Decided to take a road trip this weekend with one of my best girls. Cleveland Rocks! Details to come. Ta!

Check out this brazen hussy totally bogarting all the seed in our backyard.

(more on my flickr page)

After sitting at a local traffic light last night, the geekboy and I got into a discussion about timers and do lights really know if your car is there or is it just dumb luck sometimes that you’ll roll up to the line and it will change and blah blah blah? I maintained that everyone talks about these fancy detectors in the road, but nobody really knows exactly how they work or if they even exist. And if there are detectors, why have I sometimes spent what felt like HOURS sitting a light in the middle of nowhere? The geekboy’s argument was basically, “Whatever, freak, it’s tiresome to argue with your know-it-all ass, look it up and you’ll see.” So I did. Turns out sensors do exist, but not every single traffic light has them. So there you go.

And Michelle Malkin is an ass.

Congratulations!

Hey Toronto peeps! Reader Nora needs your help:

I’m getting married in Toronto in August and am looking for a restaurant at which to have an after-ceremony dinner. We’re looking for something that will be fancy enough for a big day, but also someplace that will welcome kids (5 under six years old). We’d love someplace that has a private room/alcove for our group of about 15 people total. Near downtown would be nice, but not a requirement.

List your suggestions in the comments - with links to websites if possible. Thanks!

And though no one has a crystal ball, it’s not asking too much that a well-considered understanding of the circumstances and history of Iraq and the Middle East should have been brought into the decision-making process. The responsibility to provide this understanding belonged to the president’s advisers, and they failed to fulfill it. Secretary of State Colin Powell was apparently the only adviser who even tried to raise doubts about the wisdom of war. The rest of the foreign policy team seemed to be preoccupied with regime change or, in the case of Condi Rice, seemingly more interested in accommodating the president’s instincts and ideas than in questioning them or educating him.

This idea, or even these words, aren’t new to us. But what IS interesting about them? The author.

OH MY GAWD.

Just in time for Father’s Day, Sears is selling suits partly made from recycled plastic. How cool is that? [via]

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

I forgot to post this yesterday. Goodbye, Sydney Pollack.

There’s a great column in the Wall Street Journal today about the closing of Duke Gardens. Thanks to Petra (mentioned in the article) for all her hard work. (If you have a Digg account, please Digg this story.)

I just got a Pajamagram from TBS/TNT! Being a blogger sure has some fun perks.

Also, this weekend we saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Did you? What did you think?

Last night we watched Recount on HBO. It was good, but boy, did it get me riled up again. You’d think eight years passing might have lessened the sting, but it hasn’t. It’s only made it worse. Ugh. Cool trivia fact, though - the guy that wrote the screenplay is Doyle from Gilmore Girls (and Jonathan from Buffy). Anyway, apparently a lot of other people watched the movie, as evidenced by this nice little edit to Katherine Harris’ wikipedia page.

Long weekend! And now I feel like I’ve completely lost a day. I’m also taking off this Friday, so I only have three days to get all my work done. Yikes. But the weekend was fun and we got a lot accomplished, with time for drinking and eating as well. Some photos after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

The new Weezer video for “Pork & Beans” is after the jump. It’s every internet/youtube sensation rolled into one delicious package. Read the rest of this entry »

I got nothin’ this morning. How about you? It’s a holiday weekend here in the States; Monday is Memorial Day. The geekboy has a half day today, and maybe after we drop off Mattie at the animal shelter (*sob*) we can catch an early viewing of the new Indiana Jones. Tomorrow is all about yard work. Sunday we’ll probably hang with FreakMom & FreakDad for a bit, and Monday should be a nice lazy day. We’ll see. How about ya’ll?

And Doris found herself - once more - underneath the stars.

Does anyone know if there’s a brand of tonic that doesn’t contain High Fructose Corn Syrup? It’s something I’m trying to avoid. I know they make diet tonic, but I’m trying to find something that isn’t all chemical. Or just a tonic alternative? I love my G&Ts in the summer, but after a while, the thought of all that HFCS gives me the willies.

A study came out today that notes people tend to quit smoking in groups, and that quitting tends to have a ripple effect across other groups. This isn’t news to me, but it’s interesting in terms of developing new therapies to help people quit. I know that if Maggie and Jeremy hadn’t quit smoking, I probably wouldn’t have been able to, either. And then my parents quit right after I did, and the fact that we all quit at the same time really helped.

I believe this study is by the same people that told us last year that people tend to gain and lose weight in groups as well. It seems pretty obvious, doesn’t it?

Mattie got neutered last week and is doing great. I’m waiting to hear back from the shelter, as he is definitely ready for adoption. This place will be empty without him, but I’m hoping he finds a family with other animals to play with. Read the rest of this entry »

Don’t forget, I’ve got two giveaways going on this week. One is a Meerkat Manor DVD giveaway over at Too Much Free Time, and yesterday’s Comic-Con Swag giveaway is still open!

New York finally has a decent rock station. I am constantly whining about the lack of good terrestrial radio around here. Yes, WFMU, whatever, but I can only tolerate so much weirdness during a car ride. Most local stations are hip-hop, Top 40, metal or easy-listening. All stuff I generally can’t stand for more than a song or two. But our old 101.9 lite-jazz station has apparently been reborn as a rock station, and so far my fear of 24/7 Linkin Park has been unfounded. Plus, Matt Pinfield! Love him. He started out at the Melody Bar in New Brunswick. Remember? Sigh. Anyway, the station will probably be out of business within a year, but at least now I have something to listen to when my iPod is on the fritz.

Yeah, I know Comic-Con was quite a while ago, but I did promise a giveaway. So, I’m offering two prize packs — each contains a book, a cool mask, and a poster. Details after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »