Day: April 10, 2008

Crankypantsing

Big Brother Rant

Shelly

Please to avert your eyes, if you don’t watch the show.

Anyway! I recorded Tuesday’s show and watched it right before last night’s show. I have a few observations.

1. Joshuah is a giant asshole. From telling Amanda that she ought to commit suicide to threatening Allison (she got a restraining order against him) to calling just about every woman in the house a skank or whore at some point, the guy is just plain foul. That sort of crap is inexcusable. And the juxtaposition of him calling Natalie a whore, then wanting to hear his supposedly uplifting eviction speech was priceless.

I want to tell you all one thing. If you can learn anything from me, it’s be true to yourself. I’m proud being Joshuah Michael Welch. I’m proud of who I’ve become and I stand for what I believe in. If all of you stand-up for what you believe in, you’ll go way far in this game and in life. That’s all I can ask is just be true to yourself.

He has an awful lot to be proud of answer for.

Oh, and am I the only one who thinks his petulant smirkings are reminiscent of a certain Chimperator?

2. Natalie has issues. This will not be news to anyone who has watched any of this season’s episodes. The dirty dealings are par for the course, so I have no complaints about how she’s trying to manipulate everyone else. I do, however, have a big problem with her invoking God. According to her, the big guy has been sharing insider info with her. She’s also made comments about how Team Christ (I am not making this up!) will win because they are righteous and on the side of God, and how the folks who aren’t in the Jesus club are all evil doers. WTF?!

I’m grossed out by the fact that she uses religion in that way.

She is also a hypocrite. On the one hand, it was okay for St. Matty to lie to James, but on the other, it was not okay for James to go back on his word not to put Matt up for eviction.

Oh, and her demanding that no one laugh at James making fun of her? Yes, he was being mean (the comments about her weight were inexcusable), but at the same time, telling your competitors that you will go after them if they don’t follow your orders is kind of ridiculous.

So is thinking she can win against anyone else in the house.

3. Ryan’s comment that Adam nominating Sheila and Sharon was cowardly and spineless. I thought it was an excellent move on Adam’s part, only he didn’t take it far enough. First, as Adam said, it forced folks to actually work for a change. Second, if Adam had followed through and teamed up with James, Sharon, and Sheila, he could have yanked the rug out from under Ryan and Natalie. Because as it stands now, Adam is in serious danger of getting targeted by Natalie.

Uncategorized

Spring

Shelly

I made a big pot of vegetable soup last night, along with a loaf of whole wheat bread. When I got up and went out to the living room this morning, it still smelled wonderful. Mmmm. And it’s supposed to storm this afternoon and again tonight, which I’m almost half-way looking forward to. It’s Friday for me, and I could use an evening with homemade bread and vegetable soup and a good book and the knowledge that I don’t have to get up in the morning[1].

Also, the forsythia and redbuds are blooming, as well as daffodils, and the grounds folks have planted pansies everywhere. I also saw tons of little violets out in the back field, while Harriet and I were tracking bunnies. Well, Harriet was tracking; I was just along for the ride.

The best part, though? I haven’t had to turn on the heat in several days. It’s supposed to cool off again this weekend, but I think it’s safe to assume that winter is well and truly over. It’ll be nice to have a month or so where I don’t have to use heat or AC.

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1. I think Mr. Upstairs must be out of town, because I haven’t heard a peep from him in a couple of days. There was a fury of cleaning activity on, I think, Monday, then the next day, silence. I haven’t even heard water running. Hopefully, this means I’ll be able to get caught up on sleep this weekend!

Photography

Black Smoke

Shelly

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I glanced out the window yesterday and saw a plume of black smoke coming out of the smokestack across the street. One of my coworkers said that they must be flue sanding. According to her, they periodically toss sand into the working smokestack to clean the built-up crud off the insides. I guess the heat from the fire makes the sand rise, but before it melts, it tumbles against the sides, sanding off the creosote and whatnot. I’d never heard of flue sanding, and a quick Google wasn’t very helpful. However, my coworker said that the smoke would only be black for a few moments, and she was right. I snapped three pictures, and by the third one, the black smoke was entirely gone.

ETA: YouTube to the rescue! This is about trains, but the concept is basically the same.