Thoughts, Ideas and Wildfires

Idea for Government Reform

2011-06-28T09:17:00.002-06:00

Would your sitting Congressperson or senator vote for this? Would the next person you vote in, do it? Make them promise to before they get your vote. Within three days, most people in The United States of America could have this message. This is one idea that really should be passed around!

Congressional Reform Act of 2011

1. Term Limits.

12 years only, one of the possible options below.

A. Two Six-year Senate terms
B. Six Two-year House terms
C. One Six-year Senate term and three Two-Year House terms

2. No Tenure / No Pension.

A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.

3. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.

All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people.

4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.

5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the same amount military pay does.

6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

7. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people (and if congress votes to send send Soldiers to war or they are voted in during a time of war they too must abide by the UCMJ as they are accountable like Soldiers are accountable.)*

8. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/12.

The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen. Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.

If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take three days for most people (in the U.S. ) to receive the message. Maybe it is time. LET'S FIX AMERICA - STARTING WITH CONGRESS!

Thursday Thirteen - More things you learn from a son

2011-06-23T00:45:00.000-06:00

Here's a few more to ponder:
1. Once you're wet, it doesn't matter how much more you get rained on.

2. Pool filters do not like Jell-O.

3. VCR's do not eject 'PB & J' sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.

4. Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.

5. Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.

6. You probably DO NOT want to know what that odor is.

7. Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like ovens.

8. The fire department in Austin, TX has a five-minute response time .

9. The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.

10. It will, however, make cats dizzy.

11. Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.

12. 80% of Women will pass this on to almost all of their friends, with or without kids.

13. 80% of Men who read this will try mixing the Clorox and brake fluid

Thursday Thirteen - Things you learn from a son

2011-06-16T00:14:00.001-06:00

It's been ages since I did one of these! Hope these bring a smile. :-)

1. A king size water bed holds enough water to fill a 2000 square foot house 4 inches deep.

2. If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.

3. A 3-year old boy's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.

4. If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20 x 20 foot room.

5. You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up in the air a few times, before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.

6. The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.

7. When you hear the toilet flush and the words 'uh oh', it's already too late.

8. Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.

9. A six-year old boy can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36-year old man says they can only do it in the movies.

10. Certain Legos will pass through the digestive tract of a four-year-old boy.

11. Playdoh and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.

12. Super glue is forever.

13. No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on water.

Happy Earth Day!

2011-04-22T08:59:00.002-06:00

There isn't really anything new that anyone can say about saving our planet. The words by Chief Seattle said it best:

I am a savage and do not understand any other way. I have seen a thousand rotting buffaloes on the prairie, left by the white man who shot them from a passing train. I am a savage and do not understand how the smoking iron horse can be made more important than the buffalo that we kill only to stay alive.

What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, man would die from a great loneliness of the spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man. All things are connected. You must teach your children that the ground beneath their feet is the ashes of our grandfathers. So that they will respect the land, tell your children that the earth is rich with the lives of our kin. Teach your children that we have taught our children that the earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of earth. If men spit upon the ground, they spit upon themselves.

This we know; the earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. This we know. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family. All things are connected.

Adult Truths

2011-02-07T23:19:00.001-07:00

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

2. Nothing is worse than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection ... again.

13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

15. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

16. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.

17. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

18. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

19. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?

20. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

21. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

22. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch three consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

23. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time.

24. The first testicular guard, the "Cup," was used in Hockey in 1874 and the first helmet was used in 1974. That means it only took 100 years for men to realize that their brain is also important. Ladies.....Quit Laughing.

Heal the past, live the present, dream the future.

Random

2010-07-13T02:33:00.002-06:00

1. What color is your toothbrush?
Green and white.

2. Name one person who made you smile today:
Ian

3. What were you doing at 8 am this morning:
I was settling down to go to sleep.

4. What were you doing 45 minutes ago?
I was working at the window.

5. Favorite Candy Bars?
Ghirardelli dark chocolate and caramel

6. Have you ever been to a strip club?
No.

7. What is the last thing you said aloud?
"I think she needs some happy pills..."

8. What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
Coffee!!!!

9. What was the last thing you had to drink?
A chai smoothie, now water.

10. Do you like your wallet?
My wallet matches the purse I rarely use.

11. What was the last thing you ate?
A chai smoothie.

12. Have you bought any new clothing items this week?
No.

13. The last sporting event you watched?
Does my daughter's gymnastics meet count?

14. What is your favorite flavor of popcorn?
Kettle Corn.

15. Who is the last person you sent a text message to and what did it say?
Ian - "I'll look" (about cooking for dinner)

16. Ever go camping?
Yes!

17. Do you take vitamins daily?
Not right now - ran out.

18. Do you go to church every Sunday?
No

19. Do you have a tan?
HA! Very funny!

20. Do you prefer Chinese food over pizza?
It depends on how often my kids want to have pizza, fortunately they like Chinese food too!

21. Do you drink your soda with a straw?
I only drink "pop" when I drink a Red Bull to stay awake.

22. What did your last text message say that someone sent you?
It was a tweet about a lunar event this evening.

23. What are you doing tomorrow?
Working.

25. Look to your left, what do you see?
Lori!

26. What color is your watch?
It's brown and gold, but I never wear it.

27. What do you think of when you hear Australia?
Koalas!!!

28. What is your birthstone?
Sapphire

29. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive thru?
Drive thru - but I've been doing a little better about avoiding it entirely (except for McD's coffee)

30. What is your favorite number?
13 or 5

31. Who's the last person you talked to on the phone?
Patrick

32. Any plans today?
Sleep, get to the gym before work tomorrow night.

33. How many states have you lived in?
1

34. Biggest annoyance right now?
Stupid inmates.

35. Last song listened to?
"From the Inside" Linkin Park

36. Can you say the alphabet backwards?
Yes, but very slowly...

37. Do you have a maid service clean your house?
I wish!!

38. Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time?
I love my Birkenstocks, it's that hidden hippie in me!

39. Are you jealous of anyone?
No.

40. Is anyone jealous of you?
I'm not sure...

41. Do you love anyone?
Yes.

42. Do any of your friends have children?
Oh yes, a lot of them!

43. What do you usually do during the day?
Sleep!!

44. Do you hate anyone that you know right now?
Uhhh, no.

45. Do you use the word 'hello' daily?
Pretty much.

46. What color is your car?
Blue

47. Do you like cats?
Definitely

48. Are you thinking about someone right now?
No

49. Have you ever been to Six Flags?
Yes, but I liked it better when it was just Elitch Gardens.

50. How did you get your worst scar?
3 C-sections.

Link to a great blog post

2010-04-13T02:09:00.003-06:00

Here's an interesting blog post about the Conservative movement in this country. The person writing it is more liberal than I, but he makes some good points.

http://theamericanscene.com/2010/04/08/who-closed-the-conservative-mind

Four lessons on the way we treat people

2010-01-24T12:27:00.002-07:00

My oldest son and his friend AJ have been having a hard time with bullies at school lately. After talking to his mom last night I realized that Patrick has been having it easy. This boy has been hit on the bus, glasses and toys broken, and the parents of the boy responsible refusing to take responsibility for his actions. There have been harsh teasing, ridicule, and vicious rumors spread at school. Fortunately, the kids' school takes a very strict rule on teasing and bullying, but the fact that these kids even think of some of these things, much less act on them has been really bothering me. I found these little lessons yesterday, so I thought I'd share them.

Four lessons about the way we treat people.
1 - First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady.

During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read the last one:

"What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the Cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50's, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question Blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

"Absolutely, " said the professor... "In your careers, You will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do Is smile and say "hello.."

I've never forgotten that lesson.. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

2 - Second Important Lesson - Always remember those who serve.

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, A 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.

"How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked.

"Fifty cents," replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.

"Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired.

By now more people were waiting for a table and the Waitress was growing impatient..

"Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied.

The little boy again counted his coins.

"I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, Were two nickels and five pennies. You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

3 - Third Important Lesson. - The obstacle in our path.

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a Roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the King's' wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it.. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of Vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand!
Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

4- Fourth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts...

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister...

I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes I'll do it if it will save her." As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded..
He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away".

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

These are all anecdotal little stories, but they have a great message. It especially bears repeating now, when there is so much pain in the world and people are so busy spewing hatred at or about others. We, as a people have forgotten how to treat others, when we should be setting a positive example for our children.

Thursday Thirteen - Tips to lower daily stress

2010-01-21T05:40:00.002-07:00

I found these tips on a Yahoo article. They're easy little things that a person can do to help lessen those everyday little stresses that may build up.

1. Go to bed thirty minutes earlier than usual and get up twenty minutes earlier.

2. Before you go to sleep, prepare for the morning.

3. Don't wear tight clothes or uncomfortable shoes.

4. Make a list.

5. Listen to a favorite song.

6. Keep a little extra cash and stamps in the house.

7. Be polite and be fair.

8. Laugh out loud.

9. Have a good book to read.

10. Exercise!

11. Throw something away (I sometimes have a hard time with this one).

12. Don't say mean things about other people.

13. Pay attention to someone else.

Wordless Wednesday - wildlife solutions

2010-01-20T06:07:00.003-07:00

I came across this from an email that was sent to me. Canada has an interesting idea, I wonder if it has made an impact on wildlife/car accidents?

The first picture is of elk using a railroad bridge over the TransCanada highway to cross. The bottom two are of an overpass and an underpass on the same highway specifically designed to allow wild animals to cross the highway. They use special fencing, Texas gates (the grate built into a road) and one-way gates to "herd" the animals toward the crossings.

*The bottom two pictures are courtesy of Parks Canada.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-01-13T06:53:00.002-07:00

Wordless Wednesday

2009-11-18T11:04:00.001-07:00

Wordless Wednesday - Veteran's Day and Halloween!

2009-11-11T22:12:00.000-07:00

Wordless Wednesday - Snow!!!

2009-10-28T23:25:00.000-06:00

New background

2009-08-02T16:55:00.001-06:00

Hey, I'm still alive! I'm trying a new template as well as trying to get back to posting. Phoenix, Ian, Desert Songbird and Daddy Forever, and anyone else, can you give me feedback on how well this new background works?

Wordless Wednesday

2009-04-29T23:25:00.001-06:00

Wordless Wednesday - new house!

2009-04-15T23:20:00.001-06:00

Well, sort of. We just had our house painted!

Wordless Wednesday - house painting

2009-04-08T06:32:00.003-06:00

Wordless Wednesday - my books

2009-04-01T22:25:00.004-06:00

We've been working on getting our books unpacked and organized. Here's a few pictures of our progress so far:

The kids have one large bookcase in each of their rooms that's mostly full. I think we'll be on the lookout for more bookshelves...

Wordless Wednesday - goofy youtube videos

2009-04-01T10:06:00.001-06:00

OK, I was letting my oldest look up Bionicle videos on youtube when we came across this:

Too funny!!

Wordless Wednesday - funny cats

2009-03-25T21:59:00.000-06:00

Playing with my iPod - Broken Open

2009-03-17T06:14:00.000-06:00

1. Put your entire music library on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
4. Tag some people.

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY?" YOU SAY?
Let's Go Crazy - Prince

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Ebudae - Enya

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Swords Crossed - Klaus Badelt - Pirates of the Caribbean 1

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
After the Flesh - My Life With The Thrill Kill Cult - The Crow

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Summertime Blues - Rush, Feedback

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
For What It's Worth - Rush, Feedback

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Between Sun & Moon - Rush

WHAT IS 2+2?
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! - Take 6

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Tractor Tippin' - Randy Newman, Cars

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Closer To The Heart - Rush, Rush In Rio

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
The Spirit of Radio - Rush, R30

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO WHEN YOU GROW UP
Gaia Shekinah Nama Om (relaxation/meditation music)

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Run-Around - Blues Traveler

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
The Hall of Prophecies - Nicholas Hooper, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Koolen - Eric Serra, The Fifth Element

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
2112: Soliloquy - Rush, Different Stages Live

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Pride (In The Name of Love) - U2

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Memory - Andrew Lloyd Webber, Cats

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Ol' Diamondback Sturgeon - Primus

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Distant Early Warning - Rush, Rush In Rio (ok this is kind of creepy if you know the song)

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Tao - Richard Warner

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Come On, Come On - Velvet Revolver, Fantastic 4

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
The Jellicle Ball - Andrew Lloyd Webber, Cats

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
O the Holly She Bears a Berry - The Chieftains

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
God So Loved The World - Glad

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Amaranth - Nightwish

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
In The End - Rush, All The World's A Stage

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Broken Open - Kip Winger

Thursday Thirteen - yet more tips for a better life!

2009-03-12T03:56:00.000-06:00

1. What other people think of you is none of your business.

2. Remember, faith can heal everything.

3. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

5. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful, or joyful.

6. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

7. The best is yet to come.

8. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up.

9. Do the right thing!!

10. Call your family often (or email them to death!)

11. Each night before you go to bed, complete tyhe following statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _______________.

12. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

13. Enjoy the ride. Remember this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life, so make the most of it and enjoy the ride!

Wordless Wednesday - weather

2009-03-11T05:15:00.002-06:00

This is what I came out of work on Tuesday morning to see:

Too bad the "storm" didn't actually drop much in the way of real moisture...

Birthday Calculator

2009-03-06T18:36:00.001-07:00

A friend sent this to me so I decided to play around with it:

4 September 1973

Your date of conception was on or about 12 December 1972 which was a Tuesday.

You were born on a Tuesday
under the astrological sign Virgo.
Your Life path number is 6.

Your fortune cookie reads:
You are talented in many ways.

Life Path Compatibility:
You are most compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 3, 6 & 9.
You should get along well with those with the Life Path numbers 2, 4, 8, 11 & 22.
You are least compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 1, 5 & 7.

The Julian calendar date of your birth is 2441929.5.
The golden number for 1973 is 17.
The epact number for 1973 is 25.
The year 1973 was not a leap year.

Your birthday falls into the Chinese year beginning 2/3/1973 and ending 1/22/1974.
You were born in the Chinese year of the Ox.

Your Native American Zodiac sign is Bear; your plant is Violets.

You were born in the Egyptian month of Hathys, the third month of the season of Poret (Emergence - Fertile soil).

Your date of birth on the Hebrew calendar is 7 Elul 5733.
Or if you were born after sundown then the date is 8 Elul 5733.

The Mayan Calendar long count date of your birthday is 12.18.0.2.5 which is
12 baktun 18 katun 0 tun 2 uinal 5 kin

The Hijra (Islamic Calendar) date of your birth is Tuesday, 6 Sha'ban 1393 (1393-8-6).

The date of Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 22 April 1973.
The date of Orthodox Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 29 April 1973.
The date of Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent) on your birth year was Wednesday 7 March 1973.
The date of Whitsun (Pentecost Sunday) in the year of your birth was Sunday 10 June 1973.
The date of Whisuntide in the year of your birth was Sunday 17 June 1973.
The date of Rosh Hashanah in the year of your birth was Thursday, 27 September 1973.
The date of Passover in the year of your birth was Tuesday, 17 April 1973.
The date of Mardi Gras on your birth year was Tuesday 6 March 1973.

As of 3/6/2009 7:37:58 PM EST
You are 35 years old.
You are 426 months old.
You are 1,852 weeks old.
You are 12,967 days old.
You are 311,227 hours old.
You are 18,673,657 minutes old.
You are 1,120,419,478 seconds old.

Celebrities who share your birthday:

Beyonc‚ Knowles (1981)	Dan Miller (1980)	Jason David Frank (1973)
Ione Skye (1970)	Mike Piazza (1968)	Damon Wayans (1960)
Dr. Drew Pinsky (1958)	Tom Watson (1949)	Mitzi Gaynor (1930)
Paul Harvey (1918)	Henry Ford II (1917)	Richard Wright (1908)

Top songs of 1973

Killing Me Softly with His Song by Roberta Flack	Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree by Dawn
My Love by Paul McCartney & Wings	You're So Vain by Carly Simon
Crocodile Rock by Elton John	Let's Get It On by Marvin Gaye
Keep On Truckin' by Eddie Kendricks	Bad, Bad Leroy Brown by Jim Croce
Top of the World by Carpenters	Midnight Train to Georgia by Gladys Knight & the Pips

Your age is the equivalent of a dog that is 5.07514677103718 years old. (You're still chasing cats!)

Your lucky day is Wednesday.
Your lucky number is 5.
Your ruling planet(s) is Mercury.
Your lucky dates are 5th, 14th, 23rd.
Your opposition sign is Pisces.
Your opposition number(s) is 3.

Today is not one of your lucky days!

There are 182 days till your next birthday
on which your cake will have 36 candles.

Those 36 candles produce 36 BTUs,
or 9,072 calories of heat (that's only 9.0720 food Calories!) .
You can boil 4.11 US ounces of water with that many candles.

In 1973 there were approximately 3.7 million births in the US.
In 1973 the US population was approximately 203,302,031 people, 57.4 persons per square mile.
In 1973 in the US there were approximately 2,158,802 marriages (10.6%) and 708,000 divorces (3.5%)
In 1973 in the US there were approximately 1,921,000 deaths (9.5 per 1000)
In the US a new person is born approximately every 8 seconds.
In the US one person dies approximately every 12 seconds.

In 1973 the population of Australia was approximately 13,614,344.
In 1973 there were approximately 247,670 births in Australia.
In 1973 in Australia there were approximately 112,700 marriages and 16,195 divorces.
In 1973 in Australia there were approximately 110,822 deaths.

Your birthstone is Sapphire

The Mystical properties of Sapphire

Though not meant to replace traditional medical treatment, Sapphire is used for clear thinking.

Some lists consider these stones to be your birthstone. (Birthstone lists come from Jewelers, Tibet, Ayurvedic Indian medicine, and other sources)

Agate, Moonstone, Lapis Lazuli

Your birth tree is

Weeping Willow, the Melancholy
Beautiful but full of melancholy, attractive, very empathic, loves anything beautiful and tasteful, loves to travel, dreamer, restless, capricious, honest, can be influenced but is not easy to live with, demanding, good intuition, suffers in love but finds sometimes an anchoring partner.

There are 294 days till Christmas 2009!
There are 307 days till Orthodox Christmas!

The moon's phase on the day you were
born was waxing crescent.

Thursday Thirteen - More tips for a better life

2009-03-05T05:30:00.002-07:00

More tips for you all!

1. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, or issues of the past, negative thoughts, or things you cannot control. Instead, invest your energy in the positive present moment.

2. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class, but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

3. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out credit card.

4. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the negative blues away.

5. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

6. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

7. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

8. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

9. Make peace with your past so it won't spiol the present.

10. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no real idea what their journey is all about.

11. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

12. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'

13. Forgive everyone for everything.

Hey Avs!

2009-02-28T21:31:00.001-07:00

I know you guys don't really like the Rangers, but could you spend a little less time fighting and a little more time helping out your goalie?

Controversy in Colorado's state senate

2009-02-28T20:26:00.002-07:00

Normally, I don't really pay much attention to the state senate, except to catch highlights about what they're doing with our tax dollars, but a few reports that I've heard out of our legislature this week bother me. Our now tragically deceased paper, the Rocky Mountain News, has a summation of the controversial statements made by two senators in particular in this article.

Senator Scott Renfroe evidently forgot that he was in his capacity of state senator and being paid by our government when he began a long "un-rehearsed" speech against a proposed bill extending health benefits to same-sex partners of state employees. Does a seat in the senate look that much like the pulpit of a church? Here's his comments:

Yes, Mr. Renfroe, everyone is entitled to their opinion, even you, but you're not there to put forth YOUR opinion. You are there as a REPRESENTATIVE of a group of people, and if you can't stick with that, don't hold a public office. Have you ever heard of separation of church and state? I think that covers sermons in the middle of senate sessions...

Senator Dave Schultheis spoke out on Wednesday against a bill that would require pregnant women to undergo AIDS testing so that steps can be taken to prevent the transmission of the disease from the mother to the baby. He evidently believes that the baby should be allowed to contract HIV to shame the mother and teach future generations that there are consequences to their actions. Here's his comments:

This is a conservative senator who is pro-life. Doesn't the willing withdrawal of preventative health care to a defenseless baby go against everything most pro-life people stand for? What about the women who are accidentally infected through no fault of their own? Is it fair and just in the slightest to lump ALL HIV infected women in with the few who abuse drugs, alcohol and themselves with no thought to anyone around them?

After reading and listening to these comments, I was appalled. Why weren't these individuals reigned in? Quoting scripture like it's a Sunday morning in church (instead of your JOB), and condoning sentencing a helpless baby to a harsh and horrible disease because you don't agree with a choice or a mistake the mother made? How awful! Then you hide behind the First Amendment! Yes, you senators, just like the rest of us, have the freedom of speech. We also have a little thing called freedom of religion. We don't ALL have to believe just like you, so don't force your petty, ignorant, hypocritical beliefs on the rest of us.

Thursday Thirteen - Tips for a better life

2009-02-26T05:37:00.000-07:00

I received a list of tips for a better life a little while back from a friend. I thought I share them in a couple of TT's here.

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day, and while you walk, smile! It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.

3. Buy a DVR and tape your late night shows and get more sleep.

4. When you wake up in the morning, complete the following statement,"My purpose is to ____________ today."

5. Live with the 3 E's - Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.

6. Play more games and read more books than you did in 2008.

7. Make time to practice meditation and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.

8. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.

9. Dream more while you are awake.

10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured IN plants.

11. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wil Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds and walnuts.

12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

13. Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk, and let new and flowing energy into your life.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-02-25T06:41:00.002-07:00

The Pledge of Allegiance

2009-02-16T05:35:00.001-07:00

Even though I didn't vote for him (and no, it wasn't because of him that I didn't vote for him) John McCain has had some very good things to say. What he says about the pledge of allegiance is, in my opinion, a very good reason that we should still admire the Pledge and who and what it stands for, no matter how we feel about the government right now.

The Pledge of Allegiance' - by Senator John McCain

'As you may know, I spent five and one half years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. In the early years of our imprisonment, the NVA (North Vietnamese Army) kept us in solitary confinement or two or three to a cell. In 1971 the NVA moved us from these conditions of isolation into large rooms with as many as 30 to 40 men to a room. This was, as you can imagine, a wonderful change and was a direct result of the efforts of millions of Americans on behalf of a few hundred POWs 10,000 miles from home. One of the men who moved into my room was a young man named Mike Christian. Mike came from a small town near Selma , Alabama He didn't wear a pair of shoes until he was 13 years old. At 17, he enlisted in the US Navy. He later earned a commission by going to Officer Training School Then he became a Naval Flight Officer and was shot down and captured in 1967. Mike had a keen and deep appreciation of the oppor tunities this country and our military provide for people who want to work and want to succeed.

As part of the change in treatment, the Vietnamese allowed some prisoners to receive packages from home. In some of these packages were handkerchiefs, scarves and other items of clothing. Mike got himself a bamboo needle. Over a period of a couple of months, he created an American flag and sewed it on the inside of his shirt.

Every afternoon, before we had a bowl of soup, we would hang Mike's shirt on the wall of the cell and say the Pledge of Allegiance. I know the Pledge of Allegiance may not seem the most important part of our day now, but I can assure you that in that stark cell it was indeed the most important and meaningful event.

One day the Vietnamese searched our cell, as they did periodically, and discovered Mike's shirt with the flag sewn inside, and removed it. That evening they returned, opened the door of the cell, and for the benefit of all of us, beat Mike Christian severely for the next couple of hours. Then, they opened the door of the cell and threw him in. We cleaned him up as well as we could. The cell in which we lived had a concrete slab in the middle on which we slept. Four naked light bulbs hung in each corner of the room. As I said, we tried to clean up Mike as well as we could.

After the excitement died down, I looked in the corner of the room , and sitting there beneath that dim light bulb with a piece of red cloth, another shirt and his bamboo needle, was my friend, Mike Christian. He was sitting there with his eyes almost shut from the beating he had received, making another American flag. He was not making the flag because it made Mike Christian feel better. He was making that flag because he knew how important it was to us to be able to Pledge our allegiance to our flag and country.

So the next time you say the Pledge of Allegiance, you must never forget the sacrifice and courage that thousands of Americans have made to build our nation and promote freedom around the world. You must remember our duty, our honor, and our country.'

'I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.'

Crackpots...

2009-02-14T19:02:00.001-07:00

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.

But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. 'I am ashamed of myself, because this crack
in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.'

The old woman smiled, 'Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?'

'That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them.'

'For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table.

Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.'

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.

SO, to all of my crackpot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-01-28T23:53:00.001-07:00

Wordless Wednesday - History

2009-01-21T03:03:00.000-07:00

Thursday Thirteen - Prequel/Sequel movies to watch for this year!

2009-01-15T23:34:00.000-07:00

This year is looking to be an interesting year for prequels and sequels! From fantasy, horror/romance to scifi, there's something for everyone!

1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - it's been too long since the last HP movie!

2. Star Trek - need I say more?

3. New Moon - For those of you who enjoy the Twilight series of books, the next one delves more into Bella and Jacob, and introduces some really bad guys...

4. Fast and Furious - The preview for this movie makes it look like it might make up for that really bad flop set in Tokyo...

5. The Pink Panther II - Steve Martin is entertaining to watch in just about any slapstick comedy.

6. Race to Witch Mountain - This remake with Dwayne Johnson should be decent. Johnson can be very witty, and he's not afraid of working with kids.

7. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans - This is one of the better series for creature effects that I've seen in a while.

8. Angels & Demons - The next installment in Dan Brown's series promises suspense. I wonder what the Catholic church will do about this movie?

9. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs - I hope the third installment is as funny as the previous ones.

10. Night At the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian - If this is as funny as the first, it will be a hit!

11. Terminator: Salvation - I haven't seen much about this movie, but I hope the first movie without Arnold won't be a flop...

12. X-Men Origins: Wolverine - Wolverine's story has been hinted at in all three of the previous movies. Now we'll get to see where he comes from.

13. Watchmen - I know this isn't a prequel or a sequel to anything, but this movie looks amazing!!

Wordless Wednesday - Trampolines in Colorado

2009-01-14T09:16:00.005-07:00

A friend sent me this picture. It's likely you've seen it before, but I'm adding a few pictures we've taken while on vacation. This is why trampolines are dangerous in Colorado:

The next two were in Estes Park. Obviously, the elk aren't afraid of the puny humans and their cars!This is at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. They have a giraffe exhibit where you can feed a certain kind of cracker to the giraffes, So I was actually THAT close to the giraffe! I'm not sure where the red is comong from...

Wordless Wednesday - Funny animal vidoes

2009-01-07T10:05:00.001-07:00

Paranoia is alive and well...

2009-01-04T08:17:00.002-07:00

I found this on a website I was directed to, Not Always Right. They feature stories about umm, "unique" customer service experiences. This particular one struck a chord with me, especially since I've talked to a few people like this myself, although not in a customer service setting.

One Annoyed Paranoid

Retail | Nebraska, USA

(I work at the photo department and am checking out a customer with a “Happy Birthday, Grand Son!” birthday card.)

Customer: “Hello… I only have this one birthday card.”

Me: “Okay, that’ll be $3.15. I just need your signature on the line, please.”

(The customer begins to sign her receipt, then pauses. She looks closely at the slip, then looks up at me, angry.)

Customer: “Now how does this know who I am?!”

Me: “… excuse me?”

Customer: “It has my name on it! Right here, below the line! I have never shopped here before. Where did you get my information?”

Me: “Ma’am, the information comes from your credit card.”

Customer: “Well!”

(She signs the slip and gives it to me. I put the slip in the register drawer.)

Customer: “And what are you doing with that? It has my information on it. You can’t just keep it!”

Me: “Umm, we have to keep it. That’s how you pay for things…” *register prompts for a zip code* “… and may I get your zip code, please?”

Customer: “Why do you need my address?!”

Me: “Well, American Express needs it. It’s a security measure. And it doesn’t need your whole address, just the zip code.”

Customer: “This is identity theft! Give me back my signature!”

Me: “Um, I promise you, I am not. And I can’t open the drawer mid-transaction, but I can call a manager to cancel your transaction.”

Customer: “You aren’t a cashier! How do I even know you work here?!”"

Me: “Well, here’s my name tag. And my picture is on the wall.”

Customer: “If you work in the photo department, that could be photoshopped! You do not work here! I want a manager!”

Me: “Umm, okay…” *calls manager*

Manager: “What can I help you with today?”

Customer: “This thief is stealing my personal identity!”

Manager: “Excuse me?”

Customer: “I want my signature back! She is asking too many questions!”

Manager: “Okay, I will take it from here. So what is your zip code?”

(My manager takes care of the rest of the transaction. The receipt then prints out…)

Manager: “Here you go! Tell your grandson to have a happy birthday!”

Customer: “AND HOW DO YOU KNOW MY GRAND SON!? YOU PEOPLE STOP AT NOTHING! I AM REPORTING YOU! THIS IS ILLEGAL!” *continues yelling all the way out the door*

Thrusday Thirteen - Popular New Year's Resolutions

2009-01-01T21:53:00.003-07:00

I don't usually do resolutions, but here's some of the more popular resolutions:

1. Lose weight - how many of us have had this resolution over and over and over...

2. Get a better job - or unfortunately for many it's "get a job".

3. Get in shape - of course, this kind of goes along with #1.

4. Spend less or pay down debt - this can happen only if #2 happens...

5. Give up a habit - honestly, who can afford to smoke or drink on a regular basis anymore?

6. Get a better education or go back to school - this is to help achieve #2, thereby helping to achieve #4. See a pattern?

7. Find a mate - 'nuff said.

8. Take a trip.

9. Be more organized.

10. Find a hobby.

11. Buy a house or move - again, it all depends on #2, then #4.

12. Reduce stress - it would be great to be able to do this, but I'm not sure if this year is going to be good for reducing stress for ANYONE.

13. Volunteer - this would be a good thing for anyone to do, but I can see this becoming a bigger and bigger need very quickly.

Happy New Year!!!

Wordless Wednesday - Christmas present

2008-12-31T09:47:00.001-07:00

The ring on my middle finger is my Christmas present this year! It has mine and Ian's birthstones with all three kids' stones in the middle.

Bad Recycling (a.k.a. Odd News)

2008-12-29T22:01:00.001-07:00

Bad recycling: Pay stub used as bank robbery note

CHICAGO – The robber's threatening note made a Chicago bank job easy to solve: The FBI says the suspect wrote it on his pay stub. An FBI affidavit said the man walked into a Fifth Third Bank on Friday and handed a teller a note that read "Be Quick Be Quit (sic). Give your cash or I'll shoot."

The robber got about $400 but left half of his note. Investigators found the other half outside the bank's front doors. Authorities say that part of the man's October pay stub had his name and address.

The suspect was arrested at his Cary home. A judge ordered him held without bond Monday. If convicted of bank robbery, he faces 20 years in prison.

"I've seen 118 out of 239 films."

2008-12-27T04:27:00.002-07:00

So , how many of these movies have you seen?

(X) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(X) Grease
(X) Pirates of the Caribbean
(X) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
() Boondock Saints
() Fight Club
(X) Starsky and Hutch
(X) Neverending Story
(X) Blazing Saddles
(X) Airplane
Total: 8

(X) The Princess Bride
(X) Anchorman
() Napoleon Dynamite
(X) Labyrinth
() Saw
() Saw II
() White Noise
() White Oleander
() Anger Management
(X) 50 First Dates
(X) The Princess Diaries
(X) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Total so far: 14

(X) Scream
(X) Scream 2
(X) Scream 3
(X) Scary Movie
(X) Scary Movie 2
() Scary Movie 3
() Scary Movie 4
(X) American Pie
() American Pie 2
() American Wedding
() American Pie Band Camp
Total so far: 20

(X) Harry Potter 1
(X) Harry Potter 2
(X) Harry Potter 3
(X) Harry Potter 4
(X) Resident Evil 1
(X) Resident Evil 2
(X) The Wedding Singer
() Little Black Book
() The Village
(X) Lilo & Stitch
Total so far: 28

(X) Finding Nemo
() Finding Neverland
() Signs
() The Grinch
() Texas Chainsaw Massacre
() Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
() White Chicks
() Butterfly Effect
() 13 Going on 30
(X) I, Robot
() Robots
Total so far: 30

(X) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
(X) Universal Soldier
() Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
() Along Came Polly
() Deep Impact
() KingPin
() Never Been Kissed
() Meet The Parents
() Meet the Fockers
() Eight Crazy Nights
(X) Joe Dirt
(X) KING KONG
Total so far: 34

() A Cinderella Story
(X) The Terminal
() The Lizzie McGuire Movie
() Passport to Paris
(X) Dumb & Dumber
() Dumber & Dumberer
() Final Destination
() Final Destination 2
() Final Destination 3
(X) Halloween
() The Ring
() The Ring 2
() Surviving X-MAS
() Flubber
Total so far: 37

(X) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
() Practical Magic
() Chicago
() Ghost Ship
(X) From Hell
(X) Hellboy
() Secret Window
() I Am Sam
(X) The Whole Nine Yards
() The Whole Ten Yards
Total so far: 41

() The Day After Tomorrow
() Child's Play
() Seed of Chucky
() Bride of Chucky
() Ten Things I Hate About You
() Just Married
(X) Gothika
(X) Nightmare on Elm Street
(X) Sixteen Candles
(X) Remember the Titans
() Coach Carter
() The Grudge
() The Grudge 2
(X) The Mask
() Son Of The Mask
Total so far: 46

(X) Bad Boys
(X) Bad Boys 2
() Joy Ride
() Lucky Number Slevin
(X) Ocean's Eleven
(X) Ocean's Twelve
(X) Bourne Identity
(X) Bourne Supremecy
() Lone Star
() Bedazzled
(X) Predator I
(X) Predator II
(X) The Fog
(X) Ice Age
() Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
() Curious George
Total so far: 56

(X) Independence Day
() Cujo
() A Bronx Tale
() Darkness Falls
(X) Christine
(x) ET
(X) Children of the Corn
() My Bosses Daughter
() Maid in Manhattan
() War of the Worlds
(X) Rush Hour
(X) Rush Hour 2
Total so far: 62

() Best Bet
() How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
() She's All That
() Calendar Girls
() Sideways
(X) Mars Attacks
(X) Event Horizon
() Ever After
(X) Wizard of Oz
() Forrest Gump
(X) Big Trouble in Little China
(X) The Terminator
(X) The Terminator 2
(X) The Terminator 3
Total so far: 69

(X) X-Men
(X) X-2
(X) X-3
(X) Spider-Man
(X) Spider-Man 2
(X) Sky High
() Jeepers Creepers
() Jeepers Creepers 2
() Catch Me If You Can
(X) The Little Mermaid
(X) Freaky Friday
() Reign of Fire
() The Skulls
() Cruel Intentions
() Cruel Intentions 2
() The Hot Chick
(X) Shrek
(X) Shrek 2
Total so far: 79

() Swimfan
() Miracle on 34th street
() Old School
() The Notebook
(X) K-Pax
() Krippendorf's Tribe
(X) A Walk to Remember
() Ice Castles
() Boogeyman
(X) The 40-year-old Virgin
Total so far: 82

(X) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
(X) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
(X) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(X) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(X) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(X) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Total so far: 88

() Baseketball
() Hostel
() Waiting for Guffman
() House of 1000 Corpses
() Devils Rejects
(X) Elf
(X) Highlander
() Mothman Prophecies
() American History X
() Three
Total so Far: 90

() The Jacket
() Kung Fu Hustle
() Shaolin Soccer
() Night Watch
(X) Monsters Inc.
(X) Titanic
(X) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(X) Shaun Of the Dead
() Willard
Total so far: 94

() High Tension
() Hulk
() Club Dread
(X) Dawn Of the Dead
(X) Hook
() Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
(X) 28 days later
() Orgazmo
(X ) Phantasm
(X) Waterworld
Total so far: 99

(X) Kill Bill vol 1
(X) Kill Bill vol 2
(X) Mortal Kombat
() Wolf Creek
(X) Kingdom of Heaven
() the Hills Have Eyes
() I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
() The Last House on the Left
() Re-Animator
(X) Army of Darkness
Total so far: 104

(X) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(X) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(X)Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(X) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(X)Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(X) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
() Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
(X) Ewoks The Battle For Endor
Total so far: 111

(X) The Matrix
(X) The Matrix Reloaded
(X) The Matrix Revolutions
(X) Animatrix
(X) Evil Dead
(X) Evil Dead 2
() Team America: World Police
() Red Dragon
(X) Silence of the Lambs
() Hannibal
Total so far: 118

Now Add them up and...

Put "I've seen ... out of 239 films" in the subject line and repost it. SUPPOSEDLY if you've seen over 85 films, you have no life. Mark the ones you've seen. There are 239 films on this list. Copy this list, go to your own Facebook account, paste this as a note. Then, put x's next to the films you've seen, add them up, change the header adding your number, and click post at the bottom. Have fun.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-12-17T15:59:00.001-07:00

My parents sang at the local Winterfest. That's them in the middle in red. My dad even had a solo!

Major flaw in Internet Explorer...

2008-12-16T15:46:00.004-07:00

...as if we didn't already know! The below article is on The Tech Blog on Yahoo today, but it doesn't answer a question I still have. Does this mean that programs that run through IE at work are vulnerable? Here's the article:

Major flaw revealed in Internet Explorer; users urged to switch

The major press outlets are abuzz this morning with news of a major new security flaw that affects all versions of Internet Explorer from IE5 to the latest beta of IE8. The attack has serious and far-reaching ramifications -- and they're not just theoretical attacks. In fact, the flaw is already in wide use as a tool to steal online game passwords, with some 10,000 websites infected with the code needed to take advantage of the hole in IE.

Virtually all security experts (as well as myself) are counseling users to switch to any other web browser -- none of the others are affected, including Firefox, Chrome, and Opera -- at least for the time being, though Microsoft has stubbornly said it "cannot recommend people switch due to this one flaw." Microsoft adds that it is working on a fix but has offered no ETA on when that might happen. Meanwhile it offers some suggestions for a temporary patch, including setting your Internet security zone settings to "high" and offering some complicated workarounds. (Some reports state, however, that the fixes do not actually work.)

Expedient patching or switching are essential. Security pros fear that the attack will soon spread beyond the theft of gaming passwords and into more criminal arenas, as the malicious code can be placed on any website and can be adapted to steal any password stored or entered using the browser. It's now down to the issue of time: Will Microsoft repair the problem and distribute a patch quickly enough to head off the tsunami of fraud that's about to hit or will it come too late to do any good?

Meanwhile, I'll reiterate my recommendation: Switch from Internet Explorer as soon as you can. You can always switch back once the threat is eliminated.

Links for other browsers to try: Firefox Chrome Safari Opera

Wordless Wednesday

2008-12-10T22:53:00.003-07:00

We had to get some work done on Ian's brakes this week, and this car happened to also be there in the shop. It's a bit dusty, but you get the general idea...
The guys at the shop were nice enough to open it up and let the kids and the big kid Ian sit in it. They even invited us back during warm weather to actually take a ride in it!

Odd News

2008-12-09T20:45:00.001-07:00

And in Odd News today...

ECO WARRIORS SNITCH ON BEAVERS FOR 'ILLEGAL LOGGING'

Tuesday December 9,2008

Emily Garnham for express.co.uk

GREEN campaigners called police after discovering an illegal logging site in a nature reserve – only to find the culprits were a gang of beavers.

Environmentalists found 20 neatly stacked tree trunks and others marked with notches for felling at a beauty-spot in Subkowy, northern Poland.

But when officers followed a trail left by a tree which had been dragged away, they found a beaver dam right across the river as reported by the Austrian Times.

A police spokesman said: "The campaigners are feeling pretty stupid. There's nothing more natural than a beaver."

2008-12-09T10:04:00.001-07:00

Hi, all you animal lovers. The Animal Rescue Site is having trouble getting enough people to click on it daily to meet their quota of getting free food donated every day to abused and neglected animals. It takes less than a minute (How about 20 seconds) to go to their site and click on the purple box 'fund food for animals' for free. This doesn't cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate food to abandoned/neglected animals in exchange for advertising. Here's the web site! Pass it along to people you know.

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/

Thursday Thirteen - December Holidays

2008-12-04T21:10:00.001-07:00

OK, I REALLY am going to get back into posting something every day. I've been really bad, and I haven't visited anyone! So, to get back in the swing of things, here's some holidays to look forward to in December:

1. Advent - Nov. 30 - Dec. 24 OK so this really kind of qualifies for both November and December, but I don't care!

2. International Hug Day - Dec. 4

3. St. Nicholas Day - Dec. 6

4. Winter Flowers Day - Dec. 8

5. Eid ul-Adha - Dec. 9

6. Christmas Card Day - Dec. 9 With 5 birthdays in the family plus Christmas, I'm not sure I need yet another day to send cards...

7. Christmas Carol Day - Dec. 19 Hmmm, this one might be fun, if I'm not sick of Christmas music by then.

8. Winter Solstice/Yule - Dec. 21 There are of course, variations on this. Some cultures/traditions celebrate 12 days, beginning on the night of the Winter Solstice.

9. Hanukkah - Dec. 21 Hanukkah is an 8 day celebration, sometimes called the Festival of Lights.

10. Christmas Tree Light Day - Dec. 22 If you don't already have your Christmas lights up by now, you'd better just light candles!

11. Christmas Eve and Christmas - Dec. 24 and 25 Merry Christmas!!

12. Kwanzaa - Dec. 26

13. New Year's Eve - Dec. 31 Don't drink and drive!!! You have a whole new year ahead of you!

I hope everyone has a safe and happy winter holiday season!

Page 56

2008-11-24T16:49:00.002-07:00

Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence along with these instructions in a note to your blog.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

My closest book is Poltergeist by Kat Richardson:

"We huddled in front of the monitor like a couple of kids watching scary movies on Halloween."

Have fun!

Thursday Thirteen - November Holidays

2008-11-20T23:39:00.001-07:00

November - time for turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and cranberries. Time for overeating with the family... but what else is there in November?

1. All Saints' Day - November 1

2. Hug a Bear day - November 7

3. Forget me not day - November 10

4. Marine Corps birthday - November 10

5. Veteran's Day - November 11

6. World Kindness Day - November 13

7. Pickle Appreciation Day - November 14

8. Amerca Recycles Day - November 15

9. Mickey Mouse's birthday - November 18

10. World Hello Day - November 21

11. John F. Kennedy's assassination - November 22

12. Cake Day - November 26

13. Advent begins - November 30

Wordless Wednesday

2008-11-19T23:41:00.000-07:00

Are you ready?

Wordless Wednesday - Zachary's first tooth!

2008-11-12T23:46:00.002-07:00

So obviously, Zachary lost his first tooth! I was lucky enough to get a picture of his gap-toothed smile. He's so proud of losing his tooth, that he asked me if he could get braces the next day.

America's Healthiest Grocery Stores

2008-11-11T16:56:00.002-07:00

Here's an article written by Pamela Paul on CNN.com.

Let's face it: Your weekly (or daily!) run to the grocery store is the foundation for your good health. So it's thrilling news that the supermarket industry is on a health kick -- these days you'll most likely find organic produce and "natural" packaged foods at almost any store you go to. But which chains are outdoing themselves to deliver the freshest and healthiest foods to you? And which ones provide the best tools to help you make smart choices? We asked six prominent health experts to help us pick the top 10 healthiest grocery stores out of the nation's largest chains. Health.com: Meet our judges

A panel of nutritionists ranked Whole Foods Market as the top grocery store for healthy foods. Here are the true standouts.

1. Whole Foods

279 stores in 38 states and Washington, D.C.

We figured this natural-foods chain would make the list, but who knew it would hands-down top it? "It's the Rolls Royce of healthy eating," says Kate Geagan, a nutritionist in Park City, Utah, and one of our judges.

Whole Foods has the whole package -- from an extraordinary selection of fresh conventional and organic fruit and vegetables to delicious prepared foods with healthy ingredients and clear labeling. (Most other stores offer mystery meals that may very well be loaded with butter.)

And Whole Foods puts a premium on products that are grown or produced locally (read: super fresh). There's also hard-to-find grass-fed meats, ready-to-cook organic and free-range chicken, and a well-stocked selection of just-caught seafood. The desserts are pretty good for you: Every item in the bakery is free of artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, preservatives, and trans fats.

Our judges also raved about Whole Foods's snacks, singling out the store's own dark chocolate, fresh-cut veggies, and nut and seed mixes. Alan Greene, M.D., a Palo Alto, California--based pediatrician and one of our panelists sums it up best: "The store celebrates great, healthy food from start to finish."

2. Safeway

1,700-plus stores nationwide

Safeway is the traditional grocer you're familiar with, but look closer and you'll see a huge transformation going on. "They now have their own organic brands and a section of locally grown produce," says judge Lisa Pawloski, Ph.D,. chair of the department of global and community health at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Besides those organic brands -- O Organics for packaged goods (the biggest organic brand in the country) and Eating Right for prepared foods -- many of the chain's redesigned stores have a greatly expanded produce section.

Safeway's specialty items like organic spices and packaged nuts make it a regular stop for judge Dr. Greene. Bonus: Its online Food Flex program analyzes shoppers' purchases based on metrics like recommended sodium consumption, and then suggests healthier choices. "They're a major pioneer in this area," says panelist Christine Palumbo, a Chicago, Illinois-based nutritionist. "It's like having your own registered dietitian."

3. Harris Teeter

176 stores in the Southeast

This grocer boasts 600 varieties of fruit and veggies, with a good selection of organic and locally grown items, as well as hard-to-find nonfarm-raised seafood. But what catapulted it to third place is its breadth of healthy shopping tools. Harris Teeter's YourWellness For Life program, which was originally created to help employees choose the most nutritious foods, became available to customers in 2006.

Part of that initiative is shelf tags that clearly show the nutrients in various foods (an "excellent source of fiber" label means the item contains 20 percent or more of the recommended daily intake; a "good source of fiber" lets you know there's between 10 percent and 19 percent of the recommended daily intake). Plus, a Green Thumb Expert at every store gives hints on choosing and preparing produce.

4. Trader Joe's

300-plus stores in 23 states and Washington, D.C.

Shopping at Trader Joe's is more like going to a specialty-foods store than a chain grocer -- you'll find healthy foods from around the world, all at surprisingly reasonable prices. What you won't find: bad-for-you mainstream brands. The store's impressive and delicious store-brand foods contain no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives, and no MSG, trans fats or genetically modified ingredients. "My daughter loves their Omega Trek Mix With Omega-Fortified Cranberries, and now I do, too!" Palumbo says.

Pawloski is just as excited about their organic prepared meals. There are fun healthy surprises, too: instead of sugary cereals, they have good-news alternatives, like fruit-and nut-packed Triple Berry O's. Why didn't Trader Joe's rank higher? The limited selection in most of its stores.

5. Hannaford

165-plus stores in the Northeast

This chain is relatively small, but Whole Foods should look out -- Hannaford is the largest certified-organic supermarket in the region, and in the past two years it has boosted its produce selection to provide more than 50 local and organic products from 200 farms close by. "It's an impressive amount of local produce, which is not that easy in temperate New England," Geagan notes.

But Hannaford's commitment to healthy foods doesn't stop there. Its Guiding Stars nutrition-label program makes it a snap to pick out the healthiest fresh and packaged fare: You'll find one, two, or three stars -- with three stars indicating the highest nutritional value -- on nearly every item in the store. That means you don't have to pore over the labels to decide which loaf of bread to buy.

6. Albertsons

529 stores in the West, owned by SuperValu

Organic food can be expensive, but Albertsons's house brand, Wild Harvest, typically costs 15 percent less than name-brand organic products. All Wild Harvest items -- including whole wheat pastas, soy milk, cereals, meats, and poultry -- eschew artificial preservatives, colorings, sweeteners, and flavorings; hydrogenated and cottonseed oils; and phosphates and chlorine.

Our judges loved the chain's Healthy Eaters program, which lets kids tour the store with a registered dietitian. And this month, Albertsons introduces the Nutrition iQ program, which uses simple color-coded labels to highlight nutritional benefits.

7. Food Lion

1,300 stores in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic

This megachain is owned by the same company as Hannaford and has taken some healthy cues from its smaller sister: It stocks organic fruits and vegetables (though not as many local items as the top chains), has its own natural-foods brand, Nature's Place, and also uses the Guiding Stars nutrition-labeling system.

But it's Food Lion's boutique offshoot, Bloom (61 stores in North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, and Virginia), that's leading the way for the entire chain. "Their produce is fresh and smells wonderful," Pawloski says. Bloom also boasts kiosks that provide nutrition info and healthy recipes that can be printed in-store.

8. Publix Super Markets

952 stores in the Southeast

Publix scores high for making healthy eating a family affair. Pregnant moms can sign up for the Publix Baby Club and receive coupons and a newsletter about infants' developing needs. The Preschool Pals program for 2- to 4-year-olds provides kids with fun free CD-ROMs and emails that teach nutrition and safety. And its free FamilyStyle magazine has simple tips on cooking family dinners fast.

The store's own brand, GreenWise, features fresh and packaged natural and organic foods. And like Food Lion, Publix has launched an offshoot store that focuses on natural and organic foods -- Publix GreenWise Market (currently only in Florida). Our judges also couldn't stop talking about Publix's At Season's Peak program, which points customers to the produce that's most in season. "It helps shoppers choose food when it's freshest and most nutritious," says panelist Frances Largeman-Roth, Health's senior food and nutrition editor.

9. Pathmark

141 stores in the Mid-Atlantic

Pathmark doesn't make a big deal out of its commitment to buying from area farms and producers, but it is in fact the largest retailer of locally grown produce in the Northeast, stocking area finds like Long Island corn on the cob. It also provides a welcome incentive to eat right: The company's Live Better! Wellness Club includes discounts of up to 15 percent on fresh-cut fruit and veggies. And if you never know what the heck to make for dinner, here is a perk you'll appreciate: You can go online and get creative and healthy menu ideas, courtesy of Pathmark's resident registered dietitian, Jacqueline Gomes.

10. SuperTarget

239 stores in 21 states, primarily Texas and Florida

Tar-jay, a healthy grocer? Yep. These Targets with minimarkets offer good-news brands like Kashi, Quaker, Sahala Snacks, and Barbara's, plus a limited amount of organic dairy items and produce. And you'll also find inexpensive, high-quality house brands like Market Pantry (cooking staples, etc.) and the trans fat--free Archer Farms (which includes baked goods, appetizers, and snacks) -- and this makes it easier for shoppers to stock up for less

Wordless Wednesday

2008-11-05T22:08:00.002-07:00

Thursday Thirteen - Halloween Superstitions

2008-10-30T07:30:00.003-06:00

Here's some Halloween superstitions:

1. A burning candle inside a jack-o-lantern will keep evil spirits and demons at bay.

2. If a candle suddenly goes out by itself on Halloween, as though by breath or wind, it is believed that a ghost has come to call.

3. Always burn new candles on Halloween to ensure the best of luck. It is not a good idea to burn Halloween candles at any other time of the year. It may bring bad luck!

4. Gazing into the flame of a candle on Halloween will allow you to peer into the future. (Hmmm... I wonder if this will work for the election.)

5. It is believed that if a person lights a new orange colored candle at midnight on Halloween and lets it burn until sunrise, he or she will be the recipient of good luck.

6. To cast a headless shadow or no shadow at all is still believed by many folks in the United States and Europe to be an omen of death in the course of the next year.

7. The old Celtic custom was to light great bonfires on Halloween, and after these had burned out to make a circle of the ashes of each fire. Within this circle, and near the circumference, each member of the various families that had helped to make a fire would place a pebble. If, on the next day, any stone was displaced, or had been damaged, it was considered to be an indication that the one to whom the stone belonged would die within twelve months.

8. According to an old English folk belief, you will invite bad luck into your home if you allow a fire to burnout on Halloween. To remedy the situation, the fire must be rekindled by a lighted sod brought from the home of a priest.

9. If a bat flies around a house three times, it is considered to be a death omen.

10. A person born on Halloween can both see and talk to spirits.

11. If you see a spider on Halloween, it could be the spirit of a dead loved one who is watching you.

12. Put your clothes on inside out and walk backwards on Halloween night to meet a witch.

13. You should walk around your home three times backwards and counterclockwise before sunset on Halloween to ward off evil spirits.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-10-29T07:27:00.005-06:00

A Reminder and a Plea: Vote No on CO Amendment 48

2008-10-28T10:55:00.004-06:00

Sorry I haven't updated in a bit, I've been on vacation! I've already voted, have been doing special stuff with the kids (You'll see the pictures on Wordless Wednesday) and am getting ready for Halloween!

Today there are rallies in Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins to raise more awareness to vote NO on Amendment 48, the "personhood" amendment. Obviously, I am not for this amendment. Not because I am a great advocate for abortion, but the other things that this terrible amendment would impact.

Abortion is a medical procedure. What other procedures need politics to interfere? (I'm not counting stem-cell research - at this point it's mostly just research and if/when it's ever put into practice, it's a treatment, NOT a procedure) This is a medical procedure that should be decided on between a patient and a doctor, not the general public, the judicial system or anyone else. If 48 passes, what will this do to a woman's right to privacy under HIPPA? People have stopped thinking of an abortion as a medical procedure and started thinking of it as a "freedom" or as an "abomination" ever since politics got involved in what happens with a woman's reproductive health. This has caused, I believe, more problems than its helped. In some instances it has caused abortion to be abused and overused as a procedure when it shouldn't be. If a woman or a man can't take responsibility for keeping an unwanted pregnancy from happening in the first place, and they don't want kids, then maybe they should do something permanent about it! There's still plenty of places to get birth control (at least as long as this doesn't pass!) and it is cheap if not free. Use it!!! The opposite is also true. Supporters of this amendment are so focused on pushing their beliefs on everyone that they're forgetting some of the basic rights that we're ALL supposed to have.

I think it's ironic that most of the supporters of this amendment are also Republicans. I used to be one myself, so I know that one of the biggest driving forces behind the Republican party is the stance on LESS government regulation, LESS government intervention and interference. How does supporting Amendment 48 go along with that?

People have become so wrapped up in focusing on the abortion aspect of this amendment that other areas of impact have been nearly or completely overlooked. What happens to those companies who preserve fertilized eggs for couples who are undergoing infertility treatment, or for couples where one partner is undergoing treatment for cancer? Do they suddenly not deserve the chance to continue their family? The backers of this amendment will not and cannot answer this question. What about if a woman's life is at risk? Is it right and moral to take the rights away from one group of people (women) and give them to an unborn being (yes, it is a being - not a thing) when we can't see into the future to see if that being will even be born? How is taking away the rights of one group to benefit another any better than ANY other kind of oppression that we as a people, as a country have fought against since this country was founded?

What happens to a woman who has a stillborn baby or a miscarriage at some point in her pregnancy? Will she be forced to undergo her medical records being seized and shown to a court, where they will become public record, and undergo interrogations to determine if she committed a crime? Will a woman be open to charges like murder, manslaughter or child abuse resulting in death because of a miscarriage? Would an unborn baby be able to challenge the will of a family member who dies before they're born? Will we as a people bog down the courts and distract law enforcement from dealing with the very real problems of drinking and driving, domestic violence, drug abuse and drug dealing, and gangs? Law enforcement agencies in various areas of the state are already short-handed and overworked. If 47, 49, and 54 passes, it will make it even harder for those law enforcement agencies to do their jobs fairly and safely (by limiting their rights to express themselves and joining a group). I would much rather see my local law enforcement going after the potential child molester who would try to take one of the neighborhood kids out of their front yard, the gang member who would try to lure one of my children into using drugs or selling drugs, or the individual who gets tanked on booze and/or drugs and drives home, and then gets arrested a week or a month later for the same damn thing!

My last thought on this is a rebuttal for all those supporters who say that protecting the rights of victims of rape and incest is not worth thinking about because they're such a small group: they're a small group because 1) sex assault related crimes are still some of the most unreported crimes, so the percentages that you claim are unrealistic compared to what the true crime rate would be. 2) Has anyone who HAS been a rape of incest victim stepped up in support of this amendment? I haven't found one yet, and that should tell you something right there.

Friday Funny!

2008-10-10T09:06:00.002-06:00

Even if this isn't real, it's pretty funny!

HOW TO CALL THE POLICE WHEN YOU'RE OLD AND DON'T MOVE FAST ANYMORE.

George Phillips of Meridian, Mississippi was going up to bed when his wife told him that he'd left the light on in the garden shed, which she could see from the bedroom window. George opened the back door to go turn off the light but saw that there were people in the shed stealing things. He phoned the police, who asked 'Is someone in your house,' and he said 'no.' Then they said that all patrols were busy, and that he should simply lock his door and an officer would be along when available. George said, 'Okay,' hung up, counted to 30, and phoned the police again. 'Hello, I just called you a few seconds ago because there were people stealing things from my shed. Well, you don't have to worry about them now because I just shot them.' Then he hung up. Within five minutes six police cars, a SWAT Team, a helicopter, two fire trucks, a paramedic and an ambulance showed up at the Phillips' residence and caught the burglars red-handed. One of the Policemen said to George: 'I thought you said that you'd shot them!' George said, 'I thought you said there was nobody available!'

I LOVE IT - Don't mess with old people.

The Big Read

2008-10-10T01:10:00.003-06:00

The Big Read, an initiative by the National Endowment for the Arts, has estimated that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they’ve printed. How do you do?

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you LOVE.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird- Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis - I started these, but never finished.
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas - Again, started, but never finished.
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Well, not too bad. I did better than the average, but it looks like I have some reading to do...

Blogthings - Autumn and Pollitics

2008-10-10T01:06:00.002-06:00

I know, I know, I said I wanted to highlight some things on the ballot for this year, both on state and federal elections, but I can't resist some fun blogthings!

Your Autumn Test Results

You are a dynamic, vibrant person. You aren't afraid to pursue your passions.

When you're happiest, you are outgoing and expressive . You love celebrations, and you enjoy showing off a little.

You prefer change to come slowly. You need a long transition period when your life changes.

You find solitude to be the most comforting thing in the world. Being alone with your thoughts feels very peaceful.

Your ideal day is active and full. You like to keep busy with your favorite things, and you appreciate a routine.

You tend to live in the moment. You enjoy whatever is going on, and you don't obsess over the past or future.

The Autumn Test

Your Political Profile:

Overall: 40% Conservative, 60% Liberal

Social Issues: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Ethics: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

How Liberal Or Conservative Are You?

You Are 12% Republican

If you have anything in common with the Republican party, it's by sheer chance.

You're a staunch liberal, and nothing is going to change that!

How Republican Are You?

You Are 40% Democrat

You're a bit Democrat, and probably more liberal than you realize.

If you're still voting Republican, maybe it's time that you stop.

How Democrat Are You?

What Your Driving Says About You

You are generally an easy going, laid back person. However, you can't help but feel a little jealous and competitive sometimes!

You are a fairly aware person, but you can't help but make judgment errors from time to time.

You'd like to think you're a fair person, but you occasionally think you deserve a special kind of justice.

You can be a rather tense, grouchy person - but you try to maintain your dignity.

You have the utmost respect for authority figures. You feel that rules - and their enforcement - are important.

You are somewhat focused, but you are also a bit scatterbrained. Distractions can get you in trouble.

You feel responsible for other people to an extent, but you believe that it's ultimately each person for him or herself.

Your ego is normally in check, but sometimes you get a bit egotistical. You tend to be a little self-important at times.

What Does Your Driving Say About You?

Check your voter registration!

2008-10-09T21:44:00.002-06:00

Since this is the first I've been on my computer today, this is the first I've seen of this story. Since this is such an important election this year. Check your voter registration and get out there and vote!

Elections officials deny illegally purging voters

A newspaper report Thursday said tens of thousands of eligible voters have been removed from rolls or blocked from registering in at least six swing states. Election officials lined up to defend their registration procedures and said they had done nothing wrong.

The New York Times based its findings on reviews of state records and Social Security data, and said it had identified apparent problems in Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina.

The Times said voters appear to have been purged by mistake and not because of any intentional violations by election officials or coordinated efforts by any party. It says that some states are improperly using Social Security data to verify new voters' registration applications, and that others might have broken rules that govern removing voters from the rolls within 90 days of a federal election.

Elections officials in several states disputed that any voters were illegally removed from rolls. Michigan elections director Chris Thomas said the state removed only people who have died, notified authorities of a move or who were declared unfit to vote, which is well within the parameters of the law. Thomas said only 11,000 voters were removed from Michigan rolls in August — not 33,000, the figure cited in the report.

"There is no illegal purging going on," Thomas told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The Times stood by its story. Spokeswoman Catherine Mathis said the newspaper's reporting was based on voter registration data provided by the states themselves, and in Michigan's case compared an Aug. 5 snapshot of registered voters with a Sept. 5 snapshot.

She said the Times explained its methodology to Thomas on Thursday, "and he said he could not explain the discrepancy between our figures and Michigan's official numbers."

States have been trying to follow the Help America Vote Act of 2002 by removing the names of voters who should no longer be listed. But for every voter added to the rolls in the past two months in some states, election officials have removed two, the Times' review of the records found.

States appear to have violated federal law in one of two ways, according to the newspaper report. Some are removing voters from the rolls within 90 days of a federal election, which is not allowed except when voters die, notify the authorities that they have moved out of state or have been declared unfit to vote, The Times said.

And some of the states are improperly using Social Security data to verify registration applications for new voters, the newspaper reported.

Under the Help America Vote Act, many states have an agreement with the Social Security Administration requiring them to submit the last four digits of a new voter's Social Security number for verification if the person does not have a valid state-issued ID, such as a license.

Colorado said it would review its practices of "canceling" voters who had moved, died or were deemed otherwise ineligible. Secretary of State Mike Coffman said he asked lawyers to determine if the state's protocols violated a federal ban on "systematic" purging close to an election, but said because people, not computers, were doing the reviews, he believed they were sound. He said nearly 2,500 voters may be restored if the procedure is found to have violated the law.

Last week, amid concerns about an uptick in the number of requests for verification, Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue sent a letter to officials in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio seeking to verify that the checks were run only on new voters who don't have acceptable identification. States have said the increase in checks is due partly to a stream of new voters coming in to register.

And late Thursday, a federal judge ordered Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to verify the identity of newly registered voters by matching them with information in databases maintained by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles or the Social Security Administration.

The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by the Ohio Republican Party against Brunner, a Democrat. An after-hours call to Brunner's office was not immediately returned.

In Georgia, federal officials say some 2 million checks have been completed, but only 406,000 new voters were registered. The Department of Justice has questioned the checks, and state officials say they are trying to determine how federal authorities arrived at that figure.

North Carolina elections watchdog Bob Hall, who heads the advocacy group Democracy North Carolina, defended the state's elections board and called the Times story "reprehensible."

Hall said he has found that many registration forms are incomplete or partly illegible and that many prospective voters provide Social Security numbers instead of driver's licenses. Because of that, he said it's not surprising that the state would need to run so many verifications.

Indiana also defended its procedures. "Using all available appropriate technology is our best way to combat voter fraud that we know exists in this state and across the country," Secretary of State Todd Rokita said in a statement Thursday.

Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller issued a statement calling the Times report misleading.

"I want to assure Nevadans that any suggestion that eligible voters will be denied their right to participate in this election on Nov. 4 is false," he said.

If voters were wrongfully removed from rolls, they could show up on Election Day and be challenged by political party officials or election workers. Any discrepancy could disproportionately affect Democrats, who have registered voters more aggressively.

Thursday Thirteen - Election Trivia

2008-10-09T06:55:00.000-06:00

Since so many people are riveted to this election, here's some trivia about elections:

1. Eight presidents were born British subjects: Washington, J. Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, J. Q. Adams, Jackson, and W. Harrison.

2. Nine presidents never attended college: Washington, Jackson, Van Buren, Taylor, Fillmore, Lincoln, A. Johnson, Cleveland, and Truman. The college that has the most presidents as alumni (six in total) is Harvard: J. Adams, J. Q. Adams, T. Roosevelt, F. Roosevelt, Kennedy, and G. W. Bush (business school). Yale is a close second, with five presidents as alumni: Taft, Ford (law school), G.H.W. Bush, Clinton (law school), and G. W. Bush.

3. The ancestry of all 43 presidents has been limited to the following seven heritages, or some combination thereof: Dutch, English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Swiss, or German.

4. The oldest elected president was Reagan (age 69); the youngest was Kennedy (age 43). Theodore Roosevelt, however, was the youngest man to become president—he was 42 when he succeeded McKinley, who had been assassinated.

5. The tallest president was Lincoln at 6'4"; at 5'4", Madison was the shortest.

6. Fourteen presidents served as vice presidents: J. Adams, Jefferson, Van Buren, Tyler, Fillmore, A. Johnson, Arthur, T. Roosevelt, Coolidge, Truman, Nixon, L. Johnson, Ford, and George H.W. Bush.

7.The term "First Lady" was first used in 1877 in reference to Lucy Ware Webb Hayes. Most First Ladies, including Jackie Kennedy, are said to have hated the label.

8. James Buchanan was the only president never to marry. Five presidents remarried after the death of their first wives—two of whom, Tyler and Wilson, remarried while in the White House. Reagan was the only divorced president. Six presidents had no children. Tyler—father of fifteen—had the most.

9. Presidents Lincoln, McKinley, Garfield and Kennedy were assassinated in office.

10.Eight presidents died in office: W. Harrison (after having served only one month), Taylor, Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, Harding, F. Roosevelt, and Kennedy.

11. Presidents Adams, Jefferson, and Monroe all died on the 4th of July; Coolidge was born on that day.

12. Kennedy and Taft are the only presidents buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

13. Lincoln, Jefferson, F. Roosevelt, Washington, Kennedy, and Eisenhower are portrayed on U.S. coins. Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Jackson, Grant, McKinley, Cleveland, Madison, and Wilson are portrayed on U.S. paper currency.

Wordless Wednesday - Twilight

2008-10-08T16:50:00.002-06:00

If you haven't read this book yet, I highly recommend the entire series!

Thursday Thirteen - October Holidays

2008-10-02T04:00:00.002-06:00

October - one of my favorite months, with one of my favorite holidays! Actually, October is a pretty busy month.

1. Eid ul-Fitr - October 1: a feast signaling the end of Ramadan

2. World Vegetarian Day - October 1

3. German Reunification Day - October 3

4. Taco Day and St. Francis Day - October 4 (what a combo, right?)

5. Durga Puja - October 6

6. World Habitat Day - October 6

7. Sausage Pizza Day - October 11. Too bad this isn't one day later. My daughter would LOVE that!!!

8. Taiiku no Hi - October 13: a national holiday in Japan where schools will hold sports competitions. Kind of like Field Day only on a bigger scale!

9. Sukkot - October 13: Jewish harvest festival

10. Sweetest Day - October 18

11. Eat A Pretzel Day - October 22 (Like I need an excuse?)

12. Diwali - October 28 (festival of lights)

13. Halloween and Samhain (Sow-in) - October 31: besides the fact it's always fun to go trick or treating with the kids, Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays! (There's that secret inner goth coming out again...)

Wordless Wednesday - Fall

2008-10-01T17:36:00.006-06:00

And here's a picture of Zachary on the bumpy slide:

Wordless Wednesday

2008-09-24T20:57:00.003-06:00

In other news, my younger kids are ready for Halloween:

Breaking Down Amendment 48 What is it, and what could it mean for women?

2008-09-18T08:06:00.003-06:00

Amendment 48 is a proposed amendment to the Colorado Constitution on the ballot this year. It proposes to change the definition of a "person" in certain sections in Article II of the Constitution. It is a relatively short amendment, which makes it fairly innocent looking and sounding. Here's the Amendment in its entirety:

Amendment 48
Definition of Person
Ballot Title: An amendment to the Colorado constitution defining the term "person" to include any human being from the moment of fertilization as "person" is used in those provisions of the Colorado constitution relating to inalienable rights, equality of justice, and due process of law.
Text of Proposal:
Be it Enacted by the People of the State of Colorado:
SECTION 1. Article II of the constitution of the state of Colorado is amended BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION to read:
Section 31. Person defined. AS USED IN SECTIONS 3, 6, AND 25 OF ARTICLE II OF THE STATE CONSTITUTION, THE TERMS "PERSON" OR "PERSONS" SHALL INCLUDE ANY HUMAN BEING FROM THE MOMENT OF FERTILIZATION.

What exactly does this change? Well, there are only three sections that this will apply to:

Section 3. Inalienable rights. All persons have certain natural, essential and inalienable rights, among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; of acquiring, possessing and protecting property; and of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness.

Section 6. Equality of justice. Courts of justice shall be open to every person, and a speedy remedy afforded for every injury to person, property or character; and right and justice should be administered without sale, denial or delay.

Section 25. Due process of law. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law.

Again, on the surface it all seems innocent. Inalienable rights, equality of justice and due process should be open to anyone right? Sure! But how is a court going to know or interpret what a fertilized egg wants? How will the courts find someone to "represent" the fertilized egg against its own mother?

Yes, that is exactly what this could and would come down to. It has in other states. Women are having their freedom of choice taken away from them. Once this becomes an amendment, hospitals will have the right to get court orders to force women into procedures "for the good of the unborn person" inside them. There will be no regard for the religious convictions of the woman in question. Women will not have the option of the morning after pill or an abortion in cases of rape or incest. They will be forced to endure carrying a child that was conceived in hatred and degradation to term. Where do the rights of the victim come in? Are they just thrown away in favor of a fertilized egg?

This will be completely overwhelming to an already hectic justice system. Where will the courts find the time to hear all the cases that will erupt from this? Will our police forces now have to patrol the hospitals and clinics looking for women who may be putting their fertilized eggs at risk? Will it stop at just abortions and birth control? Will this restriction eventually come to other treatments such as ablation simply because it keeps an egg from implanting? If it comes to criminal charges, where will jails house these women? With sex offenders, drug dealers, and other REAL criminals? Will the courts have to go through the existing criminal statutes and remove all exceptions currently in the statutes about abortion and termination of pregnancy?

These are just a few of the practical questions that I've thought of since hearing about this proposed amendment. Since I've started reading and researching, I've found some other interesting tidbits:

Wendy Norris reported on RH Reality Check that several religious leaders were against the proposed amendment. One Rabbi's comments were particularly interesting:

Rabbi Joel R. Schwartzman, president of the Rocky Mountain Rabbinical Council:
Coloradans seeking to place the proposition on the ballot that life begins at the moment of fertilization must of necessity claim to have God on their side because they are seeking to play God through their efforts.

Naming conception as the starting point for life is not a purely arbitrary act. A fertilized egg may reach term and be born. There is much that can happen along the way, not involving abortion, that can negate this possibility.

For perhaps this very reason Rabbinic Judaism held that life begins only at birth. That is the law within Jewish life to this day. The rabbis had every bit as much claim to God in their decision as these anti-abortion forces have the right to attempt to bring a plebiscite in this state to say otherwise.

Without the question of abortion rights, however, this clearly wouldn't be a ballot issue, and we could all interpret God's word in and for our own lives without submitting it to a popular vote.

Jann Halloran, minister of the Prairie Unitarian Universalist Church of Parker, maternity unit counselor and member of the Colorado Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice made some very good points in her statement:
It feels like there is one religious perspective but there's not. It seems so monolithic to say that from the second an egg is fertilized that this is now a person. And the woman that is carrying that person is now enslaved to whatever happens next.

There is a lot of guilt with miscarriage. Every woman wonders, 'What did I do wrong?' And now you're saying it was a murder. It's so cruel and it's so harsh.

To simply say that this is when life begins the second an egg is fertilized is dancing on the head of a pin. None of us really knows and we have to make the most complicated moral decisions we can make in the best interest of our health, our families and the potential new life.

This issue is so rife with sexism. Religion and men telling women how to live their lives, how to control their sexuality and how to control their reproductive systems. They don't give women the ethical agency that we were born with to make these decisions.

It's very scary. There are so many ramifications around birth control, fertility and how women have to deal with these issues in their real lives.

I don't think there are grounds for this in the Christian or Jewish tradition. Until a baby is born, you don't know what you have. That doesn't mean that anything that happens before birth isn't worthy of tears or anger or celebration or fear. But until the incredible gift of life is given and it comes out of the womb, that's as reasonable and moral a position of when life begins as when an egg is fertilized.

I also respect the passion of the religious right to hold very different positions and that's why I don't want one particular position in our constitution.

How can this proposed amendment NOT violate the separation of church and state? We have that rule for a reason!!

I found an extremely well-written opinion about this amendment on One Reality by Stephen Bourque. I won't quote everything he had to say, but I will highlight one paragraph here. I strongly encourage you to read his post as well as others that are listed at the end of this post.

The victims of Amendment 48 would be men and women who seek happiness in life; couples who wish to enjoy a rewarding sexual relationship; those that must use fertility techniques to help them have children where none could be expected; people who plan and properly consider all the ramifications of starting a family; women who wish to flourish and be productive in their careers before having (or without having) children; and the untold number of men and women that want to survive the diseases that would have had cures if stem-cell research had not been thwarted. In short, it is moral people who are victimized by Amendment 48.

In contrast, the advocates of Amendment 48 are profoundly immoral. For them, a woman is not an independent, rational being who owns her own body; she is merely a sacrificial vessel for God’s plans, an incubator for God’s children. If she has sexual intercourse - whether or not she has used birth control, whether or not she has been raped, whether or not she can afford to raise a child, whether or not her life’s plans will be ruined, whether or not the delivery will kill her - the consequences must be left in God’s hands. In the same breath, the religionists claim that a clump of a woman’s cells constitutes a being with rights while the woman herself has no rights. They hold that a woman cannot remove a part of her body that is deleterious to her life, but a government (in particular, one sanctioned by God) can dispose of the woman as it chooses.

Amendment 48 is a bad idea, and spits in the face of our rights as human beings and as Americans. Our ancestors came to this country for Freedom of Religion. Women fought and were abused for many years to get the freedoms that we are taking for granted today. Will we let all that fall by the wayside?

For more informational reading:
Amendment 48 is Anti-Life by Ari Armstrong and Diana Hsieh (6 part series - just follow the links)
Amendment 48 is Anti-Life Why It Matters That An Egg Is Not a Person by Ari Armstrong and Diana Hsieh (pdf file)
One Reality by Stephen Bourque
The Interfaith Alliance of Colorado statement
Religious Leaders in Colorado Respond to the Egg-As-A-Person Amendment by Wendy Norris on RH Reality Check

Wordless Wednesday - Dirty Jobs

2008-09-17T23:36:00.002-06:00

One of my favorite shows is Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe. Tonight the Discovery Channel played one of my favorite episodes - Parade Float Dismantler. I actually like parades, but watching them destroy those floats and see what they have to handle is truly disgusting. Mike Rowe says one of my favorite lines right near the end of the video. I had to link to the clip because Discovery doesn't allow embedding of their clips on YouTube. Grrr...

Here's a clip of bloopers:

And while I'm at it, here's some bloopers from Mythbusters:

Enjoy!

Funny video

2008-09-12T09:20:00.004-06:00

Zachary has figured out how to use his brother's iPod and LOVES to listen to it while he's doing homework.

(You may have to turn up the sound quite a bit to hear him, the little microphone on the camera isn't loud at all!)

Sarah Palin's Interview on ABC

2008-09-11T18:43:00.002-06:00

For anyone who, like me, didn't get to watch it on regular tv, here's her interview courtesy of SaveOurSovreignty2 on youtube:

Here's part 2:

Wordless Wednesday - Zachary's first day fo school

2008-09-10T21:33:00.005-06:00

Here's my little boy on his first day of kindergarten!!
Notice how flat his hair is on top!!

A new and frightening amendment to Colorado's constitution

2008-09-07T15:00:00.001-06:00

I'm finding a lot of articles now about politics, and since I don't write nearly as well as these people, I'm copying their articles and posting links to give them credit.

If you or a loved one have ever had a bad experience with a doctor or a hospital, this proposed amendment should frighten you, especially when you consider the ramifications if it passes. The areas in bold are points that I think are especially important and were added by me. I'll see if and where I can find the whole text of the amendment and post it. This is an issue that is very important to me, and admittedly one I am very sensitive about, having had a horrible experience during labor with a doctor.

Danger on the ballot

By L. Indra Lusero and Lynn M. Paltrow,

Imagine a law declaring that upon becoming pregnant a woman loses her right to bodily integrity, life and liberty. Sound far-fetched? Unfortunately the answer is, not at all. In fact such a law has been proposed in Colorado, a so-called “Human Life Amendment” to the State Constitution. The amendment, number 48 on the November ballot, declares that the term person includes “any human being from the moment of fertilization” and would give fetuses “inalienable rights, equality of justice and due process of law.”

According to the Kristi Burton, the spokeswoman for the campaign in favor of this amendment, the campaign is about “the power of truth.” The truth is, however, that this amendment will be devastating to pregnant women and dangerous for both maternal and fetal health.

Constitutional law ensures that people, including pregnant women, have the right to make the own health care decisions. Yet, cases from Colorado and across the country make it clear that if fetuses are recognized as legal persons, pregnant women could very likely lose these constitutionally protected rights. That’s because laws like the “Human Life Amendment” enable the state to intervene in pregnant women’s lives in ways that are dangerous to both pregnant women and their children.

For example, in the 1980s a Colorado woman was forced to have a Cesarean section based on claims of fetal rights. Relying on notoriously inaccurate fetal monitors, doctors concluded that the fetus was in distress and recommended that the woman have a C-section. The woman refused. Even though a psychiatrist examined the pregnant woman and concluded that she was competent to make medical decisions, the hospital attorneys sought a court order mandating the treatment. In a bedside hearing, a Denver Juvenile Court judge declared the fetus a dependent and neglected child, and ordered the Cesarean section. The newborn was not in the dire shape predicted by the fetal monitoring and it was not clear that this major surgery was necessary.

In Washington, DC, doctors sought a court order to force Ayesha Madyun to have a C-section, claiming the fetus faced a 50-75 percent chance of infection if not delivered surgically. The court said, “[a]ll that stood between the Madyun fetus and its independent existence, separate from its mother, was put simply, a doctor’s scalpel.” With that, the court granted the order and the scalpel sliced through Ms. Madyun’s flesh, the muscles of her abdominal wall, and her uterus. When the procedure was done, there was no evidence of infection.

Twenty-seven years old and 25 weeks pregnant, Angela Carder, became critically ill. She, her family and her attending physicians agreed on treatment designed to keep her alive for as long as possible. Nevertheless, the hospital called an emergency hearing, and based on claims of fetal rights, ordered a Cesarean section, despite the fact that it could kill Ms. Carder. The surgery was performed, the pre-term infant survived for only two hours and Ms. Carder died two days later with the c-section listed as a contributing factor.

In each of these cases, the state intervention was based on the claim that fetuses had separate legal rights — exactly the ones the Amendment would establish in Colorado. In none of these cases did the forced interventions or deprivations of liberty actually protect mothers or babies.

Many women, including those who oppose abortion, believe they should not lose their rights to make medical decisions for themselves and their children because they are pregnant or are in labor. If the amendment passes, Colorado’s juvenile courts will have jurisdiction whenever doctors or family members disagree with a pregnant woman’s medical decisions. As the cases discussed make clear, women’s right to bodily integrity, due process, and even life itself will disappear in the face of fetal personhood claims.

To oppose the recognition of fetal personhood as a matter of state constitutional law is not to deny the value of potential life as matter of religious belief, emotional conviction or personal experience. Rather, it is to recognize that re-writing the state Constitution to include human beings from the moment of fertilization is to exclude women from the moment they become pregnant.

L. Indra Lusero is a J.D. candidate at the University of Denver School of Law and Lynn M. Paltrow, J.D. is the executive director for the National Advocates for Pregnant Women.

To see the original article, go here. The original article is on the Vail Daily website.

National Advocates for Pregnant Women

2008-09-07T14:25:00.003-06:00

My hubby, Ian, directed me to read this letter that he had found posted on another friend's site, As I See It. She makes some wonderful observations that I fully agree with. Here is the letter in it's entirety. I'm not posting it to advocate abortion. I still see abortion as being abused as a medical practice. Maybe if we taught more about contraceptives and tried to get away from forcing others to one set of beliefs, abortion could go back to being just a medical procedure. On to the letter:

Dear Governor Sarah Palin:

Many Americans agree with your position regarding abortion – they do this as a matter of faith, ethics, personal experience and sometimes politics. We are just wondering though, if you have thought about what would happen if you succeeded in getting your position – that fetuses have a right to life -- established as the law of the land? Did you know that it not only threatens the lives, health and freedom of women who might want or need someday to end their pregnancies, it would also give the government the power to control the lives of women – like you who -- go to term?

Your last pregnancy, the one that has become the topic of widespread discussion and speculation provides an important opportunity to demonstrate how this could be true.

According to press reports your water broke while you were giving a keynote speech in Texas at the Republican Governors' Energy Conference. You did not immediately go to the hospital – instead you gave your speech and then waited at least 11 hours to get to a hospital. You evaluated the risks, made a choice, and were able to carry on your life without state interference. Texas Governor Rick Perry worried about your pregnancy but didn’t stop you from speaking or take you into custody to protect the rights of the fetus.

After, Ayesha Madyun’s water broke, she went to the hospital where she hoped and planned to have a vaginal birth. When she didn’t give birth in a time-frame comfortable to her doctors, they argued that she should have a C-section. The doctors asserted that the fetus faced a 50-75 percent chance of infection if not delivered surgically. (Risks of infection are believed by some health care providers to increase with each hour after a woman’s water has broken and she hasn’t delivered).

The court, believing, like you that fetuses have a right to life, said, "[a]ll that stood between the Madyun fetus and its independent existence, separate from its mother, was put simply, a doctor's scalpel." With that, the court granted the order and the scalpel sliced through Ms. Madyun's flesh, the muscles of her abdominal wall, and her uterus. The core principle justifying an end to legal abortion in the US provided the same grounds used to deprive this pregnant and laboring woman of her rights to due process, bodily integrity, and physical liberty. When the procedure was done, there was no evidence of infection.

According to the press reports, instead of going straight to a hospital you chose to get on a long airplane flight back to Alaska.

When Pamela Rae Stewart, allegedly, didn’t get to the hospital quickly enough on the day of her delivery, she was arrested in California on the theory that she had violated the rights of her fetus

When Laura Pemberton chose to give birth at home in Florida, a Sheriff came to her house. Doctors believed that she was posing a risk to the life of her unborn child by having a vaginal birth after having had a previous c-section. The doctors were in the process of getting a court- order to force her to have a c-section. The sheriff took Ms. Pemberton into custody during active labor, strapped her legs together and forced her to go to a hospital where an emergency hearing was taking place to determine the rights of her fetus. She was “allowed” to represent herself. A lawyer was appointed for the fetus. This woman, who vehemently opposes abortion, nevertheless believed in her right to evaluate medical risks and benefits to herself and her unborn child. She was forced to have the unnecessary surgery and when she later sued for violations of her civil rights, was told fetal rights outweighed hers.

You chose to continue working throughout your pregnancy – even during your labor. Until 1991, women who worked in high paying blue color jobs that provided health benefits were being fired based on “fetal rights” policies that claimed if the woman became pregnant she would expose the unborn child to workplace health risks. Eventually, the Supreme Court said employers covered by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (the PDA) could not do this. But, millions of American women who work part time or for small employers are not covered by the PDA. If your political position on abortion is accepted – all of these women could be forced to give up their jobs because an employer, family member, or state agent believed it necessary to ensure the health and rights of their unborn child.

Governor Palin, you have led an extraordinary life, balancing work and family, public service and private family obligations. We hope you know though that your freedom relies on exactly the same legal principles that guarantee that American women can choose to have an abortion when they need and want one.

Sixty one percent of women who have abortions are already mothers. Eighty-four percent of these women will be mothers by the time they are in forties. As a proud mother of five beautiful children, we hope you will recognize that the issue isn’t abortion – it is ensuring the lives, dignity and freedom of all pregnant women and their families.

Lynn Paltrow
Executive Director
National Advocates for Pregnant Women
____________________________________________________________________

I did a little research into the women mentioned in her article. All three and I found out many more have had this happen to them. Ms. Madyun was 19 at the time and had been in labor for a couple days total. That doesn't necessarily mean she needed a c-section. Many women have a prolonged labor and still have natural childbirths with healthy babies. I truly feel that Laura Pemberton was a victim. She had every right to attempt a VBAC, but it was never even offered to her. I'm not sure that Ms. Stewart should have been mentioned, but that was Ms. Paltrow's decision. I don't think the case aginst Ms. Stewart should have gone to court the way it did. Realistically, I'm sure she's been back to court plenty of times since then for drugs. (Me, cynical? Nah) This letter as well as the proposed amendment going to ballot this year gives us a lot to think about.

Opinion Article from Anchorage newspaper

2008-09-07T13:16:00.004-06:00

Here's a recent opinion article from the Anchorage Daily News. It is interesting to see (a little bit) what their view of her is.
____________________________________________________________________

Palin's leadership

Now that Sarah Palin has burst onto the national scene, Americans may be wondering:

As governor of Alaska, what kind of leader has she been?

In our view, Sarah Palin has been very effective -- surprisingly so, considering her previous leadership experience was as mayor of a town with about 6,000 people.

Gov. Palin is not the kind of leader who gets bogged down in minutia and works 100-hours a week. Instead, she uses her charisma and a simple, clear vision to mobilize mass support for her agenda, then leaves the details and heavy lifting to others.

THREE BIG SUCCESSES

As governor, she has focused almost exclusively on a handful of high-priority issues -- ethics, oil tax reform and state incentives for building a natural gas pipeline. And she has had dramatic success. With Gov. Palin leading the way, the Legislature passed strong legislation on all three fronts. On two of those issues, she had to take on Alaska's previously all-powerful oil industry. Twice she easily defeated them.

Palin has a knack for the populist gesture, and Alaskans know it's sincere, not just for show. She pledged to sell Gov. Murkowski's state jet -- and she did. She drives herself to work. She found other duties for the chef at the governor's mansion. Palin is the only major political figure in the past 20 years who regularly comes to Daily News editorial board meetings by herself, with no flunkies or handlers.

LIMITATIONS AS A LEADER

Outside of her top priorities, though, the limitations of Gov. Palin's leadership style begin to show. She delegates much of the detail work and spends little time on second-tier subjects.

That management style can work -- if you have assembled a crackerjack, detail-oriented management team. That's what she did with her effort on the natural gas pipeline -- and it helps explain her success on that issue. However, in many areas, Palin has had to rely on people with a weak track record of running state government or working with the Legislature.

As a foe of the Republican establishment, she doesn't have a deep pool of talent to draw on. She has not yet found a replacement for the public safety commissioner she forced out earlier this summer. Her first replacement choice resigned after just two weeks because he had misled Alaskans about his record of sexual harassment. A stronger staff would have done a better job of vetting the candidate and spared the governor the embarrassment.

NOT A GREAT LOBBYIST

Palin racked up her legislative victories even though her allies in the Legislature criticized her lobbying effort. Here at the Daily News, we repeatedly heard the complaint: The governor is missing in action; her staffers aren't working the halls the way they should be.

Palin dislikes the give-and-take that usually helps smooth the way for political decisions. She states her case and expects legislators to base their actions on the merits of the issue.

FEARLESS, RIGHTEOUS

One of Gov. Palin's great strengths as a reformer also has a downside. She has a fervent sense of what's right and what's wrong and has little concern for political consequences. This fearless sense of righteousness has generally served her well -- as when she went after Alaska's arrogant and corrupt Republican political establishment.

But Alaskans have seen in Troopergate how this part of Palin's character can be a weakness too. In Palin's mind, her ex-brother-in-law was a violent, intimidating, irresponsible person who has no business being a state trooper. And she's right about that. But she had no sense of how continuing to push her concerns as governor might lead to political, or even legal, trouble.

BIPARTISANSHIP

One big surprise about Palin's term as governor: She has been thoroughly bipartisan. Her most reliable supporters on her big three accomplishments have been Democrats. The partisan side that Palin showed in her acceptance speech Thursday is something Alaskans haven't seen in her time as governor.

Earlier this year, Palin told a cable news interviewer that somebody is going to have to tell her "what it is exactly that the VP does." In some ways, the vice president's job is a perfect fit for her. She wouldn't have to run the country. She could focus on a handful of high-profile issues, inspire people with her passion and star power, and try to accomplish a few great things.

The big question is whether she'd be ready to take over as president should 72-year-old John McCain die in office. Gov. Palin doesn't have the typical resume of a vice-presidential candidate -- but she does have proven leadership skills, and she has two months to demonstrate them to the country.

BOTTOM LINE: Palin is strong on vision and rallying public support; she's not so strong on the detailed work of governance.

____________________________________________________________________

It is interesting to note how her strengths, which have helped the Alaskan government, have come back to bite her. Every law enforcement agency has policies and procedures in place to deal with officers who should not be officers. If the trooper in question had threatened a family member, he should have absolutely been removed. But it needed to go through the proper channels, it should not have gone from the Governor to the Public Safety Commissioner. The complaints needed to be separate from the office, even though she's the governor.

It's good that she has shown that she can be bipartisan. This country needs to move away from always drawing lines and putting people into groups. That will be a big step away from the racism, sexism and classism that has plagued us for so many years.

I am more concerned with her hardline stance on women's issues and the impact that it will have if she gets into office. I understand that she feels strongly about abortion, but not everyone believes the same as her, and we shouldn't be forced into following her beliefs. As you'll see in my post about the open letter to Palin, if we don't find a middle ground, where will the line be drawn?

Palin needs to get into the details of the job she's trying to get. How many times have we heard that a person will give a good interview and subsequently (hopefully) do a good job if they know the details of the job? A good gesture here and there won't help her as VP. She will have to step up and do more, and she's going to have to show (me) that she's not as power-happy as some of her actions seem to say.

Comparisons on Palin's speech vs. reality

2008-09-04T17:22:00.002-06:00

I found this article on The Reality-Based Community posted by Mark Kleiman. This is long, but VERY interesting. Whoever was smart enough and had the time to do this comparison is good. Go visit his blog, take your time and read the whole post, and let him know what you think!

Birthday time!!!

2008-09-04T06:43:00.003-06:00

Your Birthdate: September 4

You have an extraordinary character - moral, responsible, and disciplined.

Your sincerely and honesty shine through in almost every situation.

Driven and focused, you rarely let your emotions get the better of you.

You're level headed and rational. People count on your to look at things objectively.

Your strength: Your unwavering loyalty and ethics

Your weakness: Your rock solid stubbornness

Your power color: Navy blue

Your power symbol: Shield

Your power month: April

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

You Were Born Under:

You are solid, methodical, and you do things right the first time.

Even when no one else does, you always believe in yourself.

You tend to see the world in black and white, right or wrong.

A good memory and eye for details means you tend to thrive at near impossible tasks.

You are most compatible with a Snake or Rooster.

What Year Were You Born Under?

Thursday Thirteen - September Holidays

2008-09-04T03:59:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me!! What else can I celebrate this month?

1. Labor Day - September 1

2. Ramadan - September 2 (North America - it starts on Sept. 1 in other areas of the world)

3. Ganesh Chaturthi (Hindu) - September 3

4. Coffee Ice Cream Day - September 6 Yum!!!! My favorite, and so close to my birthday!

5. Grandparents Day - September 7

6. Onam (India) - September 12

7. Chinese Moon Festival - September 14

8. Citizenship Day - September 17

9. International Talk Like a Pirate Day - September 19 Aarrr, matey! Where be Cap'n Jack Sparrow?

10. Autumn Equinox/Mabon - September 22

11. Rosh Hashanah - September 29

12. Coffee Day and Pumpkin Day - September 29

13. Navratri (India) - September 30

Interesting Article

2008-09-04T01:31:00.000-06:00

Attacks, praise stretch truth at GOP convention

By JIM KUHNHENN, Associated Press Writer Jim Kuhnhenn, Associated Press Writer Wed Sep 3, 11:48 pm ET

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her Republican supporters held back little Wednesday as they issued dismissive attacks on Barack Obama and flattering praise on her credentials to be vice president. In some cases, the reproach and the praise stretched the truth.

Some examples:

PALIN: "I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending ... and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. I told the Congress 'thanks but no thanks' for that Bridge to Nowhere."

THE FACTS: As mayor of Wasilla, Palin hired a lobbyist and traveled to Washington annually to support earmarks for the town totaling $27 million. In her two years as governor, Alaska has requested nearly $750 million in special federal spending, by far the largest per-capita request in the nation. While Palin notes she rejected plans to build a $398 million bridge from Ketchikan to an island with 50 residents and an airport, that opposition came only after the plan was ridiculed nationally as a "bridge to nowhere."

PALIN: "There is much to like and admire about our opponent. But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform — not even in the state senate."

THE FACTS: Compared to McCain and his two decades in the Senate, Obama does have a more meager record. But he has worked with Republicans to pass legislation that expanded efforts to intercept illegal shipments of weapons of mass destruction and to help destroy conventional weapons stockpiles. The legislation became law last year. To demean that accomplishment would be to also demean the work of Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, a respected foreign policy voice in the Senate. In Illinois, he was the leader on two big, contentious measures in Illinois: studying racial profiling by police and requiring recordings of interrogations in potential death penalty cases. He also successfully co-sponsored major ethics reform legislation.

PALIN: "The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes, raise payroll taxes, raise investment income taxes, raise the death tax, raise business taxes, and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars."

THE FACTS: The Tax Policy Center, a think tank run jointly by the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, concluded that Obama's plan would increase after-tax income for middle-income taxpayers by about 5 percent by 2012, or nearly $2,200 annually. McCain's plan, which cuts taxes across all income levels, would raise after tax-income for middle-income taxpayers by 3 percent, the center concluded.

Obama would provide $80 billion in tax breaks, mainly for poor workers and the elderly, including tripling the Earned Income Tax Credit for minimum-wage workers and higher credits for larger families.

He also would raise income taxes, capital gains and dividend taxes on the wealthiest. He would raise payroll taxes on taxpayers with incomes above $250,000, and he would raise corporate taxes. Small businesses that make more than $250,000 a year would see taxes rise.

MCCAIN: "She's been governor of our largest state, in charge of 20 percent of America's energy supply ... She's responsible for 20 percent of the nation's energy supply. I'm entertained by the comparison and I hope we can keep making that comparison that running a political campaign is somehow comparable to being the executive of the largest state in America," he said in an interview with ABC News' Charles Gibson.

THE FACTS: McCain's phrasing exaggerates both claims. Palin is governor of a state that ranks second nationally in crude oil production, but she's no more "responsible" for that resource than President Bush was when he was governor of Texas, another oil-producing state. In fact, her primary power is the ability to tax oil, which she did in concert with the Alaska Legislature. And where Alaska is the largest state in America, McCain could as easily have called it the 47th largest state — by population.

MCCAIN: "She's the commander of the Alaska National Guard. ... She has been in charge, and she has had national security as one of her primary responsibilities," he said on ABC.

THE FACTS: While governors are in charge of their state guard units, that authority ends whenever those units are called to actual military service. When guard units are deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, for example, they assume those duties under "federal status," which means they report to the Defense Department, not their governors. Alaska's national guard units have a total of about 4,200 personnel, among the smallest of state guard organizations.

FORMER ARKANSAS GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE: Palin "got more votes running for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska than Joe Biden got running for president of the United States."

THE FACTS: A whopper. Palin got 616 votes in the 1996 mayor's election, and got 909 in her 1999 re-election race, for a total of 1,525. Biden dropped out of the race after the Iowa caucuses, but he still got 76,165 votes in 23 states and the District of Columbia where he was on the ballot during the 2008 presidential primaries.

FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOV. MITT ROMNEY: "We need change, all right — change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington! We have a prescription for every American who wants change in Washington — throw out the big-government liberals, and elect John McCain and Sarah Palin."

THE FACTS: A Back-to-the-Future moment. George W. Bush, a conservative Republican, has been president for nearly eight years. And until last year, Republicans controlled Congress. Only since January 2007 have Democrats have been in charge of the House and Senate.

___

Associated Press Writer Jim Drinkard in Washington contributed to this report.

Elections

2008-09-03T22:35:00.004-06:00

Well, if you've been following the DNC and now the RNC, you've probably seen lots of speeches, heard a lot of tesimonials and impassioned statements, and been exposed to a lot of stories about the nominees. But what to believe? It's very hard to figure out what's wild speculation, over exaggeration by the press, and what's actually true. So I thought I'd try to get down what I've seen and heard about each candidate (including the VP nominees - they're just as important) and see how they compare.

Sen. Barack Obama:
Pros:
He's young (47)
He wants to focus on fixing things here at home, where it's needed.
He wants to reduce our dependence on oil and move to cleaner energy.
He wants to work on healthcare.
He has tried to stay away from personal mud slinging and stuck with questions raised that are strictly about the government and he's told his campaign to do the same.
He knows when and who to listen to when he needs input from someone with more experience.

Cons:
He's young.
He's never been in the military.
Even though his specialization in college was international studies, he's done much more at home (of course, this could be a pro or a con).
He may get pushed farther left than maybe he should be (but I hope not).

Sen. Joe Biden:
Pros:
He's been practicing law since 1969.
He's been in the Senate for 35 years.
He has a LOT of Senate experience to draw on.
He has worked on crime prevention, drug policy, and civil liberties.
One of his sons is in the National Guard, so he can get a somewhat first hand account on what's going on (at least once his son goes over to Iraq).
He is either on several committees, or is the chairman.
One is about immigration and border patrol, two are about drug enforcement, one is crime prevention, and one is technology terrorism and Homeland Security.
He has shown his ability to lead as Chairman of Foreign Relations.
He has worked to craft laws about gender-based and domestic violence crimes.

Cons:
He's never been in the military himself, so he doesn't have that first-hand experience.
He is occasionally too blunt in his way of speaking (although personally this doesn't bother me, but I'm not the most PC person around).

Sen. John McCain
Pros:
He served in the military and is a Vietnam veteran.
He has been in national government since 1982, serving 2 terms in the House of Representatives, and then in the Senate since that time.
He has had a reputation for independence from simply following the party leaders in the past.
He has worked to help determine the fate of other POW's and worked to improve relations with Vietnam, no easy feat for a Vietnam veteran who's gone through what McCain's gone through.
He has worked on campaign finance reform.
He has worked to try to bring about climate control measures to reduce greenhouse gasses.
He has tried to work for the POW's currently in custody by introducing amendments contrary to the wishes of President Bush.

Cons:
He was allegedly a part of the Keating Five - a scandal involving the Lincoln Savings and Loan, but he was exonerated.
He has supported continuing the war in Iraq.
Although he has been oppositional and independent to his party in the past, he now has been shown in a 2008 study to be voting in agreement with Bush up to 90% of the time.

Sarah Palin
Pros:
She is the first woman and youngest person to hold the office of governor in Alaska.
She is the first Republican woman to run for vice president.
While she was mayor of Wasilla, she cut property taxes by 40% and cut the mayoral salary.
She helped pass a tax increase on oil company profits.

Cons:
While she was mayor, she asked the police chief, town librarian, Finance Director and Public Works Director to resign because they didn't fully agree with her administration. The librarian?
She has accepted money from two different people who have been indicted or pled guilty to various federal charges such as bribery and misuse of funds.
She has strongly promoted oil and natural gas development in Alaska, especially in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge.
Palin pushed for a new natural gas pipeline to be built from Alaska's North Slope.
She supported the policy allowing the hunting of wolves from helicopter as part of a predator control program to increase the moose population.
Palin opposes placing polar bears on the endangered species list amid fears that it would hurt oil and natural gas development in the bears habitat.
She objected to closing a state-run unprofitable dairy business, completely replaced the board responsible for the dairy, who then reversed the decision to close the dairy. Later in 2007 the dairy was put up for sale anyway.
She is currently under investigation for a possible abuse of power involving the dismissal of the Public Safety Commissioner. The replacement she chose resigned after approximately 2 weeks because of a letter of reprimand for sexual harassment.
She announced to the world her daughter's pregnancy and the plans for that pregnancy.
She is so strongly opposed to abortion that she opposes it even in cases of rape and incest.
She also does not support equal pay.
She will only support abstinence-only programs.

You know, if Senator McCain had picked a different running mate, I'd have to think more on who to vote for. I'll still wait and watch the debates to make my final decision, but I have to say, would you want that woman one step away from running this country?

Wordless Wednesday

2008-09-03T21:22:00.002-06:00

I don't know the whole story behind this, but when my husband pointed it out to me, I knew I had to post this little disaster:

Blogthings

2008-09-01T06:16:00.000-06:00

I haven't done any blogthings for a while!

You Are a Cherry Flavored Popsicle

You are sweet and friendly. For you, summer is all about doing your favorite things.

You are a nostalgic person. You love old fashioned things like ice cream trucks.

You savor everything. Every taste of summer, the feeling of the sun, the smell of the beach...

Of all the types, you love summer the most.

What Flavor Popsicle Are You?

What Your Driving Says About You

You are generally an easy going, laid back person. However, you can't help but feel a little jealous and competitive sometimes!

You tend to go by what you feel - not by the facts at hand. As a result, you tend to make a lot of uninformed decisions.

You are a very fair person. You treat everyone equally, even when it's difficult to do.

You can be a rather tense, grouchy person - but you try to maintain your dignity.

You have the utmost respect for authority figures. You feel that rules - and their enforcement - are important.

You are somewhat focused, but you are also a bit scatterbrained. Distractions can get you in trouble.

You are a very responsible and conscientious person. You often consider the feelings and needs of others.

Your ego is normally in check, but sometimes you get a bit egotistical. You tend to be a little self-important at times.

What Does Your Driving Say About You?

Wordless Wednesday

2008-08-27T05:59:00.003-06:00

Thursday Thirteen

2008-08-21T05:25:00.000-06:00

Ever wonder what the signs are that you're growing up? Here's a few:

You know you're really grown up when:

1. You hear your favorite song in an elevator.

2. You keep more food than booze in the fridge.

3. You watch the Weather Channel.

4. You go from 130 days of vacation to 14.

5. Jeans and a sweater no longer qualifies as "dressed up".

6. Your car insurance goes down and your car payments goes up.

7. Sleeping on the couch makes your back hurt.

8. You take naps.

9. Eating a basket of chicken wings at 3 AM would severely upset, rather than settle your stomach.

10. Having sex in a twin bed is out of the question.

11. 6:00 AM is when you get up, not when you go to bed. (Well, at least for some...)

12. You go to the store for ibuprofen and antacids, not condoms and pregnancy tests.

13. 90% of your time spent in front of a computer is for real work.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-08-20T21:02:00.007-06:00

It's time for those back to school pictures! Zachary is in some of these, even though his official first day isn't until tomorrow. He got to walk with all of us to school and met his kindergarten teacher. Here's all three ready to go:

Here's my little girl!

Zachary loves WALL-E. He does a VERY good impression!

Patrick was ready to go back to school. I was (and still am) ready for peace and quiet. I get a break from Bionicle!!!

Here they are in front front of one of the pine trees near the school.

Of course, Zachary has been talking about his first day all week, what he wants to do, e.t.c... Patrick is doing very well with homework, and Caitlin is already sick of homework. Go figure. At least I finally got the date and time right on my camera!

Thursday Thirteen

2008-08-14T23:43:00.002-06:00

Now that my kids are going back to school, and Zachary is going to his much-anticipated kindergarten, I've been making a list of things I want to do once the kids go back to school.

1. Sleep. Imagine that?!?!

2. Get the house super clean one room at a time. Zachary is gone for 3 hours every morning. That should be time for me to work on at least one room per day, right?

3. Catch up on Good Eats. I love TiVo-ing Good Eats and then writing down my favorite recipes, but I'm way, way behind.

4. Go have coffee with a friend or two. Wow! I could do something with a friend, something that doesn't involve Thomas, Littlest Pet Shop, or Bionicle.

5. Start looking into just how hard it would be to put up drywall. We want to finish our basement...

6. Exercise. Actually, this should be up higher on the list.

7. Did I mention sleep?

8. Catch up on a few movies/tv shows I'm behind on.

9. Cleaning...

10. I have an online project that I've been trying to work on for over a year. It's been going slower than a snail.

11. Figure out bus routes so I can take the kids to places on their days off, during vacation, and next summer. We have a somewhat decent bus system. I need to figure out how to make it work FOR us, even though I'll probably never be able to take it to work.

12. Work on cooking and baking. I used to really like to cook, and I don't totally suck at it. I just never seem to have time.

13. Remember sleeping, exercise and cleaning?

The Tire-Gauge Solution

2008-08-08T13:25:00.003-06:00

I ran across this on Yahoo earlier in the week. It's written by a journalist for TIME magazine, which I don't normally read, but since I'm starting to try to make up my mind about who to vote for, it caught my eye. Personally, I still think that if Obama and McCain just ran together, nothing would stand in their way. Yes, feel free to get your torches and pitchforks out now... but give me a GOOD reason why that wouldn't work, not the usual crap that both sides can't work together or shouldn't work together. This IS the 21st century remember?

By MICHAEL GRUNWALDMon Aug 4, 5:50 PM ET

How out of touch is Barack Obama? He's so out of touch that he suggested that if all Americans inflated their tires properly and took their cars for regular tune-ups, they could save as much oil as new offshore drilling would produce. Gleeful Republicans have made this their daily talking point, Rush Limbaugh is having a field day, and the Republican National Committee is sending tire gauges labeled "Barack Obama's Energy Plan" to Washington reporters.

But who's really out of touch? The Bush administration estimates that expanded offshore drilling could increase oil production by 200,000 barrels per day by 2030. We use about 20 million barrels per day, so that would meet about 1% of our demand two decades from now. Meanwhile, efficiency experts say that keeping tires inflated can improve gas mileage by 3%, and regular maintenance can add another 4%. Many drivers already follow their advice, but if everyone else did, we could reduce demand several percentage points immediately. In other words: Obama is right.

Politics ain't beanbag, and Obama has defended himself against worse smears. The real problem with the attacks on his tire-gauge plan is that efforts to improve conservation and efficiency happen to be the best approaches to dealing with the energy crisis - the cheapest, cleanest, quickest and easiest ways to ease our addiction to oil, reduce our pain at the pump and address global warming. It's a pretty simple concept: if our use of fossil fuels is increasing our reliance on Middle Eastern dictators while destroying the planet, maybe we ought to use less.

The RNC is trying to make the tire gauge a symbol of unseriousness, as if only the fatuous believed we could reduce our dependence on foreign oil without doing the bidding of Big Oil. But the tire gauge is really a symbol of a very serious piece of good news: We can use significantly less energy without significantly changing our lifestyle. The energy guru Amory Lovins has shown that investment in "nega-watts" - reduced electricity use through efficiency improvements - is much more cost-effective than investment in new megawatts, and the same is clearly true of nega-barrels. It might not fit the worldviews of right-wing global-warming denyers who insist that reducing emissions would destroy our economy, or left-wing earth-firsters who insist that maintaining our creature comforts would destroy the world, but there's a lot of simple things we can do on the demand side before we start rushing to ratchet up supply.

We can use those twisty carbon fluorescent light bulbs. We can unplug our televisions, computers and phone chargers when we're not using them. We can seal our windows, install more insulation and adjust our thermostats so that we waste less heat and air conditioning. We can use more efficient appliances, build more efficient homes and drive more efficient cars, preferably with government assistance. And yes, we can inflate our tires and tune our engines, as Republican governors Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and Charlie Crist of Florida have urged, apparently without consulting the RNC. While we're at it, we can cut down on idling, which can improve fuel economy another 5%, and cut down on speeding and unnecessary acceleration, which can increase mileage as much as 20%.

And that's just the low-hanging fruit. There are other ways to reduce demand for oil - more public transportation, more carpooling, more telecommuting, more recycling, less exurban sprawl, fewer unnecessary car trips, buying less stuff and eating less meat - that would require at least some lifestyle changes. But things like tire gauges can reduce gas bills and carbon emissions now, with little pain and little cost, and without the ecological problems and oil-addiction problems associated with offshore drilling. They're the proverbial win-win-win solutions, reducing the pain of $100 trips to the gas station by reducing trips to the gas station. And Americans are already starting to adopt them, ditching SUV's, buying hybrids, reducing overall gas consumption. It's hard to see why anyone who isn't affiliated with the oil industry would discourage them.

Of course, in recent years, the Republican Party has been affiliated with the oil industry. It was the oilman Dick Cheney who dismissed conservation as a mere sign of "personal virtue," not a basis for energy policy. It was the oilman George W. Bush who resisted efforts to regulate carbon emissions. And most congressional Republicans have been even more reliable water-carriers for the industry's interests.

John McCain has been a notable exception. He is not an oilman, he has pushed to regulate carbon emissions, and he opposed Bush's pork-stuffed energy bill, which Obama supported. He also opposed efforts to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and until recently opposed new offshore drilling. But now that gas prices have spiked, McCain is running for President on a drill-first platform, and polls suggest that most Americans agree with him. It's sad to see his campaign adopting the politics of the tire gauge, promoting the fallacy that Americans are powerless to address their own energy problems. Because the truth is: Yes, we can. We already are.

Thursday Thirteen - August Holidays

2008-08-07T22:58:00.001-06:00

Between Zachary's birthday on the 5th to the start of the school year, August is a really busy month!

1. Pie Day (Minnesota), Blueberry Festival (Pennsylvania), Corn Festival (California), Seafood Festival (Rhode Island) and Chili Pepper Festival (Ohio) - August 1

2. Lammas/Lughnasadh - August 1

3. Friendship Day - August 3

4. Coast Guard Day - August 4

5. Colorado Day - August 4 (hmmm... I don't remember much going on that day!)

6. Pickle Festival (Indiana), Sweet Corn Festival (Illinois) - August 7. Wow! Summer really is the time for all the food festivals!

7. St. Lawrence Feast Day - August 10

8. Left-Handers Day - August 13. I'll have to remind my daughter she has a whole day of her own...

9. 1st Day of School - August 14! I don't know about any of you, but my kids are sick of each other...

10. Raksha Bandham (Hindu)- August 16

11. 1st Day of School/Kindergarten - August 21 Yes, this will be a holiday (maybe a little bittersweet) in my house. Maybe I'll actually get some cleaning done after that...

12. National Park Day - August 25

13. Toasted Marshmallow Day - August 30 Cool!!! Any reason to set marshmallows on fire, blow them out and eat them is ok with me!!!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-08-06T19:03:00.001-06:00

Lammas bread!

Thursday Thirteen - Movies, Books and Interesting Summer Stuff

2008-07-31T07:01:00.003-06:00

There are all sorts of very interesting books and movies out this summer, not to mention what's coming up for the fall!

1. The Dark Knight - I think this was one of the most anticipated films of the summer. Heath Ledger was stunning and frightening as the Joker. Christian Bale was perfect as Batman, and Gary Oldman is awesome as Lt./Commissioner Gordon. One thing - IT IS NOT A MOVIE FOR KIDS. It is very, very dark. In fact it is dark enough that I'm not sure I want to sit through it again, even though I thought it was excellent.

2. WALL-E - My kids have seen it and loved it, but I've heard a few adults who weren't as thrilled. I've liked all the Pixar movies, granted some more than others, but I'm sure I'll like that one too. I hope it comes out on DVD soon.

3. Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull - This was an amazing return of our favorite archaeologist. Tons of fun!

4. The X-Files: I Want to Believe - I was surprised when I heard that they were making another X-Files movie, but from the accounts I've heard it's a decent flick. I'll update on that when I see it.

5. Get Smart - OK, I admit I was afraid that this was going to be cheesy and rely on a bunch of physical slapstick humor. I was wrong! This was absolutely hilarious. I'd go see it in the theater again if there weren't other movies I also still want to go see!

6. Hellboy II: The Golden Army - If you're any sort of fan of comic book movies, you're in for a treat this summer. Ron Perlman is enjoyable to watch in most everything he's in, and Hellboy is no exception. If you enjoyed the first one, you'll definitely enjoy this!

7. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - Yes, this movie will probably be cheesy. It's ok. I think it's going to be fun!

8. Wanted - Angelina Jolie is a very talented actress, but I think I like the movies where she gets to be a bad ass the most. She's a ruthless assassin in this movie, and the action is absolutely non-stop!

9. Iron Man - What a kick off to the summer this movie was!!! If you didn't see this movie on the big screen, you really missed out. I can't wait for this to come to DVD!!!

10. Blood Noir by Laurell K. Hamilton - This new book in the Anita Blake series is enthralling. A few of her more recent books in the series have been very heavy on the sex, but this starts to make a turn back toward the suspense aspect that I always really enjoyed in her books. I've already read through it twice.

11. Undead and Unworthy by MaryJanice Davidson - Are you starting to see a trend? Queen Betsy is back in the seventh installment in her "Undead" series. I'm looking forward to reading it.

12. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer - If you've read Twilight, you've probably noticed that her latest (and last) book in the series comes out on August 1. Barnes and Noble is even doing release parties for the book!

13. Turbulent Sea (Drake Sisters Series #6) - Christine Feehan has added another series to her Carpathian and Ghostwalker series. The Drake sisters carry on the family legacy of magic. Each book has been about a different sister, with this one being about Joley. The action and suspense (not to mention the romance) has been heating up for a few books. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to decide what to read first!

I'm sure there are other books and movies coming out that I haven't mentioned, but I'm out of room!

Wordless Wednesday - Summer Fun!

2008-07-23T23:04:00.004-06:00

I got a new hairdo today.

Here's the back:

And I got a pedicure!!

I just had to laugh at this:

Thursday Thirteen - July Holidays

2008-07-17T23:57:00.001-06:00

Fireworks! One of my favorite things to watch! Too bad I didn't get to this year...

1. Canada Day - July 1

2. Wildflower Festival (Colorado) - July 7

3. Statehood Day (Wyoming) - July 10

4. Bastille Day - July 14

5. Shark Awareness Day - July 19

6. Monkey Day - July 21

7. Feast Day of St. Mary Magdalene - July 22

8. Coffee Day!!! - July 24

9. Tomato Festival (Tennessee) - July 25

10. Parents' Day - July 27

11. Lasagna Day - July 29

12. Cheesecake Day - July 30

13. Feast Day of St. Ignatius of Loyola - July 31

Wordless Wednesday

2008-07-09T23:01:00.002-06:00

A song I've had in my head recently:

This song is kind of twisted, but it makes me laugh.

Random things

2008-07-09T12:16:00.002-06:00

I've updated my blog again. What do you think?

This summer has been very busy. I've tried to make sure that the kids don't have too many lazy days, although this week we're taking a few. Swim lessons, day trips, geocaching, and movies have all kept us busy, not to mention voluntary and mandatory overtime. I'm starting to look forward to the kids going back to school, even though it's nice to see them relaxing.

I've had my own stresses these last few weeks. I've had a friend and his wife die, and left with a lot of questions, most of which will go unanswered. It's sad that he couldn't find the help he obviously needed, since now they'll never see their daughter grow up. I wish he had felt safe enough to reach out, and I hate seeing and hearing the comments that have been made about the whole thing.

Besides that, we got a new french door to replace the sliding glass door that the dog had learned how to UNLOCK and OPEN. She's already ruined the screen and the metal dog guard trying to get out of the house, as well as two of the main floor window screens. After she jumped out of the 2nd story bedroom window and ripped that screen as well as her leg (10 staples and an urgent vet visit) we've decided that we either have to shut her in the basement if it's cool enough to have the windows open, take her with us if we can, or keep everything shut up and run the expensive a/c. The vet thinks she's getting senile, since when she does get out she only wanders within a couple of streets "looking for us". *sigh* It was bound to happen eventually. At the same time, our washer died. Fortunately we got a hand me down from my parents. We also got a dreaded letter from the HOA in our neighborhood. It's our turn to paint our house. Great timing. I know that HOA's are supposed to serve some sort of purpose, but I wish I knew what that was. Oh well, enough rambling for now. Off to rest before work tonight!

Thursday Thirteen

2008-07-03T23:52:00.003-06:00

This will give you a chuckle... unless you happen to be the person the police officer was talking to!

1. "You know, stop lights don't come any redder than the one you just went through."

2. "Relax, the handcuffs are tight because they're new. They'll stretch after you wear them a while."

3. "If you run, you'll only go to jail tired."

4. "You don't know how fast you were going? I guess that means I can write anything I want on the ticket, huh?"

5. "Yes sir, you can talk to the shift supervisor, but I don't think it will help. Oh did I mention that I'm the shift supervisor?"

6. "Warning! You want a warning? OK, I'm warning you not to do that again or I'll give you another ticket."

7. "The answer to this next question will determine whether you are drunk or not. Was Mickey Mouse a cat or a dog?"

8. "Fair? You want me to be fair? Listen, fair is a place where you go to ride on rides, eat cotton candy and corn dogs and step in monkey poop."

9. "Yeah, we have a quota. Two more tickets and my wife gets a toaster oven."

10. "In God we trust, all others we run through NCIC."

11. "How big were those 'two beers' you say you had?"

12. "No sir, we don't have quotas anymore. We used to, but now we're allowed to write as many tickets as we can.

13. "I'm glad to hear that the Chief (of Police) is a personal friend of yours. It's good to know someone who can post your bail."

Wordless Wednesday

2008-07-02T23:23:00.003-06:00

Rest in peace Tiffany and William - I'll miss you guys.

Wordless Wednesday - baseball and kids

2008-06-25T23:13:00.002-06:00

Thursday Thirteen

2008-06-19T01:41:00.001-06:00

The American Film Institute released their list of top 10 greatest movies in 10 classic genres. Here's 13 toppers from their lists:

Animation
1. Snow White

2. Pinocchio

3. Bambi

Westerns
4. The Searchers

5. High Noon

6. Shane

Fantasy
7. The Wizard of Oz

8. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring

9. It's a Wonderful Life

Sci-Fi
10. 2001: A Space Odyssey

11. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope

12. E.T. - The Extra Terrestrial

Gangster
13. The Godfather (Is anyone surprised?)

Wordless Wednesday - more Legos

2008-06-18T01:36:00.001-06:00

Thursday Thirteen - You know you're from Denver when...

2008-06-12T23:43:00.002-06:00

1. You identify directions by the location of the mountains.

2. You've been tear gassed in a riot to celebrate a team's victory.

3. When visiting friends at sea level, you can drink a case of beer and not get a buzz. You also only have to breathe about 6 times a minute.

4. Snow in June is not unheard of, and neither is 100 degree weather.

5. You scoff at the weathermen on tv, especially when they give a 5-day forecast.

6. "Timberline" is somewhere you've actually been many times.

7. You know what a "Chinook" is.

8. You know what a "fourteener" is.

9. You know what a "Rocky Mountain Oyster" is, and you try to get your out-of-state friends to try one.

10. "Wildlife" means more than just squirrels and pigeons. You DON'T stop and look when you see deer.

11. If the humidity gets above 25%, you think it's muggy.

12. During a thunderstorm you wonder which underpass of I-25 is flooding.

13. You have been skiing less than 3 times in your life.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-06-11T23:20:00.002-06:00

I'm back!!! And with a Wordless Wednesday that at least partially explains why I haven't been on my computer (for more detail - see below post). Here's a highlight of my day:

Here's Zachary and Isis relaxing on our mountain of clothes that we managed to get washed before the washer died.Here is our neurotic dog Smokey resting after coming home from the vet after getting 10 staples on the inside of one of her rear legs from ripping her third window screen and jumping out of the following window:
Please notice the HEIGHT of this window. Yes, it's on the second story of the damn house. No, she didn't break anything except gashing her leg open on who knows what, no, she didn't break anything, and no, I have no idea how she managed to survive. She was really really damn lucky. No, unfortunately this isn't the only thing to have gone wrong over the past couple of weeks...