Crazy on Twitter

Hey guys, remember back when I posted in January about @astrospace, the guy who freaked on Twitter? Well, he's still around - and still pissing people off! Thanks to an anonymous commenter, I learned of a petition to get the guy removed from Twitter altogether for abusive behavior. Not only is he rude and slanderous, he's actually stalked and purposefully harassed people. He's obsessed with having large amounts of followers, and he deletes the bad things he says to try and cover his tracks.

You can (and should!) read all about him here. He used the name @astronautics for a while, and now goes by @spaceastro.

So what do we do about this idiot? Well, there's the petition, which I tweeted about earlier tonight. I don't know how much it will do since he has so many accounts and aliases, but it certainly can't hurt to try. I hope that the women he called and harassed are seeing legal advice on what (if anything) they can do.

If you're curious, here's a posting that has the text of the blog post he deleted from his site that I mentioned in my first post about him - the one where he goes off about Twitter. You can tell by his writing that there is something seriously wrong with this guy.

I'm all about people trying to make a name for themselves online - but don't do it by pretending that you're an authoritative news source (when you aren't) or by hurting others with the awful things you say and do.

Culinary adventures

I don't cook at home as often as I should (for someone that wants to save money), but lately I've been a little more adventurous than usual in the kitchen. My latest dinner attempt involved imitating a wrap that I like to get at Shane's Gourmet Market downtown. It was pretty simple to make, and it's so, so good!

Ingredients:

Chicken breast (I used the kind in the pouch that you find in the tuna section; any cubed chicken breast will do)
Bacon pieces
Wraps (I used sun dried tomato and basil, yum)
Spinach (lettuce will do if you're not a spinach fan)
Cheese (Shane's uses Swiss, but I prefer provolone or muenster)
Tomatoes
Red onions
Dijon mustard
Ranch (Optional)

Everything is chopped and cubed, and put in the wrap:

Like I said, pretty simple. I put a little too much filling in mine though, and it was hard to roll up. But it was still very yummy!

Since I'd fryed up the bacon, I had some bacon grease left over - and I really didn't want to just get rid of it. So I sliced up some potatoes and fryed them in the grease. Yes, I know, not the healthiest thing in the world. But I've tried this before with butter and always burnt the potatoes, so I wanted to see if this method worked out better - and it was delicious!

A little bit of sour cream made these potatoes a perfect side dish. This ended up being a very filling meal and I'll probably make these things separately next time, but I was glad that everything turned out tasting really good.

I wish I'd taken some pictures of the tortilla crusted fish I made last week as well - Jared said it was really good, and that's saying a lot since he doesn't usually like fish. You'll just have to trust me that it was awesome. It was just some tilapia with lime juice and seasoning, coated in crushed up tortilla chips with a little butter topping. I got the idea from a Lean Cuisine that I really like - but I think my version is better (but probably much more fattening).

Do you have any culinary creations that you're particularly proud of? Any recommendations for meals that a newbie like me should try?

Gueek Bkead Fay

Back in 2004, Jared visited me in New Philadelphia for the first time over winter break. He only stayed one day, so I had limited time to show him what NP had to offer. Naturally, I took him to New Towne Mall, and then to Hog Heaven for dinner. While at the mall, we strolled through a crappy dollar store and found this strange holiday decoration:


Gueek Bkead Fay? What the crap does THAT mean?! Jared and I were at a loss. At first, I thought maybe it was some strange mistranslation of "Greek Bread Day." But if so, then both the U and K would have to be R's, which doesn't make sense. Besides, there does not seem to be any kind of Greek Bread Day that I can find a reference to. And what's with the reindeer? Are they an integral part of Gueek Bkead Fay activities?

So what does it really mean? It seems that we aren't the only ones wondering. Jared recently found this posting on a translation website about the phrase. There are suggestions that it might be Turkish or even Hindi, but nobody seems to agree or know for sure. The only other mention of it is in this blog posting - but again, there seems to be no explanation of what it means. The author of the blog later posted this message, stating that people had tried emailing him about the meaning of the phrase, and that he didn't know what it meant. Of course, it still makes me wonder why he USED the phrase in a post to begin with, if he honestly has no idea what it means. He must have heard it somewhere, right?

So it seems for now that the mystery continues. If anyone has any insights on the origins of Gueek Bkead Fay, please let me know!

RIP Billy Mays and library funding

I've had a lot on my mind lately, but no inspiration to post anything here until now. Truth be told, I've been busy with two other blogs this summer for our Adult Summer Reading Club and for our Main Library Staff Summer Reading Club. So poor little Ridiculology has been neglected - nothing new though, right?

Things in my world have been a little crazy as of late - and not always in a good way. It's been hard to try to not worry about the governor's proposed $220 million cut to the Public Library Fund. It depresses me to think about what kind of impact that would have on libraries across the state, and especially at CML. At the same time, it's been amazing to see the support that the public has been giving to libraries over the past two weeks. From organizing rallies, to sending emails to legislators and calling the governor's office, Ohioans are coming out in record numbers in support of their public libraries. I hope it helps - the decision on the budget is being delayed through July 7th, but hopefully we'll know something then.

So if I lost my job as librarian (which I certainly hope won't happen), what do you guys think my second career choice should be? Wedding planner tops my list - with all of the weddings I've attended and helped plan over the years, I think it would be a good fit. Just in the past two weeks, I've been in one wedding and attended two others! Check out my Flickr page for photos.

Or, maybe I could become a pitchwoman, and take over for my dearly departed Billy Mays. Somehow I don't think that would suit me very well, but it certainly would be fun to get paid to yell at people all of the time. Speaking of Billy Mays, I have to confess that I am very, very saddened by his death. This statement by the Discovery Channel and his partner Anthony Sullivan just breaks my heart. He was a great man, and one hell of a salesman. I wore blue yesterday in honor of him.

So, what else could I do? Rodeo clown? Underwater basket weaver? ASTRONAUT?! I need a backup plan, people!

What I've been busy doing

If you want to know what I've been up to lately, check out this post on our staff Summer Reading Club blog: http://mainsrc.blogspot.com/2009/06/main-staff-src-dessert-potluck.html

I recorded and edited the video myself - it's not great, but it's not bad for a first-timer, right? At the very least, I hope people get a kick out of it!

Stuck in a reading rut

It's time for me to admit the truth: I'm a librarian, and I don't read.

Alright... that's not entirely true. I flip through craft books and cookbooks all of the time, but it's not the same as sitting down and reading a book - at least it doesn't feel that way. I love books, I really do, but at some point in college I stopped finding the time to read books for pleasure, and it's been a difficult habit to get myself back into.

I know this might sound like blasphemy to many of my friends. But whenever I log into my Goodreads account, I'm reminded of how little I've read in my lifetime, and it's kind of depressing. Granted, I'm not listing the 60+ Babysitter's Club books on Goodreads that I read as a kid, but still. There's only a little over 100 other books that I can recall reading, and that's just not enough.

And if that weren't enough, I recently attended a Reader's Advisory training at work where staff were throwing out names of authors I didn't know, talking about books I'd never heard of, and generally having a wonderfully intellectual discussion about books and reading that I couldn't participate in. Sure, I know that I don't have to read everything to do my job, but it still made me feel very inadequate.

So how do I fit reading back into my life? Well, I joined a book club - I figure that's a good start. We're reading Dracula this month, which is a book I've always wanted to read. And to give myself an extra challenge, I'm reading it on my iPhone! I've never really tried reading an ebook, and there's a "Classics" iPhone app (only 99 cents!) that includes Dracula, so I'm giving it a chance.

What are you reading right now? Does anyone else have trouble finding time to read too?

Things on my mind

Haven't posted in a while, so I thought I'd share what's on my mind today:

1. Pepsi Throwback - it's good, but makes you realize how much sugar you're really drinking with it's distinct pure sugar aftertaste. I like it though.

2. I need a vacation, stat! I'm really looking forward to my upcoming trip to New Jersey to be in Julie and Paul's wedding, and maybe a trip to Chicago again this fall.

3. I love getting myself too involved - either at work, or with activities on my own time. I enjoy everything I do, but sometimes I wish I could hold myself back more. I guess maybe I wouldn't have as much fun.

4. Swine Flu - everyone needs to get the f over it. The regular flu kills way more people. So does pneumonia. And if we're talking about pandemics, don't forget about AIDS. Nobody seems worried about that anymore. But if you're looking for a good laugh, follow @the_swine_flu on Twitter.

5. I want to see a tornado. I don't want to be sucked up in a tornado, or killed by one, and I don't really want it to touch down. I just want to see a funnel cloud in the sky before I die. Is that too much to ask?

What's on YOUR mind today?