Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Today I saw the lawyer who worked with me to settle Jay's estate. I took her the tiny bit of paper I had been sent from Jay's father's estate lawyer, and told her the few things I knew about what was going on. She was aghast. There's a whole bunch of stuff that was supposed to have happened before other things happened, papers to be signed, accountings I should have seen, and so on. She was surprised that all I was sent of the will is the one page that had my name on it, so we don't even know what the date on that page is.
I went to her only because it's looking like the sisters are playing fast and loose, and their lawyer (who was the one complicit in the rewriting of the will when she knew his diagnosis) doesn't seem to know the rules and procedures. So my lawyer is going to make sure they follow the rules, and I'm not cheated. She is going to find a lawyer in Rochester to represent me, through her.
Um, to review - after Jay died, the father-in-law updated his will so that I got Jay's share of his (the FIL's) estate. Before he died, Jay had asked his father to not forget me in his will. Jay had been named as FIL's executor, so he changed it so that I was named as a co-executor with the eldest sister. The eldest sister lives in Virginia, and the other two sisters didn't want to be executors, so I, being in NY and closest to Rochester, was a logical choice.
Then the husband of the youngest sister found out that I was going to get the same share as his wife (in other words, twice as much as HE would "get"), and apparently he flipped out. AFTER the father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, the two younger sisters took him back to the lawyer and had the will rewritten, cutting my share in half, and naming themselves as executors. The eldest sister and I didn't find out about this later will until after the FIL died. Big surprise.
The eldest sister was furious. At that point, the younger sisters said yes, it was after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and yes, he was not competent then and everyone knew it, but if anyone fought this will, they'd spent every cent of the estate defending it and no one would get anything, so there.
Ok.
At first I was angry that they'd do something so underhanded, then I decided it didn't matter that much, and ok, as merely Jay's spouse, half a share is probably quite fair.
But then they started pulling crap. Nothing in the house was appraised or even listed. They just took the good stuff home and threw the crap away. They bought loads of new furniture (sofas, vases, lamps, dining room furniture, bed coverings, curtains, throw pillows, coffee and side tables, rugs) to show the house, charged the new furniture to the estate, and then took that home, too. The house was sold to a neighbor for about a third of its value, or at least that's the number I was told. Travel costs for them and their grown children to attend the funeral are being charged to the estate. All kinds of things are being charged to the estate. They're raiding it. I would not be at all surprised to find that they're paying themselves the maximum executor stipend, too.
So whole bunches of money is being drained from the estate and going into their pockets as "costs", and my portion, which would be out of what's left over, is getting smaller and smaller as a result.
I want to see the final accounting, and my lawyer is going to get it for me, and we're going to raise hell where necessary.
------------------------------
After my doctor's appointment last Thursday and the "emergency" mammogram and ultrasound Friday, they told me that my doctor's office would call me with the results on Wednesday. Tomorrow.
The doctor (not a nurse) called the house at 4:45 today, while I was at the lawyer's office, and I didn't get home until 5:00, after her office had closed, so I couldn't call back. Her message simply said to call her.
Is that a good or bad sign? That she called, rather than a nurse? That she called so close to closing, a day before expected? Like there was no time to waste or something?
Aaaaaaaaaaagh! I hadn't been at all worried, but now I am.
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Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Monday, February 09, 2009
2262 Is It Monday Already?
Monday, February 9, 2009
Nothing much happening. Dropped some stuff off at Daughter's on Saturday. Hercules was on a group hike, and Daughter was in south Jersey kick-starting her father after his Thursday gall bladder surgery, so I just left the stuff on the porch. Haven't heard from her yet. Strange.
Nothing Sunday. Didn't even get dressed.
Today I picked up Jasper from his weekend at the vet's. He's still on the same medicines. They said he's piddling ok, and drinking enough water, but he's got "irritation" from the earlier infection, it hurts, and that's why he piddles small amounts, often, in unapproved places. We are now on a prescription diet. Both cats ate it for dinner, so that's not too bad, I guess.
Droopy feeling. I'll probably go to bed early.
---------------------------------
The difference between men's brains and women's brains - in case anyone wondered:
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuMZ73mT5zM]
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Nothing much happening. Dropped some stuff off at Daughter's on Saturday. Hercules was on a group hike, and Daughter was in south Jersey kick-starting her father after his Thursday gall bladder surgery, so I just left the stuff on the porch. Haven't heard from her yet. Strange.
Nothing Sunday. Didn't even get dressed.
Today I picked up Jasper from his weekend at the vet's. He's still on the same medicines. They said he's piddling ok, and drinking enough water, but he's got "irritation" from the earlier infection, it hurts, and that's why he piddles small amounts, often, in unapproved places. We are now on a prescription diet. Both cats ate it for dinner, so that's not too bad, I guess.
Droopy feeling. I'll probably go to bed early.
---------------------------------
The difference between men's brains and women's brains - in case anyone wondered:
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuMZ73mT5zM]
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Saturday, February 07, 2009
2261 Movie Night; Chocolate Cake for One
Saturday, February 7, 2009
The Man and I had a movie night last night. He had discovered that I'd never seen "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", and he decided that my geekiness needed some education. So he brought his DVD.
I discovered that he'd never seen "The Princess Bride". His geekhood needed some updating too. So I took my DVD.
We watched both.
It was a very nice evening. I do seem to have a very positive reaction to him every time I see him. First glance does it. It's very hard to reconcile that with my annoyance with him between times. First glance, and all is forgiven, all is forgotten. Do they call that chemistry?
--------------------------------
I found this on a Mensa group site:
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
a small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug
Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high). The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
EAT! (This can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).
.
The Man and I had a movie night last night. He had discovered that I'd never seen "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", and he decided that my geekiness needed some education. So he brought his DVD.
I discovered that he'd never seen "The Princess Bride". His geekhood needed some updating too. So I took my DVD.
We watched both.
It was a very nice evening. I do seem to have a very positive reaction to him every time I see him. First glance does it. It's very hard to reconcile that with my annoyance with him between times. First glance, and all is forgiven, all is forgotten. Do they call that chemistry?
--------------------------------
I found this on a Mensa group site:
*5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE*
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
a small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug
Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high). The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
EAT! (This can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).
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Friday, February 06, 2009
2260 City folk worry about maple scent?
Friday, February 6, 2009
From "Newsdroppings", in the Shoebox blog:
"They found the source of the mysterious maple syrup smell in New York City. Turned out to be a seed-processing plant over in Jersey. So now New Yorkers can get back to the good old urine smell."
I'm having trouble imagining why people would call complaining about a maple syrup smell. I guess that's my "mountain girl" persona showing.
.
From "Newsdroppings", in the Shoebox blog:
"They found the source of the mysterious maple syrup smell in New York City. Turned out to be a seed-processing plant over in Jersey. So now New Yorkers can get back to the good old urine smell."
I'm having trouble imagining why people would call complaining about a maple syrup smell. I guess that's my "mountain girl" persona showing.
.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
2259 Ukelele
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps", by George Harrison, on a ukelele in Central Park. This guy's GOOD!
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puSkP3uym5k]
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puSkP3uym5k]
My thoughts on winter.2257 The Doctors
Thursday, February 5, 2009
I just got back from the doctor's office. I got a scolding for not having had a mammogram in like 10 years. (Correction - last one was 2004.) I am scheduled for a mammogram and ultrasound tomorrow. They seemed to consider it an emergency - they called four places to find one that could fit me in.
Isn't that interesting.
The mammo is in the morning, and the ultrasound is at 1:30 pm. Awkward. Jasper's vet appointment is at 1:30, and he really needs to go in because I think his problem is only slightly better.
So I stopped off at the vet's office. Today is the vet's day off, but the nurse is there anyway because there are animals in the back. Now I'm going to take Jasper in early in tomorrow morning, but I won't be able to pick him up tomorrow evening because I'm going to New Jersey, and I really don't want to cancel this particular trip. He'll have to stay there until Monday, but that might be best anyway, since that way they can monitor his fluid intake. He loves to play in water, but I'm not sure how much he actually drinks.
The pace is picking up around here, and I don't like it. I'd rather stay in hibernation.
-------------------
Later - the place I had my previous mammograms has gone out of business, and I have no idea what they may have done with my films. The doctor was a little concerned about that. She wanted previous exams for comparison. However, when Jay was sick, one thing we learned is that you get your own second copies of all MRIs, xrays, blood tests, everything!, so you can carry them around with you. It saves a lot of time, and nothing gets lost.
So, I have copies of my last two mammograms here, in the den, and (it surprised me!) I was able to locate them easily. So, I'm all set.
.
I just got back from the doctor's office. I got a scolding for not having had a mammogram in like 10 years. (Correction - last one was 2004.) I am scheduled for a mammogram and ultrasound tomorrow. They seemed to consider it an emergency - they called four places to find one that could fit me in.
Isn't that interesting.
The mammo is in the morning, and the ultrasound is at 1:30 pm. Awkward. Jasper's vet appointment is at 1:30, and he really needs to go in because I think his problem is only slightly better.
So I stopped off at the vet's office. Today is the vet's day off, but the nurse is there anyway because there are animals in the back. Now I'm going to take Jasper in early in tomorrow morning, but I won't be able to pick him up tomorrow evening because I'm going to New Jersey, and I really don't want to cancel this particular trip. He'll have to stay there until Monday, but that might be best anyway, since that way they can monitor his fluid intake. He loves to play in water, but I'm not sure how much he actually drinks.
The pace is picking up around here, and I don't like it. I'd rather stay in hibernation.
-------------------
Later - the place I had my previous mammograms has gone out of business, and I have no idea what they may have done with my films. The doctor was a little concerned about that. She wanted previous exams for comparison. However, when Jay was sick, one thing we learned is that you get your own second copies of all MRIs, xrays, blood tests, everything!, so you can carry them around with you. It saves a lot of time, and nothing gets lost.
So, I have copies of my last two mammograms here, in the den, and (it surprised me!) I was able to locate them easily. So, I'm all set.
.
2256 Disaster Map
Thursday, February 5, 2009
I found this entirely by accident. It's a map showing all current disasters and potential disasters around the world, including storms, earthquakes, epidemics, erupting volcanos, radiation exposures, and I don't know what all else.
There's a map at the top, and hovering over a marker will give details. Then there's further info lower down on the screen. Fascinating. I haven't had time to explore fully, but plan to later this evening.
It's at http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/
.
I found this entirely by accident. It's a map showing all current disasters and potential disasters around the world, including storms, earthquakes, epidemics, erupting volcanos, radiation exposures, and I don't know what all else.
There's a map at the top, and hovering over a marker will give details. Then there's further info lower down on the screen. Fascinating. I haven't had time to explore fully, but plan to later this evening.
It's at http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/
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Wednesday, February 04, 2009
2255 Nine questions
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Glenn Beck, a radio talk show host (I think, I don't know, the closest I get to talk radio is "Car Talk") has put out a list of nine questions, and has asked that if you agree with at least seven of them, that you send your photo (and those of any of your children, spouse, friends who also agree) to him. It's the February 4 post at his website, the story with "surround" in the title. The reason: "When one caller said he was ready to unplug because he was so frustrated, Glenn asked him to give him a few weeks to prove that he wasn't alone."
Ok.
I agree with at most four of them, maybe only three if I thought about them harder. My reasons for disagreement with the others might be considered picky, so let's take the most obvious one: Question #4, about the family, that ends with "I answer to God", the implication being that where the family is concerned, the parents should not have to answer to anyone else, including the government.
I cannot agree with that, because there are parents who think that they have the right and duty to beat the living crap out of their kids to keep them in line, to put fear of authority and instant obedience into them. There are parents who torture, imprison, and starve children, "for their own good", who marry off 13-year-old girls to old men. I damn well do think that "answering to God" is insufficient!
Too many people interpret God's will to fit their own beliefs.
So, ok, maybe what he is really referring to is things like schooling requirements, vaccinations, medical choices, and so on. But that's not what the statement says, and I'd have a serious problem with anyone who agrees with it blindly just because it sounds nice.
I know too much about the history NOT taught in school to agree with #1.
What's with the last phrase in #2? Read the old book - God never was all sweetness and light.
Isn't #8 in direct conflict with the first amendment? It is not un-American to disagree with anything, including the Constitution and interpretations thereof. In fact, it's almost one's patriotic duty to at least question. (Who wrote #8? Cheney?) If you agree with this one, then women should not be allowed to vote. That certainly was not in the founders' plans. Every one of those amendments, including the first 10, came from someone objecting and raising "un-American" hell.
Laws are government, so #9 conflicts with #5.
...And so on.
I don't understand.
I also find it annoying that he wants to hear only from those who agree with at least seven. Not that any of it really has any meaning. Every person who sends a photo is admitting to an inability to think critically. It's not a proof or demonstration of anything positive. It's an indictment.
.
Glenn Beck, a radio talk show host (I think, I don't know, the closest I get to talk radio is "Car Talk") has put out a list of nine questions, and has asked that if you agree with at least seven of them, that you send your photo (and those of any of your children, spouse, friends who also agree) to him. It's the February 4 post at his website, the story with "surround" in the title. The reason: "When one caller said he was ready to unplug because he was so frustrated, Glenn asked him to give him a few weeks to prove that he wasn't alone."
Ok.
I agree with at most four of them, maybe only three if I thought about them harder. My reasons for disagreement with the others might be considered picky, so let's take the most obvious one: Question #4, about the family, that ends with "I answer to God", the implication being that where the family is concerned, the parents should not have to answer to anyone else, including the government.
I cannot agree with that, because there are parents who think that they have the right and duty to beat the living crap out of their kids to keep them in line, to put fear of authority and instant obedience into them. There are parents who torture, imprison, and starve children, "for their own good", who marry off 13-year-old girls to old men. I damn well do think that "answering to God" is insufficient!
Too many people interpret God's will to fit their own beliefs.
So, ok, maybe what he is really referring to is things like schooling requirements, vaccinations, medical choices, and so on. But that's not what the statement says, and I'd have a serious problem with anyone who agrees with it blindly just because it sounds nice.
I know too much about the history NOT taught in school to agree with #1.
What's with the last phrase in #2? Read the old book - God never was all sweetness and light.
Isn't #8 in direct conflict with the first amendment? It is not un-American to disagree with anything, including the Constitution and interpretations thereof. In fact, it's almost one's patriotic duty to at least question. (Who wrote #8? Cheney?) If you agree with this one, then women should not be allowed to vote. That certainly was not in the founders' plans. Every one of those amendments, including the first 10, came from someone objecting and raising "un-American" hell.
Laws are government, so #9 conflicts with #5.
...And so on.
I don't understand.
I also find it annoying that he wants to hear only from those who agree with at least seven. Not that any of it really has any meaning. Every person who sends a photo is admitting to an inability to think critically. It's not a proof or demonstration of anything positive. It's an indictment.
.
2254 Not going well at all.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
The Hunk came by this morning and showed me how to set and hook up the charger, so Suzy got her restart. Her clock now insists it's 18:88 o'clock, and the outside temperature is -188, and I don't have the faintest idea how to fix that. I drove her around a bit, and dared to actually turn her off at the post office, and she did start again, so I hope she's ok now.
Before he left, the Hunk told me that the battery may not charge to 100%, it might go to 80% and then not charge further, but that's ok. Suzy got to 72% very quickly, but then it wouldn't go any higher. I guess she's going to need a heart transplant soon.
I spent the afternoon sorting papers, trying to pull together everything I need for taxes. There's a lot of pieces of paper that I don't know what to do with. Like companies I had stock in that went under or were bought out. I have the stubs from checks they sent me, but shouldn't there be some kind of 1099? Oh, well. Unfortunately they never tell what the basis is, so I have to figure that out.
I discovered a small problem today, and called my doctor's office to make an appointment, a half-hour before they closed. I haven't been there in three years (I didn't realize that!), so they are considering me a new patient. And yet, when I told her what was wrong, she scheduled me for 3:30 tomorrow. Now I'm worried. But only a little. I don't think it's what she is thinking.
Oh, and it WAS the ceiling light left on that caused Suzy's collapse. I wasn't tall enough to see it, but the Hunk laughed at the melt dimple in the snow on her roof, right over the light.
.
The Hunk came by this morning and showed me how to set and hook up the charger, so Suzy got her restart. Her clock now insists it's 18:88 o'clock, and the outside temperature is -188, and I don't have the faintest idea how to fix that. I drove her around a bit, and dared to actually turn her off at the post office, and she did start again, so I hope she's ok now.
Before he left, the Hunk told me that the battery may not charge to 100%, it might go to 80% and then not charge further, but that's ok. Suzy got to 72% very quickly, but then it wouldn't go any higher. I guess she's going to need a heart transplant soon.
I spent the afternoon sorting papers, trying to pull together everything I need for taxes. There's a lot of pieces of paper that I don't know what to do with. Like companies I had stock in that went under or were bought out. I have the stubs from checks they sent me, but shouldn't there be some kind of 1099? Oh, well. Unfortunately they never tell what the basis is, so I have to figure that out.
I discovered a small problem today, and called my doctor's office to make an appointment, a half-hour before they closed. I haven't been there in three years (I didn't realize that!), so they are considering me a new patient. And yet, when I told her what was wrong, she scheduled me for 3:30 tomorrow. Now I'm worried. But only a little. I don't think it's what she is thinking.
Oh, and it WAS the ceiling light left on that caused Suzy's collapse. I wasn't tall enough to see it, but the Hunk laughed at the melt dimple in the snow on her roof, right over the light.
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Tuesday, February 03, 2009
2253 Not going well....
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
I guess I left the ceiling light on in Suzy yesterday morning. She wouldn't start this afternoon. The Hairless Hunk will be here tomorrow morning to teach me how to use the charger. IF he can make it up the driveway?
I didn't try the charger myself because the "dusting" of snow we were supposed to get this morning turned into a few inches, and it was still coming down at 4 pm, when Suzy crapped out, and I wasn't sure I could use the charger when it's precipitating.
So I walked two miles round trip, in the snow and wind, to take care of some business. Remember I lost my warm gloves (well, one of them)? The fancy "name" replacements left my fingers frozen. I had to buy a pair of work gloves in the deli to put on over the stupid fancy ones to walk home.
And for some reason my water isn't working right. I turn on the faucet and get a trickle. I don't know whether it's the well pump, or that the filter is clogged. I don't think it's a leak anywhere, because when I rest my ear on the faucet, I don't hear water running. I'm afraid to go down to the basement.
Jasper has been taking the medicine for a week now, and he feels better, I guess, because he's more playful, but he's still searching for piddle-places that work better, still piddling often, small amounts. I remember now this is why almost all my cats have been spayed females. The boys seem to have a lot of piddle problems. I'm running out of dry spots to sleep on my bed. Amazing how the piddle dries quickly (I discover it by the smell, and the ring) but the treated spots take forever to dry. If this doesn't stop I may have to cage him.
Today has not been a good day.
Oh, yeah, almost forgot. More language confusion from the internet professional writers:
laps/lapse
who's/whose
revel/reveal
and the ever-popular its/it's.
Not a good day at all.
.
I guess I left the ceiling light on in Suzy yesterday morning. She wouldn't start this afternoon. The Hairless Hunk will be here tomorrow morning to teach me how to use the charger. IF he can make it up the driveway?
I didn't try the charger myself because the "dusting" of snow we were supposed to get this morning turned into a few inches, and it was still coming down at 4 pm, when Suzy crapped out, and I wasn't sure I could use the charger when it's precipitating.
So I walked two miles round trip, in the snow and wind, to take care of some business. Remember I lost my warm gloves (well, one of them)? The fancy "name" replacements left my fingers frozen. I had to buy a pair of work gloves in the deli to put on over the stupid fancy ones to walk home.
And for some reason my water isn't working right. I turn on the faucet and get a trickle. I don't know whether it's the well pump, or that the filter is clogged. I don't think it's a leak anywhere, because when I rest my ear on the faucet, I don't hear water running. I'm afraid to go down to the basement.
Jasper has been taking the medicine for a week now, and he feels better, I guess, because he's more playful, but he's still searching for piddle-places that work better, still piddling often, small amounts. I remember now this is why almost all my cats have been spayed females. The boys seem to have a lot of piddle problems. I'm running out of dry spots to sleep on my bed. Amazing how the piddle dries quickly (I discover it by the smell, and the ring) but the treated spots take forever to dry. If this doesn't stop I may have to cage him.
Today has not been a good day.
Oh, yeah, almost forgot. More language confusion from the internet professional writers:
laps/lapse
who's/whose
revel/reveal
and the ever-popular its/it's.
Not a good day at all.
.
2252 I got rooked.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
You know those converters you have to buy for analog TVs? The one where the government (or somebody) offered $40 off coupons, maximum two per household?
Well, "they" were saying that a limited number of those coupons would be available. Two of my TV sets are analog, so back in May I sent away for two coupons, and when the envelope arrived I put it away, unopened, until I needed them.
Today I opened the envelope. The enclosed letter cautions that they expire 90 days after they're mailed. Mine expired on 8/13/08.
In all those TV announcements, they couldn't find 3 seconds to say there's an expiration date?
I'm out $80, and I'm angry.
.
You know those converters you have to buy for analog TVs? The one where the government (or somebody) offered $40 off coupons, maximum two per household?
Well, "they" were saying that a limited number of those coupons would be available. Two of my TV sets are analog, so back in May I sent away for two coupons, and when the envelope arrived I put it away, unopened, until I needed them.
Today I opened the envelope. The enclosed letter cautions that they expire 90 days after they're mailed. Mine expired on 8/13/08.
In all those TV announcements, they couldn't find 3 seconds to say there's an expiration date?
I'm out $80, and I'm angry.
.
Monday, February 02, 2009
2251 Blogging is a lot like sex....
Monday, February 2, 2009
From The Great Geek Manual:
“Blogging is like Sex” was written by Pipedreamergrey and originally posted to The Great Geek Manual. It may be reposted so long as this notice remains intact. Copyright 2006 Pipedreamergrey.
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From The Great Geek Manual:
- 13. At first, you’re just blogging once every week or two, but it’s not long before you’re doing it a couple of times a day.
12. A lot of kids fool around with blogs in high school but the serious blogging doesn’t start until college.
11. People really only have one good entry at a time, but will often fake multiple entries because they think it makes their readers happy.
10. It hurts when you’ve blogged and the next day your readers pretend like it never happened.
09. You know better than to blog when you’re drunk, but it’s just more fun, even if you do it with topics you wouldn’t have touched when you were sober.
08. The day after you’ve blogged drunk, you’ve got a lot of explaining to do to your regular readers.
07. Men blog like they’ve got an audience, but women like to keep it intimate.
06. You have to vary your technique once in a while, otherwise your readers will loose [sic] [And if you know me it was "sic" enough to make me want to throw up. ~~Silk] interest and you’ll drift apart.
05. When you first start to blog, you don’t ever have any long term readers but all you can ever think about is blogging. After a while, you do find some regular readers, but then blogging becomes a chore and you start to feel guilty if it’s been a while.
04. Most people blog at night, in the privacy of their own homes, but there’s always some jackass strutting around bragging that he prefers to blog in the office at lunch or at the local park…
03. Everyone knows that if he ever did in fact blog in his office or in the park, he was alone and just blogging into his palm.
02. If you haven’t blogged in a while, you reeeaaally start to miss it.
01. And finally, blogging is like sex because it’s incredibly embarrassing when you get caught.
“Blogging is like Sex” was written by Pipedreamergrey and originally posted to The Great Geek Manual. It may be reposted so long as this notice remains intact. Copyright 2006 Pipedreamergrey.
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2250 Has "black" become the new n-word?
Monday, February 2, 2009
Catch this: http://www.splc.org/newsflash.asp?id=1860&year=
Officials at Cuba-Rushford Central School, in Cuba, N.Y., have told a senior that she cannot refer to herself as "black" in the personal memories of her yearbook page because some people might find it offensive. Note that they are not objecting to what she had to say about being black, only the use of that word itself. The principal has suggested that she use the word "unique" instead.
Unique?
Offensive?
I don't understand.
.
Catch this: http://www.splc.org/newsflash.asp?id=1860&year=
Officials at Cuba-Rushford Central School, in Cuba, N.Y., have told a senior that she cannot refer to herself as "black" in the personal memories of her yearbook page because some people might find it offensive. Note that they are not objecting to what she had to say about being black, only the use of that word itself. The principal has suggested that she use the word "unique" instead.
Unique?
Offensive?
I don't understand.
.
2249 Something New
Monday, February 2, 2009
I suppose if I had thought about the subject at all, I'd wouldn't be surprised by this. We all know that drug companies run clinical trials. Jay was in several for his brain cancer. I didn't realize that American pharmaceutical companies ran clinical trials in other countries - especially what are considered "third world" countries. Of course, if I'd thought about it....
In the U.S., patients and families get a lot of detailed information on the medication or treatment on trial, including possible side effects, no matter how rare. If a new, unexpected, side effect shows up, the entire trial is halted because it can run only under the original terms that the patients had agreed to. And if it becomes apparent that the new treatment is not as least as effective as the current standard treatment for this phase of the illness, the trial is halted (which is why for many trials, a patient is not accepted if the standard treatment is working).
I can't help wondering if the above requirements are upheld in the other countries that the pharmaceutical companies select for clinical trials.
This synopsis from the Wall Street Journal outlines a complaint filed by 88 Nigerian families against Pfizer, that the company had tested a new drug on their children without their knowledge or permission.
That "any deaths or injuries ... direct result of the illness" bit bothers me. If the new antibiotic didn't work, then the children died of the meningitis. Yeah. But if they would not have died had they gotten the standard treatment, then maybe they didn't die from the new meds, but they certainly died of the trial.
I need to know what Pfizer considers informed consent, and whether such consent takes into consideration issues of the consenting parties' sophistication and willingness to accept the dictates of authority figures.
Or maybe I just have an overdeveloped suspicion of authority figures.
.
I suppose if I had thought about the subject at all, I'd wouldn't be surprised by this. We all know that drug companies run clinical trials. Jay was in several for his brain cancer. I didn't realize that American pharmaceutical companies ran clinical trials in other countries - especially what are considered "third world" countries. Of course, if I'd thought about it....
In the U.S., patients and families get a lot of detailed information on the medication or treatment on trial, including possible side effects, no matter how rare. If a new, unexpected, side effect shows up, the entire trial is halted because it can run only under the original terms that the patients had agreed to. And if it becomes apparent that the new treatment is not as least as effective as the current standard treatment for this phase of the illness, the trial is halted (which is why for many trials, a patient is not accepted if the standard treatment is working).
I can't help wondering if the above requirements are upheld in the other countries that the pharmaceutical companies select for clinical trials.
This synopsis from the Wall Street Journal outlines a complaint filed by 88 Nigerian families against Pfizer, that the company had tested a new drug on their children without their knowledge or permission.
...
In the ruling, the majority and dissent, notes the NYLJ, differed over whether the families’ claims that their children had been subjected to medical experimentation without their consent fell within the Alien Tort Statute, the 1789 law that gives foreigners the right to raise tort claims in federal court to vindicate violations of “the laws of nations.”
In a statement, Pfizer said its 1996 clinical study was conducted with the consent of the children’s parents and “was consistent with both international and Nigerian laws.” Any deaths or injuries were “the direct result of the illness, and not the treatment provided to patients in the Pfizer study,” the company stated.
...
That "any deaths or injuries ... direct result of the illness" bit bothers me. If the new antibiotic didn't work, then the children died of the meningitis. Yeah. But if they would not have died had they gotten the standard treatment, then maybe they didn't die from the new meds, but they certainly died of the trial.
I need to know what Pfizer considers informed consent, and whether such consent takes into consideration issues of the consenting parties' sophistication and willingness to accept the dictates of authority figures.
Or maybe I just have an overdeveloped suspicion of authority figures.
.
Sunday, February 01, 2009
2248 More eBay Seller Advice
Sunday, February 1, 2009
As we all know, S-M-L as sizing doesn't have a lot of meaning unless you already know the brand well, or unless it's very stretchy fabric. Most eBay sellers know that they have to actually measure clothing (bust, waist, hips, length) and put those numbers in the description. I won't buy anything without the measurements.
However, there's one thing many people seem to forget - or maybe they're not aware of it.
The distance from the shoulder to under the bust (down the front) is a LOT longer on a 40" than on a 32". If it's like 10" for a 32 then it would be like 14" for a 40, because the 40 sticks out more. Common geometry. So when you measure a fitted top, and you get 41" around, that does NOT necessarily mean it will fit a 40" bust! You need that shoulder to underbust measurement, too.
I've been lengthening the straps and shoulder pieces on a lot of fitted-top nighties lately, to drop that underseam. The sellers claimed things would fit me, but the bottom bust seam comes right across the middle, not under the bottom. Yeah, I can button the front buttons, but only if I boost the girls up until they're bumping my chin. They're too old for that kind of foolishness. Blech!
Well, at least I know what additional question to ask now.
.
As we all know, S-M-L as sizing doesn't have a lot of meaning unless you already know the brand well, or unless it's very stretchy fabric. Most eBay sellers know that they have to actually measure clothing (bust, waist, hips, length) and put those numbers in the description. I won't buy anything without the measurements.
However, there's one thing many people seem to forget - or maybe they're not aware of it.
The distance from the shoulder to under the bust (down the front) is a LOT longer on a 40" than on a 32". If it's like 10" for a 32 then it would be like 14" for a 40, because the 40 sticks out more. Common geometry. So when you measure a fitted top, and you get 41" around, that does NOT necessarily mean it will fit a 40" bust! You need that shoulder to underbust measurement, too.
I've been lengthening the straps and shoulder pieces on a lot of fitted-top nighties lately, to drop that underseam. The sellers claimed things would fit me, but the bottom bust seam comes right across the middle, not under the bottom. Yeah, I can button the front buttons, but only if I boost the girls up until they're bumping my chin. They're too old for that kind of foolishness. Blech!
Well, at least I know what additional question to ask now.
.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
2247 Stuff I've Found
Saturday, January 31, 2009
This video cracks me up.
Mean Automakers Dash Nation's Hope For Flying Cars
--------------------
This post cracks me up. Johnny Virgil of "15 Minute Lunch" went to a conference in Orlando. The mental image of the escalator incident is itself worth the read.
--------------------
I use an online TV guide. I looked to see what was on at 9 pm, and noticed this entry:
Hmmm. Original air date was 1969, and it's an update of a version aired 10 years later. I'm confused. Time warp?
.
This video cracks me up.
Mean Automakers Dash Nation's Hope For Flying Cars
--------------------
This post cracks me up. Johnny Virgil of "15 Minute Lunch" went to a conference in Orlando. The mental image of the escalator incident is itself worth the read.
--------------------
I use an online TV guide. I looked to see what was on at 9 pm, and noticed this entry:
9:00pm - 10:00pm, WTENR (10.3)Battlestar Galactica
An interstellar warship protects survivors of a decimated civilization with a race of android predators in hot pursuit in this dark update of the 1978-80 space adventure.
- Original Airdate: December 31, 1969
Hmmm. Original air date was 1969, and it's an update of a version aired 10 years later. I'm confused. Time warp?
.
Friday, January 30, 2009
2246 My head just exploded
Friday, January 30, 2009
I just got this email from a cube-bound friend who works for a large financial company:
The woman on the other side of the wall from me said "Christian Scientist are really Muslims, just like the Hindus".
I fear for the future of this nation.
.
I just got this email from a cube-bound friend who works for a large financial company:
The woman on the other side of the wall from me said "Christian Scientist are really Muslims, just like the Hindus".
I fear for the future of this nation.
.
2245 My head is spinning
Friday, January 30, 2009
The woman who had octuplets had, according to one story, taken fertility drugs to get pregnant, and according to another had multiple embryos implanted and they all "took".
Ok, I can understand fertility treatments when there's a history of infertiltiy. However, I just heard that she already has six children at home, ages 2, 2 (twins), 3, 5, 6, and 7.
Now I don't understand.
She already had more children than most people would choose. She has already proven (presumably) the capability to produce implantable eggs. She had twins two years ago, one year before starting the treatment. She's not approaching menopause. She lives with her parents and her six children. There has so far been no mention of a husband.***(see update below)
So I don't understand how she could have been approved for fertility treatments, AT ALL! They should have known what would happen, plus the doctors should have been aware via ultrasound of the number of follicles that had ripened, that it was an unsafe number, and that they should stop and try again next month. I don't understand.
The only thing I can think of that comes anywhere close to (but not quite) justifying fertility treatments under those conditions is that she had remarried a man who had no children, and he wanted one, and it wasn't happening naturally fast enough for him. But there's no mention anywhere of a husband.***
What the hell was going on? Is she a baby-collector, like those folks who collect stray animals? Is she mentally ill? Is she playing the welfare system? Her doctors should be responsible for supporting those kids.
This is totally wrong wrong wrong!
My head is spinning.
------------------
***Update: This says there's a husband, a contract worker due to return to Iraq.
***Even Later Update: Nope. There's an Ex, but he has nothing to do with the kids. The contract worker mentioned is the woman's father.
.
The woman who had octuplets had, according to one story, taken fertility drugs to get pregnant, and according to another had multiple embryos implanted and they all "took".
Ok, I can understand fertility treatments when there's a history of infertiltiy. However, I just heard that she already has six children at home, ages 2, 2 (twins), 3, 5, 6, and 7.
Now I don't understand.
She already had more children than most people would choose. She has already proven (presumably) the capability to produce implantable eggs. She had twins two years ago, one year before starting the treatment. She's not approaching menopause. She lives with her parents and her six children. There has so far been no mention of a husband.***(see update below)
So I don't understand how she could have been approved for fertility treatments, AT ALL! They should have known what would happen, plus the doctors should have been aware via ultrasound of the number of follicles that had ripened, that it was an unsafe number, and that they should stop and try again next month. I don't understand.
The only thing I can think of that comes anywhere close to (but not quite) justifying fertility treatments under those conditions is that she had remarried a man who had no children, and he wanted one, and it wasn't happening naturally fast enough for him. But there's no mention anywhere of a husband.***
What the hell was going on? Is she a baby-collector, like those folks who collect stray animals? Is she mentally ill? Is she playing the welfare system? Her doctors should be responsible for supporting those kids.
This is totally wrong wrong wrong!
My head is spinning.
------------------
***Update: This says there's a husband, a contract worker due to return to Iraq.
***Even Later Update: Nope. There's an Ex, but he has nothing to do with the kids. The contract worker mentioned is the woman's father.
.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
2244 Ice
Thursday, January 29, 2009
I found 2 solid inches of ice on the driveway this morning. The lower part that gets the sun was almost all melted, but the upper sections were a perfect skating rink. No winter sun ever gets there. I walked down to check how bad it was, and even walking on the roughest parts I almost slid down several times.
I'd left the Aerio at the top of the drive, and decided to chance it. I figured if she started to slide, she'd go into the snowbanks on the side, and I'd figure out then what to do about that.
I'm so proud of her. She didn't slip once. The brakes didn't much work, but the steering did, and she rolled smoothly.
I went to the pet supply store to get the pill-pocket treats for Jasper. The lady behind the counter raved about them. I bought about three times as much as I figured I'd need, planning to give some pill-less to Jasper as treats, so he'd be more likely to take them with a pill. I got both chicken and fish, hoping he'd like at least one of the flavors.
Uh uh. He's not interested in either. He sniffed them and looked at me like he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with them. Mother is not happy.
On the way back from the pet store I stopped at two places where I used to get someone to spread gravel or sand on the driveway. It's been several years since I've needed that, and neither place does it any more. So then I went to the bank to get some cash, and as I pulled into the parking lot there was a guy climbing into a truck with a plow on the front and a sand spreader on the back. So I rolled the window down and asked.
He followed me home, and I now have a mix of sand and salt on the ice. I'm not too happy about the salt, but beggars ... etc. That was definitely a bit of luck.
.
I found 2 solid inches of ice on the driveway this morning. The lower part that gets the sun was almost all melted, but the upper sections were a perfect skating rink. No winter sun ever gets there. I walked down to check how bad it was, and even walking on the roughest parts I almost slid down several times.
I'd left the Aerio at the top of the drive, and decided to chance it. I figured if she started to slide, she'd go into the snowbanks on the side, and I'd figure out then what to do about that.
I'm so proud of her. She didn't slip once. The brakes didn't much work, but the steering did, and she rolled smoothly.
I went to the pet supply store to get the pill-pocket treats for Jasper. The lady behind the counter raved about them. I bought about three times as much as I figured I'd need, planning to give some pill-less to Jasper as treats, so he'd be more likely to take them with a pill. I got both chicken and fish, hoping he'd like at least one of the flavors.
Uh uh. He's not interested in either. He sniffed them and looked at me like he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with them. Mother is not happy.
On the way back from the pet store I stopped at two places where I used to get someone to spread gravel or sand on the driveway. It's been several years since I've needed that, and neither place does it any more. So then I went to the bank to get some cash, and as I pulled into the parking lot there was a guy climbing into a truck with a plow on the front and a sand spreader on the back. So I rolled the window down and asked.
He followed me home, and I now have a mix of sand and salt on the ice. I'm not too happy about the salt, but beggars ... etc. That was definitely a bit of luck.
.
2243 Realization
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Yesterday I wrote:
"Well, since his vet visit, I've given Jasper two doses of the pills and one of the liquid. He struggles and fights, but without biting or scratching. His struggling seems to be more just registering a strong objection. I'm sure if he wanted to get away, he could. I think he trusts that I won't hurt him, but he has to struggle to preserve his autonomy."
Today I read it, and realized that the italicized part applies to The Man, too.
Then I said of Jasper: "He is such a good boy."
I'll accept independence asserting behavior from a cat that I won't accept from a man? Neither of them want me to mother them. I guess I'll have to think about that.
.
Yesterday I wrote:
"Well, since his vet visit, I've given Jasper two doses of the pills and one of the liquid. He struggles and fights, but without biting or scratching. His struggling seems to be more just registering a strong objection. I'm sure if he wanted to get away, he could. I think he trusts that I won't hurt him, but he has to struggle to preserve his autonomy."
Today I read it, and realized that the italicized part applies to The Man, too.
Then I said of Jasper: "He is such a good boy."
I'll accept independence asserting behavior from a cat that I won't accept from a man? Neither of them want me to mother them. I guess I'll have to think about that.
.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
2242 Feeling Weird
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
I've been feeling strange lately. It's been growing slowly for the past week or more. It's a "wrong" feeling in my middle. Sometimes I feel hollow. Sometimes full. Sometimes weak in the legs. Weak and tired all over, but if I just get up and go, I can do anything I need to, so maybe it's not real.
If I had to label it, I'd say it feels like fear.
.
I've been feeling strange lately. It's been growing slowly for the past week or more. It's a "wrong" feeling in my middle. Sometimes I feel hollow. Sometimes full. Sometimes weak in the legs. Weak and tired all over, but if I just get up and go, I can do anything I need to, so maybe it's not real.
If I had to label it, I'd say it feels like fear.
.
2241 Driveway
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
By early afternoon there was 7.5 inches of snow, and then the sky paused, and I knew it was about to start raining. The snow-thrower can't handle rain-soaked snow, and I certainly don't want slush to freeze, so I got out there and cleared.
The snow thrower was fantastic! It started right up, allowed me to drop the choke to the bottom, made powerful roaring sounds, and threw the snow further than it has since its first year in service. Wonderful! I hadn't noticed the reduction in throwing distance. I had pretty much accepted that on the wider parts I'd have to throw the same snow two or three times to work it over to the sides. Today it was blasting it halfway into the woods.
By the time I finished it was starting to rain hard. I was wet all the way through to my underwear.
-----------------------
Well, since his vet visit, I've given Jasper two doses of the pills and one of the liquid. He struggles and fights, but without biting or scratching. His struggling seems to be more just registering a strong objection. I'm sure if he wanted to get away, he could. I think he trusts that I won't hurt him, but he has to struggle to preserve his autonomy.
He is such a good boy.
.
By early afternoon there was 7.5 inches of snow, and then the sky paused, and I knew it was about to start raining. The snow-thrower can't handle rain-soaked snow, and I certainly don't want slush to freeze, so I got out there and cleared.
The snow thrower was fantastic! It started right up, allowed me to drop the choke to the bottom, made powerful roaring sounds, and threw the snow further than it has since its first year in service. Wonderful! I hadn't noticed the reduction in throwing distance. I had pretty much accepted that on the wider parts I'd have to throw the same snow two or three times to work it over to the sides. Today it was blasting it halfway into the woods.
By the time I finished it was starting to rain hard. I was wet all the way through to my underwear.
-----------------------
Well, since his vet visit, I've given Jasper two doses of the pills and one of the liquid. He struggles and fights, but without biting or scratching. His struggling seems to be more just registering a strong objection. I'm sure if he wanted to get away, he could. I think he trusts that I won't hurt him, but he has to struggle to preserve his autonomy.
He is such a good boy.
.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
2240 I Lose My Cool
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
I have reached the end of my rope. It's time to start screaming.
To quote Conde Nast: "How will Wall Street be defined in an era of contained compensation and greater government over site?"
Aren't they supposed to have fancy-pants writers and editors and (good grief) proofreaders? That's inexcusable. If it's supposed to be a pun, I don't get it.
How can a professional writer not know the difference between these words:
site/sight
lose/loose
enormity/enormousness
to/too
problematic/a problem
quite/quiet
moot/mute
- all of which confusion I have seen within the past 24 hours from people who consider themselves pros!
You are not professional if you don't know how to use your tools!
----------------------------
Computers have raised writing to a new low.
----------------------------
We're supposed to get snow, 6 to 12 inches or more, starting tonight and continuing through tomorrow. My snowthrower has been in the shop for the past 10 days. I was making "snowed in" plans and collecting phone numbers of plowers this morning, when the guy from the shop pulled in and unloaded the snowthrower. I told him I appreciated his timing.
I'm glad I was here when he arrived. He started it up, and it sounds a lot stronger, steadier. Then I noticed the oil running down the side under the motor. A lot of oil.
We couldn't figure out where it was coming from. We checked the dipstick, and it was higher than the "full" mark, so I'm hoping it was just overflow. The guy was willing to take it back, but if he did, and I have to deal with a foot of snow without it, that's a guarantee there'll be nothing wrong with it.
I guess I'll find out tomorrow. Either it will run smoothly, or it will freeze up and explode. I can hardly wait to find out which.
---------------------------
Jasper got home a bit before 2 pm. Yup, UTI. He'll get Metacam liquid once a day (in a squirty syringe), and Ammonil tables twice a day. I was hoping all the medicine would be liquid. I don't know how well he will take pills (and I'm very good at the shoving down the throat bit), but Jasper being smart and strong, he might be better at avoiding it. After the first pill, I might not be able to catch him for the next ten days. He's way too smart to be lured with tuna fish.
He's cute when he's suspicious, by the way. He squints his eyes, furrows his brow, sticks his lower jaw forward, lowers his body and tail, and you can almost hear the gears switching into reverse. I've lived with many cats over the years, and except for Smokey (I swear she was half human), he's the most expressive I've known.
.
I have reached the end of my rope. It's time to start screaming.
To quote Conde Nast: "How will Wall Street be defined in an era of contained compensation and greater government over site?"
Aren't they supposed to have fancy-pants writers and editors and (good grief) proofreaders? That's inexcusable. If it's supposed to be a pun, I don't get it.
How can a professional writer not know the difference between these words:
site/sight
lose/loose
enormity/enormousness
to/too
problematic/a problem
quite/quiet
moot/mute
- all of which confusion I have seen within the past 24 hours from people who consider themselves pros!
You are not professional if you don't know how to use your tools!
----------------------------
Computers have raised writing to a new low.
----------------------------
We're supposed to get snow, 6 to 12 inches or more, starting tonight and continuing through tomorrow. My snowthrower has been in the shop for the past 10 days. I was making "snowed in" plans and collecting phone numbers of plowers this morning, when the guy from the shop pulled in and unloaded the snowthrower. I told him I appreciated his timing.
I'm glad I was here when he arrived. He started it up, and it sounds a lot stronger, steadier. Then I noticed the oil running down the side under the motor. A lot of oil.
We couldn't figure out where it was coming from. We checked the dipstick, and it was higher than the "full" mark, so I'm hoping it was just overflow. The guy was willing to take it back, but if he did, and I have to deal with a foot of snow without it, that's a guarantee there'll be nothing wrong with it.
I guess I'll find out tomorrow. Either it will run smoothly, or it will freeze up and explode. I can hardly wait to find out which.
---------------------------
Jasper got home a bit before 2 pm. Yup, UTI. He'll get Metacam liquid once a day (in a squirty syringe), and Ammonil tables twice a day. I was hoping all the medicine would be liquid. I don't know how well he will take pills (and I'm very good at the shoving down the throat bit), but Jasper being smart and strong, he might be better at avoiding it. After the first pill, I might not be able to catch him for the next ten days. He's way too smart to be lured with tuna fish.
He's cute when he's suspicious, by the way. He squints his eyes, furrows his brow, sticks his lower jaw forward, lowers his body and tail, and you can almost hear the gears switching into reverse. I've lived with many cats over the years, and except for Smokey (I swear she was half human), he's the most expressive I've known.
.
2239 Jasper
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Jasper is in the kitty hospital. I think he has a urinary tract infection of some kind, and they can use a special litter there to catch a urine sample. I'm to call at 1pm to find out what they know.
His symptoms:
- searching for new places to piddle, including my bed
- licking "there"
- piddling often, but only a little bit each time
- ears and forehead feel warm
- not eating much
- Miss Thunderfoot is suddenly much more tolerant of him.
I hadn't realized how much we interact. He's been gone 2.5 hours, and I've been missing him for the whole time.
.
Jasper is in the kitty hospital. I think he has a urinary tract infection of some kind, and they can use a special litter there to catch a urine sample. I'm to call at 1pm to find out what they know.
His symptoms:
- searching for new places to piddle, including my bed
- licking "there"
- piddling often, but only a little bit each time
- ears and forehead feel warm
- not eating much
- Miss Thunderfoot is suddenly much more tolerant of him.
I hadn't realized how much we interact. He's been gone 2.5 hours, and I've been missing him for the whole time.
.
2238 eBay Titles
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
I have a lot of experience searching for things on eBay. Some people make it easy to find their item. Some make it hard. I've learned a lot about good and bad titles, and that will come in useful if I ever start selling.
I've learned that a lyrical description of the beauty, features, and virtues of one's thingy is a complete waste of letter count. There's a picture that shows up in the list. Let that photo show the beauty and virtues.
The title should consist mainly of search words. Think of all the words that someone who is looking for your item would put in the search arguments, and put those words in the title.
For example, you have a pink peekaboo lace and chiffon long nightgown for sale. It has embroidery on the fitted underwired bodice, ribbon flowers at the shoulders, pleated skirt, lace around the hem, and the tag says "M". To create a searchable title for that listing, you've got to climb out of your own head, and into the head of someone who might be searching for an item of that type.
If they're looking for something long, pretty and alluring, perhaps seductive, and very feminine, they'll probably love your item. But if you don't use the right words, they may never find it.
Forget "embroidery", "ribbon flowers", "pleats", and all that. Forget hooks like "Valentine" or "gift". Someone searching for a gown like yours is unlikely to be that specific. Words that might get you a hit are more like:
sexy
long
nightgown
gown
lingerie
lace
sheer
satin
...
Let the photo do the rest of the talking. Include the color in the title only if it's different from the photo, or a color that might be a search argument, like "white" or "black". (Some people will search specifically for bridal-looking white, or figure-hiding black.)
The searcher will likely get hundreds if not thousands of hits, so the next challenge is to get them to click on yours. That's where the photo is most important. Choose one that shows the special features of your item - on a figure or manikin, not a hanger or lying on a bed or table, and with a neutral background, not against clutter. That'll catch the eye.
But any searcher can click on only so many items - so to encourage a click, include the size in the title. "S","M", "L", "1X", and so on is ok, but doesn't mean a lot, so please actually measure wherever it matters and include the inches, like "L, 38-40". If the searcher likes the photo and wants a "38", this will almost guarantee a click, because they already know they like the looks, and it will fit.
Forget punctuation in the title. You're listing search arguments, not writing a sentence. Also forget that silly mIXed CaPItaLizAtIOn (I don't understand why anyone would ever do that, anywhere), or the "~"s between every word. Cute doesn't help. If I can't get the info I want without straining, or if the title annoys me, I'm not going to click, because I probably don't want to deal with a ditzy or immature seller.
Now, could someone please list a gown similar to the one I've described (but not so frou-frou), and title it such that I can find it?
.
I have a lot of experience searching for things on eBay. Some people make it easy to find their item. Some make it hard. I've learned a lot about good and bad titles, and that will come in useful if I ever start selling.
I've learned that a lyrical description of the beauty, features, and virtues of one's thingy is a complete waste of letter count. There's a picture that shows up in the list. Let that photo show the beauty and virtues.
The title should consist mainly of search words. Think of all the words that someone who is looking for your item would put in the search arguments, and put those words in the title.
For example, you have a pink peekaboo lace and chiffon long nightgown for sale. It has embroidery on the fitted underwired bodice, ribbon flowers at the shoulders, pleated skirt, lace around the hem, and the tag says "M". To create a searchable title for that listing, you've got to climb out of your own head, and into the head of someone who might be searching for an item of that type.
If they're looking for something long, pretty and alluring, perhaps seductive, and very feminine, they'll probably love your item. But if you don't use the right words, they may never find it.
Forget "embroidery", "ribbon flowers", "pleats", and all that. Forget hooks like "Valentine" or "gift". Someone searching for a gown like yours is unlikely to be that specific. Words that might get you a hit are more like:
sexy
long
nightgown
gown
lingerie
lace
sheer
satin
...
Let the photo do the rest of the talking. Include the color in the title only if it's different from the photo, or a color that might be a search argument, like "white" or "black". (Some people will search specifically for bridal-looking white, or figure-hiding black.)
The searcher will likely get hundreds if not thousands of hits, so the next challenge is to get them to click on yours. That's where the photo is most important. Choose one that shows the special features of your item - on a figure or manikin, not a hanger or lying on a bed or table, and with a neutral background, not against clutter. That'll catch the eye.
But any searcher can click on only so many items - so to encourage a click, include the size in the title. "S","M", "L", "1X", and so on is ok, but doesn't mean a lot, so please actually measure wherever it matters and include the inches, like "L, 38-40". If the searcher likes the photo and wants a "38", this will almost guarantee a click, because they already know they like the looks, and it will fit.
Forget punctuation in the title. You're listing search arguments, not writing a sentence. Also forget that silly mIXed CaPItaLizAtIOn (I don't understand why anyone would ever do that, anywhere), or the "~"s between every word. Cute doesn't help. If I can't get the info I want without straining, or if the title annoys me, I'm not going to click, because I probably don't want to deal with a ditzy or immature seller.
Now, could someone please list a gown similar to the one I've described (but not so frou-frou), and title it such that I can find it?
.
Monday, January 26, 2009
2237 Jury Duty
Monday, January 26, 2009
I had an amusing post a bit ago about how to get out of jury duty (Stink). That post has earned me visits from all over the US and Canada. It seems like a lot of people are looking for ways to disqualify themselves.
That bothers me.
Yeah, jury selection is usually badly managed. You get your notice and go to the room, and then you sit there for hours, knowing full well that when they finally get to you you'll be disqualified because you know the defendant, or you were once in a serious automobile accident, or whatever the automatic disqualifier is this time. But you're not allowed to say that up front. You have to wait until they ask you, which is rather arrogant of the lawyers.
I always wondered why it would be so impossible to send out a questionnaire, or hand you the questionnaire when you arrive and get rid of the obviously unsuitable candidates right away.
It annoys me that people try so hard to get out of it. Yeah, I understand you have to take off work, but there should be some way to compensate for lost salary. The system doesn't do that well. Maybe it should be treated like national guard time off. I consider it a responsibility of citizenship.
It annoys me when I hear people say, "How would you like to be tried by a jury of people too stupid to get out of jury duty?", even as they themselves are working hard to get out. If I were ever on trial, I'd want a jury of intelligent, thoughtful, interested people, who are not impressed with their part in a drama and are willing to make decisions based on facts, not allegiance or emotion. I think every accused deserves that, and I think we all have a responsibility to provide it. If we want to get it, we should be willing to give it.
But many people consider themselves too important to be bothered to provide a fair trial to a fellow citizen, and I think that's terrible.
--------------------------
Airport bars have introduced a new drink called "The Sully". It's 2 shots of Grey Goose with a splash of water and a twist.
.
I had an amusing post a bit ago about how to get out of jury duty (Stink). That post has earned me visits from all over the US and Canada. It seems like a lot of people are looking for ways to disqualify themselves.
That bothers me.
Yeah, jury selection is usually badly managed. You get your notice and go to the room, and then you sit there for hours, knowing full well that when they finally get to you you'll be disqualified because you know the defendant, or you were once in a serious automobile accident, or whatever the automatic disqualifier is this time. But you're not allowed to say that up front. You have to wait until they ask you, which is rather arrogant of the lawyers.
I always wondered why it would be so impossible to send out a questionnaire, or hand you the questionnaire when you arrive and get rid of the obviously unsuitable candidates right away.
It annoys me that people try so hard to get out of it. Yeah, I understand you have to take off work, but there should be some way to compensate for lost salary. The system doesn't do that well. Maybe it should be treated like national guard time off. I consider it a responsibility of citizenship.
It annoys me when I hear people say, "How would you like to be tried by a jury of people too stupid to get out of jury duty?", even as they themselves are working hard to get out. If I were ever on trial, I'd want a jury of intelligent, thoughtful, interested people, who are not impressed with their part in a drama and are willing to make decisions based on facts, not allegiance or emotion. I think every accused deserves that, and I think we all have a responsibility to provide it. If we want to get it, we should be willing to give it.
But many people consider themselves too important to be bothered to provide a fair trial to a fellow citizen, and I think that's terrible.
--------------------------
Airport bars have introduced a new drink called "The Sully". It's 2 shots of Grey Goose with a splash of water and a twist.
.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
2236 The "Done It" meme
Sunday, January 25, 2009
From the looks of this list, I've already done much of what folks want to do, or think they ought to do.
bold = done it
italics = want to
strike = don't mind if I don't, thank you
(comments)
1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3.Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Gave more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to DisneyWorld.
8. Climbed a mountain. (In the French Alps, no less!)
9. Held a praying mantis.
10.Sang a solo.
11.Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15.Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning. (Lost 25% of my weight in 12 hours.)
17. Walked to the top of The Statue of Liberty. (Both times I'd visited, she was closed above the waist. I have walked up the Washington Monument, and have been up in the St. Louis Arch.)
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train. (In a cabin with a bathroom and drop-down bed. Nice.)
21. Had a pillow fight.
22.Hitch hiked.
23.Taken a sick day when you’re not ill.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27.Run a Marathon.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31.Hit a home run..
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34.Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36.Taught yourself a new language.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied.
38.Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39.Gone rock climbing. (Scrambling, yes, but not the kind of climbing with pitons and ropes and stuff.)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David.
41.Sung karaoke.
42. Seen the Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight. (And the sand fleas almost ate us alive.)
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51.Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theatre.
55.Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58.Taken a martial arts class.
59.Visited Russia.
60. Served at a soup kitchen..
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies. (Hated it.)
62. Gone whale watching.
63.Got flowers for no reason. (There's always a reason, even if they're from a stranger.)
64. Donated blood.
65.Gone sky diving.
66.Visited a Nazi Concentration camp.
67.Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten caviar. (Many times, many types, hated it all.)
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job. (First job, summer job as a teen.)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80.Published a book.
81.Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83.Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper.
85.Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating. (Only if fish count.)
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95.Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit.
98. Owned a mobile phone.
99. Been stung by a bee. (... actually hornets, wasps, and yellow jackets.)
100. Read an entire book in one day.
.
From the looks of this list, I've already done much of what folks want to do, or think they ought to do.
bold = done it
italics = want to
(comments)
1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Gave more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to DisneyWorld.
8. Climbed a mountain. (In the French Alps, no less!)
9. Held a praying mantis.
10.
11.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15.
16. Had food poisoning. (Lost 25% of my weight in 12 hours.)
17. Walked to the top of The Statue of Liberty. (Both times I'd visited, she was closed above the waist. I have walked up the Washington Monument, and have been up in the St. Louis Arch.)
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train. (In a cabin with a bathroom and drop-down bed. Nice.)
21. Had a pillow fight.
22.
23.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31.
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied.
38.
39.
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David.
41.
42. Seen the Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight. (And the sand fleas almost ate us alive.)
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theatre.
55.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58.
59.
60. Served at a soup kitchen..
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies. (Hated it.)
62. Gone whale watching.
63.
64. Donated blood.
65.
66.
67.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten caviar. (Many times, many types, hated it all.)
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job. (First job, summer job as a teen.)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80.
81.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper.
85.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating. (Only if fish count.)
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit.
98. Owned a mobile phone.
99. Been stung by a bee. (... actually hornets, wasps, and yellow jackets.)
100. Read an entire book in one day.
.
2235 Metal Me
You Are Copper |
 You are provocative and challenging. You help people realize who they really are. You live a very balanced life. You always take time for love and art. You are both a powerful and generous person. You always have time to give back. People find you to be incredibly ethical and loyal. |
2234 Timely Advice
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Advice for the times:
------------------
You can make posters at http://obamiconme.pastemagazine.com/. Mine didn't come out as clearly as their examples - I don't know how they get all that white on the faces. I get red with every photo I try. If I bring the white up, all features disappear. You do have to register, but it seems innocuous enough. And they produce a ".gif", but there are free conversion sites available to make it a ".jpg". Pardon my lack of enthusiasm.
.jpg)
.
Advice for the times:
------------------
You can make posters at http://obamiconme.pastemagazine.com/. Mine didn't come out as clearly as their examples - I don't know how they get all that white on the faces. I get red with every photo I try. If I bring the white up, all features disappear. You do have to register, but it seems innocuous enough. And they produce a ".gif", but there are free conversion sites available to make it a ".jpg". Pardon my lack of enthusiasm.
.jpg)
.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
2233 State's Rights? And other bits.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations provides that arrested aliens have access to diplomats from their home country. The U.S. ratified it in 1969, including an annex to the treaty under which the U.S. agreed to let the world court resolve disputes over interpretation.
The U.S. insists that foreign countries afford Vienna Convention privileges to Americans in trouble overseas, under the provisions of this treaty. However, the U.S. does NOT ITSELF honor the treaty, because, believe it or not, states are under no obligation to honor the treaty. That's really stupid.
The issue heated up recently when the International Court of Justice unanimously found that the U.S. had violated the Hague tribunal's July order to stay the execution of José MedellÃn, a Mexican convicted in Texas of murder. The court had called for additional judicial hearings to be held to weigh whether he was entitled to a new trial or other relief because local police failed to provide him consular access after arrest, as required by the treaty.
Texas simply ignored the order.
The federal administration says they can't force individual states to obey. So foreign nationals who run afoul of state laws may not be (in most states are not) allowed consular access. That's kind of like if you were arrested and jailed in Yemen for a crime you did not commit, but you were not permitted to contact the U.S. Embassy, because you'd been arrested and charged by local police, not the national police.
Ok, I understand most of it. What I don't understand is that bit about not being able to make states comply. It was my understanding that federal law supersedes state law, and that should include treaties, shouldn't it? I mean, could Michigan declare war on Canada? Well, ok, but you know what I mean.
A) It shouldn't require a law from Congress to force states to recognize treaties, and
B) if it does, then why isn't there such a law already?
-----------------------------
Repeating a question I still don't have an answer to. I should ask Sheldon, from "The Big Bang Theory". It's my understanding that it's our yellow sun that causes Superman to have super strength and super powers.
It's my understanding that you build muscles by working them hard.
Now, if Superman has super strength, so to him nothing is heavy, how did he manage to build big muscles?
Just something I don't understand.
-----------------------
Another old question. I've never understood the part in the Irish blessing, "...may the road rise up to meet you...". It's supposed to be good, but I don't understand why. Doesn't it mean that there should be no downhills? Aren't downhills the easy parts? It still leaves uphills, maybe even steeper ones if the road keeps rising. If you fall flat on your face, the road rose up to meet you. That's not good.
I don't understand.
-------------------------
I forgot something important. As strong as silk fiber is when it's new, it weakens with age.
I've purchased many very beautiful especially soft old silk saris to use for sewing projects. Yesterday I was holding one up to myself to judge how sheer it was, and I accidentally stepped on the edge. When I pulled it up a little higher, it tore. The scary part - I was barefoot, and didn't even feel the pull. It's really fragile. Like cobweb.
---------------------------
Something I've just discovered: I have twice now hidden this journal by changing the URL. It's pretty easy with blogger. But they don't warn you that when you do that, it breaks all the backward links in posts pointing to previous posts.
.
The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations provides that arrested aliens have access to diplomats from their home country. The U.S. ratified it in 1969, including an annex to the treaty under which the U.S. agreed to let the world court resolve disputes over interpretation.
The U.S. insists that foreign countries afford Vienna Convention privileges to Americans in trouble overseas, under the provisions of this treaty. However, the U.S. does NOT ITSELF honor the treaty, because, believe it or not, states are under no obligation to honor the treaty. That's really stupid.
The issue heated up recently when the International Court of Justice unanimously found that the U.S. had violated the Hague tribunal's July order to stay the execution of José MedellÃn, a Mexican convicted in Texas of murder. The court had called for additional judicial hearings to be held to weigh whether he was entitled to a new trial or other relief because local police failed to provide him consular access after arrest, as required by the treaty.
Texas simply ignored the order.
The federal administration says they can't force individual states to obey. So foreign nationals who run afoul of state laws may not be (in most states are not) allowed consular access. That's kind of like if you were arrested and jailed in Yemen for a crime you did not commit, but you were not permitted to contact the U.S. Embassy, because you'd been arrested and charged by local police, not the national police.
The controversy "makes the U.S. look like it's putting itself above the law," said Diana Shelton, an international law professor at George Washington University. "And it's also putting U.S. nationals at risk" when they travel abroad, she said, because foreign governments can cite U.S. noncompliance should they deny consular access to Americans.Full Wall Street Journal story here.
Spokesmen for Mr. Obama couldn't be reached for comment.
Frustrated by their nationals being jailed without consular access, foreign governments have increasingly turned to The Hague to pressure Washington to comply. After Paraguay and Germany won world-court cases against the U.S., Mexico in 2003 asked the Hague tribunal to find the U.S. in breach and vacate the death sentences of dozens of Mexican nationals in several states.
In a 2004 opinion, the court stopped short of Mexico's request but directed the U.S. to conduct additional judicial hearings to see whether the inmates were entitled to new trials or other relief.
The decision sparked a battle early in President George W. Bush's second term between hard-liners who considered international law largely irrelevant [!!!! emphasis mine] and moderates concerned that perceptions that the Bush administration was ignoring Washington's international obligations would undercut U.S. diplomacy.
Ok, I understand most of it. What I don't understand is that bit about not being able to make states comply. It was my understanding that federal law supersedes state law, and that should include treaties, shouldn't it? I mean, could Michigan declare war on Canada? Well, ok, but you know what I mean.
A) It shouldn't require a law from Congress to force states to recognize treaties, and
B) if it does, then why isn't there such a law already?
-----------------------------
Repeating a question I still don't have an answer to. I should ask Sheldon, from "The Big Bang Theory". It's my understanding that it's our yellow sun that causes Superman to have super strength and super powers.
It's my understanding that you build muscles by working them hard.
Now, if Superman has super strength, so to him nothing is heavy, how did he manage to build big muscles?
Just something I don't understand.
-----------------------
Another old question. I've never understood the part in the Irish blessing, "...may the road rise up to meet you...". It's supposed to be good, but I don't understand why. Doesn't it mean that there should be no downhills? Aren't downhills the easy parts? It still leaves uphills, maybe even steeper ones if the road keeps rising. If you fall flat on your face, the road rose up to meet you. That's not good.
I don't understand.
-------------------------
I forgot something important. As strong as silk fiber is when it's new, it weakens with age.
I've purchased many very beautiful especially soft old silk saris to use for sewing projects. Yesterday I was holding one up to myself to judge how sheer it was, and I accidentally stepped on the edge. When I pulled it up a little higher, it tore. The scary part - I was barefoot, and didn't even feel the pull. It's really fragile. Like cobweb.
---------------------------
Something I've just discovered: I have twice now hidden this journal by changing the URL. It's pretty easy with blogger. But they don't warn you that when you do that, it breaks all the backward links in posts pointing to previous posts.
.
Friday, January 23, 2009
2232 Sportsmanship
Friday, January 23, 2009
A friend is all het up over the Covenant School/Dallas Academy high school girl's basketball game. Wants the Covenant coach fired. Briefly, the Covanent School stomped the hell out of Dallas Academy, beating them 100-0. Dallas has a total of 20 female students (120 male), and only 8 on the girls' team. They haven't won a game in four years. At halftime, the score was 59-0. The Covenant coach kept the starting players, and they continued to push throughout the second half. Their supporters were also rather loud.
Ok, it wasn't very sportsmanlike. In fact, it was pretty much nasty and unnecessary. The Covenant school authorities and the coach have apologized, and have voluntarily forfeited the game.
I think I know what happened. In girls' high school basketball, 100 is rare, and I think they just saw their chance to "steal the baby's lollipop" so to speak. Temptation is a bitch.
------------------------------
This all reminded me of the first, last, and only sports event I attended at my college. The college won the state wrestling championship year after year. Nationally famous for wrestling. It was THE sport at that school.
No other college in the state had come anywhere near them - until this particular year. This evening was the final evening of the state championships, and it was being held at our school, and the other team was very very good. It wasn't going to be the usual walk in the park.
So everybody went to the gym that afternoon. I didn't want to go but got talked into it. Things went back and forth, tied, until it came down to the last match. The winner of that one would win the championship for their school, they could take it away from us for the first time in more than a decade. (Or something like that. Anyway, it was a very big deal.)
The guys faced off, and grappled a bit, and then the kid from the other school landed on the mat awkwardly, and we all actually heard his forearm snap.
A timeout was called, the kid went to the side with his coach, there was a lot of fuss and discussion, some kind of pneumatic splint was put on his arm (like a balloon, somebody said it was chilled), and then the kid went back out to the mat!
I couldn't believe it! He was going to continue!
So then they started again, and the wrestler from our school went straight for the kid's arm. And that's the way it went. Our guy grabbed the arm and twisted, pulled, bent, and pounded it. He wasn't even wrestling - he was just attacking the arm. The referee didn't stop it. It went on and on, and the kid screamed with every twist. "Our side" of the stands was chanting "Work on the arm! Work on the arm!" It was the most disgusting thing I'd ever seen in my life.
I was also standing and screaming, but I was screaming "Leave his arm alone! Stop! Stop it! Not the arm! Not the arm! If you can't beat a one-armed man fairly you don't deserve to win!"
When it went on and on I got hysterical, and friends dragged me out - with me still screaming the whole way.
For a long while afterward, there were people who wouldn't talk to me in the lounge. I was a traitor. Didn't I understand how important it was? They seemed to feel that the important thing was to win - that HOW didn't matter. There were very few people who agreed with me, and that troubled me for a very long time.
I blame first the kid's coach. The coach should not have left it up to the boy to make the decision, because the amount of pressure on the kid was enormous. The coach should have pulled the kid and taken the forfeit. He should not have allowed the torture to continue.
I blame our wrestler and our coach second. There's no reason that our wrestler could not have won without torturing the arm, because if he couldn't beat a one-armed man he didn't deserve to win anyway.
I blame the referee (or whatever he's called). He had the power to stop it, and didn't.
To this day, I wonder about the kid, and whether his arm healed ok. Or whether his arm has been messed up ever since. And I don't know or remember who won. It never was important to me.
----------------------
The worrisome registered letter waiting at the PO, that I worried about yesterday, turned out to be from an acquaintance in Australia. I don't know why it was registered.
.
A friend is all het up over the Covenant School/Dallas Academy high school girl's basketball game. Wants the Covenant coach fired. Briefly, the Covanent School stomped the hell out of Dallas Academy, beating them 100-0. Dallas has a total of 20 female students (120 male), and only 8 on the girls' team. They haven't won a game in four years. At halftime, the score was 59-0. The Covenant coach kept the starting players, and they continued to push throughout the second half. Their supporters were also rather loud.
Ok, it wasn't very sportsmanlike. In fact, it was pretty much nasty and unnecessary. The Covenant school authorities and the coach have apologized, and have voluntarily forfeited the game.
I think I know what happened. In girls' high school basketball, 100 is rare, and I think they just saw their chance to "steal the baby's lollipop" so to speak. Temptation is a bitch.
------------------------------
This all reminded me of the first, last, and only sports event I attended at my college. The college won the state wrestling championship year after year. Nationally famous for wrestling. It was THE sport at that school.
No other college in the state had come anywhere near them - until this particular year. This evening was the final evening of the state championships, and it was being held at our school, and the other team was very very good. It wasn't going to be the usual walk in the park.
So everybody went to the gym that afternoon. I didn't want to go but got talked into it. Things went back and forth, tied, until it came down to the last match. The winner of that one would win the championship for their school, they could take it away from us for the first time in more than a decade. (Or something like that. Anyway, it was a very big deal.)
The guys faced off, and grappled a bit, and then the kid from the other school landed on the mat awkwardly, and we all actually heard his forearm snap.
A timeout was called, the kid went to the side with his coach, there was a lot of fuss and discussion, some kind of pneumatic splint was put on his arm (like a balloon, somebody said it was chilled), and then the kid went back out to the mat!
I couldn't believe it! He was going to continue!
So then they started again, and the wrestler from our school went straight for the kid's arm. And that's the way it went. Our guy grabbed the arm and twisted, pulled, bent, and pounded it. He wasn't even wrestling - he was just attacking the arm. The referee didn't stop it. It went on and on, and the kid screamed with every twist. "Our side" of the stands was chanting "Work on the arm! Work on the arm!" It was the most disgusting thing I'd ever seen in my life.
I was also standing and screaming, but I was screaming "Leave his arm alone! Stop! Stop it! Not the arm! Not the arm! If you can't beat a one-armed man fairly you don't deserve to win!"
When it went on and on I got hysterical, and friends dragged me out - with me still screaming the whole way.
For a long while afterward, there were people who wouldn't talk to me in the lounge. I was a traitor. Didn't I understand how important it was? They seemed to feel that the important thing was to win - that HOW didn't matter. There were very few people who agreed with me, and that troubled me for a very long time.
I blame first the kid's coach. The coach should not have left it up to the boy to make the decision, because the amount of pressure on the kid was enormous. The coach should have pulled the kid and taken the forfeit. He should not have allowed the torture to continue.
I blame our wrestler and our coach second. There's no reason that our wrestler could not have won without torturing the arm, because if he couldn't beat a one-armed man he didn't deserve to win anyway.
I blame the referee (or whatever he's called). He had the power to stop it, and didn't.
To this day, I wonder about the kid, and whether his arm healed ok. Or whether his arm has been messed up ever since. And I don't know or remember who won. It never was important to me.
----------------------
The worrisome registered letter waiting at the PO, that I worried about yesterday, turned out to be from an acquaintance in Australia. I don't know why it was registered.
.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
2231 I need to borrow a life
Thursday, January 22, 2009
I've got to start up some kind of life again. I do a lot of just sitting around waiting for something to happen.
Today I:
On the list, but not done:
I somehow got on a contra-dance email list. Maybe I'll try that.
-------------------------
I found a slip in the mailbox that I have a registered letter (a large envelope) waiting for me at the post office. I'm worried. Really. I'm not expecting anything registered.
.
I've got to start up some kind of life again. I do a lot of just sitting around waiting for something to happen.
Today I:
- washed my hair
- wrote an email to my sister
- went to the grocery store for dry cat food, litter, and toilet paper
- cleaned the litter boxes
- read some internet stuff, nothing necessary, mind you
On the list, but not done:
- read new dental plan booklet
- search desk & floor piles for tax stuff
- search desk & den files for name and address of the estate lawyer
- pay bills
- write to everyone I've owed notes to for the past six months
- make dentist appointment
- make doctor appointment
- make vet appointment
I somehow got on a contra-dance email list. Maybe I'll try that.
-------------------------
I found a slip in the mailbox that I have a registered letter (a large envelope) waiting for me at the post office. I'm worried. Really. I'm not expecting anything registered.
.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
2230 Is it just me?
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
I'm sure there are technical words to describe what I'm seeing, but I don't know them, except maybe for "manipulation".
You know how the tv spots have been trying to convince us that the February switch to digital is "because it's so much better"? (Um, like, as opposed to all the money to be made selling the old bands?)
It seems to me somebody is stepping that argument up a bit.
For at least the past six or eight months I've had sets that pick up both digital and non-digital, and up until the past month I didn't notice a lot of difference on most of the channels that I get on my rooftop antenna. I could watch channel 10, or 10.01. The non-digital (analog?) shows have been coming in sharp and clear. About the only difference I'd noticed with digital is that the digital colors were more intense.
Suddenly, there's a BIG difference. (Although now that I think about it, it's been happening gradually over the past month, not suddenly.) The non-digital looks like it's put together with blocks of color. Slabs. Painted with palette knives. Wide ones. Looks a lot like the old beginner-level Paint By Numbers masterpieces. People's noses look strange.
It looks terrible.
It didn't always look that bad.
Do they think people will look at it and say, "Oh, wow, yeah, digital really is a lot better! I didn't realize there was so much difference!"
Well, there didn't usta be that much difference!
I really really don't like being manipulated.
.
I'm sure there are technical words to describe what I'm seeing, but I don't know them, except maybe for "manipulation".
You know how the tv spots have been trying to convince us that the February switch to digital is "because it's so much better"? (Um, like, as opposed to all the money to be made selling the old bands?)
It seems to me somebody is stepping that argument up a bit.
For at least the past six or eight months I've had sets that pick up both digital and non-digital, and up until the past month I didn't notice a lot of difference on most of the channels that I get on my rooftop antenna. I could watch channel 10, or 10.01. The non-digital (analog?) shows have been coming in sharp and clear. About the only difference I'd noticed with digital is that the digital colors were more intense.
Suddenly, there's a BIG difference. (Although now that I think about it, it's been happening gradually over the past month, not suddenly.) The non-digital looks like it's put together with blocks of color. Slabs. Painted with palette knives. Wide ones. Looks a lot like the old beginner-level Paint By Numbers masterpieces. People's noses look strange.
It looks terrible.
It didn't always look that bad.
Do they think people will look at it and say, "Oh, wow, yeah, digital really is a lot better! I didn't realize there was so much difference!"
Well, there didn't usta be that much difference!
I really really don't like being manipulated.
.
2229 Yup. Uh-huh.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
In a post yesterday, I wondered how long it would take for someone to complain that Obama did not take the oath correctly and therefore cannot exercise the duties of President. Not long, it appears.
In a post yesterday, I wondered how long it would take for someone to complain that Obama did not take the oath correctly and therefore cannot exercise the duties of President. Not long, it appears.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
2228 Strange Mail
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
My mailbox was packed full this afternoon, eight packages. Two of them were unexpected and seemed odd. One was from Coldwater Creek, but it wasn't their usual overly large box and preprinted label - it was an envelope with the address and return address handwritten. The other was a small padded envelope with a return address for an unfamiliar business.
The small Coldwater envelope has a history.
I had ordered a sweater in gray from the discount outlet, and when it arrived, I loved it so much I went back and ordered it in red, using a coupon that pretty much covered its cost.
The little envelope contained a pair of earrings. Two strange things about that - I haven't bought earrings in months, and this particular pair looked very familiar. I really like them. So I went online and looked for the business name on the return address, and it was an eBay seller.
Weird. I got something I think I didn't pay for, and something I paid for but thought I didn't get. Is this the way the year is going to go? If so, is that good or bad?
.
My mailbox was packed full this afternoon, eight packages. Two of them were unexpected and seemed odd. One was from Coldwater Creek, but it wasn't their usual overly large box and preprinted label - it was an envelope with the address and return address handwritten. The other was a small padded envelope with a return address for an unfamiliar business.
The small Coldwater envelope has a history.
I had ordered a sweater in gray from the discount outlet, and when it arrived, I loved it so much I went back and ordered it in red, using a coupon that pretty much covered its cost.
- A day later I got an email that the red was out of stock, order canceled.
- Ok. The coupon is about to expire, so I went back online to see what else I could get.
- Hmmm. The red sweater is still listed. Relisted? So I ordered it again, plus a t-shirt.
- A day later I got an email that the sweater is out of stock, but they'll send the t-shirt (free, 'cause the coupon covered it).
- Early last week the t-shirt arrived.
- End of story, right?
- Wrong.
- Yesterday I got a phone call from Coldwater Creek - first ever. The lady told me that the red sweater I had ordered is out of stock, and she assured me that I would not be charged for it.
- Um, yeah, I know, ok.
- Today I open the odd-looking envelope with the Coldwater return address, and in it is the red sweater,
- and the usual invoice with my name and address on it,
- and a note from a stranger that she had received it by mistake, that she had called Coldwater, and they had told her to send it to me. No return address for her.
The little envelope contained a pair of earrings. Two strange things about that - I haven't bought earrings in months, and this particular pair looked very familiar. I really like them. So I went online and looked for the business name on the return address, and it was an eBay seller.
- I went to my eBay account to see if I had bought anything from her lately. Maybe she sent the wrong item?
- Nope. I also verified I hadn't bought earrings from anyone lately.
- I verified that none of the items I have purchased recently included free earrings.
- Stumped.
- I pulled up my feedback, and searched for feedback from her, any past dealings.
- Ha! In April of last year, she left me positive feedback saying "So sorry they got lost in the mail. Wonderful buyer",
- and I had left her positive "Lost in mail, honest seller offered refund",
- and then I remembered!
- I had bought earrings from her, they had never arrived, she offered a refund, but I didn't accept it because I wasn't certain that I hadn't simply mixed them up with others I had bought at about the same time, the cost wasn't high, and I was satisfied that she had offered.
- I looked at the envelope, and the date on the USPS-printed stamp is "APR 03, '08"!
Weird. I got something I think I didn't pay for, and something I paid for but thought I didn't get. Is this the way the year is going to go? If so, is that good or bad?
.
2227 Drumlines
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
The previous post sent me off to YouTube to find drumline videos. I've got the hunger again. This post is for me, a place to keep some of my favorites.
Some basics:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl8PgmZ9iOc&feature=related
Florida A&M University on the field. Can't see the hands, but still good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc2M94mbMJk
This is a practice. Very bad sound, but very good example of what FAMU does better than anyone else - watch the hands! Precision! The Rockettes couldn't do it as well. Note that they're passing sticks to the guy next to them down the line without missing a stroke.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSIEM_hCphA&feature=related
Black Fire Percussion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9GdmSaW1L4&feature=related
These guys really have fun!
Cavaliers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eZ_Hqs4HkE
Thrilling! One of my favorites.
The Phantom Regiment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnIFoCk-KSc&feature=related
The small city across the river is a stop on the junior corps tournament tour, and all day before the evening competitions, you find them on lawns, in parks, in parking lots all over uptown, doing exactly this. Note the feet moving. On the field, they move constantly, and FAST!, in and out of patterns.
Blue Devils:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2QixmwAl5Y&feature=related
Perfection. Notice the camera shots at rim-level - the sticks are all the same height!
Mississippi State University:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmCJTs7dFhs&NR=1
Santa Clara Vanguard:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bImbwdPu28
(They have a fault - they look down. They should never look down.)
The Cadets of Bergen County:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiYA_OVuDXU&feature=related
The Glassmen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzJDxFvgptI&feature=related
(Past 3:10 is of no interest.)
.
The previous post sent me off to YouTube to find drumline videos. I've got the hunger again. This post is for me, a place to keep some of my favorites.
Some basics:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl8PgmZ9iOc&feature=related
Florida A&M University on the field. Can't see the hands, but still good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc2M94mbMJk
This is a practice. Very bad sound, but very good example of what FAMU does better than anyone else - watch the hands! Precision! The Rockettes couldn't do it as well. Note that they're passing sticks to the guy next to them down the line without missing a stroke.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSIEM_hCphA&feature=related
Black Fire Percussion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9GdmSaW1L4&feature=related
These guys really have fun!
Cavaliers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eZ_Hqs4HkE
Thrilling! One of my favorites.
The Phantom Regiment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnIFoCk-KSc&feature=related
The small city across the river is a stop on the junior corps tournament tour, and all day before the evening competitions, you find them on lawns, in parks, in parking lots all over uptown, doing exactly this. Note the feet moving. On the field, they move constantly, and FAST!, in and out of patterns.
Blue Devils:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2QixmwAl5Y&feature=related
Perfection. Notice the camera shots at rim-level - the sticks are all the same height!
Mississippi State University:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmCJTs7dFhs&NR=1
Santa Clara Vanguard:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bImbwdPu28
(They have a fault - they look down. They should never look down.)
The Cadets of Bergen County:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiYA_OVuDXU&feature=related
The Glassmen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzJDxFvgptI&feature=related
(Past 3:10 is of no interest.)
.
2226 Speeches and Bands, and more free speech
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Yeah, I watched the Inauguration and the parade. I'm not going to wax philosophical. I just love me some marching bands.
There were a few things that struck me about the proceedings, though.
I was happy to see Barbara Bush looking so good. Even though she's ultimately responsible for unleashing so much havoc on the world, I've always liked her. She never simpered, never carefully chose her words. She's a strong lady.
The oath was strange. I'm sure Obama had memorized it, but the judge tripped him up. The Constitution, in Article II, Section I, says that “Before [the incoming President] enters on the execution of his office, he shall take the following oath or affirmation:
Ted Kennedy's luncheon seizure freaked everyone out. It really wasn't a big deal, folks. When you have a brain tumor, tiredness, stress, or even flashing lights can bring on a seizure. As long as it doesn't go into a series, it's not a big deal. It's just part of the package. They'll give him an extra jolt of his seizure medication, and that's that. I was a bit surprised when the hospital said he was awake and responding, though. That didn't feel true. After a seizure he should sleep, needs to sleep, shouldn't even be able to stay awake. After discharging like that, the brain needs to recharge.
I thought Obama's speech was great. It wasn't designed to get cheers, so I was amused when the first cheer went to the line: "We will restore science to its rightful place." Right on! (And what a slap....)
Lenox presented Obama and Biden with bowls. Bush got a hurricane lamp. Snicker. Chuckle. Snort. I wonder if that was on purpose.
I do love me some marching bands. Especially drum and bugle corps. Especially precision marching. Especially drumlines. Especially national champion drumlines. So when the Florida A & M corps paused in front of the reviewing stand, with the drums right in front of the new President, I bounced in my seat, "Yes! Yes! A salute!", but they just stood there a moment and then moved on. I was very disappointed.
Oh well. The national competitions are in a few days. Maybe I'll be able to see them on PBS or something.
There was one small incident that almost spoiled the day. After the ceremony but before the parade I went to the deli to get a sandwich. There were the three counter people, the owner in his office, a female customer paying for her stuff, and me. Then the customer said something about Obama.
It was kind of funny. There was an audible gasp, the three counter people turned and looked at me with big eyes, and the owner started out of his office. It was fairly obvious they expected a reaction from me. I hadn't heard what she said, but she kept talking, so I listened.
And yeah, I reacted. But I'm old enough and wise enough to know when someone is too stupid and too closed-minded to bother arguing with, so I dropped a fact or two, the others' heads whipping back and forth between us, I shrugged, and said "Well, we all apply labels that make us feel comfortable", and she scurried out before I could apply a label of my own.
Now, what's most interesting to me was the counter folks' suddenly getting so very worried about my reaction. I don't know why. Yeah, I'm dating The Man, but I don't think they know about him, unless the village is a LOT smaller than I thought it was (he and I had lunch in the tavern once many months ago). They know nothing about my politics, and I've never so much as snapped at anyone in there, so I don't have a reputation for temper.
Interesting. 'Tis a puzzlement.
.
Yeah, I watched the Inauguration and the parade. I'm not going to wax philosophical. I just love me some marching bands.
There were a few things that struck me about the proceedings, though.
I was happy to see Barbara Bush looking so good. Even though she's ultimately responsible for unleashing so much havoc on the world, I've always liked her. She never simpered, never carefully chose her words. She's a strong lady.
The oath was strange. I'm sure Obama had memorized it, but the judge tripped him up. The Constitution, in Article II, Section I, says that “Before [the incoming President] enters on the execution of his office, he shall take the following oath or affirmation:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.I wonder how long it will take his detractors to point out that he has not yet taken the oath as written?
Ted Kennedy's luncheon seizure freaked everyone out. It really wasn't a big deal, folks. When you have a brain tumor, tiredness, stress, or even flashing lights can bring on a seizure. As long as it doesn't go into a series, it's not a big deal. It's just part of the package. They'll give him an extra jolt of his seizure medication, and that's that. I was a bit surprised when the hospital said he was awake and responding, though. That didn't feel true. After a seizure he should sleep, needs to sleep, shouldn't even be able to stay awake. After discharging like that, the brain needs to recharge.
I thought Obama's speech was great. It wasn't designed to get cheers, so I was amused when the first cheer went to the line: "We will restore science to its rightful place." Right on! (And what a slap....)
Lenox presented Obama and Biden with bowls. Bush got a hurricane lamp. Snicker. Chuckle. Snort. I wonder if that was on purpose.
I do love me some marching bands. Especially drum and bugle corps. Especially precision marching. Especially drumlines. Especially national champion drumlines. So when the Florida A & M corps paused in front of the reviewing stand, with the drums right in front of the new President, I bounced in my seat, "Yes! Yes! A salute!", but they just stood there a moment and then moved on. I was very disappointed.
Oh well. The national competitions are in a few days. Maybe I'll be able to see them on PBS or something.
There was one small incident that almost spoiled the day. After the ceremony but before the parade I went to the deli to get a sandwich. There were the three counter people, the owner in his office, a female customer paying for her stuff, and me. Then the customer said something about Obama.
It was kind of funny. There was an audible gasp, the three counter people turned and looked at me with big eyes, and the owner started out of his office. It was fairly obvious they expected a reaction from me. I hadn't heard what she said, but she kept talking, so I listened.
And yeah, I reacted. But I'm old enough and wise enough to know when someone is too stupid and too closed-minded to bother arguing with, so I dropped a fact or two, the others' heads whipping back and forth between us, I shrugged, and said "Well, we all apply labels that make us feel comfortable", and she scurried out before I could apply a label of my own.
Now, what's most interesting to me was the counter folks' suddenly getting so very worried about my reaction. I don't know why. Yeah, I'm dating The Man, but I don't think they know about him, unless the village is a LOT smaller than I thought it was (he and I had lunch in the tavern once many months ago). They know nothing about my politics, and I've never so much as snapped at anyone in there, so I don't have a reputation for temper.
Interesting. 'Tis a puzzlement.
.
2225 Blankie
Tuesday, January 19, 2009
Something I just remembered. Daughter's blankie. That's not what she actually called him, "blankie" is generic. I don't remember his name. I wonder where he is now.
He was a silky little coverlet that was nice to rub between your fingers when you sucked your thumb, and small and thin enough to carry around draped over your neck.
When he was about three years old, blankie was torn and tattered and badly stained. His fiber-fill was sticking out in tufts. I bought some silky fabric, folded blankie and sewed him into a tube of the new fabric, making sure to sew some of blankie's bits sticking outside the seams, so Daughter could still feel him and be assured that he was really in there.
In first grade she decided she was too old for thumb-sucking, and shortly after she gave up the thumb, blankie got relegated to a shelf in her bedroom, where he spent the next eleven years, alone, neglected, forgotten.
When she went to college, she took him with her.
.
Something I just remembered. Daughter's blankie. That's not what she actually called him, "blankie" is generic. I don't remember his name. I wonder where he is now.
He was a silky little coverlet that was nice to rub between your fingers when you sucked your thumb, and small and thin enough to carry around draped over your neck.
When he was about three years old, blankie was torn and tattered and badly stained. His fiber-fill was sticking out in tufts. I bought some silky fabric, folded blankie and sewed him into a tube of the new fabric, making sure to sew some of blankie's bits sticking outside the seams, so Daughter could still feel him and be assured that he was really in there.
In first grade she decided she was too old for thumb-sucking, and shortly after she gave up the thumb, blankie got relegated to a shelf in her bedroom, where he spent the next eleven years, alone, neglected, forgotten.
When she went to college, she took him with her.
.
Monday, January 19, 2009
2224 Laundry Day
Monday, January 19, 2009
Five loads of regular laundry today, and two loads of musty-smelling silk saris. I didn't have too much hope for an ordinary wash taking out the musty odor, but it did, so I'm happy.
The Big Bang Theory tonight is not a rerun, so I plan to watch that. Nothing else happening.
I'm bored with being bored.
.
Five loads of regular laundry today, and two loads of musty-smelling silk saris. I didn't have too much hope for an ordinary wash taking out the musty odor, but it did, so I'm happy.
The Big Bang Theory tonight is not a rerun, so I plan to watch that. Nothing else happening.
I'm bored with being bored.
.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
2223 Movies, sort of
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Nothing day. Really. I played with the cats, watched a 90-minute documentary, Crazy Love, about Burt Pugach and Linda Riss (they dated, he was obsessed with her, she found out he was married and broke up with him, he hired some guys to throw acid in her face, she was scarred and blinded, he spent 14 years in prison, he got out and was still obsessed with her, even his friends say he's certifiably insane, they ended up married, he takes care of her and she makes his life miserable, they're in their seventies now, and it's all true true true, also sick sick sick, and I don't regret the 90 minutes). Really weird coincidence, Linda reminds me so much of May - the way she talks, the things she says - and the woman with the thin whispy bangs looks and sounds like our friend NJ, it was all very strange.
And now I'm half-watching a terrible PBS opera while I wait for the Masterpiece Classic's presentation of "Wuthering Heights" to start. Oops, I just checked and that doesn't start until 9 pm. Maybe I should find something else to do.
We were supposed to get some minor snow sprinkles last night, nothing to speak of. Well, it's about three inches. And the snowthrower is in the shop again. The Aerio slid down the driveway when I went to the deli this afternoon, I was afraid she wouldn't stop at the end of the drive and shoot right on out into the road, we slid the last 15 feet and then stopped right at the edge, but then later she made it UP the driveway just fine. That's amazing. She's a good little car.
I'm bored.
.
Nothing day. Really. I played with the cats, watched a 90-minute documentary, Crazy Love, about Burt Pugach and Linda Riss (they dated, he was obsessed with her, she found out he was married and broke up with him, he hired some guys to throw acid in her face, she was scarred and blinded, he spent 14 years in prison, he got out and was still obsessed with her, even his friends say he's certifiably insane, they ended up married, he takes care of her and she makes his life miserable, they're in their seventies now, and it's all true true true, also sick sick sick, and I don't regret the 90 minutes). Really weird coincidence, Linda reminds me so much of May - the way she talks, the things she says - and the woman with the thin whispy bangs looks and sounds like our friend NJ, it was all very strange.
And now I'm half-watching a terrible PBS opera while I wait for the Masterpiece Classic's presentation of "Wuthering Heights" to start. Oops, I just checked and that doesn't start until 9 pm. Maybe I should find something else to do.
We were supposed to get some minor snow sprinkles last night, nothing to speak of. Well, it's about three inches. And the snowthrower is in the shop again. The Aerio slid down the driveway when I went to the deli this afternoon, I was afraid she wouldn't stop at the end of the drive and shoot right on out into the road, we slid the last 15 feet and then stopped right at the edge, but then later she made it UP the driveway just fine. That's amazing. She's a good little car.
I'm bored.
.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
2222 Lingerie
Saturday, January 17, 2009
I've been experimenting with "sexy lingerie", an area in which I have had, up until the past year or so, no experience whatsoever. You know, like teddies, chemises, and corsets with stockings, and teenie panties, and lacy cat-suits, and so on. And ya know, I'm just not comfortable in any of that stuff. I told The Man last week that he'd once said he doesn't like "role playing", and for me, wearing stuff like that is play acting. I'm just a bit too shy for most of that stuff.
But over the past few days I've discovered something I find every bit as sexy, but completely ME! Peek-a-boo long gowns!
This arrived today:
The top and the entire left side is see-through, and it's incredibly beautiful. Well made. It's from Fredericks.com. I got it in black with light flowers, like this picture, and within minutes of trying it on today, I went back and ordered the same thing in merlot (wine) (which is currently on sale for less than $25).
If you're thinking about anything like this, like maybe for a special Valentine's evening, I highly recommend this gown. Most of the sexy gowns out there are chintzy and badly made, but this one is really nice. Just be sure to order the next size up from what you think you wear. All this kind of stuff runs small.
Thursday evening I wore this:
It's from FeelingUSA.com, and is also very well made. A bit more exposure in the cuppal area than the photo implies, but that's good. Gorgeous pale orchid color, nicer than the picture. On me, it brushes the floor in front, has a train in back. It seems to have made a good impression (either that or he'd missed me a LOT), but actually, I don't care. *I* loved it! This IS ME!
.
I've been experimenting with "sexy lingerie", an area in which I have had, up until the past year or so, no experience whatsoever. You know, like teddies, chemises, and corsets with stockings, and teenie panties, and lacy cat-suits, and so on. And ya know, I'm just not comfortable in any of that stuff. I told The Man last week that he'd once said he doesn't like "role playing", and for me, wearing stuff like that is play acting. I'm just a bit too shy for most of that stuff.
But over the past few days I've discovered something I find every bit as sexy, but completely ME! Peek-a-boo long gowns!
This arrived today:
The top and the entire left side is see-through, and it's incredibly beautiful. Well made. It's from Fredericks.com. I got it in black with light flowers, like this picture, and within minutes of trying it on today, I went back and ordered the same thing in merlot (wine) (which is currently on sale for less than $25).
If you're thinking about anything like this, like maybe for a special Valentine's evening, I highly recommend this gown. Most of the sexy gowns out there are chintzy and badly made, but this one is really nice. Just be sure to order the next size up from what you think you wear. All this kind of stuff runs small.
Thursday evening I wore this:
It's from FeelingUSA.com, and is also very well made. A bit more exposure in the cuppal area than the photo implies, but that's good. Gorgeous pale orchid color, nicer than the picture. On me, it brushes the floor in front, has a train in back. It seems to have made a good impression (either that or he'd missed me a LOT), but actually, I don't care. *I* loved it! This IS ME!
.
2221 Today's Favorite Jokes
Saturday, January 17, 2009
So, as I was checking into the hotel, I said to the desk clerk, "I hope the porn channel in my room is disabled."
"No," she said, "it's regular porn, you sick bastard."
---------------------------
Three guys walked into a bar...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
...The fourth ducked.
.
So, as I was checking into the hotel, I said to the desk clerk, "I hope the porn channel in my room is disabled."
"No," she said, "it's regular porn, you sick bastard."
---------------------------
Three guys walked into a bar...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
...The fourth ducked.
.
2220 Ghost House; My Satchmo
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Visiting realty listings, through "It's Lovely! I'll Take It", I saw these photos of a house for sale in the St. Louis area.
It's amazing. It's a frozen slice of the 1950s! Everything. Furniture, tile, fixtures, colors, cabinets, everything, all in pristine condition. The refrigerator and stove look a bit post-50s, but sitting there in the garage, in all its glory, is the original stove - my Gramma's stove from the 50s! Also in perfect condition. It's amazing. The place should be a museum.
And then I read the description, and a chill ran up my back. "This awesome 50's bungalow, located on a quiet, cul-de-sac street on the Hill, has seriously never been lived in... at least on the main level. This ONE-OWNER home was resided only in the lower level during their stay here, so the main level has been frozen in time and perfectly preserved...."
Now, that's scary! The lower level is the basement. Cement floor and all. One big room. Who would buy and furnish a house, and then live in the basement? Someone so sick they wouldn't take a chance on juice spilled on a rug? Scratches on the tables? Accidents on the mattresses? Wear on the floors? Did they visit upstairs on Sundays and gloat over how perfect it was? And it's not like it was a single hermit - the description says that the only use of the stove was for 28 Thanksgiving turkeys, so there probably was a family.
The thought of what may have gone on in that house scares me.
It's for sale furnished. Look quickly. It may not be on the market long.
-----------------------------
Thursday evening The Man and I went to karaoke again. After the incredible year-end overtime he's had, he needed to relax. The usual crowd didn't seem to be there, so the rotation was short, he got to sing a lot, so he decided to play with it.
The first song he sang was Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car", and he sounded just like her. That one was for me. I love that song. His last song of the night (probably because it's hard on his throat) was Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World", and he sounded just like him! It was incredible to hear that voice coming out of him.
The Man is utterly amazing in a lot of ways.
.
Visiting realty listings, through "It's Lovely! I'll Take It", I saw these photos of a house for sale in the St. Louis area.
It's amazing. It's a frozen slice of the 1950s! Everything. Furniture, tile, fixtures, colors, cabinets, everything, all in pristine condition. The refrigerator and stove look a bit post-50s, but sitting there in the garage, in all its glory, is the original stove - my Gramma's stove from the 50s! Also in perfect condition. It's amazing. The place should be a museum.
And then I read the description, and a chill ran up my back. "This awesome 50's bungalow, located on a quiet, cul-de-sac street on the Hill, has seriously never been lived in... at least on the main level. This ONE-OWNER home was resided only in the lower level during their stay here, so the main level has been frozen in time and perfectly preserved...."
Now, that's scary! The lower level is the basement. Cement floor and all. One big room. Who would buy and furnish a house, and then live in the basement? Someone so sick they wouldn't take a chance on juice spilled on a rug? Scratches on the tables? Accidents on the mattresses? Wear on the floors? Did they visit upstairs on Sundays and gloat over how perfect it was? And it's not like it was a single hermit - the description says that the only use of the stove was for 28 Thanksgiving turkeys, so there probably was a family.
The thought of what may have gone on in that house scares me.
It's for sale furnished. Look quickly. It may not be on the market long.
-----------------------------
Thursday evening The Man and I went to karaoke again. After the incredible year-end overtime he's had, he needed to relax. The usual crowd didn't seem to be there, so the rotation was short, he got to sing a lot, so he decided to play with it.
The first song he sang was Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car", and he sounded just like her. That one was for me. I love that song. His last song of the night (probably because it's hard on his throat) was Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World", and he sounded just like him! It was incredible to hear that voice coming out of him.
The Man is utterly amazing in a lot of ways.
.
Friday, January 16, 2009
2219 Bits
Friday, January 16, 2009
From around the internet:
The UK Kennel Club has changed dog breed standards, moving away from characteristics that are not healthy for the animals, like schmushed noses that cause breathing problems, heavy skin folds, and so on. I wonder how many generations it will take for the progeny of today's champions to meet the new standards. (I'm also wondering what will happen to all last year's very expensive puppies. Talk about a bad investment!)
"SOME of the hottest results in the nascent field of social neuroscience, in which emotions and behavioral traits are linked to activity in a particular region of the brain, may be inflated and in some cases entirely spurious." Damn. And I'd been following that stuff with interest. Aren't there standards for research?
"They" are getting closer to a cloak of invisibility. Cool. Which reminds me - there have been several books about people being invisible, always men, by the way, and I (who has a problem with suspension of disbelief anyway) couldn't get into them, because hey, this is a guy who wakes up one morning and finds himself invisible, but it never occurs to him to head straight for the nearest undressing/sleeping females? And really, isn't that the first thing they'd think of?
A discussion of a lawsuit indirectly implicating (possibly) Trent Lott and others in an attempt to (possibly) bribe Mississippi Judge Bobby DeLaughter, led me to wonder how the judge's name is pronounced. My immediate choice was to rhyme with "daughter". "Laughter" feels wrong. I wish I knew. And why are laughter and daughter pronounced differently, anyway?
--------------------------
The Man found this sign in the restroom of a tire store today, sent me photos from his cell phone. The sign scared me (don't even think about the waste basket).
By the way, I'm in love again.
---------------------------
Found in this blog, early November, 2005:
"Sometimes you can't really know what someone is saying to you. You hear the words, but sometimes the words carry a meaning different from their dictionary definition. If you have no other basis for interpretation, you interpret from your own base. In an intimate relationship, the only way to fully understand the other person's messages, or lack thereof, is to understand their motivations, how their mind works.
If you don't understand that, you don't have an intimate relationship. You're just skimming along the surface."
It's still true.
.
From around the internet:
The UK Kennel Club has changed dog breed standards, moving away from characteristics that are not healthy for the animals, like schmushed noses that cause breathing problems, heavy skin folds, and so on. I wonder how many generations it will take for the progeny of today's champions to meet the new standards. (I'm also wondering what will happen to all last year's very expensive puppies. Talk about a bad investment!)
"SOME of the hottest results in the nascent field of social neuroscience, in which emotions and behavioral traits are linked to activity in a particular region of the brain, may be inflated and in some cases entirely spurious." Damn. And I'd been following that stuff with interest. Aren't there standards for research?
"They" are getting closer to a cloak of invisibility. Cool. Which reminds me - there have been several books about people being invisible, always men, by the way, and I (who has a problem with suspension of disbelief anyway) couldn't get into them, because hey, this is a guy who wakes up one morning and finds himself invisible, but it never occurs to him to head straight for the nearest undressing/sleeping females? And really, isn't that the first thing they'd think of?
A discussion of a lawsuit indirectly implicating (possibly) Trent Lott and others in an attempt to (possibly) bribe Mississippi Judge Bobby DeLaughter, led me to wonder how the judge's name is pronounced. My immediate choice was to rhyme with "daughter". "Laughter" feels wrong. I wish I knew. And why are laughter and daughter pronounced differently, anyway?
--------------------------
The Man found this sign in the restroom of a tire store today, sent me photos from his cell phone. The sign scared me (don't even think about the waste basket).
By the way, I'm in love again.
---------------------------
Found in this blog, early November, 2005:
"Sometimes you can't really know what someone is saying to you. You hear the words, but sometimes the words carry a meaning different from their dictionary definition. If you have no other basis for interpretation, you interpret from your own base. In an intimate relationship, the only way to fully understand the other person's messages, or lack thereof, is to understand their motivations, how their mind works.
If you don't understand that, you don't have an intimate relationship. You're just skimming along the surface."
It's still true.
.
2218 Not Safe for Work Update
Friday, January 16, 2009
The video in the immediately preceding post is no longer there. I suspect they were getting too many hits, bandwidth overload. If you look quickly, you'll find it here.
...and if that one's gone, try searching for "durex get it on" in YouTube.com. Pick one of the 31-second ones.
.
The video in the immediately preceding post is no longer there. I suspect they were getting too many hits, bandwidth overload. If you look quickly, you'll find it here.
...and if that one's gone, try searching for "durex get it on" in YouTube.com. Pick one of the 31-second ones.
.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
2217 NOT SAFE for work
... but funny. It's an ad campaign, but you'll probably never see it in the US.
http://superfad.com/player.php?project=251&item=566
.
http://superfad.com/player.php?project=251&item=566
.
2216 Hearse and Tea
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Suzie the Aerio is now at the automotive spa getting an eyelash transplant. The rental place gave me a new black PT Cruiser. Nice interior, all kinds of fancy options, but it looks like a hearse!. There's something strange about the steering, too. Normally I handle the steering wheel very little, very steady. This thing feels like it needs constant correction. I felt like my tail was wagging all the way down the road.
I had a cup of tea in a mid-scale Italian family restaurant last night that pretty much freaked me out. I was with friends who were eating, but all I wanted was tea. It was one Lipton teabag in a mug (not even a real teacup) of not quite hot enough water, into which I added one packet of sweetner. No refills offered.
$1.95
Were they kidding me? And I'm supposed to tip, too?
I don't understand.
.
Suzie the Aerio is now at the automotive spa getting an eyelash transplant. The rental place gave me a new black PT Cruiser. Nice interior, all kinds of fancy options, but it looks like a hearse!. There's something strange about the steering, too. Normally I handle the steering wheel very little, very steady. This thing feels like it needs constant correction. I felt like my tail was wagging all the way down the road.
I had a cup of tea in a mid-scale Italian family restaurant last night that pretty much freaked me out. I was with friends who were eating, but all I wanted was tea. It was one Lipton teabag in a mug (not even a real teacup) of not quite hot enough water, into which I added one packet of sweetner. No refills offered.
$1.95
Were they kidding me? And I'm supposed to tip, too?
I don't understand.
.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
2215 Tie Those Guys Down!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
I don't know about other states, but in NY if a workman is injured while working on your property, you can be sued, even if you didn't create the dangerous condition and are not at fault. As the lawyers' commercials say, "...entitled to more than just workmen's compensation." What they mean by that is "you". (Your homeowner's insurance, or personally if the insurance is inadequate.)
The contractor is required to provide all necessary safety equipment, but if he/she doesn't, or if it is provided but the worker chooses not to use it, then the property owner is liable, too.
So in NYS, I guess I'm supposed to know what the dangers are, what equipment is required, and watch the workers every minute to ensure they're using it? Isn't that asking more than is reasonable?
.
I don't know about other states, but in NY if a workman is injured while working on your property, you can be sued, even if you didn't create the dangerous condition and are not at fault. As the lawyers' commercials say, "...entitled to more than just workmen's compensation." What they mean by that is "you". (Your homeowner's insurance, or personally if the insurance is inadequate.)
The contractor is required to provide all necessary safety equipment, but if he/she doesn't, or if it is provided but the worker chooses not to use it, then the property owner is liable, too.
So in NYS, I guess I'm supposed to know what the dangers are, what equipment is required, and watch the workers every minute to ensure they're using it? Isn't that asking more than is reasonable?
.
2214 How to get out of jury duty
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
If you can't get your doctor to agree that you're sick, and you can't get your employer to swear that the safety of the nation depends on your presence, there's still one option available and (almost) completely under your control.
Stink.
.
If you can't get your doctor to agree that you're sick, and you can't get your employer to swear that the safety of the nation depends on your presence, there's still one option available and (almost) completely under your control.
Stink.
.
2213 Blogs That Bug Me
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Nah, I'm not gonna list them, but I'm sure everybody has a candidate or two. They're the blogs that are really good, interesting, informative, or funny - until the blogger gets a contract for stuff based on the blog. Then the content changes to constant flogging of the book (or calendar, or mugs, or lecture/signing tour, or whatever).
Boo. I feel so used and dropped. Sucked in and spit out....
Do they realize that the thousands of regular readers (based upon whom they got the contract) don't need to buy the book? We have read the blog!
.
Nah, I'm not gonna list them, but I'm sure everybody has a candidate or two. They're the blogs that are really good, interesting, informative, or funny - until the blogger gets a contract for stuff based on the blog. Then the content changes to constant flogging of the book (or calendar, or mugs, or lecture/signing tour, or whatever).
Boo. I feel so used and dropped. Sucked in and spit out....
Do they realize that the thousands of regular readers (based upon whom they got the contract) don't need to buy the book? We have read the blog!
.
Monday, January 12, 2009
2212 Hungry Turkeys!
Monday, January 12, 2009
The turkeys are hungry. The storm about a week or ten days ago laid down an ice layer, and I guess they're having trouble scratching through it. I cleared snow from the driveway yesterday, and in a few places I went past the edge of the driveway and cut into the crust over the grass.
This is what I found this morning:
The turkeys have been digging for good stuff, probably wild cherry pits, maybe bugs. They've dug a pretty deep trench there.
This is my foot, and turkey tracks. Those aren't the largest tracks out there, just the most clear. Some of the tracks are almost as long as my foot. They're big birds.
I'll look for cracked corn next time I'm in the village, before they dig up more of the lawn..
---------------------
I had a long list of things that had to be done today, and got very little of it done. I spent over an hour on the phone with May, trying to convince her that our friend NJ is not dying, she simply doesn't want people to know where she is (especially May, but I didn't tell her that) and that the day May called the police to go to NJ's house and ensure that she was not dead on the floor, the police did NOT "break down the door". I was there, and I know what happened. May is only 2 years older than I, but she's morbid. She's waiting to die.
She's also heard of hearing, and phone conversations with her are painful. You have to repeat yourself a lot, and you'll be in the middle of an explanation and she'll interrupt and talk over you as if you were not speaking at all. Beyond the hearing problem, I don't think she really "hears" anything, anyway. Nothing gets through or past what's already in her mind. She also tells the same stories over and over. Aaaaagh! Sometimes when she calls and I'm not in a mood to deal with her, I just let the machine pick up. I don't have to call her back, because I don't think she remembers having called.
I feel very bad about all of that, because she is, at heart, a good person, and she's so very alone. I know that if I needed help, she would do everything she could. Almost all of "the group" has pretty much shut her out already, abandoned her. Someone will say "May called yesterday...", and you'll see or hear the eyerolls. In a group, sympathy is offered. Nobody ever calls her to see how she is. I hate the whole situation, but then, she'll call, and I let the machine pick up.
I am a bad person. Sometimes. I guess.
Then Daughter called. She was upset about something that had happened, and I was on with her for about an hour, talking her down off an emotional roof. I think she's ok now.
All I got done from the list was getting someone to look at the car windshield wipers. I took it to the guys I trust most. Yeah, they're screwed up, more than just a belt or gear slipping. It may be a "tweak" fix, or it may require a part, they'll know better after they open the box. I have an appointment to drop the car off there Wednesday. Enterprise will pick me up at the service place Wednesday morning, and I'll have a rental car for however long it takes.
I hate when things get complicated.
.
The turkeys are hungry. The storm about a week or ten days ago laid down an ice layer, and I guess they're having trouble scratching through it. I cleared snow from the driveway yesterday, and in a few places I went past the edge of the driveway and cut into the crust over the grass.
This is what I found this morning:
The turkeys have been digging for good stuff, probably wild cherry pits, maybe bugs. They've dug a pretty deep trench there.
This is my foot, and turkey tracks. Those aren't the largest tracks out there, just the most clear. Some of the tracks are almost as long as my foot. They're big birds.
I'll look for cracked corn next time I'm in the village, before they dig up more of the lawn..
---------------------
I had a long list of things that had to be done today, and got very little of it done. I spent over an hour on the phone with May, trying to convince her that our friend NJ is not dying, she simply doesn't want people to know where she is (especially May, but I didn't tell her that) and that the day May called the police to go to NJ's house and ensure that she was not dead on the floor, the police did NOT "break down the door". I was there, and I know what happened. May is only 2 years older than I, but she's morbid. She's waiting to die.
She's also heard of hearing, and phone conversations with her are painful. You have to repeat yourself a lot, and you'll be in the middle of an explanation and she'll interrupt and talk over you as if you were not speaking at all. Beyond the hearing problem, I don't think she really "hears" anything, anyway. Nothing gets through or past what's already in her mind. She also tells the same stories over and over. Aaaaagh! Sometimes when she calls and I'm not in a mood to deal with her, I just let the machine pick up. I don't have to call her back, because I don't think she remembers having called.
I feel very bad about all of that, because she is, at heart, a good person, and she's so very alone. I know that if I needed help, she would do everything she could. Almost all of "the group" has pretty much shut her out already, abandoned her. Someone will say "May called yesterday...", and you'll see or hear the eyerolls. In a group, sympathy is offered. Nobody ever calls her to see how she is. I hate the whole situation, but then, she'll call, and I let the machine pick up.
I am a bad person. Sometimes. I guess.
Then Daughter called. She was upset about something that had happened, and I was on with her for about an hour, talking her down off an emotional roof. I think she's ok now.
All I got done from the list was getting someone to look at the car windshield wipers. I took it to the guys I trust most. Yeah, they're screwed up, more than just a belt or gear slipping. It may be a "tweak" fix, or it may require a part, they'll know better after they open the box. I have an appointment to drop the car off there Wednesday. Enterprise will pick me up at the service place Wednesday morning, and I'll have a rental car for however long it takes.
I hate when things get complicated.
.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
2211 Awards
Sunday, January 11, 2009
The 2008 Darwin Awards are here. Enjoy.
Also, there's two days left to vote for your favorite blogs in the 2008 Weblog Awards polls. I've voted for a few of my favorites (Michael Totten in the Mideast and Africa category, and PostSecret in I forget which category, and Cake Wrecks in Food, for example). But better than voting is the opportunity to check out the nominees, which theroetically should be some of the best of the best.
In the category "Best Hidden Gem" (described as blogs no body much knows about) I found "Dizzying Intellect", which I've spent much of this evening enjoying.
If you want to find some good blogs, wander on over there to the awards link above. When you click on a category, it'll take you to the nominees list and voting page for that category. Links to the individual blogs are toward the bottom of that screen. (Unfortunately, you can't see which ones are highest scoring until after you vote, but so many thousand votes are out there already that a random vote won't hurt.)
.
The 2008 Darwin Awards are here. Enjoy.
Also, there's two days left to vote for your favorite blogs in the 2008 Weblog Awards polls. I've voted for a few of my favorites (Michael Totten in the Mideast and Africa category, and PostSecret in I forget which category, and Cake Wrecks in Food, for example). But better than voting is the opportunity to check out the nominees, which theroetically should be some of the best of the best.
In the category "Best Hidden Gem" (described as blogs no body much knows about) I found "Dizzying Intellect", which I've spent much of this evening enjoying.
If you want to find some good blogs, wander on over there to the awards link above. When you click on a category, it'll take you to the nominees list and voting page for that category. Links to the individual blogs are toward the bottom of that screen. (Unfortunately, you can't see which ones are highest scoring until after you vote, but so many thousand votes are out there already that a random vote won't hurt.)
.
2210 Snow Sunday
Sunday, January 11, 2009
My car's windshield wipers are messed up. A few weeks ago, on a Saturday afternoon when I planned to drive to New Jersey in messy "winter mix" weather the next day, I accidentally tore the rubber when they were frozen down and I pulled them to release them from the ice. I had to go buy new wipers before the trip.
Since then when I know frozen stuff is coming, I raise the wipers so they're up in the air and won't get frozen down.
But, I'm short, and it's difficult for me to reach the passenger-side wiper. I think I may have twisted it one of these times trying to get it up or down. Now suddenly they aren't working. Sometimes one or the other doesn't go up at all, sometimes one goes halfway while the other goes all the way, and they ignore each other, work randomly, and crash into each other. Something inside is slipping or something. I hope the weather and the roads stay dry until I can get it fixed.
I cleared the driveway this afternoon from last night's storm. The snowthrower still isn't working right. It'll start, but I have to keep the choke almost full open or it stalls, and it doesn't have much power. It if tip it up even an inch or so to get the hood off the ground to turn it, it threatens to stall. And if it stalls away from the reach of the electric cord to restart it, I'd be in trouble, because I'm too short to pull the starter cord all the way, and it's too heavy for me to push it up the driveway myself.
I guess I'll have to have it checked out again, but I have to find a snow-free week, because I really don't want to be without it when it snows.
Yeah, Mother is unhappy today.
.
My car's windshield wipers are messed up. A few weeks ago, on a Saturday afternoon when I planned to drive to New Jersey in messy "winter mix" weather the next day, I accidentally tore the rubber when they were frozen down and I pulled them to release them from the ice. I had to go buy new wipers before the trip.
Since then when I know frozen stuff is coming, I raise the wipers so they're up in the air and won't get frozen down.
But, I'm short, and it's difficult for me to reach the passenger-side wiper. I think I may have twisted it one of these times trying to get it up or down. Now suddenly they aren't working. Sometimes one or the other doesn't go up at all, sometimes one goes halfway while the other goes all the way, and they ignore each other, work randomly, and crash into each other. Something inside is slipping or something. I hope the weather and the roads stay dry until I can get it fixed.
I cleared the driveway this afternoon from last night's storm. The snowthrower still isn't working right. It'll start, but I have to keep the choke almost full open or it stalls, and it doesn't have much power. It if tip it up even an inch or so to get the hood off the ground to turn it, it threatens to stall. And if it stalls away from the reach of the electric cord to restart it, I'd be in trouble, because I'm too short to pull the starter cord all the way, and it's too heavy for me to push it up the driveway myself.
I guess I'll have to have it checked out again, but I have to find a snow-free week, because I really don't want to be without it when it snows.
Yeah, Mother is unhappy today.
.
2209 Warning!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Do not, under any circumstances watch this video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oGFogwcx-E&feature=related
Memorize the URL, and no matter who sends it to you, don't watch it, especially if you have anything in your stomach.
It's the Microsoft ad for their new Songsmith application. It's real. The download for the sample application is at http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/projects/songsmith/. (Or you can just go to Microsoft.com and search their website for "songsmith".)
If I had any Microsoft stock, I'd sell it. They've lost their minds.
.
Do not, under any circumstances watch this video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oGFogwcx-E&feature=related
Memorize the URL, and no matter who sends it to you, don't watch it, especially if you have anything in your stomach.
It's the Microsoft ad for their new Songsmith application. It's real. The download for the sample application is at http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/projects/songsmith/. (Or you can just go to Microsoft.com and search their website for "songsmith".)
If I had any Microsoft stock, I'd sell it. They've lost their minds.
.
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