Wish I Had a Clever Title

Pretty much feel like crap. Pretty much felt like crap all day and yesterday. Part lack of sleep, part rebellious body parts.

Work PCs were all acting weird and slow and added to the overall stress of the day. We can't decide if it's the new PCs that's the problem, or the network.

Instead of working on what I planned tonight, I finished reading one of the books I've been reading, making 2 read this year. Not a good start, but both were good reads. Review of the second will be posted on my book blog tomorrow.

Olympics are over, so hockey is back. And pre-season baseball games start soon, with the first Mets game (according to the official schedule) on Friday night. Spring can't come fast enough for me.

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
miscellany

Monday's Almost Over

What is it about Mondays? They seem to take forever to end, especially the part where I'm at work. And I heard about two more deaths today: Dennis Weaver and author Frederick Busch. I read only one of Busch's books: The Night Inspector, an historical novel that was excellent. Set in NYC after the Civil War, it featured Herman Melville as a character. Anyway, I feel like I've subscribed to the famous people dying rss feed or something.

Frigid cold, so I didn't get my morning and lunch walks in, which add to my overall feeling of lethargy. It hasn't been a bad winter, all in all, but I'm ready for spring.

My big accomplishment tonight was doing an Excel list of my pull list. That's comic book lingo for the books pulled and set aside weekly for folks who are regular customers and who opt for this sorta subscription service. Gives you an idea of how my day was, I guess.

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
miscellany

Nightly Report

Went to an Italian restaurant near my father's house to celebrate my sister's 50th birthday. Good food, nice evening, I'm very full. Had penne pasta with spinach and chicken, but didn't eat the spinach.

Don Knotts and Darren McGavin both died. Both had lived long, full lives, and I was fans of both. I've reached the age where more and more I'm going to see the deaths of people I've enjoyed seeing perform over the years, so I know this is just the beginning. I also read that Octavia Butler, an author I admired, also died this week. She was a wonderful writer, of science fiction, and it's very sad to know there won't be any more of her books. Her book, Clay's Ark, was one of the finest books I've ever read.

Chocolate-Covered Car.

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
personal

Tune In, Link Up

From Miss Cellania
Reincarnation Station. Also, some people have too much time on their hands as these photos suggest. I think the best way to describe these is "people as animals." And what about this mailbox collection, huh?

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
links

A Few Things

From Gothamist:

A man was arrested for damaging trees in Union Square Park, in Manhattan.

"Two Parks Enforcement officers caught him at 1:30AM, and the Parks Department said Sasson "was in the process of ripping branches off trees," adding that Sasson just "reached up into the tree branches and pulled off the limbs." And the "destruction or abuse for trees" is serious - that, coupled with his second-degree criminal mischief charges, could add up to seven years in jail."

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm thinking of the potential embarrassment in this. I can see the scene now. A prison, probably minimum security, a new prison is brought in and the other prisoners ask what he's in for. Would you want to tell your fellow cons that you ripped branches off trees?

Chocolate Game Consoles, on Candy Addict.

Van Gogh's "Starry Night" is the closest I get to having a favorite painting, so this cake version takes, well, the cake. Found on Boing Boing.

These folks really know how to celebrate chocolate.


Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
links
chocolate

A Little Photoshop Fun

So, I went to the New York Comicon today (more info on Shelly's Comic Book Shelf) at the Javits Center on Manhattan's West Side and brought my camera. I mostly took photos around the area and one shot had a nice, big, white truck in it and well, I couldn't resist playing a bit. This is the result. If only the truck really had that message painted on its side.

The con was fun, too. I did get to see the prototypes for the Daniel and Jack action figures due out later this year, but was disappointed to learn the Atlantis figures won't be out until next summer. And I so want a Joe Flannigan/Sheppard action figure.

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
comicon

Chocolate Message Board!

Frappr! has a lot of nifty features now, as I'm learning during my exploration of the site, including a message board, aka the "Forums." So, CyberChocolateRealm has a message board and I've started a topic: Favorite Chocolicious Goodies. You probably need to be a Frappr! member to post, but if you are, why not give it a try. Go post about your favorite chocolate treats.

There's even a poll feature to the forums. I might have to play with that, too.

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
message boards

More Chocoliciousness

Grow-a-Brain has found some wonderful chocolate links for us:

• Brad Pitt in Chocolate. I don't see the resemblance. And I've a list of other actors I'd rather see sculpted in chocolate.
• A cake toilet with chocolate seat.
• A 3-D Lego printer for choclate. Is there anything that can't be constructed from Legos?

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
links
chocolate

Chocolicious News

I knew it! The benefits of Chocolate Milk.
More on the Mars Company's new dark chocolate CocoaVia product. Doesn't look like it's gonna be M&Ms; just bars. Damn. Still, I'll give 'em a try.

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
chocolate
links

Playing Catch-Up

Someday, I'll get caught up, but until that happens, some thoughts.

Frappr! the map thingie site, made some changes. I have a friends map now on my Frappr! page as well as the CyberChocolateRealm map I link to in the sidebar here. I blogged about Frappr! on Presto Speaks!

It was my day off, so I cleaned the bathrooms, got the week's comics, and went to the gym, and now I just feel like curling up and sleeping for 12 - 15 hours.

I'm doing a graphic header for someone's website as a favor. It's been an education. He's been nice and appreciative, but I'm getting a real appreciation for folks who do this for a living. It has been fun, though.

While looking around on Frappr, I found someone with a group with a rather graphic name and a rather graphic photo posted of a naked man from the shoulders down, showing off the metal on his equipment. But what was shocking and had me giggling uncontrollably was this warning in his group's description: Sexually Explicate Material. I'm thinking all his brains are in his equipment and it can't spell worth a damn. Now, I suppose I could goose my search terms hits by being more explicate explicit and just say he had studs in his cock which apparently is also where his brains are located. But I would never use such language just to goose my search engine hits. Nah, not me. heh

And I suppose he was hoping for some attention (including the pump buddies his description mentioned), and if any middle-aged ladies such as myself stumbled by, maybe we'd be shocked or horrified. I don't think he was expecting, or hoping for, someone to get the giggles. And no, I'm not providing a link. You want to see, you'll have to go look for yourself. It'll help you develop your research skills.

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
tagnamehere

Random Bursts of Blogging

I started my writing blog, in various formats, on or around March 30, 2004. The original Cyber Chocolate on AOL was begun a week or two earlier, but since I deleted that blog, I have no record of the date. I don't know how I failed to make note of it. So, I'll use 3/30 as my blogging anniversary.

A few things I've learned about life and blogging over the years:

• No matter how good I think my photos are, they probably will never break double digits in comments, not counting my replies, on flickr and that's okay. The same goes for the improbability that I'll ever have a photo on flickr that breaks triple digits in views, or even gets more than 50. The current high is 35.
• No matter how much you clean, things get dirty again, dust will reclaim the surfaces in the apartment, and both dishes and clothes will need to be washed, dried, and sorted, though not in the same machines.
• Not one of my blogs will ever make the top tier. None of them will ever be as popular as BoingBoing.
• Sometimes, I think I got into blogging a bit late. If I'd've been earlier, I would have had less competition and more time to find and keep an audience.
• I rather blog for me and have fun, and entertain a few folks, than try to make money off of blogging, which is really just a hobby.
• I detest ads on blogs and merely tolerate them on blogs I love to read, which is why reading in Bloglines is so great. I don't have to see the ads.
• I rarely click on the blog if it has only subject lines or excerpts in its feed. I don't have the time to go look at the blog, not when I check 350 of them, including photoblogs, comics, and news services.
• I'm amazed at how quickly blogging and anything computer-related took control of my life. And yet, both have helped me with work, so for every downside, there's an upside, and of course, vice versa.
• Despite looking much younger than my years for most of my life and despite my best intentions, I'm starting to look middle aged and I don't like it. I'm not fond of having more years behind me than ahead, statistically.
• It's been fun going through my old photos. I haven't looked at some of those albums in years. What's the point of having photos if you don't look at them, or let others see them? I love sharing the non-family and friends ones on flickr and on Creative Endeavors.
• I've managed to fall behind on everything as I keep adding new projects. I can't help myself and the photos project is important to me.
• I've been using a computer less than half my life and I've been online less than that, and I can barely recall what life was like before I was connected.
• My life is now ruled by logins and passwords.
• Anyone who invents an affordable, self-cleaning toilet and tub will have my undying gratitude.
  

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
thoughts

Mother Board

Mother Board
Originally uploaded by ShellyS.

I couldn't resist. Here's a photo of the old mother board. It looks a bit like a miniature city, doesn't it?

Is it Friday Yet?

I didn't really think so, but it never hurts to ask. And I wish I had the time to do and enjoy all the things I want to do and enjoy. I'd settle for catching up with stuff around here. I think even if I was already retired, I wouldn't have enough time.

"Brokeback Mountain" in Legos. Link found on BoingBoing.

I forgot where I saw these Bubs, but they sure are cute. So, if the person I got the link from is reading this, thanks, and leave a comment so you can get credit for it. Here's my Cyber Chocolate Bub, and I'm putting a superhero one on Shelly's Comic Book Shelf.

I got this Dolphin Bubs
from TheLordNick.com/Bubs

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
links

Lunch

Lunch
Originally uploaded by ShellyS.

This was a very yummilicious burger and the fries were pretty good, too. I didn't eat the tomatoes or onion, though I do like onions. Just wasn't in the mood.

Saw "Walk the Line" with a friend. Excellent movie and I think I'm setting a record this Oscar year. That's 3 nominees I've seen this time. Joaquin Phoenix was amazing as was Reese Witherspoon.

And in good news, the NY Daily News reports dark chocolate M&Ms, loaded with flavanols this time, will be making a comeback. No date yet on their appearance.

Feeling:
--o0o--

Sunday Sunshine

The new mother board has been installed and all systems seem a-okay. For now. We'll see.

Free Range Librarian points us to a new Simpsons cyber toy.

And now, a baseball anthem is playing on the radio: "Centerfield" by John Fogerty. Is there any doubt it's baseball season? Nah, I didn't think so. [big grin here] And with the days now noticeably longer, I can smell spring in the air despite last night's frigid temperature and today's chill.
"Centerfield"

Well, beat the drum and hold the phone - the sun came out today!
We’re born again, there’s new grass on the field.
A-roundin’ third, and headed for home, it’s a brown-eyed handsome man;
Anyone can understand the way I feel.

Chorus:
Oh, put me in, coach - I’m ready to play today;
Put me in, coach - I’m ready to play today;
Look at me, I can be centerfield.

Well, I spent some time in the mudville nine, watchin’ it from the bench;
You know I took some lumps when the mighty casey struck out.
So say hey willie, tell ty cobb and joe dimaggio;
Don’t say "it ain’t so", you know the time is now.

Chorus

Yeah! I got it, I got it!

Got a beat-up glove, a homemade bat, and brand-new pair of shoes;
You know I think it’s time to give this game a ride.
Just to hit the ball and touch ’em all - a moment in the sun;
(pop) it’s gone and you can tell that one goodbye!

Chorus
Chorus
Yeah!

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
baseball
links

TGIS

Given how little computer access I had this week, this week seemed longer than usual, even as the month is speeding by. Today was catchup day; except for my 2 hours on phone reference, I cleaned out my in-box and mostly caught up on things, including setting up a blog with my work favs so I'll always have them no matter what state my work PC is.

I wrote a couple of longish posts on social sharing sites on Presto Speaks! One is on a music tagging/sharing site called last.fm and the other is on flickr and del.icio.us.

The temps are plummeting. It's in the teens outside now and still falling, and it's actually getting cold inside with the wind blowing like mad. Definitely, a hot chocolate night.

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
miscellaneous

All Work and No Play

Candy Addict points us to Chocolate Russian Roulette. I like the tag line from the website: "Willy Wonka Meets the Deer Hunter!" heh

So I spent the day sorting through links on my work PC, trying to find the broken ones to delete, again, since an old version of my favs was loaded onto the frakin' computer. And yes, I'm watching Battlestar Galactica; how could you tell? Was "frakin'" enough of a clue? :) Anyway, I'm making a page of my links to load onto my website, and save in my gmail account so I'll always have them because I really don't want to keep going through this everytime they update the PCs or the OS.

Everytime I think I've got a handle on all the projects I'm in the middle of, another one or 2 projects pops up. So tomorrow, I'll tackle the towering stack of stuff in my In-Box, answer reference questions, and, I hope, dig out a bit from under the mess.

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
work

Good Stuff, Pass it On

Been seeing this meme all around LiveJournal, but now that I've seen it on Because I Am, and because CC wrote such a wonderful entry about how blogging can make a difference in people's lives, I'm passing it on:

If there is someone on your friends list or blogroll who makes your world a better place just because they exist and who you would not have met (in real life or not) without the internet, then post this same sentence in your journal.

Because, really, blogging is really a neat way to make the world seem smaller, where we can converse with folks around the world, share our thoughts and hopes and fears. Sure, there's a lot of crap out there, spammers and frauds, but there's much more of the good stuff and I am proud to consider my regular readers and the bloggers I read regularly my cyber friends. I've met one of you in real life, and would love to meet more of you someday.

So for all of you, here's some chocolicious cyber cheer.


Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
memes
cyberfriends

Workday Follies

Well, I have a new PC at work. It doesn't know me. It refuses to get acquainted. It doesn't seem happy with the idea that we're supposed to be working together. Meanwhile, my new mother board for the home PC arrived, but the PC is working, so I don't know what's going to happen next with it.

Had yummy bacon waffles with chocolate chips on top for lunch. House was wonderfully snarky tonight. Lots of snow melted to make lots of deep icy puddles at the street corners. And I didn't drop anything today. All in all, a good day.

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
personal

Day of the Clutz

And as with luck, the clutziness came in threes. First, I squirted hand cream all over myself. Then, I poured water from the water cooler at work on my hand. For the finale, I dropped part of dinner on the floor.

Today was also, apparently, junk snack food day. Normal, relatively healthy snacking will resume tomorrow.

Despite the annoyance of the extreme fading of my early color photos, it's been fun going through them. And realizing one of my mother's cousins is almost as old as his father, my great uncle, was before he died. And seeing photos of my father when he still had some hair. Not back when he was young and had a full head of hair or even a receding hairline, but when he was middle-aged and there was still dark hair around the sides.

I'm not much of an Olymics fan, so there will be no Olympics blogging. Meanwhile, baseball season kicks off later this week, with pitchers and catchers reporting on or around 2/15. I love this time of year, when anything seems possible, even for the worst team of the past year. Wait til next year becomes this year.

And because I feel I owe you folks some links:
A Puppy Monorail, found on Boing Boing.
Italians know chocolate.
More on health and chocolate.

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
personal
links
chocolate

View Through My Window

Well, it's still snowing. Supposed to be a couple of feet. Been falling 3 inches per hour for a while now. Of course, with temps due up to 50°F by mid-week, we're due for a lot of slush and icy water in a few days. Wouldn't mind a snow day tomorrow, but one never can tell with our library system. Probably won't know til the morning. The thing is, Manhattan is usually fine once the snow stops falling, because the plows are out in force. But the outer boroughs not only tend to get more snow, it takes longer to plow it. I have a small hill to navigate to the subway and it's very slick in weather like this. I don't like the idea of falling now that I know my bones are kinda brittle, so I wouldn't mind a day off so they can shovel and plow out there. Althought, I'd love to get out and take photos. Ah, the urges of a photoblogger!

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
snow

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

Because, really, nothing's going to stop it from snowing.

Tech guy came, but the mother board hasn't arrived yet. He did fix the slowness problem since the meltdown on Wednesday night. Seems one of the memory sticks wasn't in all the way after the Gateway guy had us pull them and reinsert them. Tech guy said he couldn't tell if both were in, but the PC said only one was, so he removed both and shoved them back in and things are better now. He thinks the mother board should probably be replaced even though the PC is working. Clearly, something was and probably still is amiss.

For the library-minded amongst you out there, I offer up scanned photos of my old book exhibits. Most are YA-oriented. The older pictures, the ones on the matte paper, are very faded and I fiddled a bit with them in Photoshop, but the color is still off. I'm going to scan pretty much every photo I have so I can have them on CD.



I feel like I have a gazillion projects and don't know which way to turn first. But at least, I finished scanning in the Hawaii photos from 1995, so I feel as if I accomplished something. There were a couuple of hundred of those suckers.

And for once, I remembered to watch Hustle, a British import which is on Saturdays at 10 p.m. Of course, I didn't remember til 10:15, but at least I finally have seen this show. I like it a lot.

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
computers
photos

Update from the Computer Wars

I wish I could figure out how screwed up my PC is. It's working. It's working slower than usual. It doesn't seem happy with more than one program on at a time. The fan in the back rattles a lot.

Work was mostly filled with dealing with stuff that was supposed to have been done already and problems that cropped up. And writing a month's worth of weekly schedules which is a pain because doing that kind of thing on a computer gives me a nice case of eyestrain, with the obligatory headache to go with it.

No links to share. I've been only skimming the link blogs since my connection has been so spotty and nothing really jumped out, demanding to be shared. Sorry my blogging has been so lame lately.

I loved Stargate: SG-1 and Atlantis tonight, and as I type this during a break in Battlestar Galactica, I can say it's wonderfully tense as usual. They've even taken the cliche hostage-taking and shooting of a hostage, oh who happens to be the son of the admiral, and made it feel, if not fresh, then exciting, anyway. I know many folks feel the last couple of episodes were weak, and while I do agree they weren't the show's strongest, I didn't think they were all that bad. But tonight is vintage.

Did I mention I got the Alien Nation show DVDs. Now to find time to watch 'em.

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
computers

Kudos for Hubby

AKA, Computer, Heal Thyself

Kudos and props for hubby. He tried the PC this morning, and though it took much longer than usual, the thing booted! Tonight, when I got home, I tried and it booted again! So when he came home, we plugged peripherals back in, including the cable modem. Everything seems to be working, except the scanner which was acting up the last couple of days. I think I wore it out or something and now we're wondering if there was a power surge of some sort in the system. So, I'm back, for now. Yeeha!

It's been a long 24 hours, let me tell you. I can check only so much during work. I even got back early from lunch so I could check blogs. And thanks to those of you who offered your sympathies. They were much appreciated. I still think the computer has a problem, but not as dire as it first looked. I won't be scanning more photos for a while, though. And I so wanted to get finished with the 1995 trip to Hawaii batch.

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
computers

Money Well Spent

For the extended, special, 3-year warranty for my Gateway PC, which will cover the replacement of my dead mother board. *sigh* So until the part comes in, probably on Monday, and I get someone here to replace the dead one with it, I likely won't be blogging much, as I'm stuck on the laptop with AOL on a dial-up connection. *gasp*

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
dead computers

Lazy Blogger, No Biscuit

The title comes from something we used to say on various writers boards: Bad writer, no biscuit. You may substitute cookie or other snack of your choice.

Yes, I've been lazy, relying on quizzes to fill space here. But I have updated some of my other blogs and I'm well into my little photo digitalization project. Working backward, I'm scanning my photos so I can have them in digital format (I'll do the CD backups later) and upload them to flickr. I'll do the ones with family last and those won't go on flickr. It's a lot of work, giving me a real appreciation for the folks who digitalize photos for online library collections. I was inspired to do this when I saw the amount of fading my old color photos from the late-'60s/early-'70s have suffered. I hope to be able to color correct those older ones when I scan them.

I must admit, the project has a nice mindlessness to it. I get into a rhythm and it almost feels like a routine task. Pull, scan, save, upload, return to album. Pull, scan, save, upload, return to album.

I know I forgot to post how wonderful the Stargates and Battlestar Galactica were on Friday night. Medium last night, and NCIS and House were all wonderful as usual. I am also very much enjoying How I Met Your Mother. It's a smart, sassy comedy that is genuinely funny. I like Out of Practice (I think that's the name, but it's been off for so long now while CBS tries out other comedies, that I'm not sure, anymore), too, and miss it. Just having Henry Winkler making me laugh every week (minus these weeks without it) again is a joy.

I had a lot of other bits and pieces of stuff floating around in my head for blogging, but when I sat down to type them or write up a note, they were gone. Ever since I saw this blog lost a Bloglines subscriber, I've been fretting that I've been boring folks. But the participation in the last two quizzes, especially those of you who left your results in the comments which I've loved reading, has reassured me that I'm still entertaining someone.

I thought briefly of tagging this entry "crap," but I'll stick to my more reader-friendly "miscellany."

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
miscellany

Sexy Lady

On the Sexy Name Decoder, found on The Generator Blog.

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
quizzes

Defining Quiz

Shelly -- [noun]: A person who likes to steal tins of tuna 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
quizzes

Candy is Dandy

Got this quiz from Leesa. I'm jealous, tho. She's a Kiss.


discover what candy you are @ quiz me

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
quizzes

Those Groundhogs Don't Know Nothin'

Forget the groundhogs. The true signs of spring:

Days are getting longer. It is now still light when I leave work at 5 p.m. (Yeeha!)

Pitchers and Catchers report in 10 days!!! Is it a coincidence that P&C is always (well, it can vary a day here and there by team, but still...) February 15th, one day after Valentine's Day? I think not. (I have no idea why that's related. Humor me, okay?)

The rest of the baseball teams report on 2/21, thereabouts.

Football season officially ends with the Super Bowl — TODAY!!! I'm not a big football fan, but this year seemed especially long, mostly because I'm a Jets fan and well, it's just not good for one's mental health to be a Jets fan these days.

So what are your signs of spring?

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
spring

Five Factors of Me

This came out remarkably close, though I'm nowhere close to being a perfectionist. I firmly believe that quite often good enough is good enough. And I'll try new things if there's no danger or risk involved. heh But otherwise, given how few questions were asked, this caught me fairly well.

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have low extroversion. You are quiet and reserved in most social situations. A low key, laid back lifestyle is important to you. You tend to bond slowly, over time, with one or two people. Conscientiousness: You have high conscientiousness. Intelligent and reliable, you tend to succeed in life. Most things in your life are organized and planned well. But you borderline on being a total perfectionist. Agreeableness: You have medium agreeableness. You're generally a friendly and trusting person. But you also have a healthy dose of cynicism. You get along well with others, as long as they play fair. Neuroticism: You have low neuroticism. You are very emotionally stable and mentally together. Only the greatest setbacks upset you, and you bounce back quickly. Overall, you are typically calm and relaxed - making others feel secure. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is high. In life, you tend to be an early adopter of all new things and ideas. You'll try almost anything interesting, and you're constantly pushing your own limits. A great connoisseir of art and beauty, you can find the positive side of almost anything.

The Five Factor Personality Test

In the "Another One Bites the Dust" department, another pair of pantyhose (maroon) had to be tossed today due to a worn out elastic waistband. In lieu of flowers, please send chocolate.

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
quizzes

Cough, Cough, Chew, Chew

I've probably mentioned this before, but if you're phoning someone, especially someone in a public service agency, say, like a LIBRARY, it's not a good idea to be coughing, chewing, or popping gum when the other person answers. Nor is it polite to be carrying on a conversation with someone else at the same time, especially if this requires shouting. This can be very confusing for the person you called. At the very least, please cover the speaker part of the phone unit. I do understand that you probably can't do anything about any shrill whistling or buzz on the line, unless you're making the noise yourself, but please try whenever possible to speak to the person you called — me — and be sure that your voice is all the person — me — has to listen to. Screaming or crying babies in close proximity to the phone makes for a very bad connection. This will greatly assist the other person and make it easier for him or her — me! — to help you. Really. And it's such a little thing, easy to get right. Thank you for your attention in this matter.

Can you tell I had a difficult time on the phone today? Well, the old gent who always insists on telling me a joke before he hangs up kinda made up for the screeching, chewing, and the loud cough in my ear from earlier calls, but still....

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
phone ettiquette

The Chocolate is Calling Me

Wine and Chocolate for a Healthy Heart? I wonder if I double up on the chocolate and skip the wine, if it would still work. heh

Looks like a rainy weekend, the kind that sends me running to the jar of Dark Chocolate M&Ms. And I so wanted to go to the gym. Maybe it won't be bad enough to keep me from going. Tomorrow is supposed to be the the heavy rain day. Also supposed to be 50° F. At this point, it doesn't matter what those groundhogs saw. We haven't really had winter yet, just a rather long fall. It's even been to warm for me to bother with hot chocolate most nights.

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
chocolate
miscellany

Random Thoughts Escaping My Head

I hate when something is improved from something I like a lot to something I don't like as much.

Just read that my favorite donut shop, a little hole in the wall, is in a building slated for demolition, along with most of a block, to make way for a large, modern apartment building with shops. I suppose that will be good for my attempts to diet, but why must I lose so many things I love?

I don't watch awards shows, but I am happy with the nominations in the major Academy Awards this year. I wish they wouldn't ruin things by actually picking a winner in each category. All are winners in my book. I even saw a couple of the movies. heh

I'm glad the Islanders played, and won, last night. Hockey sure is good counter-programming for the State of the (Dis)Union speech that would have irritated me no end.

I've been enjoying seeing the results folks have been getting in the superhero quiz. Thanks for letting me know in the comments.

A number of stores have closed in my work neighborhood. This is a thriving retail neighborhood, though that wasn't the case a decade ago. With all the apartment buildings going up, I can't figure if it's declining sales/small recession, ridiculous retail rent increases, or both that's the culprit. It's discouraging, whatever it is. If it's the landlords' way to bring in pricier stores, that's just sad. I wouldn't mind if an Eddie Bauer opened up, but they've been closing some stores, not opening more these days.

I love watching I Spy and Man from UNCLE every Wednesday night on American Life Channel, but I really hate the "old folks" commercials. The life insurance and retirement ones really irk me.


I made the above with the Real Time Contextural Art Generator. Link found on Generator Blog.

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
miscellany