CakeBlast

Today is the Spring Equinox which is officially the first day of Spring! I was checking my email this morning and read that the Equinoxes are the only two times each year that an egg can be balanced on its end. Supposedly, I read, something to do with gravity and the position of the earth allows this to work.

Immediately, I set about testing this theory. Low and behold, it worked! I was so excited that I got out the camera and snapped photos. I then tried the experiment in other areas of the house. Amazingly, it is quite easy to do on this special day. I don’t know why egg balancing seemed so special, but it did.

Unfortunately, after taking pictures and telling my wife about this miracle of science and nature, I was told that egg balancing  can be done all year long. I checked with Snopes and discovered it was true. The Spring Equinox egg-balancing myth originated in China when an egg on its end was considered a symbol of the balance of nature. The equinox is a day when the time between day and night is balanced, so this all made sense.

I uploaded my pictures anyway, and began my day feeling a little bit empty.. don’t worry, the emptiness was only in my stomach. My disappointment faded along with my hunger as I discovered the miracle of a hearty Spring Equinox breakfast. That is an act I am glad I can perform any day of year.

I haven’t been writing much lately because Windows has not been booting and my Windows XP disc was freezing on the “Setting Up Windows” screen. I didn’t want to reformat my hard drive because I had not backed up any of our Christmas pictures. I am such a stickler for saving my work often, but I only back up my files every month or two.

Soon, I am going to be setting up an automated backup system for any new or edited files. I think I have learned my lesson, and luckily nothing was lost except a nice chunk of time. I was able to check my email on my wife’s netbook, but didn’t read most of my newsletters. The night after the earthquake in Haiti, I even felt compelled to write a small post. It was difficult to blog with the tiny keyboard of the netbook, but after reading a particular story in our local paper, I felt like I had to respond. I did not realize until the next day that another tragedy had shook the blogging world that same awful Tuesday.

I was very saddened by the sheer scale of the destruction in Haiti, but I was further aggrieved after finding out that Karissa from Prissy Green had taken her own life. Prissy Green was one of the first blogs that I began reading regularly. Karissa had a personable style of writing and took care with everything she wrote. Her blog truly stood out from the rest with tips, recipes, and reviews that were both useful and informative.

Is is incredibly sad that she is gone at such a young age. That she died by her own hand is absolutely heartbreaking. Karissa will be sorely missed.

I meant to write about my return to blogging after an unscheduled hiatus, but it is hard not to be sidetracked by last week’s dolefole events. Since I am talking about last Tuesday, I will save more pleasant discussion for future articles. However, I do want to mention that I have been glad to see the outpouring of relief and support for the victims of Haiti’s earthquake. My wife even told me about a group that is offering water purification that only costs 1¢ per liter. They take donations of any size and a mere fifty pennies can allow a family to have clean water for a month!

Tragedies like those of last Tuesday remind us that there are countless people in need of some kind of help. When it is a huge catastrophe like Haiti, the need is obvious. In a situation like Karissa’s, the signs aren’t always as noticeable. The most important thing to remember is that we don’t all have to do a lot in order to help. As long as we all do something it will amount to a lot. And if we keep doing something, it will mean everything.

“Indifference makes an excuse, but love finds a way.”                           -the Love Revolution by Joyce Meyer.

Why are food purchases called “Groceries”? This sounds too much like Grosseries. Why make the food sound gross? Give food products a name like “Yummeries” and they will sound much more appealing.

If you go to the Yummery store and buy a slice of cow meat, it is called a steak. If it comes from a female cow, does that make it a Ms. Steak? That is Read the rest of this entry »