Moo! The Musings of a Plaid Cow

After over a three year hiatus since the last question, [YouMoo!][1] is back…

**Question:** When you make the bed, does the top sheet go fished side up or fished side down?

Yeah, I realize that it doesn’t matter that much, but the last time I was changing the sheets, I couldn’t realize decide. There are good arguments either way. If you don’t have a blanket on the bed, then it will look neater if the finished side is up. If there are blankets on the bed (but no bedspread), then it looks neater finished side down (so when the top of the sheet is turned over the top of the blankets, it will be finished side up.

Since we don’t have a comforter, I have finished side down. It sort of makes sense.

[1]: http://moo.plaidcow.net/2005/05/youmoo

Katherine got her Valentine card today. One of those recording cards with a voice message:

> Happy Valentines Day Kate
Grandpa and Grandma loves you very much
Be a good girl and hug and kiss mommy and daddy
Love Grandma and Grandpa

My dad hasn’t been know for picking out the best cards, but this one appeared to be okay.


Until you realize that the nice red picture on the front is actually of satin sheets. And after the voice message is finished it plays Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On”.

INAPPROPRIATE.

When we bought our house, we were told that the owner had done quite a bit of work to it and “he never did anything halfway.” Both of these statements are true. Unfortunately, he also never quite figured out exactly what he was doing. Like in the dining room.

When his family expanded, they had a need for a dining room in the house instead of just a table in the kitchen. So they knocked out the back wall of the kitchen and built a dining room on to the back of the house. As would be expected, they didn’t extend the basement under the dining room, but just added a crawl space. With no way to get into it.

There is a basement window that looks into the crawl space that could possibly be used for access, but they didn’t take the storm window off and it is screwed on from the inside. The only way that they managed to insulate the floor under the crawl space was to cut a hole in the floor, insulate most of it from below, then pull insulation up behind them. Brilliant.

Last week at work, they handed out reusable cups which are supposed to be used at the cafeteria to reduce the amount of waste through styrofoam. They are nice [lidded cups](http://www.whirleydrinkworks.com/proddet?readform&prod=TM-20) with an Electron Jade Handle and Lid and black liner. The background is “recycled material” and there is an “everyone everyday everywhere” logo above and earth and a cute recycle logo. But that’s not why I am posting.

* There is an area for a name (since everyone will have a cup that looks exactly the same) which is conveniently placed just beside the handle. This ensures that no one will be able to write their name on it–at least not wit any clarity.

* There is a “Caution! Contents may be very hot” warning label on the mug. Just pop off the lid and look on the underside of it. I guess it would be better to say, “Caution! You may have already been scaled with burning liquids.”

And, when looking at the website, I noticed they have a bit of a data validation problem. Check out my very own [The Plaid Cow model cup](http://www.whirleydrinkworks.com/proddet?readform&prod=The-Plaid-Cow).

With [Circuit City][0] going out of business, I stopped by to see if there was anything at a good price. (To avoid many of the “jack up the price, then discount it” issues, I called my wife back at home who was looking up the more reasonable prices on [Amazon][1]. And it worked out well, as I was able to get some TV Shows DVDs for about 20-25% off what I would pay retail.

While I was there, I noticed that they were selling copies of Turbo Tax. They must have had a few complaints, because there was a sign on the front of the display that said this was for for the 2007 tax year. Just how many people who need to buy Turbo Tax to finish a return that they would have already had to file two extensions on? Could there be any other reason to sell these boxes, other than to try to confuse the consumer? Oh yeah, don’t forget that all sales are final.

[1]: http://circuitcity.com/
[2]: http://amazon.com/

Since I tend to go through a heck of a lot of papers at work (and my default mode is to trash them when I no longer think I need them), I have been very grateful for the circular file concept. I never throw papers away immediately. I drop the papers I think I no longer need into a desk drawer, and once the drawer gets full, I empty the bottom half of the stack into the recycle bin without giving it a second thought.

With just one post a day, it would take just over 16 months to get to five hundred. It took me almost six years. Hopefully the next 500 will be a whole lot faster.

I’m of two minds about the requirement of [Topix][0] to identify their posters. (See [Texas judge orders site to identify anonymous trolls, flamers][1].)

1. Before the Indy Star switched to a new system, I used to troll on the boards by taking the opposite opinion of everyone else (or what I thought would be the opposite opinion). While I did it for fun, I would like to think this stirred some useful debate. When I posted some what anonymously (as The Plaid Cow), I would not expect Topix to tell people who I was (but anyone who really wanted to find me, probably could).
2. Trolling is an art. These people are just assholes.

[0]: http://www.topix.com/
[1]: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/02/texas-judge-orders-site-to-identify-anonymous-trolls-flamers.ars)

The comments on [this][1] article reminded me of the only time I have changed the terms on a contract I was being asked to sign. I crossed out the portion that said I would strictly adhere to “The Fairways Resident Handbook” since *no one* could actually locate a copy of me to read before signing.

Apparently most people just sign the documents without actually reading them….

_Response to the [Consumerist][0] post on [Mandatory Binding Arbitration: The Worst Choose Your Own Adventure Ever][1]._

[0]: http://consumerist.com/
[1]: http://consumerist.com/5148154/mandatory-binding-arbitration-the-worst-choose-your-own-adventure-ever

The [Knorr Sides Plus Veggies, Alfredo Pasta Primavera][1] has to be one of the worst sides from [Knorr][4] (formerly Lipton) that I have ever had. I think I said all I needed to in my one-star [Amazon review][2]:

> While we have liked all of the other flavors in the Knorr (formerly Lipton) sides, this one just tasted horrible. I had a few bites with dinner and threw the rest out. My wife wouldn’t even touch it after it smelled up the kitchen.

Maybe next time I can come up with some more colorful language. I can only hope there is no next time for something like this. The good news is that it is not the worst side dish I’ve ever had. That honor still goes to [Uncle Ben’s Ready-Rice][3]. Just thinking of it brings up bad memories–and it was five years ago.

[1]: http://www.amazon.com/Knorr-Veggies-Alfredo-Primavera-4-3-Ounce/dp/B000ODDU1O
[2]: http://www.amazon.com/review/RFYW1ATPIT1NS/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
[3]: http://www.unclebens.com/rice/ready-rice-roasted-chicken-flavored-rice.aspx
[4]: http://www.us.knorr.com/products.aspx?brand=3&group=1&pid=1&nav=13