Aww gnet I've missed you!

Whether you watch the prized cheese drop in Plymouth, Wisconsin or you watch the cherished moon pie drop in Mobile, Alabama, I hope each and every one of you has a safe and happy New Year's Eve, as well as a healthy and prosperous New Year.

Same to you Ben!
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May the new year bring each of you serenity, self actualization, and the divine escape from Sartre's "bad faith", freeing you from acting out roles chosen for you by the world's matrix, allowing you true freedom and the manifestation of your true selves.
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Oh, and some kick ass parties, clothes, jewelry and concerts!

Finally found out what sort of fur one of my vintage collars is. This little shit has been bugging me for ages, too long for mink, but clearly a weaselly mammal of some sort. It's got a pale dense underfur, but pretty long deep golden guard hairs. I looked up sable but that's a dark fur and always reporetd as super soft, which this isn't at all. Partly due to age I think, as some furs do become a bit brittle over the years and this thing is well over 30 years old.

I've spent an eternity on google but finally managed to pin this little fucker down as Marten fur.

Now to make minor repairs to all the collars, cut off old threads and so on. Most of them have clearly been cut off coats and have only the lining tape on the edges with the skin showing all in the middle area. I think I'd like to try and find some nice vintage fabric on fleabay , see if I can have a go at putting a lining on the backs of them, and possibly get hold of some buttons or hooks so they can be worn as removable collars.

Happy New Year everyone.

My niece had a very healthy baby girl. Not sure on the details of the labour but I've been drooling over the pictures . Will have to wait a few months for a cuddle.

Graus You are lucky to have a family that has your back.

So much to do, so little time....

A workmate drew my attention to this.
This has to be the biggest dog I have ever laid eyes on. It's a small fucking bear not a dog! They use them as guard and attack dogs in Russia

http://dogsbreed.net/wp-content/uplo...lycrapdog2.jpg

Sorry but if I saw this fucker coming at me there'd be a claire shaped shadow streaking down the road

http://bpg.sytes.net/Nagazi/images/I..._Attacking.jpg

I've actually seen these in real life. Scariest fucking dog I've seen. Worst thing is, the dogs I met, thought they were lap dogs.

Big dogs like that just want to cuddle! My mom's favorite jeweler has an Irish wolfhound who spends the days in the shop with her and she is just the sweetest thing. Most of the time she just kind of chills in the corner but once she gets to know you there is nothing in the world that will stop her from trying to get you to cuddle her, she will even try to climb in your lap if you sit down and she easily weighs 180lbs so it tends not to work very well so it is best to show her a some love and affection before you do anything else (then she usually just flops down by your feet and takes up about half of the shop's floor).

My saveD under St Marks t-shirt and shot glass came this morning. I wasn't actually expecting them to send them all the way to England from the USA, so it was a nice surprise. It's nice to feel like I helped make a difference to someone, even if it's a someone I'll never meet :)

Why does time seem to move so much faster late at night? The last time I looked at the clock it wasn't even 3:00 and now it is after 4:00 and I have no idea where the time went.

On a related note: I really need to get the fuck to sleep.

It's like CATS CATS CATS CATS CATS, back in the day it was CATS CATS CATS

I'm getting increasingly creeped out by hardcore Wonder Woman fans. I "liked" her fan page on facebook and its filled with Comic Book Guys who are like "THIS NEW WW SUCKS IN ISSUE 5 SHE TELLS A LIE". "WONDER WOMAN DOESNT USE GUNS, NOT EVEN MAGICAL LOVE GUNS."

And you know they're buying it anyway if they know what's in it.

Has anyone here (I'm looking at you Saya) tried using black beans as a substitute for the eggs and oil in brownies? I saw it in a magazine and thought it would be a good thing to try, especially since it would be better for Jake's cholesterol while still letting him have one of his favorite treats but wanted to get an actual person's opinion first. Apparently what you do is drain, rinse, and puree 15oz. of black beans with 1/4 cup of water and use that instead of eggs and oil, I'd also love to know if it makes cake like or fudgy brownies as the magazine says nothing about that.

I've never heard of that! Let me know how it goes though. If it doesn't work out, I made a brownie bottom peanut butter cheesecake last night and the brownie part was nomtastic. Although I usually just go for recipes that already are eggless after a (delicious) brownie mishap.

EDIT: Oh right right, you're trying to replace the oil too. The recipe I used had margarine which isn't much better.

I've used other substitutes and such that have tasted yummy but I figured that it would be good to try since the phytonutrients are really good for your arteries (and since he is such a picky eater I have to be sneaky about how I get stuff like that in his diet).

I guess I have no choice but to dive into the unknown, most likely this weekend, and I'll let you know how it goes.

That actually sounds like it'll turn out okay. I use white beans in my mashed potatoes for protein and they come out great!
Keep us posted with how they come out.

Okay experimental brownies are in the oven. The type I'm using calls for 1/4 of water in addition to the oil and eggs so I just pureed the black beans with 1/2 cup of water, perhaps I should have dug out the awesome blender to get a smoother puree but my mini food processor was right there. The batter actually smelled fantastic so I had to give it a try and the beans actually lend a real depth to the chocolate, it is kind of amazing and right now I am happily licking the spatula. I just hope texture doesn't come out weird as the batter was a little stiffer than normal, kind of like chilled buttercream, so we shall have to see what happens in the oven.

Okay so the brownies are cooling but I couldn't wait to try one so I only let them cool for about 5 minutes before cutting them. They turned out pretty fucking delicious. The texture is a little closer to cake like and I prefer fudgy brownies but they are super moist and yummy. We'll see how they cool but I think this was a success, next time though I will use a smaller dish and make them a little thicker.

Added bonus: these were the easiest brownies to cut.

Oh yay! I'm thinking about ordering Vegan On The Cheap and I noticed the other day when looking through it on Amazon, they have black bean brownies. I'll have to try it.

Do it! Also even though I didn't get a super smooth puree it doesn't matter, you can't tell at all once they cooked (and the batter was so yummy that I didn't care).

I NEED THIS SO BADLY. Someone be a darling and lend me £35'000 ???

http://www.geekalerts.com/maximo-riera-octopus-chair/

That is kind of an amazing chair but where would you put it?

Hell I'd just plonk it in the middle of the sitting room and get rid of the sofa and coffee table. Just that chair, the TV and the lamp. The parents can bugger orf into the dining room if they want to sit down :p

I've been feeling kind of conflicted, lately. Part of me wants to find peace with my life and the other part wants to carry on as usual by using negative emotions as a motivator. I think the problem is that I don't really know how to get anything done without being full of piss and vinegar.

Maybe it's because I have a birthday coming up?

I'm sure G.Net is trying to tell me I'm old. All I see at the top of my screen is ads for 'mature dating'. FUCK YOU, I'm 21 and I shall remain 21 until I choose otherwise!!