1. I decided to make "Surprise Kiss" brownie bites for the cookie exchange tomorrow. They are SO, SO simple. Here's how you make them:
-First, grease the ever living daylights out of a mini-muffin tin. Next, pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees.
-Make brownie mix. Out of a box, or homemade...your pick.
-Fill the super-greased muffin tins about 3/4 full with brownie mix.
-Stick a Hershey Kiss (I used Hugs) in the brownie mix. You don't want it to touch the bottom of the tin. Leave a little bit poking out of the brownie mix.
-Pop in the oven for 15 minutes, then let cool.
-Take the brownie bites out of the muffin tin, and then spread melted Baker's chocolate, or some melted chocolate chips (I added a dash of butter to mine) on the top of each brownie bite. I then topped with festive sprinkles. As an experiment, I topped one of the brownie bites with some coarsely ground sea salt...and that was DELICIOUS.
3. Ever since we got our new TV (a Vizio LCD), sometimes when we play DVDs, the whole screen will intermittently flash black (there's still sound). It continues to do this every 5-10 seconds for the life of the movie. But not every DVD does this...only some of them. It doesn't happen at all with live TV. It seems like it must be some sort of copyright protection thing, but it doesn't make sense that this didn't happen with our older TV. Our DVD player is the same, so I know that's not the issue. I know this is a long shot, but does anyone have any idea how to fix it?!
OMG those look sooo yummy! I will have to try it this weekend. And wow look at your little girl! I'm rarely on here anymore but am trying to post more frequently. Thinking about a 52 week project for the new year and am doing your scavenger hunt right now :)
ReplyDeleteAre they copied DVDs? If so, then I dont think you can fix it, if not...I would call Vizio or the retailer to talk to them about it
ReplyDeleteLizard is adorable.
ReplyDeleteI think the TV problem is in the analog to digital conversions from DVD to TV. As I recall, you are not using a digital HDMI cable, but rather the RGB analog cables from your DVD to your TV.
ReplyDeleteHDMI was created to allow a more advanced copy protection. Included in the HDMI cable are wires that look for copy protection.
In the RGB cables, this sensor system goes down the Blue wire (I think).
Cable noise can be confused as copy protection and causes the system to think it is seeing a copied disk instead of a real one. The copy protection in some DVD companies is so intense, that it needs the digital cable to handle the siginal in a split second.
When a regular cable such as a standard RGB cable sees the copy protection, it has to convert to digital, then send a reply back by first converting back to analog. This happens a a fraction of a second slower than digital and causes the picture to flash. Poor quality cables intensify this problem.
It works on the same theory of when someone holds a dollar bill and lets it go between your fingers, it will fall to the floor before you can register that it's been dropped and tell your fingers to close on it.
SONY and MCA were notorious for their copy protection schemes, but there may be other companies now that are just as bad.
I would first suggest that if your DVD does not have HDMI, That you invest in Gold plated component video cables. Thes have the lowest noise and can help cure the blacking out.
Eventually, you will have to get a DVD played with HDMI connections.
Here is a good sight with cable information:
http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/hdmi-cables.htm?hdmiinfo
Dad
I am gonna have to try those brownie kisses they look so good.
ReplyDeleteI adore the headband on Lizzie! She looks so grown up!
ReplyDeleteWe have the same issue with the black out on dvds, and they are not copied dvds but originals and it happens on our pioneer flat screen, I wonder if its the dvd player ours is a sony, whats yours?
ReplyDelete