SUPER INTERESTING TRIVIA + HUMOR + MOOD RINGS + EPIC ITALIAN MEATBALL RECIPE
Greetings Wednesday Readers –
How’s your week going? Fine and dandy around here. It’s raining but temps are high enough that it remains water and not ice. I’m cool with that!
Another great Wednesday line-up today. Beginning with:
WHAT’S THE FIRST THING THAT COMES TO MIND WHEN I HEAR THE WORD “FIDGET”
Someone (including me) who unconsciously taps a finger or two on a table or counter top. You?
WordPerfect CUSTOMER SUPPORT READ IS AMUSING
The phone conversation “speaks for itself ” Read and enjoy a chuckle or two.
If you might wonder do I seriously have email threads from 20 years ago?
Yes, I do. I have envelopes and envelopes packed full of printed out greatness material. I’ve no idea why I printed out and saved all these pieces of great fun/information way back then – but I did – and I’m so glad I did.
MOOD RINGS
I totally had one and sported it for a short period of time in my younger days. They were sooooo popular and kinda cool to watch the changing of colors. Not sure what made them “change” colors but they sure did and I’m also pretty sure it had zip to do with my particular mood. Just an interesting gimmick sort of thing that I was all in on. You?
I’ll also add a note here that I did not buy into the gimmick of the Pet Rock thing.
If someone were to have given me one — I’d probably study it and ponder if it was worthy of being a rock I could “skip” across a pond or lake. I’m thinking not, based on the ones I saw. I think they were sinkers. Ha!
EPIC ITALIAN MEATBALL RECIPE
Is, indeed, EPIC. Baked or Smoked on a grill. On noodles, tucked in a sandwich of fresh bread with melted Provolone or Mozzarella, Appetizers. Give it a try. I’d be shocked if you are disappointed.
TRACY BECKERMAN’S, SHARPENING HER SPIDEY-SENSE
Is a crack-up! I can identify.
I do not like spiders, particularly LARGE ones. They give me the creepy-crawlers.
However, I’ve grown to be brave enough to remove a shoe, zero in on it, close my eyes and smack it so it no longer crawls around this house.
LESLIE ELMAN’S FASCINATING STUFF
Always makes me feel more interesting-than-I-was-before I read her collections of Fascinating Stuff.
THANKS DAYMAKER READERS
For sliding by today with your time and thoughts and genuine hearts of love and fun. We are super-duper grateful.
Have a great rest of your week.
We’ll catch ya Friday –
Same time.
Same place.
POP QUIZ
- A 1966 FLOOD OF THE ARNO RIVER DESTROYED MANY OF THE ART MASTERPIECES IN WHICH HISTORIC CITY?
a) Dresden, Germany
b) Florence, Italy
c) Venice, Italy
d) Vienna, Austria - WHILE VISITING SUMATRA, MARCO POLO MISTOOK WHAT CREATURE FOR A UNICORN?
a) Elephant
b) Horse
c) Narwhal
d) Rhinoceros - KRISS KROSS, VAN HALEN AND THE POINTER SISTERS ALL HAD HIT SONGS WITH WHAT TITLE?
a) “Bounce”
b) “Flip”
c) “Jump”
d) “Trampoline
QUICK QUESTION
WHAT’S THE FIRST THING THAT COMES TO MIND WHEN YOU HEAR THE WORD “FIDGET”?
POP QUIZ ANSWERS
- A 1966 flood of the Arno River destroyed many of the art masterpieces in Florence, Italy.
- In his diaries, Marco Polo wrote that he’d seen a unicorn, but it was a two-horned Sumatran rhino.
- Kriss Kross, Van Halen and The Pointer Sisters all had hit songs called “Jump.”
~ COPYRIGHT 2024 LESLIE ELMAN
DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM
WordPerfect CUSTOMER SUPPORT
From an email thread over 20 years ago. Supposedly true – but who knows? Regardless if it’s fact or fiction – it’s ya-gotta-be-kidding hilarious.
Here’s how the story goes:
Phone rings at WordPerfect Helpline.
“Computer assistance, how may I help you?”
“Yes, well, I’m having trouble with WordPerfect.”
“What sort of trouble?”
“Well, I was just typing along – and all of a sudden the words went away.”
“Went away?”
“They disappeared.”
“Hmmmm. So what does your screen look like now?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“It’s blank; it won’t accept anything when I type.”
“Are you still in WordPerfect, or did you get out?”
“How do I tell?”
“Can you see the C:prompt on the screen?”
“What’s a sea-prompt?”
“Never mind, can you move your cursor around the screen?”
“There isn’t any cursor; I told you it won’t accept anything I type.”
“Does your monitor have a power indicator?”
“What’s a monitor?”
“It’s the thing with the screen on it that looks like a TV. Does it have a little light that tells you when it’s on?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, look on the back of the monitor and find where the power cor goes into it. Can you see that?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“Great. Follow the cord to the plug, and tell me if it’s plugged into the wall.”
“Yes, it is.”
“When you were behind the monitor, did you notice that there were two cables plugged into the back of it, not just one?”
“No.”
“Well, there are. I need you to look back there again and find the other cable.”
“Okay, here it is.”
“Follow it for me, and tell me if it’s plugged securely into the back of your computer.”
“I can’t reach it.”
“Uh-huh. Well, can you see if it is?”
“No.”
“Even if you maybe put your knee on something and lean way over?”
“Oh, it’s not because I don’t have the right angle–it’s because it’s dark.”
“Dark?”
“Yes, the office light is off, and the only light I have is coming in
from the window.”
“Well, turn on the office light then.”
“I can’t.”
“No? Why not?”
“Because there’s a power failure.”
“A power … failure? Aha, Okay, we’ve got it licked now. Do you still have the boxes and manuals and packing stuff your computer came in?”
“Well, yes, I keep them in the closet.”
“Good. Go get them, and unplug your system and pack it up just like it was when you got it. Then take it back to the store you bought it from.”
“Really? Is it that bad?”
“Yes, I’m afraid it is.”
“Well, all right then, I suppose. What do I tell them?”
“Tell them you’re too dang stupid to own a computer.”
PATIENCE AND TIME GROW THE SEED THAT BLOSSOMS INTO WISDOM.
(( Did you ever have/wear a ‘Mood Ring’ back in the day? ))
RIDDLE ME THIS
I WEAKEN ALL MEN FOR HOURS EACH DAY. I SHOW YOU STRANGE THINGS WHILE YOU ARE AWAY. I TAKE YOU BY NIGHT, BY DAY TAKE YOU BACK. NONE SUFFER BY ME BUT DO FROM MY LACK.
What am I?
EPIC ITALIAN MEATBALLS
I seriously don’t know of a bad meatball – frozen or homemade – because I’m a meatball junkie.
That being said, these meatballs are at the tippy-top of my meatball greatness list. For anyone thinking, “meatballs gotta be time consuming to make” – nope! They seriously don’t take that long to throw together — think meatloaf snap to prepare time thing — and results are FANTASTIC.
((Truthfully, just takes a little extra time to roll the meat mixture into balls. Put on a couple favorite tunes and roll, baby, roll!))
This recipe makes quite a lot of meatballs.
Which is a good thing! Have for dinner on the day, freeze (cooked) leftovers in individual bags/containers to pull out for another meal – whether it be spaghetti and meatballs, meatball sandwiches or appetizers.
I don’t remember who passed this recipe along to me years ago, but I sure am glad he/she did. You will be, too.
HERE’S HOW WE MAKE THEM
INGREDIENTS – MIX TOGETHER:
- 1 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
- 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup low sodium beef stock/broth
- 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped tiny
- 3 eggs beaten
- 2 TBSP dried oregano
- 1 TBSP garlic, minced
- 1 TBSP dried basil
- 1 TBSP salt
- 1 TBSP pepper
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 2 pounds ground beef
- Additional 1 1/2 cups of beef stock/broth for baking purposes
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 450* degrees
- Stir/whisk together all ingredients except ground beef and additional cup of beef stock/broth in a large bowl
- NEXT it’s time to add ground beef and mix together thoroughly with a wooden spoon or clean hands (like you would a meatloaf )
- Spray a large/long baking sheet or shallow roasting pan with nonstick cooking spray (think Pam)
- Form seasoned meat mixture into balls about 2″ in diameter
- Place meatballs on prepared baking surface and space them so they are not crowding one other
- NOW gently pour in the additional beef stock/broth in the bottom of baking pan of meatballs
- Bake for 25 minutes (maybe 30 minutes depending on your oven)
- Remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes
Serve over prepared pasta noodles, sandwiched in a fresh hoagie roll or as appetizers.
To all the Master Smoker of Meats – cooking meatballs via a prepared smoker – is absolutely WOW, WOW, WOW! My neighbor and friend, Trent, has prepared smoked meatballs (among many other amazing smoked meats) and I have been a lucky recipient. And Susan, Trent’s wife, creates incredibly tasty sides to compliment the smoked meats. All are over-the-moon delish!
~ Hippie Cowboy recipe box
RIDDLE ANSWER
SLEEP
LOST IN SUBURBIA
SHARPENING MY SPIDEY-SENSE
BY TRACY BECKERMAN
“Holy Cow,” I shouted. “There’s a giant spider on the wall. I think it’s a tarantula!”
“It’s not a tarantula,” said my husband, looking up from his computer. “There are no tarantulas around here.”
“Then it’s a wolf spider, ” I said.
“What, are you suddenly an Arachnologist?” He wondered.
“What’s that? An expert in peanut butter?”
“No. Why would I call you an expert in peanut butter?’
“I thought that’s what an Arachnologist was.”
“No, you’re thinking of Arachibutyrophobia, the fear of peanut butter getting stuck to the roof of your mouth.”
“Well , they’re close! Oh no, the spider is making a run for it!”
“Maybe it has a fear of peanut butter getting stuck to the roof of its mouth.”
“This isn’t funny. You need to get it out of before it bites me.”
“What makes you think it would want to bite you?”
“That’s what spiders do.”
“OK, fine. Keep an eye on it while I get some paper towel to take it outside.”
“You’re going to try to capture it alive?”
“Yes.”
“But it’s the size of Mothra!!”
“It’s OK, I have spider insurance.”
“Hurry it’s coming down the wall. No, wait, it turned around and it’s going back up. No, it’s coming back down again. It just stopped and looked at me. Wait, it’s coming back down again. It saw me and now it’s coming for me!”
“I don’t need a play-by-play.”
“Do you have the paper towel?”
“Yes.”
“Is it two-ply? You’ll be safer if it’s two-ply.”
“I have no idea. Go open the door.”
“No.”
“No. Why not?”
“More spiders might come in.”
“No more spiders are coming in.”
“How can you be sure? Maybe this one called for help in Spiderspeak.”
“I’m taking it outside. Open the door.”
“OK fine. But let me get out of the way before you pass me.”
“Oh, I got it. Move!”
“No, wait! I haven’t moved out of the way.”
“Oh, shoot.”
“What?”
“I dropped it.”
“YOU DROPPED IT?!?!”
“Yeah. Hmmm … should be here somewhere.”
“I can’t believe you dropped it!”
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to open the door again.”
“Why? So the spider can leave?”
“No. So I can.”
~ Tracy Beckerman is the author of the Amazon Bestseller, “Barking at the Moon: A Story of Life, Love, and Kibble.”
COPYRIGHT 2024 CREATORS.COM
FASCINATING STUFF
FASCINATING STUFF
- The flat-bottomed, cone-shaped Erlenmeyer laboratory flask is named for German chemist Emil Erlenmeyer, who devised it in the 1850s. Well-balanced and untippable, the Erlenmeyer flask is designed for liquids to be swirled without splashing. For a time, Erlenmeyer worked with Robert Bunsen, another German chemist, whose contributions to science include the discoveries of cesium and rubidium and the invention of the Bunsen burner.
- Pando Populus, which covers more than 100 acres of Utah and is believed to weigh about 13 million pounds, is considered to be the heaviest living organism on Earth. Although it looks like a forest of aspen trees, Pando Populus began life as a single tree whose root system expanded over the course of thousands of years, sending up more and more trees all connected to one continuous root system. Populus is the scientific genus name for aspen trees. “Pando” comes from the Latin for “I spread.”
- Transylvania in central Romania isn’t merely known for its fictional vampires. It’s also known for the Hateg Country UNESCO Global Geopark filled with the skeletons of dwarf dinosaurs from 72 million years ago. The region was the stomping ground of Hatzegopteryx, a pterosaur (the dinosaur’s flying reptile cousin) with a wingspan estimated at well over 30 feet — among the biggest flying creatures ever. One Hatzegopteryx relative is Quetzalcoatlus, a similarly enormous pterosaur, whose fossilized bones were unearthed at Big Bed National Park in Texas in the 1970s.
- The modern trampoline was invented by George Nissen, a competitive diver and All-American gymnast at the University of Iowa. He devised and built his first trampoline in 1937 while he was in college, inspired by watching circus aerialists dropping int nets and bouncing back up after their routines. A showman himself, Nissen was known to perform trampoline tricks well into his 60s and he was on hand in Sydney in 2000 when trampoline became and official Olympic gymnastics event.
~ COPYRIGHT 2024 LESLIE ELMAN
DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM
The WordPerfect Customer Service article reminded me of my days on our firm’s Help Desk. Some people were real patience testers 😉
Forgot to mention earlier I tried the Broccoli Cheese Soup recipe from a couple of weeks ago. Yummy! And I still have a bit in the freezer!!!
Hi Carol –
Love the term “patience testers” – perfect way to describe such moments! Ha
Yay for Broccoli Cheese Soup recipe being a tasty hit.
Appreciate ya big time. Have a grand day!
First thing that comes to my mind when thinking of FIDGET or fidgety would be my little 8 lb. dog. That rascal knows when it’s 7:00 AM as well as 6:00 PM. No matter where I am, here he comes with his fidgety hips and swishy tail demanding fast service. Here’s a another story. My daughter’s little dog knows when it’s safe to wake her up. She says at 6:00 AM she hears him carefully unzip the top of his crate that is beside her bed, pokes his head out and QUIETLY stares her down until she opens an eye. Once she offers that evidence the dancing and prancing begin. She says I think Quincy tells time from the clock beside the bed. Even daylight savings time doesn’t throw him off.
Love this!
Now that’s some fun-kinda fidgety, Marty!
Very cool – brings me a smile thinking of your comment today of you and your daughter’s “character” dogs.
Appreciate ya!