From an email from CaltechMom (who broke her foot yesterday....)

Caution! These people Vote

A guy bought a new fridge for his house. To get rid of his old fridge, he put it in his front yard and hung a sign on it saying: "Free to good home. You want it, you take it." For three days the fridge sat there without even one person looking twice at it. He eventually decided that people were too un-trusting of this deal. It looked to good to be true, so he changed the sign to read: "Fridge for sale $50". The next day someone stole it.
These people Vote!
===============================================================
While looking at a house, my brother asked the real estate agent which direction was North because, he explained, he didn't want the sun waking him up every morning. She asked, "Does the sun rise in the North?" When my brother explained that the sun rises in the East, (and has for sometime), she shook her head and said, "Oh, I don't keep up with that stuff"...
She ALSO votes!
===============================================================
I used to work in technical support for a 24/7 call center. One day I got a call from an individual who asked what hours the call center was open. I told him, "The number you dialed is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week." He responded, "Is that Eastern or Pacific time?" Wanting to end the call quickly, I said, "Pacific."
He ALSO votes!
===============================================================
My colleague and I were eating our lunch in our cafeteria, when we overheard one of the administrative assistants talking about the sunburn she got on her weekend drive to the shore. She drove down in a convertible, but "didn't think she'd get sunburned because the car was moving".
She ALSO votes!
===============================================================
My sister has a lifesaving tool in her car. It's designed to cut through a seat belt if she gets trapped. She keeps it in the trunk. .
My sister ALSO votes!
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My friends and I were on a beer run and noticed that the cases were discounted 10%. Since it was a big party, we bought 2 cases. The cashier multiplied 2 times 10% and gave us a 20% discount.
He ALSO votes!
===============================================================
I was hanging out with a friend when we saw a woman with a nose ring attached to an earring by a chain. My friend said, "Wouldn't the chain rip out every time she turned her head?" I explained that a person's nose and ear remain the same distance apart no matter which way the head is turned.
My friend ALSO votes!
===============================================================
I couldn't find my luggage at the airport baggage area. So I went to the lost luggage office and told the woman there that my bags never showed up. She smiled and told me not to worry because she was a trained professional and I was in good hands. "Now," she asked me, "has your plane arrived yet?"
SHE ALSO votes!
===============================================================
To those who understand ~ No explanation is necessary.
For those who don't understand ~ No explanation is possible

Posted by: caltechgirl at 04:35 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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One of my favorite "original content" bloggers, Rob of Say Anything, was one of two bloggers to take part in this year's Wal-Mart media conference, and he has some interesting things to say about what wasn't reported by the "big media outlets" that were also present.

I'm no fan of Wal-Mart, but I think they deserve a fair shake in the press for what they actually do and don't do, as any corporation should.

Start at the top and scroll on down.

BTW the other blogger at the conference was Tom Forbes of Palousitics, and you can find his wal-mart blogging here.  Again, just scroll down for more!
h/t Jawa Mike

Posted by: caltechgirl at 04:19 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Ok, not really, but this made me laugh my butt off...

Wonder if Shirley Jones thought the same thing....

Posted by: caltechgirl at 12:08 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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1 Glad I made you laugh And thanks for the link.

Posted by: Ith at April 19, 2006 12:15 PM (2NOx2)

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I got Meme'd

Six weird things about me.... Hmm, what can I say that I haven't already....

1. I hate nitpicky people. You know, the kind who argue over every little detail even though there's nothing to be gained, simply because they are disgruntled. I hate that.

2. When I sleep, I have to put my feet out. Even in the dead of winter, at least I have to know I can put them out. Which is sometimes interesting as the dog often likes to sleep between where my feet are and the edge of the bed.

3. I have to have background noise when I'm working. White noise, music, TV, doesn't matter. It helps me concentrate.

4. I am really sensitive to hydrocarbon smells: smoke, exhaust, oil-based paint, etc. Just the smell can make me lightheaded and panicky. I guess I inherit this from my Mother....

5. I am super ticklish. My poor husband has to put up with me.

6. I can be really patient with anybody except my mother...

Tagging people.... Hmmm. How about Ben and blogsis Rave?

Posted by: caltechgirl at 10:29 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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Some of you may know the story of my leaky tub fixtures.  Some of you have even seen for yourself the story that I am about to tell.  I promise, the end is worth it....

It all started in the master bath.  Which is nice enough as bathrooms go.  Except for two things.  First, the incredible geometry of shutting the bathroom door if one is already seated upon the throne (don't try it unless you're a contortionist.  Good thing DH and I are not in the least squeamish about calls of nature in front of each other).  Second, you could not get the water to run completely from the tub faucet.  Despite all the leverage you could put on the diverter, half the water always fell from the showerhead.  This was a unique problem to say the least.  But, as it is not our shower, and therefore not advisable to undertake major plumbing repairs, even though we pretty much know what  we're doing, we just dealt with it.

For several months.  As it turns out, it has been a problem for years.

So one day recently I was cleaning up the house before some guests were to arrive.  I took a shower, and then went downstairs to make sure there were hand towels and enough TP in the downstairs bath.  And I stepped into a puddle.  I looked up, and sure enough, a long crack in the ceiling, water still dripping from the plaster.

First thought:  OH SHIT!!!.  Second thought: Wait.  This isn't enough water to be from the drain.  And it doesn't smell like my shampoo either.... Hmmm.

So we call the landlords.  And so begins the process of finding the cheapest competent plumber.  A parade of the ass-crack brigade passes in and out of my house.  In the door, up the stairs, and into my bedroom.  Which means I have to clean.  Every day.  For a week.  Finally, they decided to go with one guy, and he came back later that afternoon and solved my problem.  Yay!

Turns out that the diverter was jacked up and the connections from the fixtures to the main water pipe were corroded.  Yes, they did put in cheap pipe.  I suspect my house was built by illegal day laborers too, but what the hell.

Anyway, the water was coming from the pressure surge when the faucet was turned off and the water fell back through the corroded connections on its way from the showerhead down.  Or so he tells me.  New fixtures, no more leak.  Yay!

So now it was time to fix the ceiling downstairs...

It's worth clicking the extended... really. more...

Posted by: caltechgirl at 01:12 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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I used to like Keith Olbermann.  I thought he was really funny, and some of the stunts that he pulled with his SportsCenter colleagues (especially Dan Patrick) are classics in TV history.

Then he decided to be a serious journalist.  Or something like that.  And got his own show on msnbc (the conflicted network).

Now he votes Michelle Malkin as "The Worst Person in the World".  I'll admit she's often over the top and takes positions that even her fellow Conservatives sometimes scratch their heads at, but NONE of this qualifies her as the "worst person in the world".

Michelle and I don't always agree, but there's no doubt she is a loving and devoted Mom and Wife, a thoughtful intellect, and above all a law-abiding tax-payer.  Sure, she broadcast some phone numbers, THAT WERE ON A PRESS RELEASE.  It's not like she used some clandestine cabal to obtain them.  They were published and publicly available.  Who did she rape or murder?  When did she plot a terrorist attack?

This Guy, now, he might merit "world's worst", or This Guy  or This Guy.

Yet another example of the "Unhinged" left, throwing words around like they don't mean anything.  Or maybe Olbermann is simply too ashamed to admit that he doesn't ever look outside his own backyard.

Expose the Left has the video.  Flap has the press release in question.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 11:56 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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If you have never read the sometimes insane, always insightful blog of my one and only blog-child, Let The Finder Beware, you could do worse than to start reading it today.

Paul some interesting musings on the decades of our lives, and the moral and cultural changes that define them to us.  Part I is here, and Part II here.  Drop by and share your thoughts!

Posted by: caltechgirl at 10:33 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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photo courtesy LearnCalifornia.Org

Posted by: caltechgirl at 10:20 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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I'm gonna freakin' puke next time I hear one of these news-chickens refer to dook as "an Ivy League school".

Last time I checked, dook competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference (a.k.a. the ACC).  Same as they have for the last 40+ years.  Ivy League Schools are so-called ONLY because they compete in the ACTUAL Ivy League.

Yes, the name is synonymous with excellence in education, but that doesn't mean that a school with a reputation for fine academics and located on the East Coast is AUTOMATICALLY an Ivy League School.

Sheesh.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 04:18 PM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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Tried that Face Recognition site everyone else has been to...
Here's my results:
55% Angelina Jolie
54% Jodie Foster
53% Monica Belluci
53% Molly Ringwald
51% Emma Watson
47% Mira Sorvina

Yeah, I guess I just look like me....

Posted by: caltechgirl at 03:16 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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From Peep Boy:

You Are an Easter Egg

You're so sweet, you don't need candy. You much prefer the taste of artificial coloring instead.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 12:43 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Do you have:

      (X) your own cell phone... DUH.  Since 1996.  10 years of being in touch.
(X) a television in your bedroom....Oh HELL YES.  Can't sleep without it.
(X) an MP3 player...I am attached at the hip to my iPod shuffle.
(X) a photo printer...Yes, but it's still in the box.
() your own phone line....  Nope, one house, two peoples
( ) TiVo or a generic digital video recorder...Working on it
(X) high-speed internet access...Can't live without it
( ) a surround sound system in bedroom...No.  Too cheap.
(X ) DVD player in bedroom...See above.  Can you say White Christmas?
( X) at least a hundred DVDs...Cheaper than going to the Movies.
(X) a childfree bathroom...Unless the dog-child counts.
(X ) your own in-house office...Where my printers and my sewing machine live.
() a pool...  I wish
( ) a guest house...As if
( ) a game room...  If we had another room.  Does the living room count?
( X) a queen-size bed or larger...Oh yeah, King size. Of course, it's for two people and a stretchy dog...
( ) a stocked bar...Only if that means 2 bottles of wine, and a full bottle each of rum, Kahlua, and Baileys.....
(X) a working dishwasher...Oh, Hell yes.
( ) an icemaker...I used to.  Until we moved here.  First freezer I've had without one.
( X) a working washer and dryer...Couldn't Live without them
(X ) more than 20 pairs of shoes.. DUH
( ) at least ten things from a designer store...Designers don't make clothes that fit me.
(X ) expensive sunglasses... Prescription only.
() framed original art (not lithographs or prints)..
(X ) Egyptian cotton sheets or towels....Wedding presents are nice.
(X) a multi-speed bike...Two actually.
( ) a gym membership...I refuse to spend money to kick my own ass.
( X) large exercise equipment at home...Me and my elliptical.
( X) your own set of golf clubs...In my Dad's garage.
( ) a pool table...I wish.
( ) a tennis court...The first place we lived after we were married had one.
(X ) local access to a lake, large pond, or the sea...Hello, this is LA. The beach is right here.
( ) your own pair of skis...I fucking hate skiing.
(X) enough camping gear for a weekend trip in an isolated area...Yes, if you like sleeping outside a tent.  The army was good to us.
( ) a boat....When I'm rich.  Until then, I'll use Bill's
( ) a jet ski...no way
( ) a neighborhood committee membership...My landlord does.
( ) a beach house or a vacation house/cabin...When I retire.
(X) wealthy family members...Yep.  Both of us.
( ) two or more family cars...No.  Does the bike count?
(X) a walk-in closet or pantry...My closet is bigger than some bedrooms.
( ) a yard...Nope, but a nice balcony.
( ) a hammock...No.  No trees.
( ) a personal trainer...See above regarding Gym memberships
(X ) good credit...I rock.
(X ) expensive jewelry...I'm married to a geologist.  Need I say more?
( ) a designer bag that required being on a waiting list to get...As if.  Fuck No
( ) at least $100 cash in your possession right now...HA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAA
(X) more than two credit cards bearing your name (not counting gas cards or debit cards)...Oh yeah.  A lot.
(X) a stock portfolio...Yes, whatever is in the retirement fund....
() a passport... getting there.
( ) a horse...No.  My niece does, though.
( ) a trust fund (either for you or created by you)...No
(X) private medical insurance...Thank You Jesus!.
() a college degree, and no outstanding student loans ...Give me a month.  Just one more month.

Do you:
( X) shop for non-needed items for yourself (like clothes, jewelry, electronics) at least once a week... Doesn't mean I buy them, though.  Shopping is fun.
(X ) do your regular grocery shopping at high-end or specialty stores...Yes.  Trader Joes ROCKS
( ) pay someone else to clean your house, do dishes, or launder your clothes (not counting dry-cleaning)...does my Husband count?
(X) go on weekend mini-vacations...Those are the only kind I can afford.
( ) send dinners back with every flaw...That's my mother, not me...
( X) wear perfume or cologne (not body spray)...Yummy smelling=GOOD.
(X ) regularly get your hair styled or nails done in a salon...Starting next week, it's coming off.
( ) have a job but don't need the money OR
( ) stay at home with little financial sacrifice...Again, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
( ) pay someone else to cook your meals...No
( ) pay someone else to watch your children or walk your dogs...I wish.
( ) regularly pay someone else to drive you taxis...Hell no.
( ) expect a gift after you fight with your partner...The fact that he remembers what we were fighting about is a miracle

Are you:
(x) an only child..Thank Jesus!
( ) married/partnered to a wealthy person...Nope, and I could care less.
(X) baffled/surprised when you don't get your way...I ALWAYS get my way.  Dammit.  Respect my Authoritah!

Have you:
( ) been on a cruise...No
(X) traveled out of the country...Canada.
(X) met a celebrity...Several of them.
( ) been to the Caribbean...Not yet
( ) been to Europe...It's on the list.
( ) been to Hawaii...DH wants to go.  Maybe I'll go meet Dog....
(X ) been to New York...Loved it.
( ) eaten at the space needle in Seattle...No, didn't make it to Seattle
( ) been to the Mall of America...No.  Skipped that on PURPOSE
( ) been on the Eiffel tower in Paris...No.  See above.
( ) been on the Statue of Liberty in New York...It was still closed when I was in NYC.
( X) moved more than three times because you wanted to...Fresno to Pasadena to Fresno (briefly) to Carrboro to Chapel Hill, across town, and back here to Pasadena.
(X) dined with local political figures. In Fresno, at USC, and at Caltech.
(X) been to both the Atlantic coast and the Pacific coast...I've lived near both, too!
Did you:
( ) go to another country for your honeymoon...Nope, but we went to the ocean.
(X ) hire a professional photographer for your wedding or party ...The bastard.
(X) take riding or swimming lessons as a child...When I was allowed to swim....
(X ) attend private school...In college.
( ) have a Sweet 16 birthday party thrown for you....Fuck that.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 11:06 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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1 It's a girls' quiz. You're a girl. You should have more than me

Posted by: Ben at April 14, 2006 11:54 AM (6O5DM)

2 You are something else!!!

Posted by: vw bug at April 14, 2006 12:37 PM (0LvyK)

3 Ben VW: Is that good or bad?

Posted by: caltechgirl at April 14, 2006 01:27 PM (jOkK0)

4 CTG: Which brand elliptical do you have? And do you like it?

Posted by: Cardinal Martini at April 14, 2006 05:04 PM (mR1K4)

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Headline:

Tom Cruise flies off in vintage plane as Holmes awaits baby

Posted by: caltechgirl at 09:10 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Go here.  Scroll down.  Laugh.  Refresh.

Lather, Rinse, Repeat.

note:  The management apologizes if you actually agree with this stoopid moonbattery and wish to add a sincere message of your own.  NOT!!!

P.S.  Look for Mohammed....
h/t Beth

Posted by: caltechgirl at 07:45 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Found here

*Barefoot or Shoes? BAREFOOT.  And I wear Birkies when I can get away with it.  MUST be able to take my shoes off under my desk or a table

*Tea- Sweet or Unsweetened? SWEET!  I was always a no-sweetner girl until I moved to NC where you pretty much can't get it without sugar.  The sweeter the better, I say.

*Clothes- fitted or loose? Loose.  PJs and no bra if I can get away with it.

*Fish- fresh water or salt water? Not the biggest fish fan, but that which I will eat is all salt-water: Tuna steaks, Salmon, Scallops, Clam Chowder...

*Gravy or plain? Pass the gravy.  I usually get it on the side because I like the taste of my food and I can dip in or add it as I please.  For mashed taters, I usually go without and add cheese and sour cream instead

*House- spotless or lived in? Lived in.  I only lose things when I tidy up.

*Solitude or people? I would have to say people. But there are definitely moments when I need to be alone

*Beer or alcohol? I can't drink except on rare occasions thanks to my wonderful medication, but when I do it's almost ALWAYS a floofy girly drink.  With an umbrella or a fruit garnish.  So yeah, alcohol.

*Fiction or non-fiction? Fiction.  I love mysteries and interesting characters

*Weather- hot or cold?  Cold.  Definitely cold.  I love it when it rains or snows.  I love walking in the snow.  I love sleeping under a pile of blankets with the window open for some fresh air.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 02:48 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Just 20 minutes after showing Mohammed in the group shot at the end of the opening credits of the episode, CC pulls a hypocritical BONER and refuses to show Mohamed handing a "salmon helmet" to Peter Griffin in part 2 of South Park's "Family Guy" spoof.

Comedy Central has confirmed that this was a network decision, but somehow I can't help but think this is all part of the plan.....

Predictably, Michelle Malkin, OTB, Captain Ed, Wizbang!, and the Jawas are all over this.

Two thoughts:
1.  LOVED Bart Simpson working with Cartman.  Hell yeah!
2.  You can show Jesus getting pooped on but not Mohammed at the front door?  WTF?

Posted by: caltechgirl at 11:22 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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April 12, 2006