Spotted at GeeksAreSexy.net:



Leave it to someone to bring the frenzied masses back to the real world, lol!!

Let's try to remember what's *really* important, shall we?

If you're a geek like me, check out the rest of their site ... it's always interesting!!

I haven't written online in a few days... I have been doing most of it offline. I'm finding that while I like writing on paper, I enjoy writing with my computer more. I really like being able to save my work online, and not have to worry about it getting lost in a power surge or something.

For me, the biggest thing about working on my computer/online is that I actually type faster than I write by hand, more so since I began using the Dvorak keyboard layout. Not as fast as I can think, but fast enough that I don't lose my train of thought while trying to type what I want to say.

And, in trying to be more efficient, I am trying out new tips and tricks to streamline my life. I may post more about that on 'WeedLady' as things go on, I'm not sure yet.

So, what do *you* do to streamline your life?

A man called home to his wife and said,

'Honey I have been asked to go fishing up in Canada with
my boss & several of his friends.

We'll be gone for a week. This is a good opportunity for me to
get that promotion I've been wanting, so could you please pack
enough clothes for a week and set out my rod and tackle box.

We're leaving from the office & I will swing by the house to
pick my things up' 'Oh! Please pack my new blue silk pajamas.'

The wife thinks this sounds a bit fishy but being the good
wife she is, did exactly what her husband asked.

The following weekend he came home a little tired but
otherwise looking good.

The wife welcomed him home and asked if
he caught many fish?

He said, 'Yes! Lots of Salmon, some Bluegill, and a few
Swordfish. But why didn't you pack my new blue silk pajamas
like I asked you to do?'

You'll love the answer....

The wife replied, 'I did. They're in your tackle box.....'

Ron was in trouble. He forgot his wedding anniversary. His wife was
really angry. She told him, 'Tomorrow morning I expect to find a gift
in the driveway that goes from 0 to 200 in less then 6 seconds AND IT
BETTER BE THERE!!'

The next morning Ron got up early and left for work. When his wife woke
up she looked out the window and sure enough there was a box gift-
wrapped in the middle of the driveway.

Confused, his wife put on her robe and ran out to the driveway, and
brought the box back in the house. She opened it and found a brand new
bathroom scale.

Ron has been missing since Friday. Please pray for him!

January 27, 2008
Hillary Sends Bill on Campaign Trip to Antarctica


Will Remain There Until Convention, Aides Confirm


Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton has sent her husband, former President Bill Clinton, on a “special campaign trip” to Antarctica that could last “six or seven months,” Clinton aides confirmed today.

“From here on in, Bill is going to be our man in Antarctica,” said top Clinton strategist Mark Penn. “We have sent him down there with enough food and firewood to last until the Democratic convention this summer.”

The unexpected change in the former president’s itinerary happened just hours after Mrs. Clinton’s drubbing in the South Carolina primary, causing some party insiders to wonder if Mr. Clinton’s mission to Antarctica represented something of a demotion.

The decision to dispatch Mr. Clinton to the South Pole also raised eyebrows because the continent of Antarctica does not participate in the so-called “Super Tuesday” primaries on February 5 and sends no delegates to the Democratic National Convention.

Mr. Penn attempted to tamp down all such speculation, telling reporters, “This race isn’t about votes or delegates, it’s about land mass, frozen tundra and penguins.”

Mr. Clinton’s itinerary change comes on the heels of a controversial incident Saturday night in which he was discovered bound and gagged in the bathroom of Mrs. Clinton’s campaign plane, his hands tied by what appeared to be the jacket of a bright yellow pantsuit.

Speaking to reporters with a strip of duct tape still over his mouth, Mr. Clinton denied that he was being muzzled by the campaign, adding, “Mmmfff mghrmfff mmbrrfff.”

Elsewhere, the White House announced that President Bush’s State of the Union address would be simulcast in English.


www.borowitzreport.com

Especially in this age of television. This excerpt is true, but the flash and sparkle of photogenicity has distracted many from the lack of substance of some people in the public eye (celebrities and politicians).

Most of the outstanding leaders I have worked with are neither tall nor especially handsome; they are often mediocre public speakers; they do not stand out in a crowd; and they do not mesmerize an attending audience with their brilliance or eloquence. Rather, what distinguishes them is a clarity and persuasiveness of their ideas, the depth of their commitment, and their openness to continually learning more. They do not “have the answer.” But they do instill confidence in those around them that, together, “we can learn whatever we need to learn in order to achieve the results we truly desire.”

The ability of such people to be natural leaders, as near as I can tell, is the by-product of a lifetime of effort—effort to develop conceptual and communication skills, to reflect personal values and to align personal behavior with values, to learn how to listen and to appreciate others and others’ ideas. In the absence of such effort, personal charisma is style without substance. It leaves those affected less able to think for themselves and less able to make wise choices. It can devastate an organization or a society.

–Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization (1990), p. 359.

Found at Fire & Knowledge, by Joshua Sowin

Baby Bear goes downstairs and sits in his small chair at the table, he looks into his small bowl. It is empty. "Who's been eating my porridge?" he squeaks.

Papa Bear arrives at the big table and sits in his big chair. He looks into his big bowl, and it is also empty. ' Who's been eating my Porridge?" he roars.

Momma Bear puts her head through the serving hatch from the kitchen and yells,
"For goodness' sake, how many times do I have to go through this with you two?

It was Momma Bear who got up first,

It was Momma Bear who woke everyone in the house,

It was Momma Bear who made the coffee,

It was Momma Bear who unloaded the dishwasher from last night, and put everything away,

It was Momma Bear who went out in the cold early morning air to fetch the newspaper,

It was Momma Bear who set the table,

It was Momma Bear who put the cat out, cleaned the litter box, and filled the cat's water and food dish, and,

NOW that you've decided to drag your sorry selves downstairs, and grace Momma Bear's kitchen with your grumpy presence---listen good, cause I'm only going to say this one more time:


SCROLL DOWN



















"I HAVEN'T MADE THE PORRIDGE YET!!"

Learn show tunes and cheesy songs!!

We recently acquired a copy of the movie 'Dreamgirls', and the soundtrack (what can I say, I like catchy musical numbers). We all enjoyed it so much, that we've learned all the songs on the CD (to be fair though, we also know the songs from 'Willy Wonka', 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' and others).

Tonight, the children decided that they wanted to run back and forth between my bedroom and their room, asking questions about the nature of the universe, and such, instead of going to bed.

My revenge?

I 'Weird Al'ed' Dreamgirls' "You're Gonna Love Me" and sang it with gusto to the children as they cowered in their beds.

And I am telling you (pointing)
You're gonna sleep now
You're the best child I'll ever know (pointing at giggling child)
There's no way I can ever, ever go

Darlin' there's no way
No no no no way
You're stayin' awake now
You're not stayin' awake now
not stayin' awake now
I just want peace and quiet
QUIET!!

And you (pointing)
And you (pointing)
And you (pointing)
You're gonna sleep now
OOOO!
You're gonna sleep now
Yes, you are (pointing)
Yes you are (pointing)
OOOO!
Sleep now (pointing)
Sleep now (pointing)
SLEEP NOW!! (pointing)

Sleeeeep ... You're gonna sleeeep .... (deep breath) NOW (long note here)!!

By this point, they are giggling; mainly because Mom is making a fool of herself .

Especially because I have the type of voice that people would pay perfectly good money NOT to hear, lol!!

And, the entire song is pretty long. By the time I've finished, the police have arrived to investigate the disturbance, the neighborhood dogs are barking, and the neighbors are behind the police with a petition - would I please just play heavy metal CDs to the children at bedtime.

But, the children go to sleep, lest I return for an encore (I can hear the neighborhood dogs barking in protest), and sing something else equally dreadful like 'Truly Scrumptious' from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Works every time.

Oops! I hear more noise... be right back...

Well, it looks like I spoke too soon. This was a harder than usual case tonight... I had to break out songs from 'Yentl'...

And if you think that's bad, imagine trying to sing over the noise, rework lyrics on the fly, and dodge stray thrown toy pieces, while staying on key because the children are making faces (to try to get me to laugh and quit singing), and heckling me, all at the same time. It makes for an interesting performance, that's for sure!! (It was a REALLY tough room!)

When I left, all I heard behind me was the occasional whimper.

They know, that if I come back, I'll be bringing my extensive repetoire of Engelbert Humperdinck songs (yeah, baby!) I've got a million of 'em ... bwahahahahhhh!!

From Bartcop.com

My favorite? Telekinesis!

And the (female) choir sings 'Amen'!!

Be sure to look at the rest of the page:

If Women Controlled The World

"But today our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change. The large house in which we live demands that we transform this world-wide neighborhood into a world-wide brotherhood. Together we must learn to live as brothers or together we will be forced to perish as fools.

We must work passionately and indefatigably to bridge the gulf between our scientific progress and our moral progress. One of the great problems of mankind is that we suffer from a poverty of the spirit which stands in glaring contrast to our scientific and technological abundance. The richer we have become materially, the poorer we have become morally and spiritually."
~Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

A wealthy old lady decides to go on a photo safari in Africa, taking
her faithful, aged poodle named Cuddles along for the company. One day
the poodle starts chasing butterflies and before long Cuddles discovers
that she's lost. Wandering about, she notices a leopard heading rapidly
in her direction with the intention of having lunch. The old poodle
thinks, "Oh, oh! I'm in trouble now!"

Noticing some bones on the ground close by, she immediately settles
down to chew on the bones with her back to the approaching cat. Just as
the leopard is about to leap, the old poodle exclaims loudly, "Boy, that
was one delicious leopard! I wonder if there are any more around here?"

Hearing this, the young leopard halts his attack in mid-strike, a look
of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees. "Whew!"
says the leopard, "That was close! That old poodle nearly had me!"

Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby
tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for
protection from the leopard. So off he goes, but the old poodle sees him
heading after the leopard with great speed, and figures that something
must be up.

The monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and
strikes a deal for himself with the leopard. The young leopard is furious at
being made a fool of and says, "Here, monkey, hop on my back and see
what's going to happen to that conniving canine!"

The old poodle sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back and
thinks, "What am I going to do now?", but instead of running, the dog
sits down with her back to her attackers, pretending she hasn't seen
them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old poodle
says: "Where's that monkey? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another
leopard!"

Bubba was bragging to his boss one day, "You know, I know everyone there is to know. Just name someone, anyone, and I know them."

Tired of his boasting, his boss called his bluff, "OK, Bubba how about Tom Cruise?"

"Sure, yes, Tom and I are old friends, and I can prove it. " So Bubba and his boss
fly out to Hollywood and knock on Tom Cruise's door, and sure enough, Tom Cruise
shouts, "Bubba! Great to see you! You and your friend come right in and join me
for lunch!"

Although impressed, Bubba's boss is still skeptical. After they leave Cruise's
house, he tells Bubba that he thinks Bubba's knowing Cruise was just lucky.

"No, no, just name anyone else," Bubba says.

"President Clinton," his boss quickly retorts.

"Yes," Bubba says, "I know him, let's fly out to Washington."

And off they go. At the White House, Clinton spots Bubba on the tour and motions
him and his boss over, saying, "Bubba, what a surprise, I was just on my way to
a meeting, but you and your friend come on in and let's have a cup of coffee first
and catch up."

Well, the boss is very shaken by now, but still not totally convinced.

After they leave the White house grounds, he expresses his doubts to Bubba, who
again implores him to name anyone else.

"The Pope," his boss replies. "Sure!" says Bubba. "My folks are from Poland, and
I've known the Pope a long time."

So off they fly to Rome. Bubba and his boss are assembled with the masses in
Vatican Square when Bubba says, "This will never work. I can't catch the Pope's
eye among all these people. Tell you what, I know all the guards so let me just
go upstairs and I'll come out on the balcony with the Pope." And he disappears
into the crowd headed toward the Vatican.

Sure enough, half an hour later Bubba emerges with the Pope on the balcony. But
by the time Bubba returns, he finds that his boss has had a heart attack and is
surrounded by paramedics.

Working his way to his boss' side, Bubba asks him, "What happened?"

His boss looks up and says, "I was doing fine until you and the Pope came out on
the balcony and the man next to me said, "Who's that on the balcony with Bubba?"

[drool...]

The Bat Cave
http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9852407-1.html

Star Wars
http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9781100-1.html

Star Trek (I'd love for this to be my living room!)
http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9821898-1.html

Soooooooooo cool!!

According to research, paired microbes in the oceans prevent the release of methane in the atmosphere by consuming it.

How do they do this?

It's a two step process.

Single celled organisms eats the methane in ocean sediments and produces a methane compound (methyl sulfide) and then bacteria (that live with the first organism) that eat methyl sulfide eat it and reduce it to sulfide. If this process didn't take place, there would be a lot more methane in the air, and the temperature of our atmosphere would be about 14 degrees higher.

My take on this is threefold:

1 - Climate scientists are looking at the methane gas released by bogs and lakes; if there is a way to use or locate similar bacteria in bodies of fresh water, there may be a way to slow methane release into the atmosphere from these freshwater sources.

2 - This bacteria may be useful in industries that generate excess methane - pump it through colonies of methane-eating bacteria.

3 - I knew that striking a match in the bathroom gets rid of lingering odors - now I know it's because of the sulfur!

Source of information : http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-01/ps-pme011108.php

Well, it turns out that although the datacard says it's for Mac (on the box and in the documentation), it can't be used with a Mac.

And my Plan B, which was port my landline (which is what I'm using for dialup) over to the cellphone company, and then use a smartphone as a modem to access online, isn't going to work either, unless the company has a smartphone that will allow you to sync with Macs. I'll be back tomorrow with my Mac to check this out :::fingers crossed:::.

Everyone at my cellphone place is actually pretty cool, so returning it wasn't a huge hassle. What is a hassle, is the lack of information that the techs have available to them to answer customers' questions. Apparently, no one asks true technical questions, so the powers that be don't think that anyone may need them. Ah, well.

Other than that, the day went okay. I walked for another mile today, and had a good time. However, my body doesn't seem to think that it is enough, so it looks as though I'm going to have to add another exercise session to the mix. Yikes!!


[This post was transmitted with dialup... sigh]

... or, not, as the case is.

Where I live, I am half a mile too far out to get DSL or cable (TV or Internet). Satellite internet, judging by the reviews that I've seen online, is a lot like slamming your head into a brick wall repeatedly. No thanks.

So, here I sit with dialup.

Now, my dialup company is ok, it's not their fault that there is faster technology, but I am on the Information Superhighway in a golf cart, on the shoulder.

I want to see streaming video, too, doggone it!!

And let's not talk about downloading software updates... slllllooooooowwwwwwww.

I have a wonderful, beautiful happy-happy-joy-joy MacBook, with a superfast processor, and lots of RAM and a big huge honking hard drive.... with dialup.

If I go to my local library, they have wireless internet, and I can download updates, watch movies, and in general, use my computer the way that Apple designed.

But who wants to sit in the library parking lot in the middle of the night, just to watch streaming video?!? Not me.

So, when my local cellphone company rolled out a wireless USB data card, I hopped right on it... hooray!!

Weeeeeeeeeellllllllllll... not so fast, there, hombre (or in my case, mujer)!

It turns out that while it is (on paper, at least) configured for a Mac (says so right here, in this little book that they done give me), it acts wonky when installed, and the hardware drivers sometimes install themselves, and not allowing the drivers that come with the software to install, so basically it bricks itself. This is a daisychain between the wireless carrier (who has to deal with the end customer - good luck with that), the software folks, and the datacard people.

So, I'm off to my carrier, to get another piece of equipment.

Lesson learned: If you are getting equipment for your laptop, take your laptop with you... at least, if it doesn't work, you can leave it in the store.

So, back to the twentieth century for me... at least for now ... sigh.

[This post was transmitted with dialup... sigh]

except a do-it-yourself C-section."

My friends know the above statement to be true.

I have had:

1 hospital birth (standard)
1 hospital birth (induction - don't ask)
2 homebirths
1 C-section (unnecessary)
1 unassisted hospital birth (staff stood by in case they were needed)
1 unassisted birth (just me, and a bathtub)

But, no do-it-yourself C-Section.

Now, to be honest, that last comment was a joke... it isn't possible to perform a C-section on yourself, after all... is it?

Yes It IS!!!

Now, when I began having my babies at home, even with a professional in attendance (in case of emergency… which I did not have any), people thought (mistakenly) that I was some kind of superwoman (which I am not). I am just an ordinary woman doing what I thought was best for me and my babies. Other people make decisions based on what is best for their families.

I would like to think that if my babies' life was in danger, and if there was no one around to help, that I would have done the same thing.

Words cannot describe how grateful I am not to have ever had to make a decision like that. Hopefully, I never will.

As I told a friend today as we were discussing this, "No more joking about this... tomorrow, I begin joking about winning the lottery!!"

'These two vampires used to take a non-vampire with them on their bar-hopping escapades. But whenever they ran out of money to buy their libations, they would jab their unfortunate human companion in the neck, and quench their thirst at his expense. He finally refused to go with them anymore, complaining, "I'm tired of getting stuck for the drinks!"' [ba-dum-dum!]

[ducking]

Yes, I know it's terrible... but I must have desperately needed the laugh, 'cause I laughed for a solid two minutes at this one, lol!!

Got any real groaners?

When I went to pick up my mail the other day, I found a tube in it.

Opening the tube, I found this poster:


(The actual poster didn't have the watermark)

She knows that I am a huge Star Trek (all of them) fan, and I don't know how she would know that I would absolutely love this, this one is getting hung up near the computer… woohoo!!

Thanks, Terri!!

Always post the day's post early in the day!!
After 1100pm, it seems that Blogger slows down to an absolute crawl... yikes!! Of course, it doesn't help that I'm still in the 20th century as far as Internet access goes.

Yes. I'll say it…

I'm still on dialup. :::sigh:::

But, the day has been saved (at least this time), by the fact that I have a Blogger widget on my Dashboard. I wish that I had thought of this about an hour ago, lol!!

it can be hilarious, or it can be pathetic. Today, at the CES conference, it was a little of both.

The Gizmodo bloggers got their hands on some TV-B- Gone remotes, and used their power for the Dark Side, switching off TV screens all over the place.

Some people thought that the video was funny, but I could only think of three things:

1. Such a small thing can bring stuff crashing to a halt (covering up the IR receiver on the TVs would have prevented it, I'm sure presenters considered it a lesson learned for the future).

2. Bloggers have enough of a problem being considered 'real' journalists, this lack of professionalism didn't help.

3. Good luck getting credentials to other conferences!!

I just couldn't resist…

I Will Not Throw Paper Airplanes In Class

It's too bad that it wasn't available when I was a child, lol!!

(Although, the teacher should have let him off for original thinking, roflol!!)

I never made an announcement about it, but I removed the 'nofollow' tag from my templates sometime in October. SO, if you leave a comment with your URL, the spiders will follow it. (And that's on ALL my blogs... see the sidebar)



Also, regular commenters will notice that their blogs are under "Other Blogs I Like" in the sidebar :-).

Back to your regularly scheduled programming…

I spent the day thinking about my blogs, watching the children play outside (we've got warm weather again), and trying not to think about the 101 things that I want to get accomplished in the next 1001 days (which end on October 9, 2010).

I have 24 things listed, some of them terribly mundane.

But, I am confident, as I think more about this, and get into the spirit of the idea, that I will come up with 77 more items. I may have to set a date to finish the list by… and then, reset the clock.

How are you guys doing with your list?

Wow!

In appreciation for the chance to start over in 2008, many of us make resolutions about the things that we will or will not do in the New Year.

However, what if 365 days is simply not enough time to get it all done?

Never fear, Gentle Reader, I have discovered a site that addresses the problem with elegance:

Day Zero - The Home of the 101 Things in 1001 Days Project

I've started working on my list of 101 items... how about you?

For the past week or so, something (not sure what) has been telling me that I need a new writing journal. My old writing journal still has more than half of its pages available for my inspired prose [g], so when I go into the store, I see the journals (I prefer Moleskeins), and I say to myself, "Why do I feel like I need to buy one of these?"

No one answers me (my brain is like that, sometimes), so I chalk it up to my notebook fetish, and leave the notebook at the store.

A day or so later, while I am at my computer, I think, $%^&! I need that notebook for ___ ... I *have* to remember to get it, the next time that I am out!! (I still don't remember what I need this notebook for, but that is probably because I am racking my brain, trying to remember.)

So, today, while I was out, I made a special trip to the nearest big town, 35 miles away, to get the stupid notebook that I wanted, but couldn't remember why (grr!).

Ok, so now I'm in the store... and they don't have the notebook. They have larger versions, and smaller versions, but not the notebook that I'm looking for. (Apparently, I'm not the only journaler in this area, although two weeks ago, the shelves runneth over with notebooks of every style, size, and color.)

No purchase there. So, I head over to the store on the other side of town, because they recently opened, and their shelves are full of beautiful notebooks, different from the first store, but equally as nice.

And their shelves were in worse shape than the first store!!!

So, I drove home, dejected. I had failed in my task, but learned a valuable lesson:

Beautiful notebooks sell out fast! Buy early!

Today, at the ranch...

After getting my hair done at the local beauty parlor, I stopped in at Fred's, to buy some hair care supplies.

When I was checking out, the cashier asked me if I did hair for a living. Surprised, I didn't realize why she was asking me that, until I looked down on the conveyor belt and saw the several sets of combs and rubber hair bands that I had purchased. Laughing, I explained that I had a bunch of girls.

Why is it, no matter how many combs and brushes you buy, when it is time to do hair, there are none to be found? I suspect that the combs, brushes and hair accessories all go to the same place that socks go when they disappear from the dryer.

Or else, my daughters, who have sensitive scalps, are quietly throwing them away at their earliest convenience.

I may have to implement security procedures for the hair supplies.

Dang! First the Patriot Act, and now this... is there no place that is free from security concerns?!?

At Meta Watershed, they've put together the best LOL cats of 2007.
My favorite is this one:

Christine Kane, in her blog, discusses the importance of keeping delight in your life.

Here's a clip:

"When you adopt obsession, you require hard hits of big things to wake up the you that has become numb. It’s as if food has to be spicier, saltier, and fattier. Music has to be louder and faster. Moments need to be “events” to get you to notice them. It takes more flash to feel good. It takes more bling to be present."

This is so true... and it is very important to remember to enjoy the small pleasures, as well as the large ones. Let's face it, most of us are not going to win the lottery, or win on a reality TV show, or do something else to make us rich and/or famous. And that's okay.

However, everyone's life has opportunities to enjoy the richness of life, even on a modest budget. And when you enjoy your life, there's more of it to enjoy.

Go to Christine's site, and read the rest of the article!!

and, so far, so good.

Today was another quiet day, relaxing and enjoyable.

The quiet before the storm.

Tomorrow, it's back to work, back to life as normal, and I get to deal with all the people working on their newly-minted resolutions... but, to be fair, they get to deal with me, working on mine [evil grin]!

Steven Barnes says that if you want to be great at something, you have to put in just as much work and learning as if you were getting an MBA. Which makes perfect sense. So, depending on how much work you put in each and every day, determines how long it will take you to become great. A little bit every day = longer time becoming great. A larger amount = shortened time becoming great, etc.

Of course, this assumes that the work is quality.