April 5, 2008

• Warious Weekend Wanderings

  Meet the Piebeans

  These are aluminum pie weights, devised to keep unfilled pastry shells from warping and bubbling in baking.  We call them “pie beans” because years ago I got a bag of them to replace some disgusting organic beans I had been using and reusing for that purpose.  They were washable and theoretically infinitely reusable, and served their purpose admirably until the Dumpster Deva bestowed upon me some perforated pans which fit inside the pastry crusts and serve the purpose just as well with less fuss.

  The aluminum “beans” went into a zipper sandwich bag and into the bottom drawer beside my kitchen stove along with measuring spoons, measuring cups, egg separators, bamboo skewers, teakwood chopsticks, and various other kitchen gear.  Then the bag split and the back fell out of the drawer, and before I fixed the drawer many of my “beans” had fallen into Limbo beneath and behind those drawers.

  In January, an obviously pregnant Alice, the cat who previously had gone feral and bore a litter of kittens in an unheated space that once held a water heater here, then moved back in with us, bringing with her Val, Bagel, and Emmett, started hanging out in a “shelf” that had been the top kitchen drawer at some era of the distant past.  The front of that drawer had been missing when we moved in, and I had used the resulting opening to hold kitchen towels.  The towels vanished, and we assumed that Alice was building a nest somewhere in the nether regions with the pie beans.

  Obviously, the kittens would have to be named for kitchen gadgets.  Before they were born, Doug and I came up with three names:  Mandolin (my favorite kitchen tool), Colander, and Spatula.    Greyfox supplied a fourth, Paring Knife, when the litter was born and Doug excavated the nest, discovering that a fourth name would be needed.  Even before their birth on Valentine’s Day, we had been referring to the litter collectively as the “Piebeans,” because they were born among the spilled aluminum “beans.”

   This is Count Spatula, the lone male of the litter.  His sisters, Mandy, Colander, and P.K. (Petite Kitten, the runt) are active and elusive.  If I am ever to get photos of them, I will need to set aside a time for it, keep the camera turned on and my eyes on the cats.  Each time I have seen the perfect kitten shot, by the time I get the camera and turn it on, they have vanished.
  

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  BREAKUP IS HERE

  Big, wet snowflakes fell as Doug, standing where the woodpile had been, dug out all the stray firewood he could find around the edges, before we ordered another cord to be delivered.  Now we are burning wet green birch and working just as hard to keep the fire going as we did during cold weather, because the new wood is resistant to fire and hard to light if we don’t have a hot bed of coals on which to place it.

  Last night it was raining when I went to sleep.  This morning when I woke there was an inch or so of new snow.  There is no “old” snow.  It is all slush, and about two feet deep in the open flat areas.

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  You Are Disturbingly Profound

  You’re contemplative, thoughtful, and very intense. Taking time to figure out the meaning of life is a priority for you. Because you’re so introspective, you often react in ways that surprise people. No one can really understand how you are on the inside… and that disturbs them.

  Are You Disturbingly Profound or Profoundly Disturbing?

  You Are 84% Gross

  Ewwww! You really have some disgusting habits. Now go take a shower… with extra soap.

  How Gross Are You?

  Men See You As Choosy

  Men notice you light years before you notice them You take a selective approach to dating, and you can afford to be picky You aren’t looking for a quick flirt – but a memorable encounter It may take men a while to ask you out, but it’s worth the wait

  How Do Men See You?

  You Are Not Prissy

  You’re the furthest thing from a princess – and you probably stay far away from any princess types you know. You have an easygoing approach to living. It doesn’t take a lot to make you happy. And when life requires it, you’re ready to get your hand a little dirty. There’s no problem you’re too prissy to tackle!

  How Prissy Are You?

  You Are 50% Left Brained, 50% Right Brained

  The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you’re left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you’re right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

  Are You Right or Left Brained?

  Your Thinking is Abstract and Sequential

  You like to do research and collect lots of information. The more facts you have, the easier it is for you to learn. You need to figure things out for yourself and consider all possibilities. You tend to become an expert in the subjects that you study. It’s difficult for you to work with people who know less than you do. You aren’t a very patient teacher, and you don’t like convincing people that you’re right.

  What Kind of Thinker Are You?

  
  
  

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  METAPROGRAMMING

  The concept of metaprogramming is simple: a programmed system begins to program itself. Metaprogramming begins in that split second when a pre-scripted program consciously begins to rewrite itself. Indeed, the act of metaprogramming may be the ultimate benchmark of a conscious system – I metaprogram, therefore I am.

  James Kent

  The earliest instance of metaprogramming that I can recall in this lifetime was when I was twenty years old, beginning nursing training.  I consciously discarded my embarrassment at nudity, the fear of blood that I had been taught, and my repugnance for pus, feces, and various other “dirty” smelly bodily excretions.

  Do you metaprogram?  I never stop.

  

  • 2:55 pm
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