Whole Foods Experience

The staff were so nice to me, and that was a relief. Sometimes, when I go into a speciality store the service is rather cool. They were friendly and helpful at Whole Foods. My checkout person even gave me a shopping bag that used to be a plastic bottle, because it was my first time in the store. The store smells fishy in the produce section, but it was rather late at night, so I imagine they were changing out all the ice. I thought the cooked foods looked a bit overdone, but Whole Foods has a wonderful selection of foods ready to be cooked that I would try. It is like a gourmet, Health Food, Organic, Local Market all in one. I will definitely return when I have more time to compare prices. It seems that they have everything you could ever need for a recipe from the Silver Palate Cookbook, which, incidentally, I Love! If one has dietary restrictions, there are tons of choices, no gluten, no carbs, no wheat, all organic, etc. The frozen foods section was not as big as I hoped, but I was literally running through the store and didn't get much time to really look at it. I need to see if they make any more sauces than the ones I saw in their frozen pasta section. They had Fra Diavlo and White Clam, but I can already make those. I am looking for new ideas or sauces I do not make everyday, like marsala. They had Double Devon Cream and gruyere goat cheese, so it all looks promising.

Tips for Dealing with Strangers on Craigslist

Be Cautious when Getting Rid of that Eyesore in Your Yard

Tips for dealing with strangers on craigslist
by Michelle Wendt
Read This article on my Associated Content Page!
Tips for Dealing with Strangers on Craigslist
Be Cautious when Getting Rid of that Eyesore in Your Yard


Today was my first real experience using craigslist. I posted an ad for a FREE swing set, two hours later the old eyesore is gone and I have more space in my yard. This whole experience was not without it's dangers and pitfalls. With a little planning, you can get rid of your old stuff and still feel safe. Within five minutes of me posting my seven-year-old swing set, rusty pictures and all, I had eleven replies and people were begging me to pick them, strange people I didn't know. Before ever placing an ad that could bring strangers to your door, take a moment to consider if you know of someone you are already acquainted with that may be able to use your old junk. Offer them the rights of first refusal.
If you are unable to give your junk away to friends, there are a few things to consider when allowing someone you don't know to come to your house. I was a bit cautious in giving out my address, after all, who wants strangers coming to their yard? I wrote the ad specifying that I would not provide tools or access to my house to use the bathroom or for any other reason. I figured this would keep any potential freaks away. When they pulled up I looked out of the window and wrote down their license plate number. Absolutely do this whenever you are letting strangers on your property. I locked the house door behind me when I went outside to greet the couple and pointed them to the rear yard. I had my cell phone in my hand. My three mini-schnauzers were barking madly from the inside windows, but I still I kept my distance at all times. Always keep something between you and strangers, preferably something you could throw at them if necessary.
The man brought his own tools and generator, since I would not be providing electricity. Do not provide access to your house, ever. I have no outside power line and I was not going to run a line out of my house, it would mean the house would be unsecured. Yes, I am a type A personality.
I was relieved that he was prepared with an electric saw and I was all set to go back into the house when his toddler made a beeline for the swing set and started swinging. When I write beeline, I mean it, I had to ask the couple to remove the child from the set as bees had made a hive in it a few years ago and it might not be safe. I can tell you, my first thought when she sat on the swing was, "What if she gets hurt on my property?" What could I have done? I should have made sure that the child did not come on my property. I could have dragged the swing set to the front yard. In this litigious society, we cannot be too careful about who is on our property and we cannot ever let our homeowners policies lapse. When writing your own ad you can always specify that children are not permitted on your property.
How do you pick from all the replies? I wondered that myself, they all wanted my set, at least 3 repliers wanted the set immediately. I even got a few sob stories, "I am interested in the swing set and can take it apart. My kids having been bugging me for one for some time now and being in the midst of a divorce I have not had the financial ability to provide one." I continued opening the emails and thought about how to decide.
The one I hated to turn away was from a grandmother; "I really could use this for my granddaughter, who spends a lot of time with me. It would be a great diversion from having to go into the pool with her all the time."
To be fair I chose the person who got back to me the quickest. Hindsight tells me that I should have picked the one who agreed to all my type-A requests, which I did.
After packing the pieces up in their truck, the scrapping couple left, taking my eyesore and a whole lotta bees with them. I have saved myself a trip to the town dump, an uncomfortable conversation with my husband about dismantling the set, and painful bee stings, but it was an unsettling experience just the same. I actually got an email from the couple that picked up the swing set after I thanked them, "If you ever decide to sell your patio set we would be interested," Clara wrote. Okay, now I don't know if I should feel uncomfortable or not. Is this the start of an ongoing relationship, will they be back scavenging everything made of metal in my yard? Probably not, but it freaked me out. Take your ad down immediately after the item is gone from your yard and do not reply to any further inquiries.
As far as my experience with Craigslist goes, I think it is a valuable resource for everyone, but I will always be cautious with people I am not familiar with. When I sell my living room furniture in the coming weeks to make room for the new set, I will bring the furniture out of doors so we don't have any strangers in my house. The safety of my family is worth me dragging it outside.

Cuil- The Newest Haystack

Cuil- The Newest Haystack

Cuil.com is a new search engine created by former google designers. I like the three column feature, I feel like I can read a whole paragraph from each selection and really know which one is the search answer I need. It does not have the insanely cool features that Google has however, it is just for searching. I found different sites that I could not find on Google and vice-versa. I believe my best bet is always to use a variety of search engines when I truly need to find something. As a Google-lover, it is not always easy to stray, but when in need, I will search through every haystack. Today my sister and I went searching for lost relatives and connected with some cousins from my step-father's side of the family. Interestingly enough, we could not get any further with our own blood relatives unless we paid the ancestry site a fee. There must be a way to get the information we want without having to pay a fee. I approach this process every few years and then give up after I hit the ancestry website roadblock. If anyone knows a REAL- FREE website, I would go needle hunting again.

San Francisco's Incoming Streetline Parking System to Briefly Dull Our Senses

San Francisco's Incoming Streetline Parking System to Briefly Dull Our Senses


We have evolved as humans. No longer do our men go out and hunt for days to catch a animal for our needs, instead full meals can be brought to our front doors by the various local delivery people, UPS and Fed Ex. As technology takes over more of our lives, hunting for sport and parking spots has long surpassed hunting for actual sustenance, and women and men alike turn to technology to increase their chances of a "Kill." I read in the New York Times today that San Francisco is implementing a Streetline smartphone system to help drivers capture a parking spot and cut down on inner-city congestion.

Since I hail from the New York City area, I can spot someone heading purposefully toward their car to pull out as easily as a duck hunter can spot a returning flock of Mallards. We both know to not give away our position, as we wouldn't want others to notice our potential strike. San Francisco automobile owners will soon be able to pay their meters from their offices and the only license they will need to park will be their cell phones and a quick hand on the wheel. Congestion will go down as more drivers learn to navigate the new parking system.

It will be interesting to see if decoys start thriving, as soon as a new technology is implemented it seems that there is an equal reaction to circumnavigate it. I can imagine teams of hackers ungluing the sensor devices from the streets or sending false reports to protect the actual free parking spaces every time they want to throw a party. What will become of our natural stalking instincts, will the Streetline permanently dull our senses by excluding of the daily circling of the neighborhood blocks as we search for a parking spot? I think not, even though we live in cities far away from the traditional hunting/gathering existence, we will always find something to pursue. We may soon be competing for taxis from our iphones.

Sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/

The Laws of our Fathers- A Homage to Scott Turow

Dear Mr Turow,

It is unbelievable that I have just discovered you, a fateful trip to the
supermarket and a weekend of laundry stretching in front of me, I decided to
treat myself to a paperback instead of going to the library.I just finished the Laws of Our Fathers, and I am moved to share.It is truly wonderful and I cannot wait to read the rest of your work. Iwill drop it off to one of my old professors (The Bible as Literature) to get his take on the story of Abraham and Issiac. I truly felt alone in class when I said he was a madman and questioned Issiac's reaction and further wondered about that long trip back down the mountain.

I loved everything about this book, the history, the complete picture of
each character and the recognition of great literature of the past. I
identified with each character and with your insights into the fragility of
the human psyche. Amazing.. you are the writer I have been waiting to read my whole life.