Sabres Girl asked:


I am trying to help a few fellow members of a writing group. To check out my other questions for this group, go to my profile and check out my questions. All will have to do with crafts. (Of which I do not participate myself)

Thanks!

Aussie 4 asked:


dry ingredients in a jar,and I guess it needs to be sealed so that air doesnt get in?I am having a hard time making sure that the jars are air tight.Every time I put the lids on,they pop-so I know there is air in there.I have been doing 12 jars since 5pm tonite!help!

Michael Porfirio Mason asked:


THE NINE HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE G’S

There are a lot of “Self-Help Gurus” out there today. Many of these People write about their “Keys” to success in business, relationships, and life in general. None of these “experts” really know what its like to be a G. Most of the information these Guys are pushing is pure trash with no application to the Real World, the Night Club or the Street. In fact, if you have one of these guys’ books and a dollar, you can probably get a cup of coffee. And no chance at a double espresso in NYC……….

Many people have read the The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey. Decent read. I think this guy is really on to something. For the G Manifesto Tip this week, we are going to give you Nine Habits. We are going to out-do that Covey guy by Two Habits. I mean who is this Covey guy anyway? I have never seen him at the Playboy Mansion, and I certainly have never seen him in South Beach at Model Parties during February……………..

1. Dress Sharp. In fact, dress as sharp as one of Miyamoto Musashi’s Samurai Katanas. You might not always be the smartest, richest, or best looking person in a room—-but you can be the Sharpest Dressed. Work on the things you can control. Believe me, if you know my Tailor you can be the best dressed in any room you step into. Look at it this way, if you roll up to the spot dressed like Eminem, you better be able to flow like Eminem. Otherwise you command no respect on a first impression, nor should you. A lot of times on the west coast you will see guys get away with the whole “casual” look. That’s great. Watch what happens when they try to roll to the Big Cities back East and in Europe: you will see “Mr. Casual” waiting in line outside the Night Club, freezing there ***** off in their Board Shorts and Flip-Flops with zero hope of gaining entrance (While someone like me, Kiton suited-down is dicing the line with two Hungarian Model ****** dressed in minks………who would you rather be?).

2. Knowledge. Knowing how many Passing Yards that Brett Favre ******* has thrown for this year doesn’t count. Every white trash jerk in every Sports Bar in America has that Data. You want to be “Worldly”. Know about current events. Get “inside information”. Travel, read, or least watch the Travel Channel for God’s sakes, so you can fake it. Everyone, and I mean everyone, finds Travel and Foreign lands interesting. At least anyone you want to get to know. And when I say “Travel”, I don’t mean taking a trip to the Trailer Park you grew up in on the outskirts of Phoenix. Go somewhere culturally stimulating, like Saint Tropez, France or Buenos Aires. (Just don’t go somewhere too exotic, like where the natives are cannibals or where you’ll catch Malaria or get some major stomach problems) Expand your horizons….

3. Skillz. Know how to open a bottle of wine with out “blowing it”. This is an easy one to master. Just go to a good wine store and buy a case, maybe try the 2004 Marquis Philips Shiraz…..open and drink each bottle…..by the time you finish the case you will know how to do open a bottle of Vino like a pro! As a side benefit you will be drunk for a few days. Also know how to open a Bottle of Champagne. Nothing ruins an evening better than having the girl of your dreams back at your hotel and you’re trying to open the Bottle of Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Francaises and have the cork shoot out and hit the girl in the eye….. Also learn some other languages besides just English (News just in….its a global world) …Know some phrases in French, Spanish, Italian, ….Somalian….I mean how are you ever going to swoop on a couple of Models from Denmark if you don’t know how to say “Why don’t you and your girlfriend come back to my crib, eat some E-Tabs and show me how you do Handsprings and Cartwheels…” in Danish?…………………..

4. Availability. Always go out at night. Even when you’re “taking it easy” you should go out at least Two nights a week. I don’t care how much game you think you have, nothing good ever comes out of a night on the couch with the TV on (Think of the last great night you had sitting at home watching “Elimi-date”………………exactly.). And when you’re out, make it happen. Always be thinking Money and Girls. Those are your two goals. Every conversation should be about making connections to make more Scratch or maneuvering girls. “Enterprise while you Socialize”Damon Dash, CEO Rockafella Records.

5. Be Persistent and Positive. The Robber Baron and Founder of Standard Oil, J.D. Rockefeller once said, “The secret to success is to get up early, work late and strike Oil”. Striking oil never comes from luck…it comes from hard work and being persistent. I can’t tell you how many nights I have gone out where I rolled to a restaurantnothing really happening, then rolled to a clubnothing really happening, then rolled to a gentleman’s clubnothing really happening, then rolled to another better Gentleman’s Cluband……… Struck Oil! Non-G’s would have given up on the night at 2am. Not the true G. Be Confident. That’s the difference. Be in Control of your Destiny……Manifest Destiny…what you want to become you will become…and That is The G Manifesto in its simplest form. If you want and act like you have a Mansion in Barcelona, one day you will reach in your pocket and there will be the Keys to a crib in Barcelona……..

6. Don’t Sleep. “Money Never Sleeps”Gordon Gekko. “A Shark Never Sleeps”Famous Sports Agent. “Kings Don’t Sleep”Well known G. That’s enough reason for me to know that little good comes out of sleeping. Look at the flip side of these Quotes: Broke, Minnow and a Pawn. Easy choice. If you need to, take naps. Plenty of time to sleep when you’re in a coffin. “I never sleep, cuz sleep is the cousin of death”—Nas Escobar

7. Network. Know people, and put people you know together. This will only make you a more valuable person and you can make Heavy Scratch off this too. Examples of people you should know: Politicians, CEO’s, Rich Cats, Union Bosses, Neighborhood Dons, Restaurateurs, Prize Fighters, Tailors, even Mechanics. Anyone really that can be of Value. Don’t be afraid to cross over into the Underworld as well. For instance, it is good to know a few beautiful “Fee for Service” girls you might want to turn on to someone your trying to do business with to “Grease” Thru a Deal. It’s always good to know a good Safecracker, or a first-rate Second Story Man. It has never hurt anyone to have some Yakuza Assassins (these guys are easy to take money off of in poker games) in their rolodex. You really should try to be a “Yellow Pages” of the Upperworld and Underworld. This will make you twice as valuable.

8. Be Ruthless. When you have the opportunity, you must Crush your Enemies and Rival Players. When you see the opening its not the time to let your inner “Ben and Jerry” come out (although I heard now these guys are ruthless business guys and big-time polluters…..safe to say I don’t run in the same circles as these two ice cream moguls/ hypocrites) and be all forgiving. You need to take these guys out completely. Take their heart, take their soul, take their girlfriend (of course, give her back at some point…you don’t need any extra headaches..)….just make sure the guy is finished.

9. Adaptability. Many so called “players” have a good run one summer. Some even go on a roll for a few years. Even less of the phony “G’s” out there will string together a number of “fruitful” years. Good. Great. Glad to hear it. How about, Being Razor Sharp thru 4 Decades? ………then Skippy….then you can sit at my “Poker Table”. Most guys don’t make it for the long term because they have no Adaptability. Just think of the early 90’s long haired “player” who bit Kurt Cobain’s style, had a full arsenal of flannel shirts, had every “Porno for Pyro’s” album and used to get mad ******. I’ll bet heavy scratch that in 2005 he is laying on his couch, twitching, at some shitty crib in the desert somewhere with a crappy used-to-be hot Blonde wife with premature wrinkles that doesn’t even know how to cook. Poor guy, he used to have it all. Problem was he had no Adaptability. Or that late 90’s Pro-Athlete guy who was really “running things”. Now, his steroids are wearing off, his face is puffy, and his Cro-Magnon game gets him just about nothing. Problem was, he had no Adaptability. If you don’t Adapt you become extinct (When was the last time you saw a Dinosaur walking down the street?). I’ve seen it happen to many people, and Believe me, it isn’t pretty………..

Being a G for life is no easy task. Some people probably don’t even have it in them to do it. The above habits should be worked on and practiced every single day. This is how your dreams will be Manifested….Manifest Destiny….See you in the French Riviera…The Rest is Up To You………………………

Here is the email of the week regarding lasts weeks G Manifesto Tip: “Top to bottom…….. Solid!”

Here is another: “Another masterpiece!!!!”

I couldn’t agree more————mpm

Michael Porfirio Mason

AKA The Peoples Champ

The Guide to Getting More out of Life

http://www.thegmanifesto.com/

Suzanne Rides asked:


and then fill in the middle? I’ve found some info online that shows building up each corner first, then filling in the middle of each row, but I just building a 7 ft. long straight wall. This example I saw showed building four walls to form a square and also used only the rectangular concrete blocks. I’m using concrete rectangular blocks and half blocks on the ends, but all speed blocks to fit around the rebar in the middle. Here’s the website with the instructions and illustrations I came across while looking for info about using a mason’s line that has caused my new dilemna.

http://www.bhg.com/bhg/story.jsp?page=2catref=cat240036storyid=/templatedata/bhg/step-by-step/data/hie_307.xml

The wall has been properly engineered and has a huge footing with a good sized key in it so don’t worry about that aspect of my project. I actually already laid the first row perfectly level and plumb, but didn’t use a mason’s line. In the middle one of the speed blocks was warped/crooked and…
I thought I had it straight and flush, but my eye must not be as good as I thought it was. The wall veered slightly to the left after that brick and bothered me so much when I looked down it that I pulled the bricks off and am going to start over. Hence my mason’s line research. I shouldn’t ignored the mason’s line part of the instructions my father-in-law gave me, especially when a mason’s line is referred to on the mortar mix bag too. I guess you live and you learn though. Thanks for your help everyone!
Also I’ve learned that the speed blocks technical name is mortarless head joint. They’re gray H shaped concrete blocks. I’m assuming that mortar on the vertical sides of the block isn’t needed because of the way they connect together and because of the name, but it would be great if anyone could verify that for me that I don’t need to apply mortar to the vertical sides.
I posted my question also on allexperts.com and got an answer from Dave Coil. It answers it all, except it doesn’t address if they should be laid from one end to the other or not. I’m pretty happy with it overall though. Here’s what he had to say.

Speed blocks are fun to lay up…fast. They are TG so mortar is not wanted, or needed. You would only need weep holes if your grade is such that the water cannot easily flow from end to end. If the grade is too low…the weep hole would be a stop gap measure to exit the water with minimal carry. That string mason line is so easy to forget…and so important when used.

Your directions are crystal clear and very helpful Talleyman. Do I lay the blocks in the manner you advised seeing that they are speed blocks and have an interlocking tongue and groove on the vertical surface of the block? I just want to be certain you have the block I’m using in mind. (H shaped cement speed block or mortarless head joint).

Lloyd asked:


Who started this?

I grew up in Vancouver and never saw anyone do that. Then as I’ve returned every year or two, I keep seeing Mason jars being used as glasses at restaurants and people’s homes.

Who started this? Was there one particular restaurant that started this? It sure caught on.

And why Vancouver? You don’t see that in Toronto or Montreal.