As promised...

Here it folks!  As promised the weird pink stuff I saw in the grocery store.

I would love to say that I triumphed over my phone, and my technological shortcomings, and was in fact able to post this without going through some ridiculous steps to get the above picture here.  Sadly, I cannot make that proclamation.

I tried so hard to get Blogger and my pathetic excuse for a phone to be friends.  All I got in return were error messages.  Bad phone!  Sit in the corner and hang your head in shame!

In order to get the above picture from my phone to this post, I had to post it to Facebook, then download it from there to my computer, the upload it back here.  Oh yes, my phone hates Blogger but is all BFF with Facebook. 

So all of this hoopla has been about the weird stuff in this picture.  What the heck is that supposed to be?

It is in the grocery store, on the shelves near the peanut butter and the Nutella.  It says it is strawberry & cream flavored.   Strawberry and cream flavored what?  Spread is a very vague word.  You could put toxic waste on toast and call it a "spread". 

Presumably the strawberry bit is the pink part, so then the white part should be the cream?  If it is cream why isn't it refrigerated, and why is it so thick? 

As I mentioned, I already posted the picture to Facebook.  Consensus there seems to be that:
A) it is unnatural
B) the white part is some sort of marshmallowy-fluff.

So why isn't it strawberry & marshmallow flavored then?  Where does the cream fit in to all of this?  Could it be cream flavored marshmallow?  That seems so wrong.

I'm going to have to go back and do a closer investigation of this product.   I'll just read the ingredients and see if there is anything in there that remotely says cream (or in fact any ingredients that I can pronounce and recognize that aren't chemicals).  And no -- I have no intention of purchasing it and eating it.

Well...as of right now I have no intention of purchasing and eating it.  You never know.  I could be in the store, get all caught up in the moment and decide that I must buy it and sample it in the name of science.  I'd be doing it for you, friends.

This was totally worth the wait and having to read all about my epic battles with my phone, right? 

This is the stuff that keeps me up at night -- wondering what the white goop in the bottle actually is supposed to be.  Seriously, stupid crap like this is why I can't turn my brain off and get to sleep at a reasonable hour.

In which I have a hobby...

I have a hobby.  I like to go to cemeteries and take pictures of the gravestones, statues, mausoleums, etc.  It fascinates me to see how things change over time.  Cemeteries are also very peaceful for walking.

Some people find my hobby a bit creepy and weird.  I'm okay with that.  Not everyone is going to appreciate my fascination with the different symbols, nor will they see the beauty in the carving or the elegant decay of the weathering.

I'm not a fan of people dying.  It's a part of life we will all experience at some point, but I understand that people don't necessarily enjoy being reminded of it.  I'm not out to disturb anything or make light of it.  Each grave and marker represents a life lived, someone's family member or friend, and they deserve respect.

I'm going to share a link to some of my photos from different cemeteries and grave sites now.  If this is going to disturb you in any way, then please don't feel the need to click on the links. 

The photos are all in albums I have on Facebook.  I do believe I have them all set properly to be viewed by the public.  I'm not going to be able to tell if they work for you or not, so please comment if I need to fix anything. I've also included links to the websites of the places where the photos were taken, in case anyone else wishes to go there.

Let's start with the most recent batch, shall we?  I took these this afternoon, on a rare Sunday when I did not have to work.  They are all from St. Peter's Cemetery in Poughkeepsie, New York.  You can learn a bit about the cemetery here.

St. Peter's Cemetery

The next album is from Halloween 2010.  There are a bunch of photos from Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York.  There also also some photos from the Haunted Huguenot Street tour in New Paltz, NY that included the cemetery.  (You will have to cut me some slack on the Huguenot St. batch.  Flash photography wasn't allowed, and the tour was a night.  The crappy job focusing you can totally blame on me.)

Sleepy Hollow & Huguenot St.

On Easter, my parents and I went for a walk at the home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  The gravestone for FDR and Eleanor is there.

FDR

Lastly, there are some taken a few years ago in the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery, which isn't really rural at all anymore, and is on one side of the main highway.  As a bonus, you also get to see some photos of my tour on Bannerman Island and a few from Olana.

Hudson Valley Photos

I'm trusting you not to be stalkers, friends.  If you feel the overwhelming urge to be snoopy and try to see other albums on FB, there are only a few that aren't set to block the general public.  If you would like to be my FB friend, please send a request and a message.  I don't randomly add people without having a good reason.

Occupy

I think that, by now, if you have spent any amount of time on the internet you have seen footage of people in the Occupy movement getting arrested.

Let's discuss this video I came across today on Facebook.

NYCLU

Have you watched?  Good!

So, according to the video we see a woman, apparently an observer from the NYCLU,  getting arrested for being on the curb.

WTF NYPD?  Seriously?  The lady was standing there.  She moved when, it would appear, she was told to move the first time.  She was standing far enough from the curb to be on the grate, the same grate the protesters were marching on.  You literally grabbed her and dragged her a  few steps into the street to arrest her!

By the way -- how is doing an arrest in the middle of the street safe?  Just curious.

Secondly: was it really a bright idea to arrest the observer from the NYCLU?  There is a very good chance that if she isn't a lawyer or law student, she probably knows some.  Hope you didn't do a single thing wrong with that arrest.  Just saying.

Third:  what is your obsession with her not standing on the curb?  She could what -- fall off into the street and disrupt the traffic that doesn't seem to be there?  The street appears to be closed and safe, since you hauled her into the middle of it to arrest her.

Also, if it is all about safety and maintaining the flow of traffic, why are you not arresting all of those people in the background who are happily jaywalking?  You seem to be a bit persnickety on which laws you are choosing to enforce.  I have a friend who got a ticket for jaywalking, and he was in a crosswalk -- he just crossed at the wrong time, after the driver waived him across the street.    I'm assuming it has to be about the non-existent traffic, because you can see people walking down the sidewalk earlier in the video without a problem.

So what exactly was the problem here?  She moved, you still didn't like where she was standing, so instead of letting her move to a distance of your liking you pull her into the street?  That's some calm, cool problem solving, all right.

It's wrong.  Beyond that, I am tired of seeing my tax dollars wasted on such ridiculous moves.  There are no real, actual crimes in NYC that require police attention? 

And that's where we're at

So, I think my phone hates me.  That whole mobile posting thing hasn't really worked yet.  I'm still trying, though!  At some point there will be a weird post popping up about something in the grocery store.  Believe!

In other news, I have a tumblr.  Well, technically I have had one since 2007.  I kind of forgot about it for months (or years) at a time, and what is in it is total crap -- mostly links to YouTube.   Anyway, I recently discovered it again.

Rather than bore you with the total crap one that I don't generally remember to update, I have spawned another one from it.  This one is just going to be for my photography.  I'm not proclaiming that it is anything awesome.  It is a hobby, and I use a Kodak EasyShare camera.  I'm just picking out some of my better shots and giving them a home there.

There isn't much in it yet, since I only created it like a day ago.  If you would like to take a look, you can find it here.

So stay on the look-out for that grocery post.  I'm kind of afraid I've built it up too much now, and it will be a total bummer when it appears (and it will appear).   Just remember it will be fleshed out more after I get a chance to work on it after the phone-related part is finally over.

This isn't much of a post.  Sorry.  It's late, and I have to work tomorrow, and my brain has pretty much shut off for the day. 

Will it work?

We are venturing into the realm of the shiny and new, friends!

Right now, as I write this, I am simultaneously attempting to post a new blog post from my mobile phone.  Aren't you excited I chose to include you in the moment?  I knew you would be.

I got it registered and set up without any problems.  Blogger has instructions that would be super hard to mess up, even for me.

My phone, on the other hand, is the technological weak link in this scenario.  It doesn't really like sending pictures, which is what I need it to do since that is what inspired the whole need to post from the phone.

I had 3 bars worth of charge left on my phone, which is pretty good.  I tried to send the picture, with only the bare minimum text, since I will be adding to it later.  My phone tells me "not enough energy for picture mail".  Excuse me?  You are almost fully charged!

So I plug it into the charger, which should solve the problem.  Or not.

See, my phone is a few years old.  It has been dropped a few times.  Also, my cat has a tendency to try to "answer" it if I leave it sitting on a table and it is set to vibrate.  She thinks it is some kind of special toy that moves on its own, and she will knock it onto the floor, many times resulting in the back popping off and the battery popping out.  This has caused me the special problem of watching the phone repeatedly turn itself on and off when I plug it in to charge.  (My cat, Jasmine,  also gets very confused when an episode of The Office comes on television because the theme song is my ringtone for incoming text messages.  She hears the song on tv and looks at me, as if to say, "Why aren't you getting the phone?  Don't just sit there!")

The phone has seen better days, is what I am trying to say.

The important part is this: if you see some sort of half-assed weird post show up having something to do with a grocery store -- that is a signal of success!  We will be winning!

It might take a while, though.  It once took almost 12 hours for a picture I sent to show up on Facebook.  Don't stay up waiting for it.  If it never shows up, we can try this again tomorrow!  Feel the excitement!

Is that an expiration date?

I noticed this morning that there is a date stamped on the bottom of my tube of Chapstick.  It's the Cherry Classic type, if you need to know.  I was confused.  Does it actually have an expiration date?  Is that the date they made this tube?  What does it mean?  Tell me, Google, tell me!!!


The answer is apparently yes, Chapstick does have an expiration date.  It's on their website.

That means mine expired last July.

I've been using it every day.  It never occurred to me that something like that would expire.  I only have a little bit of my tube left, and I plan on finishing it.

I mean, how bad can it be?  I've been using it this whole time without knowing it was expired, and it hasn't done anything awful like make my lips fall off or turn green or something.  It still tastes like cherry when I lick my lips, and my lips are still soft.  It is still doing the job as far as I'm concerned.

And it's not like it is something you eat that has definitely spoiled and will make you sick.  Sure, you might ingest the tiniest little bit when you eat or drink something while wearing it, but that doesn't make a difference.  It is not in the same ballpark as eating moldy bread.  If you eat that much Chapstick, like taking a chomp out of a tube, then you have bigger problems to worry about, in my opinion.

Besides, Chapstick is pretty much just wax, oil and sunscreen as far as I can tell, with a little fruit flavoring thrown in the mix.  I don't worry about my candles expiring. 

I don't think any of you particularly care about the state of my Chapstick.  It was just a revelation to me that it actually expired.  I thought I would share in case any of you  have tubes and need to check their dates as well.

 I cannot possibly be the only person that didn't know it expired, can I?

Fun with Fax Spam!

*This came through, amongst many other things, on the fax machine at work.  I found it amusing enough to save and share here.  I'll be including my thoughts at the end.  This is re-copied exactly as received including all caps and poor grammar.   I have removed the supplied contact information from the sender so that no one can be daft enough to answer this message.*


GREETINGS:

MAY I USE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO INTRODUCE MYSELF TO YOU MY NAME IS CHARLES TAYLOR (JNR) I AM THE SON OF FORMER PRESIDENT OF LIBERIA.  A COUNTRY IN WEST AFRICA, MY FATHER WHO IS CURRENTLY BEING HELD AGAINST HIS WILL BY THE UNTIED NATIONS FOR ALLEGED OFFENCES OF WAR CRIMES.  HE IS CURRENTLY FACING COURT TRIAL IN THE HAGUE IN NETHERLANDS.MY FATHERIS A GOOD MAN WHO TRIED TO DO SO MUCH FOR OUR PEOPLE LIBERIANS.  I AM CONTACTING YOU WITH THE BELIEVE  THAT WE WILL DEVELOP A CORDIAL BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP WHICH WILL BE BENEFICIAL TO BOTH OF US.MY FATHER GAVE ME YOUR CONTACT WHEN I VISITED HIM ON THE 19TH OF NOVEMBER 2009.HE SAID THAT HE HAVE A LOT OF CONFIDENCE AND TRUST IN YOUR PERSONALITY.  MY FATHER KEEP THE SUM OF (ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY SEVE MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLAS) $177.MILLION USD. IN A BANKS SECURITY VAULT UNDER THE NAME OF HIS FRIEND A FOREIGNER FROM YOUR COUNTRY:  AS THE NEXT OF KIN TO THE DEPOSIT TO AVOID ANY TRACE .THIS FRIEND OF MY FATHER DIED ON 25TH JULY 2009 IN A MOTOR ACCIDENT.
MY FATHER DIRECTED ME TO USE THIS MONEY FOR INVESTMENT PURPOSES SPECIFICALLY IN YOUR COUNTRY.
I PROMISE TO GIVE YOU 30% OF THE TOTAL FUNDS FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE AND 10% OF THE PROFIT AFTER TAX FOR FIVE YEARS.

I AM CURRENTLY IN A REFUGEE CAMP HERE IN TANZANIA AND I HAVE MADE CONTACT WITH THE BANK MANAGER OF THE BANK WHERE MY FATHER DEPOSITED THE FUNDS.I HAVE ALSO INSPECTED THE FUNDS AND CONFIRM THAT IT IS STILL WITH THEM.I WILL GIVE YOU ALL THE DETAILS ON HOW WE WILL CLAIM THESE FUNDS UPON RECEIPT OF YOU RESPONSE.

I HAVE THE WHOLE DOCUMENTS FOR THE DEPOSIT .I THEREFORE SEEK YOUR ASSISTANCE IN TRANSFERING THIS FUNDS OUT OF TANZANIA.

BEST REGARDS.

CHARLES TAYLOR (JNR)

NOTE: PLEASE SEND ALL YOU'RE CONTACT INFORMATION THROUGH MY ABOVE FAX NUMBERS, AS SOON AS I RECEIVE YOUR CONTACT INFORMATIONS I WILL SEND ALL THE DETAILS ON HOW WE ARE GOING TO CONCLUDE THE TRANSACTION.



MY THOUGHTS:

--Are people really still falling for this type of thing?

--I must have a pretty crap memory because I don't remember ever meeting the President of Liberia, yet he says his father approves of my personality.

--I find the above somewhat troubling, as I don't think it is a good thing to have someone on trial at The Hague for War Crimes thinking I have a good personality...perhaps handy in that he might be slightly less likely to kill me, but otherwise not good.

--Was the fact that you want me to help a war criminal a selling point?

--I don't have any relatives that died in a motor accident, or on that specific date.  Think you've got the wrong long-lost relative.

--Refugee camps sure must be different in Tanzania! You have access to a fax machine and a telephone, apparently at all times! 

--If you are in a refugee camp in Tanzania, how did you contact the bank manager and inspect the funds?  Is the bank in the refugee camp?


Sorry, you won't be getting any of my "contact informations".  I already gave them to the solicitor from Nigeria -- he had better grammar and promised me more $$ via email.