Cat and Cow

Failbook

2010-03-10T20:52:00.002-05:00

I do not subscribe to the Facebook phenomenon, BUT if you haven't visited failbooking.com, you are truly missing out.

14 out of 14 found this review helpful

2010-02-18T22:13:00.002-05:00

...almost as cool as this.

PS. Got the image from todaysbigthing.

No Corkscrew? No Problem!

2010-02-12T22:54:00.000-05:00

We Survived Snowpacalypse 2010!

2010-02-11T14:26:00.003-05:00

Can’t tell yet whether I prefer Snowpocalypse or Snowmageddon.

Anyway, the worst of it is over. Or so I’m told. I’m also told that there is a 30% chance of “Few Snow Showers” on Monday. Of course, if this weather report is anything like the last few, by Saturday, there will be a “90% chance of flurries” and by Sunday, “170% of wintry parfait by the crapload.”

Surprisingly, the reports were correct to suggest we “expect the worst.” I get a tingly, “Boy Who Cried Wolf” feeling every time there are reports of snow. Fact is, two inches of snow is enough to cause widespread panic around here. Mobs of people pack the supermarkets and wipeout the sausage section. Seriously, sausage is the first thing to go. Frozen pizza is second. Beer, third. Displays of water and canned goods are really only there to control the flow of traffic.

To be fair though, the drivers here are awful, so two inches of snow really should cause some panic. It doesn’t matter if there’s more than a foot of snow and that 40 mph winds drop visibility to less than 20 feet, the folks around here refuse to drive slower than 45 mph on the local roads, 60 on the highway. And if the snow is causing your pickup truck to fishtail through the Target parking lot? The only answer is to gun it. Swerve, stagger, and weave, but as long as the gas pedal is all the way down, you’ll get there eventually.

Despite growing up in Connecticut, at the top of a steep hill/mountain, I can’t say I know much about the appropriate use of salt and sand in conditions like this. But I will say, plowing a day later, after all the snow has already been packed down by drivers who really need to get to IKEA right now, and then tossing a little salt on top is not the answer. There is brown/gray slush everywhere. So now, not only isn’t it safe to drive, but we can’t walk outside without waders.

Luckily though, severe weather advisories and over-turned tractor trailers aren’t enough to stop the local pizza delivery guys. Even in life-threatening conditions, there are still a few for whom a $2 tip is a king’s ransom - thank goodness for the current economy!

Clearly have nothing to write about

2010-02-05T20:57:00.002-05:00

Don't Feel Like Posting

2010-01-18T10:45:00.001-05:00

There are things I could write about... but I don't feel like it. And I'm sure you don't want to read another post about how much I love running. So, this:

Video Slam

2010-01-03T14:03:00.002-05:00

Couldn't help sharing some of these Best of 2009 videos:

See more videos at Today's Big Thing.

Today's Word of the Day

2010-01-01T23:40:00.002-05:00

Voracious
vo⋅ra⋅cious
/vɔˈreɪʃəs, voʊ-, və-/ [vaw-rey-shuhs, voh-, vuh-]

–adjective

1.	craving or consuming large quantities of food: a voracious appetite.

2.	exceedingly eager or avid: voracious readers; a voracious collector.

Origin:
1625–35; voraci(ty) + -ous

Related forms:

vo⋅ra⋅cious⋅ly, adverb

vo⋅ra⋅cious⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. See ravenous. 2. rapacious, insatiable.

Commentary:
Technically, it's not onomatopoeic, but it kind of sounds like what it means doesn't it? Like, a velociraptor would have voraciousness, but a baby bunny would not. There's a ferociousness to it. Which is why it makes perfect sense that someone could be a voracious eater. I'm a little curious though about how someone can be a voracious reader. That doesn't sound very ferocious. Can someone be a voracious knitter? I suppose if he/she were eager or avid enough. I'll tell you right now, I would not want to meet a voracious knitter.

(definition copied from dictionary.com)

How do you know you're a runner?

2010-01-01T10:59:00.002-05:00

I mean, a runner. Like, part of the running community. All dedicated and whatnot.

You run four miles on New Year's Eve, at night, in a cold rain, with 1,500 other lunatics.

Karate Kid Trailer

2009-12-28T22:35:00.000-05:00

See more funny videos and Entertainment Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Where's the Old Man?

2009-12-15T19:32:00.002-05:00

Driving South in December

2009-12-13T21:36:00.003-05:00

Driving south along the Eastern seaboard as I type this. It's not quite wintertime, but all the leaves have fallen and there all these naked trees along the roadside. And each one is surrounded in fog. And within the fog bounces around the highway lights. The clinical, almost impossibly white street lights.

I am totally mesmerized. ...Which probably speaks to the fact that I had a few glasses of wine five hours ago. But anyway, I keep staring at these skeletons clawing upward, and I can't help but feel some strange sense of humanity.

Is that weird?

Surprise Kitty

2009-11-30T20:45:00.001-05:00

I know I said I was going to spend more time writing, and less time posting stuff from other websites, but I thought I'd post this one from CollegeHumor.com.

Pushing Through

2009-11-29T20:28:00.003-05:00

We've been running a lot lately. I'm really enjoying it. I don't know what it is about this "sport" I used to hate that recently turns me on so much, but I really look forward to the next time I can go out for a few miles.

As such, I've been spending quite a bit of time on Runner's World's website. And while I do read the sneaker reviews, the editors' blogs, and the various articles on nutrition, I spend a lot of time reading about injury treatment and injury prevention. I'm 30 years old now. My body isn't quite resilient as it used to be.

After our half marathon, our knees ached for days; Onaona's more than mine. I'm not gloating. It was only two weeks before that I had to stop our workout early, because it felt like my kneecap was about to explode. And that brings me to my point.

Runner's World (and every medical website I visited) explained that our pain was common to runners (hence the name, Runner's Knee), and that the best thing to do was to let it rest for a week or two.

"Two weeks?! We're training for a half marathon. I'm giving my knee two days, tops!"

And I think that was the right thing to do.

Now, I'm not suggesting that we should ignore the things our body tells us. When something hurts, it hurts for a reason. I am however saying, a little pain teaches us to do things better. I've learned to run more softly. To take corners a little easier. Instead of using long, extended strides, I'm using shorter, quicker strides.

It was easy to learn to do these things too. In fact, it was really easy. Because it hurt every time I tried to go back to the way I had been running. I had a little reminder in the shape of a sharp, stabbing pain every time I took a corner too fast, or strode too far. (Strode is a funny word.)

So, I just wanted to make the point. A lot of pain is too much. Stop what you're doing, and figure it out. A little pain though, can be just the right motivator. It can teach us to be a little more efficient. If with every little twinge we stop for two weeks, we'll never get anywhere. And in the end, we'll probably only have to stop again, because we never learned what was wrong in the first place.

So, uhhh...

2009-11-21T00:46:00.003-05:00

So, obviously it's been a while since I've posted anything. The thing is, I have pictures and videos that I could post, but to be perfectly frank, I'm kind of tired of posting other people's stuff, you know?

I've been feeling kind of pathetic that I can't seem to come up with anything original anymore.

I seek and search for the natural stories that come up in daily life, and everyday realize I just don't have those stories anymore. I don't have a life.

Okay, that's not true. Maybe I'm just not appreciating life's events the way I have in the past.

So anyway, I'm not going to stop posting other people's pictures and videos. But just so you know, the blog is going to be rededicated to original material. Thoughts. Dumb and clever.

And so the transition for you is an easy one, here's something I found one night on the interwebs:

A Feeling of (Someone Else's) Nostalgia

2009-10-01T20:54:00.002-04:00

I don't know, but I thought this website was kind of cool. The reason "I don't know" is because the site isn't particularly crazy. It's not particularly interesting. Or particularly anything. The pictures are a kind of themeless hodge podge. But you can tell each one of them is important to someone.

Anyway, the pictures below are from My Parents Were Awesome.

Or maybe I've just been watching too much Mad Men.

Magic Trick

2009-09-28T22:06:00.002-04:00

To be honest, I sort of hate these magic tricks, because there's no slight of hand or misdirection. But hey, it's still fun.

Yahoo! Video

Master of All Viral Videos

2009-09-28T22:03:00.002-04:00

Actually, no, I haven't seen all of the videos included in this compilation, but I've seen a darned good few of them and it was nice to see them again.

All the Single Babies

2009-09-23T08:12:00.002-04:00

Caught this one on Today's Big Thing:

Another Message Brought to You By...

2009-09-20T20:30:00.004-04:00

Got this one from http://kanyegate.tumblr.com/

Be Healed!

2009-09-14T21:36:00.002-04:00

Another lolcat from icanhascheezburger.com:

Facebook Mom

2009-09-09T23:24:00.007-04:00

When I was in high school, I answered the phone one time to a girl saying, "Hi Daddy!" To which I replied, "Ummm, I think you have the wrong number." To which she said, "Daddy, stop, can I speak to Mom?" And that's when I hung up. I felt bad, but I figured it would probably ease her embarrassment if we just ended the conversation sooner than later.

Anyway, I thought of that story tonight while I was on College Humor. These images had been posted (click to enlarge):

A Classic, Revisited

2009-09-06T14:00:00.002-04:00

The Effect of the Fairer Sex on a Young Boy

2009-09-06T13:58:00.000-04:00

What it Feels Like to be Big Bird

2009-08-30T23:26:00.002-04:00

Something I found at HowStuffWorks.com: