shawnp0wers

I'm a bloggy blogger who blogs.

Vacation Planning

by

Turns out, I need a vacation. No, really. I did a lot of amazing things this past summer, but none of them were really vacation. Yes, we just had Christmas break, but anyone that’s ever celebrated holidays knows it’s the furthest thing from a vacation. So, I’m looking to plan a small weekend getaway. This time, the vacation will be technology free. That’s huge for me, but I think I’m looking forward to it.

I’m trying to find a cabin somewhere within a few hundred miles that comes stocked with a fireplace, lots of wood, comfy furnishings, and no Internet access. Oh, and it would help if it were cheap too. 🙂

Anyone knowing of a cabin like that anywhere in Michigan or the states that touch it — I’d love to hear about it. Either way, wish me luck. Homey needs a few days off the grid.

Whoa, Almost Missed a Day!

by

Being gone on the weekend almost caused me to miss my daily blog resolution!

So here is my Saturday thought: I was watching Dirty Jobs (the TV show), and they were smoking bologna – that was in plastic tubes. How would the smoke flavor penetrate the plastic? Does that seem strange to anyone else?

Soft Cookies

by

This is the yummiest, spiciest, tastiest ginger snap cookie you'll ever see, much less eat. It is currently residing in my small intestine.Apparently I’m on a “which do you like better” kick. I am a BIG fan of soft cookies. In fact, I mean BIG in a literal sense because eating cookies has that effect on me. I never knew anyone that preferred hard cookies until the other day I was approached with the idea that soft cookies don’t maintain their structural integrity while being dunked.

You know, that’s actually a good point.

I always considered cookie-dunking a workaround designed to facilitate the consumption of hard cookies. I never really thought of it as a preferred method. Don’t get me wrong, I like to dunk cookies, but I always do it because they’re hard in order to soften them up.

Have I been to quick to judge the crumbly ones? Are the crumbs all over the table worth it for the joy of drowning them in a beverage of choice? Does anyone actually prefer hard cookies?!!?

Star Wars or Star Trek?

by

We all know the Enterprise would kick tail.

I’m not talking about epic battles, but rather which a person identifies with more. Myself, I grew up in the Star Wars era. I had action figures. I dreamed of fashioning my own light saber. I was both scared and fascinated by Darth Vader. (Actually, he scared me even more in Return of the Jedi with his helmet off, eiw) I played with Star Wars figures for years.

Then, I met Star Trek. I shunned The Next Generation at first, because I had some silly notion it was ruining Star Trek. Then, I actually watched a few episodes, and I was hooked. There was no one on Earth I wanted to be more than Wesley Crusher on board the Enterprise. And Star Trek had science. Yes, fantasy science. Yes, at times silly science. But where Star Wars was just futuristic action, Star Trek was science fiction. Star Trek was (and is) friggen awesome. 🙂

So I’m a Trekkie. I love all the series. I love all the movies. Yes, some more than others — but I don’t hate any of them. How about you? Phasers or sabers?

Jealousy regarding my Star Trek stuff is normal, and won't be counted against you. :)

Anti-Lock Brakes

by

I posted a comment over at John Scalzi’s website that piqued my curiosity enough to ask the question to everyone:

* Do you love/hate/not_care_about anti-lock brakes on your vehicle?
* Also, where do you currently live, and where did you live when you started driving?

I ask, because I live in northern Michigan, and we have icy roads all winter. Anti-lock brakes tend to annoy the crap out of me. Not because I’m a crazy driver that feels the need to lock up my tires and slide around like an idiot (although, I admit at times that’s kinda fun). I learned to drive with regular old brakes, and I tend to perform best when I have a “feel” for the road conditions, and can apply the stopping force that is appropriate.

I find that anti-lock brakes assume I’m an idiot, and go PBPBPBPBPPBPBPBPBBPBBPPBPPPBPBB, stealing any actual braking skills from me and forcing me to hope the van knows what it’s doing in time to stop. I’ve had this discussion with people that assure me it’s physically impossible for a human being to stop better than anti-lock brakes can. Well, I say pshaw.

How about you? Do you love anti-lock brakes on icy roads? Am I just and idjit?

UPDATE: Interestingly, this post just received a visitor from a computer user at daimlerchrysler.com. Welcome. 🙂

The Cow Won’t Dance, Yet

by

In my Calendar Sales / Cow Dance promotion, I ended up raising $130. Not surprisingly, the large majority of that did not come from calendar sales, but rather cash donations. I’m OK with that.

Since the first two goals were met, that means in the very near future (not today, it’s Monday around these parts) you’ll get some sort of short story or poem both typed and recited. As you can probably tell, I haven’t written the aforementioned piece yet. Thankfully, absurdity is one of my strong points so I’m hoping it’s a fun piece to write and read/hear.

Happy Monday!

Burnt Coffee

by

With all apologies to my friends from the Pacific Northwest — y’all burn your beans. I have tried, over and over, to enjoy dark roasted coffee. I love that they call dark roast coffee “gourmet” coffee. What the heck?!?!

If you cook your bread until it’s black, that’s called burnt toast.

If your pancakes are “roasted” until they’re black? Burnt.

If your marshmallow catches on fire and turns black — it’s BURNT.

Here’s the secret: Roasting coffee is like roasting marshmallows. It’s precise. It takes patience. Too little, and your mallow is cold and firm in the middle. Too much, and it tastes like the campfire that roasted it.

And don’t get me started on French Roast. It’s like the French roasters must say, “Oh look, zee beans are perfect! We have achieved the best possible flavour from our amazing roaster! How great we are. These roasted coffee beans will have better flavour than any beans in the history of histories. We are such great roasters of… Oh crap, they burned. Oh well, it’s just a little burned. We’ll say that’s how we like it.”

Medium roast. Brewed REALLY strong. That is all. You’re welcome.