Halloween Can Be Dangerous

Warning for Halloween: Keep your pumpkins away from the alcohol.

5 Uses For Tin Foil!

5 Uses for Tin Foil. Love this! Did you know you can use a ball of tin foil in place of a dryer sheet? Or to soften brown sugar? Who knew? So many uses for tin foil.

Dupuytren's Info

I haven't posted anything about Dupuytren's for a while although I continue to hear from people who are waiting to get the enzyme injections, now that they're on the open market. I heard from Fred in Kansas City who was going to get the treatment. This was in August and I don't know if he's had it by now. But here are his before pictures. You're not going to believe this. (Beware it's kind of disturbing - makes me so grateful that mine is not worse.)
More pictures here.
You might think he's intentionally bending the fingers on his left hand, but that's what the disease does in the worst cases.
There's lots more Dupuytren's info on this website. Just type it into the search box.
Also a series of videos about the enzyme injection on YouTube

Random Thoughts on a Friday Morning

I saw Bobby Flay this morning on Michigan Ave.! We passed each other running and by the time my brain kicked in that it was him he was too far away for me to shout, "Bobby, I love you!"

I hate when that damn pump thing quits working when there's still 2" of cream in the bottom of the container. They can put a man on the moon...can't they come up with a pump thing that'll suck up EVERY LAST OUNCE?

My friend Teresa finally read Mr. Right-Enough. She was afraid to for fear that she wouldn't like it. Here's what she said: "Wow, I've been wanting to write you for several days, ever since I finished reading your book. I started it, I think last Th or Fri and simply could not put it down! The only reason it took me 3 days to finish was that I had tons of work to do. And for the first 2 days I neglected that work often just to keep reading. Then what happened was that I slowed down a bit only because I wanted the story to keep going forever, you know how that feels--when you want to savor it and not have it end."
Thanks so much, T! Don't forget that Amazon review!

My computer's sooooooo slow. So annoying. Does it make sense to add memory to a 5-yr-old computer or should I just buy a new one?

Is there anything that doesn't taste good with whipped cream on it? I squirted a dollop of Reddy-Whip on my Greek tasteless yogurt and granola this morning. Yum! Oh, come on...it's fat free!

Jambayala For Breakfast?

I cooked jambalaya in my slow-cooker the other night and when I got up in the morning it smelled amazing in here. It's not exactly my idea of breakfast food but I couldn't help taking a couple spoonfuls. Yum. Just didn't go with my orange juice. Anyway, it's a really simple recipe and really, really good.
Here it is:

Jambalaya
* 1-1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1" cubes
* 1 pound sausage, cooked
* 2 (28-ounce) cans tomatoes, crushed
* 1 cup onion, chopped
* 1 cup green pepper, chopped
* 1 cup chicken broth
* 1/2 cup white wine
* 2 teaspoons oregano
* 2 teaspoons parsley
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 teaspoons seasoning
* 1-1/2 pounds shrimp, cooked
* 2 cups quick cooking rice

1. Combine all ingredients in a 6-7 quart slow cooker except shrimp and rice. Stir well.
2. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours HIGH for 5 hours.
3. Stir in rice and shrimp. (If you don't have quick cooking rice cook the rice beforehand and just heat for a few more minutes to combine.)
4. Cover and cook for an additional 15 minutes.
Serves: 10-12

Movie Review: The Social Network

3 1/2 stars out of 5
I love the opening scene with Aaron Sorkin's clever, sarcastic, shot-gun dialogue where Mark Zuckerberg's girlfriend breaks up with him, telling him he'll probably be a really successful computer person but he'll end up alone. Not sure that's the case in real life but her words paint the mood of this film.
Is he really the unethical schmuck the script shows him to be? I have a friend who gives his behavior a pass with a medical diagnosis of Social Anxiety Disorder. My medical diagnosis: Gigantic Asshole Disorder. If this story is to be believed Zuckerberg's an unethical, back-stabbing liar so if you like that kind of person you'll root for him but I found him sadly despicable. And Jesse Eisenberg's portrayal of him left me a little flat. He's a great comic actor (the Jewish Michael Cera), but not that good in a dramatic role. His performance was one-dimensional. I would have liked more nuance; some humanity, vulnerability. Without that it's hard to sympathize.

One of my favorite things about the movie which I didn't know while watching it was that the twins, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, were both played, digitally, by Armie Hammer (great name). Technical wizardry at its best.
But there was another digital enhancement which drove me crazy. In a scene where Zuckerberg and his buddy go outside of a bar to have a private conversation (where we're told it's 20 degrees) they don't appear to be all that cold but there's an excess of digital condensation coming from their mouths as they talked. Weirdly unnecessary and obvious.
All in all this is a good two hours. Not great but good.
BTW, I didn't believe for a minute that a nerd like Zuckerberg would have such an intelligent and hot girlfriend (remember that beginning scene?).

Hot-Dogging on a Segway

I'm generally pretty coordinated so after a little personalized demo on the Segway I was tooling around like a pro. Until I crashed into my significant-other. Not my fault - he was showing off his spectacular Segway prowess by starting and stopping really fast (admittedly not the easiest thing to do), but I only crashed into him a little bit and no one was hurt. The Segway and I were unscathed and I learned to give Bill, the hot-dogger, a wide berth.
Did you ever try one of these things? You should, they're a kick. And a great way to see the city. Go to Segway Tours on Randolph. Our guide was Parker, a med student with 92 other degrees in various and sundry other (apparently useless) occupations. No matter, he's a hell of a Segway tour guide (even though he told the group they reversed the flow of the Chicago River in 1999 and he was 99 years off on that one). That's all right, Bill the hot-dogger enjoyed correcting him.