Quiz

Beep Beep! Roadrunner, The Coyote’s After You! 7 Random Things To Tell You On A Wednesday

/ Ally Bean / 203 Comments

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1. I am agreeing. Social connectedness can take on many forms. I read THIS article about lively front yards that include any items like, but not limited to, garden gnomes, porch swings, plastic flamingoes, little free libraries, and assorted other decorative stuff. The conclusion was that: “residents who expressed themselves with items in front of their house reported feeling a greater sense of place.” 

2. I am enthusiastic. What beach reading books are to summer, ‘Bunny Rabbit’ TV Shows are to your mental health. Bunny Rabbit TV shows aren’t literally about rabbits, they are shows that give you a lift, not requiring more from you than your willingness to be distracted in a lighthearted way from your woes. I grok this term, enjoyed the article and the comments that followed, and haven’t stop thinking about which TV shows to put on my list since I read about this idea.

3. I am ditzy. In my ongoing attempts at being mindful of water usage, I pour the end of our glasses of drinking water onto the houseplants. Welp, in a moment of *duh* I poured the remains of a flavored club soda [San Pellegrino Dark Morello Cherry & Pomegranate to be exact] onto a large pothos. And within days the plant turned yellow-ish and began dropping leaves. Yes, I murdered a plant.

4. I am laughing. According to my results from the Pottery Barn Style Finder Quiz my decorating style is Farmhouse: “rustic woods, hardworking metals, and sprinkles of barnyard whimsy.”  Me thinks not. While the metals around here may be hardworking [not sure what that even means] the wood is refined and there is NO barnyard whimsy here. As if.

5. I am enthralled. I’ve learned that after soccer, badminton is the most popular sport in the world. Who knew? As such there is scientific research about which shuttlecocks, also known as birdies, are best: ones with duck feathers or ones made of nylon. Learn more HERE about findings that “may represent a new arc in the history of the beloved sport.”

6. I am indulging. I decided that I NEEDED something sweet to eat, something devoid of nutritional value. So I scrounged around online and found this Strawberry Rice Krispie Treats recipe that adds freeze-dried strawberries to the classic recipe. Divinely delicious.

7. I am entertained. I stumbled over this website, MovieGrid.io, that offers a daily online challenge about movies. Titles of said. Dates premiered. Stars in movies. You have 9 chances to answer 9 questions correctly which, if you do, creates a completely filled-in grid of 9 movie posters, NOT like what you see immediately below.  

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QUESTIONS OF THE DAY

What gives you a sense of place? Is having one important to you?

What’s on your Bunny Rabbit TV Shows list?

If you take the PB style quiz, what style do they say you are? Do you agree with the results?

When you want something sweet to eat that is devoid of nutritional value, what do you turn to? Are you on Team Rice Krispie Treats with me?

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Jottings: A Thursday Morning Change Of Heart + Discerning The BS In Your Writing

/ Ally Bean / 241 Comments

Is this not true?

I WAS GOING TO WRITE ABOUT something different today, something that had to do with people on social media, but I got up this morning, read what I wrote, and decided that while the words flowed I don’t want to talk about people.

As in how oddly many of them are behaving lately. As in desperate to get attention by any means, often dipping into the realm of contrived moral outrage.

As in mentally unwell.

And tedious.

Crazy and unhinged even.

And here’s the thing, because I usually have a thing when I make a snap decision, I’m aware that crazy stays the course unless there’s some medical intervention. And while I’m a problem solver at heart, I am not anyone’s psychologist, thus these people and how they behave aren’t truly of interest to me.

So why talk about ’em?

As the saying goes, energy flows where attention goes.

Thus I shall put my energy and attention, and by default your energy and attention, elsewhere, laughing together as we talk about the following fun thing rather than focusing on the dubious conduct of some people.

Yes I’m rising above the hoi polloi, avoiding that which might be considered gossip, leaning into my better nature.

You with me?

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IN ALL HONESTY I DON’T KNOW how I came to be aware of the BlaBlaMeter, a bullshit detection tool, but I’m glad I did.

It’s fun, in a snorts and giggles kind of way.

Here’s what you do: the website asks you to input at least five sentences of your writing as a sample, then it determines the percentage of bologna sandwich in your writing style.

Based on my five sentences taken from HERE, you can see that my writing style scores extremely low on the BS scale. I was told, and am taking pride in knowing that, my score was a mere 0.09% and that my “text shows no or marginal indications of ‘bullshit’-English.”

[An aside: Interestingly enough when I input five sentences from the one time I used ChatGPT to write THIS, the BlahBlahMeter judged that story to be 0.19% and to show a few indications of ‘bullshit’-English.]

Thus I’ll end this post by suggesting that if you are so moved, give the BlahBlahMeter a whirl using your own writing to see what happens.

Make of it what you will.

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Show And Tell: Where I’ve Been In My Lifetime & Where I Won’t Be This December

/ Ally Bean / 280 Comments

WHERE I’VE BEEN:

Who doesn’t like a visual representation about some aspect of their life?

To wit, in my online gadding about I came across a way to easily make a snazzy map of where you’ve travelled and/or lived in the US and territories. Thus I applied myself to the task, did as instructed, and created the above image.

As you can see I’ve been to 35 states + DC.  Based on the points tallied, I am on Level 137.  How that compares to anyone else I cannot say because I have no frame of reference, I just know that’s my level.

Go HERE to make your own personalized map of your experiences traveling &/or living in the US and territories. Please note there are a few different background colors for your map so if you’re saving yours, mess around until you find the perfect color for you.

WHERE I WON’T BE THIS DECEMBER:

I’m bugging out of blogland for the month of December.

It’s been a busy year for me here at The Spectacled Bean, writing longer than usual posts and managing, what I think of as, comment-palooza. I figure there’s no need to force myself to do something that is, for the most part, fun and is completely voluntary.

So I’m taking a break.

I will be popping into Instagram [HERE] and Threads [HERE] so I’ll be around social media a little bit, not entirely off the grid, but for the most part I’ll be laying low like the introvert I am during a hectic time of year.

You understand.

QUESTIONS OF THE DAY:

• So, my little gallivanters, how many US states and territories have you visited or lived in? If you made your own snazzy map using the link, what is your level?

• Having blogged since the days of dinosaurs, I know that it’s easy to find reasons to not keep a blog, BUT it is more difficult to find a reason to put yourself out there and keep a blog going. If you have a personal blog, what is your reason for writing it?

• What are you looking forward to doing, or not doing, in December?

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Happy Holidays, Everyone

Do Good. Have Fun. Take Joy.

See you next year!

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Hokey Smokes: 7 Things To Tell You On The Last Thursday In October

/ Ally Bean / 274 Comments

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1 – I am encouraged.  The health advice in this article is fun and puts aging into perspective without making a person, such as myself, feel angsty. Just so you know, apropos of the article, I do eat beans and I can scratch my own back. So there.

2 – I am disheartened.  This region of the USA is currently experiencing Boxwood Armageddon. To put this in pragmatic terms, we have 25 boxwood bushes on this property: 11 are dead, 4 are ailing, and 10 are hanging in there. It’s going to be expensive to remove the dead/ailing ones then replace them with something, probably not boxwoods.

3 – I am delighted.  I’ve started watching a new TV mystery series about a full-time caterer/part-time sleuth. The show, that is on Acorn, is called Mrs Sidhu Investigates. I want Suki Sidhu to be my bff, she is smart and captivating with a good sense of humor.

4 – I am unclear.  In regard to a conversation with a friend irl I’m wondering if how I define the word “overshare” is how anyone else does. To wit, does it mean: 1) talk about topics that you deem to be improper;  2) talk in depth about a topic; OR 3) talk too frequently about whatever interests you in the moment?

5 – I am thrilled!!!  This article [HERE] explains that: “Around 700 years ago, in the small town of Urbisaglia in central Italy, the scholar and poet Alpoleio felt moved to introduce a punctuation mark that flagged up emotion rather than simply syntax.” I don’t use exclamation points often, but when I do I mean it what I’m saying.

6 – I am beguiled.  While I like Jell-O, which I know can be a controversial admission, I’ve never made a mold of it… then made the mold wiggle/wobble… for snorts and giggles. Go HERE & HERE & HERE to see what I’m talking about.

7 – I am supportive.  DISC is a way to explain your personality based on self-assessment. In the DISC paradigm there are four quadrants: Drive, Influence, Clarity, Support. I took a short free online quiz [HERE] the results of which told me I am “helpful and shows care for others.” Okie dokie, then.

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QUESTIONS OF THE DAY

If you are trying to live a healthier lifestyle, yet find yourself slip sliding away, do articles like the one I linked to help you get back in the groove?

When thinking about how you define “overshare” do you lean into the idea that it means: inappropriate, pedantic, or chatty?

Tell me [us] how you really feel about Jell-O. Everyone has an opinion!!!

If you take the online quiz to determine your DISC personality, who are you? Does it ring true with who you think you are?

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