Microwave Meals, Gravy Wrestling, and Thenks to Everyone for Reading This

I know that you have heard some backlash against microwave ovens. They don't cook evenly. They spread dangerous microwaves that can cause all manner of illnesses. Let me share that we DO still have a microwave, and we DO still use it almost daily. If it is going to kill me, I'll be able to cook and eat that many more meals before I go. Anyway, my point is that I found an article sharing a bunch of recipes that can be made using only a mug and your microwave. Curious? It includes goodies such as Blueberry Muffin Mug Cake, Almond Berry Breakfast Mug, and Microwavable Mug Pizza. Go look. If even one of these recipes works for you, then it was time well spent.

Hey, is My Better Half upset? I think so. I'm sure she is telling her nephew, "You ate the last Oreo? Get outta here."

Here is my niece giving us a lesson in dance. "No, it really is this simple to do Jazz Hands. You let your arms hang at your side and point your fingers outward. Be sure you have on a hat so you can lift it and flip it around later in the dance."

"Can I wear THIS hat to do my Jazz Hands?"

This photo was cute. Cats DO feel like they own the house and people, don't they?

I missed it. You probably did, too. August 29 was the World Gravy Wrestling Championships in the UK. It must be a real thing because there is a referee in the gravy with them.

I found this great idea for a tattoo if you are looking to get inked. Will I get one? No, thenks.

I think this proves that the truck owner is a loving and caring parent who always makes sure his child is strapped safely in a car seat. What do YOU think?

In the devotional that the director read at Chorale practice last night, it triggered a thought that I wanted to share with you today. I considered writing it down, but knew that I would remember. Of course, you know what I am going to say next. You are correct. I forgot both what he read and what I had to say. Write it down, people. Taking 30 seconds last night would have let me share possibly life-changing advice to you today.

As you know, time keeps on slipping into the future. Before mine runs out for today's post, let me share the photos from the dude that inserts himself into stock photos. This one is again technically well done, and I like the absurdity of it. He even altered the background in a totally original way. And the drawings on the wall have well-done shadows behind them.

Super busy, important stuff happening today... well, for me, anyway. I hope that whatever busy, important stuff you are doing goes well. have a Wonderful Wednesday.

Proposing and Painting and People Passing and a Wookiee

I actually looked at this photo and did not recognize the way it camouflaged the fire extinguisher.

I don't speak nor understand Chinese, but I like these proposal options, and the comment from earlgreytea68 is perfect.

This photo was the firepit area in back of the large house rented for this summer's family reunion. We did not light it. It was already plenty warm, reaching 80F most days. However, it was a nice, shaded place to sit. You can see Mt. Abrams in the center background of the shot. The photo was taken from the balcony outside the main level of the house.

When sitting in the firepit, if one were to glance over to the southwest, they would see this nice view.

Here, we were playing a new electronic banking version of Monopoly. Take a look at the house and hotels around the board. I think that, by this point in the game, the nephew in the background owned all but a couple of them. He went on to win.

Did you used to watch The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross? I would sometimes be channel surfing and land on one of his 300 episodes. Here is an article talking about the man behind the painter, and the story includes a link to one of the episodes. While I was working on today's post, I actually had this show on and watched most of it.

Did you see that Gene Wilder died yesterday at age 83 from complications of Alzheimer's disease? An odd thing about movie stars is that they kind of get stuck at a younger age because that is how I remember them. So now, to see that he was older than my folks is somehow a surprise.

Things that sound like Chewbacca. Does that tagline capture your attention? Years ago, Architect Bro used to be able to imitate the Wookiee sound. I don't know if he still can, but this dude's drawer does a pretty good imitation.

No caption required.

Ooo, food. That reminds me that I have a saved article about all sorts of desserts that you can make with crescent dough. Things like Nutella-stuffed cronut holes, and Kit-Kat Croissant, and Apple Pie Roll-Ups.

With that tasty photo still in your mind, I am dropping you like a hot potato, or like a microphone after a classic comment or song. Our time is up and neither of us wants me to overstay my welcome. Thanks for reading. Thanks for the memories (I was going to link Bob Hope singing his famous closing song and I did include the link, but it turns out that was called 'Thanks for the Memory' and not Thanks for the Memories. Who knew?)

OK, enough. Gotta go. Have a Tremendous Tuesday. See you soon.

Pyramids to Pastries to Parks to Phone add-ons

We just passed the 100th anniversary of the National Park System. You probably already knew that, didn't you. How many of the parks/monuments have you been to? Here is a quiz to see how many of the parks you can name just by looking at their maps. Good luck.

Why is bread bad for us? It should taste bad so we wouldn't want it. If you don't care, here is a 20-minute recipe for Really Good Garlic Bread.

Why didn't I think of the apologetic idea in this next photo? Oh, maybe it's because I don't get in trouble?

Astronomy photo of the week.

Here's an instructional video on how to hang something heavy on your wall. Maybe you are not struggling with that at the moment, but it never hurts to have the URL for a helpful video ready when you need it.

I flew my drone yesterday for the first time in a couple of weeks. Back then, I was flying with GRAND#1 and we couldn't keep the camera working. I forget if I mentioned that or not. Anyway, this time, there were no problems at all with the camera. Maybe there are too many competing wi-fi networks around the house. This time, I was at the drone park and everything was tickety-boo.

Thanks to SS and family, we have a portable bluetooth receiver that we can use in the car during trips. Maybe you do, too, or maybe you'd rather have one more permanent. If so, here are some ways to get bluetooth in your car.

"OK, kids. Good job clearing the road. Now, clean off that top layer of snow so that it looks all clean for the next visitors."

"Oh, look. Here comes my pet stingray, RayRay."

"First, the pastries. And then we take over... the world. Ha ha ha ha ha."

"Patience is a virtue. Don’t bug your partner about their weight. Try not to vex your boss." Sounds like something your parents would teach you about success, doesn't it? No, actually this advice came from writings over 20 centuries before Christ was born. Much of it has been compiled into a book called Writings from Ancient Egypt.

In the 'reasons you should get an Android phone instead of an iPhone' file, a new reason has been added. What if you could see through walls? With the WalabotDIY, Android phones use 3-D imaging to reveal studs, electrical wires, and pipes inside the walls of your home, making it easier to hang pictures or mount shelves. That sounds really cool, but right now, I will stay with my current phone.

Yum Brands, KFC’s parent company, has denied the truth of a recently revealed recipe. “Many people have made these claims over the years, and no one has been accurate — this one isn’t either.” What do you think? Have the secret 11 herbs and spices of KFC been found? I don't know. And I don't know the last time I had KFC. How about you?

I woke up with 'Marian the Librarian' from The Music Man in my head. I don't know why. As I type these final words, I am now listening to the link I just shared. Well, this version is probably not as good as SS did when he was Professor harold Hill in high school... or maybe I'm prejudiced. OK, it's Monday, we've got a whole week ahead of us. Let's start it on a great note. Make it marvelous, my friends.

Remembering My Cousin. Remembering the Alamo. Forgetting My Music.

Nice car paint job. You may need to look at it twice.

Honey Garlic Pork Chops. Need I say more?

"I am so hungry, I could eat a... What am I saying?"

I am not going to give you Webster's definition of a gulch. Even so, take a look at this photo. Would you think that valley over on the left is a gulch, or is that too big? So maybe over on the right side of the road? I don't really know.

Why does there need to be a gulch anywhere? I was just assuming there would be an actual gulch because we took the road to the right of this sign.

We told the girls to make snow angels, but forgot to tell them you have to lay down to actually for the image of an angel in the snow. There are only the three girls in the shot because only two Jeeps went four-wheeling that day. Well, I meant four Jeeps of our crew. I am sure that many more Jeeps than that went four-wheeling on the same day.

Those last few photos were not stock photos. You may not use them for your own projects without my permission. However, these next two are stock photos that a guy has inserted himself into. I really like this one. His lighting is not as consistent as prior examples, but I liked his idea on how to put himself into the situation.

Newspaper blackout time. Have you tried to create your own version yet? Yeah, me neither.

I did try to find something on the internet that I didn't find. I found out today that one of my first cousins passed away about six weeks ago. He had a hard life, and then I did know that he have cancer (liver?), but did not hear he had died. It seems that his wife then committed suicide upon losing her husband. That is so very sad to me. Both parts of it. I tried to look up his obituary, but could not find it online. I am not sure why his brother didn't post it. Anyway, this cousin was always the wild one among us, and sometimes I would get upset with him, but he was still my cousin. You may remember that another of the cousins died last September. There were about 5-6 of us near the same age, and now, to have lost two of them is sobering. Enjoy your family while you can, my friends. Go to those reunions. Go on staycations with them. Eat lunch with them on Sundays.

Let's lighten the mood a bit. How about an Indian version of the Friends theme song? It is actually well done. Go have a listen. You can even have two if one leaves you still hungry. See what I did there?

Oh man. Having opened that youtube link, I am loath to close it. Let's go with another song in the Indian style. Game of Thrones? Less successful (for me) is Star Wars theme song in Indian style. So, let's go to a Western style version of the Game of Thrones theme. Game of Thrones theme by bagpipe? An acapella version? Yeah, I noticed there was some electronic manipulation of the voices. So, in protest of that, I will stop looking at youtube. For now, anyway.

No editorial comment needed on this next internet find.

What is going on with my iTunes? A whole bunch of my songs are suddenly gone. It says the links are broken. I checked and I had set the flag to add the song to the library, so I don't know where they went nor why. Was it something I said. I will have to research and maybe grab them from youtube this weekend. Well, some of them. There are too many lost to fix in a short time.

I just read this article that seems very logical and maybe even practical, but I am very unlikely to make any changes because of it. What am I talking about? The author posits that the concept of three square meals a day has practically zero to do with our actual metabolic needs. And our dogmatic adherence to breakfast, lunch, and dinner might actually be making us sick. Maybe I shouldn't have read it while I was finishing breakfast? What do you think?

I researched today's 365 Stupidest Things Ever Said calendar entry. It seemed too contrived. Nope, I found the original article here.
ON HE’S CLEARLY NOT A PLUMBER
Police: Middletown Man Hides Crack In His Buttocks
headline, Hartford (Connecticut) Courant

People, people, people. The old clock on the wall says our time is at an end. In fact, the new clock says the same thing, so let's git 'er done. I am sure we will more time and more material to do this again next week. Just come by and check. Until then, have a great weekend and heed what I said above. Enjoy your life and your family.

A Bunch of Photos and Cauliflower Bacon Biscuits

Where were you people when I needed you? No one told me that yesterday was International Waffle Day. I saw it last night as I was surfing for blogging fodder. Surprisingly, I did mention waffles yesterday from that article where a dude mentioned it was his choice over pancakes. Now, I guess I see why that article was published when it was. Anyway, I did not have any waffles. Too bad. I do like them. I did have some at brunch last Sunday.

I also did not have any Cauliflower Bacon Biscuits yesterday. Did you? Actually, I did not know there was such a thing. Hey, they are also gluten-free. Just sayin'. If your salivary glands are suddenly going crazy thinking about these biscuits, look here for the recipe.

Have you ever watched a digital TV show or movie? I am sure many (or most?) of us have. Have you ever purchased one? I am sure many (or most?) of us have not. The industry is worried about it, too. One, even if we buy it, we won't really own it like a CD or DVD. Two, why since we can stream most things. You can glean a few more details here.

Can this be a real photo? Who would have even thought to set it up? A photo by Mehmet Karaca on 500px.com.

Come on. When you see a group of images like this, you know what I expect you to do. For me, I would choose Morning Mist as my #1, and then either New York New York or La Mer. I guess I'll go with NYNY for #2.

How many of you would have even noticed the weirdness between the caption on the bottom of the frame and the subject of the image within the frame? I might not have, but now that I see it...ewww.

I looked at this next photo and immediately, the lyrics to a Beatles song came to mind. You, too? 'Birthday', right? But you thought of 'She Came In Through the Bathroom Window'? No, I thought of 'Birthday' because it goes, "Yes, we're going to a potty, potty."

This one brings the lyrics of a song by America to mind. If you thought of 'Lonely People' because of how happy everyone in the photo looks (not), well that's just weird. No, not because I thought of the same song. It's just weird how your mind works. No, I thought of 'I Kneed You' because of the knees right there in the foreground.

How about a John Denver song? Maybe I won't tell you which one came in my head for this photo. Probably, there are several that could easily work. 'Rocky Mountain High' would work, but that is not the one I heard. OK, fine. It was 'Take Me Home, Country Roads'.

Apparently, a photo of a girl sleeping in a library has taken on a life of its own on the interweb.

However, it captured the attention of Photoshop users and the results speak for themselves. Here are a few of them.

Listen, I have an early morning meeting with my boss, and I still need to get ready, so we'll end it a little early. But listen. It's Friday Eve, so that has to help temper this bittersweet separation. You know I'll be back soon to waste both of our times, so be patient. Just keep thinking to yourself, "It's Thrilling Thursday" and it will be.

What Did or Did Not Happen, Including Thoughts and Blowguns

No time to waste. Let's jump right into an article ranking 26 Star Trek ships by their power. At the bottom is the SS Botany Bay, where Khan and his crew were confined. Next, at 25, is Deep Space Nine. At 23 is the USS Excelsior, the first ship to feature a transwarp drive. Whoo hoo, right? The original USS Enterprise comes in at #17. At #1 is a ship introduced in one of the movies.

Many people take online tests to see if they are a cat person or a dog person. Or maybe you wonder if you are a mover or a shaker. Would you say you are more of a waffle person or a pancake person? I found an article to help you with this last question. He makes the case that waffles are superior in every way.

Then again, maybe this photo from the Nailed It file influenced his decision.

I do still have examples of the man who inserts himself into stock photos. First, check out this man with his hand massaging his neck.

But then, look at the clever way he inserted himself.

And today's funny pic. Well, maybe not so funny if it is your car.

Let's tell a story. It doesn't matter if it is true or not (it isn't). It doesn't matter if the things said or thought in real life mimic what I say happened (they didn't). So, we are sitting in Mountain Village when one of the family notices a status of a miner about to swing his hammer. Let's say it scares her that he might accidentally hit her with the hammer. "I know that it's a statue, but it makes me think of what could happen in real life if that hammer hit me."

Whether irrational or not, those types of fears are real. However, this man finds it funny. "Crazy lady. it's a statue."

Luckily, nothing untoward happened, but the woman can help but tell her friends and family about the miner and shows us how big that hammer was. "It was, like, this big."

Time is up for fanciful creativity. It's time to get down and dirty, although not as far down nor as dirty as that miner. It's Hump Day, people. Let's get through it to the downhill side of this week.