Not Sure Why I’m Blogging Again … So Time for a Break

 

Before I get to the main reason for writing this,  I’ve just removed the Like button from this post. Aaah. Feels freeing – like taking off a tight belt. Try as I might, I just don’t like the Like button. There…I said it!

Oh…don’t get me wrong. I was touched by each of you who actually came to this blog and took the time to read and Like a post. It did make me feel good. And when I see how gracious some of you are, I go running to your blogs to show my gratitude. And I do find some wonderful posts, so it’s usually my pleasure.

BUT…that’s not what I wanted from this.

Sign of the Day: Seen at Stinky Brooklyn

Tags

cheese, sign of the day, Stinky Brooklyn, Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day, Take Your Kid to Work Day

There’s a local cheese shop (with so much more) called Stinky Brooklyn. This ever so wonderful sign was spotted there today on Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day, or what they are calling Take Your Kid to Stinky Day.

I think the sign speaks nicely for itself!

I Took the Bing Google Search Engine Challenge and … Dogpile Wins!

Tags

best search engine, Bing, Bing Google Challenge, Bing It On, Google, search engine review, search engines

 

When you’re not working, you have a lot of time on your hands, as I do now. So I decided to take the Bing Google Challenge. This is an online side-by-side comparison test that Bing is offering to get us to think of them more often – when googling.

For those of you with actual jobs, you may never even have heard of the “Bing It On” Bing Google Challenge until now. But I assure you that it exists, and that I took it.

Here’s how the Challenge works: Bing lets you enter your own search queries (it also provides samples you might use), and then lets you see the search engine results from both Bing and Google, right next to each other, without telling you which is which. All you have to do is select which search engine results you like best.

My Bing Google Challenge results?

(Please see end of article for important update.)

After coming up with what I thought were some pretty good test search questions, based on things that I care about,

Dangers of Omega-3 Fish Oil Supplements? I Have To Stop Looking Up Side-Effects

Tags

fish oil, fish oil supplements, health supplements, Mayo Clinic, Omega-3

 

 

Did you know Omega-3 supplements can potentially cause formication?

According to what I found on the Mayo Clinic website: “Restlessness and formication … have also been reported.” Note that’s an “m” in formication (the sensation of ants crawling on the skin) and not an “n”, which of course would be a safe side-effect with which I could happily live.

I have a habit of looking up things on the web to see if what I don’t know could be important. (I’m sure none of you suffer from this ailment.) So when a friend mentioned that she had taken heavier doses than usual of omega-3 fish oil pills / capsules to help with jet lag (and she reports that it did help), I immediately went online to see if this was a good idea.

Most sites I found have at least some cautionary information about taking too much fish oil, since there is a chance of heavier-than-usual bleeding, depending on the dosage (especially important to know before surgery). And of course, depending on the quality of the product, they also warn that there could be mercury or other impurity issues. But that was most of what I found. Nothing too frightening. Until I got to the Mayo Clinic site. Eek!

Sheesh! They’re Searching for a Show Called “Bet Your Baby”

Tags

Bet on Your Baby, search engines, search terms

 

 

Last week I wrote about a new television game show called “Bet On Your Baby“.  So that we don’t waste any time, I will tell you that I am most definitely NOT a fan of either the show or the concept of betting on your baby in front of millions of viewers, just to win prizes. In fact, I think it’s teetering on the border of reprehensible.

Now turning to the far side of reprehensible … today more than one googler found my original article by looking for a show that they called “Bet Your Baby”. One was even looking for the show’s time slot. Oh boy…now doesn’t THAT sound like fun!

Look, I know there’s a lot of bad television out there, and I am certainly not too proud to admit that I watch some of it, but please oh please come back googlers and tell me that search term was just a typo!  Do you really think it’s called “Bet Your Baby” and still want to watch it? Just imagine what THOSE kids would tell their therapists one day about being lost in a bad bet their parents made on some game show. Not even a good game show.

Once again…sheesh!

Of Pillows, Costco, and Good Friends

Tags

charisma pillow review, Costco, friendship, perfect pillows, pillows

First, I have to tell you that I am endlessly obsessed with finding the right pillow for sleeping. I have spent years prodding and testing pillows, and then bringing them home, only to find that they aren’t the perfect pillow after all. Sigh.

Some of the less-perfect pillows make it to my bed as extra pillows. Many other of these hopeful candidates are soon relegated to the sofa or closet, nervously awaiting the next batch that may wind up sending them to the trash bin.

But every now and then, I find some pillows that feel really good – at least to me. Not too firm. Not too soft. Just enough support to keep my neck happy. Still not THE perfect pillow, perhaps, but really really good. And these pillows get immediately elevated to the sacred spot on the bed where my head gets placed at night.

So it was for two “down alternative” Charisma pillows that my acupuncturist (and friend) got for me from Costco at the end of last year. Her husband had originally found this brand for her (a package of 2 for $20!), she also being a pillow seeker. And since then, they have been my go-to pillows for sleeping. The two pillows together are just perfect for me, and even more so after some months have passed.

But First a Word About Costco

No…this is not a paid advertisement. In fact, I used to laugh at my cousin who was always raving about all the things she got at Costco, even food. “Aren’t there any other stores out there in the suburbs?” I teased.

What??? There’s a New TV Show Called “Bet On Your Baby”!

Tags

"game shows", babies, Bet on Your Baby, new TV show, TV shows

I just found a new show that blows my mind. In fact, I had to look twice at the listing. Yup…ABC has a new television show where parents actually bet on their babies to win prizes. Now isn’t that something you want to grow up and one day find out about!

Look…I watch some pretty bad TV shows. Ones that I know probably set my brain’s development back at least a few years.  But this is one of the stupidest things I’ve ever seen on TV – and I’ve watched Sean from The Bachelor as a dancing “star” on Dancing with the Stars.

Maybe it’s a joke. I know it’s not April Fool’s Day, but maybe they are going to stop near the end of it and tell us they’ve been pulling our collective legs.

Ok. Now a father walks his kid into the “baby dome” where we will watch to see if he lets go of a ball.

Cat on a Warm Spring Day

Tags

Brooklyn, Photography, spring

“We already know a tree grows in Brooklyn. Look at ME!”

My cat, Lucie, likes to help when I’m taking pictures. And who am I to say no?

I was trying to get a photo of the wonderful white-blossomed tree across the street that always means spring to me, when she popped up to say hello.

Ah, cats. Ah, spring blossoms. You are both so very very welcome.

Down Under the Manhattan Bridge

Tags

Brooklyn, DUMBO, Manhattan Bridge, poem

 

 

 

UNDER THE BRIDGE

The resolute rattle of time-worn trains above.

The animated laughter of rosy-cheeked children below.

The emphatic blast of a passing ferry’s horn.

The torrid whispers of soon-to-be lovers on the grass.

The irrepressibly hopeful street vendor hawking his wares in the distance.

No city built on cowering silence this!

——-

Photo Credit: Manhattan Bridge 2009 by Steve_V via Wikimedia Commons

What I Learned About Dieting from Daytime TV … and Snooki?

Tags

daytime TV, diet advice, diets, Dr. Oz, reality tv, Snooki, Snooki diet

When I’m in between consulting jobs, one of my most beloved indulgences is daytime TV. Even bad daytime TV.  And that’s where I found Snooki. And I was reminded of one of the most basic of diet truths, something I had forgotten amid a flurry of fad diet advice and sure-fire diet tricks.

Now as much as I love bad TV, daytime or anytime, I have never watched Snooki or anyone on Jersey Shore. Wasn’t even tempted. And I stoop as low as watching and totally enjoying The Bachelor!

So when I was channel surfing and saw that Snooki was going to be a guest on the Dr. Oz show (his show has good info, but one revelatory THIS is the answer moment after another can really grate on you after a while), I decided it was time to get myself out for a nice walk instead. But something – perhaps the fact that it was April Fool’s day – made me tune in. Or maybe it was just a thought that it’s cool sometimes to get past preconceived notions. Anyway, for whatever reason, I prepared to give her and my curiosity a few minutes.

Snooki on Dr. Oz

And there she was, being interviewed by Dr. Oz, who in a charmingly-annoying way seems to find the best in almost everyone. As for Snooki, she was natural; she was engaging; and she was coherent. All things I didn’t expect.

Embracing the Church of Sports (Warts and All)

Tags

amazin' Mets, Bobby Knight, Bull Durham, church of baseball, love of sports, Mike Rice

I’ll get to less-obvious reasons that I still embrace the church of sports, despite the many many problems and flaws. But first….

The video above shows one of the most exciting come-back moments ever in baseball, when the New York Mets won the World Series in 1986 in the bottom of the 10th, in what seemed to be a no-brainer win for the Boston Red Sox. This last-minute win was a breathtaking. eye-popping conclusion many of us will never forget.

Not only was it great to see our (finally) amazin’ Mets win the entire Series, but this was a moment to remember for anyone who thinks their own game is lost. These Mets never gave up, even when the odds were stacked against them. It’s not about the odds, they might tell us. It’s about knowing, in any moment no matter what anyone tells you, you can still change things around for yourself – and for your team.

The Darker Side of Sports

Of course, sports has a darker side, too.

Haiku #22: The Greatest Gift

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haiku

   The Greatest Gift

Dawn brings awareness.

The mind, like a flower’s bud

Blossoms in found light.

Do You Use the First Person When You Talk to Yourself?

Tags

first person, first person pronoun, grammar, personal pronouns

Here’s something I bet no one’s ever asked you: What personal pronoun do you use when you talk to yourself? First person? Second person? Third person?

Or are you thinking “What a stupid question. I never talk to myself.” Uh…if so, maybe take a moment to check that thought!

Ok. Maybe I’m putting myself out on a limb since I’m not even sure that you do talk to yourself, but I right now flat out admit that I do. Not out loud too much (luckily I have a cat so when I do, it can simply look like I’m talking to her), but I most definitely catch myself talking to me in my head.

Like this morning, I caught myself thinking “I will get up in just a few more minutes.” Not person-less forms like “time to get up” or “get up soon” or “Ugh. Coffee.”

How Do You Make Peace with a Life You Didn’t Expect?

Tags

life in New York, unexpected life

An unexpected life. Is there any other kind, when you really think about it?

I’ve been thinking a lot about those parts of life that just seem to sneak up on us – and at other times land smack dab in front of us, as if carried to mission success by an eagle-eyed paratrooper.

Sometimes it’s something wonderful, a gift from the heavens perhaps. Like meeting your beloved life partner while waiting for a slow elevator.

But sometimes not-so-great things come to us – things that are not at all what we expected, and most definitely not in our control. Things we would never choose in an idealized life. Things we wish would just go away, so we won’t have to deal with them. And yet there they are, staring us in the face, daring us to act…or not.

A woman I know came to me for advice today. Some new neighbors moved in, people who seem very nice, but whose dog goes into 10-minute barking jags in the afternoon when he’s alone in the apartment

Accidental Cooking: Spicy Surprise Beef and Spinach Stew

Tags

Beef stew, cooking, easy-to-make recipes, Healthy cooking, healthy recipes

Yup…that’s accidental and not occidental, although I guess it’s also occidental, since I live in the Western Hemisphere. Anyway…this stew happened totally by accident, as does much of my cooking.

I actually planned to make some kind of meat loaf, having defrosted a small wad of frozen hamburger. Or so I thought. But after putting a bunch of ingredients in a bowl and even adding some rice, similar to the way stuffed cabbage has rice in it, I opened the defrosted meat and lo and behold…it was stew meat that I had re-wrapped and put in the freezer after buying a large package of stew meat about a month ago.

Well, not to let something minor like not having the right main ingredient stop me, I decided to go with it. And so I added the stew meat to my bowl o’ stuff,