Posted By Christina M on July 29, 2010

The office where I get my dental work done has a typo on their web page. It is in the phone number, and every time I try to call I first try the number listed, in case it has been corrected. It hasn’t. Today I solved this on a personal level, with Notezilla. Notezilla has a unique feature that I haven’t seen on any other sticky notes application: you can pin a note to a particular window. That includes an application window, or even a web page. It goes by the title of the window itself, so as long as the web page has a name listed in the title bar that is unique, or at least does not duplicate the name of another page you frequent, it works beautifully. In this case, I made a tiny note with the correct phone number, placed it right on top of the wrong phone number, and set it to open every time that web page opens.

Notezilla has a lot of other features, but the pin to window feature is my favorite. For a complete list, I suggest you click on the link above and check it out. If you want sticky notes on your computer, Notezilla may be exactly what you didn’t even realize you were looking for.

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Posted By Christina M on July 28, 2010

I’ve recently been “informed” by about half a dozen people who do not know each other, and in different settings and different contexts, that only liberals are smart, and that all conservatives are stupid, ignorant, and closed-minded. One person who had just accepted my help with some things then mentioned that “conservatives are all assholes.” Another informed me that all conservatives are closed-minded.

Anyone who would make the first statement is behaving like an asshole. Anyone who would make the second statement is being closed-minded.

I want to tell you something, and if you are an elitist, I hope you will listen. Elitism is not intelligence. Narcissism is not intelligence. Closed-mindedness is not intelligence.  And neither liberalism NOR conservatism precludes any of those traits. They are not intelligence, they are character flaws. And if you think that people on your side of the fence are incapable of being elitist, narcissistic, or closed-minded, it is probably a sign that you are all of the above.

Nobody is stupid because they are conservative or liberal. But anyone who thinks that ego equals intelligence is being stupid. And anyone who thinks that anyone who is different from them is closed-minded is closed-minded. If open-mindedness is important to them, they should rethink their positions about judging other people.

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Posted By Christina M on July 28, 2010

Artgal is making it. 🙂

The salad:

1 head of lettuce
1 package maifon noodles
1 chicken, cooked
green onions

The dressing:

4 T sugar
2 t salt
1 t msg
1/2 t pepper
4 T vinegar
1/4 cup salad oil

Boil noodles for a couple of minutes. Drain. Mix with other ingredients and dressing.

notes: tonight we are adding horseradish and peanuts. Yum! Also, we are going to use sesame oil for at least part of the salad oil.  And of course, we have to double it.

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Posted By Christina M on July 10, 2010

My personal recommendation is Oliver Twist. David Copperfield is a very, very close second.

And then you can tackle Shakespeare, C. S. Lewis’ non-fiction, and Charlotte’s Web. The book, not the movie.

The point to all this? Never stop learning. You learned in elementary school because they told you to. You learned in high school because you dreaded the loss of college and the pains of restriction. You learned in college because, by gum, you’d paid for it.

And now it’s a warm Saturday and you have the evening to watch tv. Go learn something for you, instead. Not for a teacher, a parent, a job, a promotion, or a degree. Just for the sheer joy of learning. You ate your brussels sprouts. Now go take a bite of chocolate cream pie. Learning for joy is a pleasure you won’t want to give up.

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Posted By Christina M on May 19, 2010

Tonight my family watched one of our newer favorite programs, Parenthood. The show is about a family, an extended family. There are a mom and dad, their three adult children, two adult children’s spouses, and their children. It’s generally a good show.

There is also a young character, one of the grandkids, named Max. He has Asperger’s Syndrome.

From the time his parents learned of his condition, I was at least a little concerned about how they treated the knowledge. The mother was devastated. Her perfect son wasn’t perfect, and he never would be. The dad was pragmatic, ready to deal with the problem. The aunts and uncles were pitying and sympathetic. Those poor parents, having such a terrible woe to befall their family.

The only problem with it all is that Apsergers is not a sentence. It is a difference. And difference is not necessarily a bad thing. They were heartbroken when they learned that their son would not be cured. I will tell you right now I am grateful that my son will never be “cured.” I like him exactly the way he is. But tonight’s episode was dedicated to Autism Speaks, an organization that exists to try to eradicate the thinking differences we call “Autism Spectrum Disorders.”

I’ll tell you something else. In a world without Aspies, we’d have precious few engineers, software developers, and mathematicians. Albert Einstein was probably one. There’s a good possibility that Edison was, too. Who you are is a gift to the world. People who are different from you are also a gift to the world. They don’t need “cured” just because they are different. They may need special help to learn to adjust to a world that isn’t like them, but that’s a far cry from needing to have their uniqueness taken away and replaced by more mundane gifts.

If we really must “cure” all differences, maybe we should go back to taping the hands of the left-handed, or go back segregation? Maybe we should re-ignite a search for a master race, even?

Or maybe, just maybe, those of us who are “normal,” “typical,” or “standard” need to learn to recognize the gifts in those who are different from ourselves. If we deprive ourselves of the gifts they have to offer, then maybe it’s the “normal” who are foolish and broken.

If you watched this program and are also bothered by it, please consider writing a letter to NBC to let them know that just because Autism Speaks is a squeaky wheel does not mean they are right.

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Posted By Christina M on May 4, 2010

We’ve all seen the picture, or variations of it: a person, with a devil sitting on one shoulder and an angel on the other. The devil represents, well, the Devil. The angel represents a guardian angel, or God. And we, we are to presume, stand in the middle with a choice to make. Which team will we join?

But the problem with that imagery is that we’re already on a team. God isn’t sitting there waiting for us to make a choice, upon which He will then judge us. He is already on our team. Our choice is really to back our Teammate or sell out to the opposing team.

Did you ever see the movie Sargent Bilko? One man got accused of accepting a bribe for “going down” in a boxing match, and got exiled to Greenland for it. Pete Rose got ousted from his profession just for betting… not even on one of his own games. But when we betray our team, we are welcomed back. Unconditionally.

And even people who do not call themselves teammates are welcomed and supported. He has your back. And you don’t even have to earn it.

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Posted By Christina M on May 3, 2010

Has Michael already run out of the money he was awarded for Terri’s rehabilitation?
I guess a professional who lives on lawsuit money has to do something for a living when his cash runs out.

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Posted By Christina M on April 6, 2010

Two quick ideas for using up often wasted foods:

1. Stale bread or bread heels… tear them up into a bowl, and sprinkle cheese on top. Drizzle water over it, and season to taste. (I like a tiny bit of a salty seasoning like french fry seasoning, and a handful of minced onion.) Optionally, add leftover meat from the fridge. Microwave for a minute and a half, and you have a quick stuffing-like lunch.

2. The shreds at the bottom of the shredded wheat… add them to bowl with a packet of instant oatmeal, and cook according to directions. If it’s frosted shredded wheat, it will sweeten unsweetened oatmeal nicely.

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Posted By Christina M on March 22, 2010

I’d rather call it a marriage ring. It isn’t about having had a wedding, it’s about a lifelong commitment.

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Posted By Christina M on March 18, 2010

Today I got a reminder that it’s time to resubscribe to Allure Magazine, along with the current issue. The only problem with that is that I am not a subscriber. In fact, this is the first time that particular magazine has ever crossed my threshold. Now, I don’t know much about t he magazine, so I’m in no position to put it down too harshly, but … how can I say it? It’s a beauty magazine, and I don’t really buy beauty magazines. Unless you’re talking about how to make a garden beautiful. Then you’ve got my attention. If I were going to subscribe to a new magazine, I can think of a dozen that I’d rather get.

1. Envoy
2. Carmelite Digest
3. Reader’s Digest (Or even better, the French Edition)
4. Sunset
5. Popular Science
6. Better Homes and Gardens
7. FamilyFun
8. Prevention
9. National Geographic
10. Analog Science Fiction & Fact (which would, of course, be handed straight over to my Charming and Patient Husband)
11. The Tightwad Gazette
12. Magnificat

Nothing against beauty magazines, but they just aren’t my thing. And why they thought I’d “renew” a magazine I never subscribed to in the first place is beyond me. A nice meander through the world of National Geographic sounds so very much more interesting.

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Tags: lists, our life, short stack