This is a response to Friday5.org’s recent blog post, in where it has questions regarding our individual tastes. I don’t participate in these often but, when I do, it usually pertains to my interests in some way. Sometimes I just think they’re good questions. This time around, the questions not only apply to my tastes but, in some cases, apply to my health as well. I figured this would make a good blog post here, so let’s just dive in right now!

1. What’s too spicy for your tastes?

As some of you know, I love spicy food. I usually make my blow-your-nose-off chili, complete with jalapenos, habaneros, chili powder and a extra ingredient that I’ll mention in a bit. However, it needs to have some flavor; it can’t be hot for hot’s sake. That being said, the extra ingredient I put in a pot of chili is a couple of drops of Dave’s Ultimate Insanity hot pepper sauce. It’s very close to qualifying as an extract, really. Many mortals have regretted putting a small drop of this stuff on their tongue, resulting in liberal chugging of water or milk. I won’t dare do it!

2. What’s too sweet for your tastes?

Anything that’s geared to give you high energy due to the sugar content. I’m hypoglycemic, so I have to watch the sugar intake and eat sensibly; snack often on complex carbs and protein to keep my blood sugar going. If I have too much sugar at once, my body crashes and I’ll be dragging myself on the ground for the rest of the day. Sooooo… unfortunately, most candy bars and energy bars are off limits for me. Energy drinks like Monster and Red Bull are dangerous for me to have. But I can have a dessert-type item when it’s getting close to bedtime. I just can’t go nuts with it. However, I’m a sucker for anything with dark chocolate in it!! Now I’ve gotten to the point where Diet Coke w/Splenda is as sweet as I’ll go. If someone accidentally hands me a fountain-dispensed Coke in a restaurant, I can (almost, if it’s mixed right) tell immediately, as it’s sickeningly sweet to me!

3. What’s too salty for your tastes?

Dairy Queen has this bad habit of topping some of their sundaes with salted peanuts. I’m sorry, but salt and ice cream doesn’t go together for me. Yuck! I don’t really even add any extra salt to anything I cook, unless I really have to, which is rare.

4. What’s too bitter for your tastes?

I take a Ginko Biloba supplement every morning with my vitamins. I’m very careful not to let it hit my tongue, as the taste of that stuff almost made me vomit on a few occasions, even though I have a very strong stomach.

5. What’s too sour for your tastes?

This is one I have to think about. Straight lemon juice, which I still have to use on occasion to help unblock a problematic salivary gland.

Well, I hope all my readers learned more about me than what they wanted to know, heh-heh! I’ll come back and write another entry this week, hopefully really soon. As of this moment right now, I’m having too much fun hanging out with our birds and jamming to some Epic Rock Radio!

Cheers, and enjoy some good eats for me!!

Hat’s off to Captain Picard’s Journal for posting this question!

Either from birth, or somehow genetically imprinted on all of humanity, people are inexorably driven to mindless consumerism. We just can’t seem to resist going into the latest or greatest shops, even if just to browse and graze like so many sheep. You can’t even say that one sex is more susceptible than the other; men and women are equally guilty, if only for different reasons and tastes.

With that in mind, I’ll give you fellow readers the lowdown on my favorite shops. I think the emphasis here is only on the brick-and-mortar kind and not the online kind. (Maybe I’ll talk about my favorite online shops in a separate post…)

First, I love any “gadget” stores. Electronic stores, like Best Buy and the now-defunct Comp USA (oh how I miss thee), are awesome for getting the latest and greatest grown-up toys. For other gadgets and accessorizing, I’ll take a trip to an Apple Store or some other Apple-authorized seller (like MacMedia in Peoria, AZ.). In the Apple Stores, it’s a bonus to play with the newest computers they have to offer! Like my wife when it comes to her love for Hot Topic stores, I’m content to spend a couple of hours just browsing. Especially if the store, like Best Buy, had a decent music selection! Also, gadget stores can include those specialty “edu-tainment” stores like Zany Brainey or similar stores. Those places sometimes have good puzzle selections!

Second, I enjoy going to bookstores. Barnes & Noble and Borders are two of the best ones that come to mind. (I think I overheard that they merged!) I don’t get to visit these as often; I usually go alone because Christine automatically falls asleep as soon as she puts one foot in a bookstore. One time, I almost got kicked out of one because I was reading for several hours without buying anything yet. I don’t read like I used to… Online reading is slowly taking the place of the printed word, but I loves me a good piece of sci-fi book, nonetheless.

Lastly, since I sometimes still play around with a guitar (and keyboards), I love to browse around an instrument shop. If only to keep up with some of the advancements in guitars and sound effects and other related gadgets. That reminds me… I’d like to save up next for a new keyboard. Time to start shopping around, eh? (With tech being what it is, I might just settle for something inexpensive like this thingie here!).

So, if any of you are interested in commenting, please do so and tell me what YOUR favorite shops are! C’mon, don’t be shy…

Cheers!

This week’s questions are brought to you again by Friday5.org. Now the questions are all about acronyms and the meaning they hold in our otherwise uninteresting lives. These are some good questions to answer, so I’ll just dive in:

What is an acronym specific to your workplace or profession? (students who don’t work: What is an acronym specific to your campus or major?)

– Here’s one I can think of right away… MIT – Manager in training.

What is an acronym you use a lot in your personal life?

– FUBAR… F—-d up beyond any recognition.

Internet acronyms are unavoidable, but what’s one you particularly despise, and what’s one you particularly like?

– I really don’t like using AFAIK. Never mind that in the same length of time one can usually type out most of what it means, the K is supposed to be “Concerned”, which is just plain nutty! However, I love using RTFM (Read The Fine Manual)… I say it to all those who can’t be bothered to do the research!

What acronym could you create right now for some regular annoyance in your life?

– Rude and Insensitive People… RIPS!

What would be a memorable or appetizing acronym for your most recent meal? (if your most recent meal was a BLT or SOS or some similarly acronymed food, please choose the next-most recent meal, smart alecks!)

– TCQ (Tamales Con Queso)!

Well, that’s all I have for now. Oh, did you all know that I’m coming up on my 400th post? This will probably happen during January and I’ll have to plan something big for that. I’m planning a special New Year’s Eve entry, so stay tuned for that one as well. Cheers!

Wow! I haven’t written in here for four days?! This has to be remedied…

This week’s Friday5 questions are asking about our favorite cars. Ok… I’ll bite.

1) If money were no concern and LOOKS the only consideration, what car would you get yourself?

– I’d have to go with the Tesla Roadster. It looks sharp, it’s really quiet, and it goes from 0 to 60 mph in around 4 seconds!!! Plus, it’s electric… so I could stick it to those #$%@#’s in OPEC! And I want it in hunter green color, ok?

2) If money were no concern and YOUR LIFESTYLE the only consideration, what car would you get yourself?

– Probably a Jeep Wrangler. Again, hunter green.

3) What is the best thing about your current car? If you do not own a car, what is the best thing about the car you most often ride in?

– It still looks good, runs good and it gets me from point A to point B.

4) If cars could be skinned the way cell phones, laptop computers, and iPods can, what would be a really cool skin for your car?

– I don’t really know. Maybe something really techie, like a faint circuit-board pattern along the sides.

5) If you were going to decorate a friend’s car with a custom-made skin as a practical joke, whose car would you skin and what would it be?

– My friend, Steve. I’d skin his car in a blazing-hot pink, with a thin rainbow racing trim. Yes, I can be eeeeeevil… muaaaahahahaha!

I ended this post by listening to Dream Theater’s “In The Presence Of Enemies, Pt. 1″.

My Twitter buddy and teacher extraordinaire, Scrivener, tweeted about Friday5.org yesterday. What a wonderful premise for a blog: every Friday, they ask five questions centering around a main theme. They ask visitors to post the questions on their own blogs with the answers.

I guess I should consider this to be another possible regular thing on the blog. We’ll see how this goes, for now. Let’s dive in:

What’s your favorite song about growing up?
– “Cat’s in the Cradle” by Cat Stevens (but I like Ugly Kid Joe’s version better!)

What’s your favorite song about cars or driving?
– I guess it’d have to be “Cars” by Gary Numan, redone by Fear Factory of course!

What’s your favorite song whose title is a person’s name?
– Pink Cream 69’s version of “My Sharona” by the Kinks

What’s your favorite get-up-and-dance song?
– This one’s a toughie, mainly because I only listen to dance music occasionally. Probably “Move Your Body” by Eiffel 65. A second favorite is “Crying In The Rain” by Culture Beat.

What’s your favorite novelty song?
– “Traditional Irish Drinking Song” by comedian Denis Leary

It’s amazing that the last two answers weren’t cover tunes! If any of my visitors here want to expound on their favorites, please do so in the comments. I always appreciate the feedback!