Waste of Space

For the past couple of days, I’ve been out of commission with a sinus infection / cold / flu / whatever… so I just thought I’d put up a few of the pictures I had taken of cakes made during my first Wilton Cake Decorating course… and others I made afterwards.

My first cake was to get used to using a stencil/template for adding decorations to cakes. Being the geek that I am, I chose NOT to do what everyone else was doing (taking cookie cutters to press designs on the cake) and make my own template using some piping gel that I colored blue. I made the logo for a virtualization software company called “VMware” that we use at work:

The second cake we made was to teach us how to make clowns out of just buttercream icing. Since I thought the cake looked rather plain, I added some chocolate “Cornelli Lace” to take up the white-space. I should have practiced the technique more before I put it on, I think:

The last cake for the Wilton class was to help teach us to make roses out of buttercream. I felt that my icing was a bit too thin, but I made it work the best I could:

I wasn’t too impressed by the cake classes, so I didn’t go out of my way to enroll in the second class. It’s not my goal to make cakes that one could simply buy at Publix or some other grocery store.

The last cake I made was for a New Years Eve party… the theme of the cake was based on an Internet meme known as “Salad Fingers“.

The cake was chocolate with bavarian-cream filling. The finger-puppets were made from chocolate and Salad Fingers was made from fondant.

Because of being sick lately, I missed out on making two more cakes… so I need to make them once I get better and post more pictures. I also have a multiple-tiered “Mad Hatter” cake that I’m making for the new “Alice in Wonderland” movie in March, so I’ll have to post those too.

###

I haven’t had to wear a “band-aid” in forever… but thanks to my new Wilton cake leveler, I got a nice paper-cut on my thumb:

I had been using a simple wire cake leveler, but then I bought this serrated beast of a leveler – http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=3E30D68E-475A-BAC0-541667EE11BAE82B

I was cleaning the blade and got a paper-cut from the non-sharpened side of the blade. I was taking so much care not to touch the sharp side that I didn’t notice that the back of the blade had a bit of an edge to it too.

hmmm…. this could be my first cake-related injury. Sad thing is… I wasn’t even baking a cake, just cleaning the stupid thing. LOL

###

Time for some more rambling and thoughts to cross my mind as of late…

Over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed that I’ve been forgetting things more and more often…. conversations (verbal or in email) seem to be slipping away. At work, I feel like I don’t know which way I’m going anymore…. it’s like I’m just on cruise control. Unfortunately, being asleep at the wheel isn’t healthy… not even in the metaphorical sense.

For the past 10 years or so, I seem to have had two parts to my life: Work and Home. At work, I’m constantly thinking of ways to improve things or solutions to some problem…. at home, I would usually think about work. I’ve always been a proponent of mind over body…. there was rarely a time when I need the help of a physician…. or anyone. Hell, when I had my kidney stone, it had practically passed 90% though me before I asked my wife to take me to the hospital.

Another thing that never helped was the aspergian(sp?) trait of being a loner. Despite my trying to fit in, I’ve only felt comfortable when I was alone. However, thanks to my wife, Miranda, I’ve been getting help with that. She’s been active in getting me to see various doctor’s and including me with much of her social life. (ie going places with her friends) I also owe a lot of my sociable appearance to my past jobs in the customer service industry. I already feel like a fool most of the time when trying to talk to people… stammering for the right thing to say, making little noises to myself, repetitive physical movements, or simply laughing/snickering too much during a conversation… but it’s better than the silent alternative, don’t you think? So please, pay me no mind if you think I’m odd, I’m just trying to act “normal”.

Anyhow, back to my topic…. I’m fairly sure that my recent lapse in memory is caused by the build up of stress at work. There have been a number of published scientific studies that show that too much multi-tasking is NOT good for you. Including that with the stress I have at work is surely one of the key factors in my loss of memory. I’ve been working with computers now for close to 20 years…. about the past 15 years have been in a support role. I feel like I’ve become a slave to this hobby I had for computers. It’s not something I really enjoy doing… it just happens to be something I’m good at without really trying.

So in an effort to try and calm my nerves and provide some self-psychotherapy, I’ve enrolled myself in some Wilton Cake Decorating classes at our local JoAnn Fabrics store!

Is this a good idea? I think so. I don’t really have an outlet from stress at work…. playing music physically hurts (hand conditions)… and playing video games too much gets me motion sick. Now, the main concern I have with cake decorating is the need for a steady hand. I’m just hoping that my tremors are a neurological condition brought on by stress and not something that will continue to interfere with my life. I’m really excited to start these classes… 2 hours a week for 4 sessions. I hope they help with the stress reduction. At least the increased Zoloft dosage has prevented me from having more panic attacks…. although a few times, I was pretty darn close.

I start the classes in November… so I’ll be sure to post pictures of my train wrec…. er…. masterpieces online for all to see and laugh at. ;o)

###

ok… so it’s been a while now that I’ve been wearing out my FiveFingers shoes, so I thought I’d write my own little review of them.

When I was younger, I loved to be barefoot when outside… but broken glass and trash made me less enthusiastic about doing it. In my teens, I would take jogs around my neighborhood on the sidewalk/asphalt without any shoes on because it “felt” better and more efficient…. meaning that it felt like I could run faster and with less energy. Nowadays, I don’t run so much… various medical/health issues prevent me from doing too much out in this Florida heat. However, when I first heard about Vibram’s new FiveFinger shoes, it was like a dream come true.

I must say… these are NOT the type of shoe that you should buy without trying them on first. As you can see, they look like feet… so if your feet don’t fall into their template, they can be rather uncomfortable. Also, the sizing is not always the same. For example, my measurements put me in the men’s 42 size, but the 43 fit & felt better.

After the first day of wearing the shoes, I noticed that my right, pinky toe hurt from wearing the shoes. Apparently, it seems that my pinky toes are a bit longer than the template of the shoes, but there are velcro straps on the back that I’ve learned to adjust to allow for a better fit. As I can’t wear these to work, I can’t wear them ALL the time, so I can’t tell if they have had any positive effects on my lower back pain…. so that may take some time to find out. However, when I wear these to walk down to the mailbox, I notice that I feel more balanced and… like when I was barefoot… I seemed to walk faster with less energy.

The razor-sliced traction on the soles really do give so better grip on wet, slippery surfaces…. but, just as it you were barefoot, you WILL notice that tiny rock that just hit you in your instep. ;o)

I plan on getting another pair (black “Classics”) for just indoor use… like at a gym or exercising at home or something… at least, until I decide to get a third pair. hehehe

Do they feel funky? Sure… if you’ve worn regular shoes for most of your life, it’s going to take some getting used to. Are they hard to put on? The first few times, yes. Again, it’s a new experience, so it will take a few times before your brain and feet “figure it out”.

Overall, I am EXTREMELY satisfied with the Vibram FiveFingers. They are as close to being barefoot as you can get…. they are stylish… they are conversation starters (not something I particularly enjoy)… they are great for all sorts of weather and activities… and they won’t break “most” pocketbooks. (@ $80)

=======================================
Website: www.vibramfivefingers.com
Style: Sprint
Color: Khaki/Putty with Clay sole
Where Purchased: Fit 2 Run (Int’l Mall, Tampa FL)
=======================================
###

…no, not Albus Dumbledore…. Albus, my Smart car!

I got a pretty nice-looking 1-year anniversary card in the mail today from Smart:

It’s cool that Smart teamed up with American Forests to plant a tree for every Smart bought in 2008.

Can’t wait to see how well the Smart EV goes…. then I’d truly be were I want to be with an electric car. (none of that half-ass hybrid crap for me)

In other semi-related news, I was disappointed to hear that the starting price for the Chevy Volt was pushed up to $40K (they were pushing for $20-$30K initially). To me. that’s close enough to the price as the Tesla Model S ($49K) to just buy the Tesla instead…. it looks far better and has many more features, imho.

With people estimating the future Smart EV to be around $27K, I don’t think it’s worth it…. only if it feels/drives like the gas version I have now. It’s jerky transmission is a big annoyance when driving around… and the light weight makes you wish you stayed home on windy days or in the rain.

Hopefully the batteries will and enough weight to the car to eliminate those bugs.

###

It’s been quite some time since I’ve posted here… mostly been posting to Twitter and Facebook. However, I’ve tweaked the code on my blog here so that it should bring those two together.

This blog will post updates to Twitter… and Twitter will then update my status on Facebook. At least, that’s what I’m hoping will happen with this post.

Anyhow, here’s a brief rundown on things going on with me recently:

Me and my Smart ForTwo Passion

It’s coming up on a year since I purchased my Smart car (named “Albus”… yes, after Dumbledore), so I thought I’d share some experiences I’ve had with it. First things first… what the hell was I thinking when I bought this car???!? I don’t like social situations, nor do I like talking to people…. but I buy a bright, yellow car that is a magnet for people and questions. Rather than go on and on about the car, here is a link to a review that sums up the majority of what I would have said: LINK

…even if you aren’t thinking of buying a Smart, read that article so that you can tell others.

What I’ve started to tell people interested in a Smart is “If you wouldn’t drive a scooter everywhere, then you may want to reconsider buying a Smart.” This car is a “city” car…. meaning that it’s most useful with short drives. I drive @ 8 miles to work and as little as possible (if at all) on the weekends. I didn’t buy the car for “fuel efficiency” (as there are better out there), but rather for the overall cost savings. This has saved me over $4,000 a year in gas and other car expenditures… which helped to pay for Miranda to get her Cosmetology license and reduce our credit card debt.

My Anxiety or whatever

At the beginning of June, my Dr doubled my medication as it seemed I still had issues handling stress and wanting to take a Xanax. A few weeks ago, I felt that it was working. While I don’t recall what happened, I do know that I had a lot pushed on to my plate at work and I didn’t have a panic attack… though I could feel that it one was close. When it happens, instead of feeling like it’s the end of the world, I feel my heart start to race and I calm myself down with some deep breathing exercises.

Unfortunately, the Aspie-like trait I have of thinking too much makes me have to leave work AT work… a hard task to do when part of my duties is to be on-call after business hours/weekeds every 2 months or so. Even jsut writing this little blurb has started to get me worked up… which reminds me…. I forgot to take my meds earlier…. BRB

okay… meds have been taken. Hopefully I can calm down. I’m gong to change the subject… sorry

Actually… I need to stop all together.. can’t think clearly, so I’ll leave it at that and post updates later.

###

Please note… as I’m writing this, my right arm is sore from playing Boom Blox on the Wii for a few hours over the past two days… so, my arm is jelly and typos may be abundant.

Anyhow, the other day, my wife had a client come to get their haircut and turned out that they had worked with neurological disorders. The discuss turned towards me and how I tend to shake went trying to do fine-motor skills.

• Flashback… I had already asked my regular Dr about the possibilities of having Parkinson’s, but that was pretty much ruled out as I don’t shake all the time or during regular tasks (like drinking a glass of water).

Well, turns out that after just a brief discussion, it may be that I have something known as Essential Tremor Syndrome. This person recommended a doctor that works out of USF’s College of Medicine that I will probably be going to see sometime soon.

I’ve been dealing with these tremors for the past 15 years or so, but never thought much of it. I noticed it mostly when practicing sharp-shooting when I thought I wanted to work for law enforcement (had already taken a pre-test and passed with flying colors). Having tremors when trying to focus on sniping put a REAL hamper on this prospect, so I gave up the dream to work for the law.

Over the years, the tremors would creep up whenever I was working with small things… actually, I just remembered something… I must have had these tremors even earlier than I thought as I remember friends asking why my hands shook when playing the piano. I would just say that I must be nervous (but I wasn’t) and leave it at that. hmm… interesting.

…oh well…

I posted a message on twitter about this (my tweets feed to my Facebook) about the experience my wife had and two friends from High School chimed in… one saying that he also suffered from ET and another sent me a link to the USF webpage (I didn’t know that was the same place Miranda was told about until later). I checked to see if they were covered by my insurance and it looks like they ARE.

My wife is always looking out for me. I’m so lucky to have found someone who cares enough about me to notice my “differences” and helps me to try and get them treated. Without her, I’m certain that I would be alone for the rest of my life… mostly because of my desire to stay home and not be around people because of my quirks.

oh… remember how I mentioned playing “Boom Blox” at the top of this post? Well, it’s REALLY aggravating for me because it deals with aiming the Wii-remote at tiny little blocks on the screen…. something that someone like myself has trouble doing to begin with! LOL

Cheers!

###

I’ve been busy putting together some recipes from my family recently when I decided to try and locate a book from my past.

This was a cookbook that my parents owned while we lived in Germany (early 80’s) that was FULL of various cakes and desserts…. my favorites. Unfortunately, the book is in my mom’s possession… in Germany!

…in comes Amazon.com to the rescue! I searched on the title of the book and actually found a few copies of the old cookbook.

Flippin’ A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!!!

When I opened the book up, I was overwhelmed with memories from Sunday’s spent at my uncle’s house in Bad Kreuznach… eating cakes (coffee & cake) and enjoying the outdoors. sigh

Those were some nice times and memories. I miss my home…

###

Miranda and I had lunch today at Mr. Dunderbak’s… a GREAT little german restaurant in Tampa. (well, in the USF area)

We normally went to Mr. D’s when it was at the University Mall, but they moved to a larger location… and a much nicer one in our opinion.

I had my usual Liverwurst & onion sandwich on pumpernickel… Miranda had potato pancakes and warm german potato salad…

…and since she never had a dessert from there, she also ordered some of their apple strudel:

Here’s a link to Google Maps for their location:

View Larger Map

###

This was an email sent to me by Smart Car USA regarding the recent impact tests and I thought I should share it:

>> A special update from the smart USA team

Dear smart enthusiasts,

Many of you may have become aware of a recent crash test study performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). You may have even seen some of the crash videos on the news. We’d like to take this opportunity to share with you some additional information about the tests and to clarify any questions you might have regarding the performance of the smart fortwo’s safety management system.

The overall purpose of the IIHS test was to demonstrate that small cars do not perform as well as big cars in high impact crashes. Therefore, the IIHS crashed three small cars – a Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, and smart fortwo – into three larger cars – a Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and Mercedes-Benz C-Class – respectively. In its press release announcing the results of the test, the IIHS stated that all three smaller cars performed poorly in this particular test, despite the fact that all three cars had received “Good” ratings from the IIHS in previous standard tests.

The IIHS’ non-standard test is rare and extreme and unlikely to occur in real world crashes. In fact, federal safety regulators do not require this type of testing because the likelihood of an accident within these test parameters is so rare: fewer than 1% of all accidents can compare to this type of crash.

>> The smart fortwo is safe.

The most important thing to note is that the smart fortwo meets or exceeds all federal government crash test standards, including a 5-star side crash rating. It also received the highest scores for front and side crashes from the IIHS.* The reason for these excellent results is the incredible safety management system of the smart fortwo. The vehicle is equipped with advanced crash avoidance (active safety) and crash protection (passive safety) systems that come as standard on all models.

The most notable of the active safety systems is electronic stability program (esp®). According to the IIHS, cars equipped with esp are 20% less likely to be in a fatal accident with another vehicle and 51% less likely to be in a fatal single-vehicle accident.** Additionally, the smart fortwo is the only vehicle in its price range to offer esp as standard equipment.***

In the event of a crash, the safety management system of this amazing vehicle will work hard to protect the occupants. The passive safety system, featuring four airbags and a collapsible steering column, is highlighted by the tridion safety cell – a steel safety cage reinforced with high-strength steel similar to a NASCAR roll cage.

smart has a proven, real-world track record with over a million cars on the road in 37 countries over the past 10 years. More than 30,000 smart fortwos have been sold here in just over one year of being on sale in the United States.

To learn more about the incredible safety management system of the smart fortwo, visit www.smartusa.com.

###