Are noodles the new sushi?

With an recent article on Metromix asking "Are noodles the new sushi?," my response is, huh?!?!

The article lists several noodle houses that have opened around town recently. I ate at noodle houses in college...and I'm beginning to think that isn't so recent(ha ha). Z'Mariks is a popular noodle house in Iowa City that many of the students frequent, so I was shocked to see that they are just up and coming in Chicago.

That leaves me with just one question: Is Iowa trendier than Chicago?

YOY Update

50 weeks down...2 to go.

Iowa senate raises teachers salaries

The Iowa Senate passed File 277 on Monday, allocating $145 million to raise teachers salaries an average of $2000 over the next two years. This will bring Iowa up significantly on the national average and hopefully keep more new graduates in the state.

Any ladies looking for a good man?

This is a pretty funny video. It's a guy that put it on a dating website to hopefully lure in ladies.

http://emuse.ebaumsworld.com/watch/5529

Pronto condoms: The quickest way to get it on(and reduce AIDS in Africa)

Roelf Mulder, an industrial designer, of South Africa’s XYZ Design made this condom applicator with the hopes of encouraging the use of condoms and reducing the spread of AIDS. The application directions are:

"The user holds the device with the thumb and forefinger of both hands, pulling the condom down over the penis in a single rapid movement. "

Sounds easy enough, right? What will matter most is the willingness of the people to use the device.

The applicators are currently being sold(a bit pricey as you would have to get them shipped from Africa) through Pronto condoms. Their website is really interesting and has demonstrations(here and here) on how to use the device. I highly recommend checking it out.

They have a great slogan too, "Pronto condoms, the quickest way to get it on."

Get better sleep...naked

Sleepnaked.org is a website promoting people to sleep naked.

The site claims that a person will actually have a better nights sleep if they are in the buff. The theory(I don't see any citations on the site, they claim to have a research page, but i couldn't get to it) is that when nude, you are more relaxed and comfortable, resulting in falling asleep faster and into a deeper and longer sleep.

Sleep Naked also encourages partners to sleep naked together and they will have an increase in intimacy. Studies also show that it showed improved fertility in men, due to the lack of clothing and cooler conditions(just like men that go commando or wear boxers are more fertile than men that wear whitey-tighties).

I've said it before and I'll say it again...

I don't have any unattractive friends.

This is not a conscious gesture. Maybe it is a subconscious thing, I don't know. Really though, all my friends are physically attractive. One acquaintance suggested that I thought they were all beautiful because of their "insides." I agreed, but they are also beautiful on the outside. I don't know why this is, because I consider myself just average looking. I think some of them could be models.

Sorry, this is a really random blog post but it has come of multiple times recently.

A-Z

The Letter A
Are you available?: yes
What is your age?: 25
What annoys you?: stupid and uneducated people

Letter B
Do you live in a big house?: not currently
When is your birthday?: May 4th

The Letter C
What's your favorite candy?: regular starburst and junior mints
When was the last time you cried?: my grandma's funeral

The Letter D
Do you daydream?: yes
What's your favorite kind of dog?: a friendly one
What day of the week is it?:Thursday

The Letter E
How do you like your eggs?: probably scrambled...whites only
Have you ever been in the emergency room?: once. I had a hematoma
What's the easiest thing ever to do?: hmmm....

The Letter F
Have you ever flown in a plane?: yes, i love flying
Do you use fly swatters?: only on the farm
Have you ever used a foghorn?: no, but i have used a megaphone

The Letter G
Do you chew gum?:i love gum, especially the whitening kind
Do you like gummy candies?: oh, yes

The Letter H
How are you?: very happy
What's your height?:5'11"..I'm a tall girl
what color is your hair?: brown

The Letter I
What's your favorite ice cream?: i don't really like ice cream, but vanilla or mint chocolate chip
Have you ever ice skated?: yes
Do you play an instrument?: i used to play the flute

The Letter J
Whats your favorite jelly bean?: jelly beans are nasty
have you ever heard a really funny joke?: yes, i love funny
Do you wear jewelry?: not very often...i'm not a jewelry type of girl

The Letter K
Who do you want to kill?: no one, what kind of question is this?
Do you want kids?: if it works out
Where did you have kindergarten?: in Marcus

Letter L
Are you laid back?: to a point
Do you lie?: everyday, but jokingly about dumb stuff

The Letter M
Whats your favorite movie?: i don't have a favorite
Do you still watch Disney movies?: yeah, i work on a peds unit, they only watch PG, so I see a lot of Disney
Do you like mangoes?: yeah

The Letter N
Do you have a nickname?: yes, a lot of them
Whats your favorite number?: 4 or 25

The Letter O
Whats your one wish?: to be happy
Are you an only child?: definitely not
Do you wish this was over?: sure

The Letter P
What's one fear are you most paranoid about?: failure
What's a personality trait you look for in the opposite sex?: humor

The Letter S
do u prefer sun or rain?: i like them both
Do you like snow?: yes, i like to sled
What's your favorite season?: spring, because it's my birthday and fall for football season

The Letter T
What time is it?: 11:43pm
What time did you wake up?: 8:07am
When was the last time you slept in a tent?: umm...2 summers ago

The Letter U
Are you wearing underwear?: yeah, actually i am.
Have you used an umbrella this week?: no, i never use them, i hate them

The Letter V
Whats the worst veggie:? i can't think of a veggie i dont like, maybe beets
Where do you want to go on vacation?: anywhere warm right now

The Letter W
Where do you live?: Chicago

The Letter X
Have you ever had an x-ray?: many of them
Have you seen the x-games?: no
Do you own a xylophone?: i wish

The Letter Y
Do you like the color yellow?: sure
What year were you born in?: 1981

The Letter Z
Whats your zodiac sign?: taurus
Do you believe in the zodiac?: um, it's kinda sketchy
What's your favorite zoo animal?: the elk-deer