K is for Knowledge - A Safe Driving Tip

I saw a safety tip the other day that just begged to be shared. It seems like common sense yet never occurred to me.

You know the blind spot that plagues drivers everywhere? The problem would not be so bad if people knew how their side view mirrors were meant to be set.

In short, you should not be able to see any part of your car in those mirrors. When you see your vehicle there is an overlapping reflection provided between them and the rear view mirror over your head. Once you angle those door mounted mirrors out far enough, you realize how they pick up much more to the side and behind where you really need the assist.

Cracked.com, the comedy website, first introduced me to the concept. And I’m grateful because there is a noticeable difference when I’m driving. I simply adjusted mine based on the Cracked article but here is a link with details in case you are interested:

How to Set Rear‐View Mirrors to Eliminate Blind Spots

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J is for Judge Dredd - I Am the Law

I do not know how many of you are familiar with the British comic book “2000 AD”. In it, the future United States has become a nuclear ravaged dystopia where an unemployed and bored populace crowds in huge megacity apartment blocks. Some residents never leave them.

If they do, Judges are ready to serve up instantaneous street justice. Judge Joe Dredd is toughest of them all.

Delightful Kiwi actor Karl Urban blessed us in 2012 with a portrayal of the lawman that helped remove the bad taste leftover from the 1995 travesty. Sylvester Stallone might have done okay except for one glaring mistake. Ask any Judge Dredd geek and they’ll tell you that he never takes off his helmet in the story panels.

Never, ever. Dredd is the antithesis of that character Wilson Wilson Junior in the nineties era TV series “Home Improvement” who never showed his chin. Judge Dredd is all about the chin.

That wonderful, stern, craggy chin - almost a character in and of itself.

Unfortunately, the expense of having that weekly comic shipped became too costly. I have not tried to find any domestic periodical to replace it. Are there any comic book fans out there with a suggestion? I’d be interested to know.

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I is for Insomnia - A Scourge of the Modern Age

Sleeplessness is the state in which many of these A-Z topics were conceived. For some reason I woke at 3am and could not shut down my brain. Fortunately, this is rare for me.

My partner, however, rations out a prescription drug that does not always do a darn thing. As a result, this household has no typical set schedule. Sometimes, I feel exasperated. I’m half tempted to slip some valerian root into my partner’s evening cup of tea or something.

Circadian rhythm is quite important to health and even sanity. Unfortunately, classic suggestions like daily exercise and set nighttime rituals fall on deaf ears.

I hope that you enjoy healthy, natural sleep like me. And if not, maybe one of us can find something workable and share it.

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H is for Hedonism - Pursuing Pleasure

I like food. Unfortunately, I like it way more than is healthy.

My travel itineraries always include good restaurants. When I visit a friend and learn there are no plans for dinner, anxiety hovers until the situation is rectified. Fortunately (or maybe not), my partner responds to food the same way. We have enjoyed many a fine meal together.

 Although hedonism does not rule my life, the other day I heard something that defies imagination. On a recent “Homicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda” episode Lietenant Kenda admitted that he would rather not eat at all if he could avoid taking the time. Now I may have felt that way on numerous occasions; this guy takes it to the extreme.

When he absolutely must satisfy his hunger, he will go to the nearest fast food restaurant and order the number one combo meal. He said they all have one, which is a fact I blissfully did not know. This man, who has not even looked at the menu, will then proceed to devour whatever he pulls out of the paper bag.

That made me somehow sad. Meanwhile, Andrew Zimmern’s program “Bizarre Foods” makes me hungry.

What are you having for dinner?

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G is for Good Grammar - A Dying Art?

There is, without a doubt, a persnickety English teacher in me. These days I find mistakes everywhere yet cannot complain because some are just personal opinion.

What I despise most is the dangling participle. This is so prominent that I hear or read it on a weekly basis. Respected authors are even guilty. Read this and tell me what you think: Basted during the cooking process, you should find your chicken breasts juicy and delicious.

Exactly who got basted? That sentence reads like the cook did. Maybe it’s suggesting that the chef drink so much wine during the cooking process that dried out chicken merely tasted juicy and delicious. The English language certainly contains enough euphemisms for drunkenness.

Anyway, I know that texting and Twitter have made my battle virtually unwinnable. This is just another example of how I am basically a walking, talking relic. But who knows? Maybe if I live long enough I will see a turnaround.

May I should start a crusade. What do you think?

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F is for Flowers - Hurray for Spring!

On Thursday, March 12 of 2015 I started taking regular, compulsive walks around my gardens. Quite frankly, it amazes me every spring how quickly my flowering bulbs emerge and flourish. I can check every few hours to note further progress.

After the extreme cold of our 2013-14 winter, I didn’t see quite as many return from the prior fall’s planting. So far I’m seeing better growth this spring. And that’s after another extreme in temperatures. Maybe my bulbs came from a better grower. I don’t know.

Then again, this area also had more consistent snow cover than in 2014. Surprisingly, snow actually helps insulate overwintering plants. It’s another astonishing fact about nature. Personally, I learn something new every growing season. Now I am looking forward to mid May when I should be able to plant vegetables and annual flowers.

Until then I hope you are enjoying new growth, whatever form it takes. Is there something new and exciting in your part of the world?

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E is for Energy Boosters

Now that I am exercising regularly, my appetite has understandably increased. It’s a struggle not to overeat without feeling miserably famished.

For you woman out there, here’s a rotten fact. Because of that b!7@% we call biology, our brain chemistry triggers hunger proportionate to the calories just burned in case we become pregnant. Can you believe that? I am sure just about everyone living with modern luxury knows how much faster you can ingest 500 calories than you can burn them off.

And that burns me up! But I digress…

I admit that I’m no vegetarian. So the easiest, cheap protein snacks are boiled eggs. I cannot believe that never occurred to me. Another option I have been enjoying is, actually, baked tofu sticks. They are easy to make, and I found them quite tasty spread with a little mix of peanut butter and jelly since the tofu took on almost the texture of bread.

Here’s a recipe I’m thinking of trying, in case you’re interested:

Baked Sesame Tofu Sticks

Happy snacking! And please let me know if you have any tasty suggestions.

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D is for Drabbles - Exercises in Writing

A few years ago I discovered fanfiction and eventually became addicted to writing it. That increased tenfold upon my involvement in a writing style known as drabbles.

These are not long involved tales. Drabbles are actually one hundred word vignettes. This particular fanfiction website (Pomme de Sang) offers monthly challenges for which writers must submit themed drabbles. The theme might be anything. Trying to infuse the topic into the mini ficlets, whether vaguely or verbatim, only fueled my fervor.

I have gotten away from them yet still recall how much I enjoyed their writing. Some of my drabble threads ran to dozens of chapters. One series contained nothing but dialog without tags. They all taught me precision and made writing fun.

Drabbles aren’t for everyone. Some readers cannot engage in these super short stories while not every author cares to practice the peculiar discipline. I found the precise exercise quite empowering.

Perhaps I should try my hand at drabbles in May. The rambling rush of writing fifty thousand words in November’s National Novel Writing Month resulted in excessive verbosity and I’m finding much the same with the current Camp NaNo.

Whether I drabble now or work on my NaNo WIP, it’s time I get to it. What will you write today?

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