Dangerous double-dipping, soap as a function of people and shower doors, editing, and exercising…

Watch out for double dippers If you see someone dipping a half-eaten chip into the guacamole at your next party, beware: “Double-dipping” can spread cold and flu viruses and other germs. Inspired by an episode of Seinfeld  in which the character George Costanza is caught double-dipping, professor Paul Dawson enlisted undergraduate students to dip a … Read more

A potpourri of news items, exercising, a resurrected shrimp salad, MSBC, and an office visit…

In my January 28th entry (which I shortly thereafter made a friends-only entry), I posted about a young woman who committed suicide in prison, and as it turned out, whose parents I knew from work, and whose father’s office is just down the hall from mine in my current position. Well, in today’s N&O Lifestyles … Read more

Stop the spam, lovin’ don’t last—cookin’ do, singe insurance, dancing, and drag wars…

I did all three of these things today. Save a tree—stop the (U.S. Mail) spam: dmaconsumer.org, the Direct Marketing Association’s site, provides consumers with an “opt-out offer.” Pay $1 (actually waived if you do it online) to have your name removed from mailing, telemarketing, and e-mail lists. The association also provides helpful hints to protect … Read more

Sleeping in, favorite The Week blurbs, errands, working out, and Flex, Legends, & IHOP…

I slept in today, taking advantage of my Fridays off. Here are three of my favorite blurbs from this week’s The Week magazine: A good week for: Buying gold at a discount, after a Florida memorabilia company minted 10,000 24-karat gold coins engraved with the words, “New England Patriots 19-0 Super Bowl XLII Champions.” A … Read more

Working from home, the circle of life, Valentine’s and a record-breaking workout…

I worked from home today. Uneventful. At about 10:00, I turned on my phone, and had two messages. One from Joe, and one from my cousin in Atlanta, asking me if I had the names of any of my uncle’s (her father’s) other kids or family—that she’d received a message from one of them that … Read more

Finger scans, found ammunition, no USMC in Berkeley, cream & sugar celebrities, and good METs…

I worked from home today, and edited pretty much all day and all night. At E-Ching and David’s Chinese New Year party yesterday, I had a conversation with another of their friends named John, about how in Disney World in January, we were asked to put our finger in one scanner while our ticket was being scanned in another. I … Read more

METS are my new friend, Happy Chinese New Year, secret shoppers, and a show…

I met Joe today for my workout, and after discussing the subject of the formula to calculate calories burned on the elliptical machine with him, I was more curious than ever about it. As it turns out, of course, it’s a little involved, which is probably why most people don’t know it, and it’s hard … Read more