A Delectable Vegetarian Sandwich

Submitted by msarko on 12/03/08 7:57pm
Let's face it, the sandwich world is dominated by meat. Everything from hamburgers to ham and cheese fill the space reserved for ideal sandwich standards. This doesn't necessarily need to be. Here is the recipe for an out-of-this-world vegetarian sandwich that's quick and easy to make. Creamy Garden Sandwich
  • Artisan bread
  • Cream cheese
  • Sour Cream
  • Cucumber
  • Tomato
  • Red bell pepper
  • Onion
  • Lettuce
  • Salt and Pepper
  • Dill
This one's an easy, refreshing update on the classic cucumber sandwich. Start with two slices of your favorite fresh, rustic bread, such as batard. The soft, grainy inside and crusty outside will add a lot of flavor and texture to your sandwich that pre-sliced, mass-produced breads just won't. Now, let's get to building our spread. The traditional spread for cucumbers sandwiches is cream cheese with a liberal dash of dill. The problem with this is that cream cheese on its own is just too heavy, even when it's whipped. By adding a bit of sour cream to the mix, you can smooth out and lighten your spread without compromising the overall creaminess. Add your salt, pepper, dill and finely chopped onion to taste. Make sure you have enough spread to apply a strong layer to both slices of bread. This isn't only about flavor and texture, your spread will also act as an important adhesive to a series of otherwise slippery ingredients. With your bread prepped with the creamy onion dill spread, apply a single layer of half-inch thick cucumber medallions. Leave some space between the slices of cucumber for your red bell pepper. You won't need much of the bell pepper. A single segment coarsely chopped should do the trick. Fit those pieces into the gaps between and around the cucumber. It doesn't need to look like a work of art, but it's important to utilize all the available real estate. This will not only ensure that there's a medley of vegetables in every bite, but that the sandwich doesn't fall apart while you're eating it. Depending on the size of your tomatoes and your bread, you'll only need one or two slices of tomato. Remember to judge carefully when determining the ideal thickness for your tomatoes. This can turn out to be an unmanageably tall sandwich if you're not careful. Before we get into tomato placement, let's contemplate lettuce for a moment. Remember, we applied spread to both sides of our sandwich to make sure everything stays in place. But tomatoes are notorious for their tendency toward slippage. While our sandwich just wouldn't feel complete without lettuce, if we attempted to apply it to any of the layers as whole leaves it would invariably result in half the sandwich falling out the back. This is why seasoned sandwich makers have been chopping their lettuce for ages. With a little extra time and effort, you can have your lettuce without compromising the structural integrity of your meal. All that's left is to position your tomato slices so the spread from the top slice of bread holds them in place, apply a little bit of pressure to make sure everything is nice and cozy, and give your sandwich a good cut down the middle. Serve with your favorite crunchy thing and a cool beverage. The combination of flavorful crust, coarse bread, creamy spread and crisp veggies will make this sandwich a fast favorite, guaranteed.

Timing Belt

Submitted by mous on 12/03/08 5:31pm
Is 60k miles timing belt change on a V6 toyota camry really necessary or not? Some say it is not necessary on the V6 while the dealers insist it's necessary. What are the facts. Thanks. Please email reply.

Alien Like Squid

Submitted by hellenwyeth on 12/03/08 4:49pm
Found a mile and a half underwater a species of the Magnapinna Squid in the Gulf of Mexico was recorded on video on November 11, 2007. Just recently the footage of this squid was released to National Geographic from Shell. While one of the companies ROVs (remote operated vehicles) was underwater it encountered a very strange looking friend.
 
The squid on the video looks like a Giant Squid with almost a hammer head shape. It has 10 legs (in comparison to Giant Squid who only have eight) that hang from the body at an angle. They extend until they reach a point that looks like an elbow joint; then the legs hang straight down into deeper depths of the ocean. It looks like some type of sick and twisted breathing mobile floating in the dark ocean.
 
 
The Magnapinna Squid has been reported to range in size anywhere from 5 to 23 feet long. The longest ever recorded squid was a Giant Squid measuring in at a whopping 52 feet. Something that distinguishes this squid from the rest, aside from the elbow like joints, is that all the squid's legs are nearly identical in length and size. Other species of squids have more of a variance to their appendages. It is thought that the Magnapinna squid uses its perfectly measured legs for hunting food by either trapping it or drifting the tips of the tentacles just above the ocean floor. No one is really sure as there hasn't been much of an opportunity for study on these strange creatures.
 
The Perdido Shell drilling site is one of the world's deepest oil and gas developments. They have claimed to have filmed this squid over a dozen times to date. These squids are rare and new to scientists. Underwater discoveries that use ROVs are very costly due to the fact that occurrences of this species of squid resides about 4,000 feet underwater in the permanent dark zone of the ocean. The first ever discovered was by Vicchoine and biologist Richard Young in 1998. The discovery was so off the wall that the particular squid was put into it's own category of species. There are only 4 species since then that have been placed in the Magnapinna Squid category.
 
Scientist would like to perform much more in depth studies on deep sea creatures and their habitats but the funding just isn't there. Some marine biologists have partnered up with oil companies like Shell to utilize what they are already doing. Some disagree that this is the wrong way to go to further scientific studies as it will cause a conflict of interest in the regard of preserving our ocean floors and habitats. 
 
National Geographic still has the video clip donated to them from Perdido Drilling Site owned by Shell on their web page. You can also take a look at pictures taken of the alien like squid and some of its other family members. There's a few good ones that aren't lit up green so you can see more detail of the squid.

How to Get Your Cleaning Deposit Back

Submitted by hellenwyeth on 12/03/08 3:50pm
Every time you move into a new rental you are asked to put down a cleaning deposit with the rest of your move-in costs. When the lease is up, most people just assume that they aren't going to see that money back. Landlords and apartment companies know this and they aren't going to willingly offer it back you.
 
When moving in you were given a walk though of your new home and you were told in the paper work that you are to return the property the same condition that it was rented in aside from normal wear and tear that is expected to happen over time. Be sure to ask them what they consider to be normal wear and tear as most places don't consider even the holes left in walls from hanging pictures and such. Get documentation of their qualifications and keep it with your rental agreement paperwork. 
 
Take pictures of anything that has damage to it when you do your walk through. This includes appliances, carpet, walls and counter tops. Don't leave anything out. If it doesn't look new document it. Be sure to give your leasing agent or landlord copies of everything with the proper dates and explanations. It's easy for apartment companies to blame past tenants mishaps on you and your dollar.
 
At the end of your lease or rental agreement plan ahead so you have time to go in and do all the necessary cleaning. There is no way that you will ever have a chance at getting your deposit back if you don't even try to clean up after yourself. Ask your leasing office what they look for in their evaluations upon a tenant moving out. They should have a detailed list of what needs to be clean, at what standards and how much they charge for having to clean or replace the item.
 
Blinds are just one of the items that they will almost always over charge you for if they have to replace them. If yours are too damaged to salvage, take a trip to your local WalMart and pick up a set for $4 instead of being charged around $16 or more. Drip pans are another small item that most do not think about. If they don't look brand new the cleaners are going to toss them and a set can cost you around $20 out of your cleaning deposit. Major appliances needing heavy cleans in and around them will make your deposit dwindle faster than anything else. The worse off your oven, fridge and laundry area are, the more the cleaners are going to charge to do it. As a once contracted cleaner for large apartment companies, our evaluations of an apartment are spiff, easy, regular and heavy. Depending on the disgusting level, we add extra as many times as needed before the heavy and charge accordingly. 
 
Spiffs shouldn't be charged to you at all. This means that you did a great job on your apartment and we just need to go in and clean up after maintenance or shine up the place a bit. Easy cleans might cost you, but nothing outrageous. Even on easy cleans we only made about $20 depending on the size of the place. Regular cleans will run you around $100. These cleans usually mean that we have to clean some or all of the major appliances but the clean isn't too bad. Heavy cleans will wipe out any deposit you may have and at times you'll even find a bill at your new mailing address to pay the difference. The key factor is to keep in mind that the more things the cleaners are going to have to touch, the more you are going to lose from your deposit.   

Cary Brothers Perform

Submitted by mous on 12/03/08 3:39pm
The Cary Brothers are performing tonight at 9pm and the Snoqualmie Casino. They are an alternative, indie, rock band hailing from Los Angeles. This band has three main members (Jason Kanakis on the guitar, Marco Meneghin on the drums, and Matt DelVecchio on the bass), but they also bring in a host of other musicians to play various instruments. The Cary Brothers wrote many hit songs including “Ride,” “Honestly,” Loneliest Girl in the World,” and “Blue Eyes,” heard in the movie, Garden State. Tickets are available for $9 to $25 dollars. If you already have plans tonight, the Cary Brothers will also be performing tomorrow, Thursday, December 4th at 9pm.

Don the Same Bags Celebrities Have

Submitted by mous on 12/03/08 3:28pm
If you want to look just like the celebrities (and maybe even be mistaken for one), check out these leather slouchy bags! They are leather Gigi bags by Temperley London, and they come in metallic burgundy , blue, and black. Priced at $1595 for a large one and $1395 for a small one, these beauties will brighten your entire holiday season. Rosario Dawson, Demi Moore, and Kate Bosworth have all been seen donning this fancy new bag, and you should too! The leather is durable, and even the small one can hold a surprising amount of your daily carrying essentials.

More Rumors

Submitted by michelle o. on 12/03/08 3:15pm
Wednesday, December 3rd 5:45pm Dear Diary, Well, here we go again. I guess I’m going to be subject to the whims of the tabloids now that I’ve become such a central figure on the national and international stages. But this is ridiculous. Apparently, the London tabloids reported that Barack was buying me this expensive rhodium ring from Giovanni Bosco, an Italian designer, for $30,000. Supposedly, this is some sort of “thank you gift.” Puh-lease! Barack would never be dead spending frivolous money like that. Don’t get me wrong – I love expensive jewelery. But if I’m going to be seen as the “People’s First Lady,” then I can’t be caught dead wearing it. But still, the rumor is as spurious as the lobster and caviar one from that hotel that I allegedly stayed at during the campaign season. It’s as if these people are trying to assert that we’re not as down-to-earth as we really are. I suppose these kind of rumors are better than the ones that some celebrities have to deal with, such as false pregnancies or breakups. But still, theyâ??re intended to drive the American people to hate their First Lady, and that canâ??t be good. If you ask me, theyâ??re trying to make me out to be less in touch with the average American. Itâ??s true that I went to the top schools in the country and worked for a prestigious law firm. But that doesnâ??t mean I donâ??t understand what people are going through. And so say anything contrary to that is just untrue. Yours always, Michelle Originally posted in The Secret Diary of Michelle Obama

5 Music Videos That Should Not Be

Submitted by msarko on 12/03/08 3:09pm
The music video has been a unique art form for nearly 30 years. The medium has produced some truly inspired works of art, especially out of a format that is intended to be little more than a promotional tool. Of course, for every Sistine Chapel there will always be a thousand midi-laden, clip-art-infected websites from the mid '90's. Here I present to you a mere 5 of the countless music videos that just never should have been created. First off, the criteria for selection: Each one of these videos isn't merely bad or uninventive. Every video here represents some exceptionally awful aspect of the art and the people who make it. Without further ado... Alphaville- Forever Young Oh, boy. Where to start? I'm not giving much weight to the songs themselves in determining the awfulness of these videos, but this gratingly melodramatic pile of cliches doesn't help an already dire situation. In its attempt to be taken seriously, the video for "Forever Young" looks a lot like unwitting self-parody. I'm not saying that music videos can't be both good and arthouse, but if that's what you're looking for, Bauhaus has a fine catalog from which to choose. Alphaville's attempt here is just painful. Basically what we have here is a series of extras from a wide selection B-grade period dramas who must have been horrible people in life, because now they find themselves trapped in a derelict church as a captive audience of the most unnecessarily dramatic band in the entire universe. We know this is on a cosmic scale because the video is bookended by a cheap diamond wipe containing a starry background. In the jumpsuit-clad band's only display of mercy, they open the aforementioned diamond so their audience can escape the tortuous concert by stepping confidently into the void. Moby- Natural Blues There are two things wrong with this video, primarily. First, it's the single most depressing attempt to shill a CD in the history of the format. Second, the entire premise of the video is that we have to accept the concept of Moby as a decrepit, old man. The problem with that? Moby already looks like a decrepit, old man. I would make the case that there's no substantive difference between a scrawny, bald vegan and an octogenarian, but I honestly believe Moby has looked the same way since birth and will continue to look that way until the day he dies. This music video only confirms it for me when an angel played by none other than Christina Ricci drags old-man Moby into The Light, only to produce a baby in some kind of lame circle-of-life nonsense. The only reason you can tell it's a baby and not just Moby stripped naked is that, if you look closely, you might notice that it's slightly smaller than the wan creature taken into oblivion by a thoroughly unnecessary celebrity apparition. M83- Kim and Jessie OK, here's the problem- total waste. Unlike everything else on this list, "Kim and Jessie" is actually a pretty good song. This video, however, is just unacceptable. I dunno, maybe I'm missing something that I wouldn't if I were French like the folks in M83. How does a slick, New Wave throwback warrant four solid minutes of amateur roller skating? The fact that it ends with a complete non sequitur romance doesn't help. They might get away with it if the skating was somehow impressive, but the footwork here just doesn't cut it. Toby Keith Everything. No Toby Keith video past, present, or future has any right to exist. Ever. Peter Gabriel- Shock The Monkey This video is absurd in about 100 different ways. The problem here is that it would be genius if it were intended to be comedy. Instead it's a wank-fest of rampant symbolism and Peter Gabriel pretending to be deep. Every time this video plays, Salvador Dali spins in his grave. This really is the ultimate trainwreck of a music video. Go ahead, laugh about it, but no amount of gut-chuckles can take away the horror of realizing that a large group of people spent several days and many thousands of dollars making this atrocity a reality.

Newest Briefing

Submitted by joe six pack on 12/03/08 3:00pm
Wednesday, December 3rd 5:50pm Dear Diary, Today Janet Napolitano and I were briefed by the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism. Whew, what a mouthful! Well, Bob Graham and Jim Talent led this and whoa. From the way it sounds, we really have our work cut out for us. I don’t want to give any details, in case this diary falls into the wrong hands. But I will say this – we have a lot to do over the next four (hopefully eight) years. I do have faith that Janet will make a good Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Better than Michael Chertoff, that’s for sure. But I’ve had to wonder about a lot of the guys in the Bush Administration. How much say and influence did they really have? We all know that Dick Cheney and Karl Rove basically ran that administration. So I’d be curious to find out what Michael Chertoff came up with on his own. Still, I’ll be glad to be working with Janet on preventing the proliferation and use of the weapons of mass destruction. That is, if I actually get to have a say. I’m becoming increasingly concerned with how little I’m doing right now. I really hope Barack is “saving the best for last,” as he said, and not just planning on writing me off completely. I basically handed him those Pennsylvania votes. Well, Hillary helped a little… Ok, she helped a lot. But still, I’ve done a lot of good things for our country and it would be very disappointing to be have my political career cut short in the White House. Until next time, Joe the Veep

Originally posted in The Secret Diary of Joe Biden

smelly cat

Submitted by Anonymous on 12/03/08 2:33pm
i have 2 cats approx. 7 mos. old - they are sisters. one has long hair the other short. the problem is that they poop on the carpet along the base boards instead of the litter box! how do i get them to stop? another problem is that the long hair always smells becuz of the feces that is always hanging from her butt! please help with any suggestions. i do give them baths & keep the litter box clean!

Pages