Living In the World, Not on It

BusinessInsider.com recently published a list of the 18 Most Hated Companies in America . I don’t know why they chose a number like 18: as negative as people are these days, there were surely at least 20 that people really don’t like. But 18 is what they gave us, so 18 is what we’ll work with. From that list, could you come up with seven that you dislike the most? The only way you can go “off the list” is to substitute a local version of a named company. For example, if you don’t live in the service area of “Pacific Electric & Gas,” you can substitute your own local electric utility if you feel they need to be included on your list. That’s your challenge for this week! Thanks for dropping by! Be sure to check back this week and click on the links of bloggers who play along in the comments below! It’s a great way to find blogs you may not have visited and to keep the conversation going! Here is this week’s “ Sunday Seven ” questi...

That's right. Why commute in snow if you absolutely do not need to? Yahoo! I can't help it. I'm not proud that I'm so chicken about driving in snow, I suppose I could suck it up and go in. But the only way that would happen is if I had Luis' 4-wheel drive MDX - and he turned me down this morning. So I opted to stay safe. Criticise all you want, but I have been an EMT too long to not appreciate the value of not being on the road when the weather is inclement. I see no reason to drive myself crazy. I don't see reasons for driving other drivers crazy (I drive the appropriate speed on coated roads, which is SSSSLLLLOOOOOOWWWW), but quite frankly I could care less if they think I drive too slowly. I have no caring for that. If you think your vehicle drives well in snow, then it doesn't. The hooray for Internet is that I am very lucky in that I can "break into" my workstation from anywhere in the world. I am able to do everything I need to exce...

Not that I’m trying to connect this week’s set of questions to Halloween or anything, but death is the topic. What can I say? Every week can’t be all fun and cheery, right? Thanks for stopping by and playing along. And I hope you have a long, healthy life for your participation! Be sure to check back this week and click on the links of bloggers who play along in the comments below! It’s a great way to find blogs you may not have visited and keep the conversation going! Here are this week’s “Saturday Six” questions. Either answer the questions in a comment here, or put the answers in an entry on your blog… But don’t forget to leave a link to your blog so that everyone else can visit! Permission is not granted to copy the questions to message boards for the purpose of having members answer and play along there. Enjoy! 1. You have the chance to learn either the date, the location or the method of your death: would you accept an envelope that w...

 1) Christmas is less than two months away. Have you already started shopping for Christmas gifts? No, I don't even want to think about it. I have no income at the moment, so the whole Christmas thing is just the worst thought. 2) Would you be offended if someone carved a pumpkin for Halloween in such a way so that it would resemble your face? No, although I doubt it would be kind to do that to a pumpkin, ha, ha! Just out curiosity, why? Was this something that came up at a problem? 3) How do you feel about people who get "fandom" tattoos (i.e. tattoos of musicians, TV shows, movies, etc)? Someday you will regret it - especially if the show goes down in flames. It's bad enough to see what happens to relationships after one party goes out and gets "Betty" scrawled across his or her upper arm! 4) It seems like Quick Response codes (a.k.a. QR codes), like the one to the right, are everywhere on products and ads these days. Do you ever actually sc...

1. Arachnids. I am completely terrified of spiders. It is not at all funny. It's my only real fear. 2. Being completely disabled. I guess this is really it. I have no other fears than these two. Heights - love 'em. Open spaces, no problem. Tight spaces, no problem. What else is there? No, wait. There's country music! I find that completely terrifying! I don't have any problem with blood. I'm sorry, I have very little fear. I've seen far too many dead people to care about that. It is just a part of life.

Welcome to Saturday: 9 . What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme! Saturday 9: The Last DJ 1. Who was favorite DJ and what radio station did you listen to as a kid? Um... favourite DJ? Hmmm. I listened to WLIR, 92.7, which was really, really hard to receive in my house. Here is the description: 1980s In 1982 it had been decided that in order to move the station into the future a format change was needed. [ 1 ] Program director Denis McNamara recommended to the station's owner that he choose one of two formats progressive adult contemporary or New Music . [ 1 ] Al...

If you’re like me, you have a reasonable DVD collection. (Note that I said DVD , and not Blu-Ray. Sorry to disappoint all of the HD enthusiasts, but I don’t have an HD set in my house. All SD, all the time.) And I have no plans to go through the expense of swapping everything out for the “next level” any time soon. In any case, whether you’re watching on regular DVD or Blu-Ray, this week’s question should be pretty easy. Thanks for dropping by! Be sure to check back this week and click on the links of bloggers who play along in the comments below! It’s a great way to find blogs you may not have visited and to keep the conversation going! Here is this week’s “ Sunday Seven ” question. Either answer in a comment here, or put the answers in an entry on your blog (with a link here), and then comment here with a link back to your blog so that everyone else can visit! Permission is not granted to copy the questions to message boards for the purpose of havin...

Six Check out the following exercise, guaranteed to freak you out. There's no trick or surprise. Just follow these instructions, and answer the questions one at a time and as quickly as you can! Again, as quickly as you can but don't advance until you've done each of them... really. Now, arrow down (but not too fast, you might miss something)......... What is: 1+5 2+4 3+3 4+2 5+1 Now repeat saying the number 6 to yourself as fast as you can for 15 seconds, then arrow down. QUICK!!! THINK OF A VEGETABLE! Then arrow down. Keep going. You're thinking of a carrot right? If not, you're among the 2% of the population whose minds are warped enough to think of something else. 98% of people will answer with carrot when given this exercise.   (I thought cucumber. I have no idea why carrot was the theme.)

Here’s a confession: I have posted the quiz that appears in this week’s set before. But it was way back in 2008, and most of you haven’t seen it before…so I am recycling it for this one occasion. Imitation being the highest form of flattery, I think it’s important to take the time to flatter ourselves once in a while, right? This week’s set is all about colors. My favorite was orange from a young age, but I had to quell that when I realized I would be going to the University of South Carolina: its primary colors are garnet and black, and its chief rival, Clemson University, uses orange as is primary color. But after featuring garnet as this blog’s main color for years, I’ve returned to orange, because I think it’s a nice color, particularly online. So with apologies to any Gamecock who might be offended, thanks for playing! Be sure to check back this week and click on the links of bloggers who play along in the comments below! It’s a great way to find blogs...

Welcome To The Queen's Meme #100!!!! The Centennial Meme We're 100 today! Happy birthday to us! In honor of all things that can be multiplied by ten, we'd like to invite you to our birthday party. Gifts and all  handsome men welcome... not necessarily in that order. Let's party! 1. Ten x Ten = 100. What thing or person or experience in your life would you like to multiply by 10? All my travels - I have not traveled nearly enough, and Luis hates going anywhere, so I would really like to multiply that by 100! 2. Today you get to go shopping with a one hundred dollar bill. What will you buy? Um... You know, it is amazing how little one gets with a $100 bank note - unless it was £100! That would get a lot more bang for my buck. But even with $100 I'd go to Amazon.com - there is always a lot to get there! Music, movies, books, that all works. 3. How many centenarians do you know or have you ever known one? Yes, my great-grandfather was 1...

1) The "Test your vocab" website ( click here to test it out and share your results if you want ) estimates the number of words in your vocabulary based on how many specific words you know the definition of. Have you ever read a dictionary to increase your vocabulary? Yes, I have read parts of the dictionary to increase my vocabulary. However, my vocabulary is better than average anyway. It's been a long time since I've leafed through the dictionary to do anything. 2) Today (Oct. 26) is "Howl at the Moon Day." How often do dogs wake you up in the middle of the night either barking or howling? Our neighbour's dog used to wake us up with the barking, but they don't keep the dog outside any longer and it is not the same dog. They have an antisocial dog that bites other people now. I wonder about our neighbours... 3) My fiance got roped into carving a pumpkin (mostly against his will) for his office due to his artistic ability. Have you car...

1) If you're reading this, the world has not ended as Harold Camping has predicted. After a previous failed prediction of the rapture earlier this year, Camping said the world would end on Oct. 21, 2011. If you did know when the world was ending, what is something you'd like to accomplish before its final day? Um, I'm actually in good shape. I really do live each day as though it might be my last. I'm sure I have plenty on my bucket list, but at the moment I haven't the income to do much about it. 2) A judge ordered actress Lindsay Lohan to do community service at a morgue, mostly doing janitorial work including cleaning and stocking restrooms, mopping floors and washing sheets that the facility uses. What do you think would be the worst part of working in a morgue? I suspect I'd love it. I have no problem with the dead - not like I haven't seen enough of them. I wouldn't have any problems with it. Quite frankly, Lindsay Lohan should be...

1) With today (Oct. 20) being "Shampoo Day," I'm curious... Do you actually "rinse and repeat" or just rinse without repeating? You have to be kidding. One shampoo, one conditioner is enough. I have oily hair so I have to wash it every day, too. Rinse and repeat would drag it out far too much. 2) The 2011 World Series kicked off Wednesday with the St. Louis Cardinals beating the Texas Rangers. If you went a baseball game today, what would you buy from the concession stands? I wouldn't ever be at a game of any kind. I really, really wouldn't. Not ever. 3) October is National Squirrel Awareness Month. Do you find squirrels to be cute animals, annoying pests, or something in between? Oh, squirrels are complete and utter pests. I brake for them, same as other animals, but they have eaten our squad house to a shell so I have no love of them. National Squirrel Awareness Month? You can't be serious. What the hell for? We all know they are out there....

Nine Loves 1.  Luis Luis will always be the best part of me, my best friend, my lover.   2.  Friends/family What would we be without friends and family? 3.  Music Life would not be the same without it. And I have incredibly eclectic taste in music; I just finished listening to Rammstein's song Spring and now I am listening to Randy Newman's Pleasantville Suite , so go figure. And of course, the countdown to Coldplay's new CD Mylo Xyloto, out on Monday,  24 October - five days and counting!   4.  Art I'm finally back to drawing and it is as though I never stopped. Pretty cool.   5.  Books Ah, the printed word, more magic than anything else (except music). I've finished rereading The Clan of the Cave Bear and am on the second book, The Valley of the Horses . Soon I will reread the third book, The Mammoth Hunters and then I think there are two more to read after that... Let me see... The Plains of Passage , The She...

1) MTV is holding an open casting call for its show "The Real World" today at an Oklahoma City Hooters. Have you ever tried out or would you ever try out for a reality TV show? No, I have never tried out for a reality show. I have no intention of ever trying out for a reality show, especially on MTV. This is the lowest common denominator stuff I am always griping about. I really have no use for reality television unless it is really intellectually stimulating - and how many of them can try to pull that off? Very, very few. 2) When was the last time you lost your temper in public? What set you off? In public... Jeez. I really don't lose my temper often, and certainly not in public. I'm a pleasant person for the most part and not prone to getting angry on that scale. 3) Everyone around me is talking about getting flu shots and saying I should get one, which I refuse to get one. Do you get flu shots each year? I do, every single year. I was happy to find out tha...

Welcome to The Queen's Meme #99 7 Royal Questions on Tuesday Today I thought I'd give you 99 questions to answer in honor of the 99th meme. Just kidding! Instead, I'll give you 7 questions that just seem like 99. Here we go. Surprisingly, it's called The 99 Meme 1. Let's take that famously irritating song, Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer on The Wall . Tell me....What would you substitute for those bottles of beer? Your song would be "Ninety-nine glasses of candles on the Wall." Fill in the blanks. 2. Let's go to the 99 cents store. What do you think should be made available for 99 cents at the 99 cents store? I am a total snob. You won't find me shopping in a 99¢ ever. But if I could find Yankee or Illuminations candles for 99¢, I'd a happy, happy camper! 3. The great world of Wikipedia tells me that scientists claim 99% of all documented species are extinct. Which remaining species in the 1% category would you really...

I found this over at Jeff's place, A Word In Edgewise .  He got it from Aaron at Carp Dime  and I'm sure there were others before that but I'm  very lazy  extremely important and incredibly busy so I'll put my people on that research project very soon.  It's a 10 Day You Challenge! Doesn't this sound fun!?? Day One My TEN secrets: 1.  I have a strange collection of movies: Star Trek, Heaven Help Us, Kinky Boots, The Black Stallion, Blow Dry, etc. We won't get into the television series and music - but bagpipe music is in there right along with Rammstein, Apocalyptica, U2, Coldplay (Mylo Xyloto comes out in just 6 days!!), Fatboy Slim and a whole host of other weirdness. 2.  I'm 43 and almost 60% grey hair. I love my hairdresser and while I have a teeny amount of income, I still allow for that expense. Otherwise, I wear no make up, nothing that is fashionista-like and only comfortable shoes. No one should suffer for fashion! 3....

Luis went to drop off his vehicle to be repaired (a young stupid kid ran into it in a parking lot about a week ago and destroyed not only the rear quarter panel but the top piece which runs from the rear light to the front of the driver's door) and he got a BRAND NEW CHARGER! He drives like a little old man. That is so wrong in so many ways, I just can't imagine. I saw it and said, "Damn! I should be driving that ! In his hands it is just a car. In my hands and lead foot, it would be art and a machine - a beautiful purring machine that would be driven like I'm in the Indy 500! I could do it, man! I drive my car like that all the time! Hey, it's a sports car - that is what one is supposed to do with a sports car! Better believe it, baby! I can drive like nobody's business and I do. I happen to really love driving fast - I was doing 90 on Route 287 on Friday and it was awesome. Wind in my hair, music up all the way, taking the turns like I'm on rai...

Welcome to another fine installment of Monday Mayhem. Today we are going to play 7 stupid questions about peanut butter. For each question, simple leave an answer. Thanks for playing and have a fun week! 1. Why do people like to eat jelly with peanut butter? Sweet and salty? I don't know. But much like chocolate, peanut butter goes with anything. 2. How do you make your PB & J? I guess the same as everyone else. Bread, smooth peanut butter with strawberry or grape jelly. 3. Crunchy or Smooth? I guess I jumped the gun, I prefer smooth peanut butter. 4. Who makes the best peanut butter? Hmmm. I don't know that anyone's isn't up to par. 5. Besides in a sandwich, what's the best way to eat peanut butter? This will sound so disgusting but it isn't - on bologna! 6. Jam or jelly? Either one is fine with me. 7. Share something with us about peanut butter. Um... it tastes good on my husband, too! Oh, is that TMI?

Welcome back to Sunday Stealing which originated on WTIT: The Blog authored by Bud Weiser. Here we will steal all types of memes from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent memes. You may have heard of the expression, “honor amongst thieves”. In that age-old tradition, we also have our rules. First, we always credit the blog that we stole it from and we will “fess up” to the blog owner where we stole the meme. We also provide a link to the victim's post. (It's our way of saying "Thanks!") We do sometimes edit the original meme, usually to make it more relevant to our global players, to challenge our players, sometimes to select that meme's best questions, or simply to make it less repetitive from either this new meme or recently asked questions from a prior featured meme. Let's go!!!

On Tuesday, Gabriel and I went into Manhattan to see the Wall Street Occupy protests. Signs, signs everywhere Having never been a protestor before, I walked up to one of the officers on scene and asked him what the appropriate rules were for this. He was very friendly (all the officers on scene were) and ran through the basic guidelines: signs are allowed, and signs can be attached to rolled up cardboard or paper, but not to wooden or metal pieces (which is not unreasonable). People can congregate in the park itself but not stop to loiter on the sidewalks outside of the park. People were obviously allowed to use the park to sleep in, and some had been camped there since time began - or at least since the protest began - and then when the mayor stated that the park had to be emptied to clean it, the protestors scrubbed the park out forwards and backwards and the protests are still on. Yay! So Gabriel and I got in about 15:00 and at first walked around and took a lot of ...