Novel Times, Novel Measures

The virtual home of Lawrence S. Grodeska

The Secret Life of Forks

It’s an eternal mystery: why are there never any forks in the kitchen at work? And where do they go? Kind of like socks at home, forks at work seem to disappear into thin air. Just today, in a moment of proactive inspiration, I decided to do something about this pressing issue and sent the following email to my co-workers.

Hello All,

As you may know, SF Environment has been experiencing a devastating resource shortage right here in our Grove Street office. Yes, I am talking about the strange and sad disappearance of any and all forks that wander into the abyss of our office kitchens.

To fight this creeping threat to lunches everywhere, I’ve created the SFE “Fork Fund” which can be found atop the microwave in the 3rd floor kitchen. Recently, the School Ed program took bold and drastic action to stem the tide of fork depletion by importing forks raised in captivity by Goodwill Industries. However, this will only stem the tide for so long. Help reimburse School Ed, and start building capacity for our next utensil crisis, by contributing to the Fork Fund today.

Next time you’re on the third floor, drop some coins to save the forks. Your lunch — and your stomach — will thank you.

This message brought to you by SFE Staffers for Fork Preservation. Any funds collected will be used directly for the purchase of more forks, and maybe a few spoons.

Only time will tell if this ploy will work. Wish us luck, dear reader.

Filed under: At Work, Et Cetera

Hands On Kraut!

Today I fulfilled a decade-long dream of making my own sauerkraut. Maybe that doesn’t sound like the stuff dreams are made of, but it’s true — I’ve been talking about making sauerkraut for years now. The funny thing is, I can’t quite explain why. I mean, I like sauerkraut, but I don’t love it. I don’t buy it all that much. In fact, there is a half-eaten jar in my fridge that probably moved with me from my last residence. Maybe it’s my German-Polish heritage. Or maybe my body knows it’s good for me. Or perhaps I just need another project for all of my free time.

Whatever it is that lies beneath my kraut-making obsession was sated today, and I had a great time in the process. The occasion was a workshop taught by Kathryn Lukas of Farmhouse Culture who is working on creating a California sauerkraut tradition with her delicious local products. Think smoked jalapeno kraut and you’ll get the picture. Kathryn was a great teacher and, I must say, makes a mean kraut. I also have to thank my co-worker Mei Ling for taking me along — you made my fermented dreams come true! Check out some more photos here.

Filed under: Et Cetera, Uncategorized

Which Superhero Are You?

So here’s a fun test to break the monotony and provide an easy blog post. It’s also right up my alley, and in the collective consciousness these days, if Hollywood super-hero flicks are any indication. The question: which superhero are you?

Well, after a rigorous round of testing, it turns out that I….am…..Iron Man! Ozzy couldn’t be more proud!

Here’s the breakdown:

Iron Man
70%
Spider-Man
70%
Robin
60%
The Flash
60%
Green Lantern
55%
Hulk
55%
Wonder Woman
45%
Catwoman
45%
Batman
45%
Supergirl
35%
Superman
35%
Inventor. Businessman. Genius.

I know that you just can’t wait to see who your superhero totem is, so click here to take the “Which Superhero am I?” quiz. This is just as silly as astrology! Have fun!!

Filed under: Et Cetera

Bigfoot Sighted…ON MARS!!

LifeOnMarsBARC_468x290, originally uploaded by noveltimes.

A few months back we talked about a bigfoot sighting in the wilds of Pennsylvania. Well, there has been a new sighting, and it just doesn’t get any better than this. Life on Mars, Sasquatch style. Our old friend Spirit, one of NASA’s two handy-dandy, odds-defying Mars Rovers, recently returned the above image of a peculiar rock outcropping. Once in the hands of the general public, said image was quickly touted as the latest evidence of extraterrestrial life by a mess of amateur astronomers cum exo-biologists.

Now, I happen to believe that there is life somewhere in the universe outside of our atmosphere here on Earth. I’d even venture to say that some of that life is intelligent, if not highly so. But a Sasquatch on Mars? Someone get Agents Mulder and Scully on the phone, pronto!

On a more serious note, if you haven’t seen the images of the surface of Mars that Spirit and Opportunity have beamed back over the last three years, do yourself a favor and check ‘em out. Absolutely stunning. Here’s one from the NASA site:

Mars Rover Spirit image

NASA’S Mars Exploration Rover Spirit captured this westward view from atop a low plateau where Sprit spent the closing months of 2007.

Filed under: Et Cetera, Space

I <3 lolcats

I think I need to find a feline companion. For some time, whenever I see a cat in the street, I have been compelled to stop and attempt to make contact. And now, whenever I happen upon a lolcat, I get all giddy and excited. For those of you who may not know what exactly a “lolcat” is, there is a website just for you. icanhascheezburger.com serves as a repository for those absurdly cute pet photos emblazoned with sometimes hilarious, if not grammatically challenged, captions. To get you up to speed, here’s the lolcat that started it all:

I can has cheezburger

How damn cute is that? I giggle every time I see that tilt of the head and that rabidly vacant stare. Apparently this image was appropriated from an ad for a Russian cat food company and used for someone’s insipid plans of cat cuteness. And so a fad was formed.

It gets better, though. Meta better. In the ensuing flourish of lolcats — and loldogs and the lolruses — that followed, some interpid souls out there on the interweb have discerned the beginnings of a lolcat syntax. My favorite “construct” is the form “‘I’M IN UR X, Ying your Z” where X, Y and Z are variations on the theme of “i’m in ur base, killing ur d00ds” from World of Warcraft III. Now that’s serious geekspeak, but a simple example will fill in the gaps:

Readin ur mindz

So now you know, kitteh. Just wanted to share.

Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Et Cetera

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TWITTER: @lsgrodeska

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