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<channel>
	<title>PIGPENCIL by Sandy Wood &#038; Kara Kovalchik</title>
	<link>http://pigpencil.com/blog</link>
	<description>the Web presence of Kara Kovalchik and Sandy Wood, writers and trivia gurus for mental_floss, Tidbits, and much more</description>
	<pubDate>Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:35:58 +0000</pubDate>
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		<title>Fifty Years and Counting</title>
		<link>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/09/04/fifty-years-and-counting/</link>
		<comments>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/09/04/fifty-years-and-counting/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:42:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandy</dc:creator>
		
	<category>thoughts &#038; stuff</category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/09/04/fifty-years-and-counting/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Love to my parents, John (Jay) and Dorothy (Dot) Wood of Danielsville, Georgia, who will celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniversary on September 6. Congratulations!
Kara&#8217;s parents, George and Fran Kovalchik, will also hit the half-century-married mark next month.
That doesn&#8217;t happen very much any longer, does it?

]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Love to my parents, John (Jay) and Dorothy (Dot) Wood of Danielsville, Georgia, who will celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniversary on September 6. Congratulations!</p>
<p>Kara&#8217;s parents, George and Fran Kovalchik, will also hit the half-century-married mark next month.</p>
<p>That doesn&#8217;t happen very much any longer, does it?
</p>
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			<wfw:commentRSS>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/09/04/fifty-years-and-counting/feed/</wfw:commentRSS>
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		<item>
		<title>Rock without roll</title>
		<link>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/08/19/rock-without-roll/</link>
		<comments>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/08/19/rock-without-roll/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 19 Aug 2008 04:58:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandy</dc:creator>
		
	<category>thoughts &#038; stuff</category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/08/19/rock-without-roll/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sandy here. I&#8217;m not certain why, but this is interesting.

]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Sandy here. I&#8217;m not certain why, but <a target="_blank" title="rock (without roll)" href="http://www.rock-on-rock-on.com/calendar-2008-alternative.html">this</a> is interesting.
</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRSS>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/08/19/rock-without-roll/feed/</wfw:commentRSS>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>pigpencil.com is getting the lead out</title>
		<link>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/08/06/pigpencilcom-is-getting-the-lead-out/</link>
		<comments>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/08/06/pigpencilcom-is-getting-the-lead-out/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:34:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandy</dc:creator>
		
	<category>thoughts &#038; stuff</category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/08/06/pigpencilcom-is-getting-the-lead-out/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sandy here. Kara and I are always on the lookout for new places and ways to distribute our work. (Yes, we do more than just trivia. In fact, we have several ideas just waiting to be unleashed on an unsuspecting public.) Feel free to contact us at info@pigpencil.com.

]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Sandy here. Kara and I are always on the lookout for new places and ways to distribute our work. (Yes, we do more than just trivia. In fact, we have several ideas just waiting to be unleashed on an unsuspecting public.) Feel free to contact us at <a href="mailto:info@pigpencil.com">info@pigpencil.com</a>.
</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRSS>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/08/06/pigpencilcom-is-getting-the-lead-out/feed/</wfw:commentRSS>
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		<item>
		<title>Mooooooving in!</title>
		<link>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/08/02/mooooooving-in/</link>
		<comments>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/08/02/mooooooving-in/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 02 Aug 2008 18:40:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandy</dc:creator>
		
	<category>thoughts &#038; stuff</category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/08/02/mooooooving-in/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;re still retroactively adding lots of our material to pigpencil.com. Coming soon: video footage of a few segments we scripted for CNN-Headline News, our clips from the &#8220;In America&#8221; section of Reader&#8217;s Digest, and much, much more.
Here&#8217;s a photograph of a milk carton issued by Schneider&#8217;s Dairy of Pittsburgh in 2003 or 2004, which included some trivia we [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img id="image210" title="Got milk?" alt="Got milk?" src="http://pigpencil.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/milk.jpg" align="right" />We&#8217;re still retroactively adding lots of our material to pigpencil.com. Coming soon: video footage of a few segments we scripted for CNN-Headline News, our clips from the &#8220;In America&#8221; section of <em>Reader&#8217;s Digest, </em>and much, much more.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s a photograph of a milk carton issued by Schneider&#8217;s Dairy of Pittsburgh in 2003 or 2004, which included some trivia we wrote for <em>mental_floss</em>. If your information is going to appear on the side of a milk carton, we figure this is the best way to do it &#8230; rather than a photo and some &#8220;Have You Seen Me?&#8221; information.</p>
<p>Of course, the sample they sent us was for Skim Milk. Are they trying to tell us something?
</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRSS>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/08/02/mooooooving-in/feed/</wfw:commentRSS>
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		<item>
		<title>Murph: Snubbed again by BBHOF</title>
		<link>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/07/28/murph/</link>
		<comments>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/07/28/murph/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 28 Jul 2008 16:05:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandy</dc:creator>
		
	<category>thoughts &#038; stuff</category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/07/28/murph/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sandy here. Yes, I may be biased since I grew up in Georgia and was an Atlanta Braves fan from a young age. But if someone could PLEASE explain to my why two-time NL Most Valuable Player Dale Murphy has NOT been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, I&#8217;d be eternally grateful.
The man is [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Sandy here. Yes, I may be biased since I grew up in Georgia and was an Atlanta Braves fan from a young age. But if someone could PLEASE explain to my why two-time NL Most Valuable Player Dale Murphy has NOT been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, I&#8217;d be eternally grateful.</p>
<p>The man is (and always was) a class act, and I&#8217;d still be watching baseball if more players were like him. How can a player have a long and distinguished career such as his and not be a lock for the Hall?
</p>
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		<title>Congratulations are in order!</title>
		<link>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/07/25/congratulations-are-in-order/</link>
		<comments>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/07/25/congratulations-are-in-order/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 25 Jul 2008 15:11:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandy</dc:creator>
		
	<category>thoughts &#038; stuff</category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/07/25/congratulations-are-in-order/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Congratulations to three members of the mental_floss team:
Jason English, the assistant web editor of mentalfloss.com, on the birth of his first child. Jason and wife Ellen welcomed a baby girl, Charlotte, on August 18. The couple rejected our suggested first name for the baby, Pidgin. Oh, well.
Terri Dann Osborne, the assistant art director for mental_floss magazine, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Congratulations to three members of the <em>mental_floss</em> team:</p>
<p>Jason English, the assistant web editor of mentalfloss.com, on the birth of his first child. Jason and wife Ellen welcomed a baby girl, Charlotte, on August 18. The couple rejected our suggested first name for the baby, Pidgin. Oh, well.</p>
<p>Terri Dann Osborne, the assistant art director for <em>mental_floss </em>magazine, on her recent marriage. Terri not only does incredible work for the magazine, but she also designs most of the banners for our quizzes on mentalfloss.com. If you see an ugly one, odds are she had the day off and we designed it. Sorry &#8217;bout that.</p>
<p>Toby Maloney, <em>mental_floss&#8217; </em>vice president of business development (and our personal mentor), for reaching a birthday we can only hope to reach someday. Woohoo!
</p>
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			<wfw:commentRSS>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/07/25/congratulations-are-in-order/feed/</wfw:commentRSS>
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		<item>
		<title>What You Crave</title>
		<link>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/07/07/what-you-crave/</link>
		<comments>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/07/07/what-you-crave/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:54:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandy</dc:creator>
		
	<category>thoughts &#038; stuff</category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/07/07/what-you-crave/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here&#8217;s the neatest thing I&#8217;ve received in the mail in quite a while&#8230; a coupon for 250 White Castle burgers for $99.99.
Yes, it&#8217;s a gimmick. A brilliant gimmick. You can click on the picture to see a larger version. Note the credit cards shown at the top, along with the note about the place being open [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a target="_blank" title="click for larger image" href="http://pigpencil.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/wc-large.jpg"><img align="right" alt="wc-small.jpg" title="wc-small.jpg" id="image35" src="http://pigpencil.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/wc-small.jpg" /></a>Here&#8217;s the neatest thing I&#8217;ve received in the mail in quite a while&#8230; a coupon for 250 White Castle burgers for $99.99.</p>
<p>Yes, it&#8217;s a gimmick. A brilliant gimmick. You can click on the picture to see a larger version. Note the credit cards shown at the top, along with the note about the place being open 24/7. Isn&#8217;t it easy to picture five intoxicated college students pooling money very late at night to buy this? Granted, they&#8217;ll each eat eight or nine of them, throw up, and the rest of the burgers will be crammed into a mini-fridge until they&#8217;re thrown out in three or four weeks.</p>
<p>The point is you KNOW it&#8217;ll happen. Just like some hungry guy will brag that he really <em>could</em> eat 250 in a sitting and plunk down his $100. He&#8217;ll try and fail, but so what? It&#8217;s the challenge that matters.</p>
<p>Nice job, White Castle.
</p>
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		<item>
		<title>A Crushed Coin</title>
		<link>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/07/04/a-crushed-coin/</link>
		<comments>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/07/04/a-crushed-coin/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:24:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandy</dc:creator>
		
	<category>thoughts &#038; stuff</category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/07/04/a-crushed-coin/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[

]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a title="Yes, it's a quarter. Click to learn more." href="http://205.243.100.155/frames/shrinkergallery.html" target="_blank"><img id="image66" alt="Yes, it's a quarter. Click to learn more." src="http://pigpencil.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/quarter.jpg" /></a>
</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>But&#8230; This isn&#8217;t Even Odd!</title>
		<link>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/03/27/but-this-isnt-even-odd/</link>
		<comments>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/03/27/but-this-isnt-even-odd/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:25:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandy</dc:creator>
		
	<category>thoughts &#038; stuff</category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/03/27/but-this-isnt-even-odd/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I have several &#8220;clip services&#8221; attached to my browser&#8217;s default page so that I can keep tabs (at least a little) on what&#8217;s happening in the real world. One of those is called Odd News from AP, and as you might expect, it collects the most unusual stories recently spat out by the Associated Press. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I have several &#8220;clip services&#8221; attached to my browser&#8217;s default page so that I can keep tabs (at least a little) on what&#8217;s happening in the real world. One of those is called <em>Odd News from AP, </em>and as you might expect, it collects the most unusual stories recently spat out by the Associated Press. Or so I thought.</p>
<p>Today, <a title="woof" href="http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/strange/news-article.aspx?storyid=105633" target="_blank">this story</a> showed up. Here&#8217;s a rundown:</p>
<blockquote><p>1. Neighbors complain because dog nearly bites them.<br />
2. Officers visit dog&#8217;s owner, warns him to restrain dog.<br />
3. The owner fails to do so, and the dog bites the officers.<br />
4. The officers arrest the owner and send the dog to the pound.<br />
5. The end.</p></blockquote>
<p>Not exactly <em>Twilight Zone </em>or even <em>Mad TV </em>material, is it? Now if one of the officers bit the dog, or the dog bit off one of the officer&#8217;s fingers and they had to wait a couple days for nature to run its course so that the cop could get his wedding ring back, then I&#8217;d say &#8220;okay.&#8221; But the police doing what they&#8217;re supposed to do? That&#8217;s odd?</p>
<p>Then again, maybe it is&#8230;
</p>
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		<title>Hot Box</title>
		<link>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/03/23/hot-box/</link>
		<comments>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/03/23/hot-box/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 23 Mar 2008 14:15:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandy</dc:creator>
		
	<category>thoughts &#038; stuff</category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/03/23/hot-box/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
This item was advertised in a recent flyer we received in the mail from Bed, Bath &#038; Beyond. While I have no grudge against the store or anyone involved&#8230; I gotta say, doesn&#8217;t this device just reek of danger? I know how hot many of the power chargers for my small electronics can get. Can [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img id="image13" src="http://pigpencil.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/chargingstation.jpg" /></p>
<p>This item was advertised in a recent flyer we received in the mail from Bed, Bath &#038; Beyond. While I have no grudge against the store or anyone involved&#8230; I gotta say, doesn&#8217;t this device just reek of danger? I know how hot many of the power chargers for my small electronics can get. Can you imagine what it would be like putting four of them in a power strip inside a small box? It seems like that&#8217;s just <em>asking </em>for the chargers to overheat and/or start a fire. Yes, I&#8217;m sure there&#8217;s some ventilation, but still.</p>
<p>It makes me wonder if the Underwriters Laboratories have any say-so when it comes to furniture intended for home electronics. I know they approve the electric and electronic devices themselves&#8230; Sadly, we&#8217;ve got a deadline looming and I don&#8217;t have time to look it up right now. But I will!
</p>
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		<title>Throwing stones</title>
		<link>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/03/11/throwing-stones/</link>
		<comments>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/03/11/throwing-stones/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:46:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandy</dc:creator>
		
	<category>thoughts &#038; stuff</category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/03/11/throwing-stones/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Madonna&#8217;s just been inducted into the Rock &#8216;n&#8217; Roll Hall of Fame? Hmmmm. The definition of rock &#8216;n&#8217; roll must have changed a whole lot since I was younger.

]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Madonna&#8217;s just been inducted into the Rock &#8216;n&#8217; Roll Hall of Fame? Hmmmm. The definition of rock &#8216;n&#8217; roll must have changed a <em>whole</em> lot since I was younger.
</p>
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		<title>The path of armageddon?</title>
		<link>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/03/03/the-path-of-armageddon/</link>
		<comments>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/03/03/the-path-of-armageddon/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 03 Mar 2008 05:19:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandy</dc:creator>
		
	<category>thoughts &#038; stuff</category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/03/03/the-path-of-armageddon/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I went to check tomorrow&#8217;s weather, and saw this:

Is it the Russians? Are we all dead?

]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I went to check tomorrow&#8217;s weather, and saw this:</p>
<p><img id="image9" src="http://pigpencil.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/weathermap.jpg" /></p>
<p>Is it the Russians? Are we all dead?
</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>&#8220;For some moments in life, there are no words.&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/02/13/for-some-moments-in-life-there-are-no-words/</link>
		<comments>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/02/13/for-some-moments-in-life-there-are-no-words/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 Feb 2008 23:35:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandy</dc:creator>
		
	<category>thoughts &#038; stuff</category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/02/13/for-some-moments-in-life-there-are-no-words/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you&#8217;re a fan of the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, you might enjoy this page, which delves into the literary sources behind many of Willy&#8217;s best quotes in the film.

]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If you&#8217;re a fan of the film <em>Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory</em>, you might enjoy <a target="_blank" href="http://home.att.net/~tom.brodhead/wonka.htm">this page</a>, which delves into the literary sources behind many of Willy&#8217;s best quotes in the film.
</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Wot&#8217;s&#8230; uh, the Deal?</title>
		<link>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/01/25/wots-uh-the-deal/</link>
		<comments>http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/01/25/wots-uh-the-deal/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 25 Jan 2008 17:49:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandy</dc:creator>
		
	<category>thoughts &#038; stuff</category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://pigpencil.com/blog/2008/01/25/wots-uh-the-deal/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This advertisement recently arrived in our snail mail with some advertisements and sale papers on the inside. Please explain to me why anyone would be interested in attaining a set of 45 of the 50 state quarters. I mean, yes, you can get the other five when they come out, but not in uncirculated condition. (By [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img alt="quarters.jpg" title="quarters.jpg" id="image5" src="http://pigpencil.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/quarters.jpg" />This advertisement recently arrived in our snail mail with some advertisements and sale papers on the inside. Please explain to me why <strong>anyone</strong> would be interested in attaining a set of 45 of the 50 state quarters. I mean, yes, you can get the other five when they come out, but not in uncirculated condition. (By the time you touch them, they&#8217;re circulated.) So why get what you <strong>know</strong> is an incomplete set?</p>
<p>Would you buy a Beatles boxed set that had every album the band recorded except for <em>Let It Be</em>? Yeah, I know, <em>Let It Be </em>isn&#8217;t my favorite either, but still&#8230;
</p>
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