Gotta Love Those Kids!
I don't believe I have posted these before. I got this in an email a long time ago, so I hope you all haven't seen them. If you have, enjoy them all over again!
A kindergarten pupil told his teacher he’d found a cat, but it was dead. “How do you know the cat was dead?” she asked him. “Because I pissed in its ear and it didn’t move,” the child answered innocently. “You did WHAT?!!” the teacher exclaimed in surprise. “You know,” explained the boy, “I leaned over and went ‘Pssst!’ and it didn’t move.”
An exasperated mother, whose son was always getting into mischief, finally asked him, “How do you expect to get into Heaven?” The boy thought it over and said, “Well, I’ll run in and out and in and out and keep slamming the door until St. Peter says, ‘For Heaven’s sake, Dylan, come in or stay out!”
One summer evening during a violent thunderstorm a mother was tucking her son into bed. She was about to turn off the light when he asked with a tremor in his voice, “Mommy, will you sleep with me tonight?” “I can’t dear,” she said, “I have to sleep in Daddy’s room.” A long silence was broken at last by his shaky little voice: “The big sissy.”
It was that time, during the Sunday morning service, for the children’s sermon. All the children were invited to come forward. One little girl was wearing a particularly pretty dress and, as she sat down, the pastor leaned over and said, “That is a very pretty dress. Is it your Easter Dress?” The little girl replied, directly into the pastor’s microphone, “Yes, and my Mom says it’s a b*tch to iron.”
When I was six months pregnant, my three year old came into the room as I was preparing to get into the shower. She said, “Mommy, you are getting fat!” I replied “Yes, honey, remember Mommy has a baby growing in her tummy.” “I know,” she replied, “but what’s growing in your butt?”
One day the first grade teacher was reading the story of Chicken Little to her class. She came to the part where Chicken Little warns the farmer. She read, “…and Chicken Little went up to the farmer and said, “The sky is falling!” The teacher then asked the class, “And what do you think that farmer said?” One little girl raised her hand and said, “I think he said: ‘Holy Sh*t! A talking chicken!’” The teacher was unable to teach for the next 10 minutes.
"What we have seen since 9/11 is the constitutional government being replaced by deep government."-- Peter Dale Scott
"I find it very hard to believe that the Bush administration either let or made it happen. It's clear that people within government were involved, but we should avoid condemning an entire administration.""
There is a whole milieu of Saudi capital allied with Texas capital . . . somewhere within the Saudi/Texas/Geneva [banking] milieu there is the place for a meta-group . . . with resources necessary for a successful plot."
The Nation: Where's the CIA's Missing Jewel?
"The No. 1 jewel of the CIA's Office of Security is probably a pretty good one--especially since the second jewel in this list is the Roselli/Castro assassination program," says Thomas Blanton, director of the National Security Archive, a public interest outfit that filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the "Family Jewels" fifteen years ago.Most of the media seems to have missed the most important part of the story, that Jewel #1 is still secret. In other words, the fact that the CIA conspired with the Mafia to kill Castro was not the Agency's most important secret.
A Little More Detail
The other night I posted about the youngest having problems getting pregnant. I didn't go into any further explanation because I thought someone from my town had 'found' this blog and didn't want all of A's business 'out there' when it comes to people we know. I now realize that I was tracking my own 'visits' to this site--some tech geek I turned out to be! I had to reset my router for my wireless network the other day--so that I could get on the net with the Wii--and I didn't realize that it changed my IP address and that I needed to tell Sitemeter to ignore my 'visits.' DUH!! So, with that settled, I will add some more to what is going on.
A and her husband have been working with a fertility specialist for a while now. She was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Among other problems with this, infertility is just about a given--or, at the very least, difficulty in getting pregnant. The doctor has been testing her to the best of his abilities and treating her as well as can be. (She can't go through certain tests--those using dyes--because she has a shellfish allergy/sensitivity and the dyes contain iodine.) Between ultrasounds, medications, 'turkey basters,' etc, she has been trying to get pregnant. The last go showed that her eggs were not being very cooperative and maturing as they should. They had another consultation with the doctor on Monday and he gave them two options. One is a try with another medication, which will result in an 18% chance of success and the other is IVF (in vitro fertilization) which would be about a 56% chance of success. Of course, the IVF is 5 times the cost, and insurance--I believe--will not cover it. They will try for the 18% and hope for the best.
I still haven't talked with her--I'm giving her the time she needs. When she feels up to it, she will call, but I don't have words of wisdom for her. As far as I see it, the doctor came just short of saying that, in all probability, she will not get pregnant without extensive, costly, medical measures. This is something that she did not need to hear. And, of course, her sister cannot understand any of this--after all, I sometimes think C can get pregnant just by talking on the phone with her husband! To top it all off, A is far from family and her closest friends, so she doesn't even have many people for her to talk to--if she feels like talking at all. I've just been in a bit of a funk over all of this and am trying very hard to not dwell--and it is taking some effort.
So, this is where I am at right now--just keeping on keeping on. Thanks for letting me share!
A and her husband have been working with a fertility specialist for a while now. She was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Among other problems with this, infertility is just about a given--or, at the very least, difficulty in getting pregnant. The doctor has been testing her to the best of his abilities and treating her as well as can be. (She can't go through certain tests--those using dyes--because she has a shellfish allergy/sensitivity and the dyes contain iodine.) Between ultrasounds, medications, 'turkey basters,' etc, she has been trying to get pregnant. The last go showed that her eggs were not being very cooperative and maturing as they should. They had another consultation with the doctor on Monday and he gave them two options. One is a try with another medication, which will result in an 18% chance of success and the other is IVF (in vitro fertilization) which would be about a 56% chance of success. Of course, the IVF is 5 times the cost, and insurance--I believe--will not cover it. They will try for the 18% and hope for the best.
I still haven't talked with her--I'm giving her the time she needs. When she feels up to it, she will call, but I don't have words of wisdom for her. As far as I see it, the doctor came just short of saying that, in all probability, she will not get pregnant without extensive, costly, medical measures. This is something that she did not need to hear. And, of course, her sister cannot understand any of this--after all, I sometimes think C can get pregnant just by talking on the phone with her husband! To top it all off, A is far from family and her closest friends, so she doesn't even have many people for her to talk to--if she feels like talking at all. I've just been in a bit of a funk over all of this and am trying very hard to not dwell--and it is taking some effort.
So, this is where I am at right now--just keeping on keeping on. Thanks for letting me share!
Rapunzel, Rapunzel
The other day Burg blogged about her 'hair through the ages'--this after she got a cute, new, sassy haircut. Never letting an opportunity go by to steal an idea from someone else, I decided to do a post about my own hair. And I guess it didn't hurt that I had my monthly cut/color done today to motivate me, also.
When I was a child, my hair was so white that it was almost translucent. And it was fine and wispy: fine, Finnish, fairy fur. Most of the kids with Finnish ancestors that I know have the same kind of hair--it is as we get older that things can change.
In high school, my hair was a pretty color blond--not too light and not too dark. It almost was an ash blond, I guess. I wore my hair very long and straight--as so many high school girls do/did. I wasn't able to do much more than that with the hair because it was so thick--enough for two people, actually. When I put my hair in a 'pony tail,' the description was VERY fitting! This was when I really got used to taking a bath/shower at night, because it took all night for my hair to dry. I REALLY didn't want to go to school in below zero weather with a wet head--NOT a fun activity.
I began wearing my hair shorter when I was pregnant with my first. My hair was about waist-length and I got it all cut off to chin-length--I figured, rightly so, that it would be much easier to take care of with a newborn around. Not only did my hair continue to get shorter as time wore on, it also began to get darker. Don't know why--but The Mother had the same thing happen to her, too.
For the last several years I wore my hair in a short bob--just about earlobe-length. It was a flattering cut for me and easy to take care of--my hair just naturally bends under, so I only have to blow dry it and it falls into place. (Of course, if my stylist wasn't as talented as she is, NOTHING would work--thanks, Barb!) Then one day I took a good look at myself and realized the short hair really wasn't the best fit for me. Over the years, I have added a little too much weight to this short, stubby body of mine and having too short hair just isn't right. I realized that having too short hair would cause me to look just like a beach ball with a ping-pong ball balancing on top--NOT a good look! So, the decision was made to let it grow out. I now wear it longer--several inches below the top of my shoulders. Definitely a better choice--now the top and bottom balance out a little better. :)
Unfortunately, my hair has not retained its thickness--and I'm not too sure why. I suppose some of it has to do with age, but having thyroid problems and psoriasis has taken it's toll, also. I probably could get used to having less hair, it's the thinner texture that I can't handle--I ALWAYS had such thick, heavy hair that it is hard to accept the thinner, finer hair I have today. I keep telling the oldest--who has even MORE hair than I did--that her day will come, too. The mother's curse--it will work once again. :)
I have always wanted to have short, spiky hair. I figure that would be about the easiest to take care of--but, alas, that can't happen before I drop about 3000 pounds! The friend I go to see when we do road trips has the short, spiky hair and it looks so good on her. Of course, she weighs about 65 pounds--AND she is about 5 inches taller than me--so she HAS to have short hair so that she won't look like she's about to fall over! (This is the same friend that 'bloated up' to about 75 pounds when she was pregnant--for her twins! I think I hate her!) It looks as if I will be sticking to the longer hair for a while.
As I said, my hair has gotten darker over the years. Now, this WASN'T the reason I started to color it--the reason was the grey. Before I go any further, I MUST say my grey hair isn't ONLY because of age: one of the favorite activities a group of us used to participate in during boring lectures in school, was to see how many grey hairs could be pulled out of my head. Yep, I started getting grey in high school. And, actually, it is VERY slow moving--I don't believe I am any more than about 15% grey under the dye. And if there is more than 15% going on, I don't really want to know about it. I wouldn't mind going natural if my hair would be a pretty color, but it won't. The Mother has unattractive grey hair and I know mine would be just as sad--salt and pepper, but NOT in a good way.
Right now my hair is a very pretty blond--my stylist outdoes herself every time I go in. However, I LOVE to go VERY funky with color whenever I can. These days we have to stick with the blond because I am frequenting the tanning booth--for my SKIN, not for the color--and any color other than blond wouldn't last more than a week before fading. My preferred color is red and I can't wait to get back to it--but I will live with the blond just as long as I have to be under the 'hot lights.' I would have very crazy things done to the color, but my stylist is MUCH more conservative than I am. My motto when it comes to color: I don't want anyone to think this color is real! We have managed some funky things and it always is so much fun.
My whole attitude toward hair is this: it should be a fun accessory. Do whatever you want to my hair--if I don't like it, change it. If the color is wrong, we'll change it back. If the cut is wrong, the hair will grow. It's not worth getting upset about if it isn't right--time will fix anything.
When I was a child, my hair was so white that it was almost translucent. And it was fine and wispy: fine, Finnish, fairy fur. Most of the kids with Finnish ancestors that I know have the same kind of hair--it is as we get older that things can change.
In high school, my hair was a pretty color blond--not too light and not too dark. It almost was an ash blond, I guess. I wore my hair very long and straight--as so many high school girls do/did. I wasn't able to do much more than that with the hair because it was so thick--enough for two people, actually. When I put my hair in a 'pony tail,' the description was VERY fitting! This was when I really got used to taking a bath/shower at night, because it took all night for my hair to dry. I REALLY didn't want to go to school in below zero weather with a wet head--NOT a fun activity.
I began wearing my hair shorter when I was pregnant with my first. My hair was about waist-length and I got it all cut off to chin-length--I figured, rightly so, that it would be much easier to take care of with a newborn around. Not only did my hair continue to get shorter as time wore on, it also began to get darker. Don't know why--but The Mother had the same thing happen to her, too.
For the last several years I wore my hair in a short bob--just about earlobe-length. It was a flattering cut for me and easy to take care of--my hair just naturally bends under, so I only have to blow dry it and it falls into place. (Of course, if my stylist wasn't as talented as she is, NOTHING would work--thanks, Barb!) Then one day I took a good look at myself and realized the short hair really wasn't the best fit for me. Over the years, I have added a little too much weight to this short, stubby body of mine and having too short hair just isn't right. I realized that having too short hair would cause me to look just like a beach ball with a ping-pong ball balancing on top--NOT a good look! So, the decision was made to let it grow out. I now wear it longer--several inches below the top of my shoulders. Definitely a better choice--now the top and bottom balance out a little better. :)
Unfortunately, my hair has not retained its thickness--and I'm not too sure why. I suppose some of it has to do with age, but having thyroid problems and psoriasis has taken it's toll, also. I probably could get used to having less hair, it's the thinner texture that I can't handle--I ALWAYS had such thick, heavy hair that it is hard to accept the thinner, finer hair I have today. I keep telling the oldest--who has even MORE hair than I did--that her day will come, too. The mother's curse--it will work once again. :)
I have always wanted to have short, spiky hair. I figure that would be about the easiest to take care of--but, alas, that can't happen before I drop about 3000 pounds! The friend I go to see when we do road trips has the short, spiky hair and it looks so good on her. Of course, she weighs about 65 pounds--AND she is about 5 inches taller than me--so she HAS to have short hair so that she won't look like she's about to fall over! (This is the same friend that 'bloated up' to about 75 pounds when she was pregnant--for her twins! I think I hate her!) It looks as if I will be sticking to the longer hair for a while.
As I said, my hair has gotten darker over the years. Now, this WASN'T the reason I started to color it--the reason was the grey. Before I go any further, I MUST say my grey hair isn't ONLY because of age: one of the favorite activities a group of us used to participate in during boring lectures in school, was to see how many grey hairs could be pulled out of my head. Yep, I started getting grey in high school. And, actually, it is VERY slow moving--I don't believe I am any more than about 15% grey under the dye. And if there is more than 15% going on, I don't really want to know about it. I wouldn't mind going natural if my hair would be a pretty color, but it won't. The Mother has unattractive grey hair and I know mine would be just as sad--salt and pepper, but NOT in a good way.
Right now my hair is a very pretty blond--my stylist outdoes herself every time I go in. However, I LOVE to go VERY funky with color whenever I can. These days we have to stick with the blond because I am frequenting the tanning booth--for my SKIN, not for the color--and any color other than blond wouldn't last more than a week before fading. My preferred color is red and I can't wait to get back to it--but I will live with the blond just as long as I have to be under the 'hot lights.' I would have very crazy things done to the color, but my stylist is MUCH more conservative than I am. My motto when it comes to color: I don't want anyone to think this color is real! We have managed some funky things and it always is so much fun.
My whole attitude toward hair is this: it should be a fun accessory. Do whatever you want to my hair--if I don't like it, change it. If the color is wrong, we'll change it back. If the cut is wrong, the hair will grow. It's not worth getting upset about if it isn't right--time will fix anything.
The Prissy Patriot on Dick Cheney and the DC Madame
5:15 PM Update-from a VERY reliable source...and friend emailed this:Via Cannonfire
Yes, I have 3 confirmations, 1 from Pentagon, 2 from CIA that (Dick) Cheney was a client.
Cheney and possibly up to 3 GOP presidential candidates are on the list, or "a list" of clients. There were more than one escort service in those days operating in DC among the VIP community.
I Am So Honored!
Burg has so honored me by giving me a 'Rockin' Girl Blogger' award! It is asked--usually in a meme :)--why I blog, and the answer always HAS to be: my readers! I definitely consider those who read this little bit of nonsense on a regular basis, my friends--ones I haven't met in person, but still friends. If I can, in a little way, make someone think, smile, or react in any other way when they read what I have to say, then it is worth every minute spent taking care of this blog. And if someone can be entertained enough to come back a second, third, or more times, then I am thrilled--and you make me feel a little worthy if you spend your limited time reading my drivel. Thank you to my readers and especially thank you, Burg--you made my day. :)
Now, I am supposed to give out this award to five others. There is no way for me to decide, or narrow my list down to five. If I didn't think you all rocked, then I wouldn't visit your blog every day--and that includes the guys, who really AREN'T Rockin' Girls. :) So, consider yourselves awarded the 'Rockin' Girl Blogger' award: Jan, Leazwell, Cindi, Kristi, Virginia Belle, and, of course Burg, who started it all--and anyone else I forgot. A better group of 'girls' I can't imagine!
JFK: Warrior for Peace
"I thought and I still feel that the CIA did wet work on its own," says John Seigenthaler, Robert Kennedy's administrative aide at the Justice Department and later publisher of the Tennessean. "They were way too in thrall to 007... We were caught in the reality of the cold war, and the agency obviously had a role to play. But I don't think the Kennedys believed you could trust much of what they said. We were trying to find our way out of the cold war, but the CIA certainly didn't want to."
Nor did President Kennedy have a firm hand on the Pentagon. "Certainly we did not control the Joint Chiefs of Staff," said Schlesinger, looking back at the Kennedy White House. It was a chilling observation, considering the throbbing nuclear tensions of the period. The former White House aide revealed that J.F.K. was less afraid of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev's ordering a surprise attack than he was "that something would go wrong in a Dr. Strangelove kind of way"—with a politically unstable U.S. general snapping and launching World War III.
Kennedy often said he wanted his epitaph to be "He kept the peace."
CIA: The Family Jewels (703 pages)
Keeping Track of All the Redactions
Flash: CIA Family Jewel # 1 missing.
On Tuesday, June 26, 2007 the CIA released a memo from the CIA Director of Security to the CIA Management Committee ( CIA Director, Deputy Director, etc.) The memo lists “illegal operations” conducted by the CIA from March 1959 to June 1964. These projects are what the CIA considers the “skeletons” in the CIA closet. The memo entitled the list “FAMILY JEWELS.” JEWEL # 1 is presumably the most important and egregious on the list. Yet, it is still completely censored 35+ years after the memo was written. Given the other items on the list include CIA-Mafia plots against Fidel Castro and the role of Attorney General Robert Kennedy is planning assassinations, why is JEWEL #1 still censored? To see this page, click JEWEL # 1. Following the summary list are explanations of each item. Every single word of the 3 page description of JEWEL # 1 is completely censored. Every single word. What are they hiding 35 years later?
FOX News anchor Brit Hume surfaced in CIA documents revealed this week. Hume once worked with Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Jack Anderson and shows up in the documents as "Eggnog." The documents show that the CIA surveilled Anderson, Hume and other journalists in 1972.
Military reviews placing special ops on U.S. soil
The U.S. military command in charge of protecting the homeland asked the Pentagon earlier this year for a contingent of special operations officers to help with domestic anti-terrorism missions.
William Arkin, national security expert for the Washington Post comments:
Special Operations Prepared for Domestic Missions
The U.S. military command in charge of protecting the homeland asked the Pentagon earlier this year for a contingent of special operations officers to help with domestic anti-terrorism missions.
William Arkin, national security expert for the Washington Post comments:
Special Operations Prepared for Domestic Missions
The establishment of a domestic special operations mission, and the preparation of contingency plans to employ commandos in the United States, would upend decades of tradition. Military actions within the United States are the responsibility of state militias (the National Guard), and federal law enforcement is a function of the FBI.
Employing special operations for domestic missions sounds very ominous, and NORTHCOM's request earlier this year should receive the closest possible Pentagon and congressional scrutiny. There's only one problem: NORTHCOM is already doing what it has requested permission to do.
Such A Disappointment
Heard from youngest daughter tonight, by email, and the 'trying to get pregnant' bit didn't work--again. I don't feel too comfortable going into all of the details, but they are working with a doctor and were hoping things were going in the right direction. Obviously they aren't, as things have fallen apart once again. They get to go and have another consultation with the doc tomorrow, so they will figure out what to do next. She was so upset that she couldn't even call to tell me--she had to send an email. I wish I knew the words to say to make her feel better, but all I can come up with are cliches. Oh well, I keep trying to think 'what doesn't kill us makes us stronger.' I sure hope she is strong enough to go through all this.
Celebrity Idiots
WHEN are these people (celebrities) going to realize just how damn stupid they sound to those of us who are actually normal? Here are a couple more examples of 'celebrity idiots.'
Our favorite idiot had this to say:
And another idiot--who seems to think he is God's gift to the world--acted like this to fans:
WHY are these people still idolized by some? Their popularity completely eludes me.
Our favorite idiot had this to say:
Angelina Jolie told Marie Claire magazine that she doesn't think she's ever seriously said "I love you" to Brad Pitt.
She said, "I don't think we've ever said (I love you). I mean, I'm sure we have, but we would have to punch each other in the arm first."
And another idiot--who seems to think he is God's gift to the world--acted like this to fans:
Justin Timberlake left fans calling him a "f***face" when he refused to pose for pictures and spit at them outside his Swedish hotel. Justin responded to them by saying, “You’re calling me a f***face? Go f*** yourself!”
And:
When a little girl later asked him for a picture he responded with, “You want me to juggle also?”
WHY are these people still idolized by some? Their popularity completely eludes me.
Iranian forces 'crossed Iraqi border'...
(now at the top of the Drudge Report)
(now at the top of the Drudge Report)
Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces have been spotted by British troops crossing the border into southern Iraq, The Sun tabloid reported on Tuesday.
Britain's defence ministry would not confirm or deny the report, with a spokesman declining to comment on "intelligence matters".An unidentified intelligence source told the tabloid: "It is an extremely alarming development and raises the stakes considerably. In effect, it means we are in a full on war with Iran -- but nobody has officially declared it."
"We have hard proof that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps have crossed the border to attack us. It is very hard for us to strike back. All we can do is try to defend ourselves. We are badly on the back foot."
Urbicide in Baqubah
There is a new detailed analysis out on the "War and Operation in Iraq" written by the Global Policy Forum and some thirty non-governmental-organizations. It is impeccable sourced on mainstream news accounts and official reports.
The currently ongoing "pacification" of Baqubah, a city with 300,000 inhabitants, by some 10,000 U.S. troops is using the same methods as documented in the NGO report with regard to Fallujah and a dozen other Iraqi cities. From the executive summary (pdf):
US Coalition forces have attacked and destroyed a number of important Iraqi cities, on grounds that they were “insurgent strongholds.” The attacks have resulted in the massive displacement of people, large civilian casualties, and colossal destruction of the urban physical infrastructure. In addition to Falluja, there have been assaults on a dozen other cities including al-Qaim, Tal Afar, Samarra, Haditha, and Ramadi. The attacks include intensive air and ground bombardment and cutting-off electricity, water, food and medicines. The attacks have left hundreds of thousands of people homeless and in displacement camps.
As For Hockey...
Yes, I know, it is the middle of summer, but things STILL are going on in the world of hockey. And the big news is the signing--or NON-signing--of players.
The Red Wings have officially come out and said they will not offer contracts to Lang or Calder for the next year. While I wasn't quite as bad of a 'Lang hater' as some were, I'm not crying over the fact that he will no longer be wearing the winged wheel. He just didn't do enough last season--and I found myself (toward the end) cringing every time I saw his line come out onto the ice. Not good. So, he won't be around for Wings' fans to kick anymore. I AM sorry to see Calder go--I still think he has potential. Unfortunately, after his big splash right after he came to Detroit, his play went downhill. Too bad.
Right now the biggest thing that needs to be done is negotiate salaries. While Hasek said he is coming back, his pay hasn't been agreed on. I KNOW he will ask for a raise, but I don't know how many other teams would be willing to take him at a much higher salary--he has to watch what he asks for. The Wings would like to have Bertuzzi, Markov, and Schneider back, but at the (alleged) asking prices, I don't think all of them will be playing for Detroit next year. Damn salary cap! :) It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.
The Red Wings have officially come out and said they will not offer contracts to Lang or Calder for the next year. While I wasn't quite as bad of a 'Lang hater' as some were, I'm not crying over the fact that he will no longer be wearing the winged wheel. He just didn't do enough last season--and I found myself (toward the end) cringing every time I saw his line come out onto the ice. Not good. So, he won't be around for Wings' fans to kick anymore. I AM sorry to see Calder go--I still think he has potential. Unfortunately, after his big splash right after he came to Detroit, his play went downhill. Too bad.
Right now the biggest thing that needs to be done is negotiate salaries. While Hasek said he is coming back, his pay hasn't been agreed on. I KNOW he will ask for a raise, but I don't know how many other teams would be willing to take him at a much higher salary--he has to watch what he asks for. The Wings would like to have Bertuzzi, Markov, and Schneider back, but at the (alleged) asking prices, I don't think all of them will be playing for Detroit next year. Damn salary cap! :) It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.
Let’s Talk Really Crazy, Now
X. Dell of The X Spot is currently running a series about "Targeted Individuals" (TIs). Are they crazy or is someone out to get them?
X. Dell of The X Spot is currently running a series about "Targeted Individuals" (TIs). Are they crazy or is someone out to get them?
By and large, TIs are quite aware that the incidents they report are bizarre, and mimic point-for-point those found in the reports of people who are actually schizophrenic. The awareness of this causes them a great deal of frustration.
Israel braces for July war with up to five enemies
JERUSALEM — Israel is preparing for an imminent war with Iran, Syria and/or their non-state clients.And then Jesus comes.
Israeli military intelligence has projected that a major attack could come from any of five adversaries in the Middle East. Officials said such a strike could spark a war as early as July 2007.
On Sunday, Israeli military intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin told the Cabinet that the Jewish state faces five adversaries in what could result in an imminent confrontation. Yadlin cited Iran, Syria, Hizbullah, Hamas and Al Qaida.
And We DO Live In A City!
The other morning I looked out the back window and I saw not 1, not 2, but 13 ducks! I think they were all from the same family--a male and female were off from the rest of the flock, just keeping watch. Of course, they all looked to be the same size, but it IS that late in the season, so the babies would be as big as mama and papa by now. We haven't had that many ducks in the yard at one time before. It really was kind of cool.
Here is a picture of the ducks I think are mama and papa--you can see them right at the bottom:
And here are all of the 'babies':
If you look real closely, you can count 12--one of the parents made it into this pic.
The ducks just wandered around the back yard for about a half hour and then a little at a time, they all just flew away.
Here is a picture of the ducks I think are mama and papa--you can see them right at the bottom:
And here are all of the 'babies':
If you look real closely, you can count 12--one of the parents made it into this pic.
The ducks just wandered around the back yard for about a half hour and then a little at a time, they all just flew away.
A Little Updating
Last night I finally did a bit of updating to this blog. I started by putting links to all of the 'Things To Do When You're Bored' posts in the sidebar. This way, if you ever need to find something to do, it will be easy!
I added a blog to the list of ones I read daily: Down Yonder Green Valley. Jan writes this blog from Wales and I find it fascinating. The words she uses, the way she phrases things are so different from what I experience in my daily life--I am just so very interested. She has a menagerie of pets and also feeds numerous wild creatures--including hedgehogs! I love looking at the pictures she posts--a most beautiful part of the world. Do go and look at her blog, if for nothing more than the pictures.
In the links section of the sidebar, I added a couple that I have been meaning to. Stuff on My Mutt is the companion site to Stuff on My Cat. If you want cute pictures of dogs or cats, these two sites are for you. I find myself, more often than not, laughing out loud when I am looking at the pics.
For those of you who never got around to seeing Cows With Guns, I now have linked to it. It still is one of my all time favorite things to laugh at. Every few months or so I have to watch it again--and I ALWAYS chuckle. Check it out--especially if you never have seen it before.
Although it has been a link for a long time on the sidebar, I want to point out Demonic Squirrel Riding Story. Before reading it, make sure you go to the bathroom and DON'T drink a thing during the read--it IS funny enough to make you pee yourself or snort liquid through your nose.
And finally, I added a link to my post 'You Might Be A Yooper.' If you ever want to understand those of us in the UP of Michigan, this would be a good place to start. While it is a humorous look at us, it definitely is more real than any of us might want to admit!
I added a blog to the list of ones I read daily: Down Yonder Green Valley. Jan writes this blog from Wales and I find it fascinating. The words she uses, the way she phrases things are so different from what I experience in my daily life--I am just so very interested. She has a menagerie of pets and also feeds numerous wild creatures--including hedgehogs! I love looking at the pictures she posts--a most beautiful part of the world. Do go and look at her blog, if for nothing more than the pictures.
In the links section of the sidebar, I added a couple that I have been meaning to. Stuff on My Mutt is the companion site to Stuff on My Cat. If you want cute pictures of dogs or cats, these two sites are for you. I find myself, more often than not, laughing out loud when I am looking at the pics.
For those of you who never got around to seeing Cows With Guns, I now have linked to it. It still is one of my all time favorite things to laugh at. Every few months or so I have to watch it again--and I ALWAYS chuckle. Check it out--especially if you never have seen it before.
Although it has been a link for a long time on the sidebar, I want to point out Demonic Squirrel Riding Story. Before reading it, make sure you go to the bathroom and DON'T drink a thing during the read--it IS funny enough to make you pee yourself or snort liquid through your nose.
And finally, I added a link to my post 'You Might Be A Yooper.' If you ever want to understand those of us in the UP of Michigan, this would be a good place to start. While it is a humorous look at us, it definitely is more real than any of us might want to admit!
And Finally...
Here is the last installment in 'Things To Do When You're Bored.' If you can't get any inspiration from these lists, then you are a hopeless case! :)
-Go to McDonald's and pretend you can't speak English
-Write to your congressmen, senators, President, etc. to tell them what a good job they're doing...On April 1st
-Take apart all your major kitchen appliances...mix and match them
-Turn your TV picture tube upside down
-Phone in a death threat on President Kennedy
-Put lighted EXIT signs on all your closets
-Carry a tune...drop it, see if it breaks
-Play hockey with your little cousin...as the puck
-Make a deal with the devil...but keep your fingers crossed
-Put instant concrete in your big brother's waterbed
-Give a lecture on the historical significance of cream cheese
-Debate politics with a fern
-If you lose, stop watering it and try again.
-Increase your territorial holdings by force
-Find out how many ways there really are to skin a cat
-Boldly go where no man has gone before
-Be a threat to the American way of life
-Do research into the cause of World War III
-Be a threat to the Northwestern Tibetan way of life
-Re-establish the Roman Empire...in
-See how small you can scrunch your face
-Sell firewood door to door...in Atlantis
-Found the TLO (
-Play nuclear chicken with a small third world nation
-Raise professional certified racing turnips
-Give your grandmother a raise and another day of paid vacation
-Lead an aerobics class...for patients of the I.C.U.
-Go to a drive-in movie in a tank
-Go to a non-drive-in movie in a tank and drive in anyway
-Found a cockroach stable and stud ranch
-Send your goldfish to obedience school
-Free the oppressed toasters of
-Weave a tablecloth out of copper tubing
-Park your car...with a friend
-Park your car...with a group of friends
-Frame your first statement of bankruptcy
-Place it on the wall of your office
-Solve the population problem (x^2 + y^2 = population...solve for x)
-Contribute to the population problem
-Wear a T-shirt that says "I'll walk on you to see The Who" and a peace sign
-Practice the Aztec method of heart removal on your least favorite neighbor
-Find out who made the super glue commercials and give them your Ginsu knife
-Get Ronco and K-tel to merge...they sell the same stuff anyway
-Sneak into a nuclear physics lab and stay the night
-Play with anything that looks interesting
-Drop piston engines on two people and see who squishes first
-See if your goldfish can live in Coors rather than water
-Try to ignite water...the
-Draw Venn diagrams...screw them up
-State fallacies as fact (like, "peanuts grow on bushes")
-Visit the Architecture building...loudly criticize its design
-Make a schematic drawing...of a rock
-Wallpaper your laundry room...with pages from books you don't like
-See if diamonds really do cut glass...on everything in your neighbor's house
-Tenderize your tongue...chew on it for a while
-Bronze your sister's turtle
-See how long it takes for her to notice
-See what she does when she notices
-Bronze your sister
NHL Draft
On Friday, the NHL draft was held. Yippee?! It is really kind of hard to get too excited about this--after all, most of those being picked are still in their teens and won't even SEE the inside of an NHL rink for many years to come! Detroit picked 27th and got a defenseman.
The neatest thing about the draft: the first two picks were AMERICAN BORN PLAYERS! I guess we DO grow hockey players here in the States, after all. :) All in all, ten Americans were picked during this first round. Now THAT is something worth cheering about.
The neatest thing about the draft: the first two picks were AMERICAN BORN PLAYERS! I guess we DO grow hockey players here in the States, after all. :) All in all, ten Americans were picked during this first round. Now THAT is something worth cheering about.
They Said WHAT?
I know I have mentioned the fact that the youngest daughter works at a vet clinic--actually, TWO vet clinics--before. While we were talking tonight we got into some of the strangest, stupidest, and craziest things she encounters people saying and doing. So I just HAD to share some of them.
At one of the clinics, people are required to fill out some paperwork when they come in as new clients. This is the requisite health history, etc, of the animal, plus some other questions that are helpful to the vet. At the bottom of the form, they used to have a line graph labeled from 0% to 100% in increments of 25--0, 25, 50, etc. The question was, "Approximately, how much time does your animal spend outside?" Most people would circle one of the numbers. One person put a circle between the 25 and 50 and inside the circle wrote '44%.' Now, HOW do you figure something so closely? Is this a sign of OCD or was the person just completely anal? They no longer ask the question.
Today YD answered the phone and talked to the woman on the other end. The woman was asking if she could bring her dog in for a 'distemperment' shot because it has been quite moody lately. She was hoping this would mellow him out a bit. I guess a LOT of people seem to think that distemper has something to do with the way an animal acts (its moods) and are not aware it is an actual disease.
And the one that REALLY made me laugh. A client told the vet that his dog was not in any need of flea or heart worm prevention--or anything else. They had a fenced-in yard, so the dog was completely protected. I guess they must have lived in a plastic bubble, because how else do you keep fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes out of your yard?
People--you gotta love 'em.
At one of the clinics, people are required to fill out some paperwork when they come in as new clients. This is the requisite health history, etc, of the animal, plus some other questions that are helpful to the vet. At the bottom of the form, they used to have a line graph labeled from 0% to 100% in increments of 25--0, 25, 50, etc. The question was, "Approximately, how much time does your animal spend outside?" Most people would circle one of the numbers. One person put a circle between the 25 and 50 and inside the circle wrote '44%.' Now, HOW do you figure something so closely? Is this a sign of OCD or was the person just completely anal? They no longer ask the question.
Today YD answered the phone and talked to the woman on the other end. The woman was asking if she could bring her dog in for a 'distemperment' shot because it has been quite moody lately. She was hoping this would mellow him out a bit. I guess a LOT of people seem to think that distemper has something to do with the way an animal acts (its moods) and are not aware it is an actual disease.
And the one that REALLY made me laugh. A client told the vet that his dog was not in any need of flea or heart worm prevention--or anything else. They had a fenced-in yard, so the dog was completely protected. I guess they must have lived in a plastic bubble, because how else do you keep fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes out of your yard?
People--you gotta love 'em.
The CIA's Family Jewels
CIA director Gen. Michael Hayden announced today that the Agency is declassifying the full 693-page file amassed on CIA's illegal activities by order of then-CIA director James Schlesinger in 1973--the so-called "family jewels." Only a few dozen heavily-censored pages of this file have previously been declassified, although multiple Freedom of Information Act requests have been filed over the years for the documents. Gen. Hayden called the file "a glimpse of a very different time and a very different Agency." The papers are scheduled for public release on Monday, June 25.
Almost Done
After this, there is only one more time I will be posting boredom busters--I certainly hope this has helped all of you in your quest for a certain amount of excitement! And here is the second to the last list:
-Kill a plant
-Buy a 1931 Almanac
-Memorize the weather section
-Think lewd thoughts about yourself
-Peel grapes
-Make paper from the skins
-Send chills down your spine
-Blow bubbles
-Catch them with your radiator
-Bloat
-Get run over by a train of thought
-Make up famous sayings
-Bite your pinkie
-File your teeth
-Design a better toilet seat
-Shred a newspaper
-Scratch
-Have a headache
-Sniff
-Hatch an egg
-Play air guitar
-Spill
-Act profound
-Spell
-Stare
-Truncate
-Slouch
-Develop hearing problems
-Put your feet behind your head
-Tie bows in everything
-Hold your hand
-Watch the minute hand move
-Grow your fingernails
-Pretend you're a telephone
-Radiate
-Ring
-Skip
-Play hopscotch...with real scotch
-Clock the velocity of your REMs
-Put your shoes on the opposite feet
-Cross your toes
-Roll your tongue
-Crystallize
-Baby oil the floor
-Hide
-Attack innocent bunnies
-Declare war
-Destroy a tree
-Hide the scrabble bag
-Seduce your stick shift
-Wink
-Memorize the periodic table
-Mummify
-Pretend you're a roadie
-Buy a Ginsu knife
-Collect electrons
-Correct typos that aren't there
-Polish your neck...use Pledge
-Repeat
-Ad lib
-Fade
-Loosen the lug nuts on your dad's new car
-Drop your cat off the roof to see if it lands on all four feet
-Unscrew all the light bulbs and rearrange the furniture
-Found the
-Listen for non-satanic messages (i.e. "Drink milk")
-Dress like Motley Crue...surprise your grandmother
-Dial-a-Prayer and tell them they're wrong
-Go into a bar and ask for a Molotov cocktail
-Learn everything there is to know about the
-Make a drive-in window at your local bank where there wasn't one before
-Walk on water...but don't get caught
-Confess to a crime...that didn't happen
-Be in the wrong place at the right time
-Plot the overthrow of your local School Board
-Request covert assistance from the CIA
-Discover the source of the
-Search for buried treasure...in
-Hot wax the bottom of your brother's dress shoes
-Preach the philosophy of Marx...Groucho, that is
-Drink as much prune juice as you can
-Write a book about your previous life
-Serve ping-pong balls...as hors d'oeuvres
-Jump up and down...on your alarm clock
-Make a quilt out of used cocktail napkins
-Sterilize your stereo...with Jack Daniels
-Drive the speed limit...in your garage
-Wear a three-piece suit...in a sauna
-Pay off the national debt...with a bad check
-Go to a cemetery and verbally abuse dead people
-Give yourself a hernia...for Christmas
-Defend your neighborhood from roving Mongol hordes
-Recite romantic poetry...to your toaster
-See if you really can build a nuclear device in your own basement
ALMOST The Land Of The Midnight Sun
It never really occurred to me that other parts of the country had shorter days than we do during the summer. A lot of people come from other parts of the US to help when there is a problem at K's work and they have made comments about our long summer days. (Of course, they ALSO talk about our winter snow, but that isn't surprising.) So, today is the first day of summer and our longest day.
Today, the sun rose at 5:58am and will set at 9:47pm--that means a total of more than 16 hours of daylight! Actually, it starts getting light by 5:30 in the morning and stays pretty light till almost 10:30--kind of hard on people who can't sleep unless it is totally dark! It REALLY was hell to go and see drive-in movies (when we still had drive-ins) because they started so late. The movies wouldn't be done till 3:00am or later!
Of course, we do have the flip side of all of this--winter. Beginning in November and lasting till February (?--not really sure on the duration), K wakes up for day shift in the dark and comes home from work in the dark. He only gets to see daylight during his days off or if he leaves the plant during a workday. I think he has more problems with THAT than he does with trying to sleep while it is light outside.
So, I wanted to know how long the days are where my readers live? Leave comments and we can compare! :)
Today, the sun rose at 5:58am and will set at 9:47pm--that means a total of more than 16 hours of daylight! Actually, it starts getting light by 5:30 in the morning and stays pretty light till almost 10:30--kind of hard on people who can't sleep unless it is totally dark! It REALLY was hell to go and see drive-in movies (when we still had drive-ins) because they started so late. The movies wouldn't be done till 3:00am or later!
Of course, we do have the flip side of all of this--winter. Beginning in November and lasting till February (?--not really sure on the duration), K wakes up for day shift in the dark and comes home from work in the dark. He only gets to see daylight during his days off or if he leaves the plant during a workday. I think he has more problems with THAT than he does with trying to sleep while it is light outside.
So, I wanted to know how long the days are where my readers live? Leave comments and we can compare! :)
Vice President Exempts His Office from the Requirements for Protecting Classified Information
Washington, D.C. — The Oversight Committee has learned that over the objections of the National Archives, Vice President Cheney exempted his office from the presidential order that establishes government-wide procedures for safeguarding classified national security information. The Vice President asserts that his office is not an “entity within the executive branch.”Which branch of government does his office fall under, I wonder?
A Little Recipe
So many of the bloggers that I read post recipes, I finally decided to post one of my own. This is an old Finnish recipe--I remember my great-grandmother (as well as others) making this. For my family, I would make this on those evenings (usually Sunday) when we would do 'breakfast for dinner.' I usually served this with some kind of breakfast meat--bacon, sausage, etc.
Finnish Oven Pancake (pannu kakku)
2 eggs (slightly beaten)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups milk*
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Put 1/4 cup butter* in 9 x 13 pan--place pan in oven. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. (Don't let butter burn.) Remove pan when butter is melted.
Meanwhile, mix eggs, sugar, milk, flour, and salt together. I use a wire whisk and beat till blended. (There may be some flour lumps--doesn't matter.) Pour batter into pan. Bake for 40 minutes. (No need to open oven to check on it.) It should be golden to dark brown.
Immediately upon removing from oven, sprinkle top with sugar.
This is somewhat of a custardy thing. (I don't know how else to describe it.) While it is baking, it will raise quite high and then will collapse almost immediately after coming out of the oven. I like to eat it while it is hot, just as is. (It also isn't too bad cold.) Some people put syrup or jam on it. It is good as a light meal or as a snack.
And, if anyone tries this, let me know how you like it. As I said, it is one of the recipes I have from 'the old country.'
*I have made this with margarine and skim milk and it still works out. However, it IS best when made with whole milk and real butter--much richer tasting.
Finnish Oven Pancake (pannu kakku)
2 eggs (slightly beaten)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups milk*
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Put 1/4 cup butter* in 9 x 13 pan--place pan in oven. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. (Don't let butter burn.) Remove pan when butter is melted.
Meanwhile, mix eggs, sugar, milk, flour, and salt together. I use a wire whisk and beat till blended. (There may be some flour lumps--doesn't matter.) Pour batter into pan. Bake for 40 minutes. (No need to open oven to check on it.) It should be golden to dark brown.
Immediately upon removing from oven, sprinkle top with sugar.
This is somewhat of a custardy thing. (I don't know how else to describe it.) While it is baking, it will raise quite high and then will collapse almost immediately after coming out of the oven. I like to eat it while it is hot, just as is. (It also isn't too bad cold.) Some people put syrup or jam on it. It is good as a light meal or as a snack.
And, if anyone tries this, let me know how you like it. As I said, it is one of the recipes I have from 'the old country.'
*I have made this with margarine and skim milk and it still works out. However, it IS best when made with whole milk and real butter--much richer tasting.
A Long Way To Go For Dinner--And LOTS Of Weather
As I mentioned before we went on our road trip, we went out of town to have dinner with friends--and that is about all we did. We got a little shopping in, but nothing worth mentioning. It is very good to get out of town, though.
When we got home, the cat hadn't eaten much of the food I left for her. With that--and the fact there was so much water in the basement--I had to guess there was bad weather while we were gone. I thought it was going to be bad where we went--I had kept up with the weather forecasts--but we didn't even have a thunderstorm.
Today, we made it onto the Weather Channel. The skies opened up this afternoon and rained 'ice!' We got so much hail that it looked as if we had a snow storm--some of the hail was 3" in diameter. I don't know if we ever have had such bad hail. While I don't THINK any damage was done to our vehicles--haven't done too good of an examination--the hail DID take out the screen on our back storm/screen combo door. It really was something. I wonder what this did to crops in the area?
When we got home, the cat hadn't eaten much of the food I left for her. With that--and the fact there was so much water in the basement--I had to guess there was bad weather while we were gone. I thought it was going to be bad where we went--I had kept up with the weather forecasts--but we didn't even have a thunderstorm.
Today, we made it onto the Weather Channel. The skies opened up this afternoon and rained 'ice!' We got so much hail that it looked as if we had a snow storm--some of the hail was 3" in diameter. I don't know if we ever have had such bad hail. While I don't THINK any damage was done to our vehicles--haven't done too good of an examination--the hail DID take out the screen on our back storm/screen combo door. It really was something. I wonder what this did to crops in the area?
New Roswell Evidence
Walter Haut was a first lieutenant assigned to the Roswell Army Air Field in July, 1947. He wrote the first press release that introduced the alleged Roswell UFO crash to the public. Haut signed an affadavit to be released only after his death. He died in 2005. This is part of it:
Walter Haut was a first lieutenant assigned to the Roswell Army Air Field in July, 1947. He wrote the first press release that introduced the alleged Roswell UFO crash to the public. Haut signed an affadavit to be released only after his death. He died in 2005. This is part of it:
(12) Before leaving the base, Col. Blanchard took me personally to Building 84 [AKA Hangar P-3], a B-29 hangar located on the east side of the tarmac. Upon first approaching the building, I observed that it was under heavy guard both outside and inside. Once inside, I was permitted from a safe distance to first observe the object just recovered north of town. It was approx. 12 to 15 feet in length, not quite as wide, about 6 feet high, and more of an egg shape. Lighting was poor, but its surface did appear metallic. No windows, portholes, wings, tail section, or landing gear were visible.
(13) Also from a distance, I was able to see a couple of bodies under a canvas tarpaulin. Only the heads extended beyond the covering, and I was not able to make out any features. The heads did appear larger than normal and the contour of the canvas suggested the size of a 10 year old child. At a later date in Blanchard's office, he would extend his arm about 4 feet above the floor to indicate the height.
(14) I was informed of a temporary morgue set up to accommodate the recovered bodies.
Seymour Hersh on General Taguba
“From what I knew, troops just don’t take it upon themselves to initiate what they did without any form of knowledge of the higher-ups,” Taguba told me. His orders were clear, however: he was to investigate only the military police at Abu Ghraib, and not those above them in the chain of command. “These M.P. troops were not that creative,” he said. “Somebody was giving them guidance, but I was legally prevented from further investigation into higher authority. I was limited to a box.”
“From the moment a soldier enlists, we inculcate loyalty, duty, honor, integrity, and selfless service,” Taguba said. “And yet when we get to the senior-officer level we forget those values. I know that my peers in the Army will be mad at me for speaking out, but the fact is that we violated the laws of land warfare in Abu Ghraib. We violated the tenets of the Geneva Convention. We violated our own principles and we violated the core of our military values. The stress of combat is not an excuse, and I believe, even today, that those civilian and military leaders responsible should be held accountable.”
There is truly astonishing information in this book. You will learn that Hoover was frantic to bury the John Kennedy and Oswald cases because he was trying to cover up the fact that Lee Harvey Oswald has been a paid FBI informant. Hersh has no document to support the Oswald informant story, but he skillfully interviewed a top FBI counterintelligence official who read files confirming that Oswald was on the Bureau payroll when he was in New Orleans. This is a vital lead that reporters should follow-up.
I can independently confirm that Hoover had tried to spy on the activities of the Warren Commission investigating JFK’s death. My late friend and co-author, Lt. Col. William R. Corson, who worked for the commission used to complain about how Hoover had tried to spy on the commission. Thanks to Hersh we now know why. This means that rather than look into the possibility that the Soviets may have been behind Kennedy’s murder, the Director of the FBI had to cover up the Bureau’s relationship with Oswald.
Bobby and J. Edgar: The Bitter Face-Off Between The Kennedys and Hoover
GIs May Be in Iraq for a Decade: General
US forces could be needed in Iraq for a decade to battle insurgents, the top coalition commander said Sunday while vowing a "forthright" review in September on whether a troop surge is working.Speaking on Fox News, General David Petraeus said there was broad recognition in Washington that Iraq's daunting challenges would not be resolved "in a year or even two years."
"In fact, typically, I think historically, counter-insurgency operations have gone at least nine or 10 years," he said.
Boredom Buster
I have been bored lately, so there is only one solution: ROAD TRIP! Actually, K has 10 days off starting tomorrow, so he suggested we go to see our friends. Pretty good--we drive over 3 hours to (basically) go to dinner with friends. I think we may need to get friends that live closer. :)
To help everyone else with their boredom, I give you the next installment of 'Things To Do When You're Bored':
To help everyone else with their boredom, I give you the next installment of 'Things To Do When You're Bored':
-Mug a stop sign
-Change your name...daily
-Go for a walk in your attic
-Challenge your neighbor to a duel
-Try to join Hell's Angels by mail
-Wonder
-Be a square root
-Ask stupid questions
-Weld your car doors shut
-Spew
-Vacation at
-Surf
-Teach your pet rock to play dead
-Go bowling for small game
-Be a monk...for a day
-Wear a sweatband to your wedding
-Staple
-Run away
-Intimidate a piece of chalk
-Abuse the plumbing
-Bend a florescent light
-
-Annoy total strangers
-Don't talk to things
-Have your cat bronzed
-Have your gerbil gilded
-Write books about writing books
-Create random equations
-Mispell words
-Tell your feet a joke
-Throw a tomato into a fan
-Sing the ABC song backwards
-Pretend you're a dog
-Dial-a-prayer and argue with it
-Grease the doorknobs
-String up a room
-Stack furniture
-Relive fond memories
-Tie your shoelaces together
-Gargle
-Count your teeth with your tongue
-Decay
-Find your half-life
-Build a house out of toothpicks
-Howl
-Wear a lampshade on your head
-Memorize the dictionary
-Stomp grapes in the bathtub
-Find a bug and chase it
-Make yourself a pair of wings
-Be immobile
-Dance 'til you drop
-Check under chairs for chewing gum
-Squish a loaf of bread
-Moo
-Bounce a potato
-Outmaneuver your shadow
-Climb the walls
-Appreciate everything
-Challenge yourself to a duel
-Believe in Santa Claus
-Let the best man win
-Throw marshmallows against the wall
-Hold an ice cube as long as possible
-Adopt strange mannerisms
-Blow up a balloon until it pops
-Sing soft and sweet and clear
-Sing loud and sour and gravelly
-Open everything
-Balance a pencil on your nose
-Pour milk in your shoes
-Write graffiti under the rug
-Embarrass yourself
-Grind your teeth
-Chew ice
-Count your belly button
-Sit in a row
-Stack crumbs
-Gesture
-Save your toenail clippings
-Make a pass at your blender
-Punt
-Make up words that start with X
-Make oatmeal in the bathtub
-Search for the Lost Chord
-Chew on a sofa cushion
-Sing a duet
-Balance a pillow on your head
-Hold your breath
-Faint
-Stretch
-Flash your mailman
-Learn to speak Farsi
-Swear in Russian
-Use an eraser until it goes away
-Disassemble your car
-Put it together inside out
-Record your walls
-Interview your feet
-Make a list of your favorite fungi
-Sell formaldehyde
-Make napalm
-Tattoo your dresser
-Watch a bowling ball
-Buy some diapers
-Eat everything
-Begin
-Pour milk in the sink
-Make cottage cheese
-Tie-dye your sheets
-Carpet your ceiling
-Hold your earlobes
-Fold your earlobes
-Flap
-Squawk
-Read tea leaves
-Analyze the Koran
-Be Buddha
-Award yourself a Nobel Peace Prize
-Plug in the cat
-Turn on everything
-Drop pebbles down the chimney
-Turn off your neighbor
"The person who is certain, and who claims divine warrant for his certainty, belongs now to the infancy of our species. It may be a long farewell, but it has begun and, like all farewells, should not be protracted."
--Christopher Hitchens,
god Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything
--Christopher Hitchens,
god Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything
Hydroxymethylfurfural - A Substance For The Ages
Scientists have discovered the most effective method yet to convert glucose, found in plants worldwide and nature’s most abundant sugar, to HFM, a chemical that can be broken into components for products now made from petroleum. Image Credit: Pacific Northwest National LaboratoryHydroxymethylfurfural - A Substance For The Ages
Oil has become the root substance of our modern society. The compounds not only fuel our automobiles, they are the building blocks that form plastics and chemical compounds that make modern life easier.
Corn and other plant material, when distilled to make Ethanol, have been heralded as the replacement for gasoline for our cars but what if we were able to use plant material for more … much more.
Well, scientists at the The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland Washington is a US Department of Energy (DOE) government research laboratory, have released an article to the journal, Science, that describes just this breakthrough.
Scientists have discovered the most effective method yet to convert glucose, found in plants worldwide and nature's most abundant sugar, to Hydroxymethylfurfural - HMF, a chemical that can be broken into components for products now made from petroleum.
Excerpts from press release issued from The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) -
Scientists get plastic from trees
Submitted by Vidura Panditaratne - PNNL - Fri, 2007-06-15
The researchers at PNNL-based Institute for Interfacial Catalysis, or IIC, took a giant step closer to the biorefinery when they directly converted sugars ubiquitous in nature to an alternative source for those products that make oil so valuable, with very little of the residual impurities that have made the quest so daunting.
“What we have done that no one else has been able to do is convert glucose directly in high yields to a primary building block for fuel and polyesters,” said Z. Conrad Zhang [Chief Scientist - Institute for Interfacial Catalysis, Pacific Northwest National Lab], senior author who led the research.
That building block is called HMF, which stands for hydroxymethylfurfural. It is a chemical derived from carbohydrates such as glucose and fructose and is viewed as a promising surrogate for petroleum-based chemicals.
Glucose, in plant starch and cellulose, is nature’s most abundant sugar. “But getting a commercially viable yield of HMF from glucose has been very challenging,” Zhang said. “In addition to low yield until now, we always generate many different byproducts,” including levulinic acid, making product purification expensive and uncompetitive with petroleum-based chemicals.
Zhang, lead author and former post doc Haibo Zhao, and colleagues John Holladay and Heather Brown, all from PNNL, were able to coax HMF yields upward of 70 percent from glucose and nearly 90 percent from fructose while leaving only traces of acid impurities. To achieve this, they experimented with a novel non-acidic catalytic system containing metal chloride catalysts in a solvent capable of dissolving cellulose.
The solvent, called an ionic liquid, enabled the metal chlorides to convert the sugars to HMF. Ionic liquids provide an additional benefit: It is reusable, thus produces none of the wastewater in other methods that convert fructose to HMF.
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“This, in my view, is breakthrough science in the renewable energy arena,” said J.M. White, IIC director and Robert A. Welch chair in materials chemistry at the University of Texas. “This work opens the way for fundamental catalysis science in a novel solvent.”
The chemistry at work remains largely a mystery, Zhang said, but he suspects that metal chloride catalysts work during an atom-swapping phase that sugar molecules go through called mutarotation, in which an H (hydrogen) and OH (hydroxyl group) trade places.
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“The key is to take advantage of the open form to perform a hydride transfer through which glucose is converted to fructose.”
Zhang’s next step is to tinker with ionic solvents and metal halides combinations to see if he can increase HMF yield from glucose while reducing separation and purification cost.
“The opportunities are endless,” Zhang said, “and the chemistry is starting to get interesting.”
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MORE Things To Do When You Are Bored
-Ski
-Sleep in freefall
-Kill a Joule
-Test thin ice...with a pogo stick
-Apply for a unicorn hunting license
-Crawl
-Invite the Mansons over for dinner
-Paint your windows
-Watch a watch until it stops
-Flash your goldfish
-Paint
-Smile
-Paint a smile
-Flirt with an evergreen
-Rotate your garden...daily
-Shoot a fire hydrant
-Apologize to it
-Pretend you're blind
-Plant a shoe
-Sweat
-Give a Rorschach test to your gerbil
-Turn
-Take your sofa for a walk
-Write a letter to Plato
-Mail it
-Start
-Stop
-Dial 911 and breathe heavily
-Go to a funeral...tell jokes
-Play the piano...with mittens on
-Starch your shoes
-Polish your Calvin's
-Contemplate a cockroach
-Get a dog to chase your car
-Let him catch it
-Investigate the Czar
-Form a political party
-Have a political party
-Climb a sidewalk
-Sharpen a carrot
-Get diagonal...with a good friend
-Interrogate a gerbil
-Annoy yourself
-Get mad at yourself
-Stop speaking to yourself
-Be a side effect
-Ride a bicycle...up
-Duck
-Redecorate...your garage
-Develop a complex
-Try harder
-Hit the deck
-Cut the deck
-Put legwarmers on your furniture
-Scheme
-Sit
-Water your family room
-Stay
-Cause a power failure
-Roll over
-Wriggle
-Play dead
-Donate your brother's body to science
-Find a witch
-Burn her
-Ask why
-Regress
-Sleepwalk without sleeping
-Go bow hunting for Toyotas
-Kidnap Cabbage Patch Kids
-Jump back
-Play to lose
-Scalp a street light
-Have your car painted...plaid
-Read a tomato
-Sharpen your sleeping skills
-Watch a game show...take notes
-Put out a fire
-If you can't find a fire, make one
-Interview a cloud
-Play tiddlywinks...go for blood
-Play basketball...in a minefield
-Crumple
-Translate Shakespeare into English
-Skydive to church
-Cheer up a potato
-Do aerobic exercises...in your head
-Play cards with your swimming pool
-Pinstripe your driveway
-Play Kick the Fire Hydrant
-Harness chipmunk power
-Build a house with ice cubes
-Call
Things I'm Ignoring
There are several things that I'm trying to ignore these days. I could probably do very long posts about each of these subjects, but I will not. So, here is my list of things to ignore:
--My weight/healthy eating. This is a constant source of anxiety for me, so I will just ignore it.
--Paris Hilton. Hasn't she been written about WAY too much?
--Brangelina. Yeah, she is making ridiculous demands of reporters and insisting she isn't anorexic. WHO cares?
--Hot weather. This is another subject I could rant and rave about for hours, but I won't. It has been hot here, it will cool off. Enough said.
--The Soprano's finale. I NEVER watched the show, but I HAD to watch the final few minutes on YouTube. If I had been a fan, I would have been pissed.
--Bob Barker. So what--he retired at a time most people are planning their funerals. Big deal. Never liked him--he always seemed like a rude, dirty old man to me.
--Michael Moore. He has a new movie coming out. Just another rant at our country. When will someone just tell him to SHUT THE F*** UP? He is such an idiot.
--Anaheim Ducks. Nothing to say--I'm ignoring them.
--My weight/healthy eating. This is a constant source of anxiety for me, so I will just ignore it.
--Paris Hilton. Hasn't she been written about WAY too much?
--Brangelina. Yeah, she is making ridiculous demands of reporters and insisting she isn't anorexic. WHO cares?
--Hot weather. This is another subject I could rant and rave about for hours, but I won't. It has been hot here, it will cool off. Enough said.
--The Soprano's finale. I NEVER watched the show, but I HAD to watch the final few minutes on YouTube. If I had been a fan, I would have been pissed.
--Bob Barker. So what--he retired at a time most people are planning their funerals. Big deal. Never liked him--he always seemed like a rude, dirty old man to me.
--Michael Moore. He has a new movie coming out. Just another rant at our country. When will someone just tell him to SHUT THE F*** UP? He is such an idiot.
--Anaheim Ducks. Nothing to say--I'm ignoring them.
US Official: Samarra Attack May Have Been Inside Job
Baquba, Iraq - Authorities have evidence that Wednesday's bombing of Al-Askariya Mosque in Samarra was an inside job, and 15 members of the Iraqi security forces have been arrested, a U.S. military official said.More and more, I am beginning to wonder: Who or what is al Qaeda?
Two minarets were destroyed at the revered Shiite shrine, the military said, in a repeat of the 2006 bombing that sparked Iraq's current wave of deadly sectarian violence. There was no immediate word on casualties in the city north of Baghdad.
The U.S. military official, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, told CNN's Karl Penhaul that he believes members of the Iraqi security forces who were guarding the site either assisted or directly took part in helping al Qaeda insurgents place and detonate explosives at the mosque's minarets.
"He told me there was no evidence at all that this was an attack using mortars or anything of the like and said, in his words, that this was an inside job," Penhaul, who's embedded with U.S. troops in Baquba, told CNN's "American Morning."
Being Bored
I don't really have a reason to be bored--hell, besides everything I HAVE to do, I have enough FUN things to do to keep boredom away! But, my life is in one of those ruts right now, so I thought I would share some things you can do when you are bored. (This will take several days to complete.)
Things To Do When You're Bored
(I didn't write this, but it has always given me a good laugh. The more slap happy you are, the better.)
-Wax the ceiling
-Rearrange political campaign signs
-Sharpen your teeth
-Play Houdini with one of your siblings
-Braid your dog's hair
-Clean and polish your belly button
-Water your dog...see if he grows
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-Knight yourself
-Name your child Edsel
-Scare Stephen King
-Give your cat a mohawk
-Purr
-Mow your carpet
-Play Pat Boone records backwards
-Vacuum your lawn
-Whine
-Rake your carpet
-Re-elect Richard Nixon
-Critique "Three's Company"
-Listen to a painting
-Play with matches
-Buff your cat
-Race ferrets
-Paint your house...Day-Glo Orange
-Have a formal dinner at
-Read Homer in the original Greek
-Change your mind
-Change it back
-Learn Greek
-Watch the sun...see if it moves
-Stand on your head
-Stand on someone else's head
-Build a pyramid
-Spit shine your Nikes
-See how long you can stay awake
-See how long you can sleep
-Paint your teeth
-Wear a salad
-Speak with a forked tongue
-Get your dog braces
-Shave a shrub
-Have a proton fight
-Watch a car rust
-Quiver
-Rotate your carpet
-Learn to type...with your toes
-Set up your Christmas tree in April
-Buy the
-Be someone special
-Go back to square one
-Factor your social security number
-Take the fifth
-Memorize a series of random numbers
-Read the 1962
-Join the Foreign Legion
-Learn Sanskrit
-Exist...existentially, of course
-Print counterfeit Confederate money
-Kick a cabbage
-Sandpaper a mushroom
-Take a picture
-Put it back
-Play solitaire...for cash
-Abuse your patio furniture
-Run for Pope
-Count to a million...fast
-Make a schematic drawing...of a rock
-Commit seppuku...with a paper knife
-Revert
-Think shallow thoughts
-Sleep on a bed of nails
-Boil ice cream
-DON'T toss and turn
-Run around in squares
-Think of quadruple entendres
-Speak in acronyms
-Have your pillow X-rayed
-Drink straight shots...of water
-Calmly have a nervous breakdown
-Give your goldfish a perm
-Fly a brick
-Play tag...on 35W
-Exorcise a ghost
-Exercise a ghost
-Be blue
-Be red
-But don't be orange
-Paint stripes on a lake
NHL Awards
For the fifth time, Nick Lidstrom won the Norris Trophy. (NHL's best defenseman) Only two other players have won the trophy more times--and one of them was Bobby Orr! Pavel Datsyuk won the Lady Byng Trophy for the second year in a row. (for sportsmanship) The low level of penalty minutes a player has seems to have a big part in being considered for the Lady Byng. While it is true that the contenders for the trophy play the game as it is intended in its purest form, I would GLADLY have Datsyuk not be in contention next year if he would only do a little more hitting. And I KNOW he can do it--I've seen him.
Congratulations to Nick and Pavel--the Wings are lucky to have both of you!
Congratulations to Nick and Pavel--the Wings are lucky to have both of you!
UFOs, Walt Disney and "The Aviary"
Writer/researcher Gus Russo, the author of several books, including one dealing with the JFK assassination, Live By The Sword: The Secret War Against Castro and the Death of JFK , has written a most interesting article The Real ‘X-Files’ about UFOs and some members of the US Intelligence community. A few excerpts:
Writer/researcher Gus Russo, the author of several books, including one dealing with the JFK assassination, Live By The Sword: The Secret War Against Castro and the Death of JFK , has written a most interesting article The Real ‘X-Files’ about UFOs and some members of the US Intelligence community. A few excerpts:
The mystery seems to have its origins in 1956... and in the most unlikely of settings: the office of Ward Kimball, one of Walt Disney’s key animators. At a 1979 UFO symposium in San Francisco, Kimball told how the US Air Force had approached Disney to make a UFO documentary, the ostensible purpose being to help prepare the collective American psyche for planned revelations concerning the reality of extraterrestrials. If that wasn’t enough, the senior flyboys offered to supply actual UFO footage, which Disney would be allowed to use in his film. It must have seemed to Kimball that his character Jiminy Cricket’s “wish upon a star” had actually been answered. However, a few weeks later, the offer was withdrawn just as quickly as it had been made. Kimball said that an Air Force Colonel said brusquely, “There indeed was plenty of UFO footage, but that neither Ward, nor anyone else, was going to get access to it.”
“I believe there’s a ‘core story’,” Jim explained, “but I don’t know what it is. I have been told by people more senior than me that there is some truth to it, but they told me time and time again to stop pursuing it with CIA people and other intel types. Two very senior officials told me they saw briefing books, [however] the only ones who would be cleared to know the story are the most senior Pentagon career officers.” Jim refuses to divulge his sources, but when pressed, he reiterates what they told him: look to the Pentagon and the private sector’s aerospace and weapons labs, etc. US intelligence “doesn’t have labs capable of dealing with something this profound.” He also notes that over the years he has received thousands of UFO-related government documents in unmarked envelopes. Although some are obvious fakes, others, according to Jim, contain information that correlates with known, but still classified, scientific studies. In an intriguing footnote, Jim adds, “I have spoken to three former Presidents and the subject always comes up, not as a briefing, but they also want to know the truth. But apparently they aren’t cleared for it.”
