*takes a deep breath*

Ok. Here I go. It's been a while. It's been ... no, it hasn't really.. yes, I guess it has been close to 4 months since I've last posted. Can I get away with saying I've had writer's block? Carpel tunnel syndrome? The truth is, my life has veered in a different direction. I've replaced one addiction with another and I don't know if the two will mesh. I guess I'm going to find out.

Baby steps. Thank you Brian and Shannon Powers for wondering where I've been.

Dog Judo

Keep It Pure

Gordy sent me this link:

Put the cursor over his face.

Cheaky Monkey

Gordon Ramsay

I admit it. I watched Hell's Kitchen last night on Fox. Say what you will, it was either that or the Miss Universe Pageant. I have an affinity for the Brits, one in particular, so I decided to check out the show with hopes that it would be more entertaining than watching Carson Kressley judge a beauty pageant. (She got his vote).

The premise of the show was that Gordon Ramsay, a three-star Michelin chef from the UK, says he can make anyone into a Master Chef. Well, this is quite a confident statement. Especially since during the introductions of the contestants, we see that only three of them have jobs in the culinary field. The rest of the lot have office jobs and there's one culinary student. In the end, the sole survivor will be rewarded with their very own restaurant. Hmmm.

After we met the contestants, it was time to meet Ramsay. He sauntered in and proceeded to taste the "signature dishes" prepared by the contestants - they had 45 minutes to come up with something to serve. His reactions were curt and condescending... they ranged from him calling someone's food 'dogshit,' to him flicking it off the plate at the poor participant, then spitting it out before chastizing them within an inch of their life. They hadn't seen nothin' yet.

The group was divided into two teams and for their first night of the competition, they would actually be running the kitchen on the opening night of the "restaurant" which was clearly (to my seasoned reality-tv-viewing eyes) a studio set. The patrons were obviously actors because in any real situation, I doubt people would be sitting around for 2 hours waiting for their appetizers. What was taking those appetizers so long? They were called shit among other things and then two lucky contestants got to wear the food they prepared. He made them start the whole table's food over if just one dish was not acceptable. I felt increasingly sorry for the poor people. He screamed at them and berated them to the point where I wished someone would just pick up a fork and stab him.

Remember those actors that were portraying restaurant patrons? Well, there was a table of 4 blonde LA-types. Subpar LA types, really. Well, two of them got up and went over to the kitchen to complain to Chef Ramsay about the time it was taking to get their appetizers. He promptly told them to shut the f**k up. They gasped, flicked their hair, and walked back over to their table... just like anyone would do, right? You'd still have dinner at a restaurant where the Chef cursed at you, right?? Sure you would. Then like 10 hours later, the other two blonde ladies got up to go complain to the chef about him insulting their friends who were complaining earlier. This was the best part of the whole show.
Blonde 1: You insulted our friend.
Blonde 2: Yeah.
Ramsay: I did?
Blondes: Yeah (pouting)
Blonde 1: You told her to shut the f**k up.
Ramsay: Oh.....Would you please go tell her that I meant it?
(to the maitre d'): Would you please escort these ladies back to plastic surgery.

Ok, maybe you had to be there, but honestly, it was lol funny. My question is, is he really like that? Like that big of an ass? I mean arse. Or is it amped up for TV??

It's Friday and I'm Going to be on Vacation Next Week

First It's the Anti-Magnet Magnet, Now It's the Anti-Bracelet Bracelet

Who has one of these? Who has all of these? Who has more bracelets than the ones shown in the pic? Iwas given a pink one when I donated money to breast cancer research, which is a very good cause that hits close to home for me. And I actually considered getting a blue one after the presidential election.
Why do people always go overboard? Now a Austin, Texas based company is doing something about it. Are they just contributing to the madness?

From Sportspickle.com:

Plastic Bracelet Sold to Raise Money for the Fight Against the Spread of Plastic Bracelets

An Austin, Texas-based non-profit organization founded last year to prevent the further spread of cause-based plastic bracelets, has announced it will begin selling a black plastic bracelet for $1 to raise money for its mission.

An End To The Bracelet Fad, Inc. (AETTBF) said it has sold 30,000 of the plastic bands to the bracelet-starved public in the first week it has made them available, tripling the organization’s bank account.

“Those Lance Armstrong LIVESTRONG bracelets started this fad when they came out a year ago, and now they’re everywhere. It’s out of control,” said Daniel Vance, the executive director of AETTBF. “We have reports from all across the country of people young and old not being able to bend their arms because they have these stupid bracelets piled on top of each other from their wrists all the way up to their shoulders. It’s ridiculous. And outside of the yellow Lance Armstrong bracelets for cancer, no one even knows what any of the other colors mean.”

The AETTBF has compiled a 30-page brochure listing all of the 13,000 cause-based plastic bracelets that are currently on the market as a way to illustrate the absurdity of the fad.

“Here’s one – chartreuse bracelets mean the person is against paper cuts. Friggin’ paper cuts!” said Vance. “Indigo bracelets are for the fight against gingivitis. Mauve means the wearer is opposed to telephone calls by telemarketers between the hours of 5:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Central Time. Pea green is for people who want to eradicate explosive diarrhea. Charcoal-colored bracelets support the push to make charcoal part of the periodic table of elements. And adobe yellow bands support the eradication of lead-based sunflowers from our elementary schools, which doesn’t even make sense. And that’s just a few of the more tame examples.”

While Vance acknowledges a certain hypocrisy in an organization created to prevent the spread of cause-based plastic bracelets selling a cause-based plastic bracelet, he said it was the only way for AETTBF to stay in business.

“Whether we like it or not, no one will support a non-profit organization these days if they don’t get some stupid plastic bracelet in exchange for doing so,” said Vance. “We needed to raise some money and this was all that will work. While maybe we can’t put an end to this fad altogether, at the very least we might be able to get people to only wear our black AETTBF bands. I suppose one colored bracelet on someone’s arm would be better than 50.”

Funny Advertisement That We'll Never See on TV Here in the States

Click here for video.

Flash Movie of the Week

Too Many Guys

A Favor....

Vote For Me!!!

My cousin's cousin's baby is one of the 5 finalists in the Quizno's Baby spokesperson contest. Please click here to vote for Olivia. I just voted and she's in first place!!

Go Olivia! You cute little thing.

They Say That This is What King Tut Looked Like

The Boy King, maybe.

From The Houston Chronicle:

Three teams of scientists have created the first facial reconstructions of King Tutankhamun based on CT scans of his mummy. The images are strikingly similar both to each other and to ancient portraits of the boy pharaoh, including his depiction on the famed golden mask he wore into the crypt.
The teams — from France, the United States and Egypt — each built a model of the pharaoh's face based on some 1,700 high-resolution images from CT scans to reveal what he looked like the day he died nearly 3,300 years ago.

His eyeliner is fab.

I've seen some stories and posts today on the internet where critics are saying the skin shown in the reconstruction is too light and that King Tut was black.
*Wrong*
He was buried with a donkey, he's my favorite honkey.

See here if you haven't heard that before.

It Smells Like Jesus in Here...

That's just this candle. It smells like Jesus' clothes.

Flash Movie of the Week

Everyone Else Has Had More Sex Than Me.

Are There Some Things Worth Getting Arrested For?

Raj


Coulter

from TheSmokingGun.com
MAY 5--Months after members of "Al Pieda" marred a campus speech by Ann Coulter, another appearance by the controversial conservative commentator has been disrupted by a protester. During a speech last night at the University of Texas in Austin, a 19-year-old UT student was busted after asking Coulter a lewd question, which he followed up with equally inappropriate hand gestures, according to the below police affidavit. The student, Ajai Raj, was arrested by campus police and hit with a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge. The police affidavit notes that Coulter's lecture was attended by "several children under the age of ten," which probably made them particularly sensitive when Raj queried Coulter about the sexual proclivities of certain right-leaning men. Raj is pictured at right in an Austin Police Department booking photo. (1 page)


from TheSmokingGun.com
(click to enlarge)

If they'd have thrown cream pies again, the children in attendance might have enjoyed the event more.

Mouse Control

Try this maze.. it's not as easy as it looks. I like the music.
Click here

For My Friend in the UK.. *you know who you are*

I'm going to be on small screens in England in August. Maybe. The show is called Campus Life. I think.

Here is a picture of one of the cast members and me.


Tesh and Me 

So I was at this formal dinner/fundraiser thing at the College where I am employed. I had heard about these British students going to school here at the University who were being filmed for a reality tv show, but had never seen them. Probably because I never get out of my office, much less the building.


the cast Photo: Anna Reyes/ The Daily Cougar

From the University's newspaper:
Posing as UH students, from left, Mitesh Patel, Luke Oakeshott, Debbie Otubambo, Claudia Grant and Tara Al-Wali have come to UH as part of a British reality television program aimed at comparing American and British college life.

Anyhoo, they came to the fundraiser and were filming. My friend Courtney and I were walking by one of the guys doing an interview and he asked us if we wanted to be on TV. We stood there with him and giggled nervously as the producer asked us questions like:

What is a typical Texas woman like?
huh? Um, big hair? Well, except for us..

What do Texans like to eat?
Are we so different from anyone else? Ok, maybe.


Their experiences here have been educational in more ways then one. Thus far, the students have picked up on several noteworthy cultural differences.
"Our food is a lot healthier and a lot smaller (in portion)," Otubambo said. In addition, the British also walk more and have a superior public transportation system -- eliminating the Houston necessity of car-ownership.

Tell me something I don't know.

Whatever. Our interview lasted about 2 minutes and I'm sure it will end up on the cutting room floor.

But keep an eye out for me anyway, William! Btw, the guy in the pic was definitely on the pull, but neither of us kopped-off with him. ;-)

Cool Stop-Motion Video

Spasmodic

I love Ebay.

Having trouble getting your baby's attention? Try this rattle found on ebay:


rattle

Oh, you didn't want to scare the bejesus of of your bundle of joy? My bad.

Take a gander at this auction. Click here to see how much people are bidding on this penile protection.

Mr. Cuppy

Have I Seen It All?

Sugah Daddy

I searched Pimp on YAGooHOO!gle and there were many entertaining sites. I contemplated purchasing a pimp cup for Brian, but I couldn't decide between this one or this one. So I continued surfing to see what other Pimpalicious items could be bought, I came across a site called PimpSuits.net.
Their gear runs the normal gamut with
Pimp Shoes:


Jewelry, like this spinning rim Pimp necklace:


And then I ventured into the clothing section:


Mack Daddy


Cheetah


Big Poppa

They don't have Ho Dresses for young girls. You can just go to the Limited Too for those.

New

Cool Search Engine(s)

Cute Picture of the Day

I am an animal lover and absolutely abhorr any cruel treatment of our four-legged friends.
But look:


Hi. I'm a kitten in a glass.

I think that kitten likes it in that glass. Don't you?

Stop looking at it. You can't, can you? Neither can I.

Things You Would Love to Say at Work

I can't even pick a favorite.

1. I can see your point, but I still think you're full of shit.
2. I don't know what your problem is, but I'll bet it's hard to pronounce.
3. How about never? Is never good for you?
4. I see you've set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public.
5. I'm really easy to get along with once you people learn to worship me.
6. I'll try being nicer if you'll try being smarter.
7. I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...
8. I don't work here. I'm a consultant.
9. It sounds like English, but I can't understand a word you're saying.
10. Ahhh... I see the fuck-up fairy has visited us again...
11. I like you. You remind me of when I was young and stupid.
12. You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.
13. I have plenty of talent and vision. I just don't give a shit.
14. I'm already visualizing the duct tape over your mouth.
15. I will always cherish the initial misconceptions I had about you.
16. Thank you. We're all refreshed and challenged by your unique point of view.
17. The fact that no one understands you doesn't mean you're an artist.
18. Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental.
19. What am I? Flypaper for freaks!?
20. I'm not being rude. You're just insignificant.
21. It's a thankless job, but I've got a lot of Karma to burn off.
22. Yes, I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.
23. And your cry-baby whiny-assed opinion would be...?
24. Do I look like a people person?
25. This isn't an office. It's Hell with fluorescent lighting.
26. I started out with nothing & still have most of it left.
27. Sarcasm is just one more service we offer.
28. If I throw a stick, will you leave?
29. Errors have been made. Others will be blamed.
30. Whatever kind of look you were going for, you missed.
31. I'm trying to imagine you with a personality.
32. A cubicle is just a padded cell without a door.
33. Can I trade this job for what's behind door #1?
34. Too many freaks, not enough circuses.
35. Nice perfume. Must you marinate in it?
36. Chaos, panic, & disorder - my work here is done.
37. How do I set a laser printer to stun?
38. I thought I wanted a career, turns out I just wanted paychecks.

Bien Sur!

Your Inner European is French!

Smart and sophisticated. You have the best of everything - at least, *you* think so.

Who's Your Inner European?

Cute Little WiFi Bunny

Nabaztag

Isn't that the cutest thing? I want one. I'm not even sure how it works or what exactly it does, but I want one.

I saw this first on my new daily-read: Popgadget, a personal technology blog for women. (love it)

Here is the description of Nabaztag from engadget:

From Violet, the designers of that USB-powered fragrance diffuser we mentioned last year, comes the Nabaztag, a cutesy competitor for the Ambient Orb that connects up to the Internet over WiFi (instead of an FM subcarrier network) and uses changing colors on its belly(or move its ears) to let you know whether you have new email, or what the weather’s like outside, or how the stock market is doing, etc. There’s also something or other about one Nabaztag being able to communicate with another, but it’s not clear exactly what they mean by that. Anyway, goes on sale in France later this month with a retail price of €95.

Im an IFSP. What's your bloginality?

You are an ISFP! (me)

As an ISFP, you are Intraverted, Sensing, Feeling , Perceiving.This makes your primary focus on Introverted Feeling with Extraverted Sensing.
This is defined as a SP personality, which is part of Carl Jung's Artisans (Sensation Seeking) type, and more specifically the Composers or Artist
Because you are in touch with the inner-artist, you see things heavily in relationship to your feelings and their beauty. You may not be as likely to have a public site, because you feel better sharing with only those who are closest with you.

Another link I bit from The Duke. What's your bloginality? Click here to find out.

This is Funny to Me (am I easily amused?)

"Moshzilla"

Lonestar State of Mind posted a link to this web forum where posters subitted photoshopped pictures of this original picture. Poor girl. But hey, at least now she's had her few minutes of fame thanks to camera phones and the internet.

P.S. I'm glad they didn't have camera phones when I was in college. I'd be pissed to wake up with a penis on my cheek. (Keep the smart comments to yourself, Denise.)

Clocky!

Clocky

From the MIT Media Lab comes Clocky. An alarm clock for people who have trouble getting up in the morning.

clocky by the bed

from the website:

When the alarm clock goes off and the snooze button is pressed, Clocky will roll off the bedside table and wheel away, bumping mindlessly into objects on the floor until it eventually finds a spot to rest. Minutes later, when the alarm sounds again, the sleeper must get up out of bed and search for Clocky. This ensures that the person is fully awake before turning it off. Small wheels that are concealed by Clocky's shag enable it to move and reposition itself, and an internal processor helps it find a new hiding spot every day.
I don't like being told when to wake up but I've come to terms with the idea that I have to. In designing Clocky, I was in part inspired by kittens I've had that would bite my toes every morning. Clocky is less of an annoying device as it is a troublesome pet that you love anyway. It's also a bit ugly. But its unconventional look keeps the user calm, and inspires laughter at one of the most hated times of the day.
I've been known to hit the snooze bar for up to two hours or even accidentally turn it off. I've known people who put the alarm clock in the living room, but then forget to set it before going to sleep. Others say they are trying to wean themselves off of snoozing, as if it was a bad habit like smoking or drinking. In the foggy logic of our drowsiness, we disable the very device that is meant to wake us up. Having the alarm clock hide from me was just the most obvious way I could think of to get out of bed.
Clocky is not trying to solve all of the problems of alarm clocks—for example how they disrupt other people in the room—but I think maybe someday it can. I think the answer rests in the usage of multiple Clockies. Let's say there are two people with different sleep schedules sharing a room. Maybe one person's Clocky can tell the other to hush up if it has sounded off one too many times. Or, maybe they can form an alliance and simultaneously target the offending over-sleeper. I have adopted the philosophy that when two devices communicate, they can solve more problems—that is, two Clockies are better than one.

Clocky is an academic research project and is not commercially available at this time.

Thanks, Michael, for alerting me to this...

*DEVELOPED BY: Gauri Nanda, Research Associate, MIT Media Lab

My Virtual Painting

1/1

Check out how I created my virtual painting.

Lindsayism.com points to this website that lets you do your own. Try it, it's fun!

Is that Kelly Osbourne in My Manet Montage??

Manet Montage

One of my favorite new daily-reads, Lifehacker.com, alerted me to the coolest thing. It's a flash application called Montage-a-Google. You put a term in the search bar and click search. Once it's found all the images, click Create Montage. You can adjust how many images you want in each row.

So I put the term Manet in the search box, for my favorite artist. I wondered what the heck Kelly Osbourne was doing there. Then I realized that if you scroll over the images you will see the source of that image, and if you click on it it will open the image at its source. Seems her picture came from Worth1000.com which is a photography website that hosts photoshopping contests. Hers looks like someone photoshopped an image of her to look as if it was painted. (??)

If there are pictures of you on the internet, give it a try. I put in my own name and got 19 images of other people.