Well Wishes From TWIT

There's a lto going in the lives of some of my dear friends and co-workers, so I'd like to take a few moments to shout out to some folks today.

Happy Birthday to:

John Zoeller -- CEO of Zoeller Company.  Even for a busy person like a CEO, John takes the time to wish each and every employee a happy birthday.  If he happens to be out of town on your birthday, he'll either email you or make it a point to stop by your office when he returns.  He does this not only for the office employees, but also for the factory employees.  That impresses me.

Pat S. -- a faithful reader, co-worker and one of the coolest friends I know. I'd like to give an extra shout out to her because she helped me out through a very messy thing about 10 years ago, and gave me some of the best advice a friend could give. She won't mind me telling this amusing anecdote about her husband, Smiling Jack (I call him "Smiling Jack" because he smiles when he sees me or one of the 'rents because he knows he'll end up getting major $$$ from us.)  Jack has a motorcycle, and they've always kidded about the funny t-shirts that alot of the male bikers wear; you know what I'm talking about - the shirts that have printed on the back "If you can read this, the bitch fell off."  Well, one of Pat's sisters gave her a shirt that says "The bitch paid for this bike."  You go, Pat.

Bon Voyage to:

Stacy -- my co-Diva.  Tomorrow, Stacy and the G family will be heading off to Florida where they will embark on a fun-filled Disney cruise.  They haven't even left yet and I miss them already.  I expect tos ee some pics of Mickey and Minnie to post in TWIT.

Get Well Soon to:

BLGMama -- she had a root canal yesterday.  I truly feel your pain. We wish you a speedy, pain-free recovery.  I'll get you some narcotics if you need them, BLGMama.  You know I got your back, girlfriend.

Bro. Jerry -- our dear friend and pastor at our church.  Yesterday, Jerry underwent major surgery to remove his shoulder prosthesis.  He'll be actually without a shoulder socket for six weeks while the infection clears up.  Then he'llundergo more surgery to put in a new shoulder prosthesis.

Sincere Apologies to:

The 'rents -- I'm sorry I turned into Cruella DeVille last night.  It was totally out of character for Puddin.  Thanks for putting up with me for 42+ years.  You guys rock.

Have It Your Way

By now, I'm sure you've seen the commercial for Burger King's Tender Crisp Bacon Cheddar Ranch sandwich.  I can't decide if I think it's hilarious or if it freaks me out.  I think the commercial should fall under the "WTF?" category.  The first time I saw the commercial I thought "That can't be Darius Rucker dressed up like Cowboy Carl from Pee Wee's Playhouse?"  After looking on the internet, I found out it was in deed the lead singer of Hootie and the Blowfish.  I guess times are hard and he needed some quick cash.

Some bloggers have compared the commercial to "The Wizard of Oz", mainly because the commercial begins in black and white and then goes to full color.  There's also a yellow brick road in the commercial, but this time it's built from blocks of cheese.  If you ask me, I'd compare it to Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" - whoever wrote the commercial had to be on one far out trip. How could you come up with a line like "Dallas cheerleaders give you shaves" if you weren't on LSD?  The song is full of sexual innuendo, and there's quite a bit of action on the screen as Darius Rucker is singing in his fringed cowboy outfit while a chicken is spanking somebody on the ass.  I'm really surprised that Dr. James Dobson's "Focus on the Family" hasn't protested and asked that it be taken off the air, with as much fuss as he made about the "We Are Family" video.

The commercial is full of cameo appearances - not only do we have the lead singer of Hootie and the Blowfish starring in this production, we also have the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders, Brooke Burke, and Burger King himself.  Maybe it's not so freaky after all. 

Here's the words to the song in the commercial, in case you want to sing along:

When my belly starts a-rumblin’
And I’m jonesin’ for a treat
I close my eyes for a big surprise
The Tendercrisp Bacon Cheddar Ranch

I love the Tendercrisp Bacon Cheddar Ranch
The breasts they grow on trees
And streams of bacon ranch dressing
Flow right up to your knees

There’s tumbleweeds of bacon
And cheddar paves the streets
Folks don’t diss you ‘cause you got the juice
There’s a train of ladies comin’ with a nice caboose
Never get in trouble, never need an excuse
The Tendercrisp Bacon Cheddar Ranch

I love the Tendercrisp Bacon Cheddar Ranch
No one tells you to behave
Your wildest fantasies come true
Dallas cheerleaders give you shaves
Red onions make you laugh instead
And french fries grow like weeds
You get to veg all day
All the lotto tickets pay
There’s a king who wants you to have it your way
That’s the Tendercrisp Bacon Cheddar Ranch

I know - it doesn't make any more sense when you have the words there in front of you. 

A/S/L?

I love the internet; I love it even more now that I have broadband and wireless connection on my laptop.  I probably spend too much time on the internet, but it's a great pasttime for me.  I got AOL service in 1997, and for the first few months, I was pretty clueless about the internet and the subculture of chat rooms.  My first experience in a public chat room was horrible.  The second night that I had AOL, I found an X-Files chat room.  I went "in" and expected the chatters to welcome me with open arms.  Boy, was I wrong.  I was ignored.  Chat rooms are the most clique-ish places you'll find.  Well, I had had enough of that after about a half hour.  The next day I was telling a friend about my virgin chat room experience, and he told me about an AOL chat room that he visits regularly.  He said this room had no theme - it was just people like us that chatted about anything.  He emailed me a link, along with instructions telling me to click on the link (remember - I had only had AOL for one day and didn't know what in the hell to do).  I went to the chat room and loved it.  The chatters were just like me - people who work during the day, and who enjoy a little down time by chatting.  The group wasn't the least big clique-ish; on the contrary.  When I entered the room, all 20+ chatters said hello.  The time in this chat room was filled with chatting about current events, tv, music, sports - things that we would normally talk about at work or when we're out with friends.

I didn't chat too much the first few times I was in there - I was too busy "listening" and tyring to decipher their internet abbreviations.  The most frequently used abbreviation is LOL.  For those of you who may have just gotten internet connection and don't know, it means "laughing out loud."  I was able to figure out some other abbreviations used, but one had me puzzled.  When someone (not a room regular) would enter the room, they would often ask "A/S/L?". The room regulars would ignore this question.  My curiosity got the best of me and I sent an IM (instant message) to my friend and asked him what it meant.  He said "age/sex/location."  Ohhhhkay.  I was just introduced to the internet's version of cruising.  My friend replied "LOL."  He said that in some instances yes, but in most cases, the people just wanted to know who they were chatting with.  It made sense to me.

42/F/KY for me.  What about you?

Gas Price Update

Most expensive:  Citgo, Cane Run Road at I-264  $2.19

Least expensive:  Thorntons, corner of Algonquin Parkway and 7th Street  $2.05

I Like Spinach

I'm not a real picky eater; I just don't like a lot of vegetables.  I like green beans, especially French style, and lettuce, and I love green peppers.  But that's about it in the green vegetable department. I won't touch any of the cooked greens, like spinach, kale, etc., but I love spinach dips that all the restaurants have now.  I also like raw spinach when it's in salad form.  A spinach salad with a warm, sweet vinegarette dressing is a welcome break from the usual creamy ranch dressing.  I'm first to admit that it's weird -- I'll eat spinach dip and raw spinach, but I wouldn't eat cooked spinach.  Until yesterday.  Easter 2005 will go down in history as the day that I ate cooked spinach, and actually liked.  AND took a second helping. 

Let me preface by saying that it wasn't like I plopped a bunch of plain cooked spinach on my plate and ate it up - it had some help in the form of chopped onions, sliced mushrooms and mozarella cheese.  But cooked spinach was the central focus in this casserole. It was awesome. The recipe comes from an old restaurant here in Louisville called Mazzoni's Oysters. There wasn't any left for me to bring with my lunch today;  it was that good.  I guess my Mom was right about this after all - she says I'd eat anything if it had cheese or brown gravy on it.  Looks like she was right about the spinach.  Here's the recipe should any of you, my faithful readers, like to try it.  Save some for me.

Mazzoni's spinach bake

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1½ pounds frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed very dry
1 egg, lightly beaten
2½ cups sliced mushrooms
1¼ cups shredded mozzarella
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons dried basil

Heat oil in a pan. Cook onions over medium-low heat until translucent, 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Make sure as much moisture is squeezed out of the spinach as possible. The best way is to thaw in a colander, then press down on the spinach when it is thawed. Then, turn spinach out on a clean dishtowel, and squeeze it well over the sink, to catch any further moisture. (If the spinach is not very dry, Mazzoni's chef April Thomas warns, the casserole will be soupy.)

In a large bowl, mix spinach and onion. Add beaten egg, mushrooms and cheese, salt, pepper and basil. Mix very well. Turn spinach-egg-cheese mixture into a 13-by-9-inch casserole. Bake in a 350-degree oven 30 minutes or more, until casserole is set in the middle.

Serves 8.

Nutrition data: 130 calories, 7 grams fat, 10 grams protein, 9 grams carbohydrate, 4 grams fiber, 470 milligrams sodium.

Link Of The Week

I love surfing the internet. I often lose track of time when I get engrossed in reading and researching online.  I don't just use the internet and computer for games at Pogo.com - I get a lot of sheet music, guitar tablature, and song lyrics online. I also read recaps of All My Children episodes that I miss.  I get alot of recipes online, too.  One of the best places online to go when you want to find out about anything is www.about.com.  Most of the time when I use my Internet Explorer or MSN search engine to do a search, it will usually bring up a few hits from about.com pages. 

We're Finally Above Average

It pains me to say that Kentucky is ranked below-average for things like our school systems, per capita income, high school graduates, etc.  The list could go on and on.  But we've finally reached above average on one thinIt pains me to say that Kentucky is ranked below-average for things like our school systems, per capita income, high school graduates, etc.  The list could go on and on.  But we've finally reached above average on one thing - gas prices.  This morning on Good Morning America, Barbara Walters said that the average price per gallon in the U.S. is $2.11.  Hahhhhh.  Just a block away from work, it's $2.25.  Like this is something to be proud of?

I know we've already discussed the gas prices here in TWIT, and even started a weekly post about the cheapest and most expensive gas, but it's the hot topic right now.  People are actually using more gas to drive miles away to get gas a nickel cheaper.  I kid you not.  I hear it all the time from co-workers and friends at home.  People will actually drive out of their way to save a few cents on gas.  Sure, it costs a small fortune to fill up my BMW, but I'll be damned if I'm going to drive out of my way and use a gallon of gas to buy gas a few cents cheaper than it is up the street from my house.  It's not gonna happen.  I lucked out last night, however.  I ran out to the Super WalMart, just across the Bullit county line, to get some new glasses at their vision center, and a gas station next to the WalMart had gas for the unheard of price of $2.08. The "please refuel" light had just come on as I pulled into the WalMart parking lot, so the timing was perfect.  I felt like I'd won a big jackpot out in Vegas - filling the BMW up for $2.08 a gallon.  Add to that the fact that I'll get reimbursed for my new glasses from my medical reimbursement account here at work, it was a great evening.