Thought of the Day #278 - Pumpkin Feeders

I watched a documentary about growers of massive pumpkins/gourds...the
ones that are 1000 pounds and more. I couldn't help but see similaties
between pumpkin growers and feeders who fantasize about 1000+ size
women. There was one scene with the farmer massaging and caressing his
600+ pumpkin, much like I've seen feeders do in videos with their feedee
partners. In honor of Halloween, the similarities were "spooky!"

Thought of the Day #260 - Variable pricing

We would never put up with variable pricing on electricity or gas, so
why should we accept variations in the charges for cable television from
household to household? We don't really have options to choose the cable
provider due to contracts with municipalities. (Don't bother suggesting
satellite which I had a few years ago and had horrible connectivity.)
So, the cost should not vary from home to home in the same area since
there is absolutely no applicable competition.

Thought of the Day #146 - Weed Control Going Green?

While travelling through parts of Capitol Reef National Park, I noticed
large portions of land where there was no brush, plant or weed matter.
Even in low-lying areas where the moisture level was high -- still no
plants. I assume that the area's ground is highly alkaline or acidic or
__ which prevents plants from growing. Maybe I'm just crazy, but I think
bagging up this soil and rocks (not from the actual park, obviously, but
nearby) as a natural anti-plant landscaping material would be brilliant
and "green", of course. Am I nutz or does that sound like a good idea?

A Brilliant Idea

The other night, after I saw my waitress with the drawn-on eyebrows, I was thinking that there should be press-on eyebrows. The beauty of this idea is that they could actually look like real brows...not just a line of ink across your face. Either they'd be made up of fine ink "hairs" that would be applied like a wet'n'press tattoo or they could actually be made of fine hairs that are applied with some sort of glue. Both the cheap and high-end press-ons could be printed on a lycra base which could be stretched to the appropriate width. I really like the idea, too, of providing a package of press-on-brows that have a variety of expressions -- if you want to look surprised one day, use the high arch. If you're really depressed or puzzled, get the low, furrowed brow. If you want to look like spock, don the Vulcan version. The possibilities are endless. Just remember, you saw it here first!

A Homemade Gift Idea

A co-worker of mine came up with a brilliant, thoughtful gift idea for a friend and also a relative -- home cooked meals. She's going to make a selection of frozen family size meals with little cards that have super simple accompaniment recipes. What a great gift idea for someone who doesn't know how to cook or just never has time. Save them from yet another boring fast food meal! Or several! It's an awesome way to buck the corporate machine yet again.

10 Ways To Be A Body Positivity Advocate

I cannot recommend this "Big Fat Deal" post highly enough. I've been telling ya'll most of this the past 10 years, but this is beautifully direct and concise! Click on the title to read it and actually DO IT. Some changes take time, but make a promise to yourself to start. Ok? Ok.

Botox. Cosmetic?

Botox, you hear a lot about it, but do you really know what it is? Have you ever heard of botulism? It's a serious medical condition that can occur after consuming food bourne botulin toxins. A type of food poisoning. Ever heard of people being afraid of home canning? What are they afraid of? Well, for one thing, botulism. If you can food that's low in acid, a can of corn for instance, and you do a basic water-bath during the processing, it's not going to be safe to eat 'cuz the low acid food will still contain some bacteria that will produce the botulin toxins as they sit on a shelf. It doesn't really change the taste of the food, so you don't know that the can has gone bad until...until...until you suffer a nervous system break down called botulism. Anyway, bad stuff, right?

Well, while doing a search for "botulism" come to find out that Botox IS the botulinum toxin. It's injected in small doses under the skin. How scary is that? They use it for the lines between the eyebrows, to stop underarm sweating, etc. How does it do all this, you might ask? Basically it works locally in your system to interrupt the nerves that work the muscles between the eyebrows, and in the case of the sweaty pits, it temporarily blocks the nerves that stimulate the sweat glands. Yum.

I'm thinking that as a side job this summer, I'm going to non-preserve some crushed tomatoes, put it on a shelf for a couple of months. Then, when it's all good and toxic, I'll sell it as a Botox alternative. Or "BotoxalŽ". Yeah, I like the ring of that. "Just slather BotoxalŽ on your forehead and in your arm pits. It'll work reaaaaal niiiice. "

Proof that our Judicial System Works

Sure, the guy (girl?) may still be breaking the law, but crap, look at that raw honesty!
I snapped this yesterday afternoon in downtown Salt Lake. It brought me a sweet chuckle. You can click the image to see the full railroad car shot. Well, I did shrink it quite a bit down for ease of viewing, but you get the idea.
On a similar note, is it just me or is it really hard to read most stylized graffiti? I mean some of it is so freakin' pretty, but I know they're trying to say *something*, but the stylizing makes it impossible to read. You know, if I were ~out there~ tagging around my 'hood, I wouldn't know who I was competing against. I'd say, "Yeah, that mo-fo, you know the one I'm talking about...the one that does (insert swirly letters here)." We'd never really be sure who we were actually competing against, dig? Maybe they ought to do their stylized versions then in really small letters underneath, put "work done by..." I'm juss'sayin'.

Landfill = RESOURCE!

Am I the only one that views landfills as the future's mines? Can't you just see it? Let's say that aluminum or iron ore becomes scarce in the natural deposits around 2500 a.d. Wouldn't you think you think that at some point they'd turn to old capped landfills to retrieve valuable resources? Most definitely they will. I completely believe that individuals should recycle what they can, but on the other hand, don't beat yourself up if you throw away a Coke can from time to time. It will have its day in the sun again!

Deep Thoughts About Sunflowers

I was removing seeds from giant sunflower heads and it just got me thinkin'...

>> The person who invented barcodes must have been doing the same thing at some point. Thousands upon thousands upon thousands of variations in the lines in sunflowers. Some even have no lines. Does it indicate a difference in the genetic code? Maybe.

>> 8 foot tall flowers have an amazing structure. The stalk is nearly as hard as wood, yet the growth of these beasts is so much faster than a tree. Weeks, rather than years. The heads easily weigh a few pounds, so there has to be some major structure inside to keep it up, but if you look inside, the major support is a whole lotta cotton-candy fibre. Very odd.

>> The thousands of flowers and seeds on the head are in very strict rows. A very orderly flower, yet every once in a while you find a seed pod without a seed. Why was that particular flower overlooked by the insects? Did they somehow know it was going to produce a bad seed or did they simply miss it by accident...a matter of random misses? Or did the insect do its job only to have the seed aborted? Hmmm..

>> There are heads which are whiter than the others yet they seem to happily coexist with the ones that have more dark stripes. Hmmm... a world lesson to be learned?

>>I found a recipe to make salted/roasted sunflower seeds. It's pretty easy and tasty. It takes me back to childhood, really. A pretty healthy snack food! Simply soak the seeds overnight in a bowl of salted water (1/2 cup to 2 qt of water). Bake in the oven until dry roasted. The time will vary depending upon how many you're bakin'. With four heads, I get enough to fill the largest bowl that Tupperware makes. LOTS of seeds! I may try experimenting with flavors. Watch out "David" , I may beat you at your own game.

I think I'm onto something BIG here...

I was just babbling tonight to my hubby while we were sitting outside under the trees. The katydids were clicking loudly, the grasshoppers were playing their songs. The crickets were chirping. A lovely night, really.

What came to mind was the fact that the insects and other creatures walking this planet have a distinct way of communicating. They know what they're saying, even if we don't understand it.

Here's the deep thought...if there is an omniscient god who has designed this planet and all living creatures upon it, he/she may have built in a ton of puzzles to figure out. If there is such a God... (funny thing just happened as I wrote this...a boxelder type bug just flew into my ear. Coincidence? I think not!)... he/she may have a clever wit and sense of humor as well as a knack for languages. What if all of the bugs are chirping things that we want or need to know? The meaning of life? The grasshoppers have that covered if you listen carefully enough. The cure for cancer? The mosquitoes know that one...and they're trying to tell you every time they fly by your ear! Listen next, time, will you?!

So, carry this a little further. Every bug or animal that becomes extinct is another riddle that will never be solved.

...Just a hmmm for tonight....