Geek Love

Which Way Is Down

  I saw this sign at the library today. The one place where I'm not supposed to have to think now has instructions. FYI... I got it wrong.

Put A Lid On It

  I have a question I could use a little help with.  Its quite a puzzler, and it doesn't help that I'm not sure if I need to turn to someone in the scientific or the paranormal communities to find my answer.

  So, I figured why not post it here and see if any of you have an answer.  I can't be the only person who has had this question.

  By the way, if anyone knows how to get a hold of a prince named Oedipus please let me know. Apparently,  he had some luck with that riddle the Sphinx was having some trouble with. 

  My question is this: "How do I only have three storage containers, but I have 38 lids?"

  I seriously have an entire cabinet shelf that was nothing but lids on it. There are lids for those small sauce containers. Lids for small and medium containers.  There are even a few lids for those really big containers that you can store an entire lasagna in. I won't even go into all the different shapes of lids there are.

  At first I thought maybe I lent them to someone or I threw some out, but those trains of thought were flawed.  If I lent someone a container I obviously would have given them the lid as well. 

  The same goes for throwing them out. The only time I throw them out is when I discover them in the back of my fridge and whatever is inside looks like a science experiment gone wrong.

  I have another theory involving Container Trolls who steal all the containers they can get their hands on to use as supplies for building their cities. Although, I'm kind of stalled on that theory due to a lack of evidence or any reported sightings.

  Which means I am at a complete loss for answers.  If you can help to shed some light on this mystery I would be so grateful. My cabinet would thank you too.

Life's Little Problems

Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.

  I made this meme in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., a man who dreamt of peace and equality for all people.

My Fries Are Your Fries

Feel The Road

  Do you know what the difference between having a good adventure and memorable great adventure is?

  As horribly cliché as it sounds,  its the journey that makes a trip really memorable. Don't believe me? Then just keep on reading and see what I mean.

  This was kind of a special weekend. It marked the first overnight getaway for my girlfriend and I.

  It was the perfect chance to forget about our crazy schedules for a few days and not have to worry about our jobs. We could just relax,  swim and have fun.

  The main purpose of the trip was to go see Astronautalis preform at the House of Rock in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. However, the show didn't start to about 10 pm. And given that's a three hour drive to Eau Claire, I thought it made sense to rent a room. That way the whole trip wouldn't be just Go! Go! Go!

  So, I booked us a room at the Holiday Inn. There were a few conditions I had when searching for a room, and the Holiday Inn met them all.

  Basically,  I was looking for something that was affordable,  had a pool, a king size bed and would be able to pass a black light test.

  This trip taught me a few things. The first thing I learned is, Always ask how to use the key card to open your room door when booking your room.  That way you won't end up looking like an idiot in front of your girlfriend because you were trying to find the slot that the key card goes into and then 10 minutes later realized that you just hold the key up to the reader. Only a little embarrassing, but really funny.

  The room was nice and the bed was perfect.  I still miss how comfy it was.

  After spending a little time in the hotel,  we eventually decided to get going so we could grab some dinner. We also wanted to try to find the House of Rock,  so we could be sure we would be able to find it once it got dark. 

  We ended up eating at Mike's Storehouse BBQ. If you are ever in Eau Claire, I definitely recommend you stop in. The prices are really affordable, the food is good and you get a lot of it. Also,  once you finish your dinner if you still have time to spare,  you can catch up on all your favorite old western movies and make fun of the dialogue.

  Once our bellies were full and we realized Mike's was getting ready to close, we made our way out into the gently falling snow and set course for the House on Rock. Where once again my girlfriend would learn a little something about me.

  That little something being that I am horrible at parallel parking. Ray Charles could have probably did it quicker than me. It took about three tries and one close call with another car's bumper, but I did it. And while I rejoiced in my accomplishment, my girlfriend was quick to point out my less than stroller parking skills.  Although,  the whole time doing it with a smile.

  That's one of the things I love about our relationship.  We have this ability to playfully banter in almost any situation.

  The House of Rock turned out to be this little college bar that was divided  into two sections.  One side having tables and a dart board. The other a stage and a small dance floor.

  In addition to Astronautalis, there are two other performers, Fathom  and Dietrich the Mage or maybe it was Cedric the Although possibly... Breakneck the Mage. Who knows.  Neither of them were really memorable.  We didn't even bother to get up from our table to watch them live.  Just watched them on the monitor.

  Breakneck's voice didn't really lend itself well to the tracks he was rapping to. And Fathom must have been behind on his workout because he paced back and forth across the stage so many times,  I'm amazed he didn't wear a path into it. Also, every couple songs he would remove a piece of clothing.  I believe if he would have did two more songs,  he most likely would have been half naked. To be honest,  I think the rapping grandma from the Wedding Singer  could have taught both these performers something.

  Finally, Astronautelis came on. He is quite possibly my girlfriend's favorite artist.  Its hard to describe how deeply  and personally his music touches her, but when he took the stage and started to preform... I understood. I could see the world around her just melt away as his music and words washed over her.  She danced and sang along  and smiled.

  It was nice to see her so happy and having so much fun and being able to forget about all her stress for a little while.

  Afterwards we went up and thanked him. He was nothing but polite and took the time to talk to everyone who wanted to talk to him, have him sign things or take pictures with him.

  From there it was straight back to the hotel for a little sleep.

  The next day we went to breakfast and filled up our bellies then proceeded to break the number one rule involving water.  We went swimming less than an hour after eating. 

  We had the whole pool to ourselves which was nice. It gave us some more alone time without any little kids screaming in the background.  And next to the pool... a hot tub. Which we put to good use more than once.  Although,  going from the hot tub back to the pool was like going from Florida to Siberia.

  Sadly, our check out time eventually crept up on us. So we packed our bags and headed out. As we packed a few souvenirs might have found their way into my bag. 

  We had one stop left in our little getaway before we went home.  My girlfriend's cabin. Her family was having some work done on it and she wanted to take some pictures.

  Before we even got there,  she warned  me that we may want to park a little bit down the road if the snow was bad.  So when we came to a hill that I had trouble getting up, I was ready for a little walk.

  She took her pictures and we made our way back through the snow and ice to my truck. All that was left to do was back out down the road and we would be on our way home. It seemed simple enough.

  But remember earlier when I said its the journey that makes for a great memorable trip. Well... I was about to give us one heck of a memory.

  Backing down the road proved a little more of a challenge than I thought it would. As I backed out I would hear, "why are you all over the place" and "just feel the road" coming from the seat next to me. For some reason I kept going off the side of the road and running into bushes. My tire tracks were all over the place.  A number of times my girlfriend asked if I wanted her to back out. In retrospect I should have let her, but after the room key and parallel parking troubles I had to prove I could do this.

  It took a few tries and almost twice as many minutes but eventually I navigated us down the hill to the road.  All that was left to do was make a sharp turn as I backed out and we would be on our way home.

  I backed out. I turned the wheel.  And... Thump. We were stuck in a huge snow filled ditch. Apparently,  I didn't turn the wheel quite sharp enough. 

  Now guys, most women would probably start yelling or panicking. My girlfriend just shook her head, laughed at me then got out and started trying to guide me out. When that didn't work,  I set to digging out the tires and she went and found some 2x4s to wedge under the wheels.  Which was important since my back wheel was like a foot off the ground. 

  Another issue we had was trying not to vanish underneath the snow as we moved around.  It was pretty deep and had kind of iced over on the top layer. 

  It took a little doing but eventually she guided me to where i could get my truck back on the road and all four wheels back on the ground.

  The trip itself was so much fun,  but getting stuck in the snow definitely added to the entire experience. How do you forget getting stuck in snow that deep. I'm sure it will probably be brought up for years to come when we are driving together in the snow.

  We like to call our dates adventures,  because that's what they always seem to turn into. I can't wait to see what happens next.  All I hope is that I don't have to parallel park or back down a snowy drive way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo

  What to wear. What to wear.  I have a closet full of clothes and I can't choose an outfit to save my life.  Oh, what I wouldn't give for a fairy god mother and a little
bibbidi-bobbidi-boo right now.

  Here 's my problem. Tomorrow I leaave for the Andy Astronautalis concert and the only thing I've packed are my swim trunks and a pair of socks. Call me crazy but I think I might need just a few more things. The question is... What do I need.

  I've laid a few outfits on my bed, but nothing is grabbing me by the collar and slapping me across the face.  Which is kind of what I was counting on happening. After all,  we all know from previous posts that I'm no fashionista.

  Heck, I'm still on a epic quest to find a 'damn' pair of pants.  For those of you who don't know what that is... that's when you walk by a group of people and they all say 'damn',  because you look so good in your jeans.

  After spending a few hours trying to decide between the silk Spider-Man button up shirt or the one that looks a lot like something Charlie Sheen's character in Two and A Half Men would wear, I finally gave up and sought out some help.

  I called up a friend who told me to wear jeans and a polo shirt.  My brother recommended jeans and a tank top. My mom didn't really have any suggestions except for not to buy any  drugs from someone,  because she saw on a tv show that's what happens at concerts.

  Having exhausted friends and family for advice,  I turned toward the ultimate source in knowledge.  The internet. I figured why should I keep asking people who have never been to an Andy Astronautalis concert before what to wear when I could easily download a few pictures of people who actually have.  Then I can simply see what the people in the crowd are wearing. 

  Fast forward 10 pictures later... plaid and flannel.  That's what I saw a lot of in the pictures. I have plaid. Plaid I have, but I don't own any flannel.

  So I turned to the person I probably should have asked in the first place... my girlfriend.  And normally I would have. She is easily the most fashion conscious person I know. 

  The only reason I didn't immediately turn to her is I that I wanted her to be surprised when she saw me all dressed up and looking good. Maybe she might even think,  'My guy is so cute' or 'Dang, is he sexy '. But since I couldn't decide on an outfit, I decided I would rather look good than just show up and taking a chance of looking like a hot mess.

  Her answer: jeans and a t-shirt. Now that outfit I can easily do. Yes, I may not have the most flattering jeans but I do have a wide assortment of t-shirts to choose from. Everything from the plain colored tees to my whimsical graphic tees.

  (Looks in my closet for a few minutes.)

  Oh man. What t-shirt do I pick?

 

 

 
 

 
 
 

Welcome Back Pysch

Psych returns this Wednesday, Jan 8.

Get ready to ...

The Mystery Machine

DIY Winter Fun

  Being a person who loves Fall this is kind of hard for me to admit,  but winter does bring a few fun things to the table. 

  Snow. Pretty lights. Cuddling on cold nights. Sledding. Drinking hot chocolate as you watch the snow come down. The occasional evil snowman attack.  And of course,  an unlimited resource for making snow cones.

  Winter really only has one major drawback, and that is... There is nothing to do. Especially when the temperature is a balmy -25 degrees.

  Its not like you can just go for a walk in the park or kayaking or to the zoo or the drive-in or any the other million things there are to do in non-Arctic weather.

  In fact, when it is as cold as it is right now outside, scientists and doctors recommend you don't even go out. They say if you spend more than a minute in this type of weather, all the fluids in your body will turn to ice. And since no one wants to turn into a giant Jello Pudding Pop... you are forced to stay inside.

  Which is okay for a day or two. You spend sometime in front of the fireplace while catching up on the 40+ shows you still haven't watched on your DVR. You finally get around to all those household chores you have been putting off. You might even order a pizza or two.

  Eventually though, you are going to run out of things to do... Unless, of course, you get creative.

  So, here's a neat little do-it-yourself idea, that will help you to enjoy one of your favorite winter time activities in the comfort of your own home.

  I'm going to tell you how to build an indoor ice skating ring in just a few simple steps.

  Step One -  Clear all the furniture out of one room.

  Step Two -  Cut a long piece of plastic that is just a little bit bigger than the actual room.

  Step Three -  Lay out the plastic. If you cut your plastic right, you should have an extra two feet on each side. Tape this to the walls. Ideally, you should end up with a square or rectangle that is two feet deep.

  Step Four -  Fill your square or rectangle with water.  Then open a few windows and wait. Since its -20 degrees out, it shouldn't take more than an hour or two for the water to freeze over.

  Step Five -  Once the water has completely frozen into ice, close all the windows and enjoy.

  You now have your very own indoor ice skating ring. For those extra little touches think about running some Christmas lights in a zig-zag pattern across the ceiling and playing fun perky music.

  The ice will remain frozen for several hours before you have to worry about opening any windows again. So call up all your friends and warm up the hot chocolate, because your house is now the ultimate winter hot spot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

The 2014 Saturn

Creepy Meme Of The Week

  As a person who has a lot of fun writing and designing memes,  I can tell you that there are two important rules to creating memes.

  Number 1: Have a good original concept.  Memes are like VHS tapes. If you make a copy of a copy of a copy, eventually you end up with a garbage copy.

  Number 2: For crying out loud people,  learn some basic grammar and sentence structure. Take your time and proof read your text. Nothing can ruin a good concept quicker than bad grammar or forgetting a word.

  Take for instance the meme below from mothersquotes.com. What should have read as sweet motherly advice, actually comes off sounding like tips from a serial killer.

  I'm pretty sure the first line in that meme should read,  "Be careful who you open up to...". Instead it says,  "Be careful who you open up".

  Apparently, this meme was made by Dexter. Kinda makes you wonder what the moms at mothersqoutes.com find entertaining.

Creepy.