TT: Spin on the bed

In honor of both the Spin Cycle and Tuesday's Tribute I have chosen to combine the two together and give tribute to that wonderful time machine also known as "The Bed". So, for you Spinners… welcome to Tuesday's Tribute— and you Tributees… here's a fresh Spin for you.

My wife and I made an interesting observation that our bed points on an East/West axis. We observed that because of the rotation of the earth— our feet arrive at our destination before our heads (or is it the other way around)…. All the same, whenever we go to bed at night I have to "reset the bed" because the mattress gets shifted for one reason or another. Sometimes my wife reminds me to push the top mattress back because it has slipped away from the wall (we do not have a footboard, so this is a common occurrence)— and indicates that I need to make sure that it is aligned properly or else "you'll wind up in Berwin or something". The reason why she says this is quite simple— our bed is a time machine.

I don't know about you, but it is very strange that you lie down, close your eyes, and the next thing you know you are at tomorrow. We figure that somehow a portal is opened up after we close our eyes, and our bodies are instantly taken to the next day. The earth rotates on its axis and also travels around the sun. If our angle is off ever so slightly, the portal may open in the wrong place and we may just wind up somewhere else when we wake up. This is why we need to "reset the bed" because if we don't, the portal will be off alignment and we might "wind up in Berwin" by mistake.

Taking this concept a bit further we pondered… what would happen if you went to the North or South Pole and sat on a sit-and spin and spun yourself in the opposite direction of the earths rotation. Would you go back in time… would you age slower… or something else entirely.

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Yet Another Jay and Deb Production.

HBSB: Guest Post

OK… for those who are unfamiliar with the acronym I just wrote as a title for this post— some splainin is in order:

There is a blog feature called "He Blogs, She Blogs" currently being run by Petra @ The Wise (*Young*) Mommy, and Captain Dumbass @ Us and Them where people submit questions and they both give their unique take on the questions independently.

There was a contest to get a new "He", and I lost out to the Captain by a landslide (sigh)— but I did get a consolation prize for coming in second place (yea). My prize is that I have been invited to be the "He" today and guest post for the Captain. Not only that, but there is a guest poster on the "She" side as well.

So stop by Us and Them and check out what I have to say… then go over to The Wise (*Young*) Mommy to see what Jen @ Steenky Bee has to say. Enjoy,

F2: Microwave Madness

Welcome again to Friday's Feast. Today I'll be explaining my logic (or lack thereof) when selecting various microwave times. If you don't know what Friday's Feast is all about, please read the Friday's Feast page for a more detailed explanation. If you want to join in on the feast, be sure to leave a comment and include the URL to your post so I and others can know of your contribution.

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Those who read my post about Warm Milk may recall my comment:

don't ask me why I choose weird numbers like that for heating times… that's for another post entirely.

… well, this is that post.

Digital representation of time can be confusing at best. How is it that 90 is greater than 100— well on a microwave that is what it is. 100 is interpreted on a microwave as a minute (60 seconds)— whereas 90 is interpreted as 90 seconds… strange huh. I usually have this running though my head whenever I approach the keypad— which compells me to enter something wacky just to piss off the microwave (take that 100/60 second rule).

I know what you're asking: "why then do you pick times such as 22 and 55, or even 222 for microwave times"? You could say that I have ACED (Annal Compulsive Excentric Disorder) and that by picking the same number it makes that number feel special— and thus gives me a sense of ultimate control. But the real truth is… I am just lazy (who wants to search for the zero key when you can just press the same key again).

Here's my general rule of thumb (please don't use your thumb to select times— it gives new meaning to the term "fat fingering"):

• 22, or 33 seconds works for melting things.
• 44, 55, or even 66 seconds works for heating liquids in a cup.
• 111, 222, or even 333 works for heating liquids in a bowl.
• Oh foo pooh— if you have to adjust something to less than the triple digit number, by all means use as few digits as possible e.g.; 202 instead of 205.
• Anything over 999 is just crazy (you better start thinking in real times already).

I hope this gives you a better perspective on how to choose a cooking time on a microwave. Thank you for your time.

Everything is Different

Anybody familiar with the US constitution knows the line from the preamble:
"We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal"
EQUAL… what does that supposed to mean? Sure, I understand the spirit behind the phrase in that everybody should have an equal opportunity— but I can't help but think that we are approaching it backwards.

I heard it said that space exists so that everything doesn't happen in the same place— and that time exists so that everything doesn't happen all at once. Recognizing this fact helps us to understand that everything is different.

Our bodies are made up of many different cells— each of which is not the same as your neighbors. We are made up of different molecules, we grow at different rates, our DNA is uniquely different than everybody else. Each of us was born in a different place, at a different time. Even identical twins are not the same because they inhabit different places in the universe. We eat different foods at different times than other people. Even if we ate the same foods (even out of the same pot), they are not made up of the same exact molecules. What I find troubling is that many people try to group others together and call them the same.

It is easy to find similarities between people based upon our own observation. This makes it easier for us to recognize people based upon given traits and behaviors. However, once we start categorizing people into groups it isn't long before we start pointing out the discrepancies in those groups only to make ourselves look better. This in itself is not fair to anybody because nobody is the same and nobody is any better than anybody else. Rather than trying to find similarities, I think we should look for everybody's differences instead. So to rephrase the preamble…

"We hold these truths to be self evident that all are created different"

Everything is Changing

So often we want things to stay the same. However, if you think about it everything is constantly changing— nothing is stagnant.

Change is all around us. Our bodies are growing and regenerating cells all the time. The air in which we breath is constantly being recirculated. Even things such as diamonds… were once plants growing on the surface.

Change occurs at different rates. Sometimes we may not notice a change because it happens either to slowly, or is too subtle. Sometimes a change occurs and we are surprised by it because it was unexpected, or is extremely dramatic.

Being that we are changing may effect our perception of change as well. We may not notice our changes because we are focused on something other than change, or are too caught up in other changes around us. We may not notice changes in other people because we are too focused on ourselves, or are ignoring their change because we do not want to address it.

Changes occur in many forms. There are changes in tempo, changes in number, changes in size, changes in dimension, changes in complexity, and even changes in form. There are internal as well as external changes.

Recognizing as well as understanding change helps us to know those changes around us and be able to handle change whenever it profoundly effects us.

Spin Cycle: Radio Head

In honor of the Spin Cycle by Sprite's Keeper— I have decided to place my spin on this weeks assignment— Quirks:

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Life is one long song… and I'm always singing it

All throughout my life I have always loved to sing. Ask anybody who knows me and they will tell you that I am typically singing something all the time. My mother commented once that she heard me singing out loud when I was walking home from school and could hear me several blocks away and knew I was on my way home. This in itself is not unusual— I know several people who love to sing and sing often. What makes it a quirk is that I tend to sing phrases or parodies based upon situations that I encounter.

Much like singing Homeward Bound by Simon & Garfunkel whenever I am making my way home from the office… there are several other triggers that prompt a song.

When I was working for a library automation software company there was a new format for libary records called ULIF. The software that we supported had no way of exporting in ULIF format, so someone developed a conversion program to convert batch exports from our program called Bat2ULIF. Don't know why I had to sing the song Working my way back to you by The Spinners… "I'm working my way Bat2ULIF"— but I did. Or everytime I hear about the ACUTA conference— I start singing Barracuda by Heart.

Because of this unusual quirk, I tend to call myself a "Radio Head" because I can quote songs from the radio at a drop of a hat for no apparent reason. So the next time you are visiting my home— poke your head into the kitchen while I'm doing dishes and have a listen… who needs a radio when you can have CaJoh.

F2: Artichoke Spaghetti Sauce

Welcome to Friday's Feast. Today I will be presenting you with one of my many inspired recipes. If you don't know what Friday's Feast is all about, please read the Friday's Feast page for a more detailed explanation. If you want to join in on the feast, be sure to leave a comment and include the URL to your post so I and others can know of your contribution.

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With inspirations from the 3 R's

I had a can of artichoke hearts that I wanted to make into a dip— but never got round to making. I didn't have any burger meat thawed so I chose to use artichoke instead of meat in the sauce. Knowing the world— I probably have the ounces wrong on the cans and jars… but you get the picture (or at least the sauce). This should cover about 4 servings. Enjoy.

Artichoke Spaghetti Sauce:

2T Olive Oil

1 Yellow Onion

1 Clove Garlic

1 Large Can Crushed Tomato (28oz)

1 16oz Can or jar of Artichoke hearts

Oregano

Salt

1. On Medium Heat, cover the bottom of a medium sauce pan with Olive Oil
2. Chop the onion and Garlic and add to pan.
3. Once the onions are transparent, add the can of Crushed Tomato.
4. Add the entire can or jar of Artichoke
   do not drain.
5. Break down the Artichoke pieces in the pan.
   You can use a potato masher if you choose.
6. Simmer on Low and add Oregano and Salt to taste.
7. Enjoy with your favorite pasta.