Anginator

I heart...

2008-08-05T21:27:00.003-05:00

1. weekends in Okoboji
2. flair on facebook
3. playing kickball
4. garden tomatoes
5. air conditioning
6. the Olympics!!
7. when the Twins win
8. my houseguest
9. Strongbow cider
10. el dirtee cee

If only July lasted longer...

2008-07-23T09:58:00.001-05:00

Here's a dining tip for you: Only 9 days left, but this is not to be missed.

When Hobbies and Hang-ups Collide

2008-07-22T21:14:00.005-05:00

The good news is that I took a long lunch break today with several colleagues and we walked over to the Target Center for the noon tip-off of the Lynx game. The bad news is that a week-day noon tip-off means the promotions staff has to work double-time to turn out a crowd. (Even more than they usually do for sparsely attended WNBA games...) Today's gimmick apparently was "invite every kid at every day camp in the 7 county metropolitan area." I'm not even kidding -- I'd say 90% of the crowd was under age 12. It made for a good looking arena because there were a lot of people, and each pack of kids had matching brightly-colored shirts. Someone likened it to a gigantic bowl of Skittles.

But I have to tell you, as much as I love basketball (and that's a LOT) this game really tested my mettle. There were literally thousands of kids. Screaming. And not the exciting kind of loud stadium yelling that adults generate, but the horrible kind of loud kid screaming that's two octaves too high and really should only be audible to dogs. Please, take a moment to imagine, just imagine, a thousand 10 year old girls squealing at the very tip top of their lungs. Now imagine what happens when the #$@% jumbotron operator flashes "LOUDER!!" on the scoreboard. I'm pretty confident it's precisely what hell sounds like.

I spent the better part of the second half wondering if I was officially old. You see, on more than one occasion, I plugged my ears. Sat there at a sporting event with my fingers in my ears. Totally embarrassing, right? But I polled my colleagues and they unanimously agreed that today didn't count. It wasn't that it was too loud. It was too high-pitched! Whew, that was a close one.

Luckily, the game turned out to be a decent one. The Lynx lost, following their recent habit of getting down big in the 3rd quarter then mounting a furious comeback in the 4th but falling just short. But the overall quality of play was higher than I tend to expect in a WNBA game, and I love, love, LOVE watching Lynx rookie Candice Wiggins. I'm trying to find out how to make her my new BFF. My current plan is to intervene on her behalf to get them to stop playing "gettin' jiggy with it" every time she makes a good play while flashing "getting Wiggy with it" on the arena screens. I mean, she has to find that annoying, right? Also, Sue Bird is really fun to watch.

At any rate, I'd have to say watching hoops is a good way to spend your lunch break, even if it is with thousands of kids. And you might even get me to admit that the unbridled joy of those kids brought an occasional smile to my face too. Maybe.

UPDATE: I read in the paper this morning that the announced attendance was 12,276. Meaning there were probably TEN thousand screaming kids. And the official game designation was "Kids' Day." Lesson learned.

Believe it.

2008-07-15T20:21:00.007-05:00

Recently, my friend Maureen started a new blog. This is important for two reasons. First, it necessitated me updating my blog so I could add a link to her blog (see right). Second, it made me fully realize a horrible blogging mistake I made.

See, I originally thought that if this blog had to be about something, I was in big trouble. It turned out that because it wasn't about anything, I was in big trouble. I rarely found inspiration. Maureen's blog has an awesome theme: she writes about new things she tries. Anything new counts. (Apparently not new things also count, so long as you make special note of their not-newness.) This seems to me to be a nearly endless supply of blogging inspiration.

So I talked it over with Maureen and Emily (she of my original blogging instruction) and we came up with the following plan. Starting now, my blog is about my hobbies. We further determined my hobbies are as follows:

- sports
- watching tv
- dining
- gardening
- traveling

Maureen's a little annoyed that watching tv is one of my hobbies. But too bad, because it's true.

Frequently I get to combine my hobbies. Like right now, I'm watching sports on tv (MLB All Star Game). It's also common for me to watch tv about dining and gardening via Food Network and HGTV. It now occurs to me that I never watch the travel channel though. Huh.

Anyway, I'm back. And now I have lots to write about. Stay tuned!

March Madness Haiku

2008-03-25T22:02:00.002-05:00

Filling out brackets
A national holiday
Oh, you mean it's not?

Sounds Like Chicken

2008-03-01T13:27:00.004-06:00

I was just sitting here having a perfectly pleasant morning watching Duke lose to NC State (right up until Duke won by one - ugh, H8 Duke), and for some reason started thinking about pop music from my college and early post-college days.

I brainstormed a list of late 80s/early to mid-90s bands that I listened to a lot: Toad the Wet Sprocket, Gin Blossoms, Matchbox 20, Goo Goo Dolls, Counting Crows, Hootie and the Blowfish, Better than Ezra, Spin Doctors, Crash Test Dummies.

So now it occurs to me, these are basically all the exact same band. I sort of have to remove Toad, because they are one of my favorite bands ever and it doesn't seem right to disparage them by lumping them in the with others... and Matchbox has had some staying power... but the others. Eeesh.

Don't get me wrong, I still like hearing some of the classic hits from these bands because like music always does, they take me back to specific memories that are primarily of the good variety. But we really aren't talking classics here. Sure, there are some arguments to be had: which is the better song - Hey Jealousy or Mr. Jones? Push or Name? Only Wanna Be with You or Two Princes?

Um, you could similarly argue which of the previous comparisons is the worst song. Or band. Seriously, in retrospect, did Crash Test Dummies have any redeeming artistic value?

Which brings me back to my original point -- most of these bands are essentially the same band. Thank goodness my music collection at the time also included Nirvana, Live, Foo Fighters, Lenny Kravitz, REM, Pearl Jam, U2, the Indigo Girls, and Madonna. C'mon, you can't argue with Madonna.

So go search your itunes or do some web surfing and weigh in, what are your nominations for best and worst 90s bands?

Hippity-Hoppity

2008-02-19T21:19:00.009-06:00

I was thrilled to discover that the Easter candy season is upon us when I went to the grocery store this weekend. Well sort of. I'm actually quite well known for my hatred of Peeps, so I wasn't so thrilled to see those. One time, I sort of yelled, "I HATE those damn Peeps" when I saw them in a Target in Ames, Iowa. An over-reaction, perhaps, but from that quote was born quite a Peep tradition in my life. Or anti-peep tradition. My extended family passes around a gag-gift of a package of peeps to one family member each Christmas. The recipient has to keep the Peeps and pass them on next year, with a poem explaining what Peep-worthy thing the new recipient has done. That same pack of Peeps has been circulating through my family since, oh, about 2000 I think. The Peeps appear to be pretty much in the same condition as they were 8 years ago. We even have a Peep family journal/photo album (titled "I hate those damn Peeps") to document the Peep's travel.

Another friend signed me up for the Peeps On-line Fan Club. I have to admit that was a pretty good one -- I laughed out loud when I got my welcome email.

But I digress, because this post is not about Easter candy I hate, but rather Easter candy that I L-O-V-E. In my opinion, dark chocoate is the only way to go, and there are two candies not to be missed this time of year.

I've already filled my office candy dish with a bag of these. I expect the whole bag to last about 2 days. Maybe a day and a half. Especially since my boss discovered them today. He had to take one of each color, just to verify that the color of the candy coating didn't affect the flavor. Naturally, I thanked him for this important research.

I've got a bag of these Dove dark chocolate eggs waiting in reserve when the Cadbury batch runs out. I regularly stock the Dove "promises" dark squares in my candy dish. The egg shape is a great seasonal diversion.

In short, Peeps=bad, dark chocolate eggs=AWESOME. I, for one, will be thoroughly enjoying the next month of Easter eggs of the non-poultry variety.

UPDATE: For no obvious reason, my brother and his wife just brought us a package of milk chocolate Cadbury mini eggs. They are also outstanding.

Sounds likea good idea, but...

2008-02-07T21:20:00.000-06:00

In the last year or so, I've really become aware that my brain just doesn't work as well as it used to. I mean, not that it's ever been the highest functioning brain in the world, but still. Until relatively recently, I didn't do a lot of forgetting. Never been a "list" person. Just sort of made my way in the world by taking things in, filing them away in my brain, and recalling them as necessary.

Not so much anymore.

Nowadays, it seems like I forgot a lot. I've been thinking about it though, and I'm not sure if I'm forgetting things, or just failing to notice them in the first place. Without a doubt, life in 2008 throws too much at us at once. The constant barrage of information, images, disinformation, interactions, you name it...it's really hard to get away from it all, and I suppose it's no wonder life all becomes a little much to keep track of.

Still, I'm not entirely comfortable with this new me. The me who needs to make lists. The me who gets half way to the gym before I notice I'm holding my ipod and my slippers, instead of my ipod and the tennis shoes I meant to pick up on the way out the door. The me who hasn't left a book club meeting in months without leaving something behind. The me who loses my car in the parking ramp at least twice a week.

My friend Maureen says I just need to focus. Sounds like a good idea, but... how?

Remember When?

2008-01-17T16:46:00.000-06:00

Just another note to tide you over. Remember back in my November post how UNC was the preseason #1? Well, 17 (and 0) games later? Still #1!

And not that I'd ever wish someone ill, but I do have to say for the record: I've really enjoyed watching basketball these last few weeks while Dick Vitale has been out with a throat. (You know, like football players are "out with a knee" injury?) Sadly, he's trying to ruin my life by returning for the UNC vs. Dook game Feb. 6th.

Whoa.

2008-01-17T09:21:00.000-06:00

A blog throw down. Well, I'll just have to do something about that. You know, tomorrow.

Happy Holidays

2007-12-11T21:48:00.000-06:00

One of my (many) favorite things about the holidays is cookie exchanges. This year, for the first time, we tried a small cookie exchange with my book club.

Well.

There are 5 people in my book club (counting me), and all but one of us had a cookie fiasco related to this exchange. Only Marta and her pizzelles were unscathed. Emily made snickerdoodles, which you may know go into the oven as round balls rolled in sugar and cinnamon. At one point, Em's cookies rolled right off her cookie sheet into the bottom of her hot oven, where they immediately started burning into a gooey mess (and also set off her smoke alarm).

Similarly, Renee got distracted by baby Lorenzo while baking her fig cookies, and forgot to set the oven timer. That batch was scorched beyond edibility (even though her husband encouraged her to just hide them at the bottom of the cookie pile).

And speaking of burns, I ended up with a 3rd degree beauty on my middle finger when I dragged it through a 300 degree batch of toffee while spreading the chocolate on top. Because adding the chocolate is a delicate and time-sensitive activity -- too soon and the chocolate melts into the toffee, too late and it won't stick to the toffee -- I had to just power though and address the burn later. Ice and lots of aloe vera gel were involved.

But funniest of all was Andi's cookie exchange misunderstanding. Since it was our first cookie exchange, Marta suggested we do 3 dozen cookies, just to keep things manageable. Well, Andi thought this meant 3 dozen cookies for EACH of us, not 3 dozen total. So she made 12 dozen cookies! Not exactly manageable. I still can't stop laughing about this! This is exactly the kind of thing that would happen to Andi. Adding to the great humor of this situation was Andi's cookie offering -- one of her now-famous "gimmick" cookies. This time, it was "bacon and eggs." Here's a picture:

Aren't bacon and eggs cookies the greatest? Two pretzel sticks with a dab of white almond bark and a yellow m&m. Andi also made some "green eggs and ham" with green m&m centers because, well, when you're making 144 of these, there are only so many yellow m&m's you can pick out of bags...

Anyway, even with our many and various cookie calamities, we all agreed that book club holiday cookie exchange was a total success, and will henceforth be an annual event.

If I knew how to caption a photo, this one would be marked "2007 Book Club Cookie Selections."

Say it again...

2007-11-05T15:53:00.000-06:00

Preseason #1! In case you haven't marked your calendar yet, opening game is Nov. 14, 6:00 pm central, ESPN.

Party Like It's my Birf-day

2007-10-04T09:46:00.000-05:00

Nothing, and I mean nothing, beats the groovy chick hallmark e-card, but look what I got from my alumni association today. Love it.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2007-09-25T21:10:00.000-05:00

I think these are the best seasons (in non priority order):

1. football season
2. honeycrisp apple season
3. college basketball season
4. garden tomato season (really, gardening season in general)
5. broomball season
6. napping in the hammock before the mosquitoes hatch season
7. salt (oh wait, that's my favorite seasoning)
8. first run tv shows season
9. summer, spring, winter, and fall (hey, there's a reason I live in the midwest)
10. and, of course, christmas

UPDATE: I forgot fire in the fireplace season.

Cheaters Always Win

2007-09-15T20:38:00.000-05:00

When I was a kid, I was taught that "cheaters never win." Well, that's clearly not true. Later in life, a friend suggested a modification to "cheaters never prosper," since clearly they regularly win. Trouble is, that's clearly not true either. (If you used the phrase "cheaters never win" with kids today, would they just look quizzically at you as if you just said "This above all: to thine own self be true"?)

I'm a huge sports fans. All kinds of sports. I've been known to walk around the house saying "sports, sports, sports!" while on my way to watch sports on the big tv purchased expressly for watching sports. (ok, also for The Mr.'s video gaming habit.) My favorite things to watch are NFL football and college basketball. But I digress...

I care about sports. And I'm really bugged by all the cheating in sports these days. Every time I load up the ESPN website (ok, it's my homepage...) there's a new cheating storyline. This week, it's the cheater, cheater pants on fire Patriots. (wait, that's not how that goes...) And that's just the coaching staff. All the cheater players and their performance enhancing drugs don't even seem to matter in the NFL. But it certainly seems to matter in Major League Baseball, just ask Barry Bonds and Senator George Mitchell. And the NBA has cheating, gambling, probably game-throwing referees. And goodness knows it's not a sport, but some Formula One racing team just got fined $100 million for somehow doing racecar cheating. And I had to give up watching the Tour de France altogether this year because every freaking rider is doping. Even the ones who "promised" they weren't this time. (And yes, I admire Lance Armstrong and his accomplishments and everything he's done for cancer research. And no, I don't believe he was a clean rider.)

I could go on and on. Track and Field? Ha. The Olympics? Right. Honestly, at this point I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Tiger Woods has experimented with HGH. Really, I wouldn't.

All of this. Everything. I really can't stand it. And what do we as fans do in these instances? We forgive and forget. We keep right on watching. We keep buying tickets. We forever fall in love with winners.

I know that cheating in sports is nothing new. Like everything else, it has simply benefited from technological advancements. My boss laughed out loud at me this week when I tried to argue that I watch sports not as pure entertainment, but because I believe in the spirit of competition and athletic achievement. Really, is this what sport has come to? Pure entertainment? Anything goes for a competitive edge? Winning at all costs?

It appears the answer to these questions is yes. And really, it's hard to even blame individuals anymore. Amateur and professional sports alike are all about the money. And the money comes from winning. And winning is enhanced by cheating. So what choice does the athlete really have any more? (And let's be honest, this blog entry needn't be limited to sports. Just ask any teacher. Or politician. Or Dennis Kozlowski.

Anyway, I guess I'm just not quite ready accept this. Or at least admit it to myself. But it seems I better get used to it.

UPDATE: Yesterday the editor of my local paper, the Star Tribune, was forced by a judge to step down from his job for 1 year. Why? Basically for the newspaper version of stealing signs. Until recently, this editor was the editor of the cross-town rival paper, the Pioneer Press. Apparently he saw fit to bring some confidential trade secrets with him when he switched teams. Wouldn't Bill Belichick be proud.

Searching for Inspiration

2007-09-10T20:35:00.000-05:00

It's been a busy couple of weeks, which has clearly affected my blogability. Also, I haven't really been inspired lately with a good blog topic. You know, I'm really just not a very creative person. I wish I was! I'm always envious of my friends creative / artistic pursuits. For example, my friend Emily is going to teach me how to make a mosaic table top for my patio. Emily is extremely creative! She told me all I need (in addition to her expertise) is some "inspiration" for what I want my table to look like. I've been searching high and low for this inspiration, and so far haven't found it. Is there somewhere I should be looking that I haven't thought of? I'm really excited to have have my table, but am more or less paralyzed by the infinite number of designs it could take. Is there somewhere I could buy some artistic confidence?

In other news, you may not have realized it, but the most wonderful time of year has arrived. Football season! I joined a new fantasy football league this year, which means now I play in three. No, it's not too many. It might be close though...I'm starting to find myself cheering for players I own in one league but then am playing against in another league. It's a little complicated, but I'm up to the task.

I'm also really excited for the Women's World Cup which started today, and the US has their first game tomorrow. They have the toughest draw in the tournament, but I'm sure they will be up to the challenge. Because the tournament is in China, the games are on very early in the morning here. I haven't yet figured out how to approach viewing the games. It will certainly involve TIVO, but then there's the matter of avoiding news of the results all day long. At any rate, these world class women athletes, I'm pretty sure, don't have to search for inspiration.

Tell me yours, I'll tell you mine.

2007-08-18T21:32:00.000-05:00

I was reading a story the other day about guilty pleasures, and it got me a-thinkin' about some of my own. So here goes.

Kraft Mac & Cheese. Especially the spiral noodles. I know it doesn't really have any redeeming nutritional qualities, but I still enjoy this taste of my childhood. I like to dress it up now with a little curry powder. Or some fresh cherry tomatoes. But I'll take it plain too. I occasionally sneak this onto the menu on nights when The Mr. is off doing something else.

Dilly Bars. And while I'm on the subject of "food," does anything beat a run to DQ for a dilly bar? Nowadays, most locations have the pre-made dilly bars made in a factory somewhere. It's nice to have the option to buy dillys all boxed up to take home, but I do miss the originals. You know, the ones made and dipped right in the store with the little soft-serve belly button in the middle? There's actually a DQ not far from my house that still makes this kind. It's not the closest location, but it's worth the extra mile or two.

Barry Manilow. As a kid, I probably had more Barry Manilow vinyls than any other artist. Today, his greatest hits live happily on my ipod. Oh! And also Barry Manilow sings Frank Sinatra. That album is great too.

Milli Vanilli. Ok, they're on my ipod too. I'm pretty sure I got the cd from Sarah. Come on, you have to admit no matter who was actually singing, those were some catchy tunes. I got to check out the MTV Jams tour with Milli Vanilli and Tone Loc in 1989 and it was pretty much the best day of life. B-buh-buh-buh baby...

Powerline. Sometimes I like to check out this blog to see what's getting the dark side all worked up. Reading this site always makes me feel so, oh, I don't know, intellectually superior. (I just don't have it in me to actually sully my blog with an actual link to their site though...)

My childhood hometown newspaper. I don't think this is really a guilty pleasure, but it's something I do that cracks me up. The Yankton Daily Press and Dakotan site always has a weekly reader poll. I'm a regular voter in this poll, which for some reason I find hilarious. Probably because I'm one of usually somewhere between 150-200 voters, and I'm nearly always in the serious minority. I wonder if I'm the only "outsider" who votes. I also really wonder who picks the questions. Right now it's "Are you ready for school to start again?" (47% yes) but a few weeks ago it was "Should the US trust Pakistan as an ally in the war on terror?" (84% no). Any local P&D readers who can look into that for me would be appreciated.

American Idol. Can't leave this off the list! It's currently my only reality TV fix. I'll admit it, I'm a fan. I missed the boat the first season (Kelly Clarkson rocks!), but have been a faithful viewer ever since. I toyed around with The Apprentice for a couple seasons, but that didn't have the staying power of Idol. (Ok, fine, I also watched Joe Millionaire that first season, but that was a one-time only mistake.)

And last but not least, sleeping in! I had more or less been out of the habit of really sleeping in on the weekends, but lately The Mr. and I have rediscovered this simple (but sometimes guilty) pleasure. Seems our schedules have gotten a little out of hand lately, and after long weeks at work and busy evenings after work, by the weekend we're pretty much exhausted. Nothing says happiness like turning off the alarm. Then it's just a matter of waiting to see how long the neighbors will wait to start mowing their laws on Saturday morning. (Today it was only 8:45 - boo!) It's rare, but sometimes we can make it until 10:00. Yee haw!

So, how about you?

What's worse, they paid somebody for that advice...

2007-08-12T13:41:00.000-05:00

Mike's comment on my previous post reminded me of this:

For many years now, I've been a devotee of Cottonelle toilet paper. I mean, I won't even consider another brand. A couple days ago I picked up a new 12-pack and noticed that Cottonelle has redesigned packaging. Featuring puppies and fluffy blankets. WTF? Who thinks up this stuff? This is supposed to attract me as a comsumer to this product? Puppies have nothing to do with toilet paper! (I'd argue that the fact that puppies don't use toilet paper is a perfectly good reason not to have puppies around, but I digress.) And check out out the website. It features stoopid puppy stuff like puppy computer wallpaper and puppy coloring book pages over their actual PRODUCTS! If I had Cottonelle stock, I'd sell it all immediately. Well, except I will keep buying their toilet paper.

Things I Hate

2007-08-08T09:43:00.000-05:00

Ok, I'll admit to being slightly opinionated. Some have also suggested I'm given to hyperbole. So really, the title of this post lends itself to any number of possible entries. It could be about cilantro. Really, that would be the most obvious guess. It could also be about NASCAR. It could defintely be about that horrific new "viva viagra" commercial on tv with the appalling men's garage jug band. (If you haven't seen or heard this commercial, count your blessings. Seriously, start counting right now.) But no, today's entry is dedicated to this:

Tree rats. More commonly known as squirrels. And this is what they do! They spy on you! And they use the counterintelligence they collect to make your life miserable.

It's difficult for me to put my hatred of squirrels into words. For sure I need a lot of bad words. First, let's just start with the word squirrel. Say it out loud. Squirrel. A few more times. Squirrel, squirrel, squirrel. What a stupid, phonetically unpleasant word.

But that's not all. Living in the upper midwest, every spring I'm practically beside myself waiting for the temperatures to warm up enough to get out in my flower garden. And oh all the glorious pots and planters I have to fill! Probably close to 30 of them! I spend hundreds of dollars and dozens of hours carefully, lovingly selecting plants that are best suited for their container's location. I transplant them. I water them. I fertilize them. (I've not yet talked to them...) I wait patiently for them to repay my love by blooming profusely and filling my summer with their beauty. They bring me joy.

But tree rats.

They spy on me. They wait until each pot is filled. They wait until I'm not looking. And then they dig. Oh, how they dig. And not to eat my plants either. That might be understandable. No, they just dig for the hell of it. To fill me with rage. To make me insane. They dig to fling my baby plants all over the place, leaving their tender roots exposed, to bake in the sun on the concrete patio until I get home to see the carnage.

I try to rescue the plants. I replant them, sometimes replace them. I water them again. Typically, the next day, I come home to the same scene. We repeat this dance, the squirrels and I, until eventually they lose interest. And they usually do lose interest. I've attempted to hasten their interest-losing by sprinking hot pepper around my plants. (Take that!) Squirrels don't care. The Mr., fearing total mental collapse in his wife, one day came home with this:

But it ridded no critters. Yes, I even bought a whole bunch of bamboo skewers and stuck them in my pots, pointy side up, as a bit of a medievil punishment for the tree rats. (True story.) No dice. Dig, dig, dig.

A week or two goes by, and I'd like to think I win (I do enjoy winning), but eventually they just stop. Whichever plants have weathered the storm grow in peace, and that's the end of it. Flowers flourish. Blooms spead beauty and joy. Or at least, that's always been the end of it.

What did I find yesterday? A whole row of gerbera daisys, stems pointing skyward... and totally empty on top. ARGH! Nothing but a nibble mark where the bloom used to be. And nearby, a patch of yellow petals. And a short distance away, a patch of orange petals. And underneath the maple tree, a giant pile of red petals.

Please, if you drive by my house and you see a squirrel, hanging in noose in the front yard as a warning to all other comers, don't think me crazy. Just know I've had it. I swear, if they touch my tomatoes...

Pay Attention Grasshopper

2007-08-05T13:51:00.000-05:00

I got a blogging lesson from Emily. (See, I just demonstrated how I learned to make links.) Here is what Emily looks like:

(Em is a very good sport for teaching me how to post pictures from the hard drive with a picture of herself.)

I also learned how to italicize.

And type in bold face. (or blod, depending on your typing/spelling skills.)

Finally, I learned how to post random internet pictures. Emily picked this picture, although I didn't protest because I am a Beyonce fan.

To Blog or Not to Blog...Maybe I'll Blog

2007-07-26T14:53:00.000-05:00

As you can see, my first and last post to my blog was nearly 3 years ago. I like reading other blogs, but it seems like such a big responsibility to BE a blogger. But peer pressure is getting to me, and though I'm not yet committed to the idea, I'm strongly considering writing more frequent posts. With an every-three-years standard, that shouldn't be too hard.

I protest!

2004-09-16T13:18:00.000-05:00

I didn't really want a blog, but it made me set this up in order to leave a comment on someone else's blog.