Fortunately, they didn't ask for five

Well, I'm a little embarrassed, because I don't have any trivia misses to give you. The reason is... we didn't miss a single question last night. Not one. Not even the final. Obviously, we won. So instead of the misses, I'll give you a few that I can remember, and make up a few more.

1. Which war began the same year that the U.S. government began printing paper money?
2. Name at least four of the seven Noble Gases.
3. What New Orleans dish gets its name from the Bantu word for okra?
4. What was in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari?
5. Who has more 300-strikeout seasons: Pedro Martinez or Roger Clemens?

Hey, Remember the 90's?

It turns out there's a new crew writing trivia nights, and they're still working on coming up with ideas, so they built on last week's "90's sitcom trivia" with the slightly-more-general "90's trivia" night last night. The bad news for you: that stuff is pretty much right in our wheelhouse, so we didn't miss a question the whole night until the final. The bad news for us: it's right in everybody's wheelhouse, so the three teams that actually did answer the final question passed us. The first question is last night's final; the next three are bonus questions I came up with.

1. On April 1, 1990, minimum wage was raised from $3.35/hr to what new rate?
2. What venue hosted the first indoor game in FIFA World Cup history?
3. What talk show debuted on WLWT-TV in Cincinnati in September of 1991 as a replacement for The Phil Donahue Show?
4. Which Spice Girl announced her departure from the band on May 31, 1998?

Time's fun when you're having flies

Yesterday, we had a "winter event," or at least what passes for one in South Carolina. Five inches of snow fell at my house, more than last year at this time, which was more than, well, apparently any day in the eight years previous. As a result, the area bus line suspended service until 10:00 in the morning. No way am I taking my own car out in a mess like that, so I spent my morning at home.
The most jarring upset to my morning schedule was walking the dog. Ginny generally wants to get out the door as soon as she gets up, which is around 6:00 these days. Yesterday, however, she slept until almost 7:00. I got bundled up, got her downstairs, got the leash on, opened the door... and she took one look at the Great Outdoors and decided she didn't want to go for a walk after all.
I know that the walk takes up a good chunk of my morning schedule (30-40 minutes, if we get a full walk in), but I hadn't really appreciated that time until we didn't do it. I ate a leisurely breakfast (usually it takes about three bites), did the readings that I had planned to do at school, washed the dishes that I normally save for when I got home, started a load of laundry... and it still wasn't 7:30.
There was a point to this story, but it has slipped my mind.

Our Long National Nightmare Is Over

After denying us our right to answer random questions for nearly a month, trivia night finally returned last night. Upon arrival, we were informed that it was "90s sitcom trivia night," which was all well and good, until they started asking questions about shows that were not sitcoms. Alternatively, maybe I need to start viewing 90210 in a whole new light. TV trivia also means a fresh glut of questions about Saved By the Bell, which invariably are passed on to you, the reader.

1. Who was the youngest child on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air?
2. What is A.C. Slater's full name (i.e., what does "A.C." stand for)?
3. We all know what ZIP code Brandon and Brenda Walsh lived in, but what city were they Walshes originally from?
4. What is the street number of the Melrose Place apartments?
5. What town did Pete & Pete live in?
Final:
6. What score did Zack Morris get on the SAT?

Better Late Than Never

With the New Year over a week old, it seems like time to list this year's Resolutions:

• Get the PhD.
• Brown-bag it more. I'm spending close to $40 a week going out to lunch.
• Less red meat. Less butter. Less sugar. Sigh.
• Way less pizza. In particular, I will avoid the all-you-can-eat pizza buffet at Todaro's, in deference to my long-suffering arteries.
  
• Stop using sponges to clean the dishes, as they are, apparently, nothing more than slightly soapy bacteria farms.
• Make it to 400 on the 1001 Movies You Must See list. That will require just under 140 movies. I think I can do it.
• Ride the bus more. I've already paid a hefty "transportation fee" to fund the bus system, I might as well get what I've paid for. As a bonus, half-hour bus ride + Google Video + iPod touch = 1-2 movies a week.
  

More resolutions (maybe) if I think of them.

Happy New Week!

Here we are, nearly a week into the new year, and the Preschool is ready to open back up.
While some corners of the blogosphere take an intentional holiday break, mine is due mostly to the fact that I visit my parents around Christmastime, and the internet connections up there are... well, let's just say that this post would likely take several hours to finish, and I have better things to do (for example, walking the dog through the huge cornfields behind Mom's house). And yes, Christmas was now two weeks ago, but I've been playing with my presents.

Anyway, content should start up again any day now. Expect trivia on Thursday (or Friday, depending). Perhaps a list of New Years Resolutions. I have an idea for the cooking posts that I might try. It is, as usual, very exciting. Stay tuned, people.