We went out to eat for the first time since the new PA ban on smoking went into effect. I have to say it was great walking through the front of the California Bar and Grill without having to deal with all those smokers in the restaurant. It really did make our eating experience so much more pleasant.
Biggest problem I can see with this new ban is that people hover by the door smoking instead of being polite and moving a little further off. So while we were lucky not to have encountered these people on the way in our exit from the restaurant wasn’t as lucky. Upon opening the door to leave we were hit by a cloud of smoke, which of course we had to walk through to leave the building.
Why couldn’t this law have been no smoking period and include not within 50 feet of public doorways?
PA No Smoking Law went into effect yesterday. Of course this has pissed off a slew of smokers, but as a non-smoker and someone who is actually allergic to smoke I am very happy to see this law finally come to Pennsylvania. Smoking really is a filthy, dirty habit and your lungs will thank the state for stepping in on their behalf.
While this is a statewide ban on indoor smoking across the state there are a few exceptions like bars that have less than 20% of their sales in food and casinos. Personally, I think this should have been wide sweeping and covered ALL businesses. It hasn’t hurt bars in California at all.
It will be great to not have to hang all my close outside after being in a restaurant and knowing I will be healthier without the second hand smoke. No more feeling sick when the smoke from a table of smokers blows across our table (it always seemed like non-smoking sections were still way too close to the smokers).
I have to agree with SharonHerald.com who said, “A complete non-smoking law everywhere would have made it simple. But then again, no one has ever accused our state General Assembly of doing what’s right for the people. They are too often swayed by special-interest groups and campaign contributions.” How true is that?
Looking out at the universe isn’t my only hobby. I really enjoyed microbiology and love looking at the microverse. Viewing tiny, little creepy crawlies is fun. And with this microscope it would be really fun. Instead of the standard eyepiece it has an LCD screen to view the little buggers. There is also an SD slot so you can capture both video and still shots as well as download directly to your PC with the USB cable. This would be great for any science geek, young or old.
A little while ago I shared a post about a little Halloween project I had been working on. I had customized a haunted bird feeder. I am still tweeking it a little bit. One thing that I still need to do is to add some UV LEDs one the outside of the house to make the glow-in-the dark parts (eyes looking out of windows, spider’s web and beware of cat sign) all stand out more.
The other day, while at Target, I picked up an LED strobe light ($2.50 from the front of the store) and thought I would just replace the white with UV LEDs (and I still might). I stuck the strobe inside the house and I really liked it, but to get it inside it will take some work so in the meantime I threw in two purple and green Pet Blinkers (which were also bought at CatToys.com like the bird feeder). They look good too. I might have to keep them inside and still have the black light LEDs on the outside of the house. Here is a video of the lights inside the haunted birdfeeder (it isn’t all that great but you’ll get the idea).
I am not really the Jodi Foster fan in the family, I just get pulled along for the ride, so to speak. While I do enjoy most of her films, I am not ga-ga over her like some people I know. So then, why am I writing about her today?
Sometimes one of the keyword searches that lands a person on my site strikes a chord with me and I feel compelled to write about it. The search that is getting me to write about Jodi Foster today had someone searching for “Jodi Foster watches Buffy”.
I might not know for sure if she does indeed watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I do know from a spot on one of the late night talk shows (I think Jay Leno on the Tonight Show) that she does play guitar hero with her kids.
The Vulcan in me says, that logic dictates if she is cool enough to play guitar hero she is most likely cool enough to watch Buffy as well. Like I said I have no proof (never read it or heard it in an interview), but if you do please send it on over and I will post it here for those who need ot know such things.
I have had this bumper sticker on my car for more than two years, maybe even three by now and every time my mom sees it she asks me what it means. So I explain about the borg and assimilation etcetera and hope that will be the end of it (we do not speak of the other meaning in my family, but I am sure other “family” members get it). I am getting a little tired of saying, “it’s a borg thing, you wouldn’t understand” to people.
This has even gotten me in a little bit of hot water with the local rednecks too. So now that it is faded I think I will replace it with another Star Trek inspired bumper sticker. Not exactly sure which one. Maybe I will get the Boldly Going Nowhere one or one of the red shirt society ones. I’ll let you know what I decide (and I am up for suggestions too).
A friend of mine turned me onto the TV series The Middleman. Of course like everything in my life I am a day late and a dollar short. I caught only three (actual 2 and 2/3s) episodes and now it is over. It was on ABC family and what I have seen of it its a fun and quirky little spy-fi show with loads of pop culture references thrown in (you know that’s one of the main reason I loved Mr. Meaty so much — wonder what has happened to that fun puppet show — but I digress). Many, if not all, of the episodes can be watched on the ABC Family website. So why not check them out.
Here’s a little glimpse at the Star Trek reference in the season finale on Monday night…
Wendy: You’re telling me that you, Pip, a priest, are willing to risk your life for me?
Pip: We’re all children of the lord.
Wendy: I’m in the Mirror Universe.
Pip: I’m sorry, the mirror universe?
Wendy: The parallel universe where everyone that is good is evil and evil is good. It’s like that episode of Star Trek where Spock had a goatee and Chekov tried…
Pip: Star Trek. You mean the sci-fi series from the sixties starring the great George Takei.
Wendy: It is an evil universe.
And later when the alternate universe Wendy flashes her ID it is very similar to the Mirror Universe’s shirt logos.
Are you looking for some great looking fashion with equally great looking price tags? I have found the perfect place for you to get all those back to school fashions you have been wanting without breaking the bank. Heavenly Couture is the place for Discount Clothing. You’ll love that you can shop Beverly Hills without those typical Beverly Hills prices, in fact everything at GetHeavenly.com is $17.95 or less! And every day at midnight they offer up a new daily special at an unbeatable price. WOOT! If that only wasn’t enough to get your mouse pointed in their direction, right now they are having a back to school sale where you’ll get up to 10% off their already low prices. Finally cheap clothing that does not look cheap.
Watching Bones tonight. It is the season premiere. Aren’t season premieres supposed to be something spectacular or at the very least be a little better than a regular episode? You know to suck you in and get you hooked so you stick around for the rest of the season. They’re not supposed to suck all together are they?
Thus far I don’t see why we needed to have a two-hour episode. It feels like they tried too hard to stretch this to meet that 2-hour mark. Even though this one wasn’t so hot I will be back to watch it again next week.
I have always loved looking up at the night sky. Funny thing is I have never anything better than binoculars to view the heavenly bodies with. The night sky is one of the things I miss most since I have moved out of the country and into the city. Now I barely get to see a single star let alone a sky full. There is just too much light pollution here.
I would love a really good telescope. This one has an onboard computer to show you where the stars are and it will even hook up to a PC so you can create your own sky tour. Heck this thing could even teach a slacker like me astronomy. And boy could I spot the UFOs with this!
Okay, I have been accused of making stuff up in the past so I thought I would post some proof. As if my pictures weren’t proof enough my labor day picnic fun made it to the front page of the paper.
Reading, PA - A New York City woman visiting her son in northeast Reading took a wrong turn Monday and drove her minivan into his house, city police said.
Mildred Brito of the Bronx drove the vehicle through the rear wall of the house in the 1500 block of Palm Street shortly after 3:30 p.m, officials said.
The minivan came to a stop with its front end in the kitchen and back end on the rear porch of the duplex, which is owned by Andrys Brito, 22, and Angelina Sepulveda, whose age was unavailable, investigators said. (read the rest of the article at ReadingEagle.com)
OMG! I was sitting in my living room watching the Star Trek: The Next Generation marathon on the SCIFI Channel and working on my website StarTrekToysOnline.com when all of the sudden there was this loud crash followed by several very loud bangs. The whole house shook. I got so scared I jumped from my reclined position and ran to the stairs thinking something fell on top of my roommate and or she fell while carrying something heavy up the stairs. (She has been known to try to carry furniture upstairs by herself.) I started yelling for her to make sure she was okay. No answer. So now I am really getting scared. The sound encompassed the entire back of our house and sounded as if it was coming from the second floor. She finally answered me from our kitchen. I asked her if she knew what had happened and if she was okay. I think she was in shock. She was walking around the kitchen all too calmly while I was panicking. She calmly said, “I think their porch came down.” Meaning the upstairs balcony porch. So I ran outside to look at what happened. What I saw put me into an even bigger panic. I said something like, “holy hell, we have got to move out of here.” When you take a look at the pictures I took you’ll understand the reasons behind that statement. (Combine this with my fear that the college kids that used to live there would burn the house down with the parties they had there all the time.)
Here is what I saw when I went out my back door, my neighbor, the one attached to our house (we’re in a duplex) or one of their guests, drove through their back wall right into the kitchen. This is the type of thing you see on TV not in real life! (Everyone Loves Raymond had his parents drive through the front of the house.) So after taking this all in I ran back in the house and called 911 because I did not know if anyone in the car or in the kitchen was hurt. They said they would send everyone out and they showed up within a few minutes. Pretty good response time, that is nice to know. Once I calmed down a little I realized my neck and head hurt. I gave myself whiplash when I got up so quickly! Our house does not seem to have suffered any structural damage on our side the guys from the fire department came through and check us out. Not sure about the other half. They eventually got the van out of the kitchen and it sounded almost as bad as when it went through the wall. Our cats are still hiding under the beds. I wish I could join them.
School has barely even started and it is already time to begin preparations for Christmas. If you work retail you know what I mean. Halloween will be here and gone. Quickly followed by Thanksgiving then Christmas. As for retail Halloween won’t even be here by the time stores are filling up with holiday decorations and stocking shelves for all those shoppers out there buying gifts for their friends and loved ones. This quarter of the year really flies by. For retailers it doesn’t even really start until black friday (the day after Thanksgiving when all heck breaks loose). Personally, I have never been able to experience the whole Black Friday experience. I have always had to work that day. There seems to be a bit of madness that goes on that day. In a way I would like to see the other side of it at some point.
I would definitely set out on Black Friday with a plan. Find out what stores where offering what sales and special deals well in advance of the big day. Set up a game plan and stick to it as best as I could. The best way to find out ahead of time which stores are having the best sales or offering almost free merchandise is to use a website like BlackFriday.biz. It is their job to find out what is going to be in the Wal-Mart, Toys R Us or Circuit City ads well in advance of Black Friday. Oh and the best part is they even have links so you can buy some of those great deals online without going out and fighting the crowds. I remember last year Wal-Mart was practically giving away laptops to those who were willing to get there early in the morning and wait in line. I have already book marked the site and will be working on my plan of attack for the Toys R Us specials this year.
