Sweet Catastrophe

You guys may remember the New Radicals for their hit back in ‘99, “You Get What You Give.” I remember getting that cd for Christmas that year, and the lyrics for the title track totally struck me. The outcry against corporate Western society there just isn’t something you see so strongly in a cd booklet these days! Now, the lyrics printed in the booklet and the lyrics actually sung are completely different. The actual song lyrics pretty much come off as random, unintelligible words. The last two lines in the cd booklet for the lyrics led fans to believe the original track was cut from the album. I’m pretty sure they’re probably right.

The language is definitely not PG so. For those inclined to read it, it’s hiding back here.

This is for Jamey!

These are all from various places around the web and my own memory, so forgive me if some of these look like they require credit—

· Chuck Norris does not wear a condom. Because there is no such thing as protection from Chuck Norris.
· When the boogeyman goes to sleep, he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.
· Chuck Norris is the reason why Waldo is hiding.
· Chuck Norris has counted to infinity. Twice.
· Guns don’t kill people. Chuck Norris kills People.
· There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of animals Chuck Norris allows to live.
· Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.

The rest are under here.

I just saw that headline and now the song is stuck in my head! We play this song at work all the time so I’m sure I’ll be changing the lyrics and itching to blog while I’m at work!

Anyway, this came from the discussion of the new site, Fechr.com (pronounced “feature”). Every day, one site will be featured on the main page for a full 24 hours, for a nice traffic boost. They currently enjoy 100+ visitors a day and are steadily growing.

How can you get in on the fun? Currently it’s totally free, and all you have to do is write up a quick post about the site and what it’s all about, and how others can join in (kinda like I’m doing right now ) And submit your post and that’s it! Of course it’s first come, first served at the moment, but even if it takes a while to be featured, you’ll have a link in their buzz directory!

So whatcha waitin’ for?!

Ripper would be my iPod. Cleverly named after Giles’ nickname (from Buffy the Vampire slayer…my cat’s name also comes from there ) and ‘ripping’ songs off cds to put on my iPod.

Anyhow, I’ve had Ripper since 2005. Last year, a problem developed–it’d be in the middle of playing a song; the song would suddenly stop, and the screen would say “no card inserted.” When I back out to the menu, it was in photo import! Guess what–my iPod is not a photo iPod; it’s not even color!

Well, it got to where it was happening quite often, and generally when it’d start happening, it’d happen frequently–every few songs. I couldn’t figure out what the deal was as it was never the same situation (after so many songs, or certain songs, etc) and it started skipping over songs as if the files were missing.

I bought the Best Buy warranty when I got my iPod so I decided to take it in. I may have this out of order, but when it was returned, it had a new processor, but I think this was the time it came back to me as an iBrick–meaning it wouldn’t do anything. Well, I take that back, I think it worked for a few days before I got the dreaded sad iPod screen.

My heart seriously sank. When you get this screen, it means the end. There are two ‘fixes’ you can attempt, but if neither works, enjoy your iBrick! Thank God for that warranty, eh? So back it went since it was obviously not fixed properly, and this time it came back with a new harddrive, but when I got it home, it wouldn’t sync with iTunes. My computer recognized there was a device, but iTunes didn’t recognize its existence. Well, that doesn’t do me any good, so off again!

Finally my Ripper came back to me with another new harddrive and a new LCD screen–I’m guessing they damaged my old one during the repairs ’cause it was perfectly fine. Overall, the ‘invoices’ for the repairs showed parts that, if I had paid for them all, would’ve totaled more than I paid for the iPod in the first place.

It’s now been less than a year since I took it in. I believe this all started in September last year. A few months back it started doing the photo import deal again, and one day when I turned it on I got the image of a folder with and exclamation point, telling me to go to apple.com/support. Luckily, a soft reset cleared that, but the photo import thing has become a daily annoyance. It always seems to do it when I find a song I really wanna listen to…

My Best Buy warranty expires in January, so I decided to go ahead and take it in, as there’s obviously a problem. The thing is, being my 4th time sending it off, supposedly there’s a good chance I’ll be getting a brand new iPod. Of course, it all depends on the technicalities, and they may not deem this to be truly the 4th time since the second two times the iPod hadn’t been properly fixed in the first place, but I really hope they send me a new one. I can’t afford to buy a new iPod this time next year when this one starts having the same problem all over again, ya know? And I certainly can’t do without my iPod. I know that’s really materialistic, but I listen to SO much music…I don’t even own half my original cd collection anymore! I’ve given a lot of cds away because I’ve got them ripped and on my iPod…or I’ve bought them online!

It’d also be really nice, considering I’d be getting an upgrade.

This is my iPod. It’s the 20gb, U2 Special Edition. I love black and red, which is why I got it. I’m honestly not a huge U2 fan, I just really didn’t want a white iPod, and at the time, you didn’t have all these iPod covers and such. See, they stopped making these, but they have a newer one. It’s a 30gb color, video/photo U2 Special Edition, and if they send me a new iPod, supposedly that’s what I’ll be receiving, as they no longer carry the old ones. Now, I’m not dying for an upgrade. I wouldn’t really use the video or photo aspect very much, but I certainly won’t deny a 10gb upgrade would be really nice. I’m pushing the max on my 20 gigs as it is! I wouldn’t mind being able to throw a movie or two on there for long breaks between classes either. It certainly wouldn’t hurt my feelings!

So here’s hoping I have a new iPod in the coming days!!

Oscar the Cat awakens from his nap, opening a single eye to survey his kingdom. From atop the desk in the doctor’s charting area, the cat peers down the two wings of the nursing home’s advanced dementia unit. All quiet on the western and eastern fronts. Slowly, he rises and extravagantly stretches his 2-year-old frame, first backward and then forward. He sits up and considers his next move.

In the distance, a resident approaches. It is Mrs. P., who has been living on the dementia unit’s third floor for 3 years now. She has long forgotten her family, even though they visit her almost daily. Moderately disheveled after eating her lunch, half of which she now wears on her shirt, Mrs. P. is taking one of her many aimless strolls to nowhere. She glides toward Oscar, pushing her walker and muttering to herself with complete disregard for her surroundings. Perturbed, Oscar watches her carefully and, as she walks by, lets out a gentle hiss, a rattlesnake-like warning that says “leave me alone.” She passes him without a glance and continues down the hallway. Oscar is relieved. It is not yet Mrs. P.’s time, and he wants nothing to do with her.

Oscar jumps down off the desk, relieved to be once more alone and in control of his domain. He takes a few moments to drink from his water bowl and grab a quick bite. Satisfied, he enjoys another stretch and sets out on his rounds. Oscar decides to head down the west wing first, along the way sidestepping Mr. S., who is slumped over on a couch in the hallway. With lips slightly pursed, he snores peacefully — perhaps blissfully unaware of where he is now living. Oscar continues down the hallway until he reaches its end and Room 310. The door is closed, so Oscar sits and waits. He has important business here.

Twenty-five minutes later, the door finally opens, and out walks a nurse’s aide carrying dirty linens. “Hello, Oscar,” she says. “Are you going inside?” Oscar lets her pass, then makes his way into the room, where there are two people. Lying in a corner bed and facing the wall, Mrs. T. is asleep in a fetal position. Her body is thin and wasted from the breast cancer that has been eating away at her organs. She is mildly jaundiced and has not spoken in several days. Sitting next to her is her daughter, who glances up from her novel to warmly greet the visitor. “Hello, Oscar. How are you today?”

Oscar takes no notice of the woman and leaps up onto the bed. He surveys Mrs. T. She is clearly in the terminal phase of illness, and her breathing is labored. Oscar’s examination is interrupted by a nurse, who walks in to ask the daughter whether Mrs. T. is uncomfortable and needs more morphine. The daughter shakes her head, and the nurse retreats. Oscar returns to his work. He sniffs the air, gives Mrs. T. one final look, then jumps off the bed and quickly leaves the room. Not today.

Making his way back up the hallway, Oscar arrives at Room 313. The door is open, and he proceeds inside. Mrs. K. is resting peacefully in her bed, her breathing steady but shallow. She is surrounded by photographs of her grandchildren and one from her wedding day. Despite these keepsakes, she is alone. Oscar jumps onto her bed and again sniffs the air. He pauses to consider the situation, and then turns around twice before curling up beside Mrs. K.

One hour passes. Oscar waits. A nurse walks into the room to check on her patient. She pauses to note Oscar’s presence. Concerned, she hurriedly leaves the room and returns to her desk. She grabs Mrs. K.’s chart off the medical-records rack and begins to make phone calls.

Within a half hour the family starts to arrive. Chairs are brought into the room, where the relatives begin their vigil. The priest is called to deliver last rites. And still, Oscar has not budged, instead purring and gently nuzzling Mrs. K. A young grandson asks his mother, “What is the cat doing here?” The mother, fighting back tears, tells him, “He is here to help Grandma get to heaven.” Thirty minutes later, Mrs. K. takes her last earthly breath. With this, Oscar sits up, looks around, then departs the room so quietly that the grieving family barely notices.

On his way back to the charting area, Oscar passes a plaque mounted on the wall. On it is engraved a commendation from a local hospice agency: “For his compassionate hospice care, this plaque is awarded to Oscar the Cat.” Oscar takes a quick drink of water and returns to his desk to curl up for a long rest. His day’s work is done. There will be no more deaths today, not in Room 310 or in any other room for that matter. After all, no one dies on the third floor unless Oscar pays a visit and stays awhile.

Note: Since he was adopted by staff members as a kitten, Oscar the Cat has had an uncanny ability to predict when residents are about to die. Thus far, he has presided over the deaths of more than 25 residents on the third floor of Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island. His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, allowing staff members to adequately notify families. Oscar has also provided companionship to those who would otherwise have died alone. For his work, he is highly regarded by the physicians and staff at Steere House and by the families of the residents whom he serves.

Original Article

This fascinates me to no end! I’ve seen a lot of people remark at how creepy it is, or scary, etc, but I think it’s nothing short of amazing. After all, we’ve heard plenty behind the case of dogs being able to sniff out cancer and animals can always sense when something’s wrong; so it just doesn’t seem like such a stretch for me to see. As far as being creepy, I think it’s absolutely endearing. I suppose a lot of the talk about it has sort of taken the route of making it sound as if the cat is choosing who’s next, such as in this lolcat pic (which I think is hilarious) from icanhascheezburger from yesterday:

I feel more that the cat senses it and chooses to be there with the person during their final moments. It’s comforting. I teared up a little when I read the part in the above article when the parent told the child Oscar was there to help Grandma get to Heaven.

So here’s to Oscar–a spectacular creature =)

Ya know, I’m not a huge fan of Bill Cosby, and most of the time, I cringe when the Cosby Show comes on, but last night, I watched an episode while waiting for something else to come on, and all the wholesome junk aside, that’s true comedy. There were constantly all these great interactions going on that would crack you up, without any of the actors speaking. For instance, there was a scene where Claire and Cliff are talking about something, no comedy at all in what they were saying, but Cliff had a large hoagie cut in half and they kept going back and forth with Claire trying to take the sandwich, and even went so far as Cliff getting up to get them sodas and shaking up Claire’s. All the while, their conversation continued, and neither of them referred to what was going on with the sandwich, or the sodas.

Maybe it’s just me, but I can really appreciate that kind of humor. I wish there was more of that these days. Now, all we have is spoken humor, with the occasional physical humor (generally based on someone doesn’t something humiliating, like falling or something…) What’s so hard about that?

I’m annoyed with myself because last night, lying in bed, I thought of two really great topics to write about…I need to start keeping a pad and pen in the night stand ’cause now I can’t think of what they were!

I also want to start asking for opinions on a chosen topic every week, but there are questions I genuinely want input on, and my reader base isn’t very large…I suppose I could throw in a link on the forum, but then I’d feel like I was just posting to get people to click my link…do you think it would look that way?

I’ve also got a few drafts I’d really like to sink my teeth into. Oh if only my fingers could keep up with my brain!

Here’s hoping that my future will find me in my ideal situation…it’d be very conducive to blogging!

Keri and I just made this amazingly awesome cake that actually compelled the boys to stop Halo long enough to eat some…then they continued Halo, eating cake during respawn times lol

Anyhow, here’s the recipe we used:

Chocolate Caramel Poke Cake recipe

1 (18.25 ounce) box chocolate or chocolate fudge cake mix
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (16 ounce) jar Mrs. Richardson’s butterscotch/caramel topping
1 (12 ounce) container Cool Whip
4 Heath bars, broken into small pieces

Bake cake per package directions using a 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Let cake cool for 5 to 10 minutes after removing from oven.

Punch many holes in top of cake, using the end of a wooden spoon or other kitchen utensil to get 1/2-inch diameter holes.

Pour entire can of sweetened condensed milk over holes in top of cake. Let cool for 5to 10 more minutes.

Pour butterscotch/caramel topping over top and spread it. Let cake cool completely.

When cake is cool, spread Cool Whip over top of cake. Sprinkle Heath bar pieces over Cool Whip. Chill until serving time.

Only difference, we used chocolate icing instead of Cool Whip and we decided against sprinkling Heath bars on top. We figured we didn’t need ‘em.

It’s really messy, but it’s pretty much the yummiest cake I’ve had in a really long time…the sweetened condensed milk and the melted caramel really soak into the rest of the cake a lot better than I expected! One suggestion, when you poke your holes, make sure you aren’t poking all the way to the bottom of the pan ’cause some of your yumminess will leak out

It’s almost 4am. We went to the dollar movies early tonight to watch Fantastic 4…it was pretty lame. I wasn’t expecting much, but I was expecting it to be a little more exciting with the Silver Surfer, but whatever…

Popcorn and Sugar Babies were yummy. I honestly didn’t eat that much, but now I’m sitting here, waiting for the Dramamine to kick in. My face is burning (no fever, just that internal sick-warmth) and I’m trying very hard to concentrate on not vomiting. I know I blog way too much about being sickly, but hey, it’s my blog, if I want to whine, I’m pretty sure I’m paying to do so Besides, what else am I supposed to do at 4 am while I’m waiting for the pukey feeling to pass?

Logically I’d say I just ate too much junk, or it could easily be that I didn’t cook my chicken quite well enough, but something tells me it was the popcorn butter…either way, bleh =(

All I have here is Dramamine and Pepto. Catie gave me some Phenigren, and I’d love to take that, but I’m not positive which pill it is. Can’t remember. Last time I took Pepto, it pushed me over the edge rather than preventing the upchuck factor, so now I pretty much don’t take Pepto. So Dramamine it is. It needs to kick in soon. I’m le tired.

What do you guys do when you have an overly upset tummy? What meds do you take? What do you do to keep your mind off it till it passes?

This guy sorta blows me away….