From the archives...

The Boys and Girls. Blowing Rock Park, August 2003
(not pictured: Trey, Shauna and Elizabeth)

I found this in my Mom's "saved email" folder while helping her organize her hard drive. It's one I sent during my senior year (2003-2004) in college. Even though this was 3 years ago, I remember that night distinctly. Couldn't tell you what t-shirt I wore yesterday, but I remember that nasty cookie dough clearly and The Boys belief that the only bad cookie dough is no cookie dough at all.....

The Boys made cookies last night, and I say "cookies" in the loosest sense of the word.

Now this is something they have dabbled in before, usually with hit or miss success, but in recent times they have gotten a handle on it. Chocolate chip cookies are their forte, until last night...

Rick ambled in, got all the necessary equipment/ingredients and shuffled back out (things like spatulas, bowls and baking soda float freely between our room and theirs) and about 30 minutes later, LeeAnn, having decided that nothing edible last long Across the Hall, went to confiscate a few for The Girls.

She came back empty handed.

Her first sentence was "I don't know what they *did*, or *didn't* do, but chocolate chip cookies those aren't. Lead-lined hockey pucks, maybe, but certainly NOT cookies."

"I haven't seen cookies or dough this bad since...since...well, the last time Corey 'helped'"

So of course we all had to barrel over across the hall to witness this debacle firsthand and sho' nuff, the dough looked like something a vulture might've thrown up. Not to say it was a total loss, it would have been excellent for hanging wallpaper, spackling a hole in the wall, caulking a bathtub.....

Even though the cookies were a total bust, The Boys decided that icky cookie dough is just as edible as good cookie dough and proceeded to eat the entire bowl (although Corey diluted his with ice cream "what? It's just like cookie-dough ice cream you'd buy at the store! Kind of...")

I can honestly say that having The Boys across the hall is the best learning experience I've had in my undergrad career. We (The Girls) feel sometimes that we're living in a Discovery Channel special and at any moment, the Croc Hunter is going to pop out and say "now here we have an excellent example of the 'y' chromosome in their natural habitat. Notice the attempt to establish territory by leaving dirty socks throughout their domicile...These males are at the peak of evolution, believing if what they eat doesn't kill them, it will only build their immunity..."

Reality check, aisle 5....

It's been a little over a week since the much heralded iPhone whipped gadget freaks into a frenzy. Like nearly everything in life that is over-hyped, surprise surprise, some people are disgruntled about their purchase.

This shouldn't be news. If there was a colossal snafu with the iPhone's OS, then by all means, notify consumers.

But no.

What has thousands of iPhone owners panties in a twist? The !@#$ battery.

*blink*

Really? This should come as a shock? The iPhone lasts approximately 300-400 charges after that, the battery begins to diminish. The phone must then be sent in and the battery replaced in 3 business days. If this phone were a commoner used merely to make and receive calls, I'd understand, but it's not. It's a phone, mp3 player, capable of showing movies and a fully equipped internet browser. What would you expect?? Not to mention this is Apple we're dealing with here, they've made it their business to make battery replacement a booming side venture. This was first noticed with iPods, you HAD to send it in to Official Apple Techs who can replace the battery in what is a VERY DELICATE PROCEDURE.

Until it came to light that replacing an iPod battery isn't all that difficult. Numerous websites have step-by-step instructions, some with video. My favorite being the fine folks at I-Fix-iPods-Fast and their video tutorials. I've resurrected my 3rd Gen 15gb iPod and repaired a busted 80 GB iPod thanks to them. All for the cost of a battery ($15) and a new screen ($40). Much less than the exorbitant price Apple wanted for the same repairs.

Maybe what baffles me the most is how many people are acting indignant over this. As if dropping $600 for the phone + tax + $60/month for service isn't going to break the bank, but the $79 is going to push them over the edge? I wonder how many people, had they known this prior to buying an iPhone, would have chosen to postpone their purchase?

My guess is not many. Lots of Americans have problems suppressing their Inner Gratification Demons and if they want to spend $600 on a 1st Generation phone NOW, then they're going to do it and damn the consequences. These people should have their right to whine about something as paltry as a battery, revoked. Do not pass go, do not collect $200....

"Keep on keepin' on like a bird that flew...."

I had ankle surgery in April which necessitated me being in a cast and on crutches for 9 weeks. The couch in the living room was where I spent most of my time. It's prime real estate really, nearly equidistant from the kitchen and the bathroom, you just can't beat that. Boomer was rather put out that my leg occupied the space on the couch usually reserved for him and took to glaring at me from his pillow pallet on the floor. I spent a lot of time reading but in between books I would spend an inordinate amount of time staring out the front windows. If it weren't for the fact I live at the very end of a dead-end street where there is virtually nothing to actually watch, I could have given Jimmy Stewart's performance in Rear Window a real run for its money.

While there wasn't much in the way of people watching the bird feeder hanging on the crab apple tree provided a steady flow of entertainment in its own way.

Starlings, Robins, Cardinals, a slew of virtually indistinguishable (to me) small brown birds and the occasional ballsy squirrel who would attempt to land on the feeder (only to miss his/her target and fall into an undignified heap on the ground) One day there was a break in the monotony of usual suspects, a gorgeous yellow and black bird. I had never seen such a brilliant shade of yellow on a bird before. Never having been anything more than a casual viewer of warm-blooded, egg-laying, bipedal, vertebrates from the class Aves, I didn't have a clue what this bird was called. Google google, what would I do without you? Turns out the bird is a Goldfinch, pictured here to the right.

I've learned a lot about these little buggers, when I lack knowledge about a certain animal, vegetable or mineral I like to research it within an inch of its life. The almost day-glo yellow of this Goldfinch is his "breeding plumage" (you knew it had to be a male bird right? Boy birds seem to have all the colors, Cardinals, Robins...must be something to do with the fragile male ego)
Goldfinches molt twice a year, unlike most birds that only molt in the fall.

Once a male Goldfinch woos a female goldfinch, knocks her up and builds a nest, he molts and turns into this decidedly less flashy version:

How brilliant is this?! Breeding plumage to initially attract a mate, then once the deal is sealed, morphing into an utterly nondescript guy (I'm sure what they lack in color they make up for with a sparkling personality).

Then it hit me. This isn't SO brilliant, humans have been growing and molting "breeding plumage" since the dawn of time. Men and women spend a lot of time and effort showing off their plumage to available (and sometimes unavailable) mates. However, human males (and to be fair, females) breeding plumage doesn't fade as quickly as a Goldfinches. The high-school stud muffin can take a good 20 years (30 if nature is kind) to molt into a beer gut, balding visage. Although when you factor in the life span of a Goldfinch vs. Humans, it's probably equal.
Internet dating too, I suppose, could be a good example. A man initially writes he is a 6'4", flaxen haired Chippendale with excellent conversation skills who loves to listen, cook, clean, and snuggle really turns out to be a grease ball with cloven hooves.

More deep thoughts from the shallow end of the pool, bet y'all wish I had never laid eyes on a Goldfinch....