Melinda Musil dot Com

Archive for September, 2008

This morning, before I went swimming, I wrote out a meme for this site (Take5 Tuesday).  There were many reasons I chose to do this…  First of all, I had no idea what to write, and writing a meme is (fairly) easy.  Second of all, I was very tired and could barely string a sentence together, and writing a meme is fairly easy.  Third, I’ve been considering writing some different lists to help introduce myself, and writing a meme is fairly easy.  Fourth, and most importantly, writing a meme is fairly easy!

Anyway, I wrote out this meme.  After I posted it, I left for the pool.  When I got home from the pool, I showered and changed, then ran a few errands, and was home by lunchtime.  All afternoon, I have watched and been amazed by the number of comments I received in response to this post.

Readers, congratulations- I think we set a melindamusil.com record!

I spent the evening wrestling with GIMP and my personal lack of artistic talent.  Seriously, in my family, my sister got all the visual artistic talent.  She has a bachelors degree in art, and she now works as a professional graphic designer.  I’m the writer in the family, believe it or not.

Actually, my dad and I also went to Chick Fil A tonight.  My mom has a class on Tuesday nights this semester, so every Tuesday we all go out for dinner.

I found something on another blog tonight that I just have to post about… but probably not right away.  I want to try to attack GIMP again and get a few things done.

Instructions: write 5 things about each of the 5 topics.  Then link back to me!

5 things that make you happy.
1. Puppies
2. Hamsters
3. Receiving new emails, “snail mail”, and packages
4. Learning something new, particularly in the realm of computer coding and design
5. Paying my bills, or in other words, finishing a month and not owing anyone anything

5 things you would do for a million dollars.
1. Write a world famous best selling book!
2. Operate a handful of websites and sell ads
3. Work as a computer designer
4. Write a column for the NY Times (or any other major newspaper)
5. Be a mattress tester!

5 things you would do with a million dollars.
1. Buy a house and a whole bunch of stocks
2. Install a 25m pool in the back yard of that house and hire a pool boy to take care of it
3. Buy a Sony Alpha camera, and a new computer, and every new electronic toy available
4. Adopt a puppy (or two or three or four)
5. Eat out WAY more than I should

5 things you do every morning.
1. Check email
2. Swim
3. Shower
4. Wrestle with my hair, which always becomes super tangly after I swim.
5. Check email

5 things you do every evening
1. Check email
2. Cook dinner for my family
3. Log onto shockwave.com, play mah jongg, solve word find puzzles
4. Log onto mw.com, solve a daily crossword
5. Check email

Recently I was asked to review a pair of Aquapac Waterproof Headphones.  I’m super excited about this!  They are shipping the headphones to me right now, and I bet these will work wonders for my workout!

So stay tuned, after I get the headphones and try them, rest assured I will tell you all about them!

My sister introduced our family to audio books.  She has made many solo cross-country drives, and during those drives, she discovered how much she loves a good audio book.  It kept her awake and helped her to pay attention to the road.

When we made the next family trip (parents, sister, and me), all of us in one car driving to across the plains, my sister packed an audio book.  I was the holdout- my parents immediately fell in love, but I plugged in my mp3 player and tuned them out.

But when I was in Africa and forced to work for the housekeeping crew, it was audio books that kept me sane.  Usually one book would last me one day, and without those books I am sure I would have gone totally insane!

So, next time you’re looking for entertainment, consider an audio book.  Even though you’re not physically reading a book, it’s much more educational than watching television!

Update: Sorry about the light/dark and small/large text.  I can’t figure out how to fix that!

I am not a litigious type of person.

I have never filed a lawsuit before and I hope I never have to.  But rest assured that I will only ever file a lawsuit if I have a clear cut justifiable reason.  I’m talking, something like a major medical mistake or some error that negatively affects my life on a day to day basis.

I consider myself a pretty down to earth person.  When I contact a corporation with a question, I appreciate a realistic answer.

Yesterday I found a pair of goggles in the back of a closet.  They are fairly nice goggles, but they are separating from the gaskets.  It’s a shame to throw away such a nice pair of goggles, so I thought, I wonder if super glue or airplane glue would repair this?  It might, but since these are goggles and thus underwater for a long time, I can’t be 100% positive that this would work.

So yesterday, I emailed three companies with the same question:
I am a daily lap swimmer and need to repair a pair of goggles.  Would (your product) be appropriate for this item which is regularly underwater for extended periods of time?

The first company I contacted was Devcon, makers of Duco Cement, a type of airplane glue.

This is the reply I received:
Melinda; No I would not recommend Duco Cement. We do not offer a good
choice for your repair. Sorry!!

The second company I contacted was the Super Glue Corporation, makers of the original Super Glue.

This is the reply I received:
Dear Melinda,
We do not have a product appropriate for your application.  It is best to contact the manufacturer of goggles for their recommendation.

A fun little meme that I found…

Top 25 Careers to Pursue in a Recession

Name the seven career fields from the above list that you’d be least likely to pursue, even if you really needed a job.

1. Energy- I have no desire to work in this branch of the sciences… plus I wouldn’t want to risk doing too much manual labor.
2. Utilities- How is this different from energy?
3. Federal Government- The pay stinks and I disagree with them too much.
4. Military- I have been so out of shape for so long.  There’s no way I could survive Boot Camp… much less enjoy the job.
5. Gambling- I would be afraid that I would see “repeat customers”.  You know, the people with the gambling addictions who come back and spend oodles of money every day.
6. Alcohol- Same problem as gambling, only it would be people addicted to alcohol.
7. Debt Collection- I’m too nice for this.  I could deal with the people who have debt because of their own stupidity, but if I go up to a mother with ten kids, there’s no way I could take anything away from her.

PETA asks Ben & Jerry’s to use breast milk.

As in, human breast milk.

I find this article so stunning that I can’t even find words for it.

I am an absolute believer in kindness to animals.  Animal cruelty is WRONG, no two ways about it!  But I also believe that animals were given to us to nourish us and to make us happy.

I respect a person’s decision to be a vegetarian.  I’ve actually thought about going vegetarian, just for the health benefits.  But at the end of the day, I LOVE a good steak.  Or give me a burger, with a nice thick patty.

PETA’s cause – treating animals ethically – is, at its core, a good cause.  But they’re going about it in an entirely sily way!  Get with it, PETA!

It occured to me that I should write SOMETHING today.

It’s been a very quiet day.  I’ve done quite a bit of website work… practicing my coding and so forth.

I’ve also been working on some graphics.  Again, practicing and learning.

I spent some time organizing all my photos earlier.  That was kinda fun.

I ordered a new mouse for my computer on Ebay last week but haven’t received it yet.  I’m a teensy bit nervous… if I don’t get the mouse, then that’s $12 down the drain.  Yes, it was cheap, and yes, $12 is not a lot of money… but it’s something, and I don’t want to lose it.

Tonight I am going over to Stephanie’s apartment.  We are going to watch the Sex and the City movie.  I’ll let you know what I think.

So, I have a question for all of you, my wonderful readers.

What kind of light bulbs do you use?  Do you use those new(ish) CFL light bulbs or old(er), traditional bulbs?  Do you use incadescent bulbs to provide lighting in your house?  Which one do you use, and why?

In my house, to be honest, we use the traditional bulbs with filaments.  Usually, though, I’m not the one who buys light bulbs for our house, though admittedly if I was, I’m not sure if I would go for the more expensive CFLs.  What are your experiences?  Do CFLs really last longer?  Do you think they are worth the price?