Runnergirl’s Neighbors

Random Tip #164

nobody@vox.com(Debbie) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:46:49 +0100

Microwave your dishrags, dishtowels and sponges.

You know what? Make that "Microwave EVERYTHING that is a cloth/sponge/porous re-usable material that you use to clean in your kitchen". Wait - okay not the steel wool. Put the steel wool down and don't, for the love, stick it in your microwave.

I got this tip last year from our resident microbiologist. I, personally, never use sponges, only dishrags. And I had no real criteria for when I would swap for a clean dishrag. Just when I thought it was about time. Sponges were banned from my home, because I took way too many microbiology classes in school. You get a porous environment that stays damp, like, all the time and has food particles on it to boot? Bacteria city. I heard once that you could soak it for an hour in bleach solution and be OK, but I hate using bleach.

So I use dishrags to do the dishes. I proudly stated this to Dr. Microbiologist downstairs, and you know what he told me? They're almost as bad. Definitely better because we throw them in the washing machine more periodically. But get this, studies are starting to show that, since we're all going green and washing everything on cold wash, more bacteria are surviving the wash cycles. Now, I have trouble with this because plain old detergent kills microorganisms. Especially bacteria. Not to mention, of course we bake the hell out of everything in the dryer. But I'm not going to argue with him.

Either way, I have two small canvas bins sitting on top of our washing machine. One for whites, one for darks. These are put there especially for dishtowels, dishrags and placemats. Well, you stick a lot of damp dishtowels and dishrags wadded up in a cloth bin and what do you get after about a week? Yep, mildew. And the towels and dishrags smell. And when you wash in cold the smell doesn't come out.

Gross.

So the answer? Dr. Micro recommends: Place your dishrag/sponge in the microwave at the end of each day for 45 seconds. Done and done. It essentially sterilizes it. Not perfect, mind you, but at the very least you are knocking down your microbial load a few powers of 10. ;) We throw our dishtowels in for good measure too. It's so stinking easy, why the heck not?

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his laugh is precious

nobody@vox.com(AmyStröm) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:01:10 +0100

2008-08-03-laugh

I know this is poor videography and I sound retarded, but I couldn't resist posting him laugh.

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A tax by any other name...

nobody@vox.com(Redzilla) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:55:31 +0100

On the radio yesterday, I heard Arnold Schwarzenegger playing word games involving the livelihoods of state employees in California. As the economy tanks, the Governator is looking for ways to save money that don't involve raising taxes. His solution: cut the salaries of state employees. In some cases, lowering wages to $6.55/hour, the federally mandated minimum wage.

Help me, here, because I don't quite understand how this is different from a tax. If you tax me, you take money out of my paycheck. If you cut my salary, you take money out of my paycheck. What's the diff?

Oh, right, the difference is that in this scenario, which Schwarzie claims will save the state $1.2 billion per month, the only people being taxed are state employees. Everybody else gets a free ride, including the governor, who gets to claim he hasn't raised taxes.

$6.55 an hour. Think about that one. I don't know how much money you make, but I don't make a lot. Hubbicula laughed when he saw our tax return from last year. Still, $6.55 an hour is less than half what I make as a humble state employee. At $6.55 an hour, I wouldn't be able to pay my bills, let alone pay my mortgage, or keep the kittens in kibble. Never mind keeping Hubbicula in college.

Before you even start on state employees, I'll say it for you: we're lazy, incompetent, indifferent, reckless, and greedy. Fine, agreed. The only question is: do you want my job? No, I didn't think so. We state employees may be the bottom of the barrel, but we were willing to take the jobs nobody else wanted. No matter how grudgingly and slowly, we provide important services. Without us, your kids don't get educated, your paperwork doesn't get pushed, and your highway medians don't get mowed. We guard you while you sleep. Do not... fuck with us.

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5 months

nobody@vox.com(AmyStröm) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:43:41 +0100

5 months

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Fillety fish

nobody@vox.com(Oink) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:59:35 +0100

I've recently discovered that I can eat breaded fish fillets with pitta and salad for almost every evening of the week. And enjoy it immensely. It is not to be recommended, but has been steadily accumulating for so long that I've started to forget what I used to eat before. I have another dish that I eat maybe once a week (but haven't yet varied from fillety fish since Monday) which is home-made gnocchi. I've pretty much stopped any further variation, except on weekends when I'll typically have a burger at some point and maybe some dim sum.

Working from home today, I found myself popping out to stock up on yet more fillety fish. I ate the last one last night. I wanted to pick up a hot cock for lunch but the only ones there were unhappy (the free range ones are of course happy that they're dead) and I didn't have a proper plan of what to do instead.

I've been very healthy now this lunch time, so I'm telling myself, since instead of having fillety fish with salad and pitta, I've had bacon and egg with salad and pitta. That's variation worth mentioning.

You wouldn't believe how many cookery books I've got in front of me either.

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Today Sprog sold her brother for a lollipop.

nobody@vox.com(Norah) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:45:53 +0100

We were in the post office and I was faffing with a parcel. Sprog was engaged in one of her favourite pastimes - Old Lady Baiting. This usually involves acting in a revoltingly cutesy way (bunches, giggling, chatting to her dolly, I've even seen her sing Bobby Shafto to lure one in - she has no shame) and then as soon as they bite ("Hello little girl! Aren't you lovely?") she adopts stony faced withering distain, maintaining eye contact but cracking no smile nor saying a word as the poor old dear desperately tries to prove to the rest of the post office that she is Good With Children. Perhaps her favourite bit is when I take pity on the old lady and start to answer on Sprog's behalf in a strange sing-song voice, in the hope that if enough adults in the vacinity are talking in ridiculous voices it will make up for the haughty silence eminating from the small girl at the centre of it all.

Today's old lady was crashing and burning with her no-hope choice of conversation about Sprog's baby brother ("Aren't you lucky to have such a lovely baby brother?!"). All seemed lost, when suddenly from nowhere she turned it around with the frankly brilliant "do you like lollipops?". If there's one thing Sprog enjoys more than shooting old ladies down in flames, it's a sweetie that represents tooth decay, choking hazard AND sticky E numbers all rolled in to one. Onna stick. She grudgingly admitted that yes, yes she did like lollipops, and helpfully pointed out to the old lady that the shop we were in sold lollipops. Just there. On that shelf. Lots of them. There.

Things moved swiftly, and the next thing I knew the old lady was proposing a swap and Sprog was eagerly agreeing.

Old Lady: Can I have your brother?
Sprog: Okay.
Old Lady: Really? I can have your little brother?
Sprog: Okay. He's called Wilfie.
Old Lady: If I buy you a lollipop maybe we could do a swap. You get a lollipop and I can take your little brother home with me?
Sprog: A yellow lollipop?

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Note to self

nobody@vox.com(The Genius Academy) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:17:50 +0100

Don't leave your paperwork pile next to the printer or your 4 year old might feed it into the printer and you will be sending off your Caravan Club renewal form with a picture of one of the Rubba Dubbas (sp?) printed on it. Not too bad in itself but that "nice green piece" had something to do with VAT!

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Televisore

nobody@vox.com(Bobble) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 12:47:05 +0100

We got Sky (finally) installed today.

We now have proper telly.

No more indoor aerials with three good channels.

We have H-frickin-D*.

I can watch the Olympics opening ceremony in HD.

*I may be a bit over excited about this.

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QotD: Crush Confession

nobody@vox.com(dani85) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:40:23 +0100

On whom do you have your most embarrassing/scariest crush?
Submitted by Jillzey.

Wouldnt so much call it a crush, but a slight obsession

Wallpaper03_1024x768

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Worrying......

nobody@vox.com(The Genius Academy) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:23:57 +0100

Boden

It is always slightly worrying when your 4 year old daughter has hold of the Boden catalogue and she really needs EVERYTHING!

I am sure when I was 4, I didn't much care about clothes at all. All the photographic evidence bears that out!!

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