The Happiness thread, continued

Um ... you were not looking at the scenery but the girl's legs.

 

Did Dunvegan and Skye yesterday, moving north along the Westeros coastline today and tomorrow. Will post some pics when i get back.

 

Well, I still have a job. I did not catch it in the neck from my boss. Yet.

I suppose, really, it all hangs on the fact that, while I am exactly the kind of person who 'phones the head of a government agency to find out who they were with on a random Tuesday afternoon, he really isn't, so he's just given up, I think.

Still, I wish he had called.

 

Continued employment is a positive sign.

 

I suppose it is, really.

It means I get to spend time with my cake-baking coworker now and again, at least.

 

I love these videos. They made me laugh so hard, I couldn't breathe.





And this one is jus beautiful:

 

I purchased a clay modeling starter kit and paint. I'm expanding my hobbies beyond writing.


Don't get me wrong, I still like writing, but there's just something special about creating something from nothing and you can feel it.

 

Two of my very best friends and I have left town and gone on a small adventure. We just went to a state park in another state, and my legs got numb by the end of it, but it was one of the best hikes I've ever done.

 

Rock & Roll just isn't Rock & Roll without spicy snacks. *thumbs up*

I'm simply happy because I just wrote a random haiku ...

Customers? Simple!
Just make them believe they've won
And they will be happy

 

Is "of Horror" missing from the end of that sentence?

 

I was thinking of Jim Champy, who together with Michael Hammer, wrote this influential book about re-engineering business processes to better serve your customers.

That may sound like common sense, but it wasn't when Hammer and Champy wrote their book in 1993.

The concept is simple: if you have a business and a process in place -- say, a taco stand and a way to make tacos -- but your process is slow, wasteful or expensive, it's probably a good idea to "re-engineer" or change that process.

The same thing goes for if you have a taco restaurant, or a chain of them. If your kitchen is bigger than the dining area (as was the case for Taco Bell in the 1980s and early 1990s), you will get fewer customers because they have less space to sit and eat tacos. That seems like common sense, but more and more managers at Taco Bell refused to accept it. They prided themselves on being able, as managers to disassemble and reassemble the taco-making machine in less than a minute ... which is impressive, but to a customer, irrelevant. This issue was particularly relevant because Taco Bell was losing money every day, and in danger of going bankrupt.

These managers were quietly let go. The kitchens were remodeled and shrunk, and the dining areas were made bigger. Taco Bell reversed the trend, and eventually became the giant it is today.

Are you sure you're nothing to do with this, Hammer? *curious*

 

Decided to make cinnabons today. Been a while since I baked a batch. It's so so much work, but damn, can't say it wasn't worth it. They turned out perfect. A nice bonus was having my apartment smell like heaven for a few hours.

 

Wow! Man of many talents. Cinnamon buns have to be the greatest comfort food ever.

BTW - congrats I saw your new link to Popsicle - clicked on it and read it again. Brilliant!

 

Thanks! Just happy I was able to find it a home somewhere.

Have to agree, they are amazing. Not hard to see why when you take note of the amount of sugar and butter in them, haha. In case anyone wanted a recipe, it's this very popular one: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/20156/clone-of-a-cinnabon/
They say margarine for the dough instead of butter, but I just use butter. Also, instead of 15 minutes at 400F, about 20 minutes at 350F works better imo.

 

Oh yeah, definitely butter.

I made pies this past week after having not made them for years. I forgot how easy it is. I used to make a lot of pies, especially for my husband. His favourite was apple pie. Then my niece asked me to make my "famous" pecan pies for a family gathering - her husband's favourite. I always use lard for the pastry! Anyway, my pecan pies were a hit. I think I'll make pies again, soon.

 

Well I guess it can be a mix of happiness and not. I have been jobless for about six months now, but I am trying my hand at consulting.

Let's see how this goes

 

High five!!!! Nice work, man!!

My wife and I found this beautiful church that was in ruins on Loch Torredon in Scotland (across from Skye). I'm trying to find the owner of the property to try to renovate and restore the building into a summer home for us. Easier said than done from the USA, however.

 

Whoa! If your dealings with the property owner are successful, I'd love to see pictures of the progress.

 

Got out my tent to check it for mold, and it seems all set for my camping trip next week. Holy balls, that's next week!!!!! My mom says I'm weird for camping when there's a potential for freezing, but I say that's the best time because there's no one there.

 

Wonder what she'd think of my son's elk camps set up at 9,000+ feet in the snow.

 

She'd probably call him weird, too.

 

Especially if she knew he packs it all into the wilderness on horses and mules, and spends a month at a time up there. He even has a woodstove, so it's a pretty comfortable camp.

 

My son and daughter knows that I write, they would like me to be a writer one day and my daughter showed me a list of 'new words' with meanings she is learning in school. I showed her my list too a while back and added some 'new' words onto my list.

Made me smile.