Enjablog

Deportation Party

2005-08-16T08:15:00.000-04:00

Friday -- Loafed around a bunch, but then made a Dulce de Leche Cheesecake for Eepie's deportation party. Ventured off to Wegman's to find some of the ingredients I needed and ended up having to wander around and ask a handful of employees where to find Dulce de Leche stuff. Some of the people had heard of it, some hadn't, so I had hope that they had it in the store somewhere. I just had to keep asking until I found the one person who would know. Eventually, it turned out that I had walked right past it like 3 times because it was half-hidden behind a display. Once I found my key ingredient (International aisle, Latin American section), I was off!

Baked up the cheesecake. Freaked out a little because I had no idea how to tell if it was done. I didn't know if non-jiggly meant it was set or if a toothpick inserted in the center would indicate anything. Turns out, when the whole cake rises, it's done. So, I ended up baking it for about 75 minutes, taking it out 3 times to check it.

Let that cool/refrigerate for a while and read/napped. Then, walked over to the HOY for more lounging. Read for a while and waited for the Asian Express to arrive. Adventures at Malibu Grill, then back to the HOY where there were way too many people to keep track of. Excellent turnout for Eepie's farewell. Lots of shiny new toys for her. Played video games, ate desserts, met new people... After the crowd thinned out, we headed out for some questionable activities, back for more video games, then home.

Saturday -- Breakfast with Ian and SPJ, then back to Wegman's for Peanut Chewies ingredients. Yeah, I probably should have planned ahead and gotten everything on Friday. But to be fair, I had enough stuff for one batch (except for the right kind of cereal). I just needed extra ingredients to make a double batch. Anyway, got stuff, made stuff, ate stuff.

Went with Ian to Mindless's going-away shindig. Overwhelming number of people there. It was a joint going away party, in addition to them having multiple groups of friends they were mixing. So, it was a pretty lively bunch. I ended up standing around with a small TJ clique and meeting some stragglers wandering about. Headed out of there relatively early and went to the HOY to meet up with people when they got back from their outing. Ian and I ended up hanging out with the dog and playing video games for a while before deciding to take a nap. Woke up when the gang returned and chatted for a little while before heading out.

Sunday -- slept away the better part of the day. Got some boots, visited ferrets, went with Ian to get his hair cut, and then family dinner time. Heard from scholarship winner. She will be moving in this week! That's about it for now. :) -j.

QOTD: "Friends don't let friends drive drunk."

LOTD: Gossip circulates crucial information...

After all, scuttlebutt is the most highly valued social currency there is.
...
"We all know people who are not calibrated to the social world at all, who if they participated in gossip sessions would learn a whole lot of stuff they need to know and can't learn anywhere else, like how reliable people are, how trustworthy," said Sarah Wert, a psychologist at Yale. "Not participating in gossip at some level can be unhealthy, and abnormal."

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake

INGREDIENTS:
Crust
* 1 cup graham cracker crumbs*
* 3 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling
* 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
* 1 cup sugar
* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons vanilla
* 3 eggs
* 1/3 cup milk
* 1/2 cup NESTLE® La Lechera Dulce de Leche**

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Mix crust ingredients together, and press into a 9-inch springform pan. Place pan on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.
3. Reset oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
4. Beat cream cheese, sugar and flour together until well mixed and smooth. Add vanilla and mix until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix until smooth. Add milk and mix until well blended.
5. Measure 1/2 cup of the cheesecake batter and pour into a small bowl. Add Dulce de Leche and stir until well combined.
6. Pour plain batter over crust. Top with Dulce de Leche batter by placing rounded spoonfuls over the cheesecake batter and gently swirl into plain batter with the tip of knife or spatula.
7. Bake 45-55 minutes or until center is almost set. Remove from oven and gently run metal spatula around rim of pan to loosen cheesecake (this helps prevent cracking). Let cool 20-25 minutes before covering and placing in the refrigerator. Refrigerate 4- 6 hours or overnight before serving.

*Graham cracker crumbs can be replaced with crushed vanilla wafers.
**Other brands may be used. This is the most commonly available brand.
Note: Can need as long as 65 minutes. Just leave it in until the center rises. Cover edges with foil if it begins to brown.

Peanut Chewies
INGREDIENTS:

* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 egg yolks
* 3 cups miniature marshmallows

* 2/3 cup corn syrup
* 1/4 cup butter
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 2 cups peanut butter chips
* 2 cups crisp rice cereal
* 2 cups salted peanuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda, 1/2 cup butter or margarine, 1 teaspoon vanilla and egg yolks. Mix on low speed with an electric mixer until crumbly.
3. Press firmly into bottom of 13 x 9 inch pan. Bake 12- 15 minutes until golden brown.
4. Immediately sprinkle marshmallows over top and return to oven for 2 - 2 1/2 minutes. Let cool while preparing topping.
5. To Make Topping: In a large saucepan over low heat combine corn syrup, 1/4 cup butter or margarine, 2 teaspoons vanilla and peanut butter chips until smoothly melted, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in cereal and nuts. Immediately spoon over marshmallows, spreading to cover. Refrigerate until firm. Cut into 36 bars.

Note: Suggestions were made for changing the kind of nuts to walnuts or cashews, other flavor chips, caramel instead of corn syrup, etc.

Grr

2005-08-16T07:46:00.000-04:00

Hostonce is being flakey. Can't access the database doober for wordpress again... We'll see how this goes... -j.

changes

2005-06-13T00:20:00.000-04:00

Will be back soon... comments might be slightly defective temporarily.

Weekend recap

2005-06-12T09:36:00.000-04:00

Friday night - date night. Went to Coastal Flats and had their fish and chips. Yeah, I know... I don't like fish. But their fish and chips are excellent. The tartar sauce was really good too. (Side note -- What else is tartar sauce good with? I like it, but I only ever have it on fish, which means I don't really ever have it.)

After that, headed back to my place and watched Closer. Such a depressing movie. Good, but sad and most of the characters were jerks. Maybe not the whole time, but they made bad decisions and treated each other poorly. Kind of a manual for what not to do when dating. Started The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, but ended up getting tired before it ended.

Saturday - Family fun day. Celebrated the Dragon Boat Festival holiday thing with my family. Made mousse for dessert with Ian and everyone else hanging out in the kitchen (came out really well). Stuck around a bit to chat with relatives and then went over to Ian's place to finish up Life Aquatic and then go to an engagement party thing.

Spent the evening at Oyamel in Crystal City. The food was very good, and since we had a large group, we were able to order practically everything on the menu and just pass the plates around and everyone could have a taste. Very cool restaurant pick. Went to Coldstone after that and then Bailey's. Called it an early night and headed home a little after 10.

Sunday - Tour de Cure today. I should probably actually get moving now. I've been sitting around reading blogs and writing this update... Gotta go make my mark on society. -j.

Hershey's ® Chocolate Mousse
INGREDIENTS:
* 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
* 1 tablespoon cold water
* 2 tablespoons boiling water
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 1/4 cup HERSHEY®'S Cocoa Powder
* 1 cup heavy cream, chilled
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:
1. In small cup, sprinkle gelatin over cold water; let stand 1 minute to soften. Add boiling water; stir until gelatin is completely dissolved and mixture is clear. Cool slightly.
2. Stir together sugar and cocoa in medium bowl; add whipping cream and vanilla. Beat on medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bottom of bowl occasionally, until mixture is stiff. Pour in gelatin mixture; beat until well blended. Spoon into serving dishes.
3. Refrigerate about 30 minutes before serving. Garnish as desired. Cover; refrigerate leftover desserts.

Note: Make sure you measure out the right amount of gelatin. Came out a little pudding-y because we used a pre-measured packet and it was just under what we needed. Also, if mixer has more than three speeds, beat more on the high side than medium. Top with strawberries or raspberries.

Diabetes, Book Club, Traffic

2005-06-09T12:30:00.000-04:00

I went to a meeting Monday night for the American Diabetes Association Tour De Cure volunteers. They were so nice to us... I mean, I know most places are nice to their volunteers. But the past few things I have gone to have been disorganized and (perhaps unintentionally) neglectful of volunteers. This time, they acknowledged that making us come out for a meeting was inconvenient, gave us food, had handouts with information about where we were supposed to be and when (granted, this could have been done via email), and gave us a brief overview of how the day would go, where we were to check in, what we could expect when we get there, and even had "gifts of caring" (little girly teddy bears). They wrapped up relatively quickly and let us go so we could get out of there before that awesome storm rolled in.

Tuesday was book club night. We read The Bonesetter's Daughter. It went pretty well. Spent more time socializing than discussing the book, but we did get around to it and spent a lot of time discussing other books we've read recently and making suggestions for the next meeting. So, a pretty good night.

Wednesday, date night. Watched Gilmore Girls. Hehe... surprising, huh? Five episodes into Season 3, so this might possibly last us the summer. Possibly.

This morning was surprisingly pleasant. I risked taking 66 for a couple miles this morning and people left room for people to merge. At least 3 people let me change lanes and when I waved to thank them, they waved back. Yeah, I know. I'm so easily pleased. But it's little things that make commutes not suck as much and I think more people should be like the people I encountered this morning.

LOTD: New device gives women teeth where it matters

QOTD from one of the older military types at work: "Bush could make anyone a Democrat."

I didn't think people were supposed to say things like that at work. And especially where I work, I never expected to hear anything like that.

What is wrong with my neighborhoood?

2005-06-05T21:05:00.000-04:00

Got home... parked my car, walked up to my house... Was enthusiastically greeted by a child walking up to the tree in front of my house, who was being supervised by two adults in lawn chairs next door. They all waved and said hi as the child proceeded to pee on our tree. Really? This is acceptable behavior? Couldn't you at least go fertilize your own tree? Yeah, I know... I have such high standards of people.

Laugh off the extra pounds

2005-06-05T09:26:00.000-04:00

Laugh off the extra pounds:

"Dieters looking for another edge might want to consider exercising their sense of humor -- scientists have found that a good laugh is a calorie burner not to be ignored."
"Five different comedy clips, starting with an outtake from 'The Cosby show' -- minus the canned laughter -- were then shown for 10 minutes each, interspersed with five minute intervals of sheep wandering around fields in England."

Oh yeah... and remember how a couple weeks ago there was this huge buzz about how people who are a little overweight live longer than "normal" or underweight people? Dream on:

Overweight people live longer than people who are malnourished or dying of cancer:

"Many scientists from the Harvard School of Public Health, the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society now reject those conclusions. They said the study's main flaw is that it included people with health problems ranging from cancer to heart disease, who tend to weigh less because of those problems and therefore make pudgy people look healthy by comparison."

Too bad I can't read road signs...

2005-06-05T03:20:00.000-04:00

Napped for most of the afternoon and then got up to shower and go party it up tonight. I ended up wandering Arlington for most of the evening before getting bored and just calling my sister to have her entertain me while I finished getting lost. Tried to go to a housewarming thing and never made it. I found the two streets before the last street I was trying to find. Missed one of the intermediate/connecting streets and somehow couldn't find that last one. And yes, I had map/directions/phone number/address/etc. I just physically could not find that street even after driving the entire length of the second to last street. Maybe it was one of those streets that disconnects somewhere and I just couldn't find where it reconnected. Oh well.

Ended up going over to hang out with Roy & Co instead. I figured since I had gone all that way, I should at least be a little bit social. Got there just in time to see JL2 and his girl as they were leaving. I gave him his Christmas present, finally. Which is fortunate because his birthday is this month and last year I got him a birthday present and I didn't get that to him until Christmas. I think I'm just going to stop trying.

Meh... No one's up. I think I'll read. This entry was boring. I apologize. -j.

P.S. All you people coming by here searching for "Darth Vader Cake" (or cake pan or recipes)... You're nerds. And that's cool with me. :) Sorry to disappoint.

Weird spam

2005-06-04T20:42:00.000-04:00

Weirdest spam to get by my spam filter today: a recipe for zucchini loaves. Nice trick, spam guys. But I did not fall for it. Into the junk pile you go.

Save the boobies

2005-06-04T14:54:00.000-04:00

Did the Race for the Cure thing this morning. There were some minor inconveniences and I felt it went more smoothly last year, but overall, it was a good race. Met up with Ian, his cousin, his mom, and a bunch of her co-workers for the walk.

On the down side, Ian and I went last night to pick up my race packet. I figured if I picked it up early, I wouldn't have to get there extra early in the morning and have to wait in line. Unfortunately, there were no packets left when I got there. I got my bib, but they were out of shirts. And bracelets. And safety pins. But I got my bib. They said that I could go pick up a shirt in the morning. Yeah... in the crowds and stand in line again... Woo.

There was a nice person on the metro who overheard Ian telling my tale of woe and gave me her t-shirt because she didn't want hers anyway. She said it was too big for her. So nice of her. :)

Get there in the morning and from pretty much the metro exit to the end of the race, it was jam packed with people. So many people.

So, I didn't get a chance to see Ricardo Chavira of Desperate Housewives. But, I did see Jaclyn Smith of KMart (Just kidding... I know she's done real stuff.):

She happened to be walking right behind our group for a little while. I was lucky to get her in that shot because I just held my camera up and took a picture of the people behind me. Ok, so not at all subtle, but I didn't want to stare and gawk or bother her... so I just took a random picture.

Anyway, nearing the end... They stopped collecting bib numbers after the first 45 minutes, so a good 75% of the people don't get to find out how they placed. Sure, it doesn't matter for anything, but it's still fun to find out. And then you know how many people walk. Now we'll never know.

After the race, I went to the prize tent to get my prize for raising money and they ran out. Don't they know ahead of time how much people donated? Oh well. Like I said, seemed less organized this year, but it all worked out overall. So many people.

After that, wandered around to some of the sponsors and then headed out. So sleepy. Had to wake up in the morning on a Saturday. I don't know what I was thinking. At least they'll be just that little bit closer to finding a cure.

Thank you to everyone who donated! :) -j.

QOTD: "I wish I could say I got [my gf] pregnant, and then everything would be okay, but it's not like that."

Ten Most Harmful Books of the 19th and 20th Centuries

2005-06-03T13:43:00.000-04:00

Oh. My. Goodness.

I just came across this list and I'm just sputtering. I don't know what to say. Are these people serious?

Ten Most Harmful Books of the 19th and 20th Centuries:

HUMAN EVENTS asked a panel of 15 conservative scholars and public policy leaders to help us compile a list of the Ten Most Harmful Books of the 19th and 20th Centuries.
1. The Communist Manifesto
2. Mein Kampf
3. Quotations from Chairman Mao
4. The Kinsey Report
5. Democracy and Education

I guess if I were a conservative scholar, I would be apprehensive about people reading about different ideas too.

And don't miss the honorable mentions, including:
Beyond Freedom and Dignity by B.F. Skinner
Origin of the Species by Charles Darwin
Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud

Wow. Anyway, go hug a librarian. Yay for Banned Books Week! (Sept 24-Oct1)

What kind of person doesn't have a jack in their car?

2005-06-02T22:47:00.000-04:00

I am sad to say that today, I had to play the part of damsel in distress.

I got to work this morning and when I went around my car to get my bag out of the passenger seat, I noticed that my front tire was a little low. Eh... I'll just fill it at the gas station after work and get it fixed tomorrow on my day off.

*Fast-forward through [adjective] workday.*

Head out to my car and check on the tire before I get in. It's a little low, but doesn't look significantly lower than when I left it this morning. I get about halfway up the ramp when I realize what a big mistake I made.

I definitely have a flat tire.

Ok, so I was overly optimistic. I'll fix the tire and then be on my way. Too bad I have so much stuff piled up in my trunk. I'll just move it to the back seat. No big deal.

Call the roadside assistance people. They're very nice and very concerned about my safety. First three questions:
"Are you safe?" Yes.
"Is your car safe?" Yes.
"Are you off the road?" Yes.

Talk to them while I get stuff moved and get the spare tire out. It'll be 60-90 minutes. Look around for the jack... I can fix it myself by then. Maybe... Still looking for the jack. Why can't I find the jack? Where would they keep the jack? There are only so many places to hide stuff in my car. I know my car came with one... didn't it? I can't find the jack. Where could it be? Call my dad. Call my boyfriend. Call my sister. Nada.

Fine, whatever. I can do this. I go up to the parking attendant guy and ask him if he has a car nearby (duh, of course) with a jack I could borrow please. "Do you have a flat tire?" Yes. He directs me to go around the corner and look for the building engineer. He'll change my tire for me. Oh! People are so nice!

Go around the corner and don't see anyone. Look around, wander some... No one. Go back to the attendant. "Did you find him?" No. "Ok, I'll get you my jack." On the way to his car, the building engineer happens past. The attendant asks him if he has time to change my flat for me. Of course.

Take him to my car and tell him that my jack is missing, so I might have to borrow his. I take one last glance in my trunk to make sure I'm not just blind and, well, turns out I am. There's a little compartment off to the side with a cover on it to make it blend in with the rest of the bottom of the trunk. And inside that compartment? Yeah.

So he takes that from me and proceeds to change my tire for me. I tell him it's ok. I just needed the jack. (I'm really not as helpless as I seem most of the time. Really.) But he assures me that it's no trouble. (His name is Kurt, btw.) So, 20 minutes later, I've called to cancel the roadside assistance guy and I'm on my way.

I, of course, drive safely and stay on the smaller roads so I can drive annoyingly slow without angering too many people. I got passed by a metro bus. How sad is that? Anyway, an hour and some later, I arrive home. Success!! Well, that is, until I get to my front door.

But... I have my keys. And my wallet. And my phone. And everything else I take with me to work everyday. Except I took my housekey off my keyring yesterday when I went running so I would only have to carry that one key with me. The one key that I need. The one key that lets me get inside where the food is. The one key to rule them all!

Sigh...

Call my sister. She'll be home in an hour or so. I have a key to her house, so I go hang out, eat her food, and watch her TV.

10pm and I just got home. You want to know who I blame this all on? TLD.

From an email he sent:

* [Friend1]'s car was broken into some months ago
* [Friend2] is almost totalled in an accident that, thankfully, leaves [Friend3] pretty much unscathed.
* [Friend1]'s car starts having trouble starting, due to a loose battery connection. Specifically, just before and during times when I was riding in the car.
* [Friend4]'s car door breaks, forcing him to gain entry "Dukes of Hazzard" style.
* [Friend4]'s car is stolen, and the entire drivetrain stripped, down to the CV joints.

Oh, but his car? His car is perfectly fine.

TLD: He spreads bad carma.

QOTD: "I saw something that made me think of you yesterday... embryos for sale."

LOTD: Wachovia ties to slavery! *gasp*

Childhood flashbacks

2005-06-01T21:49:00.000-04:00

I have no idea why I started thinking about this the other day, but I was trying to remember books that I read growing up. It started with Bunnicula (Like I said, I have no clue why) and I tried to remember the author and then went off on a tangent trying to remember other books I remembered reading or being popular when I was growing up. So far I have come up with this list:

Berenstain Bears
Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel
Amelia Bedelia
Miss Nelson is Missing
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Where the Wild Things Are
Encyclopedia Brown
Baby-sitters Club
Bunnicula
Chocolate Touch
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Ramona
Anne of Green Gables
How to Eat Fried Worms
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
A Wrinkle in Time
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Chronicles of Narnia
Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys

I know I read a lot more than that, but those are the ones that stand out right now. And yeah, my "young adult" reading list is lacking. I think I kind of skipped the angsty section of the library. (Why didn't I do that in my life too..?) I did read a bunch of the Fear Street books and (I'm ashamed to admit) Sweet Valley High, but that was mostly limited to the summer before 8th grade.

Anyway, just reminiscing. Let me know if there are others you remember that belong on this list. :) -j.

QOTD: "It's ok to hit someone as long as they're wrong."
LOTD: Throw Paper

*Disassemble, Stephanie. Disassemble.

2005-05-31T22:19:00.000-04:00

QOTD: "It seemed to me they based some of their decisions on the word of -- and the allegations -- by people who were held in detention, people who hate America, people that had been trained in some instances to disassemble -- that means not tell the truth." --W

LOTD: PostSecret

*5 points to the first person to place the reference. 5 points to Ian for coming up with it (And disqualifying him from getting the other 5 points).

Memorial Day

2005-05-30T00:56:00.000-04:00

You know who you are,
Thank you.

LOTD: Memorial Day
QOTD from a bumper sticker: "I may be slow, but I'm ahead of you!"

The Riots of the Faithful

2005-05-29T01:15:00.000-04:00

The Riots of the Faithful - The Ornery American: Orson Scott Card on the "uncorroborated allegation about American interrogators flushing Qurans down the toilet in order to get fanatical Muslim prisoners to talk..."

If you like Card's work, take a look at this article. It certainly made me think twice about him. I couldn't pick out a good quote to paste in... You kind of have to read the whole thing to get the full impact.

Postcard!!

2005-05-28T12:16:00.000-04:00

I got a postcard from my brother. He's in Paris. Ok, well he was when the postcard was sent. So cool. :) -j.

Just Finished: Just a Geek by Wil Wheaton - Geektastic. I laughed... I cried... I geeked out. It's a quick, fun read.
Up Next: The Art of War by Sun Tzu - My boss told me to read it. I guess I should start listening to him.

Office Shenanigans and the Delinquent Bear

2005-05-27T23:04:00.000-04:00

While I was at work today, there were some guys working on the new secure room which is straight down the hall from my office. As I was working, out of the corner of my eye, I see a gargantuan person. Now, I know Ian is tall, but this person's head was inches from the ceiling. It looked like he was going to bump his head, not on the doorframe, but on the ceiling. Which is why I had to turn and look to see what was going on. They were putting up some reinforcements in the ceiling so people wouldn't be able to break into that space from above. In any case, when I looked over, I saw that they didn't hire a giant to do this one task. They gave an average, everyday shorty a pair of stilts. It was like the circus had come to work. They even had someone sitting in a chair in the middle of the hallway to supervise in case he needed help or fell over or something. At least that's what I assume she was doing.

Then, on my way home from work, I saw a handful of police cars. One of these troopers I saw flying past me in the separated HOV lanes and I swear he had arrested a teddy bear. I only had a few seconds to look, and there's no way I could have caught up to him without bringing attention to myself (though, with the barrier, what could he really do?), but I saw a stuffed animal situated in the back of the car such that it was looking out the window. It was probably sitting on the armrest of the door or something. But... why?

In other news, Va. Won't Pay for Viagra For Violent Sex Offenders:

"Gov. Mark R. Warner (D) signed an emergency order Thursday that prohibits the Virginia Medicaid program from paying the costs of Viagra and other prescription erectile dysfunction drugs for 52 men registered as violent sex offenders."

On the one hand, I'm appalled that this happened. On the other hand, I can understand, with the number of different organizations this information would have to come from, how this could have gone without consideration. Glad they're being quick about doing something about it. And, yes... It should apply for all sex offenders, not just the violent ones. I guess unless they have shown that they have reformed. Opinions?

LOTD: Gumwall -- Is it art? Is it vandalism? One thing's for sure: It's gross.

QOTD (totally out of context, of course...): "You look 100..." -GWB to a healthy-looking 70-year-old woman (1:50-2:25)

20M licensed drivers may lack basic safety knowledge

2005-05-27T12:40:00.000-04:00

Study: 20M licensed drivers may lack basic safety knowledge - May 27, 2005: "According to the study, many drivers find basic practices, such as merging and interpreting road signs, difficult.

For instance, one out of five drivers doesn't know that a pedestrian in a crosswalk has the right of way, and one out of three drivers speeds up to make a yellow light, even when pedestrians are present, the study said."

"Bottom five states for driver knowledge:
1. Rhode Island
2. Massachusetts
3. New Jersey
4. New York
5. Washington D.C."

I guess you need to conduct a scientific study to reliably show something, but this all sounds consistent with anecdotal evidence. I'm kind of surprised California isn't in the top five because of LA though and that Rhode Island is, but the rest is pretty expected. I guess the size of California would even their numbers out. In any case, safety first. :) -j.

Life update

2005-05-26T20:45:00.000-04:00

FYI, I may be looking for a new job in the near-ish future. Yeah, I know... I've been "looking" for a new job for like the last 6 months. This time, I actually mean it. Chances are pretty good I'll stay where I am. But for my own growth, I think I need to update my resume a bit and poke around some. I was thinking about this on my 75-minute drive home today (left the office at 7:15pm. Why was there still traffic?), and realized that I know someone who's a somebody at almost every big company in my industry in this area. And yet, I'm still debating whether this is what I want to do.

Career ideas welcome. Things I have rejected so far: joining the circus and tech support. Everything else is fair game. Thanks! :) -J.

Stupid spams and the stupid spammers who send them

2005-05-26T20:39:00.000-04:00

I am on a certain email distribution as a representative for my family. As such, I receive these emails and forward as relevant to our situation. This list consists of 261 email addresses (yeah, I tallied it up today). Proper etiquette would dictate that a list this size should be used for its intended purpose and for nothing else: Disseminate relevant information, not jokes, feel-good forwards, or support for your personal agenda (i.e. "Don't watch the news. It will make you sad."). Common sense would also tell you that, instead of sending emails by CCing everyone, you should BCC them so when the stupid people on the list get viruses, they don't get sent out to everyone.

I have asked the moderators of this list on numerous occasions to do this. I explained spam and viruses. I even chose an opportune time to send one email after they had to send out notifications to people about a virus that had previously been sent out. Then, after letting me know that they weren't as computer-savvy (huh... I would never have guessed) as they "used to be" (wow... that is surprising), I sent detailed instructions on how to select BCC. Still, they apparently don't think this is important.

Now, there have been a couple occasions where they asked for feedback and, surprise surprise, people clicked "reply-to-all" and a discussion ensues for the rest of the day. And for people who don't obsessively check their email all day long, they come home to find a couple dozen emails from this list. Yay.

After the last debacle, they sent an email to someone asking her not to reply to all and that there were some people who were not interested in receiving all these emails. All of which could have easily been prevented if they would just not send everyone's email out with each announcement. But no. Yell at other people for doing what they want when you just as easily go along doing what you want.

Today (yes, of course something happened today to get me all riled up again), we receive an email from someone upset about something and wanting input from others. The replies come rolling in... For the next seven hours. At which point, there's a reply from those in charge, obviously agitated that this person had sent out unauthorized information, which may or may not have been skewed by her personal opinions.

They are, again, upset that people are sending out information that doesn't go through them first. They are, again, having to send out disclaimers and clarification because people are getting worked up about the previous email and they're getting the brunt of it. They are, again, at fault because they let this distribution list get out by sending it to everyone each time they had an announcement. Honestly, people. What did you expect to happen?

EDIT: I am so pleased to announce that as of the last email, they have finally figured out that difficult BCC function. She was unable to do it before because it wasn't available as an option for her email. But when she uses aol.com, which "must have a more up to date version," she can do it. She also received a virus in her email today. Surprise. I think this debacle has made them appreciate the reach of that mailing list. Too bad no one ever listens to me... ;) -Less Than Nothing

LOTD: Ask the Pope (May be blasphemous to some.)

Weekend

2005-05-23T21:13:00.000-04:00

Saturday, went over to the parents' place for a "party" in celebration of Lenny's graduation. There was a less than entertaining family fight. Not as spirited as usual, but, again, like Thanksgiving, it may have been because the whole family wasn't together. In any case, there was lots of food and quantity family time.

Afterward, went with Yenny, Lenny, Ian, and Squidgey to see Unleashed. Weird movie. Good, but strange. Hung out with Ian for a bit after and watched last week's Numb3rs. Happened to see this article in the Post today. Yay math! Finished reading Cat's Cradle. Also strange. Very cool though. Haha cool... I didn't even mean it like that, but now I wish I had.

Anyway, Sunday started Just a Geek and hung out with Ian and his family for dinner. Listened to The Big Broadcast for a little while after dinner and then headed back. A pretty lazy Sunday overall.

QOTD: "As a youngster Lenny was an avid soccer player, now he just takes advantage of the youth at church." Uhh...

LsOTD from Squidgey: puppywar and kittenwar

Emergency Petition to Save the Courts

2005-05-23T18:59:00.000-04:00

Emergency Petition to Save the Courts:

This Tuesday, the Senate will vote on Republican Leader Bill Frist's "nuclear option" to break the rules of the Senate and give the Republican Party absolute control over appointing federal judges.

For 200 years the minority's right to filibuster has kept our courts fair, by making sure that federal judges needed to get at least some support from both sides of the aisle before they were given life time appointments.

If Frist eliminates the filibuster, his next step would be to force far right partisan judges onto the powerful U.S. Courts of Appeals. The real targets, however, are the four seats on the Supreme Court likely to become vacant in the next four years.

With that much power on the Supreme Court, the far right could strike down decades of progress on labor rights, environmental protections, reproductive rights, and privacy.

Star Wars sparks US political storm

2005-05-22T12:02:00.000-04:00

Star Wars sparks US political storm:

"The new Star Wars film is causing a political storm in the United States, with one group calling for a boycott of the film, which they say is unpatriotic.

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith includes a scene in which Darth Vader tells his former mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi that he is either with him or against him.

Some US activists are comparing Darth Vader's actions to those of President George W Bush in persuading legislators to adopt the Patriot Act."

Cake adventure

2005-05-21T09:18:00.000-04:00

Baked a cake for Lenny's graduation celebration thing today. Went for a strawberries and cream cake (without the cream part), a strawberry whipped topping, and blackberries on top.

Now, for the adventure part... I will start closer to the beginning of my day. Went to Bombay Bistro for lunch with my family and Lenny's gf. After that, we parted ways and planned to meet back up to go over to the ceremony together. Went with Yenny to Wegman's to get free groceries and cake supplies. I had originally planned to bake cupcakes so I could decorate beforehand, but later realized that would defeat the purpose since my grandmother only likes the non-edge pieces of cake and a cupcake would essentially be all edge. Anyway, got stuff, went home, took nap.

Went to Lenny's graduation. Congressman Wolf spoke. Apparently, he uses the same speech for all the graduations at which he speaks. Kind of expected, but kind of funny since he also spoke at Lenny's girl's graduation a few years ago. Anyway, hung out for a little after for the reception and to take pictures. Then, off to acquire a house for my sister.

9pm: Realized that I needed a mixer to make a cake. Yeah, I know... You'd think with all the baking I do, I would have these kinds of supplies. You would be wrong. In any case, Yenny needed to go over to Squidgey's mom's office to get her paperwork done.

11pm: Borrow a mixer from Squidgey's mom. She's looking around for her mixer and the two beaters that attach to it... Finds the body of it, but only one of the beaters. She also offers me a hand blender doober. Well, that will have to do...

12am: Get home, get started mixing together ingredients. Start spraying things everywhere with the super-powered one-beater mixer (Ok, not really... It was all contained within the bowl, but only because the bowl had tall sides.). Apparently, the balance that is achieved from using two beaters in a standard mixer is for a reason and the power supplied is distributed evenly between the two such that there are different speeds available for use. Because I was missing that second beater, I had to stick with the lowest setting and only used it briefly so as to avoid making a mess. It did what I needed it to though, so that was good.

12:30am: Remember that the recipe is for a 3-layer round cake. I didn't even think about the conversion to a rectangular pan until I was almost done with the batter and saw how much there was. Call my sister in a hurry and she came over with her cake pan so I could make two cakes (Yeah, I only have one cake pan as well. I just bought three 8-inch rounds 2 weeks ago, but they're at Ian's.). This resulted in 2 thin cakes, but they're about the right size for a layer cake. Unfortunately, I am not making a layer cake.

Also, frozen strawberries should be thawed before use. Yeah, S-M-R-T.

LOTD: baby wear
QOTD by the mean guy at the Uptown: "I know every cop on the beat."

Strawberries and Cream Cake

INGREDIENTS:
* 2 3/4 cups cake flour
* 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 2 cups white sugar
* 1 (3 ounce) package strawberry flavored gelatin
* 1 cup butter, softened
* 4 eggs
* 1 cup milk
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 cup strawberries, pureed

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 9 inch round cake pans.
2. In a large bowl, beat sugar, gelatin and butter until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition. Mix flour and baking powder, and beat alternately with the milk into the sugar mixture. Fold in 1 teaspoon vanilla and pureed strawberries. Divide equally into three 9 inch round cake pans.
3. Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pans, then remove from pans and cool completely.

Note: Makes 2-layer half-sheet cake or a tall half-sheet cake.

Cool Whipped Frosting

Ingredients:
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (3.5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, combine pudding mix with milk and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Gently fold in whipped topping until no streaks remain. Spread evenly over cake.

Notes: Used strawberry flavor whipped topping (seasonal).