Thursday, January 13, 2005
Where's my Johnny Depp fans?
OK, here's an oddity I came across today:
Magzine supposedly signed by Johnny Depp going off at a seriously ridiculous low price
This is a charity auction. Or at least, the group is registered as a charity with eBay's MissionFish site. I don't know what is required of a group to be allowed to join that set-up. I mean, they COULD be an odd but real charity. When you click through to their About Me page, they say that all the items they have were sent to the various celebrities' agents for signing, and so while they trustingly believe the autographs are authentic, they can't swear for sure....
I honestly don't quite know what to think. If it's a scam, they are ludicrously bad at it. Look at the View Seller's Other Items link and you will see a string of pointless, useless auction titles. These items are also in completely wrong categories for what they are. So...is this a not-too-S-M-A-R-T person who honestly wants to do charity fundraising, or someone posing as a moron in order to suck people in?
Oh, and check out the Tee shirt signed by 53 celebrities
So what did they do, mail the shirt to 53 agents? Or did a few agents nicely run the shirt around to multiple clients?
I really don't know....
Magzine supposedly signed by Johnny Depp going off at a seriously ridiculous low price
This is a charity auction. Or at least, the group is registered as a charity with eBay's MissionFish site. I don't know what is required of a group to be allowed to join that set-up. I mean, they COULD be an odd but real charity. When you click through to their About Me page, they say that all the items they have were sent to the various celebrities' agents for signing, and so while they trustingly believe the autographs are authentic, they can't swear for sure....
I honestly don't quite know what to think. If it's a scam, they are ludicrously bad at it. Look at the View Seller's Other Items link and you will see a string of pointless, useless auction titles. These items are also in completely wrong categories for what they are. So...is this a not-too-S-M-A-R-T person who honestly wants to do charity fundraising, or someone posing as a moron in order to suck people in?
Oh, and check out the Tee shirt signed by 53 celebrities
So what did they do, mail the shirt to 53 agents? Or did a few agents nicely run the shirt around to multiple clients?
I really don't know....
Friday, January 07, 2005
Most boring week ever!
Man, when the most post-worthy thing that happens all week is that you step in a stupid hole, THAT'S a boring week!
At least I am now getting caught up with sending out all those things people were nice enough to bid on and buy from me. I have five packages to mail tomorrow and I will be up to speed!
I have a thingie I was going to share with my readers. I'm recommending this seller of printer ink just for YOUR benefit--I get no freebies or bonuses whatsoever. They sell generic cartridges, which I know can cause trouble in some machines. My Canon S750 takes 'em just fine, and although once in a great while I get a leaky one, for UNDER $4 each, I feel like I can deal, considering they are almost $20 each at the Wal-mart!
They are having a special through Monday--FREE SHIPPING! Check it out!
****
Now through 1/10/2005, we are offering free regular shipping on all orders over $30.00 shipped to the lower 48 states and a shipping credit of $4.95 on all other orders over $30.00 shipped elsewhere.
To get the above discount, enter "FREE" in the "Redeem Coupon" field which you will find below your total sale amount (before you checkout/Process your order).
Remember to click on the "redeem coupon" button after entering the code.
WEBSITE: http://www.gotink4u.com
At least I am now getting caught up with sending out all those things people were nice enough to bid on and buy from me. I have five packages to mail tomorrow and I will be up to speed!
I have a thingie I was going to share with my readers. I'm recommending this seller of printer ink just for YOUR benefit--I get no freebies or bonuses whatsoever. They sell generic cartridges, which I know can cause trouble in some machines. My Canon S750 takes 'em just fine, and although once in a great while I get a leaky one, for UNDER $4 each, I feel like I can deal, considering they are almost $20 each at the Wal-mart!
They are having a special through Monday--FREE SHIPPING! Check it out!
****
Now through 1/10/2005, we are offering free regular shipping on all orders over $30.00 shipped to the lower 48 states and a shipping credit of $4.95 on all other orders over $30.00 shipped elsewhere.
To get the above discount, enter "FREE" in the "Redeem Coupon" field which you will find below your total sale amount (before you checkout/Process your order).
Remember to click on the "redeem coupon" button after entering the code.
WEBSITE: http://www.gotink4u.com
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
The Adventures of the Incredible Human Snowplow!
Today has been one of those utterly dumb and stupid days where every other thing that happens goes wrong. A drop stuff, spill stuff, trip over stuff, dogs and cats fighting, cold and snowy, forget to take your meds kind of day. The mean sneaky kind of day where none of the annoying stuff that happens, though there is way way way too much of it, is REALLY bad, so you feel guilty for complaining. I mean, no one is dead, the house is still standing, I didn't even do anything wrong that cost me any money. So what the hey.
The best example of the kind of day it was is what happened when I went out to one of the sheds in search of boxes for packing up the sold eBay stuff. Being as it was this kind of a day, none of the ones already in the house matched anything I was trying to send....
So I went outside on my quest. I guess my mind was occupied with thinking, "Moron! Why didn't you put on your coat???" Because I totally forgot about the little hole in the yard between the house and the shed, where I had thought about planting something last year and changed my mind. It's not so big, as holes go, about a shovel's worth deep and wide. I am very familiar with the location of the hole, because every time I pass it I think, "Man, I should fill that in."
Apparently the snow had the exact same thought, except IT acted on it, being a force of nature and all. So now it was a white, invisible hole. A stealth hole, laying in wait for some unwary fool busy having a bad day.
I am sure by now YOU are way ahead of me. Yes, my foot went exactly and perfectly into the hole at the precise velocity and angle that would make me not just FALL, but actually hurl myself earthward.
Which was NOT the worst thing that could have happened, yeah. I didn't break my ankle or even sprain it. I landed flat on my frontage, which provided ample cushioning. Due to the hard-wiring of old training, I didn't try to catch myself with my hands, so I didn't break or sprain my wrists either. They got plenty snowy as I skidded along a few inches, and I did say some of The Bad Words, but no young tender ears were there to hear me, so no harm there either.
The only lingering effect is muscle pain. Not severe enough to make me feel justified in COMPLAINING or anything, oh nooooo. What seems to have happened is that I gave myself the full equivalent of an intense visit to the chiropractor in, oh, 2/3s of a second. So I am possibly 1/4" taller tonight than I was this morning, but all the muscles along both sides of my spine from the base of the skull down to the middle of my back think I SUCK.
But no worries, I know what is needed in cases like this. So topically I have had several hits of my homemade super-duper wintergreen oil alcohol rub applied by my darling clone, and also a good long soak in a really hot bath with half a jar of smooshed ginger root in it. Internally I am ingesting aspirin in appropriately timed doses and the muscle relaxant of the gods, vodka in blue cream soda.
I personally think I am very primed to win something good in this evening's lotto drawing. But hey, at least tomorrow pretty much HAS to be a better day!
The best example of the kind of day it was is what happened when I went out to one of the sheds in search of boxes for packing up the sold eBay stuff. Being as it was this kind of a day, none of the ones already in the house matched anything I was trying to send....
So I went outside on my quest. I guess my mind was occupied with thinking, "Moron! Why didn't you put on your coat???" Because I totally forgot about the little hole in the yard between the house and the shed, where I had thought about planting something last year and changed my mind. It's not so big, as holes go, about a shovel's worth deep and wide. I am very familiar with the location of the hole, because every time I pass it I think, "Man, I should fill that in."
Apparently the snow had the exact same thought, except IT acted on it, being a force of nature and all. So now it was a white, invisible hole. A stealth hole, laying in wait for some unwary fool busy having a bad day.
I am sure by now YOU are way ahead of me. Yes, my foot went exactly and perfectly into the hole at the precise velocity and angle that would make me not just FALL, but actually hurl myself earthward.
Which was NOT the worst thing that could have happened, yeah. I didn't break my ankle or even sprain it. I landed flat on my frontage, which provided ample cushioning. Due to the hard-wiring of old training, I didn't try to catch myself with my hands, so I didn't break or sprain my wrists either. They got plenty snowy as I skidded along a few inches, and I did say some of The Bad Words, but no young tender ears were there to hear me, so no harm there either.
The only lingering effect is muscle pain. Not severe enough to make me feel justified in COMPLAINING or anything, oh nooooo. What seems to have happened is that I gave myself the full equivalent of an intense visit to the chiropractor in, oh, 2/3s of a second. So I am possibly 1/4" taller tonight than I was this morning, but all the muscles along both sides of my spine from the base of the skull down to the middle of my back think I SUCK.
But no worries, I know what is needed in cases like this. So topically I have had several hits of my homemade super-duper wintergreen oil alcohol rub applied by my darling clone, and also a good long soak in a really hot bath with half a jar of smooshed ginger root in it. Internally I am ingesting aspirin in appropriately timed doses and the muscle relaxant of the gods, vodka in blue cream soda.
I personally think I am very primed to win something good in this evening's lotto drawing. But hey, at least tomorrow pretty much HAS to be a better day!
Saturday, January 01, 2005
Hot and sour soup by request
Many years ago, our gold standard for all things Chinese and exquisitely edible was the offerings at Little Shanghai on Broadway in Denver. (And the last time I ate there, after our boy Ken and his Melissa's wedding, the bar was still set high.)
That was one of the things I tragically missed when I moved to Lamar in 1980. We were very very happy the day we acquired the Little Shanghai recipe for Hot and Sour Soup, I think via the Denver Junior League cookbook. BUT down here in Lamar it was pretty much impossible to acquire some of the traditional ingredients, like wood ears. So I experimented around and found a way to make a darned good version out of more easily obtained ingredients. Feel free to adapt it to YOUR area, corner of the space-time continuum and/or culture.
You will need cooked pork slivers, and this takes the longest, so slice up your pork into long but bite-sized strips and start them to frying.
Pour 1 1/2 quarts of chicken broth into a nice big soup pot and start it heating. Slice up tofu in rectangles similar to the size of the pork bits and drop them in. Have the bamboo shoots join them for company, and when the pork is cooked through, add that as well.
The seasoning to make the soup hot and sour and delicious includes sesame oil, vinegar, soy sauce and hot chili oil. Rice vinegar is the best. You should add at least a cup of this, and up to 1/2 cup of soy sauce. For the oils, about a tablespoon of sesame and maybe half a teaspoon of the hot oil. (Have you guessed yet that I am not a measuring type of cook?) Just keep tasting the broth until it seems right to you. I actually like MORE of the vinegar and soy sauce than I suggest above, but I usually just make a moderate dish and add extra stuff as needed to my own bowl later. Keep heating the broth.
Slice up the mushrooms, green onions and cucumbers and set aside. It is always pleasant to have help on this step if there is room in the kitchen.
Get two separate cereal size bowls. In one, mix about 3 tablespoons of cornstarch into enough cold water to make a slurry. In the other, whip up your 3 eggs until they are well mixed.
When the broth boils, stir in your cornstarch. Stir as you pour and keep stirring until it is thoroughly mixed so you don't get lumps. Turn down the heat to medium. It will take about 2 minutes for the cornstarch to do its thing and give the soup its characteristic creamy consistency. While you are waiting for this to happen, you can whip in the eggs. Pour in a thin stream and stir briskly as you do it. This gives you those little wispy clouds of egg throughout.
After the two minutes are up, turn off the heat. Now you stir in your green onions, mushrooms, cucumbers and shrimp. These will cook just enough from the heat of the boiling soup as the whole yummy mass sits for five minutes.
Shopping list for serving four to saiety and a LOT of leftovers:
1 pound lean pork
1 1/2 qt chicken broth
1 package tofu (10-12 oz)
1 small can bamboo shoots
1 pound (approx) mushrooms
6-8 green onions
1 cucumber
Sesame oil
Hot chili oil
Rice vinegar
Soy sauce
Cornstarch
3 eggs
8-12 oz shrimp
That was one of the things I tragically missed when I moved to Lamar in 1980. We were very very happy the day we acquired the Little Shanghai recipe for Hot and Sour Soup, I think via the Denver Junior League cookbook. BUT down here in Lamar it was pretty much impossible to acquire some of the traditional ingredients, like wood ears. So I experimented around and found a way to make a darned good version out of more easily obtained ingredients. Feel free to adapt it to YOUR area, corner of the space-time continuum and/or culture.
You will need cooked pork slivers, and this takes the longest, so slice up your pork into long but bite-sized strips and start them to frying.
Pour 1 1/2 quarts of chicken broth into a nice big soup pot and start it heating. Slice up tofu in rectangles similar to the size of the pork bits and drop them in. Have the bamboo shoots join them for company, and when the pork is cooked through, add that as well.
The seasoning to make the soup hot and sour and delicious includes sesame oil, vinegar, soy sauce and hot chili oil. Rice vinegar is the best. You should add at least a cup of this, and up to 1/2 cup of soy sauce. For the oils, about a tablespoon of sesame and maybe half a teaspoon of the hot oil. (Have you guessed yet that I am not a measuring type of cook?) Just keep tasting the broth until it seems right to you. I actually like MORE of the vinegar and soy sauce than I suggest above, but I usually just make a moderate dish and add extra stuff as needed to my own bowl later. Keep heating the broth.
Slice up the mushrooms, green onions and cucumbers and set aside. It is always pleasant to have help on this step if there is room in the kitchen.
Get two separate cereal size bowls. In one, mix about 3 tablespoons of cornstarch into enough cold water to make a slurry. In the other, whip up your 3 eggs until they are well mixed.
When the broth boils, stir in your cornstarch. Stir as you pour and keep stirring until it is thoroughly mixed so you don't get lumps. Turn down the heat to medium. It will take about 2 minutes for the cornstarch to do its thing and give the soup its characteristic creamy consistency. While you are waiting for this to happen, you can whip in the eggs. Pour in a thin stream and stir briskly as you do it. This gives you those little wispy clouds of egg throughout.
After the two minutes are up, turn off the heat. Now you stir in your green onions, mushrooms, cucumbers and shrimp. These will cook just enough from the heat of the boiling soup as the whole yummy mass sits for five minutes.
Shopping list for serving four to saiety and a LOT of leftovers:
1 pound lean pork
1 1/2 qt chicken broth
1 package tofu (10-12 oz)
1 small can bamboo shoots
1 pound (approx) mushrooms
6-8 green onions
1 cucumber
Sesame oil
Hot chili oil
Rice vinegar
Soy sauce
Cornstarch
3 eggs
8-12 oz shrimp
Staggering but cheerful
We are all rather dozy here at the House of Unruly Fish today. Mike has barely moved from his TV chair, and the clone and I are mostly sitting in front of our respective computers, occasionally getting up to wander around for the cure of some minor need (goodies, eye drops) before returning to our home base.
There are tasks awaiting which we planned to do today, but that's one of the good things about tasks. Mostly, they are patient waiters.
I feel like I've finished a race or some similar grueling contest. The holidays were fun; I'm glad we did the things we did, but I am also glad they are done and we can get on to the next thing, whatever that might be.
Didn't do anything especially wild yesterday for the New Year celebration. We volunteered to bring dinner and snacks to the kids' house, and like typical grandmas, we came away from the store afraid we didn't have enough. Of course when it was all cooked we turned out to have made enough for three times as many people. The menu included my famous homemade hot and sour soup (Dear Nigel had a cold), potstickers, BBQ chicken wings, pizza rolls, chips and pretzels and dip, some beautiful little chocolates shaped like seashells which had been in the Christmas markdown aisle, and jello shooters, plain for the kids, high octane for the grownups. I think I made those later ones wrong, and will be forced to look up a better recipe some year.
We played Full Contact Uno again, and then a game about Disney movies which includes visual questions on a DVD. It's funny how that levels the playing field--some questions the grown-ups were all "Dur?" while the kids shouted out the answers. And other times us oldsters scored via knowledge of ancient lore, like the name of the song the crows sing in "Dumbo" (When I See An Elephant Fly). Caro and I decided on the way home that Disney-ana is, for good or ill, one of the most ubiquitous memes in American culture, and it's a rare person who has never been exposed to ANY of it.
Gamed out, we watched Spiderman 2 (which Caro, Mike and I had not yet seen) on their new big screen TV. That is surely the best of both worlds--the pleasant visual shock of big screen watching, but the enjoyment of being able to snark out loud, the way you can't in a theater. My 11 year old grandson Zach is developing a good line in smart cracks that age and worldly experience can only improve.
There are tasks awaiting which we planned to do today, but that's one of the good things about tasks. Mostly, they are patient waiters.
I feel like I've finished a race or some similar grueling contest. The holidays were fun; I'm glad we did the things we did, but I am also glad they are done and we can get on to the next thing, whatever that might be.
Didn't do anything especially wild yesterday for the New Year celebration. We volunteered to bring dinner and snacks to the kids' house, and like typical grandmas, we came away from the store afraid we didn't have enough. Of course when it was all cooked we turned out to have made enough for three times as many people. The menu included my famous homemade hot and sour soup (Dear Nigel had a cold), potstickers, BBQ chicken wings, pizza rolls, chips and pretzels and dip, some beautiful little chocolates shaped like seashells which had been in the Christmas markdown aisle, and jello shooters, plain for the kids, high octane for the grownups. I think I made those later ones wrong, and will be forced to look up a better recipe some year.
We played Full Contact Uno again, and then a game about Disney movies which includes visual questions on a DVD. It's funny how that levels the playing field--some questions the grown-ups were all "Dur?" while the kids shouted out the answers. And other times us oldsters scored via knowledge of ancient lore, like the name of the song the crows sing in "Dumbo" (When I See An Elephant Fly). Caro and I decided on the way home that Disney-ana is, for good or ill, one of the most ubiquitous memes in American culture, and it's a rare person who has never been exposed to ANY of it.
Gamed out, we watched Spiderman 2 (which Caro, Mike and I had not yet seen) on their new big screen TV. That is surely the best of both worlds--the pleasant visual shock of big screen watching, but the enjoyment of being able to snark out loud, the way you can't in a theater. My 11 year old grandson Zach is developing a good line in smart cracks that age and worldly experience can only improve.
