http://www.pleonast.com/user/robbio recent pleonast.com entries by user robbio en-us http://www.pleonast.com/user/robbio?l=5&entryID=600834 I just discovered the coolest thing ever. Every year starting in early to mid October and lasting until mid December, I start hearing voices. They come in different tones and word it in different ways and with varying degrees of urgency, but the message in always the same: What do you want for your birthday/christmas? My answer is always the same. "uh...I don't have a clue." This is because a) the things on my mental wish list are usually either intangible or far too expensive to ask someone else for, and b) because when I see something relatively cheap that I want I either buy it right away (IMPULSE!) or forget all about it (until about January 7th). Though the numbers don't quite add up, this problem has somehow increased tenfold with the addition of two new sibling-in-laws. Enter wishlist.com. Its like a store registry only without the store. You just go there, sign up, make your list, and check the mail every day waiting for your adoring relatives to shower you with... 2008-11-19 http://www.pleonast.com/user/robbio?l=5&entryID=596756 So...how come when I was in college there was great music being written and now that I'm out of college, contemporary music stinks? Am I getting old? 2008-11-07 http://www.pleonast.com/user/robbio?l=5&entryID=595745 So...Obama was elected by a decent sized landslide. After the economic problems it comes as no surprise, of course, but because I disagree with Obama on virtually all issues, its still disappointing. Even if Obama leads as a uniter/centrist (as opposed to his extremely liberal past), I still think that the next two years could be irreversibly bad for this nation. God's will be done. And that leads me to this: God's will IS BEING done. God is all powerful and all power is God's, and Barrack Obama just received the most powerful job in the world. You do the math. "He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings." (Obviously, this doesn't mean God approves of Obama's agenda) Obama is the first black president in our history. THAT is something to celebrate regardless of what I think of the man's political positions. As a student of history, I recognize that tonight is an unbelievable departure from our past (even our recent past) - a great day for American hist... 2008-11-05 http://www.pleonast.com/user/robbio?l=5&entryID=595746 So...Obama was elected by a decent sized landslide. After the economic problems it comes as no surprise, of course, but because I disagree with Obama on virtually all issues, its still disappointing. Even if Obama leads as a uniter/centrist (as opposed to his extremely liberal past), I still think that the next two years could be irreversibly bad for this nation. God's will be done. And that leads me to this: God's will IS BEING done. God is all powerful and all power is God's, and Barrack Obama just received the most powerful job in the world. You do the math. "He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings." (Obviously, this doesn't mean God approves of Obama's agenda) Obama is the first black president in our history. THAT is something to celebrate regardless of what I think of the man's political positions. As a student of history, I recognize that tonight is an unbelievable departure from our past (even our recent past) - a great day for American hist... 2008-11-05 http://www.pleonast.com/user/robbio?l=5&entryID=594476 If Iran develops a nuclear weapon it will destabilize the entire Middle East (even if it doesn't use them...currently the only country with a nuclear arsenal in the Middle East is Israel (~200), which...you know...is maybe why we don't see Arab countries tryin' dem dar sneak attacks no more). Israeli government officials have been saying for months that the situation with Iran is running out of time. To attack development sites in Iran (conventionally), Israel must overfly Turkish or Iraqi airspace. Turkey ain't gonna happen. Reports are that Israeli officials asked Bush for permission to use Iraqi airspace during the summer and were refused. Common sense says that an Obama administration is less likely to use military force to prevent proliferation in Iran. Israel knows this. If Obama wins Tuesday (likely), pressure to allow an Israeli attack or organize a joint attack will rise dramatically for the Bush administration. Any US involvement directly or indirectly with an attack ... 2008-11-02 http://www.pleonast.com/user/robbio?l=5&entryID=590739 . . .here's the thing. That knight in shining armor that you ladies are SO enthralled with is gonna be overweight in 5-10 years anyway, right? Happens to the best of them. Its called "maturing" (also "watching too much football" and "eating out because she doesn't cook"). So the way I figure, I'm just ahead of the game! Like...more mature...n'stuff. So...what gives, ladies? Also, the whole "lack of confidence" thing I don't get. I mean, sure, EVERYONE knows that showing a lack of confidence is unattractive. So if I knowingly express a lack of confidence is that not clear evidence that I am CONFIDENT enough to believe that my wit, charming good looks, and intelligent conversation will counterbalance whatever negative effects "lack of confidence" will have? Sheesh...THINK about it! I guess what I'm saying is that you ladies had better wise up because if you're not intelligent and cultured enough to recognize my nuanced awesomeness then ... 2008-10-23 http://www.pleonast.com/user/robbio?l=5&entryID=571775 I haven't updated in ages because...well...there is nothing to update really. My brother came down. We had fun. A hurricane came...sorta. It was boring. Fred is still my buddy even though he has taken to eating my dress socks whenever he gets a chance. In other news, I sat down to revamp my budget yesterday. I'm gonna start doing some pretty cool financial gymnastics soon which I don't really care to share publicly except to say that INGdirect.com and the flexibility that gives is awesome. Also, I set aside a certain monthly amount for "benevolence." I only bring it up to draw your attention to Kiva.org, a website which acts as a sort of gateway to microcredit organizations around the world. These organizations offer small loans to the poor in underdeveloped countries. You can read more about microcredit here and more about kiva here. If you decide to do some loans on kiva, be sure to join the Pleonast group here. ...also, whoever turned the skyfaucet on over Mobile, you ... 2008-09-05 http://www.pleonast.com/user/robbio?l=5&entryID=554627 The Jamaica crew is down there...without me :( 2008-07-25 http://www.pleonast.com/user/robbio?l=5&entryID=551286 So for some strang reason i felt compelled to cook a 'main dish' this week. I browsed allrecipes.com and chose a recipe. It was a potential disaster from the start when I found it necessary to call home to mom to make sure that whipping cream is the same thing as whipped cream (it isn't! who knew?!), but thankfully I hadn't even bought the ingredients yet. Then, as I was mixing stuff, it occurred to me that I might want to find out what pans were going to be needed. It turns out you're supposed to put a big pan in a bigger pan with some water in it. It called for an inch of water. It got about 1/8th of that (cookie sheets ftw!). I figured that things were doomed, but when the time came, it looked a delicious golden brown on top and smelled hawsome (hawt+awesome=hawesome for those who haven't been following my trendsetting vocabulary modifications). Unfortunately, when I bit into it, it was WAY saltier than I expected. This both subdued the taste of the broccoli and sharpened the taste ... 2008-07-16 http://www.pleonast.com/user/robbio?l=5&entryID=550722 1 cup Peanut Butter 1 cup vanilla ice cream 1 cup milk maybe a dash of ice blended until smooth = Perfection 2008-07-15