Why, Yes, I live in the sticks.

Why do you ask?

Seen:

You know how you can buy different models of a car- low (basic), medium, and tricked out? And that some of the basic cars are really, um, basic? I saw a guy (complete with ball cap on backwards) driving a basic Neon. Now, I've has a Neon, and I'm not complaining about them, but he decided to trick it out himself. So he put fancy smancy wheels on it, and then he bolted (yes, bolted) a rear racing wing on the trunk lid. But he still had that dull red paint on it. Stylish, no?
Who knows, mayhaps it is a work in progress?

Seen:
a sign for Dang Lake Mobile Home Park. Truth be told, I saw a sign for something with Fang Lake a bit down the road, so it could have been someone playing jokes, but it looked real as I drove by.

dinner was terrible

It all started when I went to feed my friend's dog and cats. And raid her garden. I got, amongst other things, several beeyoutefull tomatoes and several sprigs of basil. To which I added several cloves of garlic, salt and pepper, cucumber, and a tiny splurck of olive oil. And into the fridge it went.
Then, I took fresh asparagus and rolled it in a combination of olive oil, salt and pepper, and garlic powder. And to the side it went.
Then, I took a peeled a pound of shrimp and soak it thoroughly with the juice of a lemon, pepper and salt, and some more garlic powder. And to the side it went.
And it was about then that I remembered we still had a few Coronas left from our party a few weeks ago (if you can believe THAT) and into the freezer they went.
(The Sam Adams was already cold)
And then Dear Hubby took the shrimp and asparagus outside to the grill and onto the grill they went. My Dear Hubby grilled the shrimp and asparagus to perfection, uh, I mean, horribleness.

It was the worst dinner I ever had. I could not, in good conscience, allow Pete and Re-Pete to eat that tomato/e concoction. (But we fought over the shrimp. Pete even ate extra salad so she could have more shrimp. Poor thing, she'll probably be up all night with the squirts.

It was so bad
{{How bad was it?}}
It was sooo bad that Dear Hubby said we should have grilled shrimp and asparagus at Blogtoberfest. I don't think I can do that to you people that might go. Please. Don't make me.

Mr. Snuffleupagus

Now, don't tell me you don't remember him- long, eye lashes, deep voice, best friend to Big Bird.

He was always my favorite. When I was a wee girl watching Sesame Street, the schtick was adults couldn't see Snuffy. So, of course, I'd call my mom in every time he was there, or try to get her to stop reading, but she always missed him.

Makes me smile to think of it now.

There is even a biography on him

We had an ABC video made by Sesame Street about reading. Big Bird put on this big production for Snuffy to show him that he could read, even if he was only 4. When they got to the letter H, there was a very Hairy Horse, named Harry, who mumbled, "I can't possibly talk with all this hair in my mouth" That still cracks me up. And the letter L song- "li-nol-e-um!"

Guess you had to be there.

I just saw a commercial on Nick Jr. for Monster Shoes. Man, am I glad we're almost past these types of shoes. Plus, $60 bucks for Elmo shoes? I think not.

Those strange Europeans

You have got to see this. Is it Art? Dunno, but it's funny. Make sure you watch the video- and turn up the sound. And he moves his hips too!

phlogiston what?

I'm still reading my Scientist Book, about the history of science seen through the lives of Scientists. both willing and unwilling. Some of the earliest scientists were just trying to prove what the Church was saying. Some were just really curious and never published their works. Some were power grabbing men. Some were down right hateful. Not much has changed over the centuries, huh?
The study of chemistry had a slow start. The technology to control variables (heat, mass, etc) was just not there for a while. Chemists used candles to heat things, or special "spirit lamps" to heat their solutions. If the wanted more heat they added more candles. But having a steady, adjustable heat source just wasn't there. But they had some interesting ideas about heat. There were two schools of thought- Caloric and phlogiston. (Both were horribly wrong, since they thought heat was a Thing)
Phlogiston refers to a compound that everything has- and is given off during burning. It's what makes burning possible (according to those who believed). Remember this is during the 1700's. Phlogistated air (carbon dioxide) was made when things were burned (true) and non-phlogistated air could not be burned (nitrogen compounds) (I don't know if you can burn nitrogen).

People still had this idea of the caloric theory- that all matter had a finite amount of caloric, also a substance that came out when objects rubbed together or where burnt or in any way heated up.

You gotta give these guys props for trying to figure out what heat is, though.

It took over 100 hundred years for some one to notice that metals and other materials actually gained mass when they burned, instead of losing caloric or phlogiston. Not that scientists were stupid at that time, but that they had other things to discover first. All of these experiments were really trying to find out the nature of heat.

Finally, after many years, well into the 19th century, scientists were able to figure out that heat is really the transfer of energy.

Reading this makes me think of my own attempts at explaining heat to my students. The study of heat is usually very confusing- I get The Empty Stare at first. Followed by "What? What?" (Reminds me of little birds when they do that) And then they start to get it (most of them any way)
I tell them there is no such thing as cold- only less hot. (That always gets them. I have to explain to them that we had the terms "hot" and "cold" before we had an understanding of the nature of energy) If heat is the transfer of heat (and it is) , then what is temperature? What is the concept of hot and cold? Temperature is a measure of the transfer of energy. Hot means a transfer (in one direction) of energy, but cold might just as easily be a transfer of energy (in the opposite direction).

I say that, and I wait a few moments to let that sink in.

And then I tell them that you can add heat, but you can't add cold. Cold is the removal of energy.

And then I wait a few moments.
I must say, it's one of my favorite things to teach. I know, I have a place waiting for me in the Hallowed Halls of Geekdom.


I just love reading this book. It's like snapshots into the past. It gives you the sense that these guys were out there looking for answers (sometimes at great personal risk) to find answers and order in the natural world. The books tells the story of their lives. Some of these guys were just in it for the science, some wanted glory, some were lying cheating spies.



More later.

stick bugs

We found a little stick bug today, he/she was missing a leg. He/she had, at one point, pointed its two front most legs forward to give it more presence I suppose. not quite up to the challenge. We left Sticky on a philodendron leaf to fend for his/her self. A fly fly too near Sticky and he/she spread its antennae and first legs out a bit, a buggy version of cats puffing up when they get scared.

I don't remember being shown those sorts of things when I was a kid. My earliest bug memories are from the second grade chasing fireflies. And my aunt giving us a nickel for every dead fly we brought her. Heh.

Life in the summer- it's good.

Here's Re-Pete letting the bug climb on her.

To Gardisil or not to Gardisil

Pete is 10. It won't be long till the pediatrician asks us if we want her to have it- Gardisil. If you've been living in a cave and don't know what it is- it's a vaccine to prevent a girl from being infected by HPV, a virus that causes a large percentage of cervical cancer. Should we get Pete's opinion? Should we wait for more data? Will it make her more likey to have unsafe sex?
It will seriously reduce her risk of a few types of cancer, but we're hearing about problems. I read a review over at Web MD.

So by the end of this year, Merck, the company that makes the vaccine should be reporting their findings. I have asked every doctor I can their opinion about the vaccine. One of the arguments against it is that girls might get a false impression of safety- which I'm pretty sure I can dispel. It's about her health. Not her ability to have sex more often or unprotected (oh, man, that one's gonna give me nightmares)
I know the risks are very small that she might have a reaction to the vaccine. (The most common one is pain at the injection site. Heh. My husband will have to take her for that shot... ) But what are her chances of getting HPV? If she's anything like me, sheesh, we'll need body guards soon.
So, all you parents out there- what say you? And BTW, I've been told that boys can get the vaccine too so's they don't pass it on to their conquests, er, I mean wives.

Scarring my children one trip to the zoo at a time

Took the girls to the zoo last week- lots of new babies. One tortoise (not turtle) was following another- very closely. Trying to climb up, so to speak. Grab a piece of turtle nookie.
Pete said- look Mom they're playing following the leader!
Heh, that's just foreplay.
I'm so going to hell...

Blogtoberfest 2008

Zonker told me today that the phone number I had posted on the original post for Chalet Kristy is not working/wrong. Instead he dialed this one: 706-878-2155, and got a prompt response. He also said that something else is happening the weekend of October 11th. If you know you are going, you might want to get your reseravations, and post on your blog as well. I get so few visitors here that I would hate if it someone didn't know about it.
Also, any ideas about dinner? Last year we cooked out Saturaday night. Do we want to do that again? Let me know by email or in the comments, please, if you want dinner en masse at least one night.

Black Holes

Hubby, plus many others, have a post about some politician taking umbrage with the term "black hole", calling it racist. This kinda crap just makes me sad, but reminds me of a story....

Back in the day, when I was about 13, my sister and I were talking, arguing, really. At some point I told her she was illiterate, I can't even remember why.

Now, you have to understand a few things about my family- my mother read all the time. She could spell or define any word I could think of. She had Skills. I was also an avid reader, but I liked biographies at that point and my mother was in her Harlequin Phase. Bodice-rippers, she called them. My sister was (and still is) gorgeous. She reminded me of Jacqueline Smith- ice blue eyes, dark, rich, lustrous hair. Skinny, with a quick laugh. I was dumpy, still having not "grown into myself" as my mother would say. But as a reader? Not my sister. She managed to pull B's and C's most of the time. If I got a B, there better be a Damn Good Reason.

So any way, I've called her illiterate, she gets mad, tells my mother I've called her a nasty name. I point out the obvious with, "See, she is!" Heh.
I still got in trouble. Fighting with the unarmed, and all that.

There is a push for Scientific Literacy for all Americans by something like 2010. I'm thinking we're going to miss that mark. I worry that so few people understand basic concepts. But then I think that maybe people are pulling my leg, we (adults) can't be that stupid. Can we?

Momentos

Whilst is Panama City for Independence Day, I decided to get everyone (at least the girls) matching anklets. Here we are, in all our tanned glory. From top and then clockwise, we have my Sweet Pete, Michelle My Belle, her lovely daughter H, Re-Pete, Yours Truly, our gorgeous friend Kimberly, and her equally gorgeous daughter B. Michelle's sons and her brother were there but for some reason we couldn't get them to put on anklets and take pictures. Go figure.
This picture kinda sums up the solidarity I feel with these two women. They are both strong and funny, caring and smart, and perfectly gorgeous inside and out.
I'll say it again, I'll never know what I did to deserve such good friends. Here's to hoping they never figure out I'm way out of their league.

Chocolate! 2 Ways

I was looking at Food Network's site, trying to find a new way to grill some veggies. I found a recipe for grilled Bok Choy- I'll let you know how it goes.
But I've found a recipe for Chocolate Meringues. This was soooo easy! Pete and Re-Pete liked helping, but I did the piping. I'm too cheap to go buy a pastry bag- so I just used a couple of Ziplock bags. I know this is probably old news to most of you guys- but I'm still honing my cooking skills. So Yum!!! and only 15 calories! I can see me making these again, and again, and again. Pete calls them Dookies- the name will probably stick.


Have you tried the new M&M Premiums? I've only tried the Mocha ones, but, boy oh boy! They are so tasty. Now, I'm not a big fan of Regular M&M's, since I like dark chocolate (even the 85% kind) and milk chocolate just tastes gross. The only thing worse than that is really cheap Easter chocolate made with cocoa butter and palm oil (tastes like coconut- yech!) I'm trying the triple chocolate next, and then maybe the mint. I disagree with with the guy at the site about the shell being nasty, although is is rather "skin-like".
Then, I was looking at Food Network's site, trying to find a new way to grill some veggies. I found a recipe for grilled Bok Choy- I'll let you know how it goes.

Fourth of July

I just thought I liked fireworks. For the last many years, I've gone to see the local fireworks show, from a nice safe distance. I loved it. All the colors and designs.

But then I went to Panama City for Fourth of July weekend. Friday night, at barely dark, people up and down the beach , just your Average Joe's, started shooting fireworks. There were shows, I suppose, but you couldn't tell who was who. To the left and right of us people were setting them off, taking turns mostly. It was spectacular!

And the rock-ets red glare, the bombs bur-sting in air

The girls and I, plus a few more friends were on the beach when it started. I was a little freaked out, a few of them went off in the crowd, so we moved back. I took Re-Pete back to the room on the the 12th floor of the condo, while Pete stayed with friends and tried to dig to the bottom of the ocean via the tide line.
Folks, I had a bird's eye view! A lot of the explosions took place right in front of our balcony. For over 2 hours people set off a wide array of rockets- red and blue, sparkly, green, smiley faces, roman candles, and lots and lots of silver and gold. We marveled at the amount of money people had probably spent at the fireworks store. There was probably enough money blown up that night to pay off my car. But, man was it worth it!

I've decided that the beach is definitely the place to be on July Fourth. My friends thought it was too crowded, but I really liked it.

Blown Island 2008

By now, you've seen the videos and read the who's-who list. I had a great time, the place was beautiful, and Seeing Chou again was a real treat. Sitting around and jacking my jaws with some good peeps was pretty cool too. I was thrilled with all the people I got to meet. I did not post pictures of people, but I'll be happy to email them to you. Leave a note in the comments. Can't wait until next year. Who's designing our logo?