Monday, July 31, 2006

Hotter Than Hades...

I added a new button to the top right of my blog today, just to change things up a bit. The temperature today is 31C, but with the humidity it feels more like 41C. Which, because I couldn't remember (in American!), is 111F.
Hotter than Hades...
Which THEN got me thinking...What exactly does that phrase mean? I KNOW it means that it is hot outside, but what EXACTLY does it mean? In short, Hades is a the place that Christians politely call hell. The resting place for evil souls.
So, when I googled Hades, I also came across this little piece, that in today's political/religious climate is, I think, food for thought:
HOTTER THAN HADES
The following is an actual question given on a University of Washington chemistry mid-term exam for his graduate students. The answer was so "profound" that the professor shared it with colleagues, which is why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well.
It had one question:
"Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)? Support your answer with proof "
Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools off when it expands and heats up when it is compressed) or some variant.
One student, however, wrote the following:
First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So, we need to know the rate that souls are moving into Hell and the rate they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today.
Some of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there are more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all people and all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially.
Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand as souls are added. This gives two possibilities.
If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.
Of course, if Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.
So which is it?
If we accept the postulate given to me by Ms. Laura Turner during my Freshman year, "that it will be a cold night in Hell before I sleep with you," and take into account the fact that I still have not succeeded in having sexual relations with her, then #2 cannot be true.
Therefore, Hell is exothermic.
The student got the only A.


Keep Cool, Bloggies.
From what I've heard, it's freakin' hot everywhere!

Saturday, July 29, 2006

WCB #59 continued...

Is it just me, or does the Dutchie look a tiny bit like Jabba in this picture? OK, I know the Dutchie is a lot cuter...but just picture Jabba with some Kitty-ears. Just a thought...a weird one.
I just got home from being called in to work. I was in a dead sleep when I got the call that I was needed. This was the first time that I've ever been called in to go back to work after a nightshift. 4 hours sleep doesn't cut it and I'm hoping that I'll be able to catch a few more Zzzz's before going back in later tonight.

Friday, July 28, 2006

WCB #59

It's that time again for Weekend Cat Blogging! It rained cats and dogs today and Mao and Dutchie were quite busy keeping their baskets warm and watching raindrops.
Don't forget to stop off at
Clare's for more kitty pics!  Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Some Things New

I'm working nightshift this week, so when I wake up in the afternoon my head feels like its in a jet-lagged fog because my circadian rhythm is all messed up. Three hours and a pot of coffee later, I have been cruising through the Internet and the Blogworld looking for some new and interesting places to poke about.

I've scored 2 free tickets for the Andy Warhol Exhibit at the Ontario Art Gallery through Red Flag Deals for Canadians.

I discovered some new Blogs that I thought were interesting:
Grinsnlaughter ---a single girl's laughter and observations
Human Clock ---a very cool photo clock
Pink is the New Blog ---celebrity gossip at it's best

That's All.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

The humidity has been crazy lately...so I'm thinking cool thoughts! Posted by Picasa

Sunday, July 23, 2006

The Circus Was in Town...

...and what a disaster it was!
OMG.
My brother and The Stoner showed up with not just one teenaged boy, but two. Luckily, they were both very good, well-behaved boys, and they were no problem. That's the good part. Too bad, The Stoner and my brother couldn't be as well behaved.
So, where to start?
I was tired and still feeling the effects of Thursday Night's little phone chat party with Pez. So, after dinner, I went to bed with my latest book, The Kite Runner. And, I was very glad to not be a part of the Circus Act. My brother fell off the wagon (hard) and Stoner was drunk and stoned. They were all over each other to the point where everyone was uncomfortable. At one point, they were in the bathroom going at it, and all that seperated me from them was one very thin, trailer wall. (I put a stop to that pretty quick.) They were still up after everyone went to bed, and I guess that's when my dimwitted brother decided to be truthful and tell Stoner that her best friend reminded him of his Ex. (That revolting relationship ended over 8 years ago.) Stoner got pissed off and I guess that ended the Friday night party.
Saturday morning she gets up, and is still pissed off and she tells me the story, and that their relationship is over, she doesn't need an alcoholic in her life, how can she stay with him knowing that he wants her best friend...blah.blah.blah. I agreed with her, but I also reminded her that we had warned her three weeks ago, and what did she honestly think when we were ALL telling her what he was like when he drinks? Even my brother had warned her. And she chose to find out for herself. Then she says (get this) that she can handle the drinking, but not the fact that he wants her friend. Duh?????? Let me remind you, that this is a woman who claims she is a case worker at an Alcohol and Addiction Rehab Centre!!! WTF???? Honestly, I think that she is a client there, not an employee.
So, she's not talking to him, he can't drive home because he's hung over, but they decide to head on over to the Mennonites with the kids in tow, and her driving. (I'm wondering why the hell she didn't just drive them home, but whatever.) They come back from their outing, she's still pissed off at him and hasn't spoken to him. He's pissed off calling her a crazy bitch and saying it's over to everyone, but her. I'm thinking, ok, well, I guess that they are going home now.

No. Such. Luck.
She's steaming mad, starts pounding wine, and sits there at the campfire with this miserable, sour look on her face.
I talk to my brother and ask him when he's leaving. Soon, he says.
It's dinnertime, I'm feeling bad for the boys, so I figure, ok, let's feed them and then let them get the hell out of here.
But, after dinner, the boys have found out that there is a Teen Dance at the beach, and they want to go. Nobody says they are leaving. She's still sitting sour at the campfire, and my brother is mute beside her. And sober. He's trying to talk to her, and she's ignoring him. And, like dummies, we're all sitting right there in the silence staring into the fire. So, I ask them when they are leaving. Stoner says, the boys are having fun, so we're staying. (Glad you've moved into MY trailer, bitch!!!) I know, I know...I should have taken that opportunity to tell them to leave, but I didn't.
It was an early night, and yes, I had my fair share of wine.
So...this morning, I figure that FOR SURE they are going to get up and leave. She wakes up, I've got coffee on, and right away she starts bitching about my brother and rehashing the conversation we had yesterday. She asks me what I would do. I looked her straight in the eye, and said: I would have left yesterday.
She then tells me that she had promised her son a weekend away (gee...maybe it would have been nice if you'd asked ME?!) And she starts making breakfast.
She's STILL not talking to my brother! I corner him, and I tell him that after breakfast they have got to go.
But after breakfast the boys wanted to go for a swim. And she let them, even though my brother had already packed up their stuff. They came back from the lake, and then THAT's when Stoner and my brother decide to go for a walk and talk things over.
At this point, Greg is pissed off, and starts packing up our car. His sister just arrived with only one of her kids. He cleaned the trailer and was determined to just get the fuck out of there.
The boys are waiting, and waiting and waiting to go home, everyone's wondering where the two of them are. Just as we were about to get into the car and leave (two hours later!) the lovebirds came back.

Can you fuckin' believe that?!?????

And here I was worried about having to listen to Southern Rock all weekend.
If only...
So, that was my weekend. How was yours?!

Friday, July 21, 2006

I woke up with a headache at 4am courtesy of all the wine I drank last night. Ow. Serves me right! What was I thinking drinking so much on a school night? It seemed like a good idea at the time. And, now I KNOW it was a bad idea...
But I'm showered, made-up and dressed ready for work. Now I just have to get through the next 8 hours.
My brother, the Stoner and her Kid are coming up to the trailer this weekend. I am ecstatic about it. (Not!) After I finish this little blog blurb, I am going to quickly go through my CD's and bring them along this weekend so I don't have to listen to Southern Rock for the next 72 hours.
And I will try very hard not to get stressed out.
Did I mention that Greg's sister and her Brood will also be up this weekend? And Greg's brother? Hopefully they will stay at Two Four's.
I will try very hard not to get stressed out!

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

We decided to put our monthly book club on hold for the summer...and likely indefinitely, although a few of the members don't know this yet (namely the mother/daughter duo.) I really thought that I would like being in a book club, and for the most part, I did...I just didn't feel like I 'jelled' well with the duo. And, it turned out that a few others felt the same way.
So, the spin-off is Movie Night to take place of our regularly scheduled Third-Wednesday-of-Every-Month book club. There's just three of us, and so far the New Club is a success.
Tonight we went to see The Devil Wears Prada which I thoroughly enjoyed, and would definitely recommend. It was very entertaining, with a great soundtrack. Meryl Streep was perfect as a very believable Hell-Boss. Even though I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, a Fashionista, I thought that the clothes, shoes, purses, hats, EVERYTHING was absolutely amazing eye-candy.

Go see it...it's fun!

Monday, July 17, 2006

The Beige-ness of it All...

Here is a pic of my "Not My Kitchen Anymore"

You can be honest...which do you prefer?

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Couldn't you just cry when your computer gets a virus, and you have to send it out to get fixed? That's what happened earlier this week. It's quite the pain, and made me realize just how much I rely on this little box.
We (mostly Greg) decided that it had come to the point where we should paint our RED kitchen just in case it was scaring off potential condo-buyers. I reluctantly went with him to Home Depot and picked out a boring neutral beige. Either I am one Giant Hormone, or, I truly am emotionally attached to my RED kitchen because I stood there overwhelmed and crying while the boring beige was being mixed. I would be terribly on that show Take This House and Sell It!
When we decided to paint the walls and ceilings red, I remember that it was a great weekend project that we did together. We had only just met, and we had such a fun day. We drank wine, listened to music, and laughed all day as we were still getting to know each other. We really bonded over that red paint. Sounds silly doesn't it? But to me, that kitchen always made me feel happy.
And now, in all it's beigness, it just doesn't feel like my kitchen any more.
I really hope that some Beige Person falls in love with it.
Really Soon.
Because I don't want to look at it too much longer.

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Wednesday Night Date

Whoo-hoo! It's been a romantic sort of week. First a movie, and then a concert.
Yesterday, after work, we made the two hour trek to Casino Rama to see Sheryl Crow and she was absolutely awesome! Our seats were excellent, and it was so much fun! It was totally worth the drive.
I have big plans today. Well, maybe not so big, but I've got plans!
1)Run to the mall and buy some shorts. Mine have all shrunk since last summer. Sigh.
2)Make quiche. Anybody have a good recipe? I have it in my head to make some today to bring to Greg's Grandmothers place tomorrow. She is having an 85th birthday party, but we've arranged to go over there early before anyone arrives to spend some time with her (and leave when the other guests start arriving!) I think I might have offended MIL2 yesterday when I told her that we would not be staying for the party. First of all, we saw ALL of these people last week, and second of all, I don't do well in crowds of people I don't know very well. I told her that I get uncomfortable, and then she felt bad that I get uncomfortable, and then when I was attempting to tell her that it was my quirk, not that I didn't like their friends, I made the mistake of calling her Denise (which is Two-Four's name.) Uh-oh. And that after she got us the free Sheryl Crow tickets. (Ramona hangs head in embarrassment.)
So, I will attempt to make it up to them tomorrow by making a quiche.
3)And a homemade card.
4)And I'm sending Greg out to the religious store to buy her a gift. I'm thinking a Jesus nightlight. (Her bedroom is a shrine!)
5)Clean condo for yet another Open House this weekend
6) Finish reading the Da Vinci Code. (it's so good!)
7) Go to work at midnight. The fun has got to stop somewhere!
I finally recieved some pics of my friend Sal's wedding so I'll leave you with one:

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Well, the weekend was...interesting.
My brother has started dating this woman and wanted to bring her up to the trailer for the long weekend. OK...
She was nice enough...very polite, helpful, friendly. But...well...let's just say, that as much as I love my brother, any woman who would be interested in him, I'd have to wonder what planet she was from.
She has a job. Which is good. She is a social worker/case worker at a Centre for Addiction. Sounds good, doesn't it? Uh-huh. She is the biggest pot-head/boozer I've met in a long time, and brought up about thirteen thousand Southern Rock CD's that she insisted on playing from the crack of dawn to the wee hours of the morning. To give my brother credit, he has been clean and sober for the last month that they have been dating. (She has yet to meet Rocky Crazy Eyes) I'm just quietly shaking my head, (OK, albeit, rolling my eyes) trying to be supportive.
Now, my brother hasn't had a girlfriend in about 10 years, so I'm not used to seeing him around a woman. Oh! My! God!

He has instantly turned into a 16 yr old boy with googlie-eyes (and I'm sure a massive HO) They were All Over Each Other. It was very, very, very , very strange. Indeed.
And. That's all I'm going to say about that. Because it can't last...can it? I mean, I don't begrudge him a bit of romance, but jeeeeeeezus! (Wait till she meets my mom.)
On the flipside, we did do a little road trip to Mennonite Country, which was very nice. I was enjoying the countryside, and trying to tune out Two-Four, who thought it important to let us know at every house we passed that if didn't have curtains but DID have the requisite-sized windows, that Mennonites lived there. (gee, thanks...I'm sure they heard you as you were SCREAMING in my ear!!!)
Anyway, turns out the Mennonites were all at church, and we came upon hundreds of horses and buggies waiting for their passengers (I should ahve gotten out of the car so you'd see how many there really were, but I didn't want to seem intrusive)

Sunday night, I had a minor melt-down when I thought that Greg's sister was coming with her brood.
Surprisingly, Greg's little sister, Addy, came to my rescue. For some reason, she saw my face, my distress, and I can not even begin to tell you how much a 16 year old girl (with her own anxiety issues) suddenly turns into Dr. Phil. Turns out that we both feel the same way, and we decided that from now on, we would stick together, and have L. and her kids know that they'd have to clean up after themselves. We made a pact. There is a whole lot more to this story that I've got to think about a little more before I put it down in words. But let's just say, that Addy and I are Kindred Spirits.

Monday was a holiday here, Greg and I got up, cleaned up, and left my brother and the Stoner in bed.
We got home and decided to go to see Superman.

You've Got To Go See Superman.
He looks so good in his tights.
It's a GREAT movie.
He looks so good in his tights.
It's entertaining, romantic, and holds true to what Superman is all about.
He looks so good in his tights.
Kevin Spacey is an excellent Lex Luther!
Superman looks SO good in his tights!
Kitty looks like Greg's sister, L. (Well, Parker Posey does)
He looks REALLY good in his tights.

It's out in 3D. I think I'm going to see it again.
Did I mention Superman looks really good in his tights?!