• April 11, 2012 •

I made it pretty far yesterday. I was about to get in the shower when Pete came home early & had a really rough day at work. Lots of stress. He had a headache that made him nauseous. I made dinner, we watched a little TV, & then went to bed early. I don't know for sure, but I THINK my cat, Midnight, was hit by a car last night. She goes out, but never for long because she has 3 kittens. They're eating solid food now, but she's super-mom, there all the time for them. Well, all the dogs started barking last night & when I looked outside, I saw a car stopped in front of my neighbor's house. The passenger was out of the car & looking on the street for something. He kept telling the driver "I don't see it. Where did it go? Back up so I can look under the car." They never did find what they were looking for, but I immediately checked the house for Midnight & she wasn't inside. I opened the door & called her & she didn't come. She's still not back. I have a bad feeling it was her they hit. There's nothing in the road, so I'm assuming it wasn't a quick & painless death. I hope she didn't suffer for long if she did get hit last night. I went to bed earlier than I have in a long time. I couldn't wait to get a super-early start on today & see how much I could get done! Then it happened. I couldn't sleep (probably because I was worried about Midnight). I was awake for THREE HOURS before I fell asleep & woke up 3 hours later than I wanted to. DAMN! Oh well, I went from getting up early, to thinking I was going to get up even earlier, to getting up SO late that it's not even worth it now. So I took the day off. I'm just going to do nothing today. Well, by nothing I mean nothing I would normally do throughout the day. Instead, I spent a bunch of time getting back into Paint Shop Pro & creating graphics by pulling out my old notebooks with favorite tutorials in them, finding all my lists of tubes, frames, graphics, etc., & rewriting my list of uses (things have changed a LOT in the 8 years since I did this last). It feels good to be getting back into what I used to enjoy. Cooking, Crocheting, DIY, Gardening, PSPX3 (digital graphic design), Knitting, etc. Why try to get through my normal daily to-do list when I KNOW I'm not even going to get half way? It's like slamming your foot down on the gas pedal when you're heading right towards a brick wall & the steering is out. DUH! Slam on the BRAKE. Don't waste fuel heading for a brick wall. Save it for when you get the steering fixed & can actually GET somewhere. I guess this is why knowing your future would be bad. If it's not going to turn out how you want it to & you KNOW it, how hard would you try? If you KNEW your chosen career was going to fail, would you still go to college? Would you still study hard? Would you still work hard? If you KNEW your marriage would end in a soul-wrenching divorce, would you still believe in love? Would you still date? Would you still get married? What if you KNEW your child was going to die young from cancer or in an accident? Would you still have the child? Or would you simply say f-it? Kinda like the dance. Our lives are better left to chance, you could miss the pain, but you'd have to miss the dance. Above is a picture of Midnight & screen shots from this morning's 2nd Life adventure in the post-apocalyptic swamp of The Wastelands. Ann-Marie's birthday Sunday!

According to Herodotus, the Greek historian, how did ancient Egyptians express their grief over the death of a pet cat?

They would shave off their eyebrows.

Color TV:
They predicted that black & white sets would be obsolete by 1974. They were a bit off - 33% of households still had them then.

"Don't have sex, man. It leads to kissing & pretty soon you have to start talking to them." -Steve Martin

Hotel Rwanda:

Amid the holocaust of internecine tribal fighting in Rwanda that sees the savage butchering of hundreds of thousands of men, women and children, one ordinary hotel manager (Oscar nominee Don Cheadle) musters the courage to save more than 1,000 helpless refugees. Sophie Okonedo, Nick Nolte and Joaquin Phoenix co-star in this powerful film -- often described as an African Schindler's List -- directed by Terry George.

Household:

If you're holding on to something simply because it was a gift, then you need to realize the person gave you the gift to bring you joy. If the item is creating clutter, it's not bringing you joy. The gift giver would rather see you live a happier, healthier, & stress-free life by getting rid of the gift that has become clutter in your home.

I'm not a big fan of the FICO score, because it doesn't measure things like assets, income or net worth. It's really just an indicator of your interaction with debt! This is 1 of the reasons why it's dumb for companies to base lending decisions solely on a FICO score.

iTunes Movie Trailers:

iTunes Movie Trailers puts the newest and most exclusive movie previews in HD in your hands. Browse trailers, clips, and featurettes for the biggest Hollywood blockbusters and independent cinema; view stunning HD photos; explore a year-long calendar of movie releases; find showtimes near you and get ticket info directly from your iPad or iPhone.
Product Features:
• Access hundreds of movie trailers, clips, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and images, available in HD or SD.
• Explore an interactive, year-long release calendar that helps you plan when you'll be going to the theaters.
• Save favorite movies and theaters for immediate access anytime.
• Search what’s playing at your local theaters and purchase tickets directly from your iPad or iPhone.
• Save images to your iPad photo gallery, to use as iPad or desktop wallpapers or send to your friends.
• Browse top charts to view the most downloaded trailers, box office rankings, and top movies on iTunes to buy or rent.
• Enjoy your favorite movie trailers on your TV with AirPlay and Apple TV.
• Email or tweet trailer recommendations to your friends.
• Use iCloud to push your favorite theaters and movie trailers to all of your iOS devices.

Phil Mickelson wins first major at Masters (2004):

On this day in 2004, Phil Mickelson wins the Masters Golf Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, his first major championship in nearly 12 years as a professional golfer.

A native of California, Mickelson graduated from Arizona State University, where he won three NCAA individual championships and three Haskins Awards as the nation’s outstanding college golfer. In 1991, while still an amateur, he won his first PGA Tour tournament, the Northern Telecom Open.  Mickelson turned pro in 1992 and went on to win a number of tournaments; however, a victory in one of the four majors--the most prestigious tournaments in pro golf: the Masters, the U.S. Open, the Open Championship in Britain and the PGA Championship--eluded him. He finished in second or third place in eight majors and became known as the best player in golf without a major win.

The Masters Tournament is the first of the four majors to be held each year. The inaugural Masters took place in 1934, a year after Augusta National opened in Augusta, Georgia, as a private golf club. On April 11, 2004, Mickelson’s majors losing streak ended when he sunk an 18-foot birdie putt on the final hole at the Masters Tournament to defeat Ernie Els by a single stroke. Mickelson, who finished with a nine-under-par 279, won $1.17 million and was awarded the traditional green sport given to each Masters champ.

In 2005, Mickelson won the PGA Championship and in 2006 he captured his second Masters victory. As of 2007, nine men, including Mickelson, have won the Masters twice. Four golfers have won the Masters three times each, while Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods have claimed victory four times each. Jack Nicklaus holds the record for Masters wins, with six.

Preposterous:

Contrary to nature, reason, or common sense : absurd.

Jane knew that quitting school was a preposterous idea, so she resolved to work harder, even though she hated her classes.

"Don't put your cart before the horse" - that's good advice, except where the etymology of "preposterous" is concerned. The English word traces to the Latin praeposterus, which in turn comes from 2 older roots, prae- (meaning "before") & posterus (meaning "following"). In Latin, praeposterus literally meant "in front of what is following" or "having 1st which ought to be last." In other words, praeposterus described something that was out of its logical or normal position (like the proverbial cart before the horse). Such an arrangement is manifestly ridiculous, which may help to explain why the English word "preposterous" gradually came to mean "contrary to reason" or "nonsensical."

Selecting wine - or not:

Question: I know next to nothing about wine, but at a recent restaurant dinner for 6 the host asked me to choose the wines. What should I have done?

Answer: When you're put on the spot, be honest: "I'd love to, but I know so little about wine, I think I should leave it up to you." Don't try to fake it, or you could end up with a wine that doesn't complement the food. When you do need to select a bottle of wine, don't be embarrassed to ask for help. Knowing how to pair wines with foods is tricky, even for alleged wine experts. Go ahead & ask the server, the wine steward, or other guests for suggestions as you look over the list: "Which red do you think will go best with the dishes we're having?"

We're always the same age inside.

Which airline was the 1st, 2nd, & 3rd to provide air sickness bags?

A. Northwest Orient

B. Pitcairn Airlines

C. Air Niugini

BAC. Though some collectors credit Northwest with the 1st bags, there's evidence that Pitcairn Airlines had them in 1922. A German company once provided bags printed with, "Thank you for your criticism!"

Which champagne bottle holds the most, 2nd most, & 3rd most?

A. Jeroboam

B. Methuselah

C. Magnum

Which of these states were part of the original 13 colonies?

Maine, Virginia, West Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Kentucky, Maryland, Alabama.

Which state was home to the very first Dunkin’ Donuts shop and the very first Howard Johnson’s restaurant?