Another random veggie post

A couple of days ago I tried another "new" vegetable. "New" because I've eaten artichokes before plenty of times - jarred and in dips. But this time around I bought fresh ones and had to Google "how to eat an artichoke".

It was pretty tasty and really simple to cook. I just steamed it in the microwave for 8 minutes after trimming the top and bottom. But eating it was a lot of work for the amount of food you get, much like crabs. But I love both so I don't mind the work. Plus it's nice to take a nice long time to eat a veggie while watching t.v.

Since I had never eaten a fresh artichoke before I was a little afraid because there are a lot of parts you're not supposed to eat. I thought I'd choke and die and since I live alone nobody would notice. But really, why give a veggie a name like artiCHOKE? Bad marketing if you ask me. That's like having foods called Stabbycarrot or Deathlettuce or Heartattackburger. Wait, I'd still probably eat Heartattackburger. Sounds pretty good.

Kneel before Wonder Woman!

This is from Gofugyourself.com. Why is Wonder Woman dressed up as Zod? She wasn't even in Superman.

See, straight out of the Zod and crew wardrobe.

Even the guys had the puffy sleeves.

Now, was Linda Carter dressed like this at the Superman premiere? As an homage to the Superman movies of old? Did someone trick her into thinking everyone else would be dressed up as their favorite Superman character?

Upon closer inspection, there are what seem to be pirates in the background of that red carpet photo. Maybe it's the Pirates of the Carribean premiere and Linda Carter is just a huge freak.

Sea glass

Necklace

Close-up of pendant

Bracelet

My friend Jennifer went to California wine country some months ago and picked up some sea glass on a beach. Back in the day, people would just throw their trash into the sea. This would include wineries and their broken bottles. Over time, the sea and the sand softened the sharp edges. Good thing too, because I made jewelry out of them. Bloody wrists and necklines just aren't vogue these days.

I used 22ga sterling silver wire to wrap the glass and 20ga sterling silver for the jump rings that link the pieces. The only parts that aren't sterling are the clasps because I'm too poor and lazy to get some. And of course the necklace deerskin leather strap (much softer than most leather necklaces). I should have used 24ga to wrap because my fingers hurt after all that wrapping. But I wanted the bracelet to be really strong.

This is actually a second try at making a bracelet for Jennifer with her sea glass. The first one I made had weak links and wraps and it was not long before stones fell out and she lost the whole thing. I'm confident with these new ones, but ya never know. I hope she likes them.

Going to Lowe's can be fun

Oh, wait...was this at Lowe's or Cindie's ?

Geek lamp

This lamp made from x-ray film is on sale here on Etsy (place for all things handmade). It was one of the featured items on the Etsy homepage and immediately I recognized it as science! In fact, the person selling it works at the same institution I do (but I have no idea who it is). The black smears and dots on the film are either DNA, RNA, or protein from Southerns, Northerns, or Western hybridizations.

Just like with photographs, you only really need the one that gives you the best picture. You try a bunch of exposure times and have a lot of crappy ones. Well, this person recycles the crappy ones instead of tossing them in the trash or keeping them in a notebook. Why she throws out records of data, even if the exposure isn't the best, I don't know (lighter or darker exposures sometimes show you things you didn't notice in the one you thought was the "best"). And profiting off of work stuff? Kinda sketchy if you ask me.

One positive note- it's nice when people see the aesthetic beauty of their work.

Rain, rain go away

It rained as much as 10 inches in about two hours this morning here in Houston. Highways were partly closed because they were impassable. People were parked in traffic for at least 3 hours. One of the airports closed because workers couldn't get to it. The dangers aren't limited to people in their cars, either. Manhole covers float off and some people walking in the water fall through. Other people get pulled into drainage ditches. The water is filthy and has a gasoline sheen. Beware of the snakes in the water. Beware of the ALLIGATORS in the water.

And it's supposed to rain again tomorrow.

Luckily, the area I live in was mostly unaffected. And though it was not due to a tropical storm, the flooding has been compared to Tropical Storm Allison of 2001 (before my time here). In that storm, the Medical Center was heavily flooded and all of the animals in Baylor College of Medicine's basement vivarium were lost. Years of scientific research were lost. I heard stories of cadavers floating around basement morgues. Ew.

Of course, we all remember last year's Gulf Coast disaster. And after the hurricane season of Katrina and Rita ended, my friends and I vowed to be prepared next summer. No going to every grocery store in a 20 minute radius to find that all of the bottled water is gone. No going back to the grocery store at 8am sharp when the delivery trucks show up and using your grocery cart as a sheild against some little old lady who keeps yelling that she was there first. No panicking over the fact that the only flashlights left at Target were the tiny kinds you put on your key chain. No scrounging around for batteries.

Hurrican season starts June 1st. Officials say you should have all of your supplies by that day. Did I? No. It's June 19th. Am I ready? Of course not.

Only now, when faced once again with typical, terrible Houston summer weather do I realize that I really need to get off my ass and stock up on hurricane supplies.

Luckily, because of last year's Rita panic I have most things. Most of my important papers are still in plastic bins. I have tools and first aid kits. I have a huge plastic trunk to hold all of my hurricane supplies. Really, I just need the consumables like food, water, and batteries.

Pray that I leave Houston for good before I have to "hunker down".

Who knew lions liked calamari?

Every summer the Museum of Natural Science in Houston holds a party every Friday night from 6-10pm called Mixers, Elixirs, and IMAX. For the past 4 years I've had good intentions to go. Last night I actually went!

For $12 you get access to the general exhibits, a live band, appetizers from Whole Foods, a cash bar, and an IMAX movie while socializing with a myriad of nerds who spend their Friday nights at a museum. Last night the nerds were young and old and they all danced around a dinosaur skeleton to the music of an 80's cover band called Molly and the Ringwalds. The band was good and 80's music is always fun. I watched them from the mezzanine while the two girls I was with were trying to flirt with guys who looked like they were still in undergrad. The food was lame: just broken chips and dip straight out of the Whole Foods plastic containers. We got there at around 9pm so we had about an hour to play with the science exhibits and mill around before the IMAX movie at 10.

We watched Roar: Lions of the Kalahari, but I kept calling it Lions Eating Calamari. It was weird watching a documentary with other people. I watch a lot of documentaries about anything and everything, but I watch them alone at home with my no-cable TV. I don't usually have people come over to watch TV because my TV is lame. So anyway, I was getting sort of antsy. I guess I just have a better attention span when I'm at home alone.

Afterwards, we went to Katz's Deli (Katz's Never Kloses!) and I had challah french toast that was to die for. I didn't eat all of it. The tiny girls I was with both ate a lot more food than me. Bitches. Oh well, I lost 3 pounds in the past two weeks, so I'm not bitter. The weight was some that I had gained back after leaving JC, so not a big deal, but at least it's in the right direction!

Anyways, I had a pretty good time and I'll go back to Mixers, Elixirs, and IMAX. Only next time I might actually dance and have more fun, even if I go alone, instead of rolling my eyes at the boy-crazy girls I went with last night. Plus, there are other IMAX movies I'd like to see and I really need to get out more even if it is really quite nerdy.

Cult of Personality

My bestest friend Grace has a blog now! Buahahahahaah! She's joined the cult! Check it out http://graceolsen.blogspot.com/

*Drooool*

In 1994 the Ford Mustang changed its look from this

to this

and I fell in love. It was more streamlined and covety, ohhhh so covety. And I think the Mustang has just gotten better looking over the past 12 years.

Lo and behold, as of May 2006, look what is parked outside the Frayna family homestead.

Guboy, you're a lucky bastard.

Say wha? update

There was an update on the Sneeze post on the hearing test. A reader with some fancy schmancy audio software put together a range of frequencies here. For me, my limit of easily hearing the tones is 16,000 Hz. But if I turn off the TV and listen carefully, I can hear up to 21,000Hz. The tones are markedly fainter after 16,000 Hz, but 21,000 is also a noticably lower pitch (or is it tone?)

Neato.

P.S. I also hear better in my left ear than my right. And yet, I'm more comfortable talking on the phone to my right.

Didn't anybody tell him?

I was feeling kinda blue. But then I watched this.

This quote came to mind:
Dance like nobody's watching; love like you've never been hurt. Sing like nobody's listening; live like it's heaven on earth.

That may be a good way to live your life, but Uhhhh...Billy Squire...people ARE watching. For the love of god.

Say wha?

Here's a really interesting post on the Sneeze http://www.thesneeze.com/mt-archives/000529.php about high frequency sounds that are used to deter youngsters makin' a ruckus in stores.

I'd post the mp3's here if I knew how...I could probably figure it out, but I'm lazy and I should actually be asleep right now.

Anyways, I could hear a high pitched oscillating sound on #1 only if I put my ear up to the speaker. For #2, I suggest you stand back. It made me queasy and had me shaking my head for five minutes trying to get rid of the sound.