Does anyone know where I could find some cute iPhone 4 accessories? Specifically cases. My mom has a bad habit of dropping her phone. Recently, she got an iPhone 4. I'd like to buy her a case for it but all I can find are iPhone 3 cases, which are the wrong size. (Damn Apple for changing the size of the phone!) I'm sure a few of you out there have the newfangled version. Where do you get your accessories at?
A separate jdorama site?
I've been thinking about taking the jdorama reviews and shooting them off onto their own website. The idea would be to make it a little like jdorama.com but including movies. Maybe the site would accept reviews from other people as well. While I think jdorama is nice, I find it more helpful as an information resource than as a place to look for good shows. (We could even have a logo and make up promotional tote bags to sell at cons! But that is thinking too far into the future.) I'm not sure how well it would be received. Then again, I won't really know unless I try, right?
Favorite Friday
Because I am cold and it's supposed to be rain all day today, I give you the virtual fireplace! Just make sure the fireplace doors are closed. I'd hate for your house to burn down ^_^
OK, OK. Seriously. Today's video will be Shakira's Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) video. We're using this song in my Zumba class and it's pretty catchy. I only found out last night that it was used as the official World Cup song. Enjoy!
Christmas decorations already?
My husband and I were at Home Depot last week. They already have their Christmas decorations out. Granted, you are greeted at the door by an animatronic witch but I think it's still too early for Christmas displays. Besides, I'm one of those lame geeky people that prefer Cyber Monday to Black Friday anyway. Internet shopping is where it's at! I hate crowds. Anyway, I think we should be able to at least get through Halloween before having winter tossed in our faces. Bring back summer please!
Game review: Dark Tales: Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat
I played the demo for Dark Tales: Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat last night. Before I start talking about the gameplay, I'd like to point out that Big Fish Games no longer offers the hour trial of the game. While you still have 60 minutes to play, you only get a short demo. I was able to finish the demo in about 45 minutes. This annoys me because I used to really get into to game then have it turn off at the 60 minute mark. That forced me into a situation where I had to purchase the game if I wanted to know the rest of the story. With this demo, it stopped at the end of a "scene." Instead of leaving me with a feeling of "OMG. I didn't finish it!", it gave me the feeling of "Well, at least I finished this section." The demo should leave me wanting to buy the game. This change was a terrible idea. Onto the game itself! Despite billing itself as a hidden object game, it is more of a click-and-play action game. There is a lot of instances where you use an object in your possession to find another object to move you forward. For example, you need to find a razor, a tree branch, and a rope to make an item that will help you cut a dog's leash. However, none of these objects are located in a hidden object puzzle. They are all there in plain sight, waiting for you to grab them. I didn't reach any hidden object puzzles until I was about 15 minutes into the game. This might intrigue other people, but it bored me. I hope this is not the new trend in hidden object games.
Back to the grind
Alas, it is back to work for me. Yesterday was pretty exciting car-wise. The mechanics said my catalytic converter had died. This is an ~$800 part that we had replaced about two years ago. Meaning it shouldn't be dead. Luckily, the last one we bought had a lifetime warranty. Instead of paying at least $750 to have it fixed, it cost us about $80. Good times! Next up? State inspection and emissions testing. I'm sure that will cost a pretty penny. On the good side, I don't need to go searching for car insurance quotes this year. We have some decent rates right now. Let's all hope my car doesn't need tons of repairs to pass inspection!
Happy Columbus Day
Today is Columbus Day. Since my daughter's school and YMCA program are both closed today, I had to take the day off from work. We've already gone to the library and played some tennis. Coming up: A trip to the playground and possibly shopping for NFL t shirts for my sister and her boyfriend. And, at some point, I need to pick up my car, which has been in the shop all weekend. I miss it a lot. Well, Happy Columbus Day everyone!
Favorite Friday
In both my zumba and jazz funk classes, we have been dancing to this song. It's really catchy! Maybe a little too catchy..... (Now if I could only get a big knife to remove belly fat so I could stand watching myself dance in the mirror. I swear, mirrors are pure evil! My teachers are all "Look at the audience!" and I'm all "There is no audience only Fatty Me! Close the curtains and I'll look up!" Blargh.)
Halloween
Halloween is quickly approaching. Originally, my daughter wanted to be Hit Girl from the movie, Kick Ass. That would have been fine. However, no one makes a child-sized Hit Girl costume. (Not that I blame them. I understand the reason.) I would have sewn one for her...but my material handling skills are a bit lacking. Especially in the pleather area. So she has switched to a cute (and girly!) Mad Hatter costume. I'm debating wearing a costume to match hers. Either Alice or the Red Queen. Though the March Hare did pop into my head too. What do you think? Alice, Red Queen or March Hare?
My non-diet diet
I don't really have a lot to talk about. So I'm going to talk about the "diet" I am trying out. It's not some fad diet or anything weird. I'm simply not eating foods containing high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). That means no soda (I could drink things like Pepsi Throwback but I'm choosing to eliminate all soda), no Stove Top stuffing, no Heinz ketchup, and many many other foods. I have to read the ingredients on everything because HFCS shows up in unexpected places, like bread. My family switched to a honey wheat bread with no HFCS. It is still delicious. This is my second week on the 'program.' There have been some rough patches but, overall, it has not been a difficult task. I have found that I don't have the munchies nearly as often. I'm not sure if it is a result of all of the water I have been drinking or the higher nutritional value of the foods I have been eating. For example, even though Crunchy Cheetos do not contain HFCS, I have been snacking on raw green beans instead.
I have also signed up for a zumba class on Thursday nights for the next 6 weeks. In addition, I have a jazz funk class on Wednesday nights. With any luck, I'll be able to drop a couple of pounds by the time the zumba class ends. I'll try to remember to let everyone know my results.
Until then, here is a video of a lecture given by Robert Lustig about HFCS: