Balancing Dog

Pants Password

I would like to thank my brother Greg for sharing this with me...

Man's 'pants' password is changed

The bank apologised to Mr Jetley in a statement

A man who chose "Lloyds is pants" as his telephone banking password said he found it had been changed by a member of staff to "no it's not".

Full Story Here

In the news today...

I was reading USA Today just now and was going through the section where there is a single important story from each state. I like to check on the states where I have loved ones periodically, so when someone asks me about event x, I seem aware. Also I like to make sure everything is still in one piece. So, in Massachusetts, a drunk driver plead not guilty to his ninth offense. In California, a Riverside boy died after swimming in a lake where an amoeba infected his brain. The horrible news stories that are anything but happy, but are, in fact, news and worthy of note. I decided to check on Texas:

Thursday, August 7
Austin - A group of 26 teenage cheerleaders tried to cram themselves into a Jester Residence Hall elevator at the University of Texas to see how many would fit, but they got stuck and had to be rescued, officials said. One girl was treated and released at a hospital; two others were treated at the scene.

Is this news to anyone?

I am one to talk, having been a Texas cheerleader at one time. But... really, USA Today? Really? The most important thing that happened yesterday in that whole state, with its underground polygamist sects and minutemen, was that some cheerleaders committed an act similar to a 1950s fraternity stunt? I guess you could say it's news because they reenacted something their grandfathers probably did, instead of emulating their typical caffeinated versions of the Laguna Beach gang, but one question still remains...

Really?

Link

I, too, am famous

...or at least my work kind of is. I made a video for the Lloyd Center for the Environment a few years ago to give a look at what the center does. They were contacted recently by the Planet Channel, and submitted my video, which is now up on YouTube and the Planet Channel website. Check it here, or just watch it below if you want to.

My Mom's Famous

Heeere she is!

Companies Opting Out of Low Price Searches

Last night I saw a commercial-- I wish the heck I could remember what it was for now. It was something along the lines of a finance or insurance company, and they were offering a deal that would not show up on a comparison search, such as Go Compare, in what looks to me to be an enticement for potential customers to come directly to them instead of risk them finding a lower rate on a comparison website, which are the internet's "hottest thing" equivalent to, say, sliced bread. It got me thinking, "yeah those businesses must be in fiercer competition than ever." All of them- vehicles, hotels, rentals, airfares. Do comparison websites help or hinder these companies?

Today I started to find out. As a valued customer and AAwards member, I received an e-mail from American Airlines saying they were ending their partnership with Kayak. Kayak, for anyone who does not know its majesty, compares hundeds of airfares, or airfare and hotel deals, for a specific (or unspecific) date, to your specific (or unspecific) destination. It has saved me bundles of time and money-- they don't charge a booking fee and add in the tax ahead of time, so it doesn't hit you over the head in the end-- especially with international travel.

I'll leave you with the highlights of the e-mail, Re: American Airlines Ends Relationship with Kayak and Sidestep (my emphasis in red):

American Airlines Fares No Longer Displayed On Kayak Or Sidestep
Book Your Next Flight On AA.com To Earn 1,000 Bonus Miles

Dear Leanne Joyce,

As a valued customer who has booked an American Airlines ticket through Kayak.com or Sidestep.com over the past year, we would like to inform you that American Airlines fares are no longer being displayed on these sites. You may still find our content through many other meta-search engines for purchase through our award-winning web site, AA.com. Tickets already purchased remain valid for customers traveling on American. **(so which is it? through a meta-search engine or on their website?)

At American Airlines, we are committed to saving you time and money by making AA.com your one-stop shop for finding the best fares. In addition to our Lowest Fare Guarantee, you have the ability to search for the lowest available price for three days before and three days after your original departure and return dates. So, when booking your next trip, be sure to visit AA.com.

And, as a special incentive, if you book your next flight on AA.com and travel by December 31, 2008, you'll receive 1,000 AAdvantage® bonus miles. **(why offer an incentive if they're award-winning and a one-stop shop?)

Thanks for choosing American Airlines. We look forward to seeing you on board soon. **(don't count on it, suckers.)

Berrilicious

That's me at the berry farm. Just kidding. I found it on the website for Craigie's Farm, where Fras and I went this morning. The place has amazing berries- strawberries, rasps, red currants, black currants and gooseberries! Blackberries too, but they aren't quite ripe yet. We picked our way through, and in not too long we had 2 pints of strawberries and 2 pints of raspberries.

I just need to express my happiness that pick-your-owns are still thriving these days and stress the fact, and it is a fact, that you'll never taste really good fruit until you pick it yourself. Because the berries you pick don't have to travel far when you go straight to the source, they're juicier and tastier than anything you'd find in Tesco, Stop and Shop, Ralph's, or even Whole Foods, where everything is picked to ship. Plus you don't have to pay for some corporate farm to pay minimum wage (or less) to workers and pocket the rest, when you pay more anyhow to end up with harder, blander berries covering those mushy rotten ones on the bottom-- you know what I'm talkin' bout.

Plus, it's fun to go.

And if you come to this particular farm, you can also get fresh ice cream afterward... I will be as bold to say it was the best ice cream I've ever had, too. No lies. I had "Moo" flavor, which is basically sweetened cow juice. Fraser had honeycomb, which had bits of honeycomb (sort of a caramely toffee-y crunchy thing).

Anyhow, that's my food soap box and I will step off now. Things are good. My knee is sort of goofy these days-- too much walking and working out and with incorrect shoe-age. I'm gonna lay off it as much I can, but there's so much to explore it's not easy.

Well we're about to go out to dinner and beverages. Mike got a new job, so it's time to celebrate responsibly. Ciao bellas!

Trips and Chips

Hey, it's been awhile. Well let's see... we are now more or less completely settled into the flat, aside from our washing machine that still has not been re-paired/-placed despite reminders to the landlord and the rental agency. But that's boring.

Interesting: We went to Oban for Fraser's birthday. By the way, Fraser's birthday- I didn't write about any of my plans because they were surprises and it doesn't make sense to write about surprises on a blob. At any rate, he knew for awhile I was planning a trip for him. He had to know that because he needed to not make plans or go to work during those 3 days, but I didn't tell him where and stealthily made plans for us to go stay at a bed and breakfast in Oban on the west coast of Scotland, somewhere we've been wanting to go for awhile. So he knew I was up to something, and on Saturday I told him where we were going since it did involve him driving there (kind of cheapens the deal, I know, but whaddya gonna do).

What I didn't tell him was at that very moment about 8 of his closest friends were gathering at the bar just over the road from us, to surprise him with beer and presents. Aha! Zing! He was surprised to see everyone and I was proud to have pulled it off :o) I told him we were just meeting Emma and her friends and we should come up with a secret "time-to-go" word in case the bar was manky. It's actually pretty nice, the Roseburn Bar. I think we will probably go again more than once.

After the big hoorah people came to see the flat and eat the carrot cake that I somehow made using grams and milliliters. (Damn you other system, whatever you be named! I like the metric system. It makes sense, I think, once you get the hang of it. I should get KHDMDCM tattooed on my hand though because it takes too long to recite "King Henry Danced Merrily Down Central Main" all the time. But I digress.)

Once cake and yelling the word cake (as shown in this video) had been put away, we went uptown and witnessed skanky hen parties, aka bachelorette parties. HEY, my spellcheck says bachelorette is spelled wrong. Spellcheck is also spelled wrong. Well. I'm leavin' em. At about 2 am we walked home and konked out, then got up in the morning to head to Oban. It's a beautiful ride, even if you get carsick. I would open my eyes to say "ooh pretty" and then shut them. I've never been on such a long, narrow, windy road-- and all of this goes by at least 60 mph. I kept telling Fraser like an old lady to slow down and he said he was only going the speed limit. On the ride back I had some strong ginger ale, so all was good in the hood.

Oban is nice though not what I had exactly hoped for. You couldn't beat the view from our room really, it looked right out over the water to the different isles. Very nice. All in all, it felt like November, was cloudy for all but 5 hours, and we ate some food that made us feel really bad, but we truly made the most of it and had a good time. We went to see the old Inverary jail and some old piles of rocks. Yeah, it may be ignorant of us to not appreciate ancient history but neither one of us can get revved up about what appears to be, literally, a pile of white stones. I understand they hold greater significance than that, but when you're carsick and/or not feeling good in general, it's hard to dig up an appetite for learning. That night we saw Wall-E in a tiny theater. Fraser really liked it. I did too but I already knew this (I saw it when it came out in the states).

The next day, after check out, we went to the sea life sanctuary to see seals and an otter and other things, and I felt like learning all about them thanks to the ginger ale. Well, to be honest, they're animals and not rocks, so that might be why I was much more interested, but that's beside the point. My favorite part was the seals. They're so cute and call me crazy, but they made me miss my dog. I e-mailed the shelter here in Edinburgh to see if they take volunteer help but I haven't heard back yet.

After sea life, we went to Crieff, birthplace of Ewan MacGregor, as well as, and more importantly, Fraser's mum. Gaggy (grandma) and Bud (grandpa) live there, so we had tea (what they call dinner/supper here) with them in the garden, because while it was cloudy in Oban, it was gorgeous everywhere else! It was a nice afternoon :o)

That more or less brings us up to now. Fraser and I have joined another gym called the David Lloyd, one that I can get to by bus since I can't get out to where he works unless someone brings me, and I can't always count on that. In fact I'm going to head over there in an hour or two. After that, we're getting Indian from this place nearby that's supposed to be very good and then seeing the Dark Knight, which, by the way is ranked #1 on IMDB as the best movie of all time- above The Godfather. See for yoself.

That's that... sorry for writing a novelette but it wath very nethethary-- that's a wonderful SNL reference to Philip the Hyper Hypo, by the way.

I want, once again, to throw out a small plea/invite to anyone who wants to come visit- we have the spare room, we're in walking distance to uptown, all of that good stuff. If you want to visit the UK and save some ££/$$, now's really the time. And hey, I stayed with friends over here once and it was the best choice I ever made ;o)

No promises on that, but I promise to be happy to have you, and if you can make it before I start Uni or get a job (or before YOU get a job), even better. Miss you all.

In the news today: Hook ups and Top Ups

GOOD NEWS: I am finally online! Woo hoo. And I got bins to put massive amounts of cans and bottles to recycle in and worked out a way to fit it under the sink! Woo hoo! And I got a thing of Cadbury's highlights hot cocoa mix in fudge flavor! Woo hoo! Oh Tesco, you may be wrong and evil, but being evil has never felt so right and delicious. Also delicious, Mamma Mia. Saw it last night with Fraser's mum (Carolyn) and sister (Jennifer) (I am putting names so I don't have to always write them!). The movie is a fun one, definitely one to see with girlfriends but guys might think it's funny. I like how it didn't take itself seriously at all-- and thank goodness. I've never seen the stage show but if it is what I imagine, I can see why it's known to be corny.

BAD NEWS: Virgin Media is a big sack of crap. I have spent over 10 bucks being on hold with them today, was disconnected once because I was out of phone cash, had to walk down the street in the rain to top up, come home and be on hold another 20 minutes, be talked at by someone who has no expertise in talking to anything, let alone people, and at the end of it I was not allowed to activate our phone and cable because I do not have a man's voice. As my brother would say, "that's just racist!" And it is! (Except that it is actually sexist) (I know this but I also know what Greg would be saying).

Yeah so you have to be the account holder to say "Right then, I want to watch some telly", and since Fraser is the one with the UK bank account, he is thus the account holder. But what if the alleged Mr. F Gunn was a eunuch? He would sue them, that's what if. Cheap procedural discriminatory bumholes! And they're all like that, Time Warner? Comcast? Can I get an AMEN?


Well that's that and I vented to Fraser and now I am okay. Tonight I'm going to his circuits class at 6:15 with Mike (friend of Fras)(and me too but you get it). After that we'll try to get the cable working and probably watch some. Whee!

Home sweet Edinburgh

Cheers! I am in Edinburgh now.

This is a little video to show you all our flat and entice you to come visit it.

No internet up yet, but I have a cell phone, address, and skype name, so if you message me on the facebook I can give you them for future reference.

We also don't have cable yet so I have now seen Episodes 4-6 of Star Wars and am halfway through Episode 1. Good stuff. Well I think Fraser will be out from work and picking me up from his parents' soon, plus I have been on the computer too long. >< .. those be my eyes.

Turning over a new leaf

I have decided to reconfigure my blog's essence and take it in a new direction. The right direction. Not left, but right. The direction of not letting it be left behind, but letting it rightly have what I write.

Too much play on words! Enough. I am through. And it is entirely possible I have had too much caffeine today, cuz I don't know what is with me but I'm feeling really talkative. I don't consider myself a chatty person, feel free to correct me on that if I've got myself all wrong, but I am in the mood to talk. This is difficult because those who I am most familiar with talking to are all occupied with the following:

a. being at work (assorted friends, fiance, and sibling)
b. sewing quilts (the obvious mother)
c. killing the enemy (my father, Son of X-box)
d. sleeping and looking toothy (my "miniature buddha covered in hair")

I'm not really in the mood to make any new friends, so I turn to my blob. I promise I'll try to have more interesting stories to post in here as I think of them, which in the nearing months shan't be difficult, as will be waitressing at an eatery called the "Sizzling Scot."

"Hi, my name is Leanne. I am the American vegetarian who will be serving your haggis tonight. Cheerios."

Yep.

Pansy!

Look what Blair drew! She's gifted you know.

I met a sandwich I didn't like today

I just remembered something I saw today. So you know that Giada de-- (let me look it up)-- Laurentiis? On Food Network? Well I try to avoid her at all costs because she scares me. But today, I was in for a fright and she was having a chocolate show, so I was like, neat! She made a souffle! Hey, maybe there is something to be had in that large noggin of hers.

Then she had to go and stick some chocolate chips on a grilled cheese sandwich. And she then fed it to her friends. Who does that (other than non-vegan potheads)? "Hey guys let me make you a groovy sandwich."

If you take nothing else from this blog, please heed this: even if you've said yes to drugs, please say no to brie. And if you must also say yes to brie, say no to brie covered in chocolate. And if you say yes to all of these things anyhow, please stop reading my blob. And don't talk to me anymore.

Haikus

My friend Alex posted Haikus on his blog. I have decided to dubiously copy his idea and write haikus, too, because tonight I am distracted. I would write about it, but I prefer to bottle up my emotions until they come out through my eyeballs in front of my friends. Let's do some haiku-ing!

blogger saves my drafts
a yellow bubble says so
thank god for bubbles

i would blow bubbles
if i had a good reason
but right now i don't

splenda is not good
chlorine is part of why not
i won't eat that *bleep*

sheep make cool noises
but i think prefer goats
goats have more moxie

personality
a word with five syllables
not best for haikus

heyy... you...

So, hey, I'm Leanne. I've been reading blogs on and off for a few years now. My friends are better at following things than I am. I'll probably forget this, too.

Anyhow people have gotten pretty good at the art of blogging, but I figured I'd just blob. Less pressure. This way no one can call me a sucker. And even if you do think I am a sucker for writing in my blob, I would just like to welcome you to it, sucker-blob reader. I'm going to post now and then probably post again when I think of something to right. I just misspelled "write." Maybe I am a sucker...

-l