And Then There Were Four!

Following a great weekend of college basketball, the field has been shortened to the final four!  Unfortunately, the Michigan State Spartans were unable to overcome the tenacious defense of Connecticut.  Congratulations to the weekend’s winners . . .

From the Sweet Sixteen down to the Elite Eight:
Dayton (#11) defeated Stanford (#10) by ten (10) points.
Wisconsin (#2) defeated Baylor (#6) by seventeen (17) points.
Florida (#1) defeated UCLA (#4) by eleven (11) points.
Arizona (#1 defeated San Diego State (#4) by six (6) points.
Michigan (#2) defeated Tennessee (#11) by two (2) points.
Connecticut (#7) defeated Iowa State (#3) by five (5) points.
Kentucky (#8) defeated Louisville (#4) by five (5) points.
Michigan State (#4) defeated Virginia (#1) by two (2) points.

From the Elite Eight down to the Final Four:
Florida (#1) defeated Dayton (#11) by ten (10) points.
Wisconsin (#2) defeated Arizona (#1) by one (1) point in overtime.
Connecticut (#7) defeated Michigan State (#4) by six (6) points.
Kentucky (#8) defeated Michigan (#2) by three (3) points.

What another great year of college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans!  Go Green!

Happy Birthday Francisco!

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (Fuendetodos, Spain, 1746).

Change, Love It? Or Hate It?

Change is a reality of the world (one of the constants), especially when it comes to technology.  And while I sometimes exhibit symptoms of misoneism, I also realize that change, innovation, new ideas, etc., are all important to continued existence and I strive to accept and adapt to these new realities despite my occasional reticence.

misoneism

\mis-oh-NEE-iz-uhm, mahy-soh-\, noun;

1.  a hatred or dislike of what is new or represents change.

How Funny Are You?

In the April issue of Men’s Health magazine, three was an article about every man thinking he is a comedian.  Here are some of their statistics on comedy and humor . . .

• 39% of men consider sarcasm the funniest form of humor (personally, I prefer and utilize puns).
• 10% would never date a woman who is funnier than they are.
• 17% would end a relationship over an annoying laugh.
• 10% of men have heckled a comedian.
• 77% of men wish they could land “just one good joke.”
• 1 in 3 — the odds that a man has been the target of, or played an April Fool’s prank at the office.
• 27% of hiring managers who say a good sense of humor will give a job candidate an edge
• 58% of men who think they are funnier after a few beers.
• 54% of men who say they are the clown in their crowd of friends.
• 13% of men who are actually afraid of clowns.
• 62% of men who have attempted to pass off another’s joke as their own.
• 27% of me who have thought about doing stand-up comedy.
• Average guys favorite TV comedy: The Big Bang Theory.
• Dead comic who the average guy wishes could do one more set: George Carlin.

World’s funniest joke? . . .

Two hunters are out in the woods when one collapses.  He doesn’t seem to be breathing.  The other guy calls 911.  He gasps, “My friend is dead!  What can I do?”  The operator says, “Calm down.  I can help.  First, let’s make sure he is dead.”  There is a silence; then a shot is heard.  Back on the phone the guy says, “Okay, now what?”

Source: Men’s Health magazine (www.menshealth.com), April 2014.

Tips on Posting to Social Media!

Here is an infographic (courtesy of Steph Dowling, www.mycleveragency.com) that will have you creating perfect blog (and other social media) posts in no time at all.

Check out the full article here.

Here’s to Libraries, Week Ten!

Located in the heart of Spain, the Royal Library of the Monastery of El Escorial is a stunning architectural wonder (as well as a World Heritage site designation).  Built in the Herrerian style, construction began in 1563 and was completed in 1584.  The library is housed on the second floor (in the west wing) and contains nearly 45,000 documents from the 15th and 16th centuries.  The monastery is huge and contains 15 cloisters, 13 oratories, 86 staircases, 88 fountains, more than 1,600 paintings, 9 towers, and 73 sculptures.

“When you are growing up there are two institutional places that affect you most powerfully: the church, which belongs to God, and the public library, which belongs to you.”  (Keith Richards)

Source: photo courtesy of danieldalton.me  (BuzzFeed).

Meat, Nuts, and Fruit!

Here is a fabulously quick and easy appetizer that is sure to please . . .  the meat: bacon (of course), the nuts: almonds, the fruit: apricot . . . the end result: delicious!

Bacon-Wrapped Almond-Stuffed Apricots

24 dried apricot halves
24 whole almonds, lightly roasted
8 bacon slices, cut into thirds
¾ cup apricot preserves
2 tablespoons soy sauce
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1. Fold each apricot half around 1 whole almond. Wrap 1 bacon piece around each stuffed apricot. Secure with wooden picks. Place on a wire rack in an aluminum foil-lined-jelly-roll pan.

2. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until bacon is crisp, turning once.

3. Microwave preserves, soy sauce, and pepper in a small microwave-safe bowl at medium 1 minute or until preserves are melted.

4. Serve dipping sauce with stuffed apricots

Goodbye to 76.5% of the Field!

The first week of March Madness has come to a close and we have already lost more the 3/4ths of the teams that began.  The Sweet Sixteen are all that remain.  There are still three #1 seeds remaining (Wichita State has been the only #1 seed to lose thus far), two #2 seeds (Kansas and Villanova have both been eliminated), one #3 seed (Syracuse, Creighton, and Duke have all gone down to defeat), all four #4 seeds, one #6, one #7, one #8, and three double-digit seeds (one #10 and two #11).  Cindarella showed up early and often this year . . . Mercer (#14), Tennessee (#11), North Dakota State (#12), Harvard (#12), Stanford (#10), Stephen F. Austin (#12) and Dayton (#11).  Stanford, Tennessee and Dayton are still dancing.

The Spartans and two other Big Ten Conference teams (Wisconsin and Michigan) have made the cut and will play again in the next round.   Next up for Michigan State: Virginia, the #1 seed from the East Regional.  Go Green!  Below is the final breakdown by region of the remaining Sweet Sixteen teams.

Good luck one and all and may the madness continue!

East Regional
Virginia (#1) vs. Michigan State (#4)
Iowa State (#3) vs. Connecticut (#7)

South Regional
Florida (#1) vs. UCLA (#4)
Stanford (#10) vs. Dayton (#11)

Midwest Regional
Michigan (#2) vs. Tennessee (#11)
Louisville (#4) vs. Kentucky (#8)

West Regional
Arizona (#1) vs. San Diego State (#4)
Wisconsin (#2) vs. Baylor (#6)

Foresight!

They say that hindsight is 20/20, but wouldn’t it be nice to have a little foresight every now and then?  And speaking of foresight, here is a wonderful demotivator (courtesy of www.despair.com) that helps make this point in a most humorous manner.  To carry this humor just a tad bit further, below is a definition of foresight (from The Cynic’s Dictionary):

“Spending fifty years of adult life in comparative drudgery in order to be able to spend the remaining ten in a nursing home.” (Lambert Jeffries)

Hotel California a la Vocal Sampling!

Even though the official first day of spring was just a couple of days ago, it is never too early to start thinking about summer. And nothing says “summer” any better than the Beach Boys. So when I ran across this a capella recording of Hotel California, I just couldn’t help sharing. The group: Vocal Sampling, the result: pretty darn good. Enjoy!