This video had me ROLLING! It’s hard to describe, so just watch and enjoy:
Category Archives: Fun
Obsolete
Keith at BagOfNothing.com posted an interesting list of 12 Things That Became Obsolete This Decade.
I know people who still use some of them, such as land lines and dial-up Internet. I still occasionally use a fax machine for work because there’s no better way to transfer certain documents using the provided technology, but I find it extremely annoying to use and avoid it whenever possible. I also still call people sometimes out of necessity, even though I would rather email or text.
However, Jenny and I rarely if ever use the other items on the list, even CDs. Jenny and the boys got me a couple of audio cables for Christmas that allow me to connect my iPhone or MacBook to my car stereo and home theater. Since I have my CD music imported into both devices, I can use them as my music source instead of fumbling with the CDs. I’ve actually downloaded more music this year through iTunes than I’ve bought in CD form.
To Keith’s list, I would add:
- Full-service, high-fee brokers of stocks, options, and mutual funds
- Writing checks
- Paying bills through the mail
- VHS tapes
Can you think of any other items or practices that became obsolete this decade? Do you disagree with any of these?
Ugly Ornament Party
Last week some of our friends hosted the annual Ugly Ornament Party. The premise is simple: everyone brings the ugliest homemade or purchased Christmas ornament they can find, and the group votes for the ugliest. This year’s crop was smaller than in years past but included some HORRIBLE ornaments. Here they are:
The Winner! – Neil and Ginger made this monstrosity using a bag of plastic body parts they bought at Wal-Mart for a buck. (?) His tongue is sticky.
On the left is a homemade “ornament” made from a speaker on a home intercom system. On the right is…um…a snowman octopus?
Left: Santa riding a salmon instead of a sleigh. Right: Um…an elf sat in a cinnamon roll and got stuck?
This squirrel is a bit…nutty.
Left: the Three Little Pigs’ house with the Big Bad Wolf dangling inexplicably underneath.
Right: (our entry) a ballerina pig. Nothing like pigs to celebrate the birth of a Jewish baby.
Outer: a wreath made of tissue paper that somehow looks like a toilet seat.
Inner: I guess it was supposed to be one of those first-Christmas-as-a-married-couple ornaments, but the bride and groom look like zombies.
Brown Chicken, Brown Cow
The Cream of Coffee
I like coffee. I usually drink a cup at work around 1:00-2:00am of variable quality and brew a cup at home when I wake up, perhaps around 3:30pm, of good quality. Unless Jenny and I visit a coffee shop on a date, I rarely buy brewed coffee because it’s relatively expensive. I’ll never understand the folks who drop $4 every morning on fancy coffee on the way to work. But on date night or at a fancy restaurant, I do order an occasional cappuccino.
I’m not a coffee snob, although I don’t fault those who are. In desperate moments, I’ve drunk Folgers at work that had been on the burner so long it smells like a campfire. I just diluted it with hot water, added lots of creamer, and choked it down. Naturally, I prefer the good stuff, though. You might laugh when I tell you this, but some of the best “normal” coffee (as opposed to coffee beverage like cappuccino) I’ve ever had was the LIFT coffee on a Southwest Airlines flight. No, I’m not just saying that because I work there. It was fantastic – smooth, full of flavor, and with great aroma. We upgraded and branded our coffee earlier this year to rave reviews, and now I know why. I’m trying to find out whether people can buy LIFT beans or grounds directly. Until that is possible, please buy a ticket on Southwest and enjoy the unlimited free coffee. =)
Close behind LIFT is Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee. It’s the ultimate coffee snob coffee: rare, very expensive, and grown only in a special mountainous region in Jamaica that provides perfect conditions. It’s so smooth and mild that I drink it black, and even my non-coffee-drinking wife will drink it. The flavor reminds me of the best of other coffees but without the bitterness and acidity that many of them include. On occasion, Buon Giorno in Grapevine lets you order a French press of Blue Mountain in case you’d like to try it.
What about you, coffee fans? What’s the best coffee you’ve ever had?
C-Section Video
If you’re like me and enjoy watching surgery, YouTube is an excellent place to look for videos of several types. Since Jenny is having a c-section for Jonathan, and I don’t really want to watch when it’s my wife and son on the table, I found an excellent c-section video online. I need to warn you up front: this is very graphic and potentially disturbing, so watch at your own risk. But if you can handle it, I think you’ll find it fascinating:
Significant Changes of the Last 100 Years
The other night I got to talking with some friends about the things we take for granted and how things change over time. Wars have been fought, for example, over simple luxuries such as spices to flavor food and absolute necessities such as clean water, both of which are overlooked, underappreciated parts of life for most Americans. Diseases that killed or crippled millions of people several decades ago, such as smallpox and polio, barely exist in America today thanks to vaccines. Centuries ago, sending a message to a relative overseas might require a handwritten letter and take weeks to arrive. Now, I can use my mobile phone to talk to or text someone on the other side of world in nearly real time. Instead of being in awe that such an interaction is even possible, I might be frustrated that my connection isn’t better!
My friends from the other night and I are curious. We’ve seen or read about changes in medicine, politics, communication, music, language, religion, technology, architecture, diet, family, and any number of other areas. What do you consider to be some of the most significant changes over the last 100 years, and why? What are some of the inventions or other changes that we take for granted?