Dizzy-Dee's deliciously delightful, dainty and dangerous, daring and dazzling dark dungeon…
March 27th, 2009 — Theme, Wordpress
Since I got a huge majority vote in favour of the Notepad theme which I used last week, I will have to investigate whether I can use it. Strangely enough though, I noticed a considerable drop in traffic to my blog, so I’m not sure if it caused problems? Anyhow, I would have to clear that up before changing themes again.
Thank you to everyone who voted!! 
March 27th, 2009 — Food, Recipe
When I went on a holiday trip a while back, I bought myself the Essentials magazine to read on the plane. I’m not selling it, but I was amply impressed. Other magazines give advice on achieving financial freedom in 10 easy steps, or how to create a better “you”. There may be some truth in some of the things that they advise, but most of it is just a bunch of writing to make up the words on the page – in my humble opinion.
Anyway, the point which I was getting at; Essentials is a great magazine for someone who loves cooking & general “house” stuff. I found a couple of recipes in there, which I still have to try. And also found really cool home decor ideas! One of their tips, was to use tea cups as flower pots – especially old ones which don’t form part of a set anyway!!
One of the recipes which I did try out was a potato recipe. I modified it a bit according to our food pref’s.
You basically make baked potatoes in the oven, but with a bit of an interesting, yet easy-to-make twist. First rub them with oil before baking, and then sprinkling with sea salt. Bake for about an hour and a half, at 180 degrees Celsius, or until fully cooked. Once they’re done, remove from the oven, slice potatoes in half, and scoop out the flesh. Stick the potato skins back in the oven, and back for about 20min, until crispy. While waiting for the skins to crisp, mash the potato flesh, and mix with a bit of butter & milk (not too much to make it runny, just enough to form a smooth paste). Add fried or grilled bacon, fried onions, grated cheese, green peppers, or whatever you prefer to mix in with the mash.
Once the skins are crisp, scoop the mash-mix into the skins and and return to the oven until the cheese is melted.
I was really impressed with this recipe, as its really easy to make. It can also be easily modified, by adding cream cheese, sour cream, spring onions etc. etc. The quantity of bacon can be increased if you want to have potatoes for a light meal, or reduced when having as a side dish at a “braai”, for instance.
Thank you Essentials for adding a bit of variety on the menu 
March 20th, 2009 — Theme, Wordpress
I’m trying out this new theme for the weekend. I need to make some adjustments if I decide to use it permanently.
In the meantime, feel free to let me know what you think about it…
March 18th, 2009 — About Me, Dizzy Dee, Photo, Useful Tips
I’ve been a DeviantART fan for a long time, I joined about a year ago, but only recently started uploading my own images.
I admire good photography, and I might even be a bit envious of those with a natural talent for photography AND a good camera. In the past I had a a couple of lucky-good shots, but they were few and far between. And though my photo’s are not professional yet, I can honestly admit that I’ve improved
A while back I decided that its not worth being envious without taking action. And so I signed up for a newsletter on Digital Photography Secrets by David Peterson. I’ve since started looking at photography in a complete different light – excuse the pun. I’ve learnt that the most important thing for a good photographer is to LOOK at things differently. Apart from that I’ve also experimented with angles & lighting etc.
If you’re interested, that newsletter is free, and for me it really was worthwhile reading. It might look like some other bogus, or money-making sites when you open it at first, but its not
If you’d like to see my photo’s on DeviantART, feel free to look at my gallery: Dizzy-Dee@DeviantART. All my photo’s are also available as prints, and though I haven’t sold anything yet, I’m hoping to one day be famous 
March 18th, 2009 — Cool, Dizzy Dee, Nature
SAILING STONES
The mysterious moving stones of the packed-mud desert of Death Valley have been a center of scientific controversy for decades. Rocks weighing up to hundreds of pounds have been known to move up to hundreds of yards at a time. Some scientists have proposed that a combination of strong winds and surface ice account for these movements. However, this theory does not explain evidence of different rocks starting side by side and moving at different rates and in disparate directions. Moreover, the physics calculations do not fully support this theory as wind speeds of hundreds of miles per hour would be needed to move some of the stones.
COLUMNAR BASALT
When a thick lava flow cools it contracts vertically but cracks perpendicular to its directional flow with remarkable geometric regularity – in most cases forming a regular grid of remarkable hexagonal extrusions that almost appear to be made by man. One of the most famous such examples is the Giant’s Causeway on the coast of Ireland (shown above) though the largest and most widely recognized would be Devil’s Tower in Wyoming. Basalt also forms different but equally fascinating ways when eruptions are exposed to air or water.
BLUE HOLES
Blue holes are giant and sudden drops in underwater elevation that get their name from the dark and foreboding blue tone they exhibit when viewed from above in relationship to surrounding waters. They can be hundreds of feet deep and while divers are able to explore some of them they are largely devoid of oxygen that would support sea life due to poor water circulation – leaving them eerily empty. Some blue holes, however, contain ancient fossil remains that have been discovered, preserved in their depths.
RED TIDES
Red tides are also known as algal blooms – sudden influxes of massive amounts of colored single-cell algae that can convert entire areas of an ocean or beach into a blood red color. While some of these can be relatively harmless, others can be harbingers of deadly toxins that cause the deaths of fish, birds and marine mammals. In some cases, even humans have been harmed by red tides though no human exposure are known to have been fatal. While they can be fatal, the constituent phytoplankton in ride tides are not harmful in small numbers.
ICE CIRCLES
While many see these apparently perfect ice circles as worthy of conspiracy theorizing, scientists generally accept that they are formed by eddies in the water that spin a sizable piece of ice in a circular motion. As a result of this rotation, other pieces of ice and flotsam wear relatively evenly at the edges of the ice until it slowly forms into an essentially ideal circle. Ice circles have been seen with diameters of over 500 feet and can also at times be found in clusters and groups at different sizes as shown above.
MAMMATUS CLOUDS
True to their ominous appearance, mammatus clouds are often harbingers of a coming storm or other extreme weather system. Typically composed primarily of ice, they can extend for hundreds of miles in each direction and individual formations can remain visibly static for ten to fifteen minutes at a time. While they may appear foreboding they are merely the messengers – appearing around, before or even after severe weather.
FIRE RAINBOWS
The complete halo is a huge and beautiful multi-coloured band running parallel to the horizon with its center beneath the sun. The distance below the sun is twice as far as the common 22-degree halo. Red is the uppermost colour. Often, when the halo forming cloud is small or patchy, only fragments of the arc are seen.
There is a myth that the halo is rare. How often it is seen depends on location and in particular latitude. In the United States it is a relatively common halo seen several times each summer in any one place. In contrast, it is rare in mid-latitude and northern Europe.
March 10th, 2009 — Interesting Facts, News, South Africa
The discovery was made by a construction worker yesterday (9 March 2009), which he initially thought was a bomb, but actually contained cash.
The construction worker intended digging a six-metre hole for a drainage system in Edenvale when he found a medium-sized cooler box buried deep down,” said Ekhuruleni Metro Police spokesman Kobeli G Mokheseng.
I wonder what I’d have done if I found something like that? And I wonder, if that guy had the guts to open the cooler box, would he have kept the money, or notified the police?
I’d have been extremely tempted to keep the money had I found it!! Though I’m not sure if I would be able to live with my conscience, or the permanent fear of being caught out.
See News Article: Sowetan
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