Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank that provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends. They have a political typology quiz that will help you determine where you fall on a political scale. I took it and it determined my best fit as “Ambivalent Right.” Interesting… and not where I thought I would fall.
Ambivalent doesn’t mean you (or I in this case) don’t care — but that you (or I in this case) have mixed feelings.
That would be true. I admit I struggle between opposing courses of action on a whole lot of the issues we face in the world today. Curious about your best fit insofar your attitudes about topics related to personal identity? Take the Pew Research Center Quiz here.
On the issue of burgers cooked outside, I do NOT fall within the ambivalent anything category.
There’s nothing better than burgers on the Blackstone… except for filets. Or a good ribeye. Or a thick T-bone. Coming in after everything beef is Perry’s famous chicken and veggie stir fry. I’m looking forward to more of all of these in the coming days as temps warm up!
TIL (Today I Learned): As you get older, you need to drink more water. Over time, the thirst signals in the brain become less active and our body water composition declines.
Doing my daily “see how fast you can scroll” Facebook check today, I saw something I’d seen a million times before. It still made me stop scrolling and ask myself the question:
You’re going on vacation… but you can only go to a place that starts with the first letter of your FIRST name. Where are you going?
The first geographic location starting with the letter “S” that popped into my head was SIBERIA. But sheesh, you guys, I think I’m already there! Known for it’s harsh winters, Siberia is sparsely populated (which might be ok) — but it’s part of Russia (very NOT ok).
Seymour also starts with S… but it’s no vacation, for sure. Yesterday, we had hail. While the sun was shining, hail was pelting. And then, there was this…
A place with the letter S to vacation…
Sint Maarten is my pick. In the Caribbean, it ranks at the top of my favorite vacation spots. It’s part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and is a country on the southern part of an island shared with Saint Martin.
All you with “D” names going to Disney World? I’m jealous. Even if I travel with Ben to Belize, or Perry to Paris (Paris, France… NOT Paris Crossing, IN), I’d still rather get the “D” trip.
So where are you going?
TIL (Today I Learned): The founder of Safeway supermarkets was a preacher who felt that credit purchases were evil, and named his cash-only stores to promote the “safe way to shop”.
First, a follow-up on the Chris Rock/Will Smith Oscars thing… Chris Rock said he didn’t know Jada had alopecia (why she’s bald) when he told the joke. The Academy announced they are reviewing what to do about Smith — and then (and only then) he apologized to Rock via Instagram. I might’ve drank the kool-aid if Smith didn’t include an excuse directly after saying his behavior was inexcusable. 😏
Onward to Sybil…
If y’all are old, you remember the 1975 film called Sybil. It starred Sally Field and Joanne Woodward and was about a woman with 16 distinct personalities. I don’t have 16 personalities yet, but I’m working on it.
I’m running into my first “I hate this shit” on my Samsung phone and watch and it’s because of Google. My Samsung account — the one I purchased my new phone with — is my work email address. It’s managed by our work domain… ME! Since it’s a managed account, Samsung requires that it be put on the phone as a “work profile.” BUT, the other email accounts also managed by that same domain can’t be added.
You can only add one work profile to this device.
Samsung
Fine. I can’t check the email for scheduling@, or team@, on the same phone I check my personal/work email. That sucks. What also sucks is I can’t add or check another email account for a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th of our work domains that also use Google for Business.
And I’m not lying.
Sybil — the book and movie that followed — was about Shirley Mason. After the book sold 6 million copies and the movie was popular, ole’ Shirley admitted that the personalities were merely lies to get emotional and financial support from her psychiatrist, Wilber.
My multiple personalities are all real. They are all separate and distinct versions of yours truly. “Work me” keeps contacts and passwords a secret from every single other “me.”
If only I could keep work and personal stuff so separate in REAL LIFE!! 🙂
And then, there’s this…
TIL (Today I Learned): A tapeworm can live inside a human for up to 30 years and grow to 80ft in length.
In 2014, I made a post about the podcast called, “Serial” — a wildly popular true-crime series by former Baltimore Sun journalist, Sarah Koenig. It was about Adnan Syed who was convicted in 2000 for killing his girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, and sentenced to life in prison.
The podcast brought to light several things the jury wasn’t privy to, and made the millions of listeners question that Syed received a fair trial. He was only 17 at the time and has always professed his innocence.
Testimony from others that seemingly provided an alibi were dismissed. His attorney was a flake. And the cell phone records — what propped up the charges — could have been less than reliable. A huge factor in the case was testimony from a dude named Jay. He was a real piece of work and all three of his changed versions of events were less than believable.
The Serial Podcast has gone on to additional seasons, but none were as wildly popular as Season One regarding Syed. You can still listen to it here.
Fast forward over 20-years and Baltimore City’s State Attorney’s office just announced that new DNA tests will be conducted. Modern DNA testing and methodologies currently available are far better than that of two decades ago. In addition, touch DNA testing was never conducted on any of the evidence collected back in 2000.
At the conclusion of the podcast, I truly believed that Adnan did NOT get a fair trial. I wasn’t convinced; however, that he didn’t kill Hae Min Lee.
I’m looking forward to hearing the results of the DNA tests and curious to know if Adnan was wrongfully convicted or if he did in fact kill Hae. It would be a shame if the dude has spent 20-years of his life in prison for a crime he didn’t commit — and it makes me wonder if he didn’t do it… who did. Could the DNA results point to someone else?
Merida was also contemplating the outcome as she watched it snow…
Here’s hoping this is the last of the winter weather for the season. And… here’s hoping my tulips weren’t taken out by the frigid weekend temps. 🙁
I have this thing I do and I simply can’t help myself. I can’t even begin to guess how much time I waste doing it. I don’t even LIKE it most of the time. But still, I can’t stop.
I think I’m addicted to really dumb video clips.
For example, today I watched some chick make 10 worthless, trash-worthy items from 2-litre bottles and a hot glue gun. I also watched a 5-minute segment of another person making a cooler out of concrete and plastic containers. I had no clue there were so many non-useful things you could make out of a Kleenex box and a few toilet paper rolls.
If I’m not watching craft clips, I’m staring at makeovers. ALL KINDS OF MAKEOVERS! From dogs being on the street to adoption — to Brad Mondo reviewing people cutting and coloring their hair at home. I don’t even turn up the sound! I watch the stupid stuff in silence.
What’s your crazy time sink?
I might also mention that I sometimes try new recipes I find online. Some turn out good and others not so great. This peanut butter chocolate cake got 2 thumbs up.
And finally, if you live anywhere near me, grab yourself a tenderloin from Gyros King on Tipton. I would’ve linked it but I guess they don’t have a website?
TIL (Today I Learned): The largest red diamond in the world (red is the rarest color) was found by a farmer — not a miner. It weighs one gram and sold for 8 million dollars.
