Another website with which to entertain yourself...

But it's candy, it has to be good?!?!? Ah hah, my friend, not always true...

http://www.bad-candy.com/

Google, schmoogle

Go to Google
Click on maps
Click on Get Directions
From--> New York, New York
To--> Paris, France
Read line 23

Fun mit Google, Part Funf

So here's a list of information you can get from Google via text (or SMS, as it's called):

What you want--> what you type in (the 5 digit numbers are the zip code)
Local Listings--> chili's 60050
Weather--> weather Chicago
Flight updates--> apparently you just type in your flight number, i.e. AA2111
Airline information--> United Airlines
Sports--> cubs
Movies--> blades of glory 60050
Stock Quotes--> type the stock ticker, like tgt for Target or IBM for, well, IBM
Glossary--> define zenith
Zip Code--> 72202
Translation--> translate hello in french
Driving Directions--> woodstock il to 60156
Web Snippets--> g hubble telescope
Q&A--> abraham lincoln birthday
Area Code--> 650
Froogle--> price ipod player 40gb
Calculator--> 1 US pint in liters
Currency Conversion--> 8 usd in yen

If you can't remember what to type, you can txt "help" to Google too. They say the reply messages might come out of order, so be patient, but in my experience, you really don't have to wait very long for an answer.

And here's a site where you can practice your cell phone googling, so that when the time comes, you'll be ready--> http://www.google.com/intl/en_us/mobile/sms/

And now, a shameless plug for my cousin's custom greeting card business...

What's the point of having a blog, if you can't do as you please.?

My cousin (in-law) Jill is a graphic designer, and she and my cousin Michael have launched a website for her custom-designed greeting cards--> http://www.jilizart.com/

Jill and Mike have been to a couple of the parties we've had at our house, so some of you might have met them. They live in Arlington Heights and Jill's cards are super-purty :)

So, there you go. Super-purty cards made with love by someone I like :)

What could be better? Huh?

BIL Nick brings us another cool thing about Google!

My BIL Nick showed me a very cool Google trick this weekend!

You can get phone numbers (and even addresses!) from Google via text emssage, without paying the $2 it costs to call directory assistance. Plus, for you agoraphobes, you don't even have to talk to anyone! It costs only what your cell phone company usually charges for text messages.

Here's how-->
1) Compose a text message with what you need in the body of the message--in my case, I typed "Westlane Bowl Crystal lake".
2) Then, send it to 466459 (spell out Google).

Soon, Google will send you back what it can dig up from directory assistance.

I love Google!

....even though it's probably secretly planning to destroy the world....

"Mairzydoats. It's everywhere you want to be"

Hi-LAR-ious!

I won't tell you what my first one said!

Try it out with things other than names too. Like "colonoscopy". Or "hangover". Or "food poisoning". Or "sweet love".

The fun is endless, really

http://www.thesurrealist.co.uk/slogan.cgi?word=mairzydoats

My new favorite blog that I didn't write:

http://www.thingsmyboyfriendsays.com

It's not nice. It's downright offensive. And I'm glad he's not my boyfriend.

But it's funny...

Maybe I Have a Concussion...

... a.k.a: This Is What Happens When You Burn The Candle At Both Ends

...a.a.k.a: Fun Things To Do In McHenry County In Winter


Oh, I have a headache. I've had 6 Excedrin so far in this 24 hour period. I had a little bit of it last night when I went to bed, but then it came back with prejudice at 1241 this morning.

At that point, I realized it was a migraine, whereas when I went to bed, I thought, "it's probably just a concussion."

Which bring me to my first fun thing to do in McHenry County (not necessarily in order of experience)
1) A warehouse full of moon jumps
This particular one is called Bounces R Us (in Richmond) and we went for the 3rd birthday party of one of the kids. I had forgotten, a little, how much fun moon jumps were. The kids had such a good time!

I had also forgotten how much enjoyment 8-10 adults can have when they really should be setting a better example. We tried out several of the jumps, including getting a lot of enjoyment out of seeing which of the boys could make it over the hill on the Spiderman jump (heave...heave...). Also enjoyable? Seeing 2 men dashed to the ground when the inflatable side of the jump suddenly collapses.

My favorite, however, was the fire truck. At least I think it was a fire truck. When you're bouncing around upside down on the inside of something, sometimes it's hard to tell. Anyway, it consisted of a port in the side for entering (or being thrown thru, which was also enjoyable), a landing zone, a stairway of sorts (which was really hard to scale--especially while carrying a 4 year old on one's back), and a giant slide.

Now, it was pretty fun to just slide down the slide, but it's even funner to race up the ladder and then cannonball down the slide, seeing how many times you can "skip" yourself before coming to a crashing halt upsidedown in the pile of laughing people sitting at the bottom, having moonjumpburn not only on your exposed elbows, but also on your ribcage. And maybe your face.

Sniff, I miss my college days.

2) Another fun thing to do in the McH in winter is this: DANCE LESSONS!
Dave got me private dance lessons for me for a Xmas present, partly b/c I love to dance, but also b/c I delight in picking on him for the frowny dance face he makes.

Our lessons were Sat am and I picked swing and salsa. I already love swing dancing, so that was all good already. The salsa was fun too! Dave hardly made any dance face at all!

Here's the contact info if you want to try it out. They also teach group lessons at some of the local park districts and some dance studios. So fun!

Frank and Jackie Penze (professional ballroom dance [and other dances] instructors): dancelessons@dancefoxvalley.org

3) All skate, change directions!
If you know what that means, then you and I are near the same age! And you, like I, spent some of your childhood in the roller rink. On Saturday afternoon, I went with an adult birthday party crowd to the roller rink in McHenry.

Since it was a 31 Going On 13 party, we were all dressed in our 13-year-old finery.
Most of us didn't fall (although there was one broken wrist--Michelle's aunt--hope she recovers quickly!).

The rink is as standardly grimy as I always remember them being, sighhh, and the snack bar served chips with that great orange cheesy goo. Ahhh, nostalgia...

http://www.justforfunrollerrink.com/months/january/januaryindex.htm

NYE video posted on myspace!

Hi all,
So there are some clips of the midnight to 4am karaoke binge posted on myspace. Don't worry--the files are marked private and are copy-protected, so at least you shouldn't find yourself on WebJunk20 on VH1 anytime soon!


http://www.myspace.com/mairzydoats

Perhaps Fratalian?

God bless whomever Dunkin Donuts has for a marketing agency!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlbhbKaIBcU

Alarm Clock Catastrophe is good too--gotta find a link for you...

Google fun, Part 54

My Real First Name has...
...arrived!
...managed to pinpoint exactly what it is about both Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 that annoy me so thoroughly
...over thirty years experience as president of the school
...more than 100 years of experience educating women to excel
...looked generously and hard at our common human world
...played a significant role in educational leadership
...a bad case of late-flight syndrome
...pictures

My Real First Name wants...
...it bad
...to know
...to be free

How to play Broom with your dog.

First, it helps to have a high-strung dog. It's not absolutely necessary, but it really makes for a funner time for all. You know, like going to a haunted house with someone who screams a lot? It's just better.

So, the next time your dog is bugging you to death, catch her eye and slowly walk to the closet where you keep your broom (you must have a broom to play this game, as playing _____ with your dog is not as much fun. A small table or stool can be substituted [as if you were a lion trainer], but, really, I recommend the broom. The first time or 2, she might not really get it, but she'll come around.

Like with little kids, it also helps to pretend to be a monster or some other scary thing. You know in horror movies how it's scarier when the creepy thing moves slowly or unnaturally? Like that.

At this point, your dog will either will have gone to sleep, will be interested in what you're doing, or will have continued to bug whomever is still sitting down. If your dog chooses options A or C, then, I'm sorry to say, you do not have a Broomdog.

But, for those of you with Broomdogs, slowly open the door to the broom closet, get the broom out and (as long as the dog is looking) peek it around the corner. In my house, this results in either fake growling or a playbow*, then a bunch of crazy racing around the living room like someone set her on fire.

Next, start walking across the kitchen back to the living room. Now, don't forget to be all creepy-like and do make sure to tap or zhuzh the broom on the floor as you go.

Once you get over by the dog, suddenly rush towards her with the broom, as if it were going to eat her. She'll probably race around trying to "get away".

At this point you can stop acting creepy and just chase her around. I like to press the broom to her tail and see how many times Ii can get her to race around in a really small circle. Also fun: trying to smash her feet with the bristles as she runs and using the evil broom to trap her in a corner.

After 5-10 minutes of Broom, your pup will probably lie down and sleep.

And that's all were looking for, really.

*http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/106089.php

York Theatre (Elmhurst, IL), Theatre Visit #2

Dave and I visited the York on Sat 9/30/06. We were supposed to be attending the Toby Keith concert (Dave's company does work for TK), but there was a ticket snafu. Since we had already checked into the hotel, we looked around to find something else to do in beautiful downtown Elmhurst...

The York Theatre is beautiful and a lot bigger than I expected. I guess being used to the Woodstock, I expected it to be smaller. The screen where we saw our movie (see the Jack*ss 2 review) is the second picture down on the left in the link below (the pic with the organ). It was huge!**

http://www.classiccinemas.com/history/york.asp

The theatre is on a street that has a bunch of little old shops and streetlights, so, again, the ambience is old-timey and nice :)


It's funny--the whole place smelled like both popcorn and my paternal Grandma's house (which did not smell like popcorn). It was so nice and comforting, even though I don't know exactly what it was that made it smell like Grandma's.

(As opposed to my maternal Grandma's house, which smelled like roast beast. Mmmmm.)

Which one will we visit next? Will it be St. Charles, Carpentersville, Elk Grove Village, Fox Lake, Oak Park, Freeport, Kankakee, Naperville, or Downers Grove?

Only I know. Moohoo-hahahah!




**I may have forgotten to mention in my Jack*ss 2 review, the guy who barfed on the floor--twice--during the showing. Maybe he was drunk, maybe he had a weak stomach? The part of the film during which he hurled really wasn't gross (offensive, maybe, but not gross), so maybe it was the demon rum? Who knows... I'm just glad that the room was big enough for him not to be right next to us. Yuck.

Woodstock Theatre (Woodstock, IL), Theatre Visit #1

We've been to the Woodstock Theatre a million times--it's one of our local theatres. The history of the building is linked below.

It's a 3 or 4 screen theater (4, I think) with a petite lobby full of popcorn(!) and an old-fashioned outside ticket booth. It's located on the beautiful Woodstock Square, which really lends itself to the old-timey illusion. The theatre is also featured in the movie Groundhog Day, which was filmed almost entirely on the Square (the place where the groundhog comes out? Woodstock Square).--> http://www.silverscreens.com/cinesaucine/en/groundhogday.html

There are a bunch of great restaurants nearby, including the Public House right next door (non-smoking, bonus!), plus a Starbucks and DQ within walking distance.

I thoroughly enjoy any visit I make to CC's Woodstock Theatre!

(I'll post a picture the next time I drive by!)


http://www.classiccinemas.com/history/woodstock.asp

Embarking on a brand new quest: Classic Cinemas

Classic Cinemas (http://www.classiccinemas.com/) owns/has helped restore various old movie houses in the Greater Chicagoland Metropolitan Area (Becky and Susan will remember this general area from our college days).

Currently there are 11 theaters in their collection and most have that old marquee look--they're really neat! The have gift certificates called Reel Money available, which I think is so cute!

I've decided that Dave and my new hobby is going to be visiting all 11 of the grand old ladies (or gentlemen?).

Two down, 9 to go!

More Google fun!

Go to Google and type in--> [your first name] needs

Then hit enter.

[My real first name] needs...
...to mind her own business
...written and oral communication skills, too.
...to be given medication throughout the day
...a huge break into the publishing business
...to finish her doctorate and make scads of money
...a new facility specifically designed for continuing education


I'm going to marry Google.

Llama, llama, duck.

Just in case you needed something stuck in your head.

It's PG, but beware your sound volume. It's stuck in my head and I can't even remember the words!

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/llama.php

Interesting image labeling game

You sign in as Guest and then you (and a random person from the internet) each try to think of descriptors for various photos you're both shown.

Apparently, Google uses any labels you 2 agree on to fill out its image search engine, but I just think it's fun!

http://images.google.com/imagelabeler/

White and Nerdy

Weird Al has a new song out--White and Nerdy (like that "try to catch me ridin' dirty" song--and You Tube's got the video.

Check out Donny Osmond dancing like an idiot in the background--hilarious!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xEzGIuY7kw

MySpace

So here are my MySpace and MySpace blog addresses. See, they're not as pretty :(

My Space--> http://www.myspace.com/mairzydoats

My SpaceBlog--> http://blog.myspace.com/mairzydoats