Friday 5 - April 3, 2009

I'm not a food blogger, but the Friday 5 is about food, so here goes.

1. What is your favorite fizzy, bubbly drink?

Would a root beer float count? I don't do any alcoholic beverages.

2. What is your favorite deep-fried food?

I have eaten a lot of french fries in my lifetime.

3. What is your favorite hot beverage?

Hot chocolate with whipped cream

4. What is your favorite really messy food?

If spaghetti is messy then that would be it.

5. What is your favorite recipe for a blended or mixed beverage?

I don't own a blender.

Photo credit: Scott Ableman from Flickr

Friday 5: March 20, 2009

IT'S MOSTLY GLOOM & DOOM SO FAR THIS YEAR
The Friday 5

1. Would you say 2009 so far is meeting expectation, exceeding expectations, or failing to meet expectations?

2009 is totally coming out as expected. First of all we have a Democrat President. More Democrats took over Congress and more Democrats took over seats at the Hawaii State Legislature. Conservative values and all of our money are at risk.

Democrats have led the charge this year to propose many new tax increase bills on the Federal, State and County levels. The cost of living is going up, employment is going down and the economy is still in decline.

Environmental wackos with the help of the Hawaii State Supreme Court have driven the Hawaii Superferry out of business. Conservatism is still alive but not in power. Our basic traditional values pertaining to marriage in Hawaii is at great risk with the possible passage of HB 444 that gives benefits to "Civil Union" gay couples.

It's going to hell in a handbasket, which of course gives me a lot to gripe and write about in this blog and elsewhere. So is 2009 a good year? Not yet.

2. What letter grade would you give yourself for your performance at work or school?

I am not giving out any letter grades. Like everything in life, we can always do a better job.

3. On a scale from 1 to 10, how happy have you been with the weather so far in 2009?

Except for a few days of rain and cold, the weather is mostly fine. After all this is Hawaii! Usually very sunny with blue skies in these parts. Scale rank: 8.5

4. Which of the Motion Picture Association of America’s film ratings would you give your social life so far in 2009?

I keep a social life to near zero as it costs way too much time and money to be even partially social. Up until today the big thing I do on Friday nights is catch episodes of Battlestar Galactica which finishes its series run tonight. Work is fairly social for me as I actually meet a few people every day. Getting involved with conservative politics is another social opportunity. Mostly I prefer to keep to myself.

5. 2009’s parents are on the phone and want to know how 2009 can improve its performance. What have been 2009’s areas of strength and what are its areas for growth in the second quarter?

Areas of strength in 2009? Hopefully the American spirit of individuality is still alive and that we can stick to those long held beliefs and traditions that our Founding Fathers envisioned for this country.

Government can give more breaks to the private sector to improve the economy and increase employment. I am not talking about government bailouts of ailing firms. No, we must lower the economic burden on all the citizens by not raising taxes and allowing us to keep more of the money we earn at work in our own pockets.

Photo above: Protesters who oppose HB 444 that trumps Hawaii's marriage law.

Friday 5 - March 6, 2009.

I've heard about this Friday 5 site for some months now. Never got around to participating in this, but I figure why not today? So here it is.... my answers to what the current Friday 5 questions are. I can't promise I'll do this every week, but for some reason I just wanted to answer this. So here goes:

1. On March 6, 1869, Dmitri Mendeleev presented the first Periodic Table of the Elements to the Russian Chemical Society. What memories do you have of your high-school chemistry course?

For some reason I never took high school chemistry, so I don't have any memories. I did take Physical Science and we did learn about the periodic table of elements. I remember a few of them like GOLD (Au) and IRON (Fe). Other than that never did much with glass tubes, beakers, chemicals and Bunsen burners.

2. On March 6, 1899, the Bayer company registered aspirin as a trademark. When did you last take medication for pain?

I take a low dose aspirin every day, not for pain but to lessen my chances of well... a heart attack. Hey I'm old.

3. On March 6, 1853, Giuseppe Verdi’s opera La Traviata premiered in Venice. How do you feel about opera?

Don't listen or watch it at all. Next.

4. On March 6, 1947, American film director Rob Reiner (Meathead!) was born. Which of these Reiner-directed films have you seen, and what do you think of them?

I'll just list and comment only on the ones I saw or remember seeing:

* When Harry Met Sally… (1989) - I'm not very big on romantic comedies, but I know I saw this... and of course like most people, the fake orgasm at the restaurant scene is memorable. And for some reason I also remember a couple of Harry Connick Jr. songs also being featured in this movie.

* The Princess Bride (1987) - I have this on DVD, haven't watched it in a long time, the hero was kind of a klutz and I remember seeing people rolling down a hill and getting lost in a forest. And Andre the Giant was in it.

* Stand by Me (1986) - Three kids find a dead body and they have to figure out what to do with it. I don't remember much about this except that they used Ben E. King's song for the title track and it was loaded with a bunch of other late 50s hits.


5. On March 6, 1972, American basketball-player Shaquille O’Neal was born. How do you feel about basketball?

I used to watch a lot of it way back in 1971 and 72 when the U.H. Rainbows had the "Fabulous Five". Joe Moore was doing the play by play for KGMB TV who at the time aired the games live. Later on I used to take pictures of basketball games at the college I went to.

The sport is fun, fast moving and quite a big business these days (like many others). I don't watch it much these days as I am not the biggest sports fan there is, but once in a while I'll catch it on TV.

Photo: Dmitri Mendeleev