Ruminant and Rodent

Guidelines4Quilting Ruler/Cutting Guide

2009-11-10T10:56:00.000-08:00

Found at the Pomona Quilt, Craft & Sewing Festival the quilting tools from Guideline4Quilting http://www.guidelines4quilting.com/ are going to be handy and useful to anyone who does any amount of quilting. Design for use with the rotary cutting blades their products are innovative.
Check them out at the next show on their tour. They are also are becoming available at shops so you may want to ask for them locally.
A lot of details & complete explanations of their products are on their webiste and worth viewing.
Also all of their products are made in USA

Wide Mouth Bags

2009-09-15T15:53:00.000-07:00

We found the Wide Mouth Bag product line a number of years ago at a craft fair. That seem kind of unusual but we talked to the owner, Louise, who was just introducing the product line and where impressed.

No, it is not something you make yourself. It comes complete (no assemlby required) and ready to use.

We got a couple and found them to extremely handy. They work well for travel, events, sport bags, etc. We keep one in our vehicle for just odds and ends.

The owner of the product line we don't believe goes to events anymore. However, you can find them on-line at http://www.widemouthbag.com/ . So this becomes one of those "As Seen At The Fair" once-upon-a-time items.

Well worth looking at (and getting some for your own use).

The Jalapeno Griller

2009-09-15T15:31:00.000-07:00

Seen at the Los Angeles County Fair: The Jalapeno Griller
This is a neat procudt line offered by a great couple (Ty & Reba) from Waxahachie, Texas.
Although we didn't buy anything at the fair they are sure something we would consider for gifts to our friends who Bar-B-Q. And they were most hosptitable to our questions about their items.
They state that all the products are made from American produced materials. I believe them.
Check the proudct line out at http://www.jalapenogriller.com/

As Seen At the Fair

2009-09-15T15:17:00.000-07:00

We enjoy Fairs (and Faires too). There are always traditional items, old items and often brand new items being offered and displayed by vendors.

However the hard part for us is finding that item that was shown and offered one or two years ago and the vendor never came back (probably cost too much to make it worthwhile).

So we are going to list those items & vendors that caught our attention along with where you might find them today!

Hope this category helps you find those interesting items and is just fun and enjoyable.

If you have things you find worth listing here, let us know. "As Seen At the Fair (or Faire)" may be more fun and useful than the other "As Seen On -" offering. Well at least we think it will be. . .

In part this is in memory of Dave Clark who my father made signs for. Those on the fair circuit should recognize the name.

Two-Dollar Bills

2008-11-05T14:18:00.000-08:00

This is not my story (I wish it were). It was passed along to me by a firend. True or not, it has a 'feel' that it happened. I suggest we try it by carrying and using two-dollar bills. We might as well have fun too!

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My $2.00 Bill
THIS TELLS YOU ABOUT A LOT OF OUR YOUNG KIDS AT VOTING TIME

THE $2.00 BILL I TRIED TO SPEND. IF YOU'RE AS OLD AS I AM, THIS IS A RIOT! Everyone should start carrying $2 bills!I am STILL laughing!! I think we need to quit saving our $2 bills and bring them out in public. The younger generation doesn't even know they exist.

STORY:
On my way home from work, I stopped at Taco Bell for a quick bite to eat. In my billfold are a $50 bill and a $2 bill. I figure that with a $2 bill, I can get something to eat and not have to worry about anyone getting irritated at me for trying to break a $50 bill.

Me: 'Hi, I'd like one seven-layer burrito please, to go.'
Server: 'That'll be $1.04. Eat in?'
Me: 'No, it's to go.' At this point, I open my billfold and hand him the $2 bill. He looks at it kind of funny.
Server: 'Uh, hang on a sec, I'll be right back.'

He goes to talk to his manager, who is still within my earshot. The following conversation occurs between the two of them:

Server: 'Hey, you ever see a $2 bill?'
Manager: 'No. A what?'
Server: 'A $2 bill. This guy just gave it to me.'
Manager: 'Ask for something else. There's no such thing as a $2 bill.'
Server: 'Yeah, thought so.' He comes back to me and says, 'We don't take these. Do you have anything else?'
Me: 'Just this fifty. You don't take $2 bills? Why? '
Server: 'I don't know.'
Me: 'See here where it says legal tender?'
Server: 'Yeah.'
Me: 'So, why won't you take it?'
Server: 'Well, hang on a sec.'

He goes back to his manager, who has been watching me like I'm a shoplifter, and says to him, 'He says I have to take it.'
Manager: 'Doesn't he have anything else?'
Server: 'Yeah, a fifty. I'll get it and you can open the safe and get change
Manager: 'I'm not opening the safe with him in here.'
Server: 'What should I do?'
Manager: 'Tell him to come back later when he has real money.'
Server: 'I can't tell him that! You tell him.'
Manager: 'Just tell him.'
Server: 'No way! This is weird. I'm going in back.

The manager approaches me and says, 'I'm sorry, but we don't take big bills this time of night.'

Me: 'It's only seven o'clock! Well then, here's a two dollar bill.'
Manager: 'We don't take those, either.'
Me: 'Why not?'
Manager: 'I think you know why.'
Me: 'No really, tell me why.'
Manager:'Please leave before I call mall security.'
Me: 'Excuse me?'
Manager: 'Please leave before I call mall security.'
Me: 'What on earth for?'
Manager: 'Please, sir.'
Me: 'Uh, go ahead, call them.'
Manager: 'Would you please just leave?'
Me: 'No.'
Manager: 'Fine -- have it your way then.'
Me: 'Hey, that's Burger King, isn't it?'

At this point, he backs away from me and calls mall security on the phone around the corner.

I have two people staring at me from the dining area, and I begin laughing out loud, just for effect. A few minutes later this 45-year-oldish guy comes in.

Guard: 'Yeah, Mike, what's up?'Manager (whispering): 'This guy is trying to give me some (pause) funny money.'
Guard: 'No kidding! What?'
Manager: 'Get this. A two dollar bill.'Guard (incredulous): 'Why would a guy fake a two dollar bill?'
Manager: 'I don't know. He's kinda weird. He says the only other thing he has is a fifty.'
Guard: 'Oh, so the fifty's fake!'
Manager: 'No, the two dollar bill is.'
Guard: 'Why would he fake a two dollar bill?'
Manager:'I don't know! Can you talk to him, and get him out of here?'
Guard: 'Yeah.'

Security Guard walks over to me and......

Guard: 'Mike here tells me you have some fake bills you're trying to use.'
Me: 'Uh, no.'
Guard: 'Lemme see 'em.'
Me: 'Why?'
Guard: 'Do you want me to get the cops in here?'

At this point I am ready to say, ' Sure, please!' but I want to eat, so I say, ' I'm just trying to buy a burrito and pay for it with this two dollar bill.

I put the bill up near his face, and he flinches like I'm taking a swing at him. He takes the bill, turns it over a few times in his hands, and he says, 'Hey, Mike, what's wrong with this bill?'

Manager: 'It's fake.'
Guard: 'It doesn't look fake to me.'
Manager: 'But it's a two dollar bill.'
Guard: 'Yeah? '
Manager: 'Well, there's no such thing, is there?'

The security guard and I both look at him like he's an idiot, and it dawns on the guy that he has no clue and is an idiot.

So, it turns out that my burrito was free, and he threw in a small drink and some of those cinnamon thingies, too. Made me want to get a whole stack of two-dollar bills just to see what happens when I try to buy stuff. If I got the right group of people, I could probably end up in jail. You get free food there, too.

Just think...those two will be voting soon.... YIKES!!! Too late, we already have a nation full of them.

California Proposition 8 - A serious National issue

2008-10-13T14:20:00.000-07:00

This is not humrous, rather exactly what the title states a "serious National issue".
The individual who provided me this video and the documents is someone who I highly respect as a professional and honest indivdial. His background is in the legal field and he does not speak out on public issues lightly. View the video, read the articles & forward them to others.
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"Here is a link to a video clip that goes into at least one ramification of legalizing same-sex marriage. It explains what happened to parents who wanted to be notified when the school was going to talk about same-sex marriage to their kindergarten child.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1815820715/bctid1822459319

I’ve also attached a pdf (link to transcribe pdf file) of some news stories illustrating other effects of legalizing same-sex marriage. Please consider sending this on to other people you know (whether they live in California or not – other states are also voting on the issue, and they’ll know people who live in California) and asking them to send it on to people they know. This may help people understand what they’re really voting on – it’s not just live and let live.

With all the confusion out there, we need to make clear that people understand that voting YES on Prop 8 defines marriage as being between a man and a woman and is a vote AGAINST legalizing same-sex marriage.

As Robert Louis Stevenson wrote,

“You cannot run away from weakness. You must sometime fight it out or perish. And if that be so, why not now and where you stand?”
Randy Holman"

Hissy Fit? What a First Name!

2008-09-29T15:58:00.000-07:00

Does your FIT have a first name? I guess it does and you should let others know what it is with a cute licence plate frame.
Check it out at http://www.cafepress.com/neatedeals.

Persistent Plant – Won’t be Killed off

2008-09-29T12:23:00.000-07:00

This thing wants to LIVE! Got a cactus as a gift a few years ago and planted it next to a south facing block wall. It grew tendrils and climbed up and over the top of the wall and produced nice blooms (similar to a Christmas Cactus). Got so overgrown that we trimmed it severely and put the cuttings into a trash can hidden behind some other shrubs and forgot about them for an number months

This is the result!

No water, no care, baked by sun for 8 plus hours daily, forgotten and ignored. When we put the cuttings in there was nothing sticking out. This is a very persistent plant!

The blooms are white and don’t last long. It may be (Hylocereus undatus, Common name(s) Dragon Fruit, Queen of the Night) but I wasn’t told when we where given it.

If you want something that takes about as much care as a plastic plant or garden gnome yet still blooms drop me a note we can work out how to get you a cutting. Its descendants deserve a better home that we are providing. Love to hear from anyone who knows the correct name for this persistent plant.

Truth in Advertising

2008-09-18T16:26:00.000-07:00

Image says it all. Let there be more truth in advertising!

Governmental Buyers Rights in California

2008-09-05T10:37:00.000-07:00

The following is the text of an email I sent to day to the office of the Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California in the hope that some cost savings in occur under existing statues.
If any readers recall the law I'm referring too I would be most happy to hear from you.This is post it California specific but I presume most other states have similar laws buried somewhere. Check it out. There could be huge savings to all of us.

"Having been a vendor to various agencies in the State of California I recall that there was a process that any agency or buyer in the state could gain large savings.

In fact you could probably balance the budget easily with out legislative help (at least for one year).

It was simple, yet I only recall it being used only a couple of times by very savvy buying agents. They took the time to find the lowest bidder within the state for the item they where buying and in each case they included a copy of the requirement when issuing a purchase order to our firm. I’m sorry that I no longer have the copies.

This is the cost saving process: By law, ordinance (or what ever legal terminology), any organization or buyer for a governmental body in the state (State, County, City, School board, etc.) can buy a product from the lowest bidder for the item whether or not the bid was made to their agency.

There are obviously two keys:
1) The buyer must know where the lowest bid exists for the item being purchased.
2) There must be no favoritism for preferred vendors. . . NONE.

Item one only requires that the bid prices be shared amongst all buyers. This should easier today with the technology we now have. A spreadsheet approach sorted by item and price could be a simplistic option. Make the list available online to all buyers and if they didn’t buy from the lowest bidder they could be held responsible. To monitor the process the list of items and prices would need to be made public in an online and live site. The voters would put pressure on buyers and their managers to purchase correctly.

Item two is a more complex issue. Clear specifications and definitions of products would be a key. Avoidance of propriety items and brand should be encouraged strongly. Attributes incorporated into product requirements just to limit competition would have to be controlled. You need honest public employees looking out for the interests of their employers (the populous). . . Well you can’t have everything.

Even within the limitations of our bureaucratic system exercising the existing laws and requirements in our state could immediate huge amounts on our current and future expenditures.

I only ask two things.
One, that this suggestion is acknowledged with an audit trail of who sees this suggestion.
Two, invest a small amount of time to find the law. And when found send me a copy. Find it, it will be well worth any effort expended!

Thank you, and your staff for the efforts to make keep our state one of the most productive and livable."

Sock Mystery Solved

2008-09-04T13:37:00.000-07:00

Old people are handy. If you keep one or two around there is an information pool you wouldn’t imagine. Travel stories, practical knowledge, pre-IM communication skills, old style math, the list is long. Also there are great fish stories and, if you have keep and feed the right ones, answers to some of the mysteries of the universe.

Socks. . . they have always intrigued me from my youth. Not the socks themselves, but why we always come up short of enough socks make matching pairs after washing them. You know exactly what I’m referring too. The come in pairs from the store. You wear them in pairs (unless you get dressed in the dark or with your eyes closed). You throw them in the close hamper in pairs. And that may be the last time you ever see them that way again.

Wash them and dry them and something happens. Some of the socks will have escaped in the process. Never in pairs though, just one from a set. Where do they go? That has always been a question.

I found the answer! We are in a large metropolitan area with mountains nearby. Camping trips for families, youth groups, etc often are done in the forests in nice cooler, peaceful areas. While helping with a scout camp a few years ago there was time to associate with very experienced leaders. Near twilight when hiking between our campground and a training area with one of these senior leaders I noticed a flash of color on the forest floor. Just a snippet of something bright where everything should have been darker greens or browns.

I was going to step over and pick it up when I noticed more pieces of color that didn’t belong. Now we had the opportunity to gather the youth for some service work cleaning up trash.

Then I noticed what the bits of color were. Socks, just socks. As I looked around more there where a multitude of socks in amongst the ground cover. All different. Nothing matched. I knew this was well kept campsite so it was very surprising to see so much trash about. More shocking because it was all socks. . Our youth didn’t have that many socks in their combined camp gear so they surely didn’t bring them and dump there here.

I asked my companion why would anyone throw so many unmatched socks in such a remote area. He just calmly looked at me for a moment and said; “Now you know where they go.”

It was an epiphany. I knew exactly what he meant! At that moment I knew where the wayward socks from our laundry escaped too! I didn’t know how they did it but I sure know where they end up.

What would you ask? I asked; ”HOW?” And it was revealed. I can’t write it down or covey it to anyone else since a made a covenant not to do so before he would tell me. Also, now knowing what happens with the half-pair socks I sure it should not be published. Not yet, the world isn’t ready.

It can be said that socks are loners. They want to be on their own sometimes. Pant legs are the same way but their desire to run off is even stronger than socks. That’s why they get sewn together to prevent you only having one pant leg hanging up in the closet in the morning. However socks are more like salmon. After being on their own their own for awhile they will return home. You’ve seen it happen. A sock disappears and then a couple of loads of wash later and the single missing sock shows up amongst some bath towels you just washed and dried.

So if you want to know the how you will just have to be in the right forest at the right time with o those old sages. There is no other way. However, if you study string theory, multi universes, migratory habits of fish, fowl and mammals you may begin to get an understanding. Enough said!

There is probably great opportunity for a government-funded grant to study this phenomenon. It would be a perfect government process. You have to spend time and money with senior sages, feeding them, taking them to vacation spots and winning their friendship. You would be paid for the research expenses; but you couldn’t publish. All you could do is take the money and ask for extensions until the world is ready to see the results.

If someone decides to pursue a grant let me know. I’m available and have first hand knowledge and training from a “Senior Sock Sage”.

Tomatoes, Jalapeño Peppers and Goverment

2008-07-23T17:15:00.000-07:00

A B-Movie plot or a law suit in the making?

Recently a serious outbreak of salmonella tainted tomatoes making individuals ill caused restaurants, fast food purveyors and individuals to alter their product offerings. Although the outbreaks appeared to be limited to certain food distribution paths, generally tomatoes where not provided as part of the typical food stuffs; none in salads, hamburgers, etc.

Places that we frequented had no postings to show a change to the menu or offerings were happening. So firms just did not provide the stated or illustrated product but charged the regular prices. They simply cut their costs and temporally increased their profit. Since they did not provide public notice of the menu change is there a class action suit lurking in there somewhere?

Turns out the FDA apparently got it wrong and it was peppers, not tomatoes that may have been the cause of the scare. Now it is being announced to be concerned about jalapeño peppers.

Just where do the majority of our tomatoes and peppers come from anyway? How much in domestic and how much is imported?

OK, so if not a legal action then how about another movie creation from Constantine Dillon [its been 30 years since his first classic B-movie]. You know, the CDC and FDA dueling it out on opposite sides of a large fence with trebuchets flinging ‘tainted’ jalapeño peppers and tomatoes at one another. Yelling for the impeachment of the president [really Dobbs of CNN has called for that]. There has got to be a plot in there somewhere.

Water Solutions

2008-07-18T14:39:00.000-07:00

The Southwest is desert so there should no surprise there are regular water concerns. To sustain growth and development water has been imported in volume and by means that would make the Romans proud of us. So for future and current needs we may have to get creative. Here are some thoughts / suggestions:

Import from further away:

Would anyone really stop a group from entering the southwest from the sea if they towed something like either one of these into port. Hey, icebergs are mostly fresh water. And ones like these you might think were designed by Christo.

Border crossing tariff:

If there where a 5 gallon per person water entry fee at the border most likely most every one would be welcome (they might get free transportation too). There would just have to be a guarantee you would use it here and leave it for recycling.

Reposition the excess:

If there are excess's in other parts of the country ship it west. A gallon of water would cost $12.85 by parcel post. About 2 gallons in at Priority Mail Flat Rate package would be $9.80. It won't spoil in shipment so time transit time is not a factor. That' cost is cheaper that what some restaurants charge for bottled water. (And this could be 'Made in USA' labeled).

Stop the excess ice usage in restaurants:

This is a real possibility. Many restaurants bring fresh ice with every refill on a drink. Just stop that policy. Bring a refill pitcher to to top off the existing glasses. Saves washing one more glass & cuts back on dumping ice down the drain (pretty sure they are not reusing it in the kitchen for the next patron). The ice you have in your glass on the table is still cold and at worst you might ask for it to be topped off too.

If you where really creative you would ask for a water proof doggy bag and take all you want home with you to water your plants. You bought it with the meal, why waste it.

Just think differently about the resource and simple solutions may lessen the challenges. We'd love to hear some other ideas [whimsical or real].

[Don't know who took the pictures used here. They came in one of those emails making the rounds. If you recognize them as yours let me know. We'll take them down or give proper credit as needed.]

Ruminants and Rodents and You

2008-07-18T13:40:00.000-07:00

Why Ruminant and Rodent. . . because the name we really wanted is owned by some major firm [whom we won't mention here] and would cost us dearly to use. So we opted for this.
Anyway, comments here are to offer reflection on current, past and future items. Hopefully to get us to pause, smile and think.
Enjoy and participate.