Mishmash Musings

I’m gearing up for a busy week here. I didn’t even realize just how much I had to do until I was updating my calendar while walking on one of the treadmills at the gym earlier this morning. Thank goodness I took a moment to figure out my schedule, otherwise I might have started cruising through the week without worrying about staying on task.

But now I see that I not only have to work two extra days this week to cover for vacationing colleagues, but I also have to: take an exam at school tomorrow; complete a one-page analysis of a 250-page book by Thursday; complete a 3-5 page research paper by Sunday; and read three textbook chapters by Sunday.

Ugh, I’m exhausted just rereading that stuff now! Well, better get crackin’. I’ve obviously got no time to lose!

The U.S. was eliminated from the World Cup by Ghana yesterday after losing 2-1. Thank goodness. Now maybe that tournament won’t get so much coverage on the news, and people can stop pretending that they give a damn about soccer. I didn’t watch a single minute of World Cup action. I think soccer is the most boring sport around. Seriously, I’d rather watch an entire round of golf (the Senior Tour, no less) than sit through a friggin’ soccer match. What was with all the tie scores during the group rounds? What is the point of playing a game that ends in a tie? 0-0 and 1-1… yeah, sounds pretty damn exciting. Not. Please go away, World Cup.

Have you read the story about a cat in Britain that received prosthetic legs after an amputation? The cat lost its legs in an accident involving farm machinery, and has just had replacement surgery by vet Noel Fitzpatrick — the first procedure of its kind in the world.

To me, the fake legs look like two tiny silver bars back there, but apparently they’ve been working very well thus far. It’s cool to think that some people might be able to preserve the lives of their beloved pets with surgeries like this. I know there are folks out there that think it’s a waste of resources to save animals, but whatever. How could you begrudge a cat a chance at a decent life?

Our old Casio digital camera just died. I was trying to take pictures outside today, but all I came up with was a big white splotch. I brought the camera indoors to try shooting pics there, and this time the device did capture some images. But there were dark lines running through every picture. I researched these problems online and learned that it’s most likely a lens problem, which means the camera is basically junk now. Oh, well. It lasted 5 years, so I’m pleased about that.

I’ve already been looking around for a replacement, and think this Canon PowerShot A495 might do the trick. We don’t really need a fancy point-and-shoot digital camera because we have a Nikon digital SLR for our important vacation photos and whatnot. This PowerShot A495 is an entry-level camera with decent specs, and is just what we need. It’s a 10-megapixel model the comes with autofocus, autoflash, and a bunch of different shooting modes, including movie mode. It’s also very compact, and has a nice 2.5-inch viewing screen on the back.

The best part about the Canon PowerShot A495 has to be the price. It’s currently on sale at Buy.com for just $98.88 with free shipping. I paid three times that for my old Casio, and that camera is just a 5-megapixel model! It’s crazy how significantly electronic devices can change in 5 years. I want to order this right now!

Have you heard about the Harry Potter theme park that has opened in Orlando? It’s called the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and actually sounds pretty cool. There’s a full-size replica of Hogwart’s (or, of what the creators think Hogwart’s should look like), as well as some places from Hogsmeade, the nearby village in the book. There are only three rides, but you can roam through the joke shop, sip some butterbeer, and eat chocolate frogs at Honeydukes.

I’m just a casual fan of the series, so I probably won’t be taking a trip out to the park anytime soon. But I can imagine the truly over-the-top fans going wild for something like this!

I’ve mentioned Blog Explosion on here a few times. It’s a site where you can generate traffic to your blogs by viewing other blogs and accumulating credits. I found some terrific blogs that way, and really loved the service. But for the past year or so it’s been on the decline because of new, apathetic owners and a broken system. Sometimes you can surf, sometimes not. Sometimes the clickable number images appear, allowing you to get credit for your visits, sometimes not. And in any case, it doesn’t seem that there are too many sites left in the rotation. When the viewer does work, I usually get to maybe 10-12 sites before running out.

In other words, it seems that folks have pretty much given up on BE. What a shame, because like I said, I had found some good blogs that way and was able to get a nice amount of traffic from them. I just don’t understand why someone would buy a site like that and then completely neglect it as it dies a slow, painful death. What a waste!

I always seem to get a lot of reading done in the summer, mostly because it’s just too hot and uncomfortable to venture outside for anything else! Still, I love nothing more than to settle back in my leather recliner with a bunch of entertaining books to read. I just stocked up on these bestselling Amazon books, and can’t wait to dig into the pile:

• Conservative Victory by Sean Hannity
• The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
• The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson
• Spoken From the Heart by Laura Bush
• The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell
• The Innocent by Harlan Coben

This list should last me to the end of August, at least — particularly since I’m taking grad school classes too and won’t have as much time for leisure reading as usual. Hope these are good!

There was a rather scary moment in the Capitol this afternoon when Gen. David Petraeus collapsed in his chair during congressional questioning. Sen. John McCain was asking Petraeus about current U.S. strategy in Afghanistan when Petraeus suddenly slumped forward onto the witness table. The proceedings were halted for about 20 minutes while Petraeus was attended to. Apparently, the cause of the fainting spell was dehydration.