The AllAmerican RunnerDuck Review, a newsletter for friends and family 03-28-03

March 28, 2003

WELCOME BACK: I'm afraid we've reached the news saturation level and attained full paranoia. At the beginning of the war it was interesting to hear the progress but after more than a week of it we've basically turned the news off and try to just get a little update once a day. I'm not saying this to be distasteful but it's sort of like the XFL football league. It seemed like a good idea to have microphones all over the place so you can hear all the behind the scenes stuff. After about one game you realized that the players were resting from all the hard work on the field and not saying anything. That left the commentator to try to create excitement. We really don't need to know that the forces have progressed another quarter mile near Baghdad, how many have been killed and wounded on each side or all the gory details. We'll let them fight their war and we'll support them here at home with our prayers, but endless news casts are no longer for us.

On the paranoia front, we went shopping at a mall the other day and as we pulled up we saw a person with a turban on his head carrying a beat up suitcase into the mall. We decided to go shopping elsewhere. How sad that we've become so frightened that we are changing the way we do everyday things. I guess in one way the terrorists are winning. We'll try to continue living with the freedoms we've all come to know and love but we're afraid it will be while watching our backs.

One of our favorite things is to get email from our readers. We try to respond to every one and in a timely manner. Sometimes we get emails that we feel are worthy of sharing with all of you. We got the following from Robert J.;

Just got your latest newsletter (top grade as always). As a veteran I appreciate your stance. In this country with all its freedoms we must speak our support for the men and women that ensure we keep those freedoms. I will also offer that we must keep them constantly in our prayers.
As far as the paper airplane site, I have made the plane and it does fly very well.
Hope you get into RC as well. There are a lot of good sites out there for beginners. One you may want to look into for gliders is www.fatlion.com. It has a lot of information, has small hand launched reviews. Take it anywhere and learn to fly with the gulls.

Thanks for the support Robert. If you are at all interested in model airplanes you can start at the web site Robert recommended and from there they have lots of neat links.

We would like to remind you that our only income from this newsletter is your support of the affiliates we have listed off to the right. Please keep us in mind when you are looking to buy something on the Internet. The way is works is if you click on a banner to one of these web sites and end up purchasing something, we get a tiny (and we do mean tiny) percentage of that sale. While the amount may be small every bit helps. Help us keep this newsletter going buy shopping our affiliates. Thank you!

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Thank you,
Ken and Marilyn

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What's New This Week? April Fools Day is next Tuesday. While everyone is preoccupied with the war we should take a moment to engage in a little humor. Mark it on your calendar right now so that you don't forget to fool someone. Elaborate schemes are always fun to pull off but sometimes the simplest things can get a good rise out of the unsuspecting. Try not to miss anyone in your quest for fun. Parents, kids, siblings and even grand parents are fair game. If you were particularly successful at fooling someone and would like to share it with us and our readers, just drop us a line and "if appropriate" we'd love to post it.

DigiTalk

This week we are talking to those of you who have a virus check program running, like McAfee or Norton, that does automatic virus checks on-line so that your internal virus checker will catch the latest and greatest viruses as they come in. It's important that you stay current with each new virus that comes out. But here's a word of caution to you.

When you first turn on your computer or log onto the Internet give your computer a couple of minutes to check for virus updates before you run your email program. It usually takes only a minute for your software to check for updates and ready your computer for the most resent download. If you start your email program before this is done there is a possibility that you could be receiving email that is infected because your virus checking software doesn't have the latest information.

It's not a really big deal but I figure that every little precaution helps.

SITE OF THE WEEK

This week it's time to have a little fun. If you like challenging puzzles then this site is for you. Imagine if you will taking a piece of cut lead crystal and dropping it on the floor. What you would end up with is a bunch of pieces of crystal that could be lying face up, face down or rotated in any direction. It might seem like an easy task to glue all the pieces back together but as you will see it is not.

This little freeware program is challenging and a lot of fun, not to mention frustrating and time consuming ;-)

It's called Liquid Crystals Puzzle v 1.1 and it's free. Just go to www.puzzlelab.com/liquid.html and download the little 900K program and start having fun. They also have another game on their site, Puzzle Inlay, that looks like a lot of fun also. It's not freeware but you can download it to give it a try and then buy it if you like it.

MARILYN'S CORNER

Egg Carton Tulips

Some time ago we made Iris out of pop bottles so why not Tulips out of egg cartons? These Tulips look really nice and you can make a bunch of them to arrange in a bouquet.

Here is a list of the things you will need.

An egg carton. We used the old paper kind but you could use the foam ones that are made in nice pastel colors.
Green chenille.
Paint, if you are going to paint yours.
Tacky glue.
Scissors.

There is a lot of cutting in this project so be sure to have your parents help you so you don't cut yourself!

Cut each cup out of an egg carton. Cut it in the center between each cup.
Cut each cup into the shape of a Tulip. Use your imagination a little bit here because they will not look exactly like a Tulip.
If you are making them out of paper you will want to put at least a couple of coats of paint. The paper really soaks up the paint so it will take a little while for each coat to dry.
Poke a hole in the center of each flower.
We used a green chenille for each flower.
Poke the chenille up through the center of the flower and bend it over tight about 3/4" long to make it look like a stamen.
Glue the chenille to the bottom of the flower.

Now make up a bunch of these and give them for gifts or to decorate your room.

We hope you enjoy Marilyn's Corner and look forward to all the fun things she brings you each week. If you have a fun project that would be suitable for our newsletter we'd love to share it with our readers. Just contact marilyn@runnerduck.com and we'll do the rest.

Remember we have all of our past projects archived on our web site at www.runnerduck.com. Just click on the Projects or Kids Only Eggs.

Fuzzy Flower Maker

As long as we're in a flower making mood check out the Fuzzy Flower Maker. We haven't actually used this toy but the reviews make it sound pretty neat. Everyone that has gotten it suggest ordering more refill kits as soon as you open the box. Apparently they are inexpensive and will keep the fun going. Just click on the picture below to read the reviews.

Click Here

The Tempos
News and CD of the Week

There are jokes about every musical instrument and player you can imagine. We thought we'd share just a few of them with you.

Q: What do you call a beautiful woman on a trombonist's arm?
A: A tattoo.

Q: What's the difference between a banjo and an onion?
A: Nobody cries when you chop up a banjo.

Q: What do you call a drummer in a three-piece suit?
A: The defendant.

Q: What do clarinetists use for birth control?
A: Their personalities.

Q: What did the drummer get on his IQ Test?
A: Saliva.

Q: What do you call a guitar player without a girlfriend?
A: Homeless.

Q: What's the similarity between a drummer and a philosopher?
A: They both perceive time as an abstract concept.

Q: What is the difference between a drummer and a vacuum cleaner?
A: You have to plug one of them in before it sucks.

Q: Why do some people have an instant aversion to banjo players?
A: It saves time in the long run.

Q: What's the difference between a folk guitar player and a large pizza?
A: A large pizza can feed a family of four.

You can check out our summer schedule at the Tempos web site www.thetempos.com/jobs.htm. If you are making plans to visit Seattle this summer try to fit in one of our fun concerts.

Don't forget that The Tempos big swing band is available for hire. If you have a special event that could use the wonderful music of a classic big band be sure to contact thetempos@runnerduck.com.

We have a link on our web site, www.runnerduck.com, to our ever popular Grammy® Shopper site. If you haven't been there yet just click on the banner below to see all the 2003 Grammy® winners complete with links to purchase any one of them.

Click Here

CONSERVATION TIP

Is your hot water heater a long way away from your sink? Does it take a long time for the water to get warm? Do you go ahead and wash your hands in cold water and finish up about the time the water is starting to get warm? If you answered yes to these questions then you are wasting a lot of energy. It takes gas or electricity to heat up that water that you are filling your pipes with. Unless you are really going to use the hot water just use cold water and save filling up all those pipes with expensive hot water that your hands will never see.

If you have a conservation tip please send it to conservation@runnerduck.com and we'll post it in our newsletter.

Questions and Answers

Welcome to our new Q&A center.
Got questions? We've got answers.
Got answers? We've got questions.

Patty asked:
Q: How many people does this (Tamale Bake) serve and can you make this with cornbread mix?

A: We believe that you can serve four with this recipe assuming that you have a salad or something with it.

As far as the cornbread goes it MIGHT work. It would certainly be a lot higher as the cornbread rises much more than the cornmeal. All we can suggest is to go for it but if it doesn't turn out don't blame us. If it does turn out great let us know and well add it as a twist to this recipe.

JOKE OF THE WEEK

An old farmer had owned a large farm for several years. He had a large pond in the back, fixed up nice; picnic tables, horseshoe courts, basketball court, etc. The pond was properly shaped and fixed up for swimming when it was built.

One evening the old farmer decided to go down to the pond, as he hadn't been there for a while, and look it over. As he neared the pond, he heard shouting and gleeful laughter. As he came closer he saw it was a group of young women skinny dipping in his pond.

He made the women aware of his presence and they all went to the deep end of the pond. One of the women shouted to him, "We're not coming out until you leave!"

The old man replied, "I didn't come down here to watch you ladies swim or make you get out of the pond naked. I only came to feed the alligator."

Moral: Old age and treachery triumphs over youth and skill.

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THIS WEEK'S FREE RECIPE
Parmesan Vegetables and Rice Parmesan is good on a lot of things but we think you'll find this dish particularly tasty.

3 Cups Broccoli
2 Cups Mushroom slices
1/2 Cup Butter
4 Cups Cooked Rice
4 ounce Jar Sliced Pimentos, drained
1 teaspoon Marjoram
1/2 Cup grated Parmesan Cheese

Saute the Broccoli and Mushrooms in Butter.
Add the Rice, Pimento and Marjoram and cook over low heat until the rice is lightly browned.
Stir in the Parmesan Cheese.
Serve with additional Parmesan Cheese.
Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Remember, if you have a recipe you'd like to share please send it to marilyn@runnerduck.com.

Every month we post a new recipe on our web page. Be sure and check out the April recipe next Tuesday at the RunnerDuck Kitchen Store.
We'd be happy to post your favorite recipe there or in our newsletter and give you credit. Just drop a line to marilyn@runnerduck.com.

A GREAT DEAL FOR RunnerDuck SUBSCRIBERS

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While you are there be sure to check out Cooking.com's Easter Shop.

COOKBOOK
SUGGESTION OF THE WEEK

(click)

"Cheese" by Juliet Harbutt

Since our recipe of the week is so cheesy we thought you might like to know a little more about cheese. This is not a cook book but the definitive work on "Cheese". Simply, this is the comprehensive, fully-illustrated reference book about cheese covering every aspect of the subject and including over 300 varieties from around the world. Cheese thoroughly examines the art and science of cheese making, the art of the cheese maker and the influence of science and technology to enhance flavors and textures. The key sources of taste and flavor - pasture, flora, and breed of cow, sheep or goat used - are also explained. This important new reference also contains detailed chapters on each of the seven major styles of cheese, their histories, tasting and buying tips, storing and serving, as well as wine suggestions. Includes 125 mouthwatering photographs.

Be sure and visit the RunnerDuck Cookbook Store for other great savings on cookbooks and cooking supplies.

PROJECTS

Saw Blade Holder, Step 2

Last week we had instructions on cutting out all the pieces for our saw box, www.runnerduck.com/03-21-03.htm. This week we'll put it all together.

Here's a list of what you'll need;

4' X 4' X 1/2" Birch plywood.
4' X 4' X 1/4" Oak plywood.
12" X 1/2" Piano Hinge.
Wood Glue.
Handle for the lid.
3/8" carriage bolt 1 1/2" long, 2 washers and a wing nut.

All the pieces will be glued and nailed together.
Start by putting the sides onto the bottom. Make them flush with the front and back.
Add the back.
Put the steps against the back and bottom, centered 3" apart.

Now add the dividers. This works best with the box laying on its back. Glue spacers along the sides and dividers against the spacers and flush into the notch of the steps. I didn't nail these in but I did place some weight on them until they were dry.

Add the front of the box and you are complete with the bottom.
Next make the lid by putting the sides on flush to the front and back of the top.
Put the front on flush to the top and sides.
Mark the center of the lid and drill a 3/8" hole for the carriage bolt. This will be for holding your dado blades.
Mount the top to the box using the piano hinge.
Sand everything and add a finish if you like.
Mount a handle on the top and the carriage bolt for the dado blades.

Put all your blades in and you're good to go. If you plan on using this box on a job site you might want to add handles to the sides and a latch for keeping it closed. When it's full of blades it can be a little heavy.

If you have a project that you would like to share please drop us a line and we'll help get it published in the RunnerDuck review. We are looking for woodworking, gardening, crafts and kids projects so send us your thoughts at projects@runnerduck.com .

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If you want to talk about something just drop us a line at duckmaster@runnerduck.com any time, we like to talk about most anything. We are always looking for content for our newsletter so if you have something to add we'd love to publish it. Assuming it meets our strict family oriented requirements!

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