- April 3, 2012 -

Had a pretty decent day yesterday. Even got as far as neatening up a couple of my boards on Pinterest. The FD has been super busy this morning, 3 calls since midnight & we have a city council meeting, our FD BBQ & maintenance tonight. If my back wasn't wrenched out I would have helped out. I don't know what I did on Saturday, but I did something. I woke up Sunday morning & could barely move. My lower left back was causing me SO much pain! All day like that, then Sunday night/Monday morning not an ounce of sleep because there is NO comfortable position. Moving, standing, walking, sitting, laying down ... nothing was easy. When Pete got home from work last night I said I might need to go to the hospital. I hate hospitals & had no idea what they could do for me if anything, but the pain was so intense. Breathing hurt. Then Pete asked me if I took anything (for the pain). Why no, no I didn't. 6 ibuprofens later the pain had subsided enough to act semi-normal again. Now I'm eating the damn ibuprofen like they're TicTacs, but the pain is manageable. This was a 1st for me. I've been sore, I've pulled a muscle here or there, but I've never had back pain that completely shut me down & made me cry like a baby no matter what position I was in. Just another sign that I'm getting old I guess. I hope whatever's wrong irons itself out soon ... eating ibuprofen like they're candy can't be good for anyone. I swear, it feels like I was "kicked" HARD in the back, lower left side. Any ideas?

In other news, as if I didn't already have way too much to do to the point that I can't even keep up & never have time to play Sims 3 anymore, what do I go & do? I find a new game that I like. I'm not a gamer, Sims 3 was the ONLY exception to that. 2nd Life ... whoa! Makes the Sims 3 look pathetic. SO ... now I'm in an online game that would of course be SO much cooler if I upgraded to a paid subscription (yeah, like I needed to find something to waste money on ... a monthly online game subscription?!) Wandered aimlessly for a few days. Checked out things in places where there were no other players, then today just happened to wander into a very populated area. Now I've got a beach house (free for 1 month) & people helping me learn & giving me the grand tour. Great! Well, except for the fact that I lost 3 hours & my back is still killing me in my 1st Life. I took lots of screen shots of my 1st 2nd Life home:

Front of my home

 

Back porch looking in

 Back porch looking at my neighbor's house

 My Bedroom

 Standing in entryway looking in

 My living room

 My living room from the other corner

 Stairs leading from entryway/bedroom to living room/back porch

A 3"-high bronze bust of what Hollywood figure fetched $316,000—more than any other item—at a 2004 auction of actress Katharine Hepburn’s estate?

Actor Spencer Tracy, Hepburn’s long-time companion and favorite costar. The preauction estimate for the bust, sculpted by Hepburn and used as a prop in their film Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967), was $3,000 to $5,000.

Automatic drip coffeemakers:

Waking up is easier when you don't have to wait for the water to boil 1st.

"Fast & Furious" is top opening-day car movie (2009):

Domenic Toretto is a Los Angeles street racer suspected of masterminding a series of big-rig hijackings. When undercover cop Brian Spindler infiltrates Toretto's crew, he falls for Toretto's sister and must choose a side: the gang or the LAPD.

"Fast & Furious," the fourth film in an action-movie franchise centered around the world of illegal street racing, debuts in U.S. theaters on April 3, 2009, kicking off a record-breaking $72.5 million opening weekend at the box office. "Fast & Furious," starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez, recorded the all-time highest-grossing opening of any car-themed film, besting the 2006 animated feature "Cars," which raked in more than $60 million in its opening weekend and went on to earn more than $244 million at the box office.

The road leading to "Fast & Furious" began with the sleeper hit "The Fast and the Furious," which opened in theaters across America on June 18, 2001, and was followed by 2003's "2 Fast 2 Furious" and 2006's "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift." The "Fast and the Furious" films, which feature dramatic car scenes, pulsating music and good-looking actors and actresses, received mixed reviews from critics but were popular with audiences and spawned a line of video games.

In addition to the "Fast and the Furious" franchise, street racing has been depicted in such popular movies as "American Graffiti" (1973) and "Grease" (1978). The 1976 movie "Cannonball," starring David Carradine, was based on a real-life, illegal, cross-country race called the Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash. That race was first held in the early 1970s, in part to protest America's new 55 mph speed limit. (Cannonball Baker refers to Edwin "Cannon Ball" Baker, an auto and motorcycle racer who became famous for his record-setting cross-country drives in the early 20th century.) In the 1980s, the actor Burt Reynolds also starred in a series of films inspired by the outlawed race: 1981's "The Cannonball Run," 1984's "Cannonball Run II" and 1989's "Speed Zone!"

How to comfort, not offend:

Don't say: "I know how you feel."

Say instead: "Please know that I'm thinking of you."

Kitchen:

Use a turn-table or lazy susan to make items in your pantry or a deep cabinet more accessible.

Masters:

Welcome to the Official iPhone app for the Masters Tournament.
Bringing you closer than ever to the beauty and excitement of the Masters Tournament, the official iPhone app for the Masters in Augusta, Georgia, April 2–8, 2012, provides the most comprehensive digital coverage available.
The Official Masters Tournament iPhone app includes:
- SEVEN LIVE STREAMS OF VIDEO CONTENT
- Wednesday’s Par 3 Contest
- Tournament play at Amen Corner (Hole Nos. 11, 12, and 13)
- Tournament play at Hole Nos. 15 and 16
- Two channels of Featured Groups on their play of the second nine
- Masters In-Depth – A live highlights channel during ESPN and CBS broadcast
- Masters On the Range – Special analysis from a live-streamed Practice Range show Monday through Wednesday mornings
- All video will be viewable with 3G and Wi-Fi connections
(Live video is available to view in the United States only.)
ON-DEMAND VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS AND FEATURES
EXCLUSIVE LIVE SCORING
- Interact with the live Leader Board, which features up-to-the-minute scoring and video highlights of the greatest moments on the course
COURSE OVERVIEW
- Detailed course information with imagery, flyover videos, and par and yardage for each of the Masters Tournament’s prestigious 18 holes
COMPREHENSIVE NEWS COVERAGE
- Pairings, tee times, player information, alerts, and all of the latest news and updates from the Masters Tournament.
GETTING THERE
- Detailed driving directions and an interactive map for patrons traveling to Augusta National Golf Club.

Navel-gazing:
Useless or excessive self-contemplation.
Emily thought the movie about a man dealing with his midlife crisis was bogged down by too much navel-gazing by the main character.

If you are staring at your navel, you could either be indulging in some useless self-contemplation of in a state of deep meditation. If the latter, the technical term for your activity would be "omphaloskepsis," which is a form of meditation that has been practiced by mystics for centuries. "Navel-gazing" is a pop form of "omphaloskepsis" that is devoid of any serious meditative value. The word has been used more of less disparagingly since it's 1st appearance in 1963.

No Country for Old Men:

Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) stumbles upon dead bodies, $2 million and a hoard of heroin in a Texas desert, but methodical killer Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) comes looking for it, with local sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) hot on his trail. The roles of prey and predator blur as violent pursuits of money and justice collide in this Oscar-winning morality tale from directors-writers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen.

Purpose of insurance is to transfer risk that you can't handle by yourself. That's why I say don't buy extended warranties on your stupid stereo. If it breaks, get another one of get that one fixed. You can handle that risk. Self-insure through that kind of risk. But if you're 32 years old & have a young family with 3 kids & dad passes away in a workplace accident, you've got to have life insurance, because that's a devastating blow to that family. That's a risk you can't absorb.

Which drink was available 1st, 2nd, & 3rd?

A. Hawaiian Punch

B. Yoo-hoo

C. Kool-Aid

Which era came 1st, 2nd, & 3rd?

A. Cenozoic

B. Paleozoic

C. Mesozoic

BCA. The Cenozoic era began, oh, 65 million years ago, & is marked by the melting of a lot of troublesome ice, the rise of modern civilization, & eventually, the Beatles.