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This burning the Koran business

by on September 9, 2010, in news/politics, quandaries, stupid assholes, what grinds my gears

Let me start out by saying, in case you’re new around here, that I do not support all this stupid Islam- and Muslim-bashing that’s suddenly come into fashion lately. I am no fan of any organized religion—I mostly identify as an atheist with the occasional pagan bent—but I tend to view Christianity in an especially negative light due to my own experiences and the overarching manner in which Christianity is used in this country as a crutch to hurt, exclude and bully others. For a religion whose chief text preaches tolerance, that seems to be the first thing to get thrown out the window in situations where I’d think it would be needed the most.

ANYWAY. So about this burning the Koran. I understand why people are upset that some dude is getting all the crazies riled up and excited about burning it. What I don’t understand, however, is why people keep talking about it, effectively giving this mustachioed nutjob a worldwide stage to preach his intolerance.

Maybe I’m naive, but I assumed people burned books all the time. I mean, there have got to be people in small towns still burning copies of Catcher in the Rye and Heather Has Two Mommies, right? I just assumed people burned books like the Koran as well as any other random texts they might find that deal with religions other than Christianity. Hell, aren’t there some fringe Christian groups that burn Bibles different from their own preferred version?

I don’t mean to be insensitive, and I get that a big display of burning a religion’s holy book is not going to be good for our foreign relations, but why are we paying so much attention to this guy?? It’s just some asshat in Florida, not President Obama or Paris Hilton or Oprah or some other big-deal, influential celebrity that’s running the show here, guys.

So what’s my point? I don’t know. I’d like to think that on one hand, if every time some whackjob decided to burn something in a grand display of ignorance we just ignored him, flicking the mention of him away like you would a fly buzzing around the adult table at dinner, people would get the concept that if you don’t feed the trolls they eventually get bored and disappear.

But I also realize that, as a whole, people are stupid. And there are bound to be those who would interpret the silent treatment of the offender to mean not “This is so dumb it doesn’t deserve a response” but instead “Silence means consent!” and decide to jump on the intolerance bandwagon to bigotsville, where a large, angry, jingoist mob lives.

I don’t know the answer. What I do know is that I’m getting really tired of all of the intolerance in this country, and the way that it’s being spun as patriotism and morality instead of the ugliness, hatred and fear it really is.

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Betty Crocker is messing with me

by on December 20, 2009, in food and/or beverage, photography, quandaries, WTF?

Betty Crocker is messing with me

For a year now I’ve been searching for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. Wait, I take that back. Not a perfect one, just one that yields cookies I’m not embarrassed to give people other than myself or Ian to eat.

The first recipe I tried was from a Better Homes & Gardens cookbook I have, and those cookies were nasty. They were very, very bland, which I’m attributing to the lack of salt and the addition of Crisco.

The second recipe I tried last year was the same one I tried today, except the first time I made it I used salted butter (that’s all we had). The cookies came out too salty—you could see the salt crystals in them after they were baked.

So this year I double checked with Twitter, got confirmation to use unsalted butter and light brown sugar, and made the recipe again. I followed it to the letter. I measured twice, I mixed thoroughly, I read everything 10 times.

And they’re just… not that good. Ian describes the texture as being more like a biscuit. They’re not very chewy, and I guess I would say they taste almost… grainy? I wonder if it’s too much flour—the recipe calls for 2 and 1/4 cup, which is a lot to mix in, even a bit at a time. I even used the exact brand of flour that the recipe calls for.

Or maybe I packed the brown sugar too tightly? I made sure there were no pockets of emptiness in the measuring cup since the brown sugar was kind of clumpy, but I didn’t pack it so tight that I felt it was more than what I actually needed.

Anyway, here’s the recipe I’m using. I’m at a loss.

3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar (I used Domino brand)
1 cup butter or margarine, softened (I used unsalted butter)
1 egg
2 1/4 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (I left these out)
1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)

1. Heat oven to 375ºF.
2. Mix sugars, butter and egg in large bowl. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt (dough will be stiff). Stir in nuts and chocolate chips.
3. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown (centers will be soft). Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet. Cool on wire rack.

Any ideas on what would be causing these to not turn out right? Or do you have a tried and true and tasty recipe for chocolate chip cookies you’d like to share with me?

Comments { 7 }

What's in a (domain) name?

by on November 24, 2009, in Internet, quandaries, technology/yes I am a geek

In the nearly four and a half years that I’ve been blogging, my blog’s URL and name have changed a few times. I know it’s annoying, and I thank you for sticking around. And I’m sorry for the following question, but I am having a bit of an identity crisis and I need help.

Regular readers of this blog know that last year I got married, and subsequently changed my name from Megan Goodchild to Megan Morris. While Megan Goodchild was a great name to use online, where consistency is key, it was a pain in the ass in real life most of the time. (“Oh and are you a good child? Heeheehee!” Yeah good one there, Dane Cook, you’re totally the first person I’ve heard that from in 30 years. )

Megan Morris, on the other hand, is an awesome real-life name (I realized shortly after changing my name that I was flinching before saying my maiden name out loud. And as a bonus, Megan Morris has a nice alliteration to it and kind of sounds like it could belong to a redheaded siren holding a pint of Guinness in one hand while punching a leprechaun with the other), but nonetheless it has posed some problems for my online identity.

When I registered this domain, I was trying to decide between megmorris.com and meganmorris.net. I decided against the .net convention, and was somewhat OK with megmorris because 1. my mom and sisters call me Meg, and 2. if you take into consideration my initials including my maiden name, megmorris accurately reflects my name (Megan Emily Goodchild Morris).

But here’s the problem: I don’t want to retain my maiden name. And nobody but my mom and sisters (and the occasional old friend) calls me Meg, so when I get emails or tweets from someone I barely know calling me Meg, it kind of freaks me out a bit.

Several months ago I set up a new Google ID and Gmail account for this new name, which was tricky in itself. Google doesn’t allow you to use IDs that are anywhere close to what someone else has, so even though someone had already taken meganmorris, I couldn’t be megan.morris. I think even megmorris was taken, so I eventually decided to incorporate my middle name and selected meganemilymorris. I have never used my middle name for anything, personal or professional, but it seems to work and I like it just fine for a secondary email address and a Google ID.

Which brings me to my current quandary: Do I keep this blog here and build out my main website on megmorris.com as well, even though I’m not super happy with the domain? Or do I move everything over to meganemilymorris.com, which I already own, to kind of make things more consistent (and reflect my name more accurately)? Or is there something else I should do entirely? I’m looking for a solution that keeps search-engine optimization in mind but also reflects me.

(And waiting for meganmorris.com to open up doesn’t seem to be an option. There’s a chick blogging there who doesn’t seem like she’s going to quit any time soon. And I think emailing her to ask if she’s married or planning on getting that way seems a bit, um, creepy.)

So what say you, Internet marketing specialists? Or anyone? Thoughts?

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An accidental vegetarian

by on August 13, 2009, in accidental vegetarian, jump aboard the crazy train, quandaries

I have not eaten meat since Monday afternoon. I know to some of you that doesn’t seem like a long time, but as someone who generally has some sort of meat at least twice a day, it’s a big feat.

But it hasn’t really been a concerted effort. In fact, it’s kind of just happened by accident.

For lunch on Monday, I had half of a turkey sandwich and a salad. When dinnertime rolled around, we didn’t really have anything in the house except for some canned vegetables. Not wanting to spend more money on restaurants, and realizing (thanks to Mint.com) that I spend way too much on side trips to the grocery store, we decided to just eat the vegetables. So dinner was spinach, Velveeta Shells and Cheese, and corn. Ian seasoned it nicely, and it was a good, filling meal. I had it again Tuesday for lunch.

Tuesday evening after work I met up with some blogger friends for a couple of drinks and, knowing I wouldn’t be back in the ‘Boro until around 9, I ordered a grilled cheese and some fruit.

Wednesday I had a personal pan cheese pizza from Pizza Hut for lunch, and for dinner I had Cheerios and some sunflower seeds (I had gotten home late again because I attended the Nashfoto meetup, and we still didn’t have anything in the house to eat. Well, that and I wasn’t very hungry).

So today at lunch a co-worker and I were deciding what we wanted to eat when I realized I have, essentially, been eating vegetarian for the last several meals. I thought, “Why stop now?” and ordered a veggies-only sandwich from Which Wich.

Philosophically, I can see myself being a vegetarian. I don’t like the thought of putting processed meat in my body, I hate the way the animals are treated that yield the meat that I eat, and according to the Eat Right for Your Type guy, I would do best on a vegetarian eating plan. The more fruits and vegetables I eat, the better I feel.

But y’all, I’m lazy, lacking willpower and in love with barbecue.

It’s just easier to eat meat. Anywhere you go: fast food places, relatives’ houses, restaurants… they always are going to have some sort of meat available.

And barbecue. Oh, the barbecue. I had never eaten barbecue until I moved to the south (hell, I didn’t even know how to spell it correctly until I started my current job and my boss schooled me on it), and now I consider myself somewhat of a connoisseur. Shit, I look forward to the Jack Daniel’s BBQ Fest almost as much as I do my birthday. And I find my birthday to be more worthy of celebration than Christmas.

And here’s the other thing: Ian is the cook in our house. Sure, I can cook, but he actually likes to cook. We have this thing where he cooks and I clean up. It seems to work out all right. But I would pretty much bet the house that Ian will NOT EVER become a vegetarian. And I can’t exactly ask him to make special vegetarian-only meals for me. And how much money and food will be wasted? It’s hard enough sometimes to use all of what we buy to make a meal for two people. Cooking for one is even worse. I know, I lived alone for six years. It sucks. You eat a lot of Mac and Cheese and frozen pizzas.

So, Internet, I ask you this: Is it doable? Can I be vegetarian? Obviously the willpower and laziness thing is up to me, but are there any tips that can help me? Can anyone point me in the direction of some sort of magical vegetarian cookbook where the meals are super simple and quick to make, use ingredients I can find at Kroger, and are fucking tasty as hell?

And how do I resist the cravings for meat? Do they ever go away? I’m not having them yet, but I’m assuming once I commit myself to vegetarianism they’re going to come at me, doing anything they can to fuck up my game.

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Disharmony in the crazy cat house

by on June 23, 2009, in animals, but in our house we never get bored, jump aboard the crazy train, my cat's cooler than yours, quandaries

I’m not really sure what to do about Gordo.

Disharmony in the crazy cat house

Link and Evil Twin put up their dukes

See, back when we first got Link, I knew Gordo would have the most trouble adjusting to him. He’s the oldest, crabbiest cat we’ve got. But he did adjust to Evil Twin, an already grown male cat, so I figured adjusting to a kitten might not be as bad. It took him about three weeks to adjust to BK, so I figured maybe a month and a half tops.

Well, the only thing I didn’t take into consideration was that Link is totally and completely insane. Instead of just wanting to play with Gordo, he stalks him. And chases him. And jumps on him. Every single time he sees him. For the first couple of weeks Gordo tolerated him, but then he hurt his foot, most likely from running away from Link.

So we kept him upstairs in the office for a couple of weeks, allowing his foot to heal without him having to worry about running away from Link or jumping on/off the bed to get away from him.

His foot has been healed for a few weeks now, but he won’t come downstairs. At first I thought he wasn’t eating/using the litterbox, but one night I was up late and after Link passed out (he plays hard every night until about midnight), I saw Gordo come slithering down the stairs, grab a quick bite to eat, use the litterbox, and then hot-foot it back upstairs.

:(

When we see Gordo upstairs, he acts normal. He meows, purrs, sleeps next to me, etc. But it sucks that he won’t just beat the shit out of Link until Link gets the picture. That’s what BK did, and Evil Twin has done that to a certain degree (most of the time he just runs to the other side of the room and eventually Link leaves him alone).

So what can I do? Lock the two of them in a room together and let them fight it out? Gordo is declawed and none of the other cats are, but he has no problem being the Alpha Cat when it’s just him, BK and Evil Twin in the room. Hell, BK is a lot bigger than him but he shows her who’s boss all the time.

I just feel bad because I thought I was doing the right thing by taking this stray cat into our home—a cat who BK now loves, and who really is a fun (albeit patience-trying) little kitty. But Gordo is my baby—I’ve had him for 10 years now. And I feel horribly guilty that I’m letting Link push him around. But then again, all he needs to do is stand up for himself.

Ugh. What can I do? I miss my little guy.

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A wedding in progress

by on January 18, 2009, in around town, life etc., photography, quandaries

A wedding in progress

Old lace, originally uploaded by MeganMorris.

One of my BFFs is getting married. After 11 and a half YEARS with her boyfriend. So excuse me while I get a little carried away with the pictures.

Also, Internet, we need your help. She is torn between two dresses she saw at David’s Bridal, and tomorrow they are having a huge sale. So I ask you, which do you like better?

Dress 1 (alternate view here)

or

Dress 2 (alternate view here)

What say you?

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No money, mo' problems

by on December 14, 2008, in around town, automóviles, quandaries, WTF?

If there were ever a time I needed to win the lottery, this would be it.

Evil Twin is still sick. Besides the diabetes, for at least two weeks he’s been painting the catbox brown—when he manages to get it in the box. Sometimes he just explodes on the floor. We’ve probably spent around $1,000 on him since finding out he had diabetes in July, and we just can’t keep hemorrhaging money to find out “nothing’s wrong, it’s just his diabetes.” But we also can’t keep changing the catbox every day, cleaning shit up off the floor and wall, and worrying if he has some other sickness that could spread to our other two cats.

On to the second money-pit problem.

For about two or three months I’ve been hearing a roaring sound coming from the back wheels of my car, and as time has passed the sound has gotten louder. The car also shakes a bit when I get up around 70-75 mph. When I took my car to Reddell Honda for an oil change yesterday (I only take it to the dealer for oil changes because they send me coupons that make it cheaper than a Jiffy Lube type of place), I asked them to take a look.

They called and told me the rear control arms on the suspension were defective—something Honda “put a bulletin out on a few months ago” to all their dealers. The problem affects several Civics made in 2006-2007, mine included, but not enough to warrant a recall. It’s not a safety issue, but it causes my rear tires to wear unevenly, making the roaring noise and the vibration.

Then they dropped the bomb: I had to replace the rear control arm kit, get an alignment and two new tires. For $600.

Now, my first question to them was “I bought a new car from Honda under the impression I was getting a NEW car with no problems. If THEY made a defective product, THEY should have to fix it.”

The tech’s response was “Your car is no longer under warranty. You should have bought an extended warranty.”

My thought was “No, you buy an extended warranty in case something goes wrong AS THE CAR AGES. You don’t buy an extended warranty to protect against stuff that the manufacturer fucked up from the get-go but never told you about.”

The weird thing is that when the service tech called, he said he had already spoken to the service manager and they were willing to split the cost of the control arm kit with me. Now, that immediately set off alarms in Ian’s mind. Why, if Honda was not reimbursing them for fixing it, would they offer to split the cost of the repair with me? Right off the bat? They also told me that they would only honor the “we’ll split the repair with you” for another 5,000 miles. No explanation as to why.

I have never had any problems with this dealer before. Actually, after we dropped my car off for the oil change, I remarked to Ian how nice they always were. Hmm.

We looked online and found several people talking about this issue, but most people—in and out of warranty—are getting the repair done at no cost. Some have to pay for tires, some have to pay for alignments, but most are getting the rear control arm kit covered for them because, duh, it’s Honda’s fault.

So we are thinking either one of two things is happening:

  1. Honda is reimbursing their dealers for the entire cost of the repair, and Reddell Honda is trying to get $600 out of me by making it look like they are being kind
  2. Honda is not reimbursing their dealers for the repair, but the total cost really is $600. Reddell is just saying they’re splitting it with me to make me go ahead and do it

I have a hard time believing that a defective part—something that has been defective since the car was made and is just now manifesting itself because the tires have 51,000 miles on them—would not be fixed by Honda. I have had three recalls on the car and had them all fixed free of charge. Only one was a safety issue; the other two were just like this. Just defective parts that could cause more problems down the line.

This repair HAS to be done. If I don’t fix the rear control arms, every pair of new tires I purchase will wear unevenly and be ruined. I will never be able to rotate my tires because moving the front, good condition ones to the back will ruin them. My alignment will always be out of whack.

Why the hell would Honda not cover that, in or out of warranty?

I’m hoping that when I call Honda on Monday I will find out. This all smells funny to me.

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OK party people

by on October 13, 2008, in around town, quandaries

I need help. We’re looking for a place to have our wedding reception. We’d rather not have to hire a DJ and caterer separate, so a bar or restaurant would be ideal. We’re thinking The Flying Saucer right now, but there’s the chance that my sister might not be able to come (she’s only 17 and they have a “21 and up–no exceptions!” rule posted), it gets kind of loud in there Saturday nights when the bands play, and we could only have 75 people. But they make it easy because booze, food and the room are all included in one price (well, you don’t even have to pay for the room reservation.)

So I ask ye: Where are some good places to throw a party around town that will serve booze and food and have music (but not loud, not-able-to-converse-with-our-guests loud music)? We probably won’t throw the party until after the first of the year, and Nashville or Murfreesboro locations are great.

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Covering up a regret

by on June 29, 2008, in jump aboard the crazy train, life etc., quandaries

When I was 18 and freshly into Tennessee, a good friend of mine talked me into getting a tattoo. I know, not a good thing to let someone talk you into. I suppose it seemed like a good idea at the time, but 10 years later, not so much. I don’t regret the act of getting the tattoo, but I do regret what the tattoo is.

I used to think I wanted to get it lasered off, but that is expensive and never really works. Just look at Angelina Jolie’s arm. You know she has money and could afford the best laser tattoo-removal ever. And hers looks like shit.

So I’ve decided to get it covered up with something else—something more me. It sucks that the tattoo is black because even though it’s faded, I doubt I can get color put on over it… right??

Anyway, I’m OK with getting another black tattoo to cover it if I can’t get color. It’s small, so I am not really worried about the cost. I am concerned with finding a great tattoo artist who can match the design I want PERFECTLY. It cannot be his/her interpretation of what I want—it has to be exact.

So, um, any suggestions on where to go? I plan on visiting a few shops and asking them what they think of color, and if they can do the design exactly. Can’t they just trace that shit and make it exact?

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Riddle me this

by on June 11, 2008, in Apple, quandaries, technology/yes I am a geek

So while I was wallowing in the shit that has been my last week and a half, a bright spot appeared Monday: the 3G iPhone! Anyone who knows me knows my little heart has been set on it coming out for the past year, and now I only have to wait until July 11.

The new version will feature, besides 3G Internet speed, GPS tracking and push e-mail (which requires, if I’m correct, a subscription to the new MobileMe service, which I already have since I’m a .Mac customer and will be transferred over.) I’m sure there are several other new features, but I really don’t care to touch on them right now. I’m just stoked I will finally get my iPhone.

I’m thinking I’m going to get the 16 GB because it’s only $100 more for twice the storage size. It’s not going to be my primary music source (that will be reserved for my trusty, beloved iPod Photo 40 GB), but 16 GB is enough space to carry around the music I need for my daily commute, or for when I just don’t want to carry an iPod and a cell phone. Which probably won’t be too often, but whatever.

Now the option that plagues me is whether to purchase the white or black model. I like the idea of the black one because of the sleek factor, and that it won’t show dirt as easily. However, it will show fingerprints. But, since I most likely will use a case with either, those factors will most likely be negated. My iPod Photo is white, old-school iPod style, so maybe white would be nice again? Or will it maybe fade, old-school computer style?

So: black or white? Weigh in and help me decide in the comments!!

Update: Earlier today some Twitterers and I were discussing whether current AT&T customers that are not eligible for a phone upgrade would be getting fucked by having to pay extra on top of the subsidized price. Several blogs seemed to indicate that yes, indeed we would be. However, I called AT&T after work and told them that I had just signed up for AT&T a couple months ago BECAUSE of the iPhone, and that I would be severely pissed if I signed up for the iPhone only to be told I’d be penalized and have to pay an extra fee to get the phone. A helpful rep said he had a memo to address just that, scanned it, and read me a portion that said something to the effect of, “Customers who normally wouldn’t be eligible for a handset upgrade due to tenure will be made eligible” for the iPhone. He said it appeared they were making an exception because the iPhone is brand new. He asked what kind of handset I have now (LG Shine) and said I should have no problem purchasing the 3G iPhone July 11 or later for the $199 or $299 price.

Let’s hope to jebus he’s right!!!

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