Scribble On The Wall » Worth A Look

What Is It?

Marisa — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 03:22:50 +0000

I remember visiting my husband’s step-father in the southern part of West Virginia a couple decades ago. He owned a grocery dry goods store but he also was licensed to sell guns. In fact, there wasn’t much you couldn’t find in his store. What stood out, though, was that he sold things that I’d never seen before – things that were very old or very specific in purpose.

Not sure what I mean? Well, take a look at some of the items at the What Is It blog to get an idea. Go ahead an click a set to see if you can figure out what the items are. You can click on the Answer link but do try to figure a few of the items out, first. That’s the fun of it!

The guy who runs the What Is It blog claims to have quite a collection of unusual items and from the looks of the site I’d have to agree. Now, I haven’t come across things like cat furniture or stuff that’s racy or adult in nature, but I have been pretty impressed with the various tools and other items listed here.

The only thing that would be better would be to see an actual display of this stuff so you could touch each item and really get a feel for it. Wouldn’t that make a great traveling show?

For The Designer In All Of Us

Marisa — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 17:16:17 +0000

A long time ago, in 1992, while I was pregnant with my only daughter, my husband and I set about figuring how to make our tiny 2 bedroom house accommodate 5 kids. We looked at other property for building, larger homes in the area, even a double wide on 10 acres of beautiful land. Nothing felt right. In the end we decided to take out a loan to renovate the house we had. What began as an addition turned out to be a major demolish-rebuild project. Our house came down, right to the foundation; my husband rebuilt it bigger and better.

The rebuilding was amazing. We were operating on a shoestring budget since we intended to build more than what the bank approved. One corner we cut was blueprints. I drew them myself using graph paper and a ruler. That’s it. I measured the existing house, our lot, the dimensions of appliances and fixtures and beds and other furniture. And I laid it all out. What fun!

I know that if I designed a house today there’s software to make the job much easier. Even better, thanks to my friend Deb, I’ve been using Floorplanner that lets you design your room or your project right on line. Oh, and there’s even a free, personal account that let’s you save up to 5 plans!

So far, I’ve used FloorPlanner to layout the kitchen in Nick’s apartment. Even Nick was impressed. Next up, I’d like to redesign our living/family room to accommodate some type of home theater chairs to make it more like an entertainment room. Okay, what I really want to do is find a way to combine an entertainment area with a play area with a pool table. Yeah, good luck on that, right?

But really, using this great online service, you just never know what I might design. Go ahead over and play with it a little. Design your dream kitchen or your master suite then stop by here and let me know how it turned out.

A Verse For Your Day

Marisa — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 02:26:12 +0000

It’s been years since I dabbled in astrology. Nevertheless, my mind is still wrapped around the significance of specific days in relation to who we are. Birthdays just hold that kind of fascination for me.

My friend, Cass, shared this BirthVerse site with me several months ago and I just love it. All you have to do is put in your birthday and you’ll see the Bible verse that corresponds with that day. Interestingly, the verse does seem to fit with everyone I’ve entered so far.

1 Corinthians 11:12 NIV
For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.

Having my own verse got me to thinking about how to make that more a part of my life. I’ve been recently looking into changing banks for my checking account which means I’d need new checks. I wonder if putting that verse on my checks would be possible. I remember seeing something similar before but I don’t know if they were random quotes or chosen one. I’ll have to look into that.

So, take a look at your Bible verse and share it here. Does it seem to fit you in any way? Let me know!

What’s In A Name?

Marisa — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 05:22:14 +0000

Do you know what your name means? Is it an old, family name? An unusual spelling of a common name? Or did your parents just make it up, making you unique?

Well, my name was unusual when I was a kid and I hated it. Teachers couldn’t pronounce it properly which always made me dread the first day of school each year. I could never go to the 5&10 with my friends and buy the cute stuff with my name on it because my name wasn’t there. My mom would have to special order personalized pens or jewelry or hair clips with my name on it. It didn’t make me feel special at all. It made me feel different.

But that was then. Now I actually like my name. It feels right. And I do like looking up my name to find out more about it. Amazingly, I wasn’t the only one with that name back in 19…uh, a long time ago. According to Baby Name World, there were 597 baby girls born in the US the same year I was who were named Marisa. That’s right, almost 600 of us. That may not seem very significant to those with common names but to me, that’s simply amazing. I never would have guessed that there were so many other little girls dealing with having to point out to people that MARISA is not the same as MARCIA and had one more letter than MARIA.

So, did you find your name in the database? Were you one in a couple hundred or one in several thousands the year you were born? Let me know! I’d love to find someone with a number lower than mine.

A Diamond Ring And A Blender?

Marisa — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 06:09:11 +0000

We’ve all seen the videos of people placing various items in a blender, right? Some are hilarious, others are just silly. Regardless, I usually can figure out what will happen in the end.

The folks over at Abazias Diamonds decided to find out what would happen if one of their diamond engagement rings met up with a blender. In case you’ve never heard of Abazias Diamonds, they have the most absolutely stunning diamond rings. I’ve been playing around with their diamond ring builder, choosing my favorite settings then picking the perfect diamonds for them. I already have a wedding ring set, of course, but since Abazias Diamonds also sells beautiful Eternity Rings, I’ve printed out a picture of my favorite to hang on my fridge. You know, so that when the husband gets milk for his coffee, he just might see it and get the hint. I’m sly like that.

Anyway, what you really want to see right now is the Diamond Engagement Ring taking on the blender. Just stop for a minute and figure out which will come out on top. Really, no cheating, what do you think will happen? Okay, now watch the video and let me know if it turned out as you expected.

Sometimes You Just Want To Look At The Pictures

Marisa — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 03:57:41 +0000

This site isn’t the most elegant. I could think of a hundred and one ways to design it better. But when you’ve got all these great photos you can just put them out there and wait for others to find them. I did, after all. And now that you’ve found them, go ahead and find your favorites.

I know some of you will love the aircraft malfunctions and others will be fascinated by the fires and construction accidents. Me? I like the signs. I’m always amazed that no one is proof reading signs that are out in public. Or newspaper headlines. But that could be good, too, because that’s what gives me a little chuckle when I take a break from all the serious stuff online.

Which pictures do you enjoy the most?

Brad Templeton on Copyright

Marisa — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 20:42:25 +0000

I discovered Brad Templeton’s website several years ago. I was researching copyright and found his 10 Big Myths About Copyright Explained to be the easiest to understand yet most useful explanation of copyright as it applies to the internet. His Brief Intro To Copyright goes a step further to give you just about everything you need to know regarding this often misunderstood topic.

But that isn’t all there is to Brad. He’s a pioneer in the online world, having founded ClariNet as well as being involved with a myriad of other online companies such as Topica, and BitTorrent. He is Chairman of the Board of the EFF, too, and if you’re not a member there, you should join. And donate if you can.

I won’t enumerate all of Brad Templeton’s online involvements; the guy is active all over the cyber world. Just head on over to his Blog and read through his Ideas. He’s a fascinating man and reading what’s on his mind will expand your mind. From the everyday stuff, like passwords to the more sublime, like his future stuff category.

How much do I enjoy this blog? It just took me over an hour to write this little review because I kept getting lost in the blog. Oh, and I couldn’t pull myself away from his Burning Man phone booth pictures, either. Seriously, just go read. And enjoy.

Speak For Yourself

Marisa — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 20:41:57 +0000

I haven’t really applied for any jobs since finding myself unemployed almost a year ago. I’ve looked into a few opportunities but haven’t yet sent in my resume. My primary concern is how to stand out in a crowd, especially when I’m possibly older than the others in that crowd.

Perhaps the solution is Audio Resume, an interesting and affordable way to stand out from all the other applicants. Simply provide a toll free number with your standard resume so that prospective employers can hear your answers to five interview questions.

Since my previous job revolved around answering the phone and providing tech support and customer care, an audio resume would be ideal for any job that interests me.

I’ve also been involved in the hiring process at my former job so I do know that an Audio Resume would have caught my eye and intrigued my bosses. Taking the initiative to add this kind of stand-out feature shows creativity and desire. This is a small investment with the potential for huge returns.

Got Spam?

Marisa — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 16:51:06 +0000

We all get spam. No, we don’t want it but we do get it. We filter it, stop it at the server, blast it away. And still it gets through. So we zap it.

Every once in a while though, a spam will catch our eye. Sometimes it’s because it’s really well disguised but other times it’s simply because it’s so damn funny. Sometimes, it just makes us shake our head in amused amazement.

And that’s where CrazySpam comes in. This is the place to submit your spam, whether it’s odd, funny, or just plain unbelievable. Or just stop by and read about other people’s spam.

Sometimes you have to laugh at those things that annoy you. It helps to make life a bit more bearable.

Making It Feel Like Home

Marisa — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 16:40:27 +0000

The husband has a nice place in Hawaii, provided by his employer. The only problem is the furniture. There isn’t any. Well, there are beds and dressers, but that’s it. I guess they’re using lawn furniture right now, which is probably very nice in Hawaii. But really. If I’m going to visit there, I need at least a chair.

I’m trying to find a few nice pieces to help make the house feel more like home. I’ve been checking out some nice club furniture and really like the leather recliners. Two recliners and a nice end table could go a long way toward making that house more livable.

So I’m making my list. When I get there in March, I’ll be ready to fix that place up right. I hope the husband and guys are ready for a woman’s touch.