So Many Questions

Thanks to all my readers who keep on coming back, even though it's been a bit boring here at Killing A Fly. I told myself that when the next NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) came up, I'd be in on the fun because I like to post about once a day anyway. But this NaBloPoMo, I've hit the doldrums.

Your comments keep me going, and you've challenged me to visit more blogs and comment more often. Here I'll attempt to answer some of the questions you've asked me in recent days.

I confessed to you my lack of desire to use the word "heinous" due to the two commonly-used unfortunately-rhyming pronunciations in this corner of the world. Heather mentioned that the only pronunciation she's heard is "hay-ness" and blow me down, that's correct! Dictionary.com says that those who say "hee-ness" are wrong. I always knew that. I just thought that "hay-ness" couldn't possibly be right either.

Many of you are interested in the voting system here. Australian residents over the age of 18 are required to vote in all Federal, State and Local Government elections and referendums.

If you fail to vote in Federal elections you'll receive a letter asking you to provide your reason for not voting. If they're not happy with your reason, you will get a fine. If you don't reply or pay the fine, you may be taken to court. If you are found guilty you will be fined and may have to pay court costs. I assume this is because Australia does not have a Disneyland, and the Australian Electoral Commission has nothing better to do with their time.

Dee reminded me that in our recent federal election, the Labour candidate (whose name was Kevin, how Aussie is that?) had his "Kevin '07" slogan on everything from t-shirts to buses. And she's right. It was very in-your-face for us Aussies, and frankly, quite uncomfortable to 85% of the nation. Did y'all know we had an election, and that a bloke called Kevin won? We did, and he did. Remember that, because I'm thinking up a quiz on Australian trivia for my US readers, and you might need to know that.

Mrs Tantrum was right - my US readers do 'let it all hang out' a bit regarding political leanings, to the point that when she followed it up with "Wanna hear about my poop?" I headed straight over to her blog to hear all about it. Then I realised it was a rhetorical question.

Hot Tub Lizzy (nice blog header, by the way) asked if Smoochy got any soup in her - I rather think she did! She loves it. And Jen and Mrs Tantrum asked for the recipe. It's a good one. I start by caramelising some onions in butter then adding chopped potato and pumpkin along with enough half & half milk & water to cover them. They simmer away then I add about 3 chicken stock cubes and half a teaspoon each of nutmeg and paprika. That all boils away until the pumpkin and potato is nice and soft, and then I blend it. The clue is in the the caramelised onions. They give a lovely sweet taste. Don't ask about exact measures, ours and yours don't match up anyway. Just throw the ingredients in until they look right. That's what I do.

And finally, Le asked where the term "The Cone Of Silence" came from, and I guess this means she's not a Get Smart fan. Here it is, Le, The Cone Of Silence.