Me + my parents + WF = Thanksgiving

Yes, you read it right. WF is going to meet the parents! And I'm looking forward to it, too.

This is momentous. He makes me happy, and I am thinking of the future... in a good way. If neither of us get too nervous it will be fine, but I hope, hope, hope my parents like him! Wish me luck!

World of Goo

Wahoo! World of Goo!


This inexpensive game (I play on Wii, but it's also available on PC and Mac) is so much fun! The object is to build structures or solve puzzles with little balls of goo. It's physics-based, which means you actually have to think. 'O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!' I chortle in my joy. Guitar Hero is lots of fun, but some days I just want to build stuff!

Plus, the sounds are cute -- one of the noises the goo balls make is "Can I go?" Gameplay is cartoonish and reminiscent of The Nightmare Before Christmas due to big heads and stick bodies, but it's clear the designers (2D Boy) put lots of thought into it. In addition, there is an OCD mode of play, where you challenge yourself to solve the puzzle using a certain amount of moves. There is a level where you can build a tower using the "extra" goo balls you collect in your travels. It can also be played by up to four people. Buy this! It will never, ever get boring!

Lime and cheese?

I really like the lime-flavored Tostitos tortilla chips. If I still want flavor and no more crunch, sometimes I just lick off the limey salt and toss the soggy chips. But imagine my dismay when I found that they have cheese in them! Harrumph! Now I can’t eat them with meat meals.

That’s what I get for reading the label…

Random mutant proteins

http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S22/60/95O56/index.xml?section=topstories

This is so cool. Through mathematical analysis of certain experiments, scientists at Princeton have found that protein chains in many organisms act to correct any imbalance imposed on them through artificial mutations, and restored their chains to working order. In other words, the living proteins know what they are supposed to be, and that the random mutations (not artificial) really do make up evolutionary theory.

Spore, anyone?

Phew!

Well, I needn't have worried. I've received a response and he understands what I was saying. Before taking such an important step, everything must be right for both of us.

And although he says so, I'm not entirely convinced that he isn't at all disappointed. But at least I know that he can recognize when I'm uncomfortable, and take steps to alleviate my stress, and reinforce what we have. That's important!

Whoa.

Well, it's not that I didn't expect to hear this from him (and it's not as though I'm not on the way to feeling exactly the same), but I certainly didn't expect to hear those three little words quite so soon in our relationship. Last night. You know what three words I'm talking about.

I apparently looked weirded out when he told me, and I doubt that was the reaction he was hoping for. But I can't and won't say something I don't fully mean yet! That would be thoughtless and unfair.

When we met, he mentioned that he was doing things right this time. I acknowledged that I was doing the same, and that entails not rushing things.

I followed up explaining my reaction, but I'm not sure he understands my point of view. I hope we're ok...

Winsome Flame? Nope!

Hmm. It seems my winsome flame isn't quite as winsome as I thought... and that's a good thing. He is A Real Man. I'm going to switch his name to Wonderful Flame. Because he is wonderful.

We have been waiting all week to see each other tomorrow. Ah, Saturdays... *can't stop smiling*

Wordie

So I was poking around for some more words that struck my fancy (clunky, scripted, bushy) when I came across a great tool. It's Wordie!

And imagine my surprise when I checked out their blog and saw they had also written about the OED turning 80. But my post was written a month earlier! Not that big a deal, just an interesting factoid.

Anyway, Wordie is a great resource and a fun tool. It lets you compile word lists and phrase lists using words you love, hate, on a given topic, whatever. Lists are visible to everyone but can be added to by just you, a group of friends, or anyone at all. I love that idea! And you can check the etymology, locate several different dictionary entries, and search for books to buy regarding the word in question. So fun!

The happy tinglies

My dating mantra seems to be working.

Things are going great between me and my Winsome Flame (WF in future)! Basically, he is a pearl among swine. It's not exactly the right analogy, but it will do. I get that warm feeling thinking about him. He actually... appreciates me! Who knows where this may lead!?

*happy sigh* Wish me luck!

Dinner party successful

We had a blast!


Dinner was delicious and the company even better. Conversation (although it took a while to get started) ranged from movies to music to how awesome I am. Okay, I made that last bit up, but all in all, a lot of fun was had last night.

Everyone got along with each other, and there were no weird moments, with the exception of the half minute that my date fell asleep while the rest of us were looking at something online! (In his defense, he did have a very long day.) I had thought he was looking with us but he was three feet away. He woke up after a friend glanced over at him. But he was perky the rest of the time, and impressed the group (and me!) with his helping skills.

Regarding the chocolate sauce, it was fine until it stopped coming out of the bottle. I unplugged the pinhole several times, but it just wouldn't come out! Ultimately we just unscrewed the bottle. It was awfully thick. I thought perhaps I had mis-measured the chocolate until my mom explained that I was supposed to warm it up before serving. Oops!

I might have another dinner party this winter with a different menu. I'll let you know!

Glossy chocolate sauce

I am having a dinner party tomorrow night for three of my favorite friends and their significant others, plus me, plus the guy from JDate. Wow!

The meal will be simple: a nice antipasto with olives and assorted jarred tasties, rigatoni with meatballs (turkey) and my yummy sauce (Tuttorosso crushed tomatoes with basil base of course!), roasted veggies (carrots, green and red peppers, onions, and zucchini marinated in balsamico and lots o' spices), tossed salad with a homemade vinaigrette, bread, and a chocolate cake with raspberry coulis and chocolate sauce on the side. I would have preferred a yellow or white cake with the sauces, but they were all dairy. The coulis came out rather thin and I tried to thicken it with potato starch after it was already made. It worked... um... kind of... but hopefully no one will get down to the bottom of the bottle where the remaining lumpy bits are!
Useful Tips Section
Regarding the chocolate sauce, I finally found one without cream or butter. And it looks amazing! It's a David Lebovitz recipe and you can find it here. I will make it tomorrow.

We are going to have such a great time! Yay! I will be the hostess with the mostess! (mostest?)

35 words I like

Cool words of varying types. They are interestingly spelled, fun to pronounce, make me laugh, or all three. Most of them can even be used in everyday sentences. Feel free to comment, and add!

bamboozle flippant hoity-toity Madagascar squish eschew runestaff rotund Scheherezade bandicoot succulent gambit

pithy churl molecular symposium Minnetonka radiant beautician vex sizzle mirepoix chaos nonplussed

luscious festoon quotidian boron pulchritudinous erumpent citric conceptual gormless pretzel theorize

Mike & Ike's lemonade flavors

Yum! Candy is great!

The Mike and Ike candy brand has teamed up with Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation and will make a minimum donation of $100,000 per year for at least three years to the Foundation to assist in its fight to cure childhood cancer. What a nice gesture… even better is that the candy actually tastes good!

The theater-size boxes hold five lemonade-y flavors: tangerine lemonade, strawberry lemonade, lime lemonade, raspberry lemonade, and ordinary lemonade. And they do taste like the flavors they say they are. Go buy one! You will not be disappointed.

Space station trash plunges to earth

This article reminds me of the massive ball of garbage careening back to earth in an episode of Futurama. Except for the fact that this is toxic ammonia.

http://www.space.com/news/081031-space-station-debris-reentry.html

Super Line Follow

This is guaranteed to keep you busy for a while. Hypnotize yourself while creating enchanting, swirly, dancing lines. Click "Play It" at the bottom and change the options at the bottom left of the playing screen. It's just so freakin' beautiful!

http://wiicade.com/gameDetail.aspx?gameID=1169

Wordle #2

This is my newest Wordle. Click it to see it more clearly.

I share because the placement on this one is really funny -- see "Light Lunch", "Caffeine Disappoints", "One Guy", "JDate Flavors", "Sweet Enough", "Pepperdiet", "Looking Happens", "Love Fresca", and my favorite: "Just Me. There's Definitely Red". Haha!

Extremely rare flowers

I stumbled across a wonderful site named scienceray looking for pictures of the legendary Youtan Poluo flower. And oh, did I find them -- as well as information about other unusual blossoms.

Unfortunately, the flower is reminiscent of the transplanted hairs from John Carpenter Presents Body Bags. But a legend of a flower that sprouts from nothing once every 3000 years is pretty interesting...

http://www.scienceray.com/Biology/Botany/The-Rarest-Flowers.269699

GHWT drum sensitivity fix

It turns out that in order to employ RedOctane's sensitivity fix for the Guitar Hero World Tour drums, one requires a USB to midi cable, which they will send you if you don't have. I don't have! Perhaps I could just pay three dollars for one from my ex-boyfriend... not. But in all seriousness, they are not exactly cheap -- I found one on sale for $20, but they seem to run significantly higher than that. Why should I buy one? RedOctane should sell something that works right!

I requested it on 10/29/08 after researching and determining I was not the only one with this problem. I hope to receive it soon, but who knows? Guess I'll just have to bang a little harder for a while longer...

Bats in concert

Vampire bats may not be attractive, but roost mates make beautiful music.

From childhood, we know that bats make sounds, and that we can't hear most of them. But the human ear can hear these chirps, which scientists believe permit them to easily reunite when out of view. One scientist thinks each call might communicate the individual's identity, location and feelings. How cool!?

Plus, it turns out they are altruistic regarding sharing food... I mean, blood. Says one scientist, "In the wild, successful vampire bats sometimes share blood with their unsuccessful roost-mates. Such unselfish behavior is rare in animals and the current study intimates that reciprocal altruism among unrelated individuals may be mediated, in part, through vocal identification of individual roost mates." How's that for bat egalitarianism?

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/10/31/vampire-bat-duet.html

3rd date successful

I enjoyed myself this past Thursday night!

We met just for dinner and it was really nice. This guy makes it very difficult not to like him. He opens doors (building and car), plies me with compliments, kisses my hand, sings to me, and wouldn't dream of letting me pick up the check (which I have in fact tried to do. One of these days I actually will). He also sends little love note emails, which I find charming and not at all over the top. Basically, he is an old-school romantic. And I'm pleasantly surprised!

I'm going to see how things develop. I will let you know.