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Glee: Preggers {TV Squad}
Sep 24th 2009 3:40AM They kill "Pushing Daisies" and put on a show that's a poor regurgitation of "Fame." "Glee" has already "jumped the shark" for me. What weak plots ... the obviously gay kid admits to being gay ... all the male teachers who hang around the staff lounge are talented and start a pro singing group ... the cheerleading coach gets away with absolute crap and eats human flesh ... the fluffy teacher who loves the glee club head has OCD in spades ... and there's a massage therapist who thinks she's the top of the social order and is faking a pregnancy. Who writes this nonsense? It reminds me of the wild plots on the afternoon soaps in the '70s ... with gangsters living in the police chief's basement and other ludicrous notions.
The music is excellent, but it doesn't make up for the writing.
Should travelers boycott Arizona because of gun laws? Frommer leans towards yes {Gadling}
Aug 21st 2009 4:32AM Several people have suggested moving to Canada if you want to escape the gun culture. I did just that. My father had over sixty guns and spoke of the "coming racial wars." I had my first pistol when I was 11 (illegal). I had guns drawn on me three times when I lived south of the 49th. One episode was especially frightening, when some of my students stopped a car at the corner I was crossing and pointed a 45 at me.
Very few people are killed by guns in Canada. In fact, very few people are murdered with any weapon, including bare hands. The recent gun insanity in the US will get someone killed. I'm surprised that the Secret Service hasn't had to drag some gun nut away from a town hall venue, kicking and screaming about his rights. When Dubya was prez, you couldn't even wear a critical T-shirt to one of his rallies.
I'm proud to be living in Canada where my chance of getting shot is minute, unless a Yank has sneaked a weapon across the border. And were people are respectful of the Prime Minister, even if they think he's an idiot (as I do).
Amazon Kindle DX to start shipping on June 10th {Engadget}
Jun 1st 2009 9:19PM There's a huge country to the north of you and you're neglecting it. No matter what model, a Kindle won't work in Canada. We supply your natural gas and your oil, and you can't send a crappy Kindle link over the border. Today your country made visitors from north of the 49th carry passports. Nice neighbours. Please supply the Kindle because we need to read when it's 40 below.
Share Your Mother's Day Horror Stories! {ParentDish}
May 3rd 2009 10:55PM As a post-middle-aged male, I never received Mother's Day presents, but I did give some doozies. I bought my Mom a guinea pig and was hiding it in the basement. Returning home one afternoon, I heard a ruckus in the basement. My mother was swearing (not unusual). When I went down the stairs, I saw her wielding a broom, trying to kill something that was running along the walls. I realized immediately that the guinea pig had escaped and was being pursued by Mom. I stopped the slaughter, but I did have buy her a more suitable gift.
Take my future (but short-lived) occupation into consideration. I grew up to be a biology teacher. Mom also received a 3 1/2 foot iguana for Christmas one year.
Cell phone down toilet. It happens. A lot {Gadling}
Dec 11th 2008 9:20PM Just one hour after receiving my new Blackberry from the boss it took a tumble into a urinal. Acting quickly, I fished it out, turned it off, and shook all liquid out of it. It dried overnight and works great. But the ad for the pregnancy test is wrong. It's not "the most sophisticated piece of technology you will ever pee on." My Blackberry is.
RIM makes sturdy equipment.
Don't try this at home: Electrocuted hot dogs {Slashfood}
Jul 8th 2007 1:56PM Nearly five decades ago I built a "house current" hot dog cooker in highschool electricity class. It was a required project for all students in a require d class for all males. (Females were taking more home ec classes instead.) It was a simple box with nails as the electrodes for the wienies. You put the dog into the machine as a bridge between live nails on either side, closed the box and then flipped on the current. Not too much longer and the dogs were "cooked" ... simple, effective, and probably very dangerous. I have no idea what happened to the thing ... my parents probably threw it out, along with the misformed ash trays I also made in school.
So the live current hot dog cooker is nothing new ... but still as stupid.
Cassiobury, Estate of the Day {Luxist}
Mar 1st 2007 11:58AM I've been in museums that were cozier. Someone forgot to install the velvet ropes and stanchions. The wallpaper is garish in true Victorian style. And I would need to see the kitchen and a bathroom or two before I'd plop a downpayment on to the table.
Fake hostage video gets students in hot water {ParentDish}
Feb 9th 2007 8:53PM Why is it necessary to punish silly or childish pranks? Remembering my university days, I remember all too many things we did that would draw fire now. Like holding a "guys and dolls" fake crapshoot in a stairwell, hiring an actress to be three dates for an early computer dance, or putting my VW in the dorm lobby. Add the infractions of my friends, such as the late-night mooning of all the patrons of a coffee shop or male/male hand-holding which infuriated the old dame who lived next to our frat house, and you'd wonder how any of us got degrees. Leave these poor kids alone ... after all, they released the rubber chicken unharmed (probably to be served in the cafeteria that evening).
School giving random alcohol tests to students {ParentDish}
Jan 31st 2007 12:04PM What happened to the Constitution? As a former teacher, I wonder how the teachers themselves could allow this kind of police state testing to occur under their noses. We all knew which kids (and which teachers) had drinking problems without chemical testing. And to report the student to their parents would give them little trust in the system. School systems and staff shouldn't be cops, snitches or stoolies.
Test your food trivia knowledge {Slashfood}
Dec 9th 2006 12:45PM Waring did NOT invent the blender. It was perfected by Fred Osius in Racine, Wisconsin in 1935. Bandleader Fred Waring bought marketing rights and sold the beejeezus out of it. It was popular because daiquiris were the drink of choice at that time. The blender was great for whipping strawberries, bananas or other fruits into fantastic daiquiris.
Racine was once home to Oster, Hamilton Beach, Andis, Dremel and other small appliance firms. Now only a few remain.
