But SLED 10 didn't quite do it for me. As nice as it was to have everything work out of the box like that, there were just too many little things that kept me from enjoying it (a lack of Firefox 3 being very high on the list of annoyances). And so I began distro hunting. I tried the usuals: Ubuntu and Fedora OpenSuse. But none of them worked quite right for me. There were always issues of some sort, from not recognizing the correct resolution to not detecting the sound card. And, like I said, I'm new to this whole Linux thing, so going through and messing with whatever you have to mess with to fix those issues was much too daunting a task for me to undertake at the time (and probably still would be today). So I continued my search.

I had read an article once, I don't rightly recall where, about a man's journer to find an easy to use Linux Distro. I can't remember which one he ended up with, but one name in particular stuck out from his list: Linux Mint. For some reason I could remember that name (I am generally very bad with names), and so I tried it. And, for perhaps the first time in my distro hunting, everything worked right out of the box. Sound, video, wireless, everything. And, after a little bit of tweaking, I had everything set up just the way I liked it.

I suppose I should try and start with the beginning: the install was slick and easy. Not much else to say really. It's been a while since I last installed it, so there might be a few details missing from my memory. But I remember it being a relatively painless experience (I'm pretty sure it was just the Ubuntu installer. . . but it's been even longer since I installed Ubuntu, so I can't exactly remember).

But the installation isn't really very important. Oh, right. I almost forgot: it's a LiveCD. Umm, it actually works very well in LiveCD form. Oh, and there is not other option than to boot into the LiveCD to do the install. Just thought I should point that out.

Anyway. On to the good stuff. Mint is a Gnome based distribution, but it is rather customized, in what I consider a good way. There's only the one bar, at the bottom of the screen by default. (I actually prefer it up top, but that's just me.) Perhaps there's some sexual inuendo theree, who knows? There's a variety of themes and wallpapers and whatnot installed by default, andmany of them are actually very nice. I found myself using the Lightning theme for a bit, but then I found the Nimbus one, and I use a fusion of the two now. One of the more notable customizations the Mint team made was the mintMenu. It's really very nice and intricate and actually very powerful once you learn how to use it. It does the standard thing where it launches apps, of course. And lets you search through them in real time, too. But it also lets you uninstall applications directly from the menu interface. As in, from the enire system, and not just the menu. Now that is user friendliness if ever I saw it.

It comes with the standard Firefox and OpenOffice and all that as well. Granted, I did have to go through the repositories to get at my preferred applications in some instances, such as video player and music player and bittorrent client, to name a few. And while I'm thinking about it, since Mint is an Ubuntu based distro, it is compatible with the Ubuntu repositories.Mint also comes with proprietary codecs and whatnot preinstalled (so flash and mp3's and all that work right out of the box).

Let's see. . . was there anything else I wanted to mention? Oh, right. I absolutely love Linux Mint and use it as my standard in judging other distros. It looks nice, performs well, and does everything I want it to do. Well, that's about it, I think.

I didn't give up growing herbs. At various times, my windowboxes have contained melissa, lemon geranium, thyme, oregano, strawberries, and rocket.

Right now in my kitchen window, there are: basil, sage, spearmint, comfrey, and garlic chives.

The view from my kitchen window is - not exhilarating. At one point I put a sweet potato into water and let the vine unfurl and grow all over the iron window guards, making a leafy screen to shut out the depressing construction. Later, I set down pots of culinary herbs . I love to lean out and snip a little of this or a little of that when the fancy takes me. A few bay leaves to stuff under the skin of a chicken...some sage to chop up with onion for an omelet...chives to scissor into a corn salad...

When chickweed or purslane appear in other windowboxes, I harvest them. While both are good eating, chickweed is especially welcome, both for flavor and for medicinal properties. Its salty, fresh taste is very good in salads.  To clear away eye infections, I crush the herb into a fresh poultice, or make a tea from chickweed I dried previously.

Here is a photo of chickweed, from last spring: you can see how I let it take over. Towards summer, when it starts going leggy and dry, I cut it all back.

Other windows around the apartment have lemon grass and lemon-scented geranium as well as flowers. You can do a lot with a small space if you're determined. In fact, here is a great site about container gardening. Living green things gladden the eye and the heart - there's no reason to give them up.

ingredients
1/2 pound ground beef
1 Small onion, grated
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 cups water
2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup rice
1 cup spinach chopped
1 cup parsley chopped
1/2 cup onions chopped
1 1/2 cup Pomegranate seeds or 1 cup Pomegranate juice
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon Lime juice (optional)

Spice For Soup
1 tablespoon mint dried
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon pepper

method
Put the meat in a bowl. Add grated onions and seasoning and mix well.
Make meat balls the size of walnuts.

Put water in a 3 qt pot. Add salt and rice and let cook for 15 minutes.
Add vegetables and let cook for another 15 minutes.
Cut fresh pomegranate and take out the seeds to make about 1 1/2 cups.
Add meat balls, pomegranate seeds, and sugar to the soup and let cook for another 20 minutes on a low fire or until the meat is done.

Rub dried mint in the palm of your hands to make it powdery.
Add cinnamon and pepper to the mint.
Add this to the soup just before removing it from the fire.
Taste soup, and if needed add more salt and lime juice for the right flavoring.
If the pomegranate is sweet it will require lime juice.
Garnish with some pomegranate seeds and fresh herbs.

Meatballs are optional.

Serves 5

01 Ubuntu
Ubuntu é um sistema operativo Linux completo p/ desktop, livremente distribuido com dois tipos de suporte: comunitário e profissional. A comunidade Ubuntu assenta em ideias enraizadas no Manifesto Ubuntu : o software deve ser disponibilizado sem custos, utilizado por todos em cada linguagem, mesmo quem tem algum tipo de deficiência e que todos devem ser livres de personalizar e alterar o seu software seja de que forma for que melhor se adapte a si. "Ubuntu" é uma palavra anciã do mundo Africano que significa "humanidade para com os outros". A distribuição Ubuntu traz esse espírito para o mundo do software. ♣♣♣♣♣

02 OpenSUSE
OpenSUSE é um projecto comunitário patrocinado pela Novell que visa a promoção da utilização de Linux em todo o lado, acesso livre e fácil numa distribuição completa. Este projecto tem 3 objectivos: fazer do openSUSE o Linux mais fácil, ter o maior número de utlizadores, aumentar a colaboração open source para que seja o mais usável tanto a nível de iniciantes como de utilizadores experientes, simplificar dramáticamente o desenvolvimento e processos de instalação para que seja a plataforma escolhida pelos desenvolvedores e comerciantes de software para Linux. ♣♣♣♣

03 Fedora 
Este Projecto desenvolvido pela Red Hat está aberto a todos para participação geral, liderado por meritocracia, segue um conjunto de objectivos. O principal é trabalhar a par com a comunidade Linux para construir um sistema operativo polivalente, completo, exclusivamente a partir de open source software. O desenvolvimento será feito em forúns públicos e produzirá lançamentos periódicos do Fedora (cerca de 2-3 vezes por ano, com data prevista de distribuição). A equipe de engenheiros da Red Hat continuará a participar na sua programação e irá convidar e encorajar mais participação e exterior. Utilizando este processo mais aberto, esperam fornecer um sistema operativo mais em conta com os ideais do software livre e mais apelativo à comunidade open source. ♣♣♣♣

04 Mint
Linux Mint é baseado na distro Ubuntu e o seu objectivo é fornecer uma experiência out-of-the-box mais completa, includindo browser plugins, media codecs, suporte para DVD playback, Java e outros componentes semelhantes. Adiciona também um personalização ao desktop, menus, e vários utensílios únicos de configuração, o interface de instalação é baseado na web. Os repositórios são compativeis com os do Ubuntu. ♣♣♣♣

05 PCLinuxOS
O Live CD de PCLinuxOS existe apenas em Inglês e é basedo no Mandrake Linux que corre inteiramente a partir de um 'bootable CD'. Os dados são descomprimidos em tempo real, permitindo para cima de 2GB de aplicações incluindo um X server completo, ambiente KDE, OpenOffice.org e muitas outras prontas a utilizar Em adição podemos instala-lo no disco duro de forma bastante rápida e simples. Podem ser adicionados ou removidos programas a partir do apt-get, via Synaptic. ♣♣♣♣

06 Debian
O projecto Debian é uma associação de individuais que partilham a mesma causa a fim de criarem um sistema operativo livre chamado Debian GNU/Linux. Actualmente utilizam o kernel Linux (parte de código criado por Linus Torvalds e mantida por milhares de programadores à volta do globo). Claro que aquilo que os utilizadores querem são aplicações: programas que os ajudem a obter o que pretendem realizar, desde edição de documentos até à gestão de negócios, passando pelos jogos e pela criação de mais software. Debian vem com mais de 20,000 pacotes (software pre-compilado reunido num formato de fácil instalação) - todo ele livre. Tal como um torre que tem o kernel como base. Um nível acoma encontram-se os utensílios básicos para de seguida se posicionar todo o software que corre no nosso computador. No topo da torra está o Debian - cuidadosamente a organizar e a orientar todas as peças para que a seja um conjunto que funcione suavemente.  ♣♣♣♣♣

07 Mandriva
Mandriva Linux (inicialmente Mandrakelinux) foi criado em 1998 com o objectivo de tornar o Linux  mais acessível a todos. Na altura era já bastante conhecido, poderoso e estável mas necessitava de forte conhecimento e técnica, tal como uso extensivo da linha de comandos; A MandrakeSoft via assim uma oportunidade de integrar no Linux, o melhor ambiente gráfico que desenvolvera, contribuindo com as suas próprias utilidades de configuração para se tornar famosa por definir um standard na facilidade de utilização e funcionalidade. Esta aproximação inovadora ofereceu todo o poder e estabilidade do Linux, tanto a utilizadores comuns como aos profissionais num ambiente amigável e agradável. Milhares de novos utilizadores descobriam assim o Linux, encontrando-se um substituto à altura do seu anterior sistema operativo. Um Linux como servidor ou estação de trabalho sem razão para ter ciumes de quaisquer outros sistemas operativos estabelecidos e aceites. ♣♣♣♣

08 Dream Linux
Dreamlinux é uma distribuição brasileira baseda em Debian GNU/Linux. Um live CD com opção de instalação que arranca directamente para um gestor de janelas Xfce ou GNOME e que permite acesso a uma boa colecção de aplicações para desktop, tak como um painel de controlo para confuguração de sistema. ♣♣♣

09 Sabayon
Sabayon Linux é um live DVD desenhado para transformar um computador num poderoso sistema Gentoo Linux em menos de 5 minutos. Gentoo Linux é uma distro apoiada por um gestor de instalação de software denominado "Portage". Além de funcionar como live DVD, pode também ser instalado no disco duro e inclui uma variada quantidade de gestores de janelas e de aplicações open source software tais como KDE, GNOME, XFce, Fluxbox, KOffice, OpenOffice.org, FreeNX, amaroK, Kaffeine, etc. ♣♣♣♣

10 Damn Small
Damn Small Linux empresarial tem o tamanho de (50MB) em live CD. Apesar do seu tamanho minúsculo pode orgulhar-se de ser funcional e intuitivo, um completo desktop, inclui XMMS (MP3 e MPEG), cliente FTP, browser links-hacked, folha de cálculo, cliente email, dicionário (Inglês), processador de texto, 3 editores (Nedit, nVi, Zile [clone de emacs ]), Xpdf, Worker (gestor de ficheiros), Naim (AIM, ICQ, IRC), VNCviwer, SSH/SCP servidor e cliente, DHCP client, PPP, PPPoE, servidor web, calculadora, gestor de janelas Fluxbox , monitorizador de sistema, suporte USB e brevemente terá também suporte PCMCIA. A melhor escolha para hardware pouco recente.  ♣♣♣♣

To give subscribers the best experience, Qash should:

• Allow people to compare against peers, not just everybody. To understand better how I am doing financially, I'd prefer to compare my spending with people who have similar demographics such as education, income and age. I am not really interested how big the monthly mortgage payment is of fifty-year-olds or how many Euros teenagers put aside every month. I am curious to know the percentage of people with similar age and income who invest more than me and how this impacts the speed in which I reach my financial goals (just like Pertuity's Dare To Compare function).
• Give proactive advice. Qash would really rock if it can make us all smarter in making financial decisions. From my research at Forrester I know that just 4 out of 10 consumers like to do their own research before making any financial purchase. The main reason is that financial services is a boring, difficult and tricky topic -- still a lot of consumers simply don't trust banks and insurers. Qash has therefor a great opportunity to link community-generated tips and 'did you know's?' to my personal situation. So, alert me when more and more people are buying their TVs at MediaMarkt, or recommend opening a savings account at a specific firm when you see my account balance grow with a certain amount each month.
• Build tools that are useful. Useful means a) tell me how I am doing and b) what I should be doing to improve. Just last week someone pointed me to Barclays' new 'Little Extras Calculator'. Like many other online tools, it looks pretty and is built as a rich-internet application. But - unfortunately also like many tools - it is useless: I'm not getting any smarter, the product recommendations are based on ones of that firm only, and I can't store what I have done. So, Qash, please create a savings calculator that shows me in one graph the end sum that I can expect when staying with my current bank compared with switching to any other bank.

Banks - are you listening?

Warning: A lot of these pranks are a bit juvenile and some of them can get you banned from ever coming back to the restaurant (it has happened).  Seriously think about it before trying and do not do it if it is too extreme.  Some of these even I will not do.

Waiting

Some restaurants force you to wait.  This is a perfect first opportunity.

• If calling ahead for reservations, call with a complicated foreign name or almost dirty sounding name (careful, some may hang up thinking its a prank call).
• Or, even better, say it like "Ka-Noots," but then spell it "K-N-U-T-Z" even if they don't ask you to.
• When you get called, chances are it will be someone other than whoever answered the phone.  Make sure you make a big deal out of him/her mispronouncing it.
• Tell them your party is twice as large as it is, and the others are still coming.  Sit separated from each other as if the others will show up soon.  When you order deny you ever mentioned your party was larger.
• Have your entire party bring handkerchiefs.  Cough, sneeze and wheeze into them, pretending to fill the entire waiting room with germs.

Ordering

Chances are, your waitress/waiter is used to quirky people.  That's why you have to take it up a notch.

• When ordering drinks, make sure you express a lot of interest in the soup du jour.  Ask the waiter about every ingredient and act as if you are savoring it.  When ordering the food, forget all about it.  Ignore the waiter when he mentions it.
• When the drinks come, switch orders with your party.  Pretend that you ordered the iced tea and your friend next to you ordered the Coke.  Make sure you make the waiter do all the switching of glasses.
• Try to see if you can order an entree as an appetizer.  Insist on it.  When it comes, wait for everyone else's entree to come before eating.
• Insist on seeing the dessert tray before you order an entree, even if the restaurant doesn't have one.
• If there are a lot of people in your party, have one person order something and have everyone else, one by one, say they'll have what he's having.  Each time, he'll have to make a new number on his pad.  Likely, the waiter will have to check if they can serve that many of a particular entree.  Even if he comes back to say it's okay, have the first person change his order and, one by one, have everyone else change their order to that entree.
• Try to use coupons for fast food restaurants (for things your restaurant has), like free coffee or medium soda.

At the Table

Sometimes food can still be a long way off at this point.  Try to see how much you can get away with without being kicked out.

• Everyone fall asleep at the table.
• Go through all of the bread in the shortest amount of time possible and keep asking for more.
• Play the Left-or-Right game with waiters and waitresses carrying trays of plates and meals.  Basically, walk through the aisles aimlessly until you and the waitress are walking toward each other.  Try to block her path by figuring out which side she means to pass you on, and then walk towards that side.  Then switch simultaneously with her.  See how long this can go on.
• Take out McDonald's Happy Meal toys and play with them at the table.
• Be loud and obnoxious until the manager comes out.
• Light stuff on fire with the candle at your table.
• Play sword fights with the bread sticks.
• Have one member of your party change into a grim reaper costume in the bathroom.  When he comes back, have him stand behind another member of your party for as long as possible.  Have everyone ignore him completely.  Either stay there for the remainder of the meal and exit with the rest of the party, or have a watch alarm go off and walk out alone.
• Transform the table into a mobile office.  Do your best to bring laptops, land line phones, a cork board with papers and pictures tacked on to act as a cubicle wall, pen cups, staplers and as much other stuff you can think of.
• Take out food you brought with you and start eating it.

Eating

Here is what you've been waiting for.  Hopefully, you haven't completely filled up on bread.

• Make "OMNOMNOM" noises as you eat.
• Ask for extra napkins (if paper napkins).  Hide them when you get them (most restaurants give you hundreds to begin with) and ask for more.
• Treat your non-paper napkins like tissues.  Blow into them very loudly.
• If you are a man, ask for the ladies' room.  For a woman, ask for the men's room.  Do not make it seem like you are asking for someone else.  Then, go to the correct room (they're usually near each other anyway).
• Take a blender from out of your bag, find an outlet, and puree your food.
• Wear rubber gloves while eating.
• Drop anything you can find at your table into your drink.
• Count every french fry and complain that "there are only 56 fries.  Last time you gave me 61."
• Don't eat any of your food, have it wrapped, and have the waiter send compliments to the chef.

Paying and Tipping

The waiter and management thinks this is their big payoff, but it's actually your big payoff.

• Sign your name as something goofy on the check.
• Doodle all over the merchant's copy of the receipt.
• Tell your waiter the mints were the best part of your meal.
• Instead of the pen they provided, use a pink pen.
• Better yet, use red ink and mark the check with a circled "C+," noting all the poor quality foods on the check itself, and marking "good improvement" on the bottom.
• Leave the waiter grocery store coupons for tips.
• Leave the waiter a gift card for the restaurant you are at, if they have one.

The Exit Prank

Only do this once you are ready to leave.  I'd advise against actually doing this because the ensuing chaos could be dangerous and I am pretty sure it is breaking some law.

Disperse your party amongst the restaurant's empty tables.  Before any of the wait staff realize this, walk a few steps into the kitchen so that you cannot be seen by anyone.  Count to five slowly in your head, and once you have reached five, come out and scream "Someone has poisoned the soup!" at the top of your lungs.  At this cue, have everyone else in your party scream and run towards the exit.  Hopefully, the entire restaurant will do the same.

This is my most epic post ever

Calling it Quits with Quicken

By: Steve Johnson

            But finally I found Linux Mint. Presently I'm using Linux Mint4 Daryna KDE Community edition. Well all I have to say is “Cool”! It comes with all the latest Linux packages, and especially it’s a good solution for people that don't have an internet connection at their home.

            There are some special features I really like in Daryna. The first thing is its very user friendly so it’s easy to work with, and it’s also focused on Entertainment side. I mean about the players, like Kaffeine, MPlayer and Amarok. Yet I didn't found any media format which is not running in these players! Amazing huh! Usually in other linux distros we have to download the codecs and stuff to run media files for the first time we use it. But Daryna provides all those things in its DVD.

            I have to say something about the 'Kate text editor'. It makes my work very convenient.  I use it for my coding purposes instead of 'vi editor'. I use it to code “html, xml, java scripting, c++, c and php”. K3B is another exiting software to use! Once I heard that it’s the finest CD/DVD writing tool in Open Source Software.  When I want to do any Art Work I usually open GIMP.  Daryna provides the latest version of GIMP. It works just like adobe photo shop, but very simple and low memory consuming.

            Some other Software I like in Daryna is Gwenview, Kpdf, OpenOffice and FireFox.  You only have to spend 25 minutes of installation time to experience its taste. I personally think all other Linux distributions should be like Linux Mint. Because its very attractive, accurate and reliable to work with. I think Linux Mint is another tremendous achieve of GNU/Linux.        

EGG

This egg is sitting in front of the others.

HATCHLING

Aww...It's a cute baby dragon. It has a large, shield-like object at the end of its tail that it uses for protection.
And look! It's grown its wings! It must be close to maturing.

ADULT

Guardian dragons have a large shield on the end of their tails. Although it appears to be heavy, it is light, yet nearly unbreakable. Guardian dragons use their tail-shields, as well as their wings, to deflect attacks and protect others. Often, they will guard the eggs and hatchlings of a nest while others are away. They are generally peaceful, and will not retaliate unless necessary. They have no need to forage or hunt, as they are fed by those they protect.

I'm not sure if the new alt black dragons are out, but I'm assuming they are. I'll try breeding my black dragon when he matures. Maybe I'll be lucky?

Now it's time for my dragons:

My mint egg hatched (surprisingly).

My grey egg doesn't have soft shell anymore, but refuses to come out of the cloud of fog. He seems to like it in there. :P

My skywing had eggs! Yay! Please click the one I kept.

In other news: If you  want more views for your eggs/hatchlings, try visiting the Dragon Nests. Post a link to your scroll & I'll add your eggs. (Only 8 eggs/hatchlings per nest.)

That's all for now!

-legoless

However most of the time, I end up tamping down these ridiculous urges, because in reality I'm a wimp.

I'm blaming it all on that Cinnamon Latté I had from Mugg & Bean. But gosh, theirs and Cordoba Coffees chocolate mint coffee is a definite treat for the taste buds. I'm also craving a very heavy intensely delicious chocolate fudge cake. Mmmm.

Speaking of coffee, there isn't anything better then sitting down with a group of friends in a coffee shop on a cold morning or night sharing your stories as the smell of hot coffee surrounds the air and chocolate is melting in your mouth. Those are what I call moments that need to be remembered.

No cóż, ale nie o tym. Przez dysk mojego kompiutra przewinęło się chyba z 15 systemów operacyjnych :P Windows XP Home, Professional, Edubuntu (pierwszy Linuch z jakim miałem do czynienia), 4 odsłony Ubuntu, Mandriva 2007.1, SuSE 10.3, Slax (? - nie mam pewności, ale chyba Slax) no i zatrzymałem ten heroiczny bieg na systemie po części opartym o Ubuntu, a po części na Debianie - chodzi o Linux Mint. Sama instalacja zajęła jak dobrze pamiętam troszkę powyżej 20 minutek, potem tylko wystarczyło spolszczyć to, co niespolszczone zostało (czyli wiele programów i część Gnoma) no i ma się rozumieć zainstalować stery do mojej karty graficznej aby móc cieszyć swe oczęta efektami, jakie zapewnia Compiz-Fusion :)

Jestem na miętusie już trzeci dzień i muszę przyznać, ze narazie nigdzie mi się stąd nie spieszy, wszystko śmiga jak ta lala, nie zaliczyłem żadnej zwiechy ani tym bardziej usterek w systemie. Nie mam tu żadnych gier oprócz sławionej przez kumpla TeeWorlds (więcej w Google) oraz dwóch pobranych tak w razie, jakby neta brakło :D Postawiłem sobie serwer LAMP i sobie śmigatsu jak narazie :P Poznaję powoli terminal, upodobniłem sobie Gnomka do KDE 4... cóż, może nie jest to kopia piksel w piksel, ale wygląda to dosyć podobnie :P Myślę nad instalacją Gnome Desklets, choć narazie się obejdzie :)

Dostrzegłem tutaj ciekawą aplikację z którą nie miałem wcześniej do czynienia - Gnome Do. Ciekawy programik wyświetlany na pierwszym planie niewiadomą mi kombinacją klawiszy (wciąż próbuję odgadnąć, jak sie to draństwo włącza z poziomu klawiatury :P ) umożliwiający szybki dostęp do plików, programów, gier, czego sobie człowiek zapragnie :) Plusior ogromny za tę pierdółkę :)

Mam tutaj takie fajniste menu jak dla mnie duzo lepiej zorganizowanego niż w systemie *ista. Mamy podział aplikacji na kategorie, w dodatku jak to w każdym Linuksie bywa - po instalacji każdy program jest automatycznie przydzielany do odpowiedniej kategorii. Mint mimo, że oparty o Ubu, ktory mi tutaj na laptopie  potrafił nieźle przycinać - śmiga tak, że nawet nie czuję, że w tle coś się dzieje :D

Jako podsumowanie tej jakże krótkiej i chaotycznej pierwszej notki chciałem tylko wystawić ocenę Miętówce, w skali 1-10 ma ode mnie mocne 9 :) Ten system jest niemal wyszyty na miarę moich potrzeb. Co mi nie pasuje? Póki co to, że musze się przyzwyczić do obsługi (idzie mi to dosyć szybko, więc wkrótce bedze 10/10) :D

I can't turn down novel liquor. I suppose one could have a worse vice, but I impulse buy the strange dusty stuff on the back of the shelves all the time. Dr. McGilligcuddy's Mentholmint Schnapps has ended up in my hands on several occasions because of the old thyme style label of a man with a dog but never made it to the checkout counter because of a fear I had; namely the fear that a whole 750mL would go to waste. My spendthrift ways of not wasting food would kick in if this stuff was minty rubbing alcohol and I'd be stuck with a semi expensive bottle of 1800s cure all snake oil. When I saw an airline bottle I finally gave in to the mystery.

To solve this one for you- it's really really good, as long as you like a fresh mint kick. I was expecting something along the lines of toothpaste and got a fresh and exciting dose of menthol that lingers in the mouth and throat. It perked me up and made my throat feel fresh and tingly in the same vein as an Altoid. It's sweet and slightly viscous, and makes a fine post-rockstar-bender breath freshener/hair of the dog (if there is no Jack Daniels straight from the bottle laying around, that is).

Bottom Line: B+ for a lightly alcoholic, sweet, refreshing drink thats great on the rocks

I hope you guys aren't fed up of dragons yet! Because TJ09 (the creator of Dragon Cave) has some new dragons on his scroll.

There are two different-looking black dragons. You can see them below. These seem to be alternative black dragons, which means they aren't a different breed, but they look different. (Like the male & female dark green dragons.) There aren't available yet, but some people on the forum think that these two types of black dragons can only be gotten by breeding.

There is also a new breed of dragon. From what I've gathered, they are known as "guardian dragons". Here's TJ's:

That's all the exiting news I have for now, but there are still two fogged dragons on TJ's scroll, so there could be even more dragons to come!

Now for my dragons:

To make clicking these guys less dull, here are some facts about each egg/hatchling:

Black: Yay! I have a black dragon! Hopefully the new alt black dragons will be out by the time this guy matures.

Stone: I was starting to wonder if I had picked up a rock, not an egg, but my stone dragon has finally hatched. :)

Mint egg: My mint egg is in trouble... Only a few days left & not even a crack. It really needs help, so please make sure to click often.

Green egg: Yet another bred egg.

Pink egg: Ooo, a pink egg... I have a strange feeling this one won't be dying.

Blue egg: I should really stop breeding dragons.

Grey Egg: I'm not really sure why I picked this egg up... probably because it has been abandoned so many times it now has 7 days left, even though it already has a big hole in it. So it will be easy to hatch. I have to hide it for a while though, because since it now has 7 days left, it has gotten soft shell form getting too many views too quickly. I'll unhide it in 1-2 days if it's gotten any better.

Ok, that's all.

In other news:

• All your eggs dying? Want more clicks? I'm going to be making a page where I will be putting your eggs on it. More details coming soon. It's out! Click here to go to it!

• Any game/movie/book you want reviewing? Comment! Me, woof, or Guinea might write a review on it. (Your name will also go on the post if you were the first person to suggest it.)

That's all for now!

-legoless

They seem to be growing everywhere in the not-so-overgrown-bed. I also found some across the yard in the middle of the lawn. I love the fushia petals! This is truly my diamond in the rough. So delicate, so beautiful.

We also have an abundance of black eyed susans & mint.

Their home is the sort-of-overgrown-bed. I've been working on wrangling the mint so I can reach the rosebush that desperately needs help.

The middle bed was the worst in the yard. Something killed the peony bush:

So I chopped it down to the ground and am waiting until the end of September to dig it up and transplant it to a more sunny location (some advice given by a landscaper). The daylilies in this bed had gone wild, not being tended to and/or separated for YEARS. I pulled out the dead stuff and am just going to leave them be for this season.

I need some more dirt, some mulch and some dry days to get to everything. Hopefully we can rescue this garden and bring it back to it's former glory!

Earlier this spring, Heather Albrecht shared her super simple brownie recipe with me. I posted the recipe on my blog on May 31. Yesterday she suggested a great way to "mint" the brownies. (And it adds another hit of chocolate!)

Heather said her mom puts half the brownie batter in the pan, covers it with a single layer of After Eight mints, then adds the remaining batter. The brownies are baked as usual.

The result?

"Mmmmmmmmm!" says Heather.

Decadent, minted fudgey brownies! What's not to like? I may have to make this brownie variation this weekend.

Thanks, Heather!

Place salt and lemon juice in bowl and beat egg whites until stiff, but not separating. While beating, gradually add sugar.

Spread meringue on top of lemon filling.

Bake pie at 300°F until the meringue takes on a delicately golden color with lightly browned tops. Allow to cool before serving. Garnish with thinly sliced rounds of lemon dipped into coarse sugar or a fresh sprig of mint.

Hallo mal wieder!!

Vorgestern und gestern waren meine Freundin und ich auf dem MINT-Treffen, von dem ich schon berichtet habe. Vielleicht folgen noch ein paar Bilder aus Berlin, mal sehen... hier habe ich euch auf alle Fälle erst mal die Präsentation.

Ihr könnt sie gerne anschauen und bewerten!!

LG, Age

Banana, Mango and Yoghurt Fat Loss Smoothie.

Ingredients;

1 Large Banana

1 Large Mango

1 Small Low-Fat Yoghurt

2 Tbsp Pumpkin Seeds

1 Spring of Fresh Mint

3-4 Ice Cubes.

Mango- Low calorie and packed with vitamins.

Banana- Potassium helps balance fluid levels in muscle cells, reducing water retention.

Natural Yogurt- Calcium to maintain bone and muscle density, while starting fat-burning process.

Pumpkin Seeds- Full of good fats that fire up your metabolism.

Mint Leaves- A natural diuretic that eliminates toxins and sooths digestive tract.

Ice Cubes- Adds water and drops temperature to burn more calories…

And what fun it was to meet such an array of vastly different young people - the hair, the fashion, the humour, the exuberance - I was in awe. According to some of the girls I am cool (high praise indeed) and Felix (despite his earlier attempts to book me into a b&b for the night) told me that I'd blended in perfectly - not that I did show my face that much.

Thus I am reminiscing about spectacular hangovers. Mostly brought on by the fact that my bedroom is next to one of the bathrooms, and at four in the morning, just by sound of regurgitation, I knew exactly who of Felix's friends was throwing up when. Felix came to see me at about six to relate a most astonishing discovery: "Mama, every time I throw up I feel better." By eight o'clock he was as good as new.

Some 20 years ago I suffered the worst hangover of my whole life at the hands of a generous friend buying me cocktail after cocktail on the promenade of the harbour of Puerto Banus (think Spain, think yachts, think money, think whatever takes your fancy). Ever since I am as suspicious of cocktails (other than Martinis) as a cat circling a bowl of milk knowing full well she is just about to be poisoned. I can't stand the stuff: It lulls you into a false sense of security; all that fruity taste whilst knocking back high % Vol.

And yes, David, you might have gone underground, and you are a wonderful guy without guile - how big is your gut now? - but revenge will be mine, one day. Make sure you'll live long enough. Needless to say, my then husband had no sympathy for me whatsoever. In fact he offered me breakfast - to add cruelty to injury. It's amazing what the human body can withstand.

Early this morning I fancied a little walk into town rather than taking the car. You see things you'd never be able to notice from the safety of your four wheels. Eight o'clock - two guys and a woman sitting on a bench, beer and cider cans in hand - asking me for some change. I would have liked to have helped out but I only had a card on me. I have a fairly vivid imagination but it doesn't stretch far enough to begin to comprehend what it must be like to lead a life like that.

And, on this happy note, don't forget the olives. And, oh yes, one of my proud claims to fame, about two and a half years ago someone created the "Ursula" for me. It is possibly one of the best drinks I have never had.

Feel free to puke into my inbox.

U

PS And who in their right mind would order a "Vicar's Shandy" (half fino sherry, half lemonade, handful of mint)? As perversions go, this is liquid.