As I mentioned in a previous post, we went out to dinner and a movie tonight for our Halloween celebration instead of doing the trick-or-treating and handing out candy thing. This is the first time since becoming an adult that I've ever been out for dinner and a movie on Halloween. Following are some observations from the evening:

-We went out to eat early so we could catch a show around seven. We arrived at Outback around 5:35 or so....the same standard as always holds true for the demographic of people you will see at a decent restaurant this early; retirement age couples, childless middle aged couples (if they have kids they are probably away at school), people with very young children, and perhaps a few of the happy hour hangers on. No wait for a seat, that's for sure.

-When you go out to eat on Halloween, sometimes the people who wait on you will be in costume. This was the case tonight...our waiter (who looked somewhat like Colin Farrell) was dressed in a girl's black tight t-shirt, a blonde wig, and gir's cargo shorts. And hiking boots. He semed to be making an extra effort to swagger whilst he walked to ensure everyone was aware of his real gener. Funny....but he looked even more like Colin Farrell to me - probably because I just saw Alexander on Saturday.

-If you have time to stop home before going to the movie, go into stealth mode - after all, you've been away all night not giving out candy and you don't want anyone to see you pull in and run up, hoping to get candy now that you're back. Luckily, our garage door light was out so we were able to slip in relatively unnoticed. Note: we stopped home because Tommy does NOT do horror flicks - ever. So I pulled scary movie duty on my own.

-Be very, very careful when driving around the neighborhood just after dark....kids rarely pay attention to moving vehicles, and they pay even less attention to them in their effort to get the most candy possible on this special night.

-The only people that go to movies on Halloween are teenagers...trust me.

-Said teenagers used to be quite obnoxious at movies - now they are armed with cell phones and they are even MORE obnoxious...calling friends while the movie is playing.

-The Fog is an OK horror flick...not great, but OK. I usually get really scared in these types of movies, but I'm actually OK after watching that one...probably because I was so distracted by the girl kicking my chair and the kid on the cell phone behind us I coun't give my total attention to the scary stuff playing out on the screen.

-It's scary walking out into a dark parking lot after watching a scary movie. It just is.

-Finally...going to dinner and a movie with your kid is time well spent. Technology can interfere with the parent-child relationship, and getting everyone (including yourself) away from the phone, T.V., video game consoles, and computers is a good, healthy thing to do once in a while.

I hope everyone had a great Halloween. We sure did. I think we'll make it a tradition...dinner and a movie on October 31st. Sounds good to me.

So anyway...I really, really hate to admit this but I was at the final stage of boredom the other night so I went ahead and rented Alexander via our cable OnDemand function.

I know, I know...why in the hell would anyone want to do that given all the really, really bad reviews and comments I've heard from sundry commoners about how horrible this movie is.

However....Tommy was in Chile, I had spent the entire day cleaning, and Scytheboy was busy playing video games, so I figured....why not? If it's bad, I don't have to watch it.

I got the movie cued up, popped me some popcorn, got me a soda, and sat down to watch (sort of).

It would not be an understatement to say that Alexander ranks in the top five of the worst movies I've ever seen. Expected from most of you, I know...but I've found that sometimes movies that the critics pan turn out to be really good so I thought it would be worth a shot given that I like historical stuff. Um....W-R-O-N-G!

The only positive thing I can say about the experience is that I discovered that if you rent a movie on demand you can use the fast forward button on your cable remote and race through the worst bits. This is a function much needed whilst watching Alexander.

Don't do what I did....this movie is definitely not worth taking the chance on...even with Colin Farrell. You can hardly tell it's him portraying that fem...I mean, SERIOUSLY...NOT...A....GOOD....MOVIE.

I've posted before on all the road construction that's going on around where we live. One of the necessary evils of said construction is that the workers need to block off and/or move lanes from time to time so they can do the work required to widen the roads. This action by the road crews unfortunately brings out really, really bad behavior by certain people who feel themselves more important than all others on the road.

You know the ones I'm talking about....the people who weave out of traffic, race to the front of the line, and then cut in so they can make it home or to their current destination faster. Because, in their mind, what they have to do is WAY more important than what anyone else has to do, and they as a person are WAY more important than anyone else, and so therefore they should be let into line so they can quickly move toward work or home, or wherever...before anyone else.

As a side note, it goes without saying that the cutter-inners are always in expensive cars and talking on a cell phone.

I have never, ever done this (intentionally, that is). I think it's rude, inconsiderate, and sometimes downright dangerous. The road crews around here are pretty good about giving fair warning to drivers about upcoming lane manipulations, and considering the fact that most of these "cutter-inners" are in SUVs and have a very, very good view of what's coming up there really is no excuse for them not to make an early attempt to move over so as not to impede the flow of traffic.

But NOooooo......they race as fast as they can to the exact point that their lane ends and then aggressively cut off the person at the front of the line, causing a chain reaction of brakes, horns and cussing that ensures all others patiently waiting their turn to proceed are set back even longer in their endeavor to get to where they're going. But do these cutter-inners care? No, because invariably people will slam on their brakes and let them in instead of moving forward just enough so as to ensure the cutter-inner does NOT get what they want.

Do you know why the cutter-inners do it? Because it works...most people just don't think it's worth fighting over just to make sure they're ahead of one more car or to make sure the cutter-inner has to wait like the rest of us...no, they go ahead and let them in. The cutter-inners are scavengers preying on the safe driving skills of those that willingly let them in and reward them for their bad behavior.

I've had it with the cutter-inners. I never, ever let them in. Ever. They should not be rewarded for trying to beat the system, they should be condemned and punished. If you see a cutter-inner trying to cut in front of you, do not reward them. Make them wait. Eventually if enough of us do this, they will stop trying. But unfortunately there are way too many good patient people for the cutter-inners to take advantage of so this evil behavior will continue as long as road crews block off lanes for construction.

So...do you let the cutter-inners in?

I like these:

With a grilled ham 'n swiss.

So....what's your favorite salty snack? Do tell.....

So said Peaches on the topic of "Questions" & "Yummy"
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Every morning, Chocolate Chip attends his viewing post, ensuring the squirrels and other creatures out back are kept in line.

For some reason, scanning the limited viewing area from side to side is key.

Also key, apparently, is the purple feather thing....he brings that with him to the table most mornings, keeping it close by his side. The morning these pictures were taken, he gently laid the feather on the props Scytheboy will be using for his Halloween party costume.

Don't forget to go visit the Friday Ark.

So said Peaches on the topic of "Chocolate Chip"
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This one's for you, Jack. And it's all in one pan so it's all ready at the same time! It should take you only about 30 minutes to do this, including all the cutting.

Ingredients:

1 lb. chicken tenders, cut in bite-sized pieces
1 sm. can sliced water chestnuts
1 sm. white onion, chopped
1 bunch green onions (scallions), sliced
1 package cooked brown rice (the kind you boil in the bag - I use Success)
1/2 cup frozen baby green peas
Garlic Powder
Fresh ground black pepper
Sea Salt
Teriyaki sauce
Soy sauce
1-2 Tablespoons canola oil

Heat your skillet to med-high, coating the bottom of the pan with your canola oil (I use closer to two tablespoons, but it's a matter of taste). Sautee all the onions in the oil with sea salt and pepper to taste. Add chicken and season to taste with more salt, pepper, and garlic powder (I usually do one layer of sprinkle with the garlic powder, you can do more if you like). After you add the chicken, start your water to boil for the rice.

When chicken is lightly browned on all sides, drain and add water chestnuts, teriyaki sauce and soy sauce to taste (I usually add twice as much teriyaki as soy sauce and it seems to work out). Simmer, uncovered, while the rice boils. A couple minutes before the rice is done, add the frozen peas and stir; continue simmering for 2-4 minutes. Add the rice, stir, and simmer a couple minutes more and you're done.

Good eatin' and easy, trust me. The best part is you get to decide how you want it...spicy or mild, saucy or not. You can add any other veggies you choose....I figured I should put something green in there and at least try to give Scytheboy part of his daily quota at dinner.

Sorry, no pictures. It was gone before I thought to post the recipe.

I was scanning headlines this morning, mostly reading about the Miers withdrawal, when I saw this. Unbelievable. A company fired a receptionist for needing an extra day to deal with the fact her husband was going off to war on a dangerous mission. Let's be honest....guarding truck convoys is not a walk in the park.

After many years with Tommy in the military, including seeing him off to Iraq where he was later bombed at Khobar Towers, I feel I can speak on this subject with some degree of expertise. People....it is NOT easy to watch your husband walk away, knowing what he's walking into, and not be more than a little upset by the prospect of perhaps never seeing him again. Words cannot describe the agitated state of worry, concern, and wondering "what-ifs" that ensue for days, weeks, even months (basically until the spouse is safely back on American soil) after a goodbye such as this. Nobody...and I mean NOBODY has a right to judge this woman or anyone else if they need an extra day to regroup. Firing her the day after she got back was just bad form.

On the other hand....she could have at least called in to let them know she wouldn't be there so they could cover her shift. And I must say that the company is in a difficult position as they cannot legally say anything about past performance or past unexcused absences regarding this woman.

But....they could have picked a better time to fire her other than the day after she got back from sending her husband off to war. Don't ya think?

I just got finished with a small contract project, and I started thinking about what it used to be like to actually have a regular job where you have to go into work each day and are beholden to your boss' whims.

Anyway, I've had both really good and really horrible bosses. The effects of both seemed very heightened, given that I worked in the hi-tech industry for companies that were either struggling to start up or launching multiple new products and promotions at the same time.

That said, below are some comparisons (based on personal experience) between a good boss and a bad boss:

During a major project that requires approvals and feedback to meet deadlines:

-A good boss will return calls and emails promptly, always with a little tag line about what a great job you're doing and how much they appreciate your hard work.

-A bad boss will not show for appointments or be so late that he misses meetings, turn his cell phone off for hours, and never return emails. This same boss will then come in at the last minute after all the work has been done and change everything so as to ensure you miss your deadline and none of your ideas come to fruition.

During the holidays:

-A good boss will ensure you are able to have some time with your family, slowing down the work flow to ensure balance is achieved and you come back after the new year refreshed and ready to take on new projects.

-A bad boss will go on holiday himself, remaining completely unavailable, while you finish work on the year end report, next quarter's plan, and guiding the agency in preparation for the financial earnings news release.

After a major news release or new product launch is successfully executed:

-A good boss will find a concrete way to ensure you are recognized for your hard work. This could include cash bonuses, complimentary dinners out, or an award recognizing your success.

-A bad boss will take all the credit for the success of the endeavor, never even mentioning that you worked on the project. He will go out with the Sales team to be slapped on the back while you remain working 70 hours a week with no reward and no time with your family.

When the annual Sales incentive trip comes around:

-A good boss will throw your name in the hat as a possible includee in the trip, at least giving you a chance to compete for the few slots that are left for the trip that could be awarded to select marketing team members for their contribution to achieving sales goals.

-A bad boss will do everything he can to ensure that he and his family get to go on the trip, especially if there is only one slot left allotted to marketing.

When it comes to raises and bonuses:

-A good boss will try and ensure all those members of the team that exceed their goals are given the best possible raise and bonus.

-A bad boss will take the largest piece of the raise and bonus pie he can for himself, splitting the pittance that is left equally among the team because he does not like conflict and thus does not ever bring attention to his shining stars on the team.

In general:

-A good boss supports his team, remains available to them for guidance and approvals to ensure their projects remain on time or better, recognizes his employees for their contributions both inside and outside the company, and mentors his staff, helping them to exceed their professional goals within the company while recognizing the need for balance in professional and personal lives.

-A bad boss will remain unavailable, refuse to return emails, will be late for meetings (making sure you realize his time is more important than yours), take credit for any success you have, take time off when he knows you are back at the office finishing the project he will eventually take credit for, give you a mere pittance of what you are worth in the way of raises and bonuses, will rarely if ever thank you for your hard work, and will eventually weed out anyone with any talent or work ethic at all from his team to ensure he doesn't look like a slacker in front of the execs.

Yeah, I've had a couple of really great bosses, but I've also had one or two really bad bosses. I know the bad ones will get theirs in the end...shame I won't be around to see it :).

A while ago, I was whining about how much I HATE for people to leave flyers, business cards, brochures, etc. by, on, in, and taped to my front door.

Today, when I got home someone had actually used masking tape - over my front door key hole - to attach a flyer to my door. It was for a martial arts place.

Yeah...I'll sign up for karate lessons....so I CAN KICK THE ASS OF THE NEXT PERSON WHO PUTS MASKING TAPE OVER MY FRONT DOOR KEYHOLE TO ATTACH A FRIGGIN' FLYER!!!!!!

I was ranting to Tommy on this earlier, and after a few minutes he broke in and said "So....are you pissed?" YES, I'm pissed!

That is all.

You know the ones? The neighbors who turn all their outdoor lights off on Halloween, darken the house, and either hide in a back room or completely leave the premises during the trick-or-treating. ..yup, those people.

You see....we only have one child and starting last year he became unenenthralled with the whole prospect of trick-or-treating, especially given the fact he can have candy pretty much whenever he wants....within reason. Oh, to be blessed with those "thin" genes.

Anyway...last year he agreed to dress up and hide in the darkened garage to "scare the little kids" and was highly successful at this endeavor...for about an hour. Then he went back into the house and played video games while we sat on the front porch, had drinks, and handed out candy to all the little ones. We went in once the teenagers with alcohol on their breath and no costumes started to come 'round.

So this year we've been talking about it...and....we've decided to join "those people". Those unsociable, withdrawn people that are completely disengaged from their neighbors on Halloween. We will go out to dinner, and then maybe a movie or a bookstore for coffee and to browse.

But we will definitely not be here....listening to the annoying doorbell, handing out candy to the "precious little darlings" of our neighbors who are WAY out of our son's age bracket, and dealing with those pesky teenagers whose main goal is to remain drunk as long as possible and smash as many pumpkins as they can get their hands on. We haven't even decorated like we usually do.

I know, we're bad. But we will be thinner from not eating all the leftover candy and we will spend some quality time together which we get precious little of anyway...out....with all "those people".

I went over to poopie's place and took this quiz. Can you believe this? They say I should dress as a fairy. Of all the ridiculous things....a fairy. Whatever.

Your costume is a fairy costume!


What Should Your Halloween Costume Be?
brought to you by Quizilla

Be warned...I think the quiz questions are geared toward females. Sorry, Jack.

On our recent trip to Ireland, I had the pleasure of experiencing flights both in Business Class and Coach Class. I'm sure some of you saw that episode on Seinfeld where Jerry was in First Class and Elaine was in Coach Class a few years back (okay, maybe several years back).

Anyway, I thought it would be useful to review how these experiences differ, from my point of view:

Coach Class:

-The seats barely recline....if you are lucky and small enough, you can put your tray table down and cross your arms and lay like that with a pillow if you can get one...I've found this to be the only sleeping position that works for me in coach class.

-If you have an aisle seat, you have the pleasure of experiencing other people's bums in your face on a recurring basis throughout the flight...especially if you are seated by the bathrooms.

-Speaking of bathrooms....there are only a few for many passengers, so you either have to stand in line or hold your water for several hours if it's an overseas flight.

-Everyone wants to carry on...which means if you are seated last, chances are you will have to gate check your luggage or place your bag far away from where you are seated, stealing precious time from your deplaning procedure....this can get hairy if you have a close connection.

-In flight entertainment - they run one movie, maybe two. And you have to take what you can get...they charge for the headphones and they sorta hurt your ears so you have got to be dedicated if you want to watch the movie(s).

-There are screaming babies...I think it's a requirement that there be a minimum of five screaming babies scattered throughout coach on all flights lasting more than two hours...this ensures none of the passengers get any sleep and achieve a catatonic sleep deprived state by the end of the flight so as not to disturb the flight attendants.

-If you are flying standby and the flight is full, it is guaranteed you will get a middle seat...between two arm rest hoggers. Which means basically you must crumple your shoulders in as far as possible and remain in this position for the duration of the flight. Chiropractors make a mint off standby fliers because of the ensuing major back and neck pain associated with this middle seat position.

-The pillows and blankets. You are lucky to get one pillow and you can sometimes steal another from an open seat if the flight is not full. And they are so small they're hardly worth calling them pillows. And the blankets...if you want to call them that. Thin, flimsy felt like material full of static cling that messes with your clothes and hair. You're better off using your coat.

-The amenity kit - oh, you don't get one of these in Coach Class...sorry. Bring your own.

-The food. What can we say about the food....other than it's food....sort of. But I've found that if I'm hungry enough I'll eat everything they put in front of me. It should be noted that on my last trip the food actually didn't suck...it was more than acceptable. Maybe because it was an international flight...who knows.

-The drinks. Sip at them sparingly. For an eight hour flight, they will only be by three times, and they won't ever give you the whole can of soda unless you practically beg them to.

-The snoring.....for some reason it's easier to hear people snoring in coach class which enhances the sleep deprivation procedure. Must be because the seats are so close together.

-The smells...ah, yes, the smells. Is it just me, or are people just more gaseous and overall less hygienically inclined in coach?

-The deplaning. This can in some ways resemble a mob scene. And it seems worse on international flights. Probably because so many folks have had to hold their water (see above) and REALLY need to get off that plane. Can't say I really blame them.

On the other hand....

Business Class is a much different story.

-The seats fully recline so you are in an almost horizontal position with your feet raised up and your head back. Very, very nice.

-Doesn't matter If you have an aisle seat or a window - the seats are so far apart you don't have to deal with people's bums in your face - ever.

-Business Class has its own bathrooms the lowly coach customers are not allowed to use. However...you have to fight for these bathrooms with the many members of the International flight crew and they turn the seatbelt sign on frequently for shift changes or if one of the pilots currently in the cockpit needs to use the necessary. You must learn to time your bathroom breaks strategically. On the upside, you're fighting for use of one of three bathrooms (at least on the air frame we were on) with a total of only about 50 people).

-Everyone wants to carry on...but that's OK. If it won't fit up above you get to use the Business Class closet and the flight attendant will put it in the closet and bring it back for you when the plane lands, before the door is open.

-In flight entertainment - you have your pick of about 10 movies, your own small screen, and also an assortment of games you can play using the air phone/remote control combo device you are provided. Also, the headphones are WAY better.

-There are no screaming babies...this helps with your sleeping as you comfortably recline in your seat.

-There are no middle seats in Business Class...and there is about six inches of space between your seat and the one next to you. Very nice.

-The pillows and blankets. In Business Class, the pillow is about three times larger and much firmer, and you get a full-on quilt that's the length of your entire seat. These both aid in the sleeping process.

-The amenity kit. Oh, the amenity kit. Complete with sleeping mask, ear plugs, warm socks, lip balm, hand cream, toothbrush and toothpaste. Lovely. Saved parts of ours.

-The food. This can be really good or sometimes not so good. Depends on your flight. But I can tell you there's LOTS of it. I don't go for a lot of that fancy gourmet stuff, but this last trip we got garlic crusted lamb with rosemary sauce and it was pretty good. Of course, you also get the warm nuts before dinner, the fruit and cheese plate after and a specially made just for you sundae at the end. Yummy sundae. We also got breakfast just prior to landing - it was a fancy potato fritada...pretty decent but I think I would have preferred bacon and eggs....that's just me. Oh and, of course you get your own linen table cloth and eat off fancy glass dishes.

-The drinks. Drinks, drinks, and more drinks. Before you take off, throughout the flight, whenever you want, whatever you want. It's free...drink all you want. But be careful if you get wine...you can easily get quite drunk as they continuously fill your glass throughout the flight.

-The snoring.....not a factor really....you have your ear plugs.

-The smells...there is more space between the seats and also people make good use of their amenity kits so the only smells you smell are pleasant.....first class meals cooking and all.

-The deplaning. You get to go first, and the nice flight attendants make sure you have your jacket and bags in plenty of time before the door opens. Flight attendants are so much nicer in Business Class, aren't they?

That's the end of my observations between the cabins during our Ireland trips. If I've missed anything, please comment and let all of us know.

Yeah, some guy decided to pick me to spam tonight. So I've enabled comment moderation. Sorry. I'll try to be quick to publish notes and add legitimate folks to my trusted commenters list.

Don't these people have anything better to do? I mean...seriously.....it's Saturday night.

Oh, look. Somebody cut some fresh strawberries for me...

Let me just slide these over so I can get to them better.

Don't forget to go visit The Friday Ark.

So said Peaches on the topic of "Chocolate Chip"
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As promised, here's a wee word about the food in Dublin. First it should be noted that you don't have to go with Irish food while in the city. There are plenty of fancy eatin' places which feature gourmet food on the menu throughout the Temple Bar District as well as near Hell's Corner and other locations. These are interspersed with the older establishments that feature a pure Irish menu for the most part. And also there are restaurants that do a little bit of both, in order to serve the whole of their local and tourist clientele. Tourism is one of the largest industries in Ireland.

One of the things I noticed that sort of surprised me is there are a lot of eastern European and oriental types working in the food establishments. I guess like anything else....the jobs go to those who are willing to do them. To be honest, I felt a bit cheated whenever I was waited on by a non-Irish accented person.

That said, here we go.

Our first meal was had at The Oliver St. John Gogarty bar in the Temple Bar District. This is one of Tommy's favorite places to go on his trips over there, but he mainly is there for a later dinner and the live music that ensues after the bar gets hopping at night. We got there just as it opened, so it was strictly eat lunch and go for us as we were headed down to Trinity College that afternoon.

Irish food can be really bland, or it can be outstanding. At Gogarty's, I had the Trinity chicken and I have to say it wasn't all that great. Sounded fabulous on the menu, but clearly enough spices were not used for my taste. Now the stew and casserole, however, were different stories. Tommy and his parents had those and they were outstanding. Lots of meat and vegetables in the stew, and the casserole was more like a thick beef stew whereas the stew was more like what we consider soup. But they were good.

Scytheboy wasn't too thrilled with his beef appetizer salad either, so we opted for dessert. He had chocolate mousse and I had strawberries with ice cream. The ice cream was like nothing I've ever had...it was a vanilla bean mixture that included brown bread. This gave it a really unique flavor and texture that was to die for.

Later that night, we found O'Shea's...a quaint little storefront eating establishment with a few tables in side and outside on the patio. Tommy had a sausage plate that looked really good while his parents had some fish. I opted for the lasagna...um....don't get lasagna in an Irish restaurant. It tasted like the stuff you can get from the can here. But they gave me fries on the side so that was okay. Scytheboy had the burger so he was happy. I think by that point we were all so tired we would have been okay with anything.

The next morning, we ate at the hotel buffet. You could get everything from a traditional "proper English breakfast" (including sausages, beans, tomatoes, eggs, bacon, toast) to a typical continental breakfast or a straight-up eggs, bacon and toast American style meal. Can I just say that the yogurt is way better over there than it is over here? Probably something to do with a higher fat content...I don't know. But it was better. I had the bramley apple Yoplait and it tasted just like custard.

I've talked about The Castle Inn by Dublin Castle. We had lunch there on day two and it was really, really good. Here is a picture of the outside of the establishment (It's the blue and gold sign second from the left) so you can find it if you go:

Here is a good picture of the bar, across from where we sat:

And here is the food. You can see Tommy's Guinness beef pie in the foreground, and our fish and chips and of course Scytheboy's burger are also on the table. Finally, the Smittick's is what you see in the Guinness glasses. A perfect, perfect meal all around. Although I must say were all a bit jealous of Tommy's pie....

Looks damn good, doesn't it? He gave us all one bite each, but that was all he would allow. It was just TOO good.

As I've mentioned in an earlier post, we finished our Irish eating at the Hard Rock in Dublin. Nothing special about the food, but it was still good to go.

The morning we left all we had time for was a small scone and some coffee from the hotel barista. Then it was off to the airport for more airline food during the trip home.

So there's your post on the food we had in Dublin. Mmmmmm.....Guinness beef pie and brown bread ice cream.

So said Peaches on the topic of "Travels"
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After everyone got some much needed rest, we ate our $55 Euro breakfast buffet at the hotel and headed out to purchase tickets for a bus tour that would take us by most places of interest, a few of which we would hop off at to take a closer look. Here is a link to the tour site. We started out on the City Tour (the red line) and it was okay, but the narrative was done by tape and you had to use headphones.

If you buy one ticket you are able to hop on and off both the red and yellow lines (yellow buses have "Dublin Tour" on the outside). I highly recommend you go on the yellow bus because they have actual live Irish tour guides and you will get a much better flavor of the city and personal little stories that can be very funny. The red bus will take you to a couple of extra parks in the city...but to me, a park is a park. I want to hear the actual live guide tell me stories and see more of the architectural and cultural stuff in the city. But that's just me.

So to summarize....red bus is okay....yellow bus is much better....go on the yellow bus.

You can see from the route shown on the site you go about 20 places. The first place we hopped off was Dublin Castle. I always wanted to see an old castle in Ireland. We walked the grounds, visited the gift shop where I got some things with our family coat of arms on them (way cool), and then later took the tour after lunch at The Castle Inn (this was the best meal we had while in Dublin, and I'll tell you about it in the food post).

By the way...did you know that Dublin was named after the black pool of water near the castle that would seep in everywhere? It was originally two names....Dub Lin (not sure of the spelling there) and eventually the names were combined to Dublin. The water is mostly all gone, but when we took the tour of the castle and went down into some of the original stone facings dating back to 1204 you could see brackish black water way at the bottom of the stair well that some claim is the remnant of the black pool. But who knows? Neat story anyway.

The Irish tour guide was most excellent, and he weaved stories about the Irish revolution in with details about the palace. Here's a link with more information in case you're interested. And following are some pictures we took during the tour.

Some images of the street facing side of the castle:

Here is the area where the black pool once resided. It's now a green field with walking paths.

Must be too tempting for the young lads when they visit so they posted this sign:

Here is one of the main palace hallways. At some point the palace was rebuilt after a fire so this isn't the original architecture from 1204 but it's still quite old. The lighting fixtures are Venetian.

Here is the ladies salon. The fixtures here are pure Waterford. Very pretty. Also notice the mirrors along both walls. Back in Victorian times the ladies had to sit "just so" and keep their skirts straight so they needed the mirrors to aid them in this endeavor.

Here is the original stone facing from the outside of the castle. Back in the 1200's they didn't have mortar so they used horse hair, ox blood and egg shells to hold the bricks together. And they were quite good at creating a smooth surface so the walls could not be scaled by enemies.

When George II visited and held court, they had to build a special, extra large throne for him. This chair is HUGE. But anyway, it was kind of neat to see it since it does date back to George II.

I hope the above gives you a flavor of the castle grounds and the rebuilt palace. The tour was about 50 minutes and quite interesting. I highly recommend taking the tour.

We also visited Christ Church Cathedral. It dates back to 1038. See?

Here is the outside. Remember, these walls date back to 1038. Pretty damn impressive.

And here are some images of inside the cathedral. There are all sorts of nooks and crannies with remembrances, and the main prayer hall is quite spectacular. Enjoy.

Underneath the church they have some catacombs built with the original structure that house some rooms they might have used during the crusades for some, shall we say, "face to face" conversations. Below is one of the devices left from that era:

All right, then. That's all the pictures I have from the bus tour. We rode by some other places but of course we were too busy listening to the tour guide and enjoying his stories to grab some images when we stopped for lights. Sorry. I can say that when we passed by the Guinness factory they were actively brewing and the aroma was everywhere.

If you go, do the bus tour. You won't be sorry.

After the tour we went and had some beers at the hotel, and then grabbed a cab over to the Hard Rock Cafe Dublin for our last dinner in Ireland. Not Irish at all, but still kinda need to have eaten there. I always try to visit a Hard Rock if there is one wherever I travel. And Tommy's parents had never been to one so that was nice for them to experience.

So that was day two of our stay in Dublin. The next morning we were off to America. It was hard finally catching a flight home, and we got coach seats from Dublin to our first stop in the U.S. But we didn't care. We had been to Ireland and it was all worth it. If you get a chance to go to Ireland, go.

I'll put together some information on the other restaurants we went to and put that up probably tomorrow.

So said Peaches on the topic of "Travels"
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I got quite a few really good pictures during our short trip to Dublin so I suppose the best way to do this is to split them into a few posts. This post will cover travel over to Dublin and what we saw on Saturday after landing. Then I'll cover our bus tour stuff on Sunday in the Day 2 post. Finally, I'll do a post about the food and show some images of menus and business cards as sort of an FYI.

Pre-brief completed. Here we go. We left on an early flight out of Dallas and had responsibly called for a cab to arrive quite early so we could get on the standby list for our trip to the international hub city. Well....the cab....was more than thirty minutes late. So much for planning ahead. We drove ourselves but we still made the flight OK so that was good.

We spent many hours in the hub city waiting for the Dublin flight. More than one trip to Starbuck's was involved. But it was all worth it because we all got Business Class seats. Life was good.

Seven hours later, we landed in Shannon for a quick stop. We did not get off the plane there so here's all we saw of Shannon, Ireland:

Then we took off for the 20 minute flight to Dublin. Here's what we saw of Irish clouds during the flight:

Yeah, I know...they're just clouds. But they're Irish clouds. Creamy and frothy, just like the Guinness.

The taxi from the airport was $22 Euro for five people, so we thought that was pretty good. Costs more for us to get from our house to DFW to be honest. Along the way and in the airport, for that matter, I noticed all the signs were in English as well as Gaelic (they call it Irish over there). Our driver was a great first impression of Dublin's citizens in all their Irishness. I think he might have been laying on the accent and story telling a bit thick, but who cares? We were in Ireland, talking to an Irish guy with an Irish accent and it was way cool. He asked how old our son was in true Irish form: "How long ye be ownin' that one?"

We took a quick shower at our hotel on the Liffey River (Jury Inn Custom House) before heading out. Here's something a bit different - they keep the hair dryer in a drawer in the desk of the room, not in the bathroom. See? Dryer in the drawer right there:

I'm not a big fan of walking a lot after a long flight, but we were all anxious to get out and see and do things....so off we went. We walked up to the Oliver St. John Gogarty Bar & Restaurant in the Temple Bar district for lunch (more about that later...traditional Irish food) and then off to Trinity College. I have a few pictures from there:

Across the street from our hotel was a monument recently erected depicting the hardship of the Great Irish Potato Famine:

We walked by the O'Connell Bridge named after Daniel O'Connell who was a big player in Irish history. Here's his monument and the sign to the bridge:

One of my relatives a few generations back was an O'Connell. Kinda neat to see the bridge and monument.

Then we had the lunch I mentioned earlier. Good lunch. Better dessert :). More later on that.

Following lunch we were off to Trinity College. Oscar Wilde attended there among many others. Here are some pictures:

Some lads were playing football on a field inside the campus. Had to show you this.

OK, maybe I didn't get that many pictures of Trinity college. Here are some more if you're interested. Beautiful old buildings rich with history and all that. You'll notice the Irish translations just below the English on the site. It's the law in Ireland all public institutions must also have the translations. Also, the solicitors (lawyers) and police must all be fluent as it's the law that a citizen may request to be charged and tried in Irish if it's their desire.

After Trinity College we went to St. Stephen's Green ("The Greens"). Sorry...didn't get any of my own pictures there as I was pretty much asleep on my feet. I looked for a bench while Tommy enjoyed the beautiful gardens and duck pond with his parents.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped by The House of Ireland to browse a bit. Lots of Waterford, Waterford, Waterford and some other Irish trinkets for the tourists. They also have one in the duty free at the airport, so we got our stuff there instead. Did you know Waterford is heavy...H-E-A-V-Y? Well, it is. Trust me. I didn't buy any this trip, but a nice surprise when we got home because Tommy's mom got us some beautiful Waterford water glasses. No wonder her bag was so heavy!!

After House of Ireland, we walked back to the hotel because I had finally complained enough about being tired of walking that Tommy needed a beer to bolster his patience. He and his parents went down to the bar for a few Smittick's while Scytheboy and I took a long nap.

Not much else the rest of the night....we got up and walked out for some dinner. By that time it was the dinner rush so it was hard to find a place that would seat five. We finally did after wandering around the Temple Bar District for an hour or so and the food was actually pretty good at the quaint little place called O'Shea's we finally stopped in. More about that in the food post.

After dinner it was another walk back to the hotel. The Custom House is right down the street from our hotel and it's really pretty at night:

As I said, our hotel was right across from the Liffey River. Very pretty at night. Check the link for information on all the bridges that cross it. Anyway, here is the river at night near the Sean O'Casey bridge looking toward another more modern bridge built a few years ago for the 2003 Special Olympics World Games in Dublin:

And by day from our hotel room.

Notice all the cranes?

There are cranes all over the city...right next to 1,000 year old buildings and churches that have lasted forever. Very surreal to see the new construction as a backdrop to the original structures. Dublin is a thriving metropolis and is growing larger and more modern with each day. A large, bustling city with lots of cultural sites to see as well as modern entertainment, eating and living accommodations.

OK, off I go for an adult beverage and a nice long sleep. Hope you enjoyed hearing about day one as much as I enjoyed living the experience. Day 2 in Dublin tomorrow with the food post to follow.

Cheers.

So said Peaches on the topic of "Travels"
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Because, really...where else would you start when talking about Ireland? And Dublin especially where Guinness is made.

Beer out of the tap in Ireland is like no other nectar of the gods you will taste anywhere in the world. It cannot be overstated how good the stuff is.

We took a bus tour on our second day in Dublin during which we passed by the Guinness factory. The factory rests in the heart of Dublin, just down the street from Hell's Corner where in years of old those men who chose to drink their wages would sometimes wake up the next morning to find themselves conscripted on a ship bound for the West Indies.

But enough of that...back to the beer....

Oh, wait, one more thing. Did you know that the original Guinness founder and his wife whelped 21 children? Our tour guide on the bus said that goes to show you that just a little bit of Guinness in you will do the trick....wait...what?

Anyway....our live tour guide on the bus likes Guinness from what I gather. Here's a paraphrased snippet of his narration as we passed by the factory:

"Aaahhh would ye just smell that? Aaahhh, Guinness. The fine creamy foam resting atop that tan tarry nectar, slowly seeping its creamy goodness down into the cup. The glass cool in your hand...the condensation slowly running down the sides.....your throat dry as the Arizona desert.....you take the glass and bring it to your mouth and take your first drink after a long hard day....aaahhh yes, Guinness. Aye, there's nothing finer than a pint of that tarry sweet nectar....okay then, back to the tour...."

Aaahh yes,....Guinness. But there's another beer that's a bit lighter and just as good. It's called Smithwick's. Tommy had it on several past trips to Dublin so I gave it a try. Words cannot describe how good the stuff is. Creamy, smooth, rich red ale it is. Mmmmm.....Smithwick's.

Here are some pictures of the taps at the little bar in our hotel by the Liffey River.

The King of Beers and his court, no? Bud is everywhere you go it seems....

There's your wee post on beer. More later on Dublin when I've got my thoughts sorted.

Cheers!

So said Peaches on the topic of "Travels"
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I woke up this morning in Dublin, and now this evening I'm back in the U.S. Very tired. Just had two beers in the airport bar waiting to see if one of these flights we'll actually get seats...FYI....I now realize the beer here is nowhere near as good as the beer in Ireland.

I have so many pictures and notes to go through...perhaps tomorrow after some sleep I can start sharing some of the trip. Until then....I am enjoying the very fine standing room only accomodations in various gate areas at the airpot until someone lets me on a plane back to Dallas.

Flying back on a Monday was a brilliant idea....NOT.

Well, we got our first flight out of DFW which was our only major hurdle for today. Only problem was our cab driver was 30 minutes late so Tommy just drove us all to the airport and we're paying for parking. Turns out it costs about the same to park in short term for the duration of our trip so it all worked out in the end.

However....DAMN....CAB.....COMPANY!! I called no less than four times and each time they said he was right there. One time they even said he was in our driveway...trust me, he was NOT in our driveway. Jerks, jerks, jerks. We will never use them again. They almost made us late, but Tommy's plan B worked out. Yeah, Tommy!!

And we are here...and now...we wait. Four more hours until we can check in for our trip to Dublin. Chances still look really good for Business Class. Hopefully we can post from Dublin but don't hold your breath. We'll be busy.

I hate to keep harping on this issue, but I found this article that talks about some Amish kids getting polio because they were not vaccinated.

Wake up people! Vaccinate your kids! With more people entering the country not vaccinated and others choosing not to vaccinate because they're willing to take the risk of not protecting their kids vs. protecting their kids with minimal risk of side effects, the chances that unvaccinated kids will get some sort of communicable disease and spread it in their community grow each and every day.

Care about your kids? Vaccinate them. That is all.

As I sit here waiting for the cake to bake, I thought I'd check in and give you a good idea for a quick dinner. I saw it one one of those Food Network shows a couple weeks ago...can't remember which one. Anyway, this is quick and SO easy.

Ingredients:

Italian bread crumbs
Grated Parmesan cheese
Buttermilk
Chicken tenders
Olive Oil
Butter

Soak the chicken tenders in buttermilk for 20-30 minutes (you can season the buttermilk if you want but it's better if you don't)

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees, and make sure the rack is in the middle.

While the chicken is soaking, combine the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese to your liking - I like a little more cheese than most, but it's your call.

Butter a cookie sheet - thin coat (I usually take the end of the stick and drag it all over the cookie sheet).

Roll the chicken tenders in the bread crumb mixture, making sure all excess buttermilk is drained off before you coat each piece. Place them in a single layer on the cookie sheet.

Drizzle the coated tenders with extra virgin olive oil. Then bake them in a 500 degree oven for 12 minutes.

Serving suggestions:

I mix a couple cloves of minced garlic with balsamic vinegar and drizzle in some extra virgin olive oil while whisking. Add salt and pepper to taste. It's yummy for dipping.

On the side, I serve angel hair pasta with Prego spaghetti sauce - I reserve some of the sauce for dipping. Also serve some type of green - Italian salad maybe or I always do sugar snap peas because they're easy.

Oh, and ya gotta have bread. French bread is good with this.

That's what we had last night. Sound good? Give it a try. Quick dinner, once you start coating the chicken.

Mmmmmmm.....breaded chicken tenders and spaghetti.

Oops...cake's almost done. Gotta go.

One more day, one more day, one...more....day!!! This time tomorrow morning we'll be on a plane to a major hub of our "airline of choice" from which we will take a flight to Ireland.

All the pre-cleaning is done, the boy has been excused from school, and the in-laws are right now getting ready to hit the road so they'll be here in time for dinner. On the menu tonight is marinated flank steak, oven roasted red potatoes with garlic and fresh herbs from our garden, roasted asparagus, and chocolate cake with a whipped butter cream frosting. Sound yummy? Yeah, I know. It will be outstanding.

But today before I start dinner I have to do the bathroom re-clean and we have to get the pets to boarding so we can quickly escape tomorrow morning.

So much to do...so little time. One more day until Ireland!! Did I say that already? Oh, sorry....

Ireland!! That's right, folks. An unprecedented second trip to a foreign land for me this year. Of course, Buenos Aires was absolutely amazing. But a trip home to the motherland is oh, so exciting!!! We're taking Scytheboy out of school for a couple days (already pre-approved by his principal - I follow the rules) and Tommy's parents are hitching a ride using their free passes. They are Irish, I am Irish, Scytheboy gets it from both sides of the family so a trip back to the home of our ancestors will be interesting and educational for all.

We are going to Dublin. Although some would say it is like any other city, there are some neat places to visit, like Dublin Castle for instance.

So now, as we prepare for our trip, I am engaged in....the pre-clean. That's the cleaning you do for a few days before you have visitors so that when you re-clean there is really only some quick surface stuff to complete. But as I pre-clean, I am dreaming about flying in Business Class (yes, seats still look good for that) with my son to Ireland, landing in Shannon, then Dublin, and making my way to our excellent hotel accommodations in the heart of Dublin's tourist district. Yes, we will probably spend way more money than we intended to, but we'll be in Ireland and that will make up for everything.

Three more days, people.....three more days. Until Ireland!!!!!

We've had this little bottle of Chilean wine sitting around for a while. I know I've had it once before, but know I know for sure it's the absolute BEST bottle Mr. Average has brought home so far. As you can see, I have left a little in the carafe due to the requirement that if I finish it I have to wash it. No chance. Mr. Average will have to wash it himself once he has the rest tomorrow night...that is, if his damn cough is gone by then. Anyway, let's just say this wine is just like drinking the best grape juice in the world...with a kick. It's an absolute joy and so belongs in the "What is Good" category. Few things do, you know.

P.S. You know the wine is good when the next day you attempt to make waffles on the George Foreman grill instead of the waffle iron. That's all I'm saying about that....

So said Peaches on the topic of "What is Good?"
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It seems every weekend I am out driving around running errands with my son, I find something new to hate/bitch about.

Today....it's people who don't use their turn signals. This can be quite dangerous for the rest of us who are driving around, assuming that because other people on the road (in most cases) have a license they know where various gadgets reside in their cars - like, oh, say....THEIR TURN SIGNAL SWITCH!!!!!!!!!

Today on no less than six occasions, I was stopped at a stop light or stop sign and the person across from me in the intersection or directly in front of me in the lane did not have their turn signal on....yet they turned.

This can be particularly dangerous when the guy at the stop sign goes, then you begin driving forward because it's your turn and after all they are going straight because they don't have a turn signal on....and then directly they make a hard turn to the left and you nearly plow into the side of their car because you took your turn, thinking they were going straight and therefore assumed it was safe for you to enter the intersection. But unfortunately, more often than not these days the car across from you is, in fact turning left without their signal and the driver is more than likely on a cell phone and is totally oblivious to the fact that you are in the intersection and they very nearly would up in a very serious wreck. Oh, no....they happily turned left thinking a) everyone else knew they intended to turn left, or b) everyone would realize soon enough they were turning left and would take appropriate action to avoid a wreck. I would bet that nearly all of these types of non-turn signal users remain blissfully unaware of how many close calls they (and many others) have had due to their negligent behavior.

THEN...the annoying ones.....the people in the ginormous SUV in front of you in the lane - an SUV so big you can't even see whether the light is green or red in front of you....that sit there, intending to turn left on a green light without an arrow...through many lights until they feel it is "safe" to go....while you sit there behind them, getting anxious because you think there's probably a wreck up there somewhere because surely the light would have turned green so everyone could go straight. But NOOOOOOO......about five or six minutes later after many cars have come the other direction, finally the SUV moves...and.....turns left without a signal indicator. By now, the SUV has caused a major backup behind them because they were too busy talking on their cell phone to bother to take the turn even when they could make it and heaven FORBID they should put the signal on so people behind them would know what the deal is. Oh no...that would be courteous responsible driving behavior, and we can't have that, can we?

Some people can just be SO rude.

P.S. I can totally understand if you don't use your turn signal when you're trying to switch lanes on the highway because then people will speed up and not let you in...but at stop signs and street lights....unacceptable. Just rude, negligent, and unacceptable.

Let's see....if I can just make myself a little bit smaller I think this will work.

What are you looking at? I fit in here just fine. Leave me alone.

Don't forget to go visit The Friday Ark.

So said Peaches on the topic of "Chocolate Chip"
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I am constantly amazed by the stupidity of people that don't strap their young kids in for car rides. Even short car rides. Like from home to school, which is where a lot of accidents tend to happen because people aren't paying attention.

Case in point: Yesterday I was stopped at a stop sign on the way to pick up Scytheboy from school. The person that had the right of way was on a cell phone and had a young toddler in the front seat...standing up...and bouncing up and down on the seat.

She finally noticed I was waiting for her to go. She went, after switching the phone from one ear to the other. Then I went. I was driving the conservative 30 mile an hour speed limit. I glanced down to check the clock....and....when I looked up.....the lady was swerved half way in my lane and I was about an inch away from plowing in to her. She was noticed at the same time I did that I was in the lane and stopped at about the same time. She was still on the phone, and the kid was still bouncing freely in the front seat...on the side of the car that I would have hit if I had not stopped in time after she swerved into my lane.

But it was OK I guess because she put her turn signal on after we both had stopped so that makes everything all right....at least in her mind I guess it does.

I would bet this kind of thing happens to this woman ALL the time. And many others like her. To hell with safety....it's just so much EASIER not to fight with the kid about the car seat and to get calls done while they're driving to a friend's house. Doesn't matter if they swerve all over the road or their kid gets hurt due to their inattention...what matters is that THEY got where THEY needed to go with the least possible amount of inconvenience to THEM.

I knew this lady once who never strapped her kids in. Then we went to play racquetball at the base gym and she accidentally slammed into the wall. I casually mentioned to her that she was probably running less than five miles an hour, and think how hard someone would slam into a windshield during a wreck if they weren't strapped in. She really got her bell rung and I guess she put two and two together because the next time I saw her with her kids they were strapped in. And she was a die-hard "the government can't tell me what to do with my kids" type.

Although it's gotten better, unfortunately, there will always be those who either don't think it's necessary to strap their kids in because they were never strapped in, don't want to deal with the hassle of fighting with their kids to strap them in, or are in just too much of a hurry to strap their kids in for even the shortest trips...and ultimately some of the kids will pay the price for their parents' decisions not to be safe and they will get hurt in an accident caused either by their parent or another parent on a cell phone just not paying attention.....sad.

Yes, hockey is one of the things I hate, and it's back. I guess I don't hate hockey itself, really....it's just that the season is so damn long and the games are so damn long and you have to listen to announcers and cheering and the spouse stays hold up in the media room all night, every night there is a game when he is home.

I should have known tonight was opening night. He spent the better part of the morning and early afternoon taking care of all the yard work. Now I know why he was so industrious.....trying to lead-turn all the time he's gonna be spending watching the damn hockey.

And others appear to be just as happy as he is that the season is upon us. At least some people are sorry....

Yes, I hate hockey season. Here's why in case you need a reminder.

As a side note, I've had a really bad headache since last night and it's still here...probably my body's way of letting me know the hockey season was to start today. SO not nice.

That is all.

I was watching a TiVo'd episode of Iron Chef America on Food Network tonight. It was Battle Asparagus. And when sampling asparagus ice cream and chocolate covered asparagus, one of the panel members said something like:

I like the ice cream, but not as much as the chocolate. Of course, the only thing better than chocolate is bacon.

In my opinion, no truer words were ever spoken.

Damn...I don't have any bacon. I'll have to make Tommy take me to iHOP tomorrow so I can have some bacon.

That is all.

I know we don't all have kids, so if you don't this might not interest you. I ran across an article today that talks about Pediatricians actually "firing" their patients who either don't vaccinate or just partially vaccinate their kids.

To be honest, I have never understood the logic behind not vaccinating kids. I mean, it's been proved that these vaccinations, when given properly, go a long way toward protecting the individual kid from disease and also preventing large outbreaks of of these diseases in the general population.

I do think that parents who don't vaccinate are trying to do what they think is best for their kids, given the limited information they're working on that detracts from the practice.

However.....personally I think these parents are misguided. I've talked to more than one parent that does not vaccinate and their logic seems to be, "All the other kids are vaccinated, so there's really no danger of my kid catching anything from them or giving anything to them. I'd rather be sure my child is safe from autism or other vaccination related dangers and take the small risk of them getting some disease."

Small risk? Are these people not watching the news? I would guess that MANY of the illegal aliens and students that have illegally extended their visas in this country are not vaccinated against measles, mumps, rubella, chicken pox, hepatitis B, whooping cough, etc. Haven't we all read about recent outbreaks of whooping cough and measles in the news these past few years?

Yet, even given the overwhelmingly positive statistics for disease prevention and very minimal risk of giving their kids vaccinations, these people still choose not to vaccinate. I really hope that one day their kids don't have to pay the price for their parents' decisions when they come into contact with a fellow non-vaccinated kid and catch some disease that ends their life way too soon.

And I have to say that I agree with doctors firing parents with kids that don't vaccinate. Think of the risk these people bring into the office each visit....who knows what types of diseases they've been exposed to and are not immunized against?

Thoughts? Do you vaccinate?

We have a second line on our phone, created specifically for our "airline of choice" to use as hubby's home phone number in case they want to call him in for work. Needless to say, everyone we know has been absolutely, under penalty of death, FORBIDDEN to EVER answer the phone when the secondary line rings with its special, just for it, double ring.

Anyway.....for the past week or so the secondary line which we never answer has been ringing every few hours - EVERY DAY. The same wireless phone number shows up more often than not.

This wireless caller sounds like a very nice senior lady. About a week ago, she left a message for someone called Amy on our answering machine to let her know that she would be flying into DFW today. She even left her flight number and said she'd call when they got in. This seemed weird to me, really weird because this nice woman had listened to my voice saying it was our residence, asking the caller to leave a message and we'd get back to them as soon as possible. Did she not listen to the preamble before leaving the message? I'm thinking not. Either that, or this Amy person has our same last name.

Well...I thought nothing of it the day the first message was left. I figured the woman would eventually reach Amy somehow or Amy would call her to check on her plans and she would realize she had left a message at the wrong number.

But....the phone kept ringing doubly....all week.....several times a day.

Then....tonight, just about an hour ago.....right on cue....the double ring happened again....and the nice older lady left a message saying they had arrived at DFW, but their flight had been delayed and their luggage was lost, but that it would be OK because she had given the baggage people Amy's address and it would be delivered there in the morning. Amy is supposed to please call the lady on her cell phone as they are in the car and need directions to her house.

Not wanting to get involved in other people's lives.....I'm hoping this lady has reached Amy on her cell phone by now because she has not called back a second time this evening for directions.

It is very weird to get this peep into the window of someone else's life via random cryptic voice mails detailing plans and arrivals and lost luggage and requests for directions, etc. Very, very weird.

So now I'm left hangin' here, people...hangin'!! I feel like I need to know if this lady did, indeed find Amy's house and I wonder whether or not she will ever get her luggage.

Hopefully, she'll call back tomorrow to leave Amy a message and let me know how it all worked out......

I was once again sifting through the news today trying to find something to write about, and I ran across an article describing a treatment for alcoholics that convinces them that alcohol is equal to death. Here are some items from the article so you can understand what we're talking about here:

-"Coding" is a catchall term for a Russian method of treating alcoholism that essentially involves scaring the living daylights out of the alcoholic. Dating to the former Soviet Union, it involves the manipulation of the alcoholic's psyche to create the belief that alcohol equals death.

-In this treatment method, the patient is induced by mild hypnosis followed by injection of a temporary but powerful drug that could attack the respiratory system. Before the drug kicks in, the doctor gives the patient a small quantity of alcohol to taste. The patient becomes dizzy and has difficulty breathing before the doctor steps in with some oxygen to revive them.

-The doctor then tells the patient that the injected medicine will stay in their system for some period of time and if they drink during this time they will die. Finally, the doctor insists that the patient sign a release form saying he will bear no responsibility for the patient's death should they drink within this period of time.

I was at first suspicious that this technique is being used on people against their will, but the article does quote a guy who's been through the treatment several times because he's looking for anything that will help him stop drinking. So it at least appears to be a voluntary procedure.

But the Internet has brought this treatment to light, and many that have undergone "coding" have entered chat rooms to say that it has its faults and the injection does not seem to be 100% effective. As with anything, knowledge is power, and I think that power will eventually defeat the program and the believability of the experts who claim it to be a viable option for treatment.

I'm happy for those that say this treatment has worked for them. And I know that when a person has an addiction and is desperate to kick it, they will try anything they think might help them break the cycle.

But for me....hypnosis and injections and mind control....that's just a little too scary. Scary. Very, very, scary....

Tommy's at training, so given that Scytheboy brought home a really good report card yesterday (at least that was my excuse for yesterday) I let him stay up late and watch T.V.

Well....he was watching in our bedroom so around midnight I went in to see what he was watching....it was Jaws 3.

Me: "What are you watching?"

Him: "Jaws 3."

Me: "Why are you watching that?"

Him: "Because I wanna see people get eaten by sharks."

Me: "Oh."

About an hour later, he came out and said:

"Okay, I've been watching for an hour, and not only have I NOT seen a shark, I haven't seen any people or anything else for that matter get eaten by a shark. I'm going to bed."

We all know how those Jaws movies are...you never really see anyone actually get eaten by the shark...it's just the whole idea of someone being eaten by a shark that's supposed to scare you...at least until the very end of the movie and then maybe you at least get to see a shark and a little blood or something.

But I must say I agree with Scytheboy....the only real reason anyone would watch a Jaws movie is to see someone get eaten by a shark.