I am NOT smarter than a 5th grader

Tonight on Fox was the premiere of "Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader?". You know I couldn't resist it, not to prove that I am smarter than the 5th graders but to laugh at all the stupid adults. Unfortunately it didn't work out so well for me.

It also didn't work out so well for the show, which will never be a success because the pace was so slow they only asked 6 questions in the entire half hour show! Stupid. Anyway, here are the questions (and my score).

1. In what month is Columbus day? Wrong.
   
2. T or F: Polar bears typically feed on penguins Correct.
   
3. If a triangle has an area of 16 inches, and a base of 8 inches, how long is its height? Wrong (yes, I was a math major).
   
4. Who was the first US president to be impeached? Correct.
   
   
5. Name the ship the pilgrims sailed from Plymouth, England, to the Plymouth colony in America in 1620. Wrong (no excuse).
   
6. What does REM stand for? Correct.
   

My total: 3/6. Definitely NOT smarter than a 5th grader.

This is your brain on fun, late night weekends

After a hard week at work, my brain turns off for the weekend.

...But I like to start my weekends early (say, on Wednesday).

Of course, after the weekend is over, my brain is a little slow to turn back on, so Mondays are kinda tough.

So I guess Tuesday is my only actual productive day of the week.

Hidden musical gem

I've posted before about Damien Rice. I first discovered his music when I was watching the movie "Closer" and this song in the movie was just so...hypnotic...I was just shocked and amazed at how captivating it was.

His music made another surprise appearance tonight in Grey's Anatomy. Unless you're one of those people who only likes certain genre's of music, regardless of its quality - you'll love Damien Rice. His music would probably be categorized as "folk" just because he doesn't really fit anywhere else, but really his taste seems to be all over the map. Mostly his songs are very slow, soulful, and relaxing. There's only one other artist/band that can relax me more, and that is Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon.

I just bought Damien's most recent cd on Amazon a couple week's ago. That makes two that I own: "O" and "9". I like "O" more, but both of these CDs are fab.

The worst smells ever

In all my life, I can only think of two smells that I literally could not get out of my nose. Even after leaving the source of the smell (or after the source of the smell left me), it had already invaded my my body and clothing and would not go away for several minutes.

One of those smells was this dude's breath. I know it sounds like I might be exaggerating, but believe me I'm not. The first time I smelled it I gagged in shock. Luckily I only had to deal with that a couple of times. If I ever have breath that bad I hope someone tells me.

The second smell I experienced tonight, but I've come across it many times before: that unmistakable mosh-pit of dozens of different kinds of mens deodorant combined with B.O. that over time has been absorbed into every grain of wood, and every pore in the paint of mens locker rooms everywhere. After I left the gym tonight, got into my truck, and was halfway through the parking lot I could still smell it. Ugh!

Wii have a problem

Well, *we* don't have a problem, but I do - it looks like I might get re-addicted to video games again since my friend James snagged me a Nintendo Wii. Cool! I never have been a huge gamer, although back in college I could kick your ass at some mario kart on nintendo 64 (I know a bunch of you just said "yeah right" in your heads, but seriously, you'd have had no shot against me back then. I mean it. Really.), and I was a Team Fortress/Counterstrike addict for a few months.

Now if I can just avoid destroying my wonderful beautiful tv like these people at wiihaveaproblem!

Chili with beef and veggies

Brown 2 lbs of ground beef (I use lean) or turkey, stir in 1 chili spice packet (I used mcCormicks but there are tons of different kinds, also I use less than the packet recipe calls for, it calls for 1 packet per 1 lb of beef) and 2 regular 15oz or whatever cans of hunts tomato sauce and two regular cans of light red kidney beans. Bring that to a boil and then simmer for 10 mins. Then throw in 1 large chopped onion, about 2 cups of frozen corn kernels, 1 package of fresh sliced mushrooms, pieces from 1 large broc crown, and however much pepper you like. I prefer cayenne and a lot of it, but I'm a heat freak. :)

I let that cook on med-low for a half hour or so while I cleaned out my fridge, but that part is optional. Hah!

Other options that I haven't tried yet:
red bell pepper
canned chipotles
12 oz beer or beef stock, cooked down
worcestershire sauce, cooked out
garlic
cellery
black beans (no need to drain)