What Does Chinese Food Stink?

Last week, Frank and I brought Chinese food home. (Well, it was actually Thai food but because it was "no spicy", it's basically Chinese food.) Wow, that food stunk! Enough to make me reconsider eating it. It was good food, as usual, but the smell made me think twice, and I had never noticed that before.

A Religious Joke for Lent

Pastor David told this joke at the Lenten service:

A town in Texas featured 3 churches: Presbyterian, Methodist, and Catholic. All 3 churches were infested with squirrels. The Presbyterians had a meeting and decided that the squirrels were predestined to be there and did nothing. The Methodists decided they couldn't hurt the squirrels. So they humanely trapped them and moved them a few miles out of town. In 3 days, they were back. The Catholics had the best solution. They baptized and registered every one of those squirrels - and now they only see them on Easter and Christmas.

Male Answer Syndrome

I read a fun little article from the early 90s on the wall of one of the schools where I interviewed about Male Answer Syndrome: Why Men Always Have Opinions, Even on Subjects They Know Nothing About by Jane Campbell. (I found the citation on another site.) Of course, this is a bit of a stereotype. It doesn't apply to all men, just all Italian men.

The Germans Pick Their Favorite Episodes of The Simpsons

Jessie reports from Germany:

10. Marge and Homer and the fear of getting caught

9. The Simpsons go to Japan (I had never seen that one before, but I don't think it would make it into my top ten)

8. The Bushes move in to Evergreen Terrace

7. Homer the restaurant critic (again, I hadn't seen that one, but it wasn't my favorite)

6. The Screamerpillar/Frame Up with Carmen Electra

5. Springfield allows gay marriage

4. Homer goes to rock n roll camp

3. Simpsons go to New York (because Barney left their car there)

2. Mr. Burns is an alien (guest appearances by David Dukovny and Gillian Anderson)

1. Homer joins the Navy

---

The Sprenkles would disagree with this list. On Dad's and Jessie's list would be Homer gets a gun. On my list would be the episode in the future where Lisa almost marries the Brit and where the kids figure out that Sideshow Bob framed Krusty.

What can I say, Germans haven't been known for their taste in pop culture. Remember: they love David Hasselhoff.

My BIG News

Today, I formally accepted an offer from Washington & Lee University to be an assistant professor of computer science! I formally start July 1, but I probably won't move until the middle of July. It was months of hard work, but it finally paid off! Now, I just need to focus on completing my dissertation!

Some important information about W&L:

• Mascot: Generals
  
• School Colors: Royal Blue, White

W&L will be my fifth school (Dallastown, Gettysburg, Duke, UD, and W&L), the 5th time with dark blue as the school color, and the third time with dark blue and white. That's awesome.

Mom wasn't as thrilled: "I was totally bummed that your colors are not teal and eggplant or mint green and silver. But---" She cracks me up.

My Brackets

I am doing ridiculously badly in my brackets. On ESPN, all 5 of my brackets are in the lowest quarter, and 3 of my brackets are in the lowest 10 percent. It's like I don't know basketball at all. I had a bit too much faith in the ACC.

More Pictures

I stayed at a bed and breakfast in historic St. Mary's City, MD. It was an amazing room (a shame to have it all to myself), and the innkeeper was so nice. My photos don't do the inn justice.

Here is Brome Howard Inn, out my car's back window:



Here are a few pictures of my private room:






Sydney has gotten a little more adventurous in the bathroom. I keep finding her in there by herself. She checked out the tub after I had let the water run until it was hot and then stopped to go get my pajamas:



She also has spent some time sitting in the sink. Whenever I try to take her picture, though, she comes to investigate the camera.

Catching up on my digital pictures

I haven't been good about keeping up with the photos and movies on my camera. We had some crappy weather, so I'm at home by myself. I already did 3 loads of laundry and cleaned up a bunch of crap and caught up on some magazines, so now it's time to catch up on my digital pictures. Unfortunately for Karl, a bunch of these are cat pictures (because my family likes them).

I'm not sure why anyone would have named this cat "Pollyanna", unless it was meant to be ironic.




Oh, no, Blogger or Firefox died on me, so I'll have to add more photos later...

Bracket Busters

Stupid Duke lost in the first round. That's bad, but I had a bet with Dave (whose alma mater is VCU), so now I need to give him a 12-pack of Dr. Pepper. (I would have won two days of Dave not audibly burping.) Stupid Duke.

"Talk Nerdy To Me"

That bumper sticker made me laugh--and reminded me of Frank. He doesn't always appreciate what reminds me of him.

Additions to "The Big Book of Oxymorons"

Families need fun projects to keep them connected. One of my family's many projects is our "Big Book of Oxymorons". I have two additions to our book:

- Unsung Hero Award (the award is sung)
- All-butter Croissant (I tasted some flour in it)

Ironically (or fittingly?), our book is actually kind of small...

Last week's Horrorscope from TV Guide

You'll be on the go constantly this week, especially on the work front, where you seem determined to get noticed. Those who feel threatened by your ambitions may not like it but, unlike them, you're going places.

How true that was! More on this later!

NCAA Basketball Bracket Time!

I am so excited: it's March Madness! Time for me to pick my winning bracket! I need to read all the literature, but Sydney already made her picks.

Happy Belated Birthday, KK!

Kristina turned ________(number) on Saturday, which is a very ____________(adjective) birthday. Still, she acts like she's about ___________(number). I didn't post this on her actual birthday because I was worried that she might be _____________(adjective) about birthdays at her age. And because I am too _________(adjective) to think of other people.

Mushy Wedding Invitation

Frank's parents received a wedding invitation that opened with

Because we get along so well,
we're getting married.

Gag me with a spoon!

Affecting Evolution

Report from Dad:

I think I am affecting evolution. I am helping to create a smarter mouse. Somebody broke into the [catch-and-release] mousetrap and stole the peanuts. [No mouse was inside.] Maybe the lock is broken.

Happy Birthday, Frank!

I'm too ________(adjective) to ___________(verb) a(n) __________(adjective) __________(noun).

Happy Birthday, anyway, Frank!

What's in a Name?

The discussion of the Fratellis lead Frank to comment on the creation of their band name sounding like the creation of the Ramones. His mother's family is the Ramones, and when Frank was growing up, some people asked if he was related to the band the Ramones.

Turns out, none of them was actually a Ramone. No one in the band had the last name "Ramone". And, Frank's family's last name was shortened from something longer when they came to America. (Frank doesn't know the longer version.)

It's Karl's Birthday!

It's Karl's birthday and not yours. Unless you were born on March 1. But, really, when you think about it--it's really more Karl's birthday than yours anyway.

When Karl wears his ________ (noun), he takes on a(n) ___________(adjective) __________(noun), named ____________ (proper noun). Don't tell anyone else, but ___________(same proper noun) has been known to _______(verb) for _________(noun).