Biohazard Halloween Candy

Here's an idea for the little darlings tonight: Biohazard candy bags. I saw this on MAKE Magazine this morning...and have been laughing for five minutes.

How to Make Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

If you're scooping out a pumpkin tonight (I LOVE that feeling), and wonder what to do with all those seeds, here's how to roast pumpkin seeds. Tip: Leave some pumpkin guts on the seeds. Yum.

Update: Okay,we just finished our roasted pumpkin seeds. Olive oil. Worcestershire. Garlic. Sea salt. Yummo! 350F for about 10 mins.

Goosed into Autumn

It was nice this morning with the time change. Snickers the Wonder Dog and I could see where we were walking in Flipflopville because the sun was up and reflecting off the frost. At some point we heard a huge honking, and it wasn't a car. It was one of those huge flyovers of Canadian geese. Fall is here, my friends.

When I was a kid we once visited Horicon Marsh, which is the largest freshwater cattail marsh in the country (how's that for specificity?). And that place had the biggest flock of geese you can imagine. Thousands upon thousands. (NB: When I was a kid, Canadian geese were not a plentiful this far south as they are now. The change in population, feeding habits, and climate have combined to make them ubiquitous.) The flocks and the flyovers were amazing. And this morning, although there were just a few hundred geese, it reminded me of that place. And the onset of autumn.

Bentley: The New Camry?

I've seen 20 different Bentleys around Center City Philadelphia recently, both the two-door and four-door models (more of the latter). Although I've never seen one this blue color yet. Is Bentley the new Camry, only for Philadlephia athletes who won't have two nickels to rub together in five years?

If I Only Had a Brain

Some things I was thinking this morning:

Technorati sucks. For a service that's supposed to be the arbiter of linkage, how in the hell can it be down so much? And how can you have 200 unique links one day and 150 the next? Or if you hit refresh, how can you get a different count? It seems like there's ample room for someone out there to do this right.

Gillette Fusion rocks. Yep, I bought a new set of blades for my sadly broken Gillette Fusion. $14.19 for four blades. I used the $2 coupon Acme sent, so that brought the per blade cost down to about 3 bucks. I honest-to-gosh have the smoothest face I've had since I started shaving. I'm giving out Gillette Fusion razors for Christmas. Or was that XBox?

Aimee Mann sings. I added some Aimee Mann songs to my iTunes. Wow, I really like her stuff. I didn't realize how much, but Jesster was playing her in rotation during the day, and several times I'd ask, "Who is that?" "Aimee Mann," she said. Patiently. Now I know.

Blogger sucks, too. I tried to publish this tiny story like five times. No luck. Dammit. I have been using blogger for this site for over two years, but I use a great hosting service and own the name separately. But...I'm not so sure I want to move off the platform. I've seen quite a few people move onto WordPress and lose their Google Page Rank. I'm not sure why that is, but it seems like Google takes care of its own first. I'm using WordPress for lots of other ventures - including my business blog - and have been super happy with it. But...I'm heading into 2,000+ posts and am not sure how those bad boys will transfer.

There Goes Gravity

Gravity Is Not My Friend




Gravity Is My Friend



That's the lower part of the Manayunk Wall. It looks better from the top.

Is George Bush a Flip-Flopper?

Okay, we all know that George Bush doesn't read, so I don't mean that he reads iFlipFlop. But for a guy who made a presidential campaign joke out of John Kerry's "flip-flopping," it's all the more ironic to hear him saying "I said 'Stay the course' but what I meant was 'Adapt and win.'" Who is the going to be the one to call George Bush a flip-flopper? And why haven't they?

UPDATE: I saw this DNC ad on Oliver's site.

My New Gillette Fusion Blade Broke

Dangit. I have a shaving mirror in my shower on which I hung my brand-spanking new Gillette Fusion. Somehow the suction cups for the mirror let loose and the mirror, with my new razor hit the base of the shower. Guess what? The mirror didn't break. But my new razor blade did. Ugh. I had really looked forward to using that dang razor this morning. (I know a grown man shouldn't get so attached to a razor, but as I said, it's the little things.) So, I'm going to take my coupon to Acme and and buy a new set of blades. (It was actually the blade that broke, not the razor.) I'll let you know about the price. I'm still into this razor...just bummed that I didn't get to use it this morning. (Back to the Quattro this morning, I didn't do the scruffy thing.)

Sick Boy

I caught what everyone else seems to have had. And thought I'd gotten through the sick season without it. No luck. I'm a sick boy today. Had a pretty high fever for the past couple of days, so I'm hoping that's a sign that it's going to break (and not that I have malaria).

I Heard the Owl Call My Name

I saw this cool app over at The Long Cut. Mark's always finding fun stuff, this one that tells you how many people share your name is just fascinating. Check out How Many of Me?

About the title of this article. I was an existentialist for about a week in high school. When I told my dad, he said, "What the hell do you mean you're an Existentialist? We're Roman Catholics and that's that." And it was. I pondered the meaning of life no more. If I wanted my opinion it would be given to me.

BTW: There are 52 people in the U.S. with my name. There are 874,408 with the name Frank, which I find shocking, because I'm the only guy I know with that name, and when I was a kid every dang kid was named Michael or Kevin or Billy. I've finally grown old enough to have the name Frank. Like Sinatra. Only with more hair.

Gillette Fusion: The. Best. Shave. Ever.

I just had the best shave ever. My local Acme sent me (well, "Valued customer at 123 Plum Tree Lane") a Gillette Fusion razor in a package along with some coupons. I let it sit on my sink for a week thinking, "Who in the heck would use a razor with FIVE blades + 1? What a gimmick." Wrongo.

Man, that razor actually works. Besides the fact that it's a piece of art (I snagged the pic from Gillette's website) it just really works. There's some kind of silicone pad right in front of the blades that makes the razor actually glide. Strange.

I have to say, I was some kind of skeptic. And if the Acme hadn't sent the Gillette Fusion razor along in the freebie mail I'm not sure I would have bought one (I was Schick Quattro Man). But I'm hooked. Seriously. It was the best shave ever, and that means something to a guy who shaves daily and could probably use to do it again in the evening. (Gads, I remember when I was a kid wanting to shave so badly...now, yuck.) Anyways, it's the little things, and that Fusion razor did the trick to get me going with a smile and a smooth face this morning. Now, if I didn't have a face made for radio I'd say I'm almost kissable.

My Favorite Phrases

Here are a few of my favorite phrases:

Luck favors the prepared mind. (I dunno who said it, but I like it.)

Hard work pays off in the long run, but laziness pays off immediately. (Stephen Wright)

Everything in moderation, including moderation. (Oscar Wilde)

I'd rather be lucky than smart. (Hey, is there a trend here?)

God Bless America. (Sarcastic tone included.)

I'm not proud of all these. But they work for me. Funny how that works.

The Bakery at the Mills

We went for a nice, long ride this morning. And Chuck D's dad led us to The Bakery at the Mills (pdf) in East Falls, PA. Very nice spot. (It's in a developing artist community called Sherman Mills, which is in abandoned mills that are now renovated.) I had the sticky bun and a latte. Life's pretty dang good.

The Bakery at the Mills
3510 Scotts Ln
Philadelphia, PA 19129
(215) 951-5991

I'm Entering My Yellow Period

I'm transitioning from my Orange Period to my Yellow Period. It's a rainy day here in the City of Brotherly Love, so this yellow pic I took last week in Manayunk brightened my day.

U.S. Population Doubled Since I Was Born

Yes, I was born during the Revolutionary War, but wow, the population of the U.S. is going to be 300 million tomorrow morning at 7:45 EST. When I was born in 1959, the U.S. population was 150 million. A couple bummer facts: I was born in the Chinese Year of the Pig. And I'm 6.7 years old in dog years. You can find out how many seconds old you are here. And if you're Baby 300 Million, I hope that you don't find yourself 6.7 dog years old with the U.S. population at 600 million. Ugh.

White House Parrot

Laura Bush bought her husband a parrot for his birthday, and told Dick Cheney, "The bird is so smart! George has already taught him to mispronounce over 200 words!"

"That's impressive, all right," Cheney said. "But you realize that he just 'says' the words, right? He doesn't understand what they mean."

"That's okay," she replied. "Neither does the parrot."

(via BH Int'l News Service)

The Frost is On the Pumpkin

I took Snickers the Wonder Lab out this morning, and her little tootsies were coooooold. The frost is on the pumpkin (or at least on the lawns). It's crisp out there. Last night, we watched the Conestoga Pioneers crush the Springfield Cougars 35-6 in some real "football weather," where winter coats and gloves made their first real appearance of the year, and there was a run on hot chocolate at the concession stands.

I love fall. I just wish it wasn't followed by winter.

A Moment of Zen

Ah, a moment of Zen...or something like it. I took this shot of the Japanese Garden in Fairmount Park this morning. That was a welcome sight...because I had the world's worst experience with Verizon Wireless yesterday, and I was going to write a rant today. I'll save the Verizon Wireless rant for another time...so, oooooommmmmm. Oooooommmmmm. Oooooooommmmmm.

NB: I've been trying to get this posted for 3 days, so it's as old as Moses' toes. Ugh. Blogger.

My Own Heaven and Hell Picture

Since the Heaven and Hell picture got so much attention, I thought I'd make one of my own. In the words of W.C. Fields, "On the whole, I'd rather be in Philadelphia."

Falls Bridge. This Morning.

Falls Bridge on Monday morning during my bike ride. What a spectacular day it is today. Bring on the global warming, baby.

t.o. - the haiku

575 nails it:

it was nice seeing
you again, especially
since you didn’t win.

Man, that Eagles Game Was Great

Wow. Eagles 38-24 over the Cowboys.

SwedeHart's Halloween Party Play Along

Jess tagged me with a SwedeHart Halloween meme. I'm playing along...but you'll have to go look at SwedeHart Stories for cool pix of chix playing pickup stix (well, I was in a rhyming mood...it's more like chicks in German Brauhaus getups).

1. What's the scariest movie you've ever seen?
Texas Chainsaw Massacre...the original one. I was young when I saw it, and horror movies weren't that common (of that ilk). I thought I was scared when I saw The Exorcist, I KNEW I was scared when I saw Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

2. What was your favorite Halloween costume from childhood?
We didn't have a lot of money when I was a kid, so it seemed inevitable that I'd go as a hobo each year (big stretch). I would put on old clothes, fill in some of the arms with leaves, and my mother would burn a cork and wipe it on my face to make me look like I had a beard. Since I was a hobo every year, I'd have to say hobo. (Little side note: I just learned recently that the word "hobo" is derived from Hoboken, as in New Jersey. Now they just call themselves Ho's if they're from Hoboken).

3. If you had an unlimited budget, what would your Fantasy Costume be for this Halloween?
Phantom of the Opera. With a really cool ceramic mask. And a cape lined with magenta silk. Or maybe I would be a hobo. I don't know, I'm a little torn.

4. When was the last time you went Trick or Treating?
I was 11. We lived in Chicago, and that was at the height of racial tensions. I had gone out dressed in my hobo outfit with my friends, who, coincidentally, were also dressed as hobos, and we had collected a LOT of candy in our pillowcases. Back in those days, people gave the big candy bars (they don't even make those anymore), along with popcorn balls and handsful of candy corn. And money. Well, we had gotten over a few blocks more than we should have when all of a sudden we were swarmed. Punched. Kicked. Slammed. A bunch of teenagers, and big ones at that, beat the shit out of us and stole our candy. That ended Halloween in the big city. Now it's fun to watch my kids go out in our safe little neighborhood and know that 1) they won't have their asses kicked by roving gangs of candy thieves, and 2) they don't have to go in hobo costumes.

5. What's your favorite Halloween candy?
I'm all over Almond Joy. Dang, I love that coconut center. Hobos never get Almond Joys during the year.

6. Tell us about a scary nightmare you had.
My worst one ever happened when I was about five or six. We had just moved into a new (old) house, and the first night there I got a night terror. I can still remember it, even though it's been a ton of years later. I had a sensation that there was a ghost hovering over my bed...and it was pink, and coated me like cotton candy. (Dreams don't have to make sense, do they?) I was freaked the hell out. And screamed like a crazy person. I don't know what happened or why, but I got spooked in that house. And for some reason, I really think it was because I was a pink ghost freak, we moved about a month later.

7. What is your Supernatural Fear?
I'm not too introspective on that one, I guess. I would hate it though if there was a Hobo Supernatural Power that smelled of burnt cork and hung around schoolyards when it wasn't living below sewer grates.

8. What is your Creepy-Crawly Fear?
I thought this question was about Creepy Crawlers, which Pax and I both loved when we were growing up. I still love the smell of cooking Goop. But bugs....hmmmm...I would say I don't like millipedes. They're slimy. Only thing worse? Millipedes on a hobo.

9. Tell us about a time when you saw a ghost, or heard something go bump in the night.
It was the Pink Cotton Candy Ghost I talked about above.

10. Would you ever stay in a real Haunted House overnight?
I've got enough stress and excitement. I'd probably go for something more exciting than scary if I had a choice.

11. Are you a traditionalist (just a face) Jack O'Lantern Carver, or do you get really creative with your pumpkins?
I'm not very creative with my pumpkin carving. The old ADD kicks in and voila!, one traditional jack-o-lantern with triangle eyes and nose, and three snaggly teeth. But this year, maybe I'll go upscale and carve a hobo's face into one. Or a Pink Cotton Candy Ghost.

12. How much do you decorate your home for Halloween?
Hobos don't have houses, but if I did would super like to have crepe paper decorations (I love the feel of crepe paper). But I'm not much of a decorator. Mrs. iFlipFlop does much more...and crepe paper is involved. Plus, the Youngest iFlipFlop is all over decorating the windows and such. So...they house is decorated.

13. What do you want on your Tombstone?
I tend to like pepperoni and extra cheese. Can you get pizzas delivered to rail cars? My hobo friends like pizza, too.


BTW: I'm tagging Bill and Rick, and if there was ever two guys who needed blogs, it's those two.

Lemon Hill, Very Pretty

We rode up to Lemon Hill today. I was some kind of tired. But the payoff was this pretty mansion at the top.

Republicans: Tough on Mexophiles, Soft on Pedophiles

President Bush signed a "tough, new anti-terror bill" today. Republicans: Hard on Mexophiles, Soft on Pedophiles. Or, Republicans: Among Bush, Young Tush.

Google Gadgets are Cool

Google Gadgets. Cool, but not liquid nitrogen cool. Cooler. Kelvin cool.

Photo credit.

President Bush Uses Little Richard as a Spokesman

From the BH International News wire comes this video of President Bush using Little Richard as a translator. Mashed potatoes! Gravy! Woooooooo!

Some Essential Advice from Dr. Phil

I am passing this on to you because it definitely works, and we could all use a little more calmness in our lives. By following simple advice heard on the Dr. Phil show, you too can find inner peace. Dr. Phil proclaimed, "The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you've started and never finished."

So, I looked around my house to see all the things I started and hadn't finished, and before leaving the house this morning, I finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of White Zinfandel, a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream, a bottle of Kahlua, a package of Oreos, the remainder of my old Prozac prescription, the rest of the cheesecake, some Doritos and a box of Chocolates.

You have no idea how freaking good I feel. Please pass this on to those you feel might be in need of inner peace.

(via PHD Int'l)

Liquid Nitrogen is Cool

Minus 320 Fahrenheit. That is cool. I had some on my arm today.

Crazy Police Action in Center City This Morning

Chuck D and I went out for our morning bike ride, and no sooner had we gotten on the path at Spruce Street than the skies were filled with helicopters. Serious one. They were hovering and swooping over the PECO building. There was a black FBI helicopter with sharpshooters hanging out the side doors, a Philadelphia Police helicopter, one unmarked helicopter with some bigtime camera equipment on the front, and several news helicopters. And not one shred of news on local channels.

WTF? What's going on? The copters were landing and taking off from the PECO building on Market Street and 23rd. Three would land together. Swoop out. Circle around. Land again. There were police cars down the bike path by the train tracks. Still nothing on the news.

The big news was that at one point the huge FBI helicopter zoomed off the roof and nearly collided with the Police helicopter. It happened right in front of us, and if they hadn't missed each other by the 10 feet or so that they did, it would have been Vic Morrowville for Chuck D and me.

Crazy. Anyone know what was going on?

BTW: That's not the FBI heli we saw. Philly is not in the jungle. But of all days, I forgot to bring my camera along. Ugh.

Newsreader Guy

I used to be old school about reading blogs, looking at each one individually. But I've made a rapid transition to news aggregators and readers. I'm using Bloglines, Google Reader, and Netvibes simultaneously, trying to figure out which one I like most. Each has its merits. Right now I'm pretty hot for Netvibes if only because it's beautiful. But I haven't abandoned reading anyone's material...I'm just trying to do it Evelyn Woods style.

Ze Frank's Eulogy for Habeus Corpus

the show with zefrank



Requiescat in pace, Habeus Corpus.

A Joke I Remember from a Long Time Ago

Q: Why won't they let Congressmen check books out of the Library of Congress?
A: Because they are always bending over the pages.

Sick, I know, kind of like the cover up bullshit that went on with the Republican congressional leadership and the pedophile, Rep. Mark Foley.

BTW: I found the reference for why I remember the joke.