I’ve developed a bit of a slug problem in my worm farm. Everytime I open the lid there are a couple stuck on the walls around the top. I’ve been picking them off (with a trowel – they’re gross) and then squooshing them on the pavement, but I’m getting tired of it. I saw “Slug and Snail Repellant” in the gardening section at Kmart but I’m worried it might hurt the worms. Does anybody have any suggestions beyond the old standby of drowning them in beer?
Month: September 2003 (page 3 of 8)
“There is nothing inherent in fat that increases the risk of weight gain.” HA! The National Heart Association of Australia has finally verified what millions of Atkins dieters already know: eating fat doesn’t make you fat. Of course, the article includes criticism from the director of the NSW Centre for Public Health Nutrition, who worries that this information will “undermine weight-control intiatives”. In other words, there’s a lot of money to be made in promoting low-fat diets and he thinks the Association should’ve lied or covered up their results for the good of the Australian people. (I’m paraphrasing, but what other interpretation is there in a quote like: “Policymakers must take care that they are not blinded by science to the realities of the prevailing food environment”? Blinded by science??)
Woohoo! Brace yourself, Aussies. The Snook has just heard through the grapevine that Iron Chef is coming to SBS on October 11. I wonder if we’ll get the old reruns of Bobby Flay? Those are the only ones I’ve ever seen (when I managed to catch it at home in the States).
Probabilities in the Game of Monopoly. I skipped over most of the math myself as I was only interested in Snookums’s long-held theory that “Whoever owns the red monopoly wins the game.” Given the author’s summation regarding Illinois Avenue, I guess he’s right.
The Crafty Garden
Since we now have a lovely tiled courtyard to fill up with plants, I decided to start with a succulent garden (since my friend Kevin has one and it’s gorgeous). I bought the plant stand at Kmart and then picked out some sempervivum, a green Jellybean, and another unnamed plant. Yesterday the Snook helped me transplant them into some record bowls I had made. On top I put decorative pebbles and some of the reject glass marbles left over from making marble magnets. Pretty huh? We also planted some basil and cherry tomatoes in the small plastic pots, so hopefully we’ll have some homegrown veg this summer.
I just had a great session with my new personal trainer Adam. He set me up with a weight lifting program that I’m going to alternate with Pump classes. I’m also going to mix up my running a bit more and alternate between longer, slower runs and short, intense sprints. I’m feeling pretty good about everything. (Well, except for my pathetic tricep strength. You know how you do those reverse push-ups, where you lower yourself off the edge of a bench and push yourself up and down with your triceps? He had me down for thirty. I can do five. Yikes.) He also asked me about my diet and I stiffened, waiting for the inevitable Atkins backlash. But he was totally and utterly supportive! He just reminded me to get enough Omega-3s and iron and told me that I was doing the right thing! It felt so nice to have some friggin’ vindication after a whole year of defending myself. He even thinks that running a marathon next year is a great goal to work towards. (You runners will be happy to note that he gave me a lecture on the importance of running outside. I’m going to work on that.) I feel motivated and inspired. And how’s your weekend?
1. Who is your favorite singer/musician? Why?
It’s probably REM, I guess. I go through periods of obsession with other groups, but I buy every record they put out and I think they’re consistently one of the best bands in the world. They’re also the only group whose fan club I’ve ever bothered to join.
2. What one singer/musician can you not stand? Why?
Celine f**kin’ Dion. I loathe her music. Every Celine Dion fan I’ve ever known was a complete idiot. (That’s not necessarily cause-and-effect, just an observation.) Her silly chest-thumping and oversinging just make me cringe. Jewel runs a close second, mostly because of her psychotic tendency to switch between her breathy baby voice and her big brassy Celine voice in the same damn song.
3. If your favorite singer wasn’t in the music business, do you think you would still like him/her as a person?
I think I’d like Mike Mills, Peter Buck, and Bill Berry. They seem like cool guys. Michael Stipe is a total fruit loop though and I think he’d probably be a jerk if you met him. I saw him on a documentary recently (about some artist friend of Bono’s in New York) and Stipey wore some crazy Afro wig through the whole thing and just mumbled incoherently everytime anyone asked him a question. Yeah, I think he’s a little weird.
4. Have you been to any concerts? If yes, who put on the best show?
Yep, lots. I think my favorite shows ever were James (London 1998), Ani Difranco (London 1998), Reel Big Fish (1999) and They Might Be Giants (Sydney 2001). They were all in small venues with just great vibes and so much fun for the audience.
5. What are your thoughts on downloading free music online vs. purchasing albums? Do you feel the RIAA is right in its pursuit to stop people from dowloading free music?
I look at it as an issue of being an informed consumer. Yes, I bought more music back before I discovered the joy of downloading mp3s. That was because I’d sign up for a stupid BMG club and spent hundreds of dollars on discs I didn’t like and didn’t ask for. Now I only buy discs from artists I know I like and want to support. (I’d buy more singles except the only ones that ever seem to be in stores are crap hip hop and rap that I’d never buy anyway.) The record industry is unhappy because people used to buy their stuff regardless of whether it was crap, and now we’re all finding out ahead of time how crap it is. Too bad. I refuse to pay $25 for one good song and ten sucky ones any longer. The Constitution is not supposed to guarantee anyone’s business model continues making a profit. Living overseas also complicates matters. Often it’s the case that I’m willing to pay for something (TiVo, Silpat, mp3s, etc.) but these things simply aren’t available in Australia. If the RIAA wants my money, they better start helping Apple roll out the iTunes Music Store to other countries. I got an Australian credit card burning a hole in my pocket but I can’t actually buy the things I want! That’s ridiculous.
It’s not quite CouchCam, but OfficeCam is now up and running over there on the right. Rest assured, CouchCam will return. It’s just that our living room PC needs some updates (in order to run our homegrown Tivo!) so it’s currently located in the office… Hence OfficeCam. Enjoy.
Wow, my site got a link and a nice compliment over at craftster.org!
The Snook noticed recently that our DVD of Spirited Away (which we still haven’t watched, actually) contains the trailer for Transformers: The Movie. Made in 1986, it stars Judd Nelson, Leonard Nimoy, Robert Stack, and Orson Welles (!) as various Autobots and Decepticons. We were having a giggle over this til we noticed the name of the character Judd Nelson played: Rodimus Prime. Snookums now requests that you refer to him as “Roddimus Prime” in all online communication. Thanks.