[Shrek] Give Me That Cup Of Fat, Hold The Caffeine

I just saw this news story while making my normal morning "internet rounds" seeing what important things are happening here on planet Earth.

Starbucks Stops Brewing Decaf After Noon
(CBS) Starbucks customers who are used to getting their decaf grande mochachino after lunch will have to wait a little longer than usual to get their fix.

Caffeine-free coffee will be made-to-order only after noon, which should add about four minutes to the wait time, according to an e-mail statement from the company issued Tuesday.

"For many of our stores, the demand for decaf is greatly reduced in the afternoon," the company said in the statement. "With our current standard of continually brewing decaf after 12 p.m. regardless of demand, we have seen a high amount of waste."

Bloomberg reports that the world's largest coffee chain is cutting off the decaf after noon in an effort to save $400 million in the next eight months.

Something confuses me here...why the hell would you order a decaf at Starbucks anyway?

If you're ordering a Venti "Mint Chocolaty Chip Frappuccino blended creme with Chocolate Whipped Cream", a 680 calorie monstrosity that has more fat than a Quarter Pounder with cheese, more cholesterol than an order of six piece chicken McNuggets, and contains about a quarter of the recommended maximum amount of sodium a person should intake, is caffeine really the problem?

(I won't even get into that whole "venti" thing. Just get over yourselves and call it a large like everyone else does).

For the record, I've only had Starbucks coffee twice. The first time it was terrible. The second time was because I couldn't believe how terrible it was the first time, thinking that perhaps it was just a bad pot. It wasn't. It sucks.

[Fiona] Old Eyebones

Wow ! Another year begins. I am getting bifocals...crap. I have dreaded this moment. I knew that someday in my life the time would arrive when I would be on the other side of my youth. The decline begins. How's that for melodrama?

I was not overly surprised or disappointed when I went to my eye guy today. I have been having a difficult time focusing on small print for awhile and my eyebones have felt stressed and overworked. Just imagine if we could fix all of our problems with new glasses. The world really could be a happier place and that stupid phrase,"views the world through rose-colored glasses" might actually gain some true meaning.

Eyeglasses are stupidly expensive! Both hubby and I are getting new glasses. The company we work for offers reimbursement. Still, wow, what a chunk of change we are dropping. It has to be tough if everyone in a family needs glasses.

[Fiona] Oh And Did I Mention...

that I am fearful of clowns? Yeah, well stop laughing I am not the only one and let's face it they are beyond spooky. Whenever I tell someone that I don't enjoy clowns I get asked pretty much the same thing. Really? Why not?

The medical term for it is coulrophobia. I don't accept that my phobia is an irrational fear. I don't like people in masks as a rule. Safe to bet I will never be a good bank robber; I couldn't handle the costuming. I just feel that when a person dons a mask or paints over their features that they are really trying to hide their true selves from you. It makes me feel uneasy. Like I can't trust them. I never liked trick or treat. I like the concept(well the candy, ok!?!); I don't enjoy the costumes. Odd because I like the macabre and I like to fancy myself a Goth chick from a way back.

I can remember being a small child in the beginning grades and crying that I didn't want candy. The whole concept of dressing up and begging for junk food from strangers scared the beejezus out of me even back then. I know my fear comes from a neighborhood kid jumping out at me dressed in full costume. I peed myself because I thought he/she was going to hurt me. I didn't like not knowing who my attacker was.

While I am on the subject of things that I don't enjoy let's spend a moment with dolls. They turn my stomach to knots...so lifelike and yet not real. I harbor this fear that they will come to life and want me to rescue them.

[Shrek] More Than Welcome?

Just a few minutes ago a received an e-mail from a friend about a gathering we're planning in late February, asking if it was OK if another friend of the group joins us that evening. Without hesitation I replied that person was more than welcome to join us.

And as I sit here I'm wondering...what does "more than welcome" even mean?

I typed it automatically as I wanted to convey that person is welcomed to join us. But "more than welcome"? And exactly at what state does someone move from just being plain old "welcome" to "more than welcome"? Are some friends just "welcome" and others "more than welcome"? And how much more?

I know what "less than welcome" means: you're not invited.

But "more than welcome"? I guess I'll have to work on that.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

My previous post got a lot of talk on a couple of the message board forums I post on about which is better: older music or newer music. And it was the younger crowd that was the most vocal, saying "their music" was much better than what was put out before.

Being the voice of reason...(OK, I'll pause for a few seconds while you stop laughing)...To me it's not a question of better or worse, it's just that music evolves from one period to the next. And sometimes that evolution passes you by, moving in directions your personal tastes dislike.

One dim bulb mentioned that a group like The Beatles would never be able to make it in music today. Well, that's probably true, except for the fact that music is where it is today because of groups like The Beatles. When it comes to things artistic, what came before influences what comes after. Some things are crap and are usually quickly forgotten, while others stand out and influence the works of artists forever.

I'm just waiting for some group to claim Culture Club as their primary influence...

[Shrek] Who Are You?

A few weeks ago I was browsing through the new CDs at WalMart, and it kind of bothered me that I didn't have any clue who 90% of the artists were. I became a little disheartened when I overheard one of the employees talking to (READ: hitting on) a young lady just down the aisle from me.

"Yeah these guys are real good...it sucks we can't play their music here, we have to play this crap instead. Those old guys just don't rock it anymore"

Now I have no idea what group he was saying he'd rather play, but I know the "old guys" that don't "rock it anymore" were The Who because there was some sort of concert video being played on a couple of the monitors in the electronic area.

Don't rock it anymore? I beg to differ....

My Generation


I Can't Explain


The Kids Are Alright


Who Are You?


Won't Get Fooled Again

[Fiona] Once Upon A...

Time. We are all to some degree obsessed with time. There never seems to be enough time. What time we do have we waste. Time is not likely to be saved or savored. Time is elusive. You think you have a handle on it only to find out you didn't have as much of it as you needed. It drives me crazy. I don't know if anybody out in blog land noticed that I haven't blogged any entries in quite some time. That would be because my head was lodged very far into my butt cheeks. I am sorry. I started blogging as a method to keep my sanity in check. Somehow I let that nasty critter time get away from me and I have been having a bitch of a time getting any time to blog. Thus the naming of my post. I will try to be better about that. Later...when I can find the time...;^)

[Shrek & Fiona] Our Heartfelt Holiday Message

As we are now in the holiday season, please accept our heartfelt holiday greeting:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit our best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.

We also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2009, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great (not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country or is the only "America" in the western hemisphere), and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, or sexual preference of the wishee.

By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms:

This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.

Any and all applicable taxes that arise from accepting this greeting are the sole responsibility of the wishee.

Yours neutrally,
Shrek & Fiona

[Shrek] To all our Jewish friends...

...HAPPY CHAKA KHANIKAH!!!!

[Shrek] Semper Fi

Both Fiona and I have been busy as of late, so as I work on a "real" posting, I thought I'd share this story from the Marine Corps News, via military.com...

Marine Makes Insurgents Pay the Price

November 18, 2008
Marine Corps News|by Cpl. James M. Mercure

FARAH PROVINCE, Afghanistan — In the city of Shewan, approximately 250 insurgents ambushed 30 Marines and paid a heavy price for it.

Shewan has historically been a safe haven for insurgents, who used to plan and stage attacks against Coalition Forces in the Bala Baluk district. The city is home to several major insurgent leaders. Reports indicate that more than 250 full time fighters reside in the city and in the surrounding villages.

Shewan had been a thorn in the side of Task Force 2d Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force Afghanistan throughout the Marines’ deployment here in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, because it controls an important supply route into the Bala Baluk district. Opening the route was key to continuing combat operations in the area.

“The day started out with a 10-kilometer patrol with elements mounted and dismounted, so by the time we got to Shewan, we were pretty beat,” said a designated marksman who requested to remain unidentified. “Our vehicles came under a barrage of enemy RPGs (rocket propelled grenades) and machine gun fire. One of our ‘humvees’ was disabled from RPG fire, and the Marines inside dismounted and laid down suppression fire so they could evacuate a Marine who was knocked unconscious from the blast.”

The vicious attack that left the humvee destroyed and several of the Marines pinned down in the kill zone sparked an intense eight-hour battle as the platoon desperately fought to recover their comrades. After recovering the Marines trapped in the kill zone, another platoon sergeant personally led numerous attacks on enemy fortified positions while the platoon fought house to house and trench to trench in order to clear through the enemy ambush site.

“The biggest thing to take from that day is what Marines can accomplish when they’re given the opportunity to fight,” the sniper said. “A small group of Marines met a numerically superior force and embarrassed them in their own backyard. The insurgents told the townspeople that they were stronger than the Americans, and that day we showed them they were wrong.”

During the battle, the designated marksman single handedly thwarted a company-sized enemy RPG and machinegun ambush by reportedly killing 20 enemy fighters with his devastatingly accurate precision fire. He selflessly exposed himself time and again to intense enemy fire during a critical point in the eight-hour battle for Shewan in order to kill any enemy combatants who attempted to engage or maneuver on the Marines in the kill zone.

What made his actions even more impressive was the fact that he didn’t miss any shots, despite the enemies’ rounds impacting within a foot of his fighting position.

“I was in my own little world,” the young corporal said. “I wasn’t even aware of a lot of the rounds impacting near my position, because I was concentrating so hard on making sure my rounds were on target.”

After calling for close-air support, the small group of Marines pushed forward and broke the enemies’ spirit as many of them dropped their weapons and fled the battlefield. At the end of the battle, the Marines had reduced an enemy stronghold, killed more than 50 insurgents and wounded several more.

“I didn’t realize how many bad guys there were until we had broken through the enemies’ lines and forced them to retreat. It was roughly 250 insurgents against 30 of us,” the corporal said. “It was a good day for the Marine Corps. We killed a lot of bad guys, and none of our guys were seriously injured.”

I am reminded of a quote by Gen. William Thornson, US Army..."There are only two kinds of people that understand Marines: the Marines and the enemy. Everyone else has a secondhand opinion."

My best guess is that "young corporal" is 20 years old. Think about what you were doing at age 20, and then think about what the young men and women serving overseas are doing as you read this.

So as we approach Thanksgiving, a day where most of us gorge ourselves on turkey and all the fixings, how about we spend just a few minutes thinking of those that aren't home this holiday season, and how they volunteered to be away from their homes so we could be safe in ours.

[Shrek] Some Words

Anti-American
Big Government Loving
Communists
Clueless
Elitist
Godless
Immoral
Lefties
Liberals
Marxists
Progressives
Radicals
Socialists
Tax Raisers
Tree Huggers
Unpatriotic

Winners