I drove home today after the gym and the grocery store, and it hit me: it's already getting darker earlier. The light is clutching to the sky as long as it can, giving up the ghost around 8. Fall is coming on, and I guess in a few months it'll be dark once I leave the office.
Arg. One of the things I love the most about the summer is how long it stays light, and I try to soak up as much of its warmth as I can to sustain me through the winter.
Still, with all my grumpiness, Fall has its benefits, and even Winter does, too. Also, no matter how bad it gets, another summer is around the corner, and the days slowly get better and better.
Something else just occurred to me:
All our lives we practice at sleep until someone/something decides we should turn pro.
(Me, trying to sound like George Carlin.)
8.25.2008
Cold
Winter weather? Almanac says 'Numb's the word!'
Didn't we do "really cold" already? How about trying something new, like unseasonably warm? I think I would much prefer that...
Didn't we do "really cold" already? How about trying something new, like unseasonably warm? I think I would much prefer that...
8.17.2008
The weekend time paradox
During the week, the busier one is, the faster the day seems to go by. However, over the weekend, the more one can jam into those two days, the longer they seem to stretch out.
Sometimes, time and the perception of time don't seem to align. On Monday mornings, Fridays seem to be an eternity away. While some of the days may feel like they take forever to pass, collectively they fly by, and before you realize it, it's Friday already.
For the last who knows how long, time on the weekends escaped me. Before I even have a chance to catch my breath, it's already Saturday evening, and Sunday is fast approaching.
This weekend, for the first time in a long time, time and my perception of it seemed to actually move along the same plain. I got quite a bit done--errands, editing, usual household crap--yet was still able to enjoy myself, and never once did I feel I was playing catch up. So, I may actually go to work tomorrow completely relaxed and refreshed, which is a welcome change. This weekend felt like a weekend. What a novelty.
Sometimes, time and the perception of time don't seem to align. On Monday mornings, Fridays seem to be an eternity away. While some of the days may feel like they take forever to pass, collectively they fly by, and before you realize it, it's Friday already.
For the last who knows how long, time on the weekends escaped me. Before I even have a chance to catch my breath, it's already Saturday evening, and Sunday is fast approaching.
This weekend, for the first time in a long time, time and my perception of it seemed to actually move along the same plain. I got quite a bit done--errands, editing, usual household crap--yet was still able to enjoy myself, and never once did I feel I was playing catch up. So, I may actually go to work tomorrow completely relaxed and refreshed, which is a welcome change. This weekend felt like a weekend. What a novelty.
8.10.2008
I should be doing something else
I like milk. I like chocolate.
These things go together well.
I was in Target today, and as I came upon the endcap where they had all their ice cream toppings, I immediately had an urge to make chocolate milk...which, conveniently enough, I could make with the very ingredient I was right in front of: Hershey's Chocolate Syrup.
Chocolately serendipity!
I should have just been the average shopper and put one of these syrups from the shelf to my cart (so that it could eventually find its way to a glass, along with cold milk. MMMM.)
No, I had to make this slightly more complicated. Hershey's Chocolate Syrup comes in three varieties: regular, lite, and no sugar added. Given these three choices, I proceeded to look at the back to see whether I could differentiate them in any way. The regular had as its main ingredient sugar, followed closely by fructose and eventually (thankfully) by cocoa. It had its share of calories, and I made a quick little cost-benefit analysis (*minutes at gym vs. glorious, oh glorious, chocolate milk.)
So, I turned my attention to the Lite version. At 50 calories, it had reasonably fewer. But if fewer calories were really what I was after, the No Sugar Added would have both beat, right?
Naturally! But the lower calorie count is off set by an intimidating list of ingredients, most of which I don't know and can't pronounce.
Out of curiousity, I decided to do a search of the ingredients when I got home.
Ingredients:water, erythritol, glycerin, cocoa, natural flavors, citric acid, xanthan gum, salt, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, caramel color, acesulfame potassium, sucralose, vanillin, artificial flavor, zinc sulfate, vitamin e acetate, niacinamide and biotin.
What the bloody hell is all this stuff?! If it's on Wikipedia, it must be true:
Erythritol - a sugar substitute, about 60%-70% as sweet as normal sugar but with no calories.
Glycerin - Wasn't this a Bush song? This is a sugar alcohol of low toxicity. MMMM low toxicity is the best kind.
Natural flavors and Artificial Flavors - Do these come in bottles or something? Could I use some Natural Flavors to spice up an otherwise dull mac n cheese?
Potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate - preservatives
Acesulfame potassium - An artificial sweetener. Who knew?!
Sucralose -- I know this one! I didn't even need to look it up first. It's the stuff that Splenda is made from...a sugar substitute.
zinc sulfate - Now, this one is interesting. Directly from Wikipedia:
Who knows how accurate this is. Experiment time? If you see me dousing No Sugar Added Chocolate Syrup on the plants outside, it's all in the name of science!
Vitamin e acetate - A vitamin, which I'm guessing is a good thing.
Niacinamide - When I search this, it brings me to Nicotinamide, which is a vitamin, apparently, that may have anti-anxiety properties. Yay!
Biotin - Also known as Vitamin H (they go up this high?) or B7 (I love this guitar chord).
So, long story short. I took a gander at the ingredient list, and put it right back on the shelf, slowly backing away.
Of course, now I have no chocolate milk.
(Sarcasm)So, who's the big winner tonight? Mikey is! Mikey's the big winner.(/sarcasm)
These things go together well.
I was in Target today, and as I came upon the endcap where they had all their ice cream toppings, I immediately had an urge to make chocolate milk...which, conveniently enough, I could make with the very ingredient I was right in front of: Hershey's Chocolate Syrup.
Chocolately serendipity!
I should have just been the average shopper and put one of these syrups from the shelf to my cart (so that it could eventually find its way to a glass, along with cold milk. MMMM.)
No, I had to make this slightly more complicated. Hershey's Chocolate Syrup comes in three varieties: regular, lite, and no sugar added. Given these three choices, I proceeded to look at the back to see whether I could differentiate them in any way. The regular had as its main ingredient sugar, followed closely by fructose and eventually (thankfully) by cocoa. It had its share of calories, and I made a quick little cost-benefit analysis (*minutes at gym vs. glorious, oh glorious, chocolate milk.)
So, I turned my attention to the Lite version. At 50 calories, it had reasonably fewer. But if fewer calories were really what I was after, the No Sugar Added would have both beat, right?
Naturally! But the lower calorie count is off set by an intimidating list of ingredients, most of which I don't know and can't pronounce.
Out of curiousity, I decided to do a search of the ingredients when I got home.
Ingredients:water, erythritol, glycerin, cocoa, natural flavors, citric acid, xanthan gum, salt, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, caramel color, acesulfame potassium, sucralose, vanillin, artificial flavor, zinc sulfate, vitamin e acetate, niacinamide and biotin.
What the bloody hell is all this stuff?! If it's on Wikipedia, it must be true:
Erythritol - a sugar substitute, about 60%-70% as sweet as normal sugar but with no calories.
Glycerin - Wasn't this a Bush song? This is a sugar alcohol of low toxicity. MMMM low toxicity is the best kind.
Natural flavors and Artificial Flavors - Do these come in bottles or something? Could I use some Natural Flavors to spice up an otherwise dull mac n cheese?
Potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate - preservatives
Acesulfame potassium - An artificial sweetener. Who knew?!
Sucralose -- I know this one! I didn't even need to look it up first. It's the stuff that Splenda is made from...a sugar substitute.
zinc sulfate - Now, this one is interesting. Directly from Wikipedia:
An aqueous solution of zinc sulfate is claimed to be effective at removing moss from roofs. Spraying a mixture on moss will allow the wind to simply blow off the remaining debris, however it is not recommended for use on lawns as it is as effective at removing grass.
Who knows how accurate this is. Experiment time? If you see me dousing No Sugar Added Chocolate Syrup on the plants outside, it's all in the name of science!
Vitamin e acetate - A vitamin, which I'm guessing is a good thing.
Niacinamide - When I search this, it brings me to Nicotinamide, which is a vitamin, apparently, that may have anti-anxiety properties. Yay!
Biotin - Also known as Vitamin H (they go up this high?) or B7 (I love this guitar chord).
So, long story short. I took a gander at the ingredient list, and put it right back on the shelf, slowly backing away.
Of course, now I have no chocolate milk.
(Sarcasm)So, who's the big winner tonight? Mikey is! Mikey's the big winner.(/sarcasm)
8.07.2008
Carving
With this book I'm editing, I'm learning more about filleting fish than I ever wanted to know, and since I dislike seafood rather earnestly, it wasn't that much to begin with. I also now have a passing familiarity with carving all sorts of meat dishes, making me long for the days when I was blissfully ignorant.
Man, if I didn't like bacon so much....
Man, if I didn't like bacon so much....
8.03.2008
Fringe
Ever since my laptop bit the dust a few weeks ago, I've been stuck at home a bit more than I'd like working on this editing project I need to finish in a month or so.
Unfortunately, I get extremely restless sitting indoors when the weather outside is absolutely perfect. Thus, I had to schedule a few escapes over the course of the day to calm my stir craziness. I actually looked forward to an errand I had to, believe it or not.
While working, I've been listening to the University of Edinburgh's streaming radio station over iTunes. I love this station; I wish we had something like this in the area...alas...
They've been talking about the Edinburgh Fringe festival, which I've wanted to go to. Over a three week period: close to 2100 shows of comedy, music, theatre, etc. That, and Edinburgh seems to be wickedly cool, as it is. Damn travel bug.
Unfortunately, I get extremely restless sitting indoors when the weather outside is absolutely perfect. Thus, I had to schedule a few escapes over the course of the day to calm my stir craziness. I actually looked forward to an errand I had to, believe it or not.
While working, I've been listening to the University of Edinburgh's streaming radio station over iTunes. I love this station; I wish we had something like this in the area...alas...
They've been talking about the Edinburgh Fringe festival, which I've wanted to go to. Over a three week period: close to 2100 shows of comedy, music, theatre, etc. That, and Edinburgh seems to be wickedly cool, as it is. Damn travel bug.
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