required to pay taxes for these very programs, but when we get to the point of actually needing them, we may have to jump through hoops like a show dog in order to get the benefits.

And while it sounds all well and good to make people take care of themselves, maintain their health conditions, etc., what happened to personal rights?

Should you ever happen to need help/assistance, your body is no longer yours, but lots of bureaucrats now own your body. It's a whole new version of selling your body for bucks. Except these bucks, are our own.

God forbid we ever implement a socialized medicine program (government health insurance).

Bucket O Possum

Right now as I type this, on my back porch there is an opossum. It is trapped in a large galvanized metal bucket with chicken wire on the top. It is being haphazardly guarded by my dog, though I don't think it'll escape anyway.

The poor little thing is a baby opossum and is extremely cute. Then it bares it's teeth and you start to see what it would look like full grown.. Fortunately though it is just a little baby, it might be 5lbs when wet.

My husband used to always want to go to this Mexican eatery in town because once under the outside decking he saw a baby opossum. So I thought I'd keep it here until he gets home.

Even though when I called him to tell him that it was in the back yard and if I left it alone the dog would kill it. He told me to let the dog kill it.

Of course when I reminded him of the baby opossum he used to adore at the Mexican restaurant, and asked him if he would sit back and watch our dog kill it. He replied: "No, but YOU'RE the one watching the dog kill it, not me." (I shouldn't really type the names I calling him in my head.)

I tried calling a pest removal place. They couldn't come out and get it today, and I sure wasn't going to leave the poor thing out there to be mauled to death by our dog. Our dog won't eat it btw. She just likes to play with things until they're dead and no more fun. I'm sorry but watching my 45lbs. normally very sweet hearted dog (at least with people she is) maul to death a poor little rather defenseless opossum, is not on my list of things to watch today. Nor would it be on my list of things to watch ever.

I was advised by many to just dump the thing in the neighbors yard. Which would be fine, if I could be sure it would stay there. But see, opossum's don't understand fences as boundaries, so with the dog's water outside and my hopefully soon-to-be producing garden, I really don't want an opossum to be around to seal my veggies (like I don't have enough competition with the squirrels). Not to mention that the opossum's like to run around at night and cause my dog (and the other neighborhood dogs)to bark incessantly.

So the poor opossum is sitting terrified in a bucket, safe, waiting for my husband to come home so we can drive out to an uninhabited area and release it. That way my husband gets to share in my experiences today. :) Thats what he gets for trying to put the death of an innocent baby creature on my head!

Online Comics - Schlock Mercenary

I should not poke around my friend's sites when I'm bored. (repeat 100 times)

Because when I'm bored, I find things that I'm interested in. Which means more things to take up my time. And most times these things are not really valuable uses of time, but things that entertain me.

So.. I was poking around on Datarat's website and I found Schlock Mercenary Online Comic Strip.

Now most days, I would follow the link. Read the one strip on it. Not get interested and move on.

But this time, I was bored.

I was bored and since my friend has referred to this comic strip several times, I think that it must be something really cool. So I decide to read several days of this comic. Which was a big mistake.

See.. I went back and read about a month of this comic strip. And when I ended on today's strip, I got mad. I wanted MORE! Unfortunately now I have to wait til tomorrow for more.

I really hate waiting.

Global Warming caused by Law Changes

This has to be the most hilarious thing I've read in ages. I actually have my friend Datarat to thank for alerting me to this.

While I'm not a big fan of the scare of supposed global warming, this article was way too funny to pass up.

It seems according to one Arkansas lady that lawmakers are plotting and making laws to cause this global warming.

Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss

I have just finished watching what has to be the best film I’ve seen in a long while. While the film is predominantly gay, with its token straight couple, it’s overriding theme about the search for the love of your life is applicable to everyone.

The film Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss has one fantastically accurately truthfully beautifully captured scene which has prompted me to write this post.

The scene is a scene that most of us have probably had in our lives at least once, if not numerous times. But never before in film have I ever seen this scene so accurately portrayed.

The scene is two friends with possible sexual chemistry, due to reasons which they both agree are valid (whether they really are or not), end up sharing a bed for a night.

It is a very captivating scene. Where there is so much tension, as they both are unsure whether or not the other shares their interest and each are afraid of ruining the friendship.

So the subtle dance begins.

Since they’re both chicken, they pretend to be asleep. One sleepingly pretends to change position and “happens” to touch the other letting their body rest in that position for a bit, waiting to see what the other one does. When nothing happens, he pulls his arm away and waits, giving up hope. But then the other, sleepingly adjusts his position so they’re touching again. Unsure if this is intentional, or a sleeping move, he snuggles in a bit to test the waters. Then the other moves into the snuggle a bit.

It is a very slow, tension-filled dance that brought back so many memories for me. I had forgotten how that intense timidity felt, but the movie brings it all back to life and lets the viewer share this intimate moment as if you’re there in it. It has to be the most touching scene in a movie that I have seen in a long long time.

There is a similar themed scene in “Just Friends”, but Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss captures it much better with more heart and less cheesiness.

Honestly, even if you’re homophobic, it’s worth watching this movie if only just for that scene.

This goes out to the hard work of the Orthodox Union

Feeling Normal.

Ok.. maybe normal is a little strong. But I've been on a really restricted diet for quite a while now, and have not had a good time trying to find corn-free foods at the grocery stores.

So now its Springtime, and that means Passover. This is the time that I thank God for Jewish people. No, I’m not being facetious or in any way making light of Judaism. I honestly love them for giving me a few months each year of bliss.

Here's why: Their Kosher For Passover (KFP) guidelines are a god-send for those of us allergic to corn, rice, and beans.

Today I purchased $300 worth of food stuffs at the grocery store. Why you ask? Mostly because there was $300 of food stuffs at the grocery store that I could purchase and safely eat. And I didn't even clean off their shelves.

To be frank, KFP season is like a two - three month long party for those of us allergic to corn. Corn-free candies, pickles, canned fruits, tomato sauces, gum, coffee, vanilla, food colorings, etc. hit the shelves of Kosher grocery stores all over the country. And Kosher.com has ready-made cakes for sale that are all free of corn, rice, and beans. Do you know how long its been since I've purchased a cake?

Today, I pigged out on chocolate covered orange peels, fruit chew candy, gummy bears. I even had toast and jam for breakfast, and a juice box!!

And right now, I'm finishing off today with a Bud Light (which isn't probably KFP, but someone said it was corn-free so in my excitement I decided to check it out, and so far so good.)

I feel normal. Despite the hoarding of the limited supply of KFP goods that I'll need for the rest of the year, and trying to figure out where to store it all, I feel normal.

I'm hopefull actually. For the last few months, I have been in the dumps trying to think of where I can find corn-free foods, as each tidbit of pleasure food I had seemed to be corn-taminated and thus had to be eliminated. So now I have $300 worth of food stuffs (and I'll probably go back to the store for a few other things), so I feel calm, relaxed, and worry-free. I'm no longer wondering what I am going to eat tomorrow. I know I have a pile of food just waiting for me to eat it, and thats a peaceful thought.

Ice Storm in Nebraska

For those who question why I moved from Nebraska, and have absolutely no desire to move back. Please check out this photo display of a recent ice storm.

Now if you think this is just a one time thing and that winters are never this bad in Nebraska, think again.

While the widespread power outages might not be as bad on a yearly basis, I do remember nearly every year having ice storms that coated streets, trees, fences, grass, etc much like shown in the pictures. Some years were worse (more ice) than others.

The aftermath of ice storms is usually a very beautiful site. The light reflects on everything as if it was all made of glass. Then you look harder and realize the damage and clean up that's going to have to happen. Soon enough the pretty wears off and the drudgery begins. De-icing streets. Salting sidewalks.

And the ever so lovely, chipping your car out of the ice capsule that it surely is in. Sometimes cars get so sealed in there is nearly nothing you can do. If you chip too hard, you'll go through and scratch the paint. Door jams are usually sealed with solid ice, not to mention the handles or lock. You can douse your car in window washer with anti-freeze if you have enough on hand, provided that its not sealed in your trunk, but that usually doesn't help much. I suppose if you had a safe way of lighting a torch you could melt the ice off that way but the probability of setting yourself on fire is much more likely.

If you do manage to get in your car, you'd better hope you have a lot of gas. (This is one of the reasons I refuse to have less than 1/4 tank in my car. Old habits die hard.) You're going to need to start your car and put on the defrost on high, or you'll never get the ice off your windshield. After a while of defrosting your windows, the layer of ice next to the window turns to water and makes it easily removable. Or at least more easy to remove than solid ice on glass.

Once you get your car unsealed, you have to watch the streets as often they are sheets of ice.

Most often it is just best to call (if you have a functional phone) your boss and say "Sorry I can't come in" and hope you don't get fired.

Days like this is why I always have insisted on having a billion candles, a good supply of board games and decks of cards. (This is also why most Nebraskan's DO know their neighbors.)

Corn Allergy Addicts Anonymous

I admitted something really scary last night. Something that I’ve thought of for a while, but came to the forefront when I saw just how debilitating hubby’s allergic reaction was. Since I’m like that or a little bit like that almost all the time, I thought a little bit of that was just “me” and now I’m not so sure. What if I could really be 100% alert? That’s a great thought, right?

I’ve talked before (maybe not so much on here) about having a food allergy addiction to corn. It makes me high, and with very small minor reactions it makes me feel really happy for a few hours.

So here’s the scary part. What if the days that I think I feel good, are really low level reaction days and I’m still in a cycle of self-sabotage? Or what if they’re the “calm” before the storm. What if I get into corn, get happy, get sick, get sad, work to find the source of the corn, remove it, get a clear day.. then subconsciously seek out corn again for another “fix”?

The thing is there isn’t a support group for this type of addiction. There aren’t labels to read that tell me “corn is in here”.. I have to trust my body to react. But with a food addiction, you can’t really trust what your body wants. Your body wants the corn.

Drugs. Alcohol. There are tons of groups and support systems for these addictions, and for the most part the eyes can see these dangers before they’re ingested. But there is nothing for food allergy addiction, and like any addiction, only I can stop myself and change.

The problem is that my “drug” exists in everything, so it feels sometimes like no matter how hard I try, I never will “recover”. My next slip-up is only a snack, a meal, a drink, or sometimes even a breath away.

The Best Gift Ever!

This might seem a bit callous, but honestly this New Years will be remembered as the Best Christmas/New Years ever. (or at least for now) Due to one simple thing.

My husband now knows first hand what its like to be me.

Now before you get all judgmental in my rejoicing that my husband has food allergies and had an allergic reaction during Christmas/New Years, let me just tell you that it wasn't in any way life threatening. He got to experience a very low level, but annoying reaction. A reaction that he'd only observed in me prior to experiencing it himself. A reaction that he used to "disbelieve" or think that I "made up" or that I was making "more out of it" than it really was.

So yes, I am extremely happy that he now knows first hand what its like. Since he would be my primary caregiver, and would have to mediate with doctors on my behalf should something happen, I am extremely happy that he now "gets it".

But I'm digressing.. Now onto the real story..

During Christmas at my parents, Hubby started having problems with allergies. (It could have been mold issues, who knows) On our arrival back home, we both had sinus problems. On our return (Wednesday), we went sales shopping and hubby picked up some After Eight mints on sale.

(In Sept, hubby had received test results which one said a mild wheat allergy, and another less reliable test stated a mild mint allergy. So we removed both from his diet.)

He decided he wanted to test the mint allergy. He's an adult, so I have to let him figure this out on his own (at least somewhat). But unknown to me, he ate several boxes of After Eights in the next few days. I believe he finished the last of them on Saturday.

On Friday, hubby went to a salad bar and had a salad with olive oil and salt. Unfortunately, he didn't admit to me until Sunday that he'd also had "fake bacon" (wheat) on it. To his defense, he didn't know it had wheat in it, as he doesn't think about it unless he's specifically told "no".

I don't normally see my husband on the days he works, except at night. So I really didn't notice much issues, until Saturday. On Saturday, he was out of it. You know that whole saying "The Doors open, but no one is home?" that would be a pretty apt description of him on Saturday. He kept complaining that he just couldn't seem to concentrate. He has this project that he's been trying to work on, but he couldn't manage to concentrate enough to do anything. The more he talked, the more I said "You sound like me, you sure you didn't get into anything?" He insisted he hadn't and that it wasn't anything.

Then Sunday rolled around. If I thought he wasn't "in" on Saturday, he had vacated earth on Sunday. Then in the late afternoon, when I realized he wasn't going to be better by evening and going out wasn't going to be an option because even if he didn't drink, there was no way he could drive. So we went to rent movies. By this time, he'd admitted that something was really wrong and that I might be right about the allergies. He also fessed up at this time to the fake bacon on the salad on Friday, as well as devouring the After Eights.

I have to say that I wasn't being very nice during all this. I was laughing the entire day. It was hilarious. He was doing all the things that he complains that I do all the time just to irritate him. (Which I don't do on purpose, I don't often realize I'm doing it. Because its part of my allergic reactions) So here he was doing them, despite himself.

We went to Hollywood Rentals, and went to pick up movies. He didn't want to rent anything that would make him think, so we rented anything that was a light comedy. We left with 5 movies. Normally he insists on only 2 movies, maybe 3 if I insist. However, he couldn't decide which movie to watch. Now this is not your normal.. "I like both of these, so I can't decide".. this was "I honestly can't think about it right now. I have no idea which one to pick" type of indecision that I am known for. Until now, no one else had understood that depth of indecision, and hubby had been quite judgmental about my indecisive tendencies. So I thought it all incredibly hilarious. Especially when we got to the counter with 5 movies, and he didn't even try to narrow it down. He knew if he tried to narrow it down, that I'd make him decide which movies not to rent, and he'd rather not think about it.

I honestly don't think I've laughed so much in one day in all my life.

Then I wanted to get some seltzer water, as I was out at home. Since we weren't going out drinking, I wanted to be able to make something at home. Normally, he would want to talk me out of it as he hates going to regular grocery stores with me, as I love to read all the labels and seek out new items. He didn't even protest.

He did however decide that he wanted to make his own drinks (we have potato vodka at home he could use safely). He doesn't like very many alcohol drinks, and milk is out, so we had to be creative. While we were there, the munchies set in.

Now, I've tried to describe the munchies to others, but I always fail. I've never smoked pot, but I have seen and heard potheads talk about getting the munchies and devouring anything in sight. This is the munchies that my husband had.

It started as he wanted something to snack on while watching the movies. Normal yes? Then it progressed.

You have to understand shopping with hubby to get the full brunt of what happened at the grocery store. Shopping with hubby is very quick, very decisive. You know what you're getting, you get it, and you get out. That is not at all how this shopping adventure went.

First, we went to get the stuff needed to make mixed drinks at home. Then he wanted snacks. Snacks included chips and dip. Well then I thought, I could make a dip at home as well, but I need crackers so I left him and went to look for crackers. The particular store didn’t' have them, so I went back and found hubby. He was happy and content to just look around.

Then he wanted ice cream. "Is there a non-dairy ice cream I can have?" ok.. prior to this hubby didn't want fake ice cream and would adamantly refuse it. So we went to look at milk-free ice creams. We found one that looked safe and put it in the cart.

Then came the chili craving.. He wanted chili. Since I cannot have peppers, we went to look at canned chili for him. Most had oats or wheat, which he's avoiding, but we did find a couple that were ok and bought both (since hubby couldn't decide which one would be better in the store, and decided he should try them both - another un-hubby-like thing to do).

At this point, I decided to pick up a couple things in the produce section. Normally I would be scolded with a "Do you really need them now? Can you come back later and get them?", but nothing was said. I was never pressured to leave the store the entire hour we were there. It was unfathomable, and the most fun I've had in a long time.

I went to pick out some produce, and hubby got distracted reading the labels of jam. I found him a few feet away, picking up jars of jam (which he doesn't eat btw, because he doesn't like most fruit) and reading the labels. He wasn't just picking up jars of jam that he might eat. No, he was picking up just random jars and reading the labels as if it was the most fun thing to do ever. He was happy and content. I nearly caused a scene with laughing so hard.

When we got home, he started munching. I was doing my own thing, so I wasn't watching him much or monitoring what he ate. (We'd just eaten a few hours before btw).

We then watched a movie, and I was a little hungry so I asked him if he wanted supper. He said he wasn't hungry and couldn't believe I was hungry. It had been about 5 hours since lunch, so I replied "Well I didn't just have the munchies and eat everything in the house." He looked a little insulted. I said, "Well what all did you eat? Am I wrong?"

He thought about it and said: "I had some chips & chili, some goulash, nuts, toffee (homemade), juice," etc.. he kept pausing naming something, then pause, named something else. I swear he went on for several minutes naming foods he'd eaten. Btw the "some chips and chili" equals an entire can of Campbell's no bean chili, and half a bag of corn chips.

I got up and made me a small dinner, all the while laughing.

We talked yesterday about it, and decided that he needs to be ultra-safe in his eating until he gets his project done. He started regaining his ability to concentrate last night, and hopefully is back to normal today.

If nothing else, he at least now understands me a little bit better, and knows that "NO, it’s not all in her head".