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Month: December 2009

  • Why The Phantom Menace Sucked

    The Snook and I just watched all seven parts of this massive review/commentary on Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. The “serial killer” framing device is a little annoying, but the observations about the movie are SPOT ON. I can still remember how I felt driving home after the midnight showing, still dressed up in my ridiculous Amidala outfit, trying to talk myself into believing that it didn’t suck. But it sucked. And this guy explains exactly why. (Spoiler: Jar Jar is hardly even mentioned.)

  • SPIDER!

    When I got home tonight, I thought I’d check on my veggie patch. So I stepped out the backdoor and, la-di-da, nearly walked headfirst INTO THIS.

    500

    The massive web spans from the lilli pilli tree across the path, and Mr. Spider is sitting directly at face height. His body is over an inch long, easy. As I stood frozen and time slowed to a crawl, I was able to see that he was merrily cocooning some unfortunate insect (a bumblebee? a cockroach?) to save for dinner. I slowly backed into the house and grabbed my camera. I got as close as I dared to get the shot, then scampered back in to google spider identification charts. Mr. Spider looked kinda hairy, so my first guess was that he was a Huntsman. (They look evil but aren’t, really.) But I quickly discovered that HUNTSMAN SPIDERS DON’T MAKE WEBS! So I tweeted for help<, and luckily Issy came to my rescue. It's a Garden Orb Weaving Spider. Oh, and judging by the size he’s probably actually a she. I’m going to call her Shelob. She’ll be there until the Snook gets home and prods her with a stick, I imagine.

  • Growing Up Heroes

    Growing Up Heroes. I’ve submitted the photo of me as Wonder Woman from 1981. I’m just waiting for it to be published…

    Update: There I am!

  • Cranberry Pistachio Blondies

    Cranberry Pistachio Blondies. If it’s not too hot, I think I might make those this weekend.

  • Shared today on Twitter

    @carbolicious Did you see him on 30 Rock? LOVE.

    Hall & Oates sing “Jingle Bell Rock”. http://bit.ly/6cMped (This one’s for @carbolicious.)

    @twelveeyes Oh man! The Tramcar is a dream of mine. We need a review afterwards…

    @ozgamer Dude, does ‘New Toy Syndrome’ last for 2.5 years? Because that’s a long time for a gadget.

    @DianneKing They’re uncommon here but not unknown. In fact, I got some in a gift swap two weeks ago from an Aussie!

    Re-redding the hair. I sit in a funk of ammonia and hair dye.

    Just completed a 8.18 km run with @runkeeper, check it out http://bit.ly/52JyD8 #RunKeeper

    Just completed a 5.88 km run with @runkeeper, check it out http://bit.ly/8MP5fY #RunKeeper

    Hey Twitter. If you have a cleaner, do you tip them for Christmas? And how much? (We want to know if we’re cheapskates.)

    @toastman W00t. Hahahaha… Okay, so I feel better now. Especially considering we have the SAME CLEANER.

    @VenessaHunt See, my red hair makes me look much more interesting than I actually am. Opposite of your classy bob! 😛

    Cleaner responses ranged from nothing to two weeks full pay + gift! Feeling better about my $20 and homemade cookies. Thanks everybody…

    @bellsknits I got a thank you plus an SMS later saying how much her son was enjoying the cookies. Very sweet! Love our cleaner.

    @VenessaHunt More like a bob CAN be boring, if the wearer needs camoflage. The red is harder to disguise.

    Just completed a 5.22 km run with @runkeeper, check it out http://bit.ly/8pZYdm #RunKeeper

  • Cherpumple

    The Snook walked in while I was watching the How to Make a Cherpumple Pie-Cake video. He watched it with me. “No,” he said. “Just… NO.”

  • Old-school Snoopy!

    Note to self: Buy these Peanuts figurines for the Snook next year.

  • Unnecessary Dairy Overlap

    I really like the phrase “Unnecessary Dairy Overlap”. That is all.

  • Cookies!

    Gourmet‘s Favorite Cookies: 1948-2008. Lots of good stuff in there. I made snickerdoodles last night and dyed the sugar red and green to be more festive. Most of my co-workers were appreciative, though one said that the green ones “looked kinda moldy.” Ingrates.

  • RunningBlog

    My base training continues. Using a heart rate monitor has definitely made a big difference in my runs. I don’t worry so much about running the whole distance without stopping; I just try to maintain a consistent level of effort the whole time. If my heart rate maxes out trying to run up a hill on a hot day, it’s better to walk it and stay within my target zone. Along those lines, I’m also noticing what a dramatic difference the weather makes. On a hot or humid day, I have to be vigilant about slowing down or my pulse skyrockets. On a cool breezy evening (like last night) I can run along at a decent clip without breaking 140bpm. Anyway, here are the weekly totals for the past month:

    Nov 23: 21.5km (13.35mi)
    Nov 30: 23km (14.2mi)
    Dec 7: 24.5km (15.2mi)
    Dec 14: 26km (16mi)

    According to my Buildup Schedule, this week (week 4) will be a recovery week of only 20km. Looking forward to it. My lower back was bothering me a little last night, and overall my legs are feeling a little tight and tired. I was amused to note that I’m actually getting a small callus on the ball of each food. Hey, I guess that’s proof that I’m a forefoot runner now!