Sara O'Flaherty

I Have the Coolest Kids Ever, or At Least the Biggest Doctor Who Nerds Ever

Sara O'Flaherty — Sun, 13 May 2012 18:19:36 +0000

This is what I woke up to this morning, and I can honestly say Hallmark can suck it, because they NEVER could have come up with something so amazing. I’m not sure even the kids themselves will ever be able to top this one.

© Sara O'Flaherty for Sara O'Flaherty, 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: card, doctor who, kids, mother's day

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Awesomely Geeky Valentines Day Cards

Sara O'Flaherty — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:45:28 +0000

Just some random geeky Valentines Day cards that I ran across and loved. Hope everyone is having a great day!

© Sara O'Flaherty for Sara O'Flaherty, 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: funny, geeky, Valentines Day

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Do These Look Like Funky Little Penises to You?

Sara O'Flaherty — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:02:27 +0000

Yesterday did not start out as The Most Fantastic Day Ever®. I was tired, I’m stressed about our upcoming move, and I got to sit in a conference call where a woman ranted that someone hadn’t done something, because the lady in question had canceled their appointment and then forgotten to reschedule them. Derp.

The day was rounded out by finding out GoDaddy had shut down our largest site, UrlyBits.com, over a copyright complaint someone filed without ever trying to contact us first. The Scrw Media sites are Paul’s full-time job and the source of his income, so having the largest one down for even a few hours is just not a great thing. To GoDaddy’s credit, they handled the situation pretty quickly, but the process was a bit of a pain, and the stress of not knowing how long we’d be down and the loss of traffic while it was was enough to make Paul a bit cranky last night. Between all that and a bad day in general, I decided it would be a good idea if we said screw it all for awhile and went out to dinner. We both needed a break.

I had a couple of Groupons in the car, one for a Thai place, and one for a Vietnamese place. We decided on the Vietnamese since I’d never had it before, and he hadn’t had it in years. The food was really good, and I got to knock Pho off the list (#72) of 100 Things to Eat Before You Die.

My favorite part of the meal was the spring rolls, and I have to share a picture here. I am used to the spring rolls you get at Chinese restaurants, which are usually fried. These were cold, and if I remember correctly the wrappers are rice paper, which had a kind of squishy, gelatinous feel to them. They tasted amazing, but I swear picking them up they felt and almost looked like limp little penises. Anyone else get that impression?

© Sara O'Flaherty for Sara O'Flaherty, 2012. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: food, stress, UrlyBits, vietnamese, work

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

The History of Gay Rights (Video)

Sara O'Flaherty — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:32:57 +0000

We’ve come a long way, but not nearly far enough.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u62OtM_vt5k

© Sara O'Flaherty for Sara O'Flaherty, 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: gay, marriage, rights, video

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

100 Things to Eat Before You Die

Sara O'Flaherty — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:28:43 +0000

Ran across this today and thought it was pretty cool. How many have you tried?

1. Abalone
2. Absinthe
3. Alligator
4. Baba Ghanoush
5. Bagel and lox
6. Baklava
7. Barbecue ribs
8. Bellini
9. Bird’s Nest Soup
10. Biscuits and gravy
11. Black Pudding
12. Black Truffle
13. Borscht
14. Calamari
15. Carp
16. Caviar
17. Cheese fondue
18. Chicken and waffles
19. Chicken Tikka Masala
20. Chile Relleno
21. Chitterlings/Chitlins
22. Churros
23. Clam Chowder
24. Cognac
25. Crabcake
26. Crickets
27. Currywurst
28. Dandelion wine
29. Dulce de leche
30. Durian
31. Eel
32. Eggs benedict
33. Fish Tacos
34. Foie Gras
35. Fresh Spring Rolls
36. Fried Catfish
37. Fried Green Tomatoes
38. Fried Plaintain
39. Frito Pie
40. Frog’s Legs
41. Fugu
42. Funnel Cake
43. Gazpacho
44. Goat
45. Goat’s milk
46. Goulash
47. Gumbo
48. Haggis
49. Head Cheese
50. Heirloom Tomatoes
51. Honeycomb
52. Hostess Fruit Pie
53. Huevos Rancheros
54. Jerk Chicken
55. Kangaroo
56. Key Lime Pie
57. Kobe Beef
58. Lassi
59. Lobster
60. Mimosa
61. MoonPie
62. Morel Mushrooms
63. Nettle Tea
64. Octopus
65. Oxtail Soup
66. Paella
67. Paneer
68. Pastrami on Rye
69. Pavlova
70. Phaal
71. Philly Cheesesteak
72. Pho
73. Pineapple and cottage cheese
74. Pistachio Ice Cream
75. Po’ boy
76. Pocky
77. Polenta
78. Prickly Pear
79. Rabbit Stew
80. Raw Oysters
81. Root Beer Float
82. S’mores
83. Sauerkraut
84. Sea Urchin
85. Shark
86. Snail
87. Snake
88. Soft Shell Crab
89. Som Tam
90. Spaetzle
91. Spam
92. Squirrel
93. Steak Tartare
94. Sweet Potato Fries
95. Sweetbreads
96. Tom Yum
97. Umeboshi
98. Venison
99. Wasabi Peas
100.Zucchini Flowers

© Sara O'Flaherty for Sara O'Flaherty, 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: doing new things, food, list

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Read It, Live It

Sara O'Flaherty — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:56:38 +0000

Everything you need to know to make 2012 the best year ever (especially that not watching tv part!)

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Taking 2012 and Making it My Bitch

Sara O'Flaherty — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 22:22:24 +0000

2011 was a great year for us here in the O’Flaherty household. We got to spend a lot of time with friends, we road-tripped to Birmingham a few times, we pulled off another Barcamp, and Paul continued to push ScrwMedia forward into his full-time job. We got to spend lots of time with the kids, the asshole frog only ate 8 or so of my aquarium fish, and no one had to go to the emergency room. We have a roof over our heads, Firefly on DVD, and laugh together far more than most couples we know. I think on the whole, I can’t complain too much.

2012 is looking to be a much busier year for us, with the plan of moving into a different rental over the summer, and continuing to work on expanding the evil empire. I am pleased enough with keeping my New Years resolutions last year(getting out more and losing a bit of weight) to get more ambitious with them this year. My focus for 2012 will be on expanding my horizons, and working on getting myself healthier(and dragging Paul kicking and screaming along with me on this one!). I want to learn more, experience more, and encourage those around me to do the same. Life doesn’t just happen, you have to seek out the knowledge and experiences the world has to offer. I don’t want to just coast through 2012, I want to bend it over and make it my bitch. This will be our best year yet.

2012 New Year’s Resolutions

Create and stick to a budget/savings plan as we did in 2011
Room by room organization of the house in preparation for moving over the summer
Read 1 new book a week
Try 1 new restaurant a month(Fast food doesn’t count!)
Start listening to more podcasts
Lose and maintain 25lbs by September 1st
Blog more! (3 posts per week)
Be physically and financially ready to start trying for a baby by September

I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Years Eve, and your kiss at midnight is nothing short of magical.

© Sara O'Flaherty for Sara O'Flaherty, 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 2012, New Years, resolutions

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Labyrinth – The Drinking Game

Sara O'Flaherty — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:38:10 +0000

Saw this over the weekend, and dying to try it. I can’t get over how I saw this at least 10x as a kid, and never once noticed David Bowie’s rather prominent…acting skills!

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

ALL Laws Should Be Upheld

Sara O'Flaherty — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:04:26 +0000

I was reading the local news this morning, and a piece on the Alabama immigration law caught my eye, as House Speaker Mike Hubbard did an interview talking about changes they would seek to the law in February when the House speakers convened again. Are they admitting they are wrong, and trying to undo the damage done to Alabama’s image world-wide since this bill was passed? No. They are just looking for ways to make it less inconvenient for residents who are complaining of long lines and fees to get ‘proper’ documentation, since apparently an Alabama drivers licence is no longer good enough since this law was implemented.

Politics aside, a quote from Hubbard caught my eye, and gave me a good laugh, as it reminds me of the insanity of the hate-filled conservatives words, which 3 months into this law has been repeated ad nauseaum, ‘What part of illegal don’t you understand??’.

Hubbard said it was “absolutely not right … to select which laws you enforce and which ones you don’t.”

I actually agree with this, probably more than Hubbard himself does. Why? Take a look at some of the crazy laws reportedly still on the books in Alabama.

It is considered an offense to open an umbrella on a street, for fear of spooking horses.

It is illegal to sell peanuts in Lee County after sundown on Wednesday.

Putting salt on a railroad track may be punishable by death.

Boogers may not be flicked into the wind.

Women are able to retain all property they owned prior to marriage in the case of divorce. However, this provision does not apply to men.

Men who deflower virgins, regardless of age or marital status, may face up to five years in jail.

As far as I’m concerned, these laws need to be focused on and made a priority, IMMEDIATELY. Especially the one about de-flowering virgins, as that would surely have an impact on the pregnancy rate of unwed mothers in the state, and a knock-on effect for the economy.

If they are there, why aren’t they being enforced? Come on Alabama, what part of illegal don’t you understand?

© Sara O'Flaherty for Sara O'Flaherty, 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Alabama, funny, immigration, laws, politics

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Dear Internet…Stop Freaking Out, Pedobear is Nothing But a Meme

Sara O'Flaherty — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:40:59 +0000

This is a letter I just had to send my local radio station, WABB , after they ran with the Pedobear story that is starting to take foot again. Parents, this is nothing but an urban legend, and NOT something new to be terrified about. (Yes, I trust YOU to be able to use Google correctly, but the people the radio station had do it obviously could not).

Hi Guys,

My name is Sara and I am the co-founder of ScrwMedia, a small startup in Mobile that does humor websites on different topics. I was driving to work this morning, and I heard the piece you did on Pedobear, and honestly I’m a little hot under the collar about it. The story that you ran as being completely real and giving parents something new to be terrified over, is nothing but an urban legend, more specifically, an internet meme. Meme’s are jokes that take hold and spread, usually based around a particular picture or phrase, and that’s exactly what happened with the Pedobear image. This is something that has been around for several years, and until an idiot at that news station in New Mexico grabbed it and tried to make a headline out of it, was well known by those in the online world that it’s nothing but an off-taste joke. (Funny enough, we ran their report on Urlybits this morning as a post itself before you did your report on it. http://urlybits.com/2011/11/krqe-news-gets-it-wrong/ )

While I understand that the way news often works is one outlet reporting what another outlet said, with little or no fact-checking done in between, I honestly expected a little better from WABB. The fact that you claimed Heather Bright had researched this and found it to be real speaks volumes about her intelligence. The very first hit on any Google search on this topic is the Wikipedia article which explains very clearly in the very first paragraph that it’s nothing but a meme.

“Pedobear is an Internet meme that became popular through the imageboard 4chan.[1] As the name suggests (“pedo” being short for “pedophile”), it is portrayed as a pedophilic bear,[2] and is used to mock pedophiles. Recently, particularly in America, it has been mistaken by some as a bait used by pedophiles to lure children.”

The ‘concerns’ over this started in California a few years ago, and since that report was issued, there has not been ONE single case where it was actually found that a pedophile of any sort has been using the Pedobear symbol to get to or using it as a mascot for molesting children. As quoted in a Gawker piece last year –

“Gawker confirmed with the police that they are aware that it is an Internet joke, but that they have still considered it a mascot for molestation.”

Clearly I am against pedophilia, so why do I care that this story has taken hold again? Because this is the sort of baseless, idiotic reporting that gets people hurt. You mentioned on your show today that there is a company that makes Pedobear stickers, and how people should watch out for them. What happens the first time someone takes this story seriously, and decides to slash someone’s tires, or worse, shoot someone because they have a Pedobear sticker on their car? A sticker that to most of the internet, just references a series of funny pictures and an off-color joke? You want to be responsible for that happening here?

Please do, gosh I don’t know, 5 seconds of real reading before you decide to push what you yourselves said sounded like screwy news as real reporting, every link on the 1st page of a Google search explains this is NOT real. And for the love of f*ck please don’t rely on Heather Bright to use Google, she clearly isn’t capable.

Harsh? Maybe, but Google is NOT that hard to use, and a few seconds of reading on their part could have made for a very different story which didn’t needlessly scare parents and put people at risk.

© Sara O'Flaherty for Sara O'Flaherty, 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: idiots, news, pedobear, radio, wtf

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh