Do you remember the cartoon Droopy Dog? His infamous tag line was, "That makes me mad."
The January 2010 Consumer Reports featured a short piece on "Top gripes: What bugs America most." Here are were the top gripes of those surveyed:
Hidden fees
Not getting a human on the phone
Tailgating
Cell-phone use by drivers(1)
Incomprehensible bills
Dog poop
Unreliable Internet service
Discourteous cell-phone use(2)
Waiting for repair people(5)
Spam
Shrunken products
Very slow drivers(4)
Unreliable cell-phone service
Traffic jams(3)
The numbers after a few are my biggest peeves on the list.
Thank you for joining me this NaBloPoMo. It's been fun, but I'm glad it's over. I can now go back to my irregular posting. I hope to post a few times a week, but it may just be weekends again. I do plan to keep up the musical accompaniment.
A few weeks ago the Vatican held a 'study week' with "over 30 astronomers, biologists, geologists and religious leaders to discuss the question of the existence of extraterrestrials." In an interview last year, the Vatican's chief astronomer stated:
"Just like there is an abundance of creatures on earth, there could also be other beings, even intelligent ones, that were created by God. That doesn't contradict our faith, because we cannot put boundaries to God's creative freedom. As saint Francis would say, when we consider the earthly creatures to be our "brothers and sisters", why couldn't we also talk about a "extraterrestrial brother"? He would still be part of creation."
If there is intelligent life out there, will they be Catholic? Will they believe that they too were created in God's image? Will they be tolerant of our Catholics' version of worship? I already know the flip side of those questions. Let's hope that ET is better at spiritual charity than we are.
We had an extra six teen males at our house over night. Most of them were up until 0430. I got up around 0830 and tried to stay somewhat quiet. There was a very animated wind storm going on outside. Around 1030 the power went out. We have multiple UPS devices throughout our house, including in the living room where the guest teens were sprawled. They were all (more or less) awake within fifteen minutes.
The power came back on at exactly noon! So, I only have to make the clocks stop flashing. They all have the correct time. Seems like a conspiracy to me. Maybe someone at the power company thought it would be a little gift to help people correct the time on all their digital clocks?
Hubby did a little Black Friday holiday shopping yesterday, for me. He told me what he bought me when he came home so that I could go pick up an extended warranty on my new digital SLR camera. He got me a Sony, which was the least expensive DSLR that Best Buy had. At first I was squeamish about getting such a pricey gift considering our current financial circumstances. Then I started warming up to it, since I love photography. And then I decided that I would prefer the slightly pricier entry-level Cannon DLSR. We're probably going to go exchange my 'gift' shortly. Should be 'fun'.
I normally refuse to participate in the insanity-for-a-bargain that is Black Friday. However, right after this post appears I will be joining the mindless slobbering lemmings in my own personal quest for a bit of savings. The reason? My basement project.
A couple of days ago we realized that we could probably use a new bookcase with slightly smaller dimensions than any of the bookcases we currently have, to optimize the wall space in the new basement living space. Then, low and behold, I got an email from my favorite unfinished wood furniture store: The Mill Store. The email contained a number of great coupons, including a 40% off early bird coupon for Friday morning, good between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m.
Considering the amount of money that we've poured into the basement already, and the fact that Goblin is unemployed, I could use the break on the bookcase. (Really wish I could have gotten it on my desk, which I got 20% off on a few weeks ago. But, I'll take this one too.)
Our musical selection for this post is one of my favorite songs of all time. I definitely feel like one of the Ants Marching by joining this ridiculous tradition of rampant consumerism.
Thanksgiving is about alot of things: food, family, parades, football, the beginning of the 'holiday season', and the day before Black Friday (see tomorrow's post). Enjoy the day and take time to remember at least one thing you have to be thankful for.
If you're looking for a surprisingly good Thanksgiving movie, check out Dan in Real Life. I'm not a huge Steve Carell fan, so that's saying something. John Mahoney and Diane Wiest are charming as his well-meaning parents, as he struggles to hide the fact that he's fallen in love with his brother (Dan Cook)'s new girlfriend (Juliette Binoche) after years in misery as a widower. Carrel ends up sitting at the kids table to avoid his discomfort during the big dinner. He also loses his driver's license after several stops for speeding during his mesmerization. Highly recommended!
Over the weekend my husband and I went to the mall on 'the great pointy-toed shoe hunt' ... for him! My friends from college will never let me forget the torture I put them through roaming from one end of Potomac Mills Mall to the other on 'the great brown pump hunt'. So, I definitely deserved being dragged from one shoe store to another (including a few before we even went to the mall).
As we neared the end of our options in Pheasant Lane Mall I turned around and fixed on a blissful (for me) vision: The Apple Store! I had completely forgotten that an Apple Store had opened up in the mall the day before. This was the answer to one of my minor prayers. Not long after I got my beloved iMac last year, the DVD drive bit the dust. I had to drive 35 minutes to Burlington, MA, to take it to the nearest Apple Store for service. Pheasant Lane Mall is much much closer. Plus, I can now stop in regularly to drool over the accessories to my adopted faith.
Faith? Faith, you say? Well, um, yes.
My husband and I had the amusing conversation after I dragged myself out of the Apple Store. (No, he didn't have to drag me out. I was capable of extricating myself, thank you.) We decided that people who buy Macs end up being like cultists. Most Mac users love their Macs. They are obsessed with all things Mac. Their eyes light up whenever they are exposed to new Mac products. They can barely contain themselves as new product releases approach. Why is this?
In the most recent issue of Macworld (I subscribe), they had two little side-by-side pieces that caught my attention. First, 'nearly 12 percent of U.S. computer-owning households now have a Mac.' That's a 3% increase over 2008. 85% of of Mac households also have a Windows PC.
There are probably two factors contributing to that. First, there could be Windows machines that pre-date the Mac in the household. In my house, I only use Windoze on my work laptop. My old intel machines are now Ubuntu systems. Grendel and Goblin are still under the influence of Windoze. Second, some software is still only available under Windows. I still have a Windoze-VM on my Mac for one program. That will end in February, hopefully, when Intuit finally releases an updated version of Quicken for the Mac.
The other article compared adoption of new OS versions by Mac users verses Windows users. Snow Leopard was released late this summer. Within a month of the product's release, 60% of the visitors to the Macworld website had upgraded to Snow Leopard. While the population is somewhat skewed by the type of Mac user examined, that's still pretty impressive. After more than a year on the market, Vista accounts for around 15% of the market. Then again, Vista suffers from the every-second-release-is-a-dud problem that MS seems to have. Maybe Windows 7 will fair better. After all, it only took Windows XP eleven months to surpass Windows 98 installations (as measured by visits to PCWorld.com). Still, one additional factor in the quick adoption rate to Snow Leopard verses any Windoze release could be price tag. Snow Leopard costs less than $30. Windows 7 can be found for that much if your a student; but everyone else has to pony up around $100 for an upgrade.
I have purchased Snow Leopard. I plan to spend part of the long holiday weekend installing it.
Suppose you thought you had cancer. Suppose you had a son who was in dire straights for money. Suppose you had an insurance policy that was worth quite a bit of money. Would you kill yourself for the insurance money and try to make it look like murder? Why not just wait for the cancer to kill you? Well, maybe you don't want a long gruesome death. Maybe your son needs the money sooner rather than later.
How would you kill yourself so that it wouldn't look like suicide? Maybe a car accident on a mountainous road on a rainy night? No? How about stripping down to your socks, walking into a cemetery, binding your ankles and wrists (the later kind of loosely), writing "FED" on your chest (to make the whole thing look like some redneck hate crime), and then hanging yourself from a tree?
Federal Census worker, Bill Sparkman, should have picked a higher branch to hang himself from. Investigators had several clues that Sparkman's death wasn't a murder. The biggest one was that his knees barely cleared the ground below the branch he was hanging from. If he wanted to live, he just needed to stand up.
Instead of life insurance, maybe Sparkman should have purchased stupidity insurance. (BTW, the autopsy showed that he did not have cancer.)
A Canadian woman recently lost her disability benefits that she was receiving for major depression when an insurance investigator found pictures of her on Facebook having a happy vacation and a jovial birthday party.
I'm not posting this to side with the woman or the insurance company. I'm posting this to remind folks, be cautious what you post on social networking sites and lock down who can see what. You definitely don't want your boss seeing wild pictures of you partying. Facebook allows you to limit who gets to see what kind of information from you. Familiarize yourself with those features and use them, while still exercising your common sense.
My family has slowly been finishing the basement so that my son can move down there and I can take over his room as an office/craft room. This morning Grendel and Goblin were staining some paneling while I rode my exercise bike. We were all in the same space, which is kind of odd for us. Even our younger cat hung out down there with us. I was having such a nice time with them that I stayed on the bike an extra twenty six minutes.
Since Goblin wanted musical accompaniment while he worked, and I'm used to listening to music while I work out downstairs, I hooked up my iPod to my little iPod boombox. We played it on shuffle, and I kept the right to skip songs that just weren't fitting with my workout. That being said, we had an interesting mix of songs particularly considering that the audience was two late 40's parents and a 16 year old. Some families might not have considered the resulting mix totally family-appropriate.
The first song that I noticed that might not have flown in just every household was the Geto Boys' It's Good to be a Gangsta. Check out the lyrics link and you'll see what I mean.
The next song that might have raised an eyebrow or two was Crystal Methods' Name of the Game. For an electronic song, there are a good deal of lyrics. While the song has been used in a commercial or two, the original version is not G-rated. Check out the lyrics link.
While the lyrics on those two songs were bad enough, Goblin misheard the lyrices of one song and had to ask me if he heard it right. "Did he just say 'I want to do you from behind'?" No, no, no. The song is Leave You Far Behind by Lunatic Calm. Grendel agreed that it did sound like Goblin's interpretation was correct.
This is not a new sharing experience. When Grendel was a preschooler, Goblin drove him to daycare a great deal of the time. Sometimes they listened to kid music, sometimes they listened to grown-up tunes. One day, when the three of us were driving around town we were listening to a Third Eye Blind album. Grendel started singling along to Semi-charmed life. After he sang "She comes round and she goes down on me" I looked at Goblin and said that he couldn't listen to that album in the car with Grendel any more. The last thing I wanted was a call from his daycare teacher expressing her dismay at Grendel's musical repertoire.
So, yeah, that's how we spend quality family time.
How many women have been saved by these tests? How many women in their 40s would die if their insurance companies stopped covering mammograms before age 50?
While the studies show that most cancers can be caught under the new guidelines, what about those that would be missed until it was too late? Don't let the hoopla regarding the less stress, less false positives, and any inconvenience fool you. These findings are about cost effectiveness not about actual health care. How much are the lives of a few women worth I wonder?
I subscribe to Women's Health Magazine. Generally, I find the articles to be useful and interesting. However, they ran a piece on The Little Black Dress this month that disturbed me.
Women's Health is not a fashion magazine. It's supposed to be about helping women make healthy choices in their lives. Does this woman look healthy to you?
I plan on contacting the magazine to share my feelings on this. Such images only encourage young women to strive for an unhealthy weight, doing unhealthy things to get there.
When a friend emailed me that today was World Toilet Day, I thought he was sharing a joke. This is a serious organization attempting to promote sanitation in places where it is scarce. There are millions of people in the world who do not have access to toilets. These people are used to eliminating their wastes in open areas or directly into water supplies that are used for drinking, bathing, and cooking.
While this is a noble cause, it's difficult for me to get behind (er... sorry about that) an organization that wants its supporters to:
At exactly noon on November 19th, gather your family, friends, classmates, colleagues and everyone you know to squat in public for 1 minute in support of World Toilet Day.
This drives home the point "where would you go?" and how people without toilets are forced to go in public places.
Notify the press to attend. Upload a photo of you squatting to encourage others to join.
The following is something my sister-in-law forwarded to me. She felt I might appreciate it after some recent melodrama with Grendel. One of his big arguments with me is that there were worse things he could be doing besides spending five or more hours every day playing video games. Enjoy!
A father passing by his son's bedroom was astonished to see that his bed was nicely made and everything was picked up. Then he saw an Envelope, propped up prominently on the pillow that was addressed to 'Dad..'
With the worst premonition he opened the envelope with trembling hands and read the letter.
Dear Dad:
It is with great regret and sorrow that I'm writing you. I had to elope with my new girlfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with Mom, and you.
I have been finding real passion with Stacy and she is so nice. But I knew you would not approve of her because of all her piercing, tattoos, tight motorcycle clothes and the fact that she is much older than I am. But it's not only the passion...Dad she's pregnant.
Stacy said that we will be very happy.
She owns a trailer in the woods and has a stack of firewood for the whole winter. We share a dream of having many more children.
Stacy has opened my eyes to the fact that marijuana doesn't really hurt anyone. We'll be growing it for ourselves and trading it with the other people that live nearby for cocaine and ecstasy.
In the meantime we will pray that science will find a cure for AIDS so Stacy can get better. She deserves it.
Don't worry Dad. I'm 15 and I know how to take care of myself.
Someday I'm sure that we will be back to visit so that you can get to know your grandchildren.
Love, Your Son John
PS. Dad, none of the above is true. I'm over at Tommy's house. I Just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than a Report card That's in my center desk drawer.
According to the journal NeuroReport dropping an F-bomb or two can make sudden injuries hurt a bit less. Test subjects plunged their hands into icy cold water. One group did it while cursing, the other group said a neutral word. The foul mouthed were able to keep their hands in the icy way for 30 percent longer and reported about half the pain as the clean mouthed. Dr Richard Stephens, author of the study, said, "Cursing can trigger the body's fight-or-flight response, which masks pain." So, go ahead and curse if you feel the need when you get that flu shot I mentioned yesterday.
According to a recent survey by the National Foundation for Infections Diseases, adults ages 18 to 26 are more clueless about preventable diseases than older adults. The CDC as a recommended schedule for adult immunizations. Among those important for young adults: heapatitus B, tetanus booster, HPV, meningitis, and flue. Here are some of the measures of cluelessness among young adults:
70% don't know that the flu kills more Americans than any other vaccine-preventable disease each year.
55% don't know that the virus that causes chicken pox also causes shingles
51% don't realize that they need a tetanus booster every 10 years
34% believe that the common cold is preventable via a vaccine (um... nope)
From my own misspent youth I can believe these numbers. When you're young you kind of think that you're invulnerable. Other than my annual gynecological exam, I don't think I saw a doctor on a regular basis until I was in my late twenties. And, vaccines? I thought those were for little kids or people traveling overseas.
My husband developed shingles when he was in his early 30's. It was horribly painful for him.
After missing a week's work for the flu in my early 30's, I started seeking out a flu shot every Fall. Got mine this year in mid-September. I haven't gotten the Swine Flu vaccine. I would if the supplies weren't so screwed up.
I think I'm about due for a tetanus booster, come to think of it.
My son completed Drivers Education recently. In New Hampshire, he cannot get his license until he has logged 40 hours of supervised driving, 10 hours of which must be night time driving. The earliest that he will complete this requirement is early January. More likely it will be the end of February or even March. Once he gets his license, the state of New Hampshire forbids him from having any non-familial passengers in the car for the first six months. Also, he is not allowed to drive (unsupervised) between the hours of 1AM and 5AM (like I'd let that happen anyway).
These are great restrictions. However, Congressmen Tim Bishop (D-NY), Michael Castle (R-DE), and Chris Van Hollen, Jr. (D-MD) do not believe this is enough, since more than 4,000 teenagers died in auto accidents last year. They introduced H.R. 1895: The STANDUP Act. The following is from the Safe Roads 4 Teens site:
States must meet the following requirements under the STANDUP Act:
Three stages of licensing – learner’s permit, intermediate stage, and full licensure – should be used
Age 16 should be the earliest age for entry into the learner’s permit process
Nighttime driving while unsupervised should be restricted during the learner’s permit and intermediate stages, until full licensure at age 18
Driving while using communication devices (cell phone calls, texting) should be prohibited at least until full licensure at age 18
Unrestricted, full licensure should occur no earlier than age 18
Passengers should be restricted – no more than one non-familial passenger under age 21 unless a licensed driver over age 21 is in the vehicle – until full licensure at age 18
Any other requirement adopted by the Secretary of Transportation, such as a minimum duration of 6 months and a minimum of 30 hours of supervised driving for a learner’s permit, may be included
Compliance with the requirements within the first three years after enactment will make states eligible for incentive grants
Three years are provided for states to meet the requirements, after which sanctions are imposed to encourage states to meet the requirements
Regardless of whether this law passes, I like the restrictions for teen drivers and will be adopting them for our son. Sorry, Kiddo, I love you too much to risk your life. I'm sure you'll turn out to be a great driver. But, I need to make sure that you take this privilege and the risk it represents quite seriously.
In the 1960's R. Crumb created the cutting edge x-rated comic Fritz the Cat.
After more than four decades building a subversive reputation, Crumb has entered new territory that seems to ideally match his talents by illustrating The Book of Genesis. Remember folks, the Old Testament is full of lust, incest, rape, knowing and begotting.
The cover of the book carries the warning "ADULT SUPERVISION RECOMMENDED FOR MINORS." If you consider the substance of most Biblical tales, you may wonder why straight up print editions don't carry that warning as well.
So, I gotta wonder how the Fundies will feel if they find their teenagers slobbering over this particular tome.
The best musical selection for this post would be Tom Lehrer's "Smut". Sadly, I couldn't find it lala.com or playlist.com. Leave it to YouTube!
I thought this was a joke when I first read the blurb in The Week. As reported in The National Geographic instances of "sea-mucus blobs" are on the rise. These phenomena are 'clumbs of living and dead organic matter that aggregate into vast, noxious, gooey masses called mucilage.' (Sounds like the ocean needs some decongestant.)
Sitings of these things were recorded all the way back to the 18th century. However, scientists speculate that rising ocean temperatures are to blame for the increased frequency and size of these bodies. (Quick, someone call Steve McQueen and have him bring his CO2 extinguisher again.) Some can 'stretch for more than 100 miles, often near coastlines and beaches, and can be teeming with harmful viruses and bacteria...'
Blobs can gum up the gills or smother sea life. Swimmers who get caught in blobs can develop nasty rashes.
And, yes, there was even a campy theme song from the movie written by Burt Bacharach:
Liz Cheney, former Vice President Dick Cheney's eldest daughter, recently announced the creation of a new conservative group: Keep America Safe. Cheney's group asserts that President Obama should 'stop raising the white flag of surrender to terrorists'. The mission of this group is :
...to provide information for concerned Americans about critical national security issues. Keep America Safe seeks to influence public policy by encouraging dialogue between American citizens and their elected representatives in order to produce legislation and executive action that enhances the national security of the United States.
Cheney is a former State Department official who has been making the rounds on cable television defending her father's post-VP statements and the Bush administration's policies, while attacking the Obama administration. Some postulate that the organization's conservative platform on national security is a springboard for Cheney's own political aspirations which may come to fruition with a Senate bid in Virginia. Kathleen Parker of the Washington Post has dubbed Cheney a "red state rock star."
Michelle Cottle of The New Republic says, "Liz Cheney is a particularly dangerous combination of sweet-as-sugar looks and savage instincts."
Loads of parents out there, including some I know, swear by their Baby Einstein DVDs. In 2006, the Boston-based In 2006, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) complained about Disney's use of the word "educational" in the series' marketing materials. When Disney complied and dropped the word, CCFC made rumblings about filing a class action law suit against Disney for misleading parents into buying the DVDs after a research group out of Washington University published a study claiming that infants exposed to the DVDs actually knew 10% fewer words than children not exposed to the DVDs.
CCFC has claimed victorynow that Disney is offering purchasers a refund of up to $15.99 per Baby Einstein DVD purchased. However, this is not a new refund. The company has had this refund option in place since the beginning of the product line. Baby Einstein says that they have always stood behind their product with a money-back guarantee.
By the way, the Washington University study didn't target just Baby Einstein DVDs. It encompassed ANY supposedly 'education' vidutainment product aimed at toddlers and infants. So, guess what, the American Academy of Pediatrics had a point. Prolonged exposure to vidutainment for children of any age impedes intellectual growth.
Duh. However, two career families can take heart. Allowing your children to enjoy visual entertainment for limited periods of time (so you can decompress, make dinner, do laundry, etc.) As long as you interact with your children (perhaps sit down with them and read a book) on a regular basis, they probably still have a chance at Harvard.
Couldn't make up my mind for a theme song for this post, so you get two:
Apparently, Hollywood is adding clauses to movie contracts regarding social networking (particularly Facebook and Twitter). There are non-disclosure clauses regarding the plots and on-set happenings on major motion pictures now. Just ask Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz.
Come on folks! What else would we want to hear tweeted from celebrities. Certainly not what they had for breakfast.
As an aside, my favorite celebrity to follow on Twitter is Zane Lamprey from FLN's "Three Sheets". The guy is wickedly funny on his show and in his tweets.
BTW, this is a great cover of the 1980's Wham hit:
I enjoy Shakespeare's work. I've seen virtually every film adaption of his plays. Now, a little produced work is going to be filmed with one of my favorite actors. Gerard Butler has agreed to costar in Coriolanus
Yes, he and co-star Ralph Fiennes will probably die by the end of the film, since it's a tragedy. But, I'll be riveted until they keel over.
Hubby is in school full time now, chasing a career as an LPN. He works part time as an LNA. He could work full time and go to school full time. However, it's hard to juggle shifts around the school schedule. Even so, there are few full time positions for LNA's. Most are per diem jobs, like his.
Unemployment is just a bit more than what he makes part time. So, most weeks he gets a pay check and an unemployment check. While neither is much, we'll definitely feel the bite come April when the benefits run out... Unless, they extend the benefits yet again. We're already in record-setting territory on extensions to benefits at this point. I guess we've exceeded all down turns now except for The Great Depression, huh?
Several decades ago, the "choose your own adventure" book was all the rage. The path of the story was decided by the choices you made. It was kind of the Monty Hall of literature. Choose to go up the stairs and your attacked by a three headed monster. Choose to go through a door instead and you happen upon a chest of gold.
I was never really into those books. However, this one has sparked my curiosity sufficiently that I may just have to order Zombocalypse Now from Amazon:
You're a stuffed bunny, and it's the end of the world. Between you and your objective are forty or fifty zombies gorging themselves on the flesh of the living. If you disguise yourself as one of them and try to sneak past the feeding frenzy, turn to page 183.If you grab a tire iron, flip out and get medieval on their undead asses, turn to page 11. Zombocalypse Now is a comedy/horror reimagining of the choose-your-own-ending books you grew up with. You'll be confronted with undead hordes, internet dating, improper police procedure, and the very real danger that you'll lose your grip on reality and wind up stark raving mad. The zombie apocalypse has never been this much fun.
I can't believe it. Tonight is my son's last drivers' education class. He still needs about 30 hours of supervised driving practice with us before he can apply for his license. However, the time has gone by too quickly.
K is actually a reasonable driver for someone with his lack of experience. Not only is he a pretty smart kid, but we did pick an awesome instructor for him.
The earliest K will probably be able to qualify to take his test will be New Year's Eve day. So, sometime in early 2010 I will age astronomically as my son embarks on the next phase of his independence (and worries the crud out of me while he does it).
It's the Monday after a clock-changing weekend. Also, I'm on the hook to work at least until 5pm tonight. Most of my team is out the door by 4:30. So, in order to be more customer-service oriented we all agreed that we would each take a turn at being available until 5pm.
In my quest to be more positive, there is one thing I am really looking forward to today: my hour long commute each way. Yes, you read that correctly. Since I'm listening to an audiobook that I really like, I love my commute. However, I'm getting close to the end of the book. This is even more bittersweet than usual since I'm on book three of a series of three books. Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instrument series is marketed to teens. However, I have loved them. They're kind of a cross between Harry Potter and Twilight.
Today's theme song is in honor of my 5pm commitment, my messed up internal clock, and for all of you out there who won't be enjoying your commute:
Since becoming a Facebook addict, my blogging has suffered. At best, I've been posting on the weekends. Since it's National Blog Posting Month (aka, NaBloPoMo) I decided to challenge myself to get back in the saddle and try to post at least once a day for a month like I've done in years past.
Since I love music so much, I've decided to give myself the added task of including an embedded song link with each post. I'll aim for something that fits my post, but it may just fit my very eclectic musical moods.
