When Kirk said he wanted to talk about sitcoms and specifically How I Meet Your Mother I was intrigued. I did not expect the vast love that he has for the show, nor did I expect the DVD commentary research level of analysis! Get ready for a good time, to be continued next week... JK it's all here.

Sitcoms! SHOELACES --

-- (both are great topics, for an episode of ONLY EVERYTHING), this one featured guest Kirk Rutherford . . . 

1) First of all . . . (a worthwhile thought to be thinking, right about NOW) . . .  what _is_ the official technical-term for those little end-pieces at the ends of SHOELACES? (I promise I 'll tell you the answer, later here; stick around!)

2) There is talk in the podcast about SPEED LIMITS! I'm not going to lay claim (here) to any specific speeding-related behavior, but I will reveal this: the speedometer in my van (Delilah) has some strange habits. Sometimes it sticks with zero (regardless of actual speed); sometimes it says I'm driving at a velocity of 120 miles per hour -- (I am not!) Sometimes the spedometer picks something in the middle (between 0 and 120) and just stays there for a while. Sometimes the speedo-needle does a happy-dance, (fluctuating rapidly!) I've resorted to keeping track of my speed via an app on a phone-type-device; (technically, it's a phone, but  it's not actually hooked up to phone service; I'm still using my old phone from 2014 and haven't switched to the "new" one I got two years ago). I affix the phone-type-device into a special car-mountable holder, especially designed for phones (and phone-type devices), the app displays (on the screen) -- how fast I'm currently traveling! (This is one of only two apps I've downloaded, (and it's the only app I've actually used). I'm glad it's there for me!

3) I've seen some of the sitcoms which were mentioned in this podcast, including: Family Ties, Growing Pains, The Cosby Show -- (they were on-the-air around the time my family got a television set, after not having one previously; I was about 14 or 15 years old); I remember watching those three shows (which I listed above). "How I Met Your Mother" . . . "Saved by the Bell" . . . "Friends" . . . I've heard of those shows, but not watched them, (except for maybe a random clip, here and there). We don't have a television, but I'm sure some of those are availalbe to TV-less folks, via library cards. 

4) That part about the best way to make scrambled eggs, got me -- (I WANT TO KNOW!) I did a search on the YouTube, (trying to find that clip) -- I couldn't find it. (I found one clip which mentioned scrambled eggs, but it did NOT share any reipes.) I like scrambled eggs. (I go simple and just dump the egg in the pan and stir it up while it is cooking, but I am willing to consider being rehabilitated to a fancier method of egg scrambling. Bring it on!) 

5) (The suspense, in anticipation of reaching the SHOELACES portion of the episode) -- is BUILDING!

6) I jotted something about "Ted" and "Robin" -- (but I wasn't sure, who those people are) -- then I figured out they are in the show called "How I Met Your mother." 

7) It says in my notes: SCRAMBLED EGGS ARE IMPORTANT! (I'm not sure all of my note-bits are reflected here in chronological order. I might have just been still thinking about those scrambled eggs, from previously in the episode.)

8 ) I paused while listening to the podcast, (for at least a day), and when I came back, I had to find my mislaid notes. I had to pause again, (soon after starting to listen), because I was eating something really crunchy, and it's hard to listen via headphones whilst doing heavy-duty crunching. (The crunch-break made it into the notes, so I thought I should write about it here, too.) 

9) The part about SHOELACES will be coming up very soon; I feel this way because currently I am listening to SOUND AFFECTION -- and I know the topic-switch will be the next thing. (I am very excited about the shoelaces!)  

10) Let's pause and wonder whether anyone else has wondered what it would be like if, seeing as we call a single shoelace on a single shoe, a "shoelace" -- well, perhaps we could call a _pair_ of them -- "SHOESLACES" -- (instead of "shoelaces"). "Shoeslaces" because you don't only have two of the _laces_, you also have two of the SHOES. (Maybe the "shoe" part of the word "shoelace" should become plural -- "shoes" -- in addition to "lace" part of the word becoming plural, "laces.") "Shoeslaces" -- it just makes sense! (Let's start with me and you; let's start today!)

11) For a while (while I was a teen), I wore two different colors of shoelaces, (red and black). I tend to tie my shoes un-tight enough that I can slip shoes on and off, without untying and tying them. (It saves a lot of time.) It saves me approximately one 24-hour day every 8 years; (I did the math based on two shoeings / de-shoeings per day, and a 15 second time window for the tying and untying portion of a complete shoein/ de-shoeing). Some days involve more shoe action.  I wear the same basic shoes every day. My laces are double knotted. When I am dancing indoors on wooden floors, I wear different shoes than my nomally-worn shoes, and I for-sure double knot them because I would not want to have to stop dancing, to fuss around a bunch -- with shoes. (Sometimes I have to stop and tighten them.) If my standard-shoes are new-ish, and I'll be dancing outdoors on concrete or grass, there is a different (older) pair of shoes I wear, (not my current-standard-pair of shoes, and not my indoor dancing shoes). I have slippers with shoes inside them, (actually just the bottom parts of a pair of shoes; I used a power saw to cut off the tops of those shoes). I bring my slippers (with shoes inside) along with me, when I'll potentially be visiting a "no-shoes" environment. (I am tricky, because I HIDE that pair of shoes inside my slippers, and sneak into no-shoe environments! Very few people know about this! Shhhhh . . . ) Sometimes I wear sandals when it's very hot weather, especially if I'll be doing a long drive in an un-air-conditioned vehicle. (I'm trying to be somewhat thorough, here . . . about shoes.)

12) The PLAID + SUEDE situation sounds very cool -- (I'm not going to describe it any more than I just did; I want the details to be a surprise for people who are reading this be have yet to listen to the podcast).

13) That question -- "Would you ever give shoelaces as a gift?" -- that was an excellent question, and . . . 

. . . I was DE-LIGHTED to hear the story Caleb shared, about . . .  

ME . . . (!!!)

(And how I received those wonderful pairs of RAINBOW shoeslaces, as a gift from my daughter.) I'd been thinking about mentioning the gift-set of  rainbow shoeslaces, in this report. What a fun surprise when I heard my rainbow shoeslaces mentioned, in the podcast! (My anticipation of the shoeslaces-topic turned out to be totally WORTH IT!!!) Thank you!

14) (There were a bunch of things written in the middle of my notebook, so I had to flip past them to find the next blank page to write on.) And now I can write about: VELCRO! Speaking of Velcro, I recently saw, (again!) -- a magnified blow-up photo of Velcro; this view of velcro is soooo interesting! (Everyone should do a google on "magnified" and "Velcro" -- and click on the option for "images.")

16) "Magnified Velcro" would be a pretty-good band name.

17) That little thing at the end of each end of a shoelace is called an AGLET -- (take that one to your Scrabble game!) I want to end with this one; I also want to get you thinking about Alternative Uses for Shoeslaces. (They are bound to be useful items!) It's probably good to keep a spare pare of shoeslaces in your car, in your pantry, in your backpack when you go hiking, in your jacket pocket . . . (it's a good idea; don't knock-it . . !)