combingtoes’s blog

I've been kicking around the idea of getting a Scooter, and I've seen more and more of them here so it's just making me want one even more.

Does anyone have a recommendation for scooters?  I've been trying to find good info, but Consumer Reports doesn't do scooters or motorcycles (hopefully they will soon).  I need one that can do at least 50 mph, but of course the cute ones max out at around 40.  curses!

here are the ones that I've seen and have been tempted by:
Honda Metropolitan - yeah, only goes up to 39mph
Buddy by Genuine Scooters - I saw a couple of these on campus and they're adorable!
Yamaha Vino 125
Vespa - most of the models are cute, but they're a lot more expensive.

This blog comparison for the Buddy and most of the scooters I've listed has me leaning towards the buddy.

What was the last wedding you went to?  Were you in the wedding?

It was in April, but I can't remember the exact date.  I wasn't in the wedding, but I did catch the bouquet.  :)

Summer Reading Program

Skinny Bitch  by Rory Freedman and Kin Marnouin, 224 pages.

I saw a review for this book on FitSugar and she said it was an entertaining read, so I decided to check it out from the library.  In the authors' words, it's "A no-nonsense, tough-love guide for savvy girls who want to stop eating crap and start looking fabulous."  I didn't find it as entertaining as FitSugar, but it was a decent read.  Of course, I went into it looking to be entertained rather than to find another "lifestyle program."  Good thing, too, because I found many of their sources to be questionable and would have been disappointed if I want to take their word as gospel. 

The main problem I had with the book is that it is all about becoming vegan, but it does not say that anywhere on the book.  You first indication is when looking at the table of contents and seeing the chapter on "The Dead, Rotting, and Decomposing Flesh Diet."  They should have said up front that the goal is to become vegan, rather than springing it on you in chapter 4.

The two chapters that I really liked are "Don't be a Pussy" and "Use Your Head." DbaP starts off saying what very few other "lifestyle" books I've read have said.  That for the first month or two, it will feel like a diet and will be a struggle, and you need to retrain your brain and body to eat healthy.  So many of the others made it sound like as soon as you started eating healthy, it will be a breeze from there.  There is some really good advice in this chapter about making it through the hard part, and they don't sugarcoat it.  UYH  reminds you that you need to think for yourself, which they stress throughout the book.  Don't trust anyone is their mantra, and they stress the importance of always reading ingredients, even if it's a product you buy regularly as the company can change the product any time they feel like.

In all it was an entertaining, quick read and it gave me some ideas for new things to try in my own diet.  For the squeamish, or those who want to continue to eat meat, skip chapter 6: You are what you eat.  They discuss the practices of the meat industry, and while I'm sure most of us are familiar with the horrible things they do, the authors include quotes from Slaughterhouse by Gail Eisnitz.  Eisnitz interviewed slaugherhouse workers, and the quotes are workers admitting to mistreating the animals.  I found this section hard to read, not only because of what was done to the animals, but because people were able to do it in the first place.

Totals
Books: 3
Pages: 454

What is the most interesting class you have ever taken? 
Submitted by Melissa. 

The Young Adult Fiction class I took as an undergrad.  The books we read were great, and Dr. Meyers had some wonderful writing assignments that really helped to improve my writing.

Summer Reading Program
Sullivan's woman by Nora Roberts, 224 pages

I spotted this book in the Large Print section of one of the public library branches that I haunt.  The blurb didn't sound familiar, so I grabbed it.  Turns out I've never read it, which really surprised me because it was published in 1984, and has been included in a couple of her anthologies released in the last 5 years according to Amazon.  Oh, and I used the number of pages Amazon lists because I read a Large Print copy.

Sullivan's Woman is a fairly typical 80's romance novel.  He's an arrogant artist who insists that he get his way, and has an impressive list of former lovers.  She's a young writer, innocent of course.  As an added bonus, there's the whole former lover who thinks he'll end up with her and is threatened by the newbie so she mentions past women and how they've fallen in love with Sullivan, but they never last.  She falls in love with him while sitting for a painting, he acts like she's not that important to him.  Everything works out in the end, and they live happily ever after.

It was a good story, most likely only because it was written by Roberts.  I probably would have abandoned it if the writing hadn't been up to her standards.  It wouldn't have been included in my SRP books but I had forgotten that I had checked it out.  I saw it listed on my account on the library's website and had to search for it frantically because it is due in a couple of days and I had already renewed it.  Found it behind my nightstand. 

Totals
Books: 2
Pages: 230

Summer Reading Program
Interlude in Death by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts), 96 pages.

Interlude In Death

I found a copy of Interlude in Death in the booksale room at one of the local public libraries.  It was originally published in "Out of the World," an anthology.

Eve Dallas has to give a speech at a cop conference, which is held off-planet.  How nice, cops in 2059 get to go off planet for conferences!  And it wasn't even an international conference....  Maybe it costs about the same as having the conference at Disney World.  That was the only thing that bugged me about the story, but I realize it was necessary in order for the conference to be held at one of Roarke's many properties, and it had to be one where Eve would be able to jump right in and take over and do what she does best.

Because it's a short story you don't get the character development that Ms. Roberts is so good at, but it is a lively, quick read and is very entertaining.

Totals
Books: 1
Pages: 96

I read 12 or 13 last year, but those were mostly re-reads, so this year I'm going to try to read new (to me) books.  My goal will be 15 books, which I should reach easily, unless Buffy and Angel demand attention.  I've been watching way too much TV since I bought the entire series of both shows. 

I plan to read the entire Chronicles of Narnia, with maybe the exception of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, because I've read that before.  There are also several new books from some of my favorite authors being released this summer, so I'll be reading those, plus I'm re-reading J.D. Robb/Nora Roberts In Death books, and there are a couple of short stories that I've missed along the way.

Here's a list of what I will most likely read, including the Narnia books.

1.  The Magician's Nephew
2.  The Horse and His Boy
3.  Prince Caspian
4.  The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
5.  The Silver Chair
6.  The Last Battle
7.  Simon Says by Lori Foster
8.  High Noon by Nora Roberts
9.  Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich
10.  Devil May Cry by Sherrilyn Kenyon
11.  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

If you're reincarnated, what do you think you'll come back as?
Submitted by Diana.

I have absolutely no idea, but everytime I see this QotD, I'm reminded of a song from my parents' "traveling tapes." 

Reincarnation by Roger Miller

If l was a bird and you was a fish
what would we do, l guess we'd wish
for re-incarnation, re-incarnation
wouldn't it be a sensation
to come back too, like reincarnation

If l was a tree and you was a flower
what would we do, l guess we'd wait for the power
of re-incarnation, re-incarnation,
wouldn't it be a sensation
to come back too, like reincarnation

l love you, and don't you know l always will
you're a girl, l'm a boy,
but suppose you were a rose
and l was a whip-poor-will

If l was a bird and you was a fish
what would we do, l guess we'd wish
for re-incarnation, re-incarnation
wouldn't it be a sensation
to come back too, like reincarnation

If l was a tree and you was a flower
what would we do, l guess we'd wait for the power
of re-incarnation, re-incarnation,
wouldn't it be a sensation
to come back too, like reincarnation

What's your favorite kind of Girl Scout cookie?
Submitted by My Lovely One.

Thin Mints and Animal Treasures (the shortbread squares with chocolate coating the bottom).

How did you pick your Vox name? Does it mean something? 
Submitted by LeendaDLL.  

My Vox name comes from one of my favorites comic strips, Pearls Before Swine. 

In the 1/18/2003 stip, Rat is in a coma.

Pig: The nurse says you can't hear me... But I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I didn't see the car coming. It's all my fault... Please wake up... Please don't be combing toes.

Rat: Comatose.

Pig: Those poor toes.

I found it highly amusing, so I decided to use it for a screen name.