self sorting laundry chute

random thought... a laundry shoot would be great, sure. just open the door, toss in some clothes and they end up down in the laundry room. but wouldn't it be even better if they ended up in the laundry room sorted? at least by color, if not by fabric. yes, yes it would indeed be even better... now how...? an electronic device of some sort of course. one designed to detect color and whatever other element someone may want to sort by. if color only then i suppose it'd be a matter of light reflection detection... with perhaps a feature that can detect weight/material properties - denim, sweater, towel, etc. ahhh wouldn't that be lovely... maybe i should sell that to some electrical engineering seniors next year so they can use it for their senior design project... OR maybe to an Integrated Product Design master's student as a thesis idea... OR i should patent the concept now just to be on the safe side, then when someone else decides they want to do it, and find that there's a patent on it, I can make a fortune... OR i can go on that show Shark Tank and pitch it and get THEM to pay thru the nose for it... tho i suppose i'd have to do some research first to make sure i can convince them that it'd be worth it... hmmm... i should get on that... i could use a few extra bucks...

kitchen must haves

soo, 'lynne's lessons' right? who says it has to be just lessons i've learned from myself? no one! in the spirit of such, this was posted on facebook by someone I went to college with, but i wanted to remember it and hey, she said herself that it should be shared so here goes:

"I have become a decent cook over the years and wanted to share with you my thoughts on the essentials. With the following ingredients in your kitchen, you can guarantee a multitude of meals: shallots, garlic, onions, basil, cilantro, thyme, oregano, ginger, coconut milk, olive oil, chili peppers, marinara sauce, chicken breasts, pork loin, (green & red peppers), ground turkey, chili pepper, cheyenne, cumin, cream, pasta, rice, mushrooms. You can make Italian dishes, Mexican fare, American, Indian dishes & Thai with these ingredients. The more we endeavor to cook our own meals, the healthier we will be!!! Please share this with those who are not as adept in the kitchen : )"

slow and steady wins the race...right?

progress report on the blanket i started shamefully long ago for my daughter... it's been far too long since i worked on it consistently, but now i'm back. inspired the recent knitting exploits of a pal-o-mine. it's about 33 inches long so far. i forget how wide it is (doesn't matter much given that ain't gonna change, lol). i just did some research and i might as well fess up - i started this thing sometime in 2010... while im not super fast (or even kinda fast, lol) by any means, the delay has really been due to long stretches of not working on it at all. not cool. so i need to commit to working on it consistently. i did some math and in theory i could have it done in about 3 months if i average an hour a day. i could be a punk and just make the goal Christmas, but i don't think i will. what's today's date? 10  august 2012. the goal is 10 november 2012. i will finish this blanket on or before the 10th of november. this is possible. this can be done. it must be done. it wiiiiilll be done.