Really Good Quotes

Archive for April, 2010

April 28, 2010

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

Really Good Quotes "A mind, once expanded by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Greetings, Quotaholics:

I am a chocoholic. I eat chocolate daily. This past weekend, we were in Asheville, North Carolina and I went to the Chocolate Fetish. I bought a little over $50 in chocolate. This is not a record for me. I used to buy well over $100 of chocolate every time I went home. Suzin L in Elyria, Ohio makes great chocolates. I would buy anywhere from 10 to 15 pounds each time I visited and store it in the refrigerator until I could eat it all up.

Right now I have a bowl with Dove milk chocolate and some Ghirardelli squares (mint) sitting out in ready to grab and run bowls. I have some Cadbury candy bars as well as a couple bags of various M&M types but not sitting out. There are also some chocolate covered dried fruit selections in my pantry. In the freezer, I have some mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

At work, I have chocolate covered peanuts and some orange flavored dark chocolate sitting on my desk. I do share.

That pretty much wraps up the chocolate in my house right now unless we count the fudge sauce in the refrigerator and the several bags of chocolate chips I use for baking/cooking. I also have several different kinds of chocolate flavored coffees (chocolate cherry, chocolate truffle, chocolate swirl, Mexican chocolate, chocolate raspberry, and possibly others).

I really like chocolate and I eat some daily. I don’t eat a whole bunch of chocolate all at once. I still have a few foil wrapped milk chocolate Easter eggs. So I have a lot, but I don’t eat it all at once.

According to ABC News, I should maybe feel a little sad about all this. They reported on a study where it was found that clinically depressed people ate more chocolate than other folks. Those who tested positive for depression ate 60% more chocolate than those not depressed. A test score indicating major depression coincided with more than double the amount of chocolate consumed.

According to the study, men and women were both affected and other food items were not found to correlate. The study couldn’t tell if depressed people eat more chocolate or those who eat more chocolate become depressed. At this time, there is no causal link.

Dr. Natalie Rose of the University of California, Davis (author of the study) has not yet found an answer and claims more study is needed. However, there is a cultural bias associating chocolate with mood benefits. A Google search returns nearly 6 million hits if you enter "chocolate" and "mood."

In 2007, a British study found half of the 3,000 people interviewed felt better after eating chocolate. This is one of the few scientific studies done to find out what chocolate does to our moods.

Dr. Rose studied 931 adults who were also being studied regarding cholesterol. The questionnaire asked about chocolate consumption as well as general food consumption. The amount of chocolate eaten was then compared to scores obtained from tests to measure for depression.

Those who tested positive for depression ate 8.4 serving of chocolate a month while those who had lower scores ate only 5.4 servings. Those with the highest scores for depression ate, on average, 11.8 servings of chocolate per month.

"In contrast to the findings for chocolate, differences in consumption of fat, energy, or carbohydrates by [depression score] group were not significant, suggesting relative specificity of the chocolate finding," Rose wrote.

There are several other explanations available for this. Depressed people may self-medicate with chocolate. Chocolate cravings may be unrelated to depression. Chocolate may bring on the depression rather than vice versa. There may be inflammatory or other physiologic factors causing the chocolate cravings and depression.

Do you eat much chocolate? Daily? Weekly? Monthly? Do you prefer dark, milk, white chocolate? Do you find your mood is better with or without chocolate in your diet?

Do you watch other people and their chocolate consumption? Do you find a correlation to their intake of chocolate and how depressed they are? Do they become depressed if YOU eat all the chocolate and don’t leave any for them? How much chocolate is a serving? How many servings do you eat per month?

Happily,

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“It’s a damned good story. If you have any comments, write them on the back of a check.” - Erle Stanley Gardner, 1889 - 1970

“The fact is we are willing to praise freedom when she is safely tucked away in the past and can not be a nuisance. In the present, amidst dangers whose outcome we cannot foresee, we get nervous about her, and admit censorship.” - E. M. Forster

Tough Love
[Thanks Bonnie]

I couldn’t help overhearing a man at a nearby pay phone. “I know it’s something you want,” he said earnestly, “but I don’t think tattoos are a good idea. And the same goes for body piercing. As long as you’re living in my house, I think you should respect my wishes.”

I was secretly cheering him on for his fatherly firmness.

Then came the ‘coup de grace’: “Besides, Mom, you’re 75 years old! You don’t NEED a tattoo!”

“A little flattery will support a man through great fatigue.”

“It is only when the people become ignorant and corrupt, when they degenerate into a populace, that they are incapable of exercising their sovereignty.”

“Our country may be likened to a new house. We lack many things, but we possess the most precious of all - liberty!” - All from the 5th President of the United States James Monroe born on this date in 1758

That’s Why He’s Marrying Her!
[Thanks Tesser]

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Dumbbells

Remember the cartoons of men lifting dumbbells? They were a metal bar with bulbous ends. Each one was a specific weight value, usually marked "2,000" for the cartoon value indicating it weighed one ton. They were replaced by the weighted discs that could be put on or taken off to make it better for multiple users or for one user to a variety of weights stored in a smaller space.

I mention this because some things I’ve seen remind me of these antique exercise tools. But first, let me mention some other facts.

In general, a plant will leaf to a width of it’s root system. Tubers and bulbs are generally tall thin plants with root systems consisting of few fingerlings of roots terminating in the main bulb. The roots will eventually develop additional nodules which in turn turn into another plant. Many of these types of plants will develop into a expanding ring of plants as the ones in the center eventually die. It’s interesting to watch over time.

This design is interesting. If you notice, plants are designed to direct rain to where they can absorb it easiest, mainly their roots. Fronds, leaves, and branches are all situated to direct the flow quite efficiently to where it is needed.

Bushes and many other small plants use a more traditional root system with fingerlings going out in all directions from the main plant stem. These plants have a root system that mimics the canopy. Honeysuckle, for example, is hard to kill for just that reason. Any viable roots left behind simply produce another plant as they are so hardy.

Trees are not as hardy, but they do take up a lot of real estate. Most trees have a considerable canopy. The roots expand to the same width as the canopy. There’s always the "chicken and the egg" debate as to which comes first. The same applies to trees as some say the roots grow to get out to the width of the limbs. Others say the limbs have to grow so they can direct the rain to the roots. However, looking at the design of trees, one can easily see the direction of growth of the leaves & limbs that direct the rain to where it is needed.

It was interesting to see recently fallen trees, downed by severe weather. They looked like enormous barbells discarded by some giant. I was awaiting a bass voice saying something like, "Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum…"

Here’s your quiz:
Have you noticed uprooted trees and the similarity of the roots’ shape to the canopy?
Have you removed bushes or flowers and noticed the similarity of their roots to the tops?
Have you tried to transplant a mature bush only to have it die because you dug too close to the base stem?

Dumbbells - Maybe Not So Dumb After All
Cliff (the High-Tech Redneck who doesn’t rate a fancy ’signature pic’)

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Email Kirsten

“I don’t have pet peeves, I have whole kennels of irritation.”
~ Whoopi Goldberg ~

I’m having one of those days. Not a bad day, just one that somehow gets out of control. I thought I’d have all the time in the world today because I was working from home, which means I had a whole two hours that I wouldn’t otherwise have had. But I used one of those hours to go for a run, which was nice because it meant not having to get up at five in the morning. I don’t know where the other hour went. Maybe it got lost in the dryer with all the socks. Anyway, I am now left with an article to write and no time to write it in. So instead of writing an article, I’m going to randomly list ten of my pet peeves, in no particular order.

Pet Peeve #1: Pedestrians who cross a busy road twenty feet away from a pedestrian crossing. If you’re that close to a traffic light, why would you create such a needless risk? This is a triple pet peeve if said pedestrian is crossing the road with a child.

Pet Peeve #2: People who block the turnstiles into the subway at rush hour while they dig around for their Metropasses. Presumably they know ahead of time that they’re about to get onto the subway; they don’t just mysteriously find themselves at the entrance, unexpectedly needing their passes.

Pet Peeve #3: Runners who do not acknowledge motorists who yield to them. Even if the runner has right of way, it costs nothing to be polite.

Pet Peeve #4: People who know someone is right behind them, and yet do not take one or two seconds to hold the door for them. There have been times when the door actually has hit me in the face on the way out.

Pet Peeve #5: Spam. At least once a day I get get emails telling me that my thyroid is making me fat. It so is NOT! I cannot decide whether these are worse than the emails I get that invite me to enlarge my penis.

Pet Peeve #6: Barney the Dinosaur.

Pet Peeve #7: When it gets nice and hot for two weeks in April, and I pack away all of the winter clothing, and then it snows.

Pet Peeve #8: The fact that my dryer actually does appear to consume socks. The box of unmatched socks in my house is just scary.

Pet Peeve #9: The fact that I went to a bridal show this weekend, stupidly filled in a pile of ballots for prizes using my primary email address, and am now getting bombarded with emails from every wedding vendor and his pet canary.

Pet Peeve #10: The fact that I was actually able to effortlessly come up with all of these pet peeves and still have more left over in my head. Am I getting cranky in my old age?

Kaleidoscopically yours,
Kirsten

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Maybe it is because I wouldn’t know a jerk had pulled out in front of us until I’m airborne, but I do not understand people who don’t wear seatbelts when they are in a moving car. To me, being held tight against the seat when some idiot text messages his sweetheart when he should be watching for the semi truck in front of him gives me a sense of security. You wouldn’t think a blind passenger would be that critical, but there are several driving events that annoy the stuff out of me.

That seatbelt thing is my favorite. I can understand forgetting to put the thing on. I am always reminding my maternal parent to buckle up. Cars nowadays beep and buzz when you forget your belt, and I personally thank the manufacturers for designing that warning. Most of us remember that we have to buckle up to shut it up, and like a smoke alarm, it is a useful bit of information for an inanimate object to share.

I always nag drivers and other passengers into taking this small precaution, and am, when necessary, more obnoxious then the car’s built in reminder:

Lucille: Is everybody buckled up?

Driver: Have you ever considered applying to say the city of New York as a smoke alarm?

Lucille: BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP! Do you think they would pay me more then I earn now bugging the stuffing out of you? BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!

I am usually successful in my seatbelt campaign, but there a few folks I know who won’t wear one, no matter what the government, the police, their insurance companies, statistics or yours truly has to say on the subject. These are the people who knew a guy once. They’re a dying breed, because they keep getting killed in car accidents, but I know a couple of them and their logic goes like this:

PWKAGO: "I knew a guy once who would have been killed if he had been wearing his seatbelt."

Lucille: Why, what happened?

PWKAGO: His car went into the Oki Panoki swamp and an alligator could have gotten him before he unbuckled his belt to swim to shore.

Another pet peeve of mine that I am always relieved to survive is the cell phone user. This person cannot understand that driving should be enough entertainment for anyone. Just think, you are speeding along in two tons of steel. There are other people going just as fast, and some of them are coming in the opposite direction. Add to that challenge, some of them may be tired, drunk or suicidal.

Some, believe it or not, may just be plain stupid or lousy drivers. You never know when one of them will come along. You can’t identify them because their license plates look the same as anyone else’s. They may be tooling along like any normal person going 60 miles per hour in two tons of gasoline fueled steel, and then suddenly, THEY BRAKE FOR RABBITS!

Meanwhile, the driver of the car behind them is having a lovely chat with, say the cute little thing he/she met at the gym last night, and before you know it, nineteen happy motorists have an impromptu gathering on I-65. Once the smoke clears and the bodies are removed, just think of the social possibilities! And you thought the computer was a boon to your love life.

My favorite, just because it is so darn romantic, are the traveling lovers. You’ve been behind them. She cuddles up to him and blows in his ear. That organ in his skull which is supposed to help him operate the steering wheel goes south, to another organ which is guaranteed to make him a worse driver than he already is. He turns to give her a kiss. A Grey Hound bus turns to get closer to its destination. The driver behind turns to give Lover Boy the finger, but Lover Boy can’t see it, because he is under the wheels of a heavy, but now immobile bus.

Oh well, at least he’ll get the rare thrill of being on the 6:00 news. Too bad he won’t be around to brag about it.

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Miscellaneous Tips

If you need only 1/2 an onion, save the root half. It will last longer.

That didn’t inspire too many people. Good limericks though.

Next opening line…
There was a young man of Hong Kong…

Hints: Here’s a great new rhyming/composition tool. http://www.writerhymes.com/
There’s also a great rhyming dictionary at http://www.rhymezone.com/
Limerick rules. http://freespace.virgin.net/merrick.sheldon/limerickrules.htm

Submit Opening Line
Submit Limerick

There was an old man in a hearse— Whose timing just couldn’t be worse— He still was on trial for doing things vile involving funds he did disburse. - Cassandra in New York	There was an old man in a hearse And for wear he did look the worse When he stopped I then asked Who it was who had passed "Alas", he said, "I’ve outlived my nurse." - Maria in Illinois
There was an old man in a hearse Spent his time by making verse His rhymes, not only bad Oftentimes they were sad But it was the only way he could converse. - Bonnie	There was an old man in a hearse Who murmured, "This might have been worse; Of course the expense Is simply immense, But it doesn’t come out of my purse." - Author Unknown

Re: Farmville

See the definition of "time suck" at the urban dictionary.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=time+suck

With much of my financial life online, the newspapers moving content online and using the internet to search my idle curosity I spend too much time sitting in front of this screen now. - bob in maryland
[Perfect description of my gaming. This may be my new favorite phrase. Thanks Bob.]

I barely notice the advertisements on Facebook, and I am on it frequently. But no, I do not view playing Farmville (or Cafe World, my personal favorite) as a waste of time…at the end of the day I need to decompress, and FB is perfect for that. Also, having one centralized place to find all of your friends and family is extremely helpful. - Cassandra in New York

I do Farmtown instead of Farmville–I am at the highest level also. - Bonnie

Re: Green Space

Do Alfalfa fields count as green space? If so, yes. Alfalfa grows there. In New Mexico, green is an entirely different concept than what most of you are familiar with. The most common natural plants are tumbleweeds and puncturevine. (Affectionately known here as "goatheads") Cultivated plants that could survive Nature’s wrath? Cactus, Agave, Yucca. When your annual rainfall is between 12 and 18 inches per year, and you might go 6 months without any measurable rainfall, they have to be really thrifty to survive on their own. - L&K, herm

Disclaimer- All quotes printed in this publication are believed to be accurately attributed, but no guarantees are made that some incorrectly attributed, or even outright false quotes won’t get in here from time to time. I assure readers that I will do my best to weed out incorrect quotes, and will print a retraction as soon as I become aware of any errors.

Click here to see the archives of past issues, or go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/reallygoodquotes/messages. If you run across something really outstanding when perusing the archives, I’d appreciate it if you’d mail me at TheBestOfRGQ@yahoo.com and point it out to me. I’m in the process of compiling an e-book called, not surprisingly, The Best of RGQ, and I’d like to hear from you which pieces impacted you the most.

Questions? Comments? Want to contribute a joke or a quote or an image? Feel free to e-mail at reallygoodquotes@gmail.com. We’d love to hear from you! We’ll even publish your comments, if they make any sense!

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Archive for April, 2010

April 28, 2010

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