Tag: idea

a new perfect day to be outside holiday

The past few days have had near-perfect weather, particularly after summer when it’s too hot with too much humidity.  I’ve heard several people say it’s too good of weather to be inside working, and I’ve had that thought myself.  So what we need to start is a floating holiday for each Spring and Fall that’s based on the weather.  At least once each season, when the weather is perfect, everyone should get the day off to do whatever they want outside.  Various groups could sponsor pick-up games for sports, where people could just show up and play ball (football, basketball, baseball, tennis, etc.), and there could be picnics and tail-gate parties (because grilling would be ideal at these times).

Somebody needs to make this happen…  (Hint: If one of our state representatives were to get this started, I’m sure they would pick up some votes for actually doing something cool that the people want.)

when to change your clock for DST

Daylight Savings Time starts tonight (or technically, 2:00am tomorrow).  I heard someone on CNN told people they should set their alarms to wake up at 2:00am so they can adjust their clocks.  Are they kidding?  Did someone really say that?  I hope not, because my method works much better — set the clocks before you go to bed, because it doesn’t matter anyway, and I don’t like waking up in the middle of the night.

BTW, I really don’t like losing an hour of sleep.   I understand why they do it, but there has to be a better way.  In fact, I’ve written before on this, with some suggestions that most everyone would vote for, if we had the chance.  Here’s my idea.  Let me know what you think.

how to enjoy wrapping presents

I enjoy wrapping presents, but I sometimes get tired of doing it the traditional way.  (Why do I have to conform to what is “normal”?  Plus randomness is fun, as evidenced on this blog.)  Also, one of my pet peeves is when people are able to easily guess what is wrapped.  When I wrap presents, particularly for my brothers, they aren’t going to guess what’s it in.  I’ve employed various techniques to disguise it, such as including rocks, pennies, bricks, pine cones, etc., inside the box.  And of course, the box should be one other than what the actual gift came in.  You want to vary the size, weight, and sound it makes.   There’s no anticipation if they already know what it is before opening it.

One year I put pennies inside a hard plastic case inside the main box, so when the present was shaken, it would make a crashing sound that happened after the normal sound, so it sounded like it was broken.   🙂   I’ve also made presents exceedingly difficult to open before, using numerous packagings and duct tape.   Some of my presents cannot be opened in under a few minutes.   That helps people savor the moment…  🙂

But beyond disguising it, I like to make it look unique.  One thing I’ve started doing is saving the scraps of wrapping paper from other gifts to use on one package.  Last year I did this on two different presents, which are displayed below.  (Click the images for a larger picture.)

present #1
present #1
Present #2, top
Present #2, top
Present #2, side
Present #2, side
Present #2, bottom
Present #2, bottom

Hopefully this inspires you to be more creative with your wrapping this year.  But a quick word of warning: not everyone appreciates this “art” the same way.  It seems to work better on brothers and male friends, rather than parents, grandparents, and in-laws.

How to have fun at a Pumpkin fest

I get a e-mail about once a week spotlighting various vacation destinations or places to visit.

The most recent is about the Circleville Pumpkin Show that is held each year in Circleville Ohio. (read more here if you are interested)

“The festival features hog calling, pumpkin throwing, and pie eating contests; a Miss Pumpkin parade and pageant; cooking and crafts demonstrations; and live music, all attracting over 400,000 visitors. But the stars of the show are enormous pumpkins, with last year’s largest weighing in at 1,524.5 pounds. Not to be outdone by the farmers, town bakers produce “the world’s largest pumpkin pie”—over six feet in diameter and weighing more than 400 pounds!”

Now you may be wondering why I’m talking about some pumpkin festival and not finding a topic that would seem more interesting.

here’s why… its this picture taken of the festival.

I can’t help but think… “man oh man, what i wouldn’t give to drive a monster truck through all that!!!” or at least a 4-wheeler!!! that would be crazy mad fun!

I vote we set this up as an event here in Arkansas, like they do the monster truck shows, we could sell tickets and everything! I bet people would pay good money to come watch vehicles smash and drive through thousands of pumpkins.

sounds like great fun for me! and We should hold it in the fall in honor of halloween or thanksgiving.

mmm… Thanksgiving… thinking about that makes me hungry!