How Do They Know?

My tulips and daffodils are starting to sprout through the ground. The dogwood and some of the fruit trees in the neighborhood are starting to get blooms. How do the plants know when the weather (except for a few fluke days like today) has been pretty damn cold? I mean, it is not like we have actually hit Spring yet, it could snow tomorrow with the way weather is around here, but somehow they are making a break for it regardless. Is it just the fact that the days have started getting longer, even if they aren't warmer?

Pre-Spring

Today was beautiful. It was one of those days that you feel like you have wasted if you didn't spend it outside doing something. You don't really have to be accomplishing something, just outside, breathing fresh air and getting sunshine on your skin. I just got home from a 4 mile walk where I conjured up this great feeling.

I am trying to not get fooled into thinking that the nice weather (Spring) is here to stay, this may just be a fluke week for us but I am going to enjoy it regardless. I have the windows open, incense burning, and good music playing on the stereo. It feels like spring in the Rogue Valley (where I grew up).

In a few months, it will be hot and humid (I don't really mind that either) and doing stuff outside will only really be fun if there is water involved. In a few weeks, when we are in the best part of Spring weather, the pine pollen will start to fall and all the windows will have to be shut again, but for today, and the next few days, I am just going to turn my face to the sun and enjoy it.

I remember when I went to college in So California that this is kind of what winter felt like. It was weird for me to be in short sleeve shirts in January or February and I always felt a little bit like I was getting away with something. A stolen Spring day....I am babbling...can't really convey my feelings but I am sure you get the drift.

Question For You

You are at a lake that has a few signs reading "No Fishing until Further Notice". There is yellow caution tape all along the shore to keep people from fishing.

At one end of the lake, the water flows under a little bridge and becomes a creek. There aren't any signs at this section.

Do you fish at this spot?

High School Meme

I was tagged by Chatty on this one...so here goes.

Year: 1987

1. Who was your best friend? Boys: Robert, John and Jaime, Girls: Jen-jen
2. What sports did you play? Soccer, soccer and soccer....still do.
3. What kind of car did you drive? 1973 Dodge Colt (orange)
4. It's Friday night, where are you at? At Jenny's or at Katrina's with a gang of us together.
5. Were you a party animal? Nope, but I liked to hang out with my friends.
6. Were you in the "In Crowd"? Nope, wasn't rich enough for that.
7. Ever skip school? Once, kind of by accident.
8. Ever smoke a cigarette? Nope, and still haven't.
9. Were you a nerd? Nope, but I was captain of the math team.
10. Did you ever get suspended/expelled? Nope.
11. Can you sing the Alma Mater? Yep, to the tune of the Notre Dame Fighting Song...Fight, fight fight for old Ashland High. Grizzlies, will do it or die. Fight for fame and win this game, for good old Ashland High (or something like that....I guess this is the fight song, not the alma mater, I don't know if we had one).
12. Who was your favorite teacher? Wow, I liked so many of my teachers but I guess Mr. Garrett was my favorite.
13. Favorite class? That would have to be art with Mark Shoenleiber (sp?).
14. What was your school's full name? Ashland High School.
15. School mascot? Grizzly Bear
16. Did you go to Prom? Nope.
17. Would you go back again and do it over? Sure, I had fun in high school and remember I really learned a lot about myself while I was there.
18. What do you remember most about graduation? Walking with my boyfriend and being really excited to see my family there smiling.
19. Favorite memory of senior year? Soccer, and hanging out with my friends. Finally getting to drive.
20. Were you ever posted on the senior wall? I don't think we had one of those.
21. Did you have a job your senior year? Yep, I worked at McDonald's.
22. Who did you date? RC
23. Where did you go most often for lunch? The quad.
24. Have you gained weight since then? Who hasn't?
25. What did you do after graduation? Worked that summer, hung out with friends before we all went off in different directions for college.

Why Is It

There is a house a few streets over that I walk by on one of my two mile loops. They own their own landscaping company (says so on their trucks), but their yard looks like hell. The front is a mess and the back looks like a junkyard...don't they realize that it would be great advertising for them if they had the nicest looking yard in the neighborhood? I think they could probably even write off the cost (either against the business or in home improvements). Duh!!!

Love It

I think these new commercials from United are cool. I have only seen this one but I guess there are several.

Check it out when you have time.

United Airlines Dragon Commercial (WMV)

Arabs see phobia behind US uproar over ports deal - Yahoo! News

This seems very contradictory to me. This deal was going through with no problems until negative public opinion (which should be heard as well as good public opinion should) came into the picture and all of a sudden our "lawmakers" have decided to rethink things. Thing is, most of the negative public opinion is based on "America should be running America's ports". Okay, then why is Britain running them?

And if Americans are the only ones that can be trusted, then why are our "lawmakers" willing to sign over American privacy and rights (in the name of the war on terrorism) without batting an eyelash? If public opinion were to come into the picture there, do we think it would be heard, or is it only public opinion of a certain nature that is heard?

Yes, I agree that there were mistakes made, that might or might not, have changed what happened on 9/11/01. I agree that there are changes that still need to be made in agencies of our government across the board to make things "safer". But it seems to me that since 9/11/01 a lot of the things that make America great are being shoved off to the side in the name of "safety".

The terrorists' biggest accomplishment was getting us to change our way of life. We are willing to give up our privacy, and our judicial processes so that we can be safer, and we are lowering ourselves down to their level when we make generalizations and act prejudicial about the Middle East and followers of Islam.

We are supposed to be better than that.

How He Got Me

We didn't really even know each other yet. He was just one of many friends of a guy I was casually dating. I had seen him a few times at various get togethers but we weren't really friends. We just knew each other through others. You know how it goes.

So here we were, once again at a party with a bunch of drunks, babysitting basically. I was sick of it, always seemed to be the babysitter and you can only do that so many times. Things were getting a bit out of hand, people were jumping off the second floor balcony into the pool. I was picturing what we would have to say as the only sober "responsible" ones there if someone were to get hurt.

We had decided to play some pool on the back patio to get away from the drunkards, and while we were racking the balls, he says, "So tell me something about you that I don't already know." That was all it took, I was hooked.

Life's Measurements

It is weird how time seems to go faster when you are older, and the things you measure life by change. Perhaps time is slower as a kid because of what you are using to measure by....hmm.

All through school life, of course, was measured in summers and school years. I don't think I thought about weekends much when I was that young. Then in college, while school years and summers still marked time for me, I think weekends did start to play in. Time didn't really start to fly until after college. After I graduated from undergraduate, and got a regular job, life became a measurement of weeks and weekends...

Since I have been back in school, summers and semesters are back, but now I am older so there are additional measurements that all overlap each other. As far as maintenance goes, there is the time between fish tank, litter box cleanings, oil changes, and laundry days. I have to think in terms of seasons for our yard, and in terms of warranties for anything we buy. Personally lets not forget thinking of time in terms of multivitamin bottle refills and hair colorings.

Somedays, when I think back to how long and boring (at times) I thought summer was as a kid, I wish I could go back to those days, and heed the words my parents would say. "Time goes much faster when you are a grownup, enjoy it while you can". Every once in a while, I take time to realize that things are going by at an ever increasing rate and that sometimes I am not even noticing the things around me. I don't know if it is the feeling like winter is almost over, or what, but the urge to purge, clean, simplify my life is upon me. I am taking advantage of the feeling because when things are simpler, I find time to do the things I love and stop to smell the flowers.

New Construction February

Okay, here is a pic I took this week of the new construction site...the pic doesn't show the distance very well but it seems that the house is going to be placed near the back of the lot. Seems kind of weird to me because there is a creek that runs right back there. Oh well, I don't have to live there.

The port-a-potty came and the trees are gone, such is life in these here parts...haha.

Just For Freemind_Sprite

A pic of Chase sitting in a box...in and out, she just had to jump in and out the entire time I left it on the floor for her. Crazy cat!!!

Floor Finished

Just thought I would post two pics of the floors now that I am finished. The sun was shining in rather nicely and I thought it made them look especially nice. Only thing is that the sun makes the windows look very white...I could edit them in Fireworks but I figure it is the floor that we are concentrating on anyhow...

In the dining room shot, you can see the new rug....just like the one in the living room. I'll have to find something to compliment them for the entry and front door. I think having them all match identically would be kind of weird...at least for that type of rug.


In the living room shot, you can see the edge of our oversized chair and then 1/2 of the huge entertain-ment center (that J built for me). I moved that sucker all the way out into the middle of the room so I could wax behind it, and I managed to do it without any help and without unloading anything off of it. I would have cried if any of my Japanese pottery or Thai green and white would have fallen.

The little drawered cabinet under the window is our CD holder. It heavy too but I put felt feet on it long ago so I was able to just slide it along.

Now see how nice both of those floors look? All healthy and glowing...yeah!!! It really was easy to do, the hardest part was moving the furniture.

Daytona

The official start of the Nascar Nextel Cup is today in Daytona. The Busch Series raced last night, but today is the big race.

I am so excited to see that my favorite driver, Mark Martin, is back this season. Last year, he was planning to retire but was asked to come back this year.

Between this race and the Olympics today, I will have my hands full. NBC is covering them both, isn't that nice for them. At least that way, I don't have to choose between them, no overlap.

Warning!!!

In going through my cookie list on my PC this morning, I was able to see what the specific name was of the website that had the malware that attacked my computer. I thought I would put it out there so you all could avoid it.

Please note that I have been to a few lyrics sites that are great, so I am not by any means, suggesting to anyone that they avoid all of them. Just avoid this one...it has a lot of popups anyhow. I only went there because they were like the first one that came up in Google when I was doing the search.

Anyhow, I won't provide the entire address or a hot link but it is lyricsandsongs.com...there is a www in front but I don't want to be blamed if anyone were to go there from here so if you do, you will have done it without my help...hehe.

Infection

My PC got hit today by adware. I was surprised that it happened because I have my computer set up to block most active x content, and most popups. I also have the newest virus definitions automatically loaded everyday and I have the current MS stuff from Windows Update, but this one came as part of a website I was visiting. I was trying to get lyrics to a song and it just came up, the options for shutting the window led you to download even though I aborted.

As soon as the window closed, I saw the command window open in the corner so I knew something was going on. It was an IE Plugin program that then invites other bad things to come over and hang out. It installed a toolbar on IE and a little icon on the taskbar. Fortunately, I saw what was happening and shut the processes down. I then unplugged from the Internet and started the removal process.

I play with my computer enough to know most of the services and processes that should be running (guess that college education pays off once in a while). I could tell right away what programs were legit and which weren't but I plugged my laptop into the Internet so I could get the specifics on getting rid of the thing. I didn't know how deep it had buried itself or if it already had friends over. Fortunately, Symantec makes a removal tool for this specific one and I downloaded it to my thumbdrive, and ran it on my PC. Looks like it is clean but now I am a bit timid about connecting back up to the Internet (I am still using my laptop).

It just pisses me off that it attacked on a completely innocuous website. I moved my popup blocker to the highest level and I also modified the security settings on my browser, so I am sure it will be painful for a few days until I am able to get the exceptions for some of the sites in there but it is better than losing use of my PC in the middle of the semester.

Only plus about stuff like this, is I get to learn something new and try out my skills. Thankfully this time, it was relatively easy. I have worked on other computers where there was so much, they had to reformat the harddrive. Key is to immediately get off the Internet, which sucks because that is usually where you need to go to find out information. Helps that I have a second computer but I think you could also come up in Safe Mode (Windows users) and still access the Internet that way.

Jiff

Okay, Jiff commercials have always gotten on my nerves because I HATE their slogan of "choosy moms choose Jiff". Not only does this imply that if you don't choose Jiff you are a lousy mom, it implies that all shopping is done by moms. Just like all cleaning commercials imply that women are the only ones that clean.*

Anyhow, they have this commercial now where the dad and the daughter are sitting down for a "snack" of peanut butter on bread. Thing is, he brings out the huge loaf of white bread and then spreads about 3 servings of peanut butter on one slice.

I guess it is the lack of responsible advertising is what irritates me most.

*(I realize that they always use wives, and moms, because their marketing research indicates that women do most of the shopping for the household and most of the household work, but its the stereotypes that get me, not the market research.)

Cleric Offers $1 Million to Kill 'Cursed Man' - Yahoo! News

This has passed stupidity now...it's at a level that doesn't even have a decent descriptive word.

Okay?

Currently it is 68 degrees F outside with about 52% humidity and a nice warm breeze.

Tomorrow, we are forecasted for snow....somebody explain this to me.

Another Commercial Peeve

TGIF has a commercial where a husband is at the restaurant with his friends and spies his wife across the room with some friends and comes over giving her the 3rd degree on why she is there and where their kids are...and it turns out the kids are there as well with their grandma.

I understand why the commercial was funny (maybe the first time I saw it) but now it just grates on my nerves because the husband is such a jackass to her, like she has no business eating out with friends (even though he is apparently out with friends) and that she must be some kind of lousy mother that would just leave the kids wherever. He even cuts her off when she is speaking....grrr that pisses me off.

One Thing Leads To Another

It always seems like no project I undertake can just be one project. It has always got to involve more things. An example would be the conditioning of the leather furniture we own I took on the other day, eventually led to me moving all the furniture in both rooms away from the wall (even the nonleather ones) and vacuuming and dusting behind.

I should mention too that the leather project and the one I am embarking on today were not even on the list of things to do...they just sort of sprouted up out of nowhere...so I am not really making headway on my list, just checking off new items that have appeared.

Story is, we have hardwood floors in the living room and the dining room. We have this area rug that I really like (that was kind of expensive by my standards) in the living room, under our coffee table. In the dining room, entryway and at the front door, we have this rug set (3 total, each a different size) that I got while we were in Japan. Our house in Japan had hardwood floors and a tatami room, so in order to protect the floors I had purchased this set from JcPenney (one of the few places that will ship outside of the US). The rugs were great in Japan, served their purpose and generally went with our decor.


Thing is, J hated them because they were hard and not comfortable to sit on if you did have to sit on the floor. This is the reason behind the area rug we currently have in our living room. It is very plush. Unfortunately, the braided rugs, just don't go with it much. I have always intended on getting other plush rugs that would compliment the one in the living room to go in the three areas the braided ones reside in. I was in Lowe's (where I got the one in the living room) the other day (getting other things) when I noticed that they were having an area rug sale. I went to check it out. I tried to find another of the rug we have in the living room so I could compare other rugs to it to see if I could get something complimentary. In the process of finding the only one they had in the store, the department manager and I realize that it has a little pull in it (one of the fibers was coming out). She told me that she would give me a discount on it if I wanted it. I wasn't really planning to buy it, was just using it for comparison but I couldn't find anything else to go with it, and she mentioned that she thought they were discontinuing it. It is always that way, I find something I like, and it gets discontinued (another story for another day).

Anyhow, after spending a fair amount of time comparing rugs, I decide that I might as well get the one with the pull in it (they are really easy to get rid of since my cat does it every once in a while to the one in the living room, but I don't tell the DM that, because I want the discount, and it is damaged after all). So I ask her how much it will be. She takes 50% off. This is huge to me. Like I said before, I thought the original price was kind of high,(which we hope means good quality) to begin with so 50% off is awesome. I am thrilled.

Anyhow, so this new rug (that is exactly the same as the one in the livingroom, mind you) is going to reside in the dining room. The one in there is the same size (about 5x7). Of course I can't get rid of the braided rugs completely until I have replacements for all the spots but I figured I would at least get the new rug put in the dining room, and would roll the braided one up and put it somewhere. I plan to sell the set cheaply once I have all the replacements.

Well, as much as I would love to put the rug down right away, I have noticed lately that the hardwood is looking a bit tired. We have never done anything to it (14 months) so when I was at Lowe's, I looked at the options. I ended up getting some hardwood floor wax that is pretty easy to apply and doesn't require any stripping. It is supposed to protect the floor from the sun and help moisturize it as well. So, I can't put the rug down in the dining room until I do the hardwood floors because why move all the furniture twice, right? Right!!!

So that is what I am doing today. Some pieces of the furniture can't be moved out of the room without a lot of hassle (buffet and curio cabinet) so I am doing the floor in segments and waiting for it to dry so I can move things around. I'll be done with the dining room today, I think, and will get the new rug put in, with all the furniture in place. Then (because some sort of gene in me won't let me stop there), I will have to wax the living room floor as well, which means moving a lot of really big furniture by myself. I did mention that J is gone on a trip, right?

So anyone want to come help me move a couch and entertainment center tomorrow?

1492

This CD by Vangelis is awesome. I have never seen the movie. I currently have the score in my CD alarm clock so I hear it in the morning. It was done very well and I have been hooked on it since the first time I heard it several years ago.

I like to put scores to movies in my alarm clock because they are easier to wake up to than something with words, or the blaring radio or buzzer. They are my new classical music. One that falls out of this catagory a bit is the Original Broadway Cast Recording of Les Miserables. It one has words but it still is a great CD to wake up to and listen through. It feels like you are watching the musical all over again.

Others I would recommend (from the score catagory) would be Last of the Mohicans, Braveheart, Bladerunner, The Piano, Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring and The Last Samurai. There are many more but those make the most rotations through my alarm clock.

Construction Begins Again

They started clearing the second lot across from our house a few weeks ago. Then they stopped for a while, several surveyors came out, and they started again today. I am assuming the people who own the lot on the far side (that is for sale) wanted to have it resurveyed to make sure the new construction wasn't encroaching on their land. I don't blame them, people will try to get away with anything and then ask for forgiveness later around here.

I figure it will be similar to last year's construction. It will go from Feb-September. There will be litter and other irritations to be seen, but at least I know the company now, and I can let them know if something is getting out of control.

I'll try to get some pics as things progress.

Here we thought we were moving into a small, unpopulated street with lots of trees. This is the fourth house to be built on our street since Feb of 05. At least none of them have been adjacent to us, just across the street.

Vday Wishes

Hope everyone had a great V day yesterday. Mine was postponed as J is out of town for work for a few weeks. We went out to dinner before he left and I got my new monitor (my gift he says) so I guess all there really is left is a card or something. I still need to make my card for him. I might get to that this afternoon sometime, we'll see.

I like to make a big deal out of all the important holidays from when we were kids. Birthdays, Halloween, Valentine's Day...I just don't think that growing up means you have to miss out on celebrations. We should all try to celebrate whatever we can as often as we can, right?

Beauty In The Sun

Two Australians Sentenced to Death - Yahoo! News

Wow!

Not to make light of this but didn't these guys see Brokedown Palace and Return to Paradise? I don't think I would mess with drugs in Asia...bad idea.

Guts and Determination

The Chinese pair figure skaters were just amazing tonight. First, NBC did a back story on the coach. He was a skater a long time ago when China was much more closed off to the world and their skaters and coaches only had photographs from newspapers to know what moves were supposed to look like. He and his partner went to the world championships on their own, there wasn't enough money for coaches to come too. Apparently they didn't do well and were actually laughed at by the spectators (which I think is despicable). That was the last time he skated competitively and he eventually became the Chinese national team coach. (Of course this story, like all the Chevrolet moments on the Olympics, made me tear up...I am a sap, I know it).

So on to the skaters tonight, the most promising pair was still coming back from a blown Achilles tendon 6 months ago. Watching them, knowing that he was in pain and pushing his body to its limit kept me on pins and needles the entire time. They were in first until the Russians went. Those two were coming back from a bad fall a while back that occured during a lift. It had shattered their confidence and watching them was difficult as well.

With one pair to go from China, the Russians were in first, and the comeback Chinese pair were in second. The last pair knew they had to pull out all the stops to get into the medals, so they planned to do a quadruple Salchow throw (apparently throws are the bomb in pair skating). It was near the beginning of their program. He threw her, she fell on her knees and couldn't continue for a few minutes. They went over to the side to see the trainer and after a bit, she decided to continue. I couldn't believe that she was willing to go on after that fall. It took so much courage and just really made me think, that is what competing in sports is about. They finished their program without any more problems and even though she was crying during the end, they got the silver medal. Here is their story on NBC's Olympic website.

I was so happy for them and so completely impressed by their heart and determination.

Moon Rising

I saw this amazing moon rising earlier tonight. I was on my way home from Hellmart and it was just there…boom, huge and yellowish right at horizon view. I tried to get a shot of it when I got home because it just looked so huge but there are too many trees around and I couldn't really see it until it got higher.

Now I've just come in from soaking in the hot tub, on a crisp and clear night. Due to the full moon, the stars were not quite as bright but the sky was still brilliant. I could hear the wind when it would move through the trees, otherwise it was just silence. I didn't have the bubbles on so the reflection of the moon was sitting on the water with the steam rising around it. It was so cool.

Valentine Mania

Nothing is better example of craziness than going to Hellmart early evening on the night before Valentine's Day. Apparently everyone in the entire area waited until today to do anything about it. The two or three lanes that had Valentine's Day stuff on them were packed full of people. I think there were even people waiting to get into the lanes, the lanes were that full.
Fortunately, I didn't need to go in those sections and I was able to get through the self checkout quick enough to avoid the mad rush that I am sure was going to hit the registers soon afterwards.

It's Cold Out There

We are in the middle of a cold spell. The winter here has been very strange this year. We are either enjoying balmy 70 degree sunshiney days or it is crisp, clear, windy and cold...like today.

Now, we don't get the subzero stuff that other places get so I can't complain too much but I moved from a warm climate and I think my bones have not completely adjusted. I hear the call of my hot tub much too frequently for it to be normal...haha.

Anyhow, we have a sunroom on our house (it is on the shady side of the house but there isn't another way to describe it). It used to be a screened-in porch(that is why it is on the shady side) but now it is a glassed-in porch. Problem is, that even with the heat blowing out there, all that glass makes for difficult climate control. That room is always colder than the rest of the house in the winter and warmer than the rest of the house in the summer. I keep the door to it closed from the rest of the house. Spring and fall are awesome because we can open all the windows out there and let the breeze blow into the house.

So currently, we are in a cold spell hence, that room is chilly. Normally at night, I turn our heat down from 68 degrees to 58 degrees, because we have a nice warm feather comforter on our bed. I turn it back up in the morning but it does make things a bit crisp first thing. It seems that on nights when it gets really cold, and I have turned down the heat the sunroom gets even colder because the thermometer in the house is not falling as fast as the sunroom temp is. Normally, this is not too much of an issue but I am assuming it has been the last few days because Chase has been moving her bed around the room (she sleeps in the sunroom). I am assuming it is to find a warmer spot, because she only does it on the really cold nights (below 22 degrees). I was getting mad at her, before I realized why she was doing it.

Now, before you go crazy and think I am freezing my cat to death, realize that the sun room never gets below 40 degrees (I check the thermometer I have out there) and she is at least part Maine Coon. She is very furry, so much so that poop sticks to her (another story for another time). I think it is just that she came from the same warm climate as we did and I think she got spoiled too. Anyhow, out of pity for her, I have started leaving the heat up on the nights when it gets really cold so that the heat will keep blowing and will keep that room a bit warmer. It just means that I end up taking off socks and pj bottoms halfway through the night.

It seems to be working because she hasn't moved the bed on the nights when I leave the heat on. Last night I turned it down about half the distance and this morning the bed had moved but only about half the distance...weird coincidence????

Blogger P@rn

Has anyone else noticed the abundance of Blogger p@rn these days?

I was doing some "next blog" button pushing recently. I notice in my site meter sometimes that I get hits from it and I like to try it out to see if I will come across one of my blogs (I never do). Anyhow, now that Blogger provides the capability of loading up pictures to their servers, rather than having to host them (and therefore claim them as our own), it seems that there are a lot of p@rn blogs out there.

I hate this because there is no warning, which I think is required. I personally prefer not to look at p@rn. It does nothing for me, and clicking along innocently to come across a teenager giving someone h3ad is not my kind of fun.

I just thought I would check if anyone else had noticed that there is a bunch of these blogs out there now. Wonder if Blogger even cares and if it means that someday we won't be able to post pics anymore.

(To those that will give me crap about this, I am not a prude and I hate censorship, but I do think that you should get some kind of warning so you can avoid those blogs if you want, and I definitely don't think that child p@rn should be on there at all)

Local Quote

"If I stopped drinking, I could probably get by on 80 bucks a month."

Cell

I just finished "Cell" by Stephen King last night. I started it the day before yesterday and it was such a great read that I managed to get it done in two days flat.

He is my favorite writer. I have others that are on my favorites list but if I had to name one writer that I can read over and over and thoroughly get lost in their books, it would be him. I have read him since I was a kid. My mom used to read all his books when they came out in paperback. I was in a horror stage and got hooked. I am a member of the Stephen King Library, which just means that I get his hardcovers in the mail immediately after they are released at a bit of a discount. They are the same books from the stores, I just don't have to worry about buying it myself as it comes right to me.

His writing has evolved quite a bit since I started reading but he has absolutely no problem terrifying a reader, just so they don't forget where it all started. Some people have complained about this book, that he returned to the gore and such. While the book does have some gore, it has to, in order to portray the story correctly. If you don't like it, you shouldn't be reading Stephen King.

The only bad thing about finishing it so fast is that now I have to wait until October, when the next book is supposed to be done. At least it is not a series or I would be going mad. I guess I'll have to read that textbook I bought for class now....hmmpfffff!!

Monitor Upgrade

This must be the month for computer issues. It seems like every blog I read, someone is having computer issues.

Anyhow, a few days ago, I noticed that when I would turn my monitor (17 inch Sylvania F70 that I have had for 7 years) off at night, it would not come right back on if I needed it to. In the morning it would be fine but that night, it was like it had gotten too hot or something (even though it didn't feel hot). I was willing to live with it, but thought that perhaps it was on its last legs. Yesterday, just before taking our sedan in for work at the dealership, I realized that it wasn't going to come back up. It is dead. The power button turns on but the tube (or whatever is in there) just never lights up. Fortunately the dealership is near where I would go to look at monitors as well.

I have put off getting a flatscreen monitor because I didn't want to go down to 15 inches to get a reasonable price (and I had a perfectly good monitor at home). My waiting paid off because now the 17 inch ones are more reasonable (and I don't have a perfectly good monitor at home). I ended up with the Sony pictured above. It lacks the ability to adjust the height but because it is so slim, I am able to put it in a spot on my desk that is more comfortable ergonomically so I am fine with the height. It is kind of like having a very big laptop screen (and I thought my laptop screen was big). So far, I am happy with it, and the timing worked out since school is underway and I can't really afford to not have the PC up and running.

So, besides wasting half my day at the dealership, I managed to get this monitor purchased and set up. Happy early Valentine's to me I guess...haha.

AM Yoga

I just did my quick morning yoga DVD this morning. It has been ages since I had done it.

I used to be quite faithful to get it in but since we have been living back in the US, I haven't done it. I don't know if it was because it would make me miss Japan or what but seeing Rodney Yee on that beautiful beach did bring back memories. I miss the ocean an awful lot.

Anyhow, the DVD was nice and I plan to add it to my daily routine...right after coffee but before dressing. I like to do yoga in my pjs or in workout clothes.

It is a beginning program that has three short sessions on it. Once for AM, one for stress relief and one for PM. I like Rodney (he is only on the AM one) so I do that one mostly but the others are good as well. I would recommend it to anyone interested in yoga. Even after doing it for a while, it is still a great way to start the day out. I think the AM one is only about 20 minutes long and that is including the relaxation time at the beginning and the mediation time at the end. Give it a whirl if you are thinking about trying out yoga. I like that is is short, not complicated and doesn't contain any difficult poses. I have Power Yoga for that....haha.

Ferry Passenger Families Lash Out in Egypt - Yahoo! News

If this ends up being swept under the rug, I feel for the families. As this is just the beginning, I won't pass judgement quite yet but I hope that they do a thorough investigation and if there were things done wrong, someone is held accountable.

I guess it helps that they have witnesses...unfortunately because of their social status, they might not be taken very seriously.

The thing that I noticed though, was that the family members wanted to have the names of the victims released. My only experience with ferries are those in the Northwestern US and as far as I remember, we never gave anyone our names...but I guess since they were traveling internationally perhaps they did.

I hope they get the closure and answers that they are looking for. So sad.

Superbowl Comments

Okay, what can I say about that game?

I was really happy for both teams that made it. They both deserved to be there and I was thrilled with which ever one was going to win but can I just say that the officiating sucked!!!!

It would have been one thing if it was across the board bad officiating but no, it was only slanted in one way.

I am sorry that Pittsburg won a game that was so obviously biased. It takes away from the overall victory when you win on calls rather than on effort. I didn't stay for the post game ceremony or shows...I was so disgusted with the officials.

Oh well, the commercials were pretty funny and I did enjoy them, that is for sure.

New Digs

Well, I broke down and got a new birdhouse for the bluebirds this year. I was going to use the old one as a form to make a new one (they aren't that hard to do) but then I saw the one in the picture and it is from the same company (Homes for Bluebirds) that the original was from.

The company is devoted to helping the bluebird come back and I figured the money would go to a good cause, and more than likely I could hang the new one right where the old one was with almost the same hardware...cinch.

Apparently the guy who started the company and making these houses, has been devoted to rehabilitating the bluebird population forever. There is a really interesting article about him at this site if you want to check it out. I think it is pretty cool actually.

Love This Site

We are doing some work in class that requires us to find some interesting sites that make use of multimedia. I posted this site as one of my favorites and then thought that some of you might like it too.

It is the E-Nature site from the National Wildlife Federation. They have so much info, I can not even begin to credit it all. I am particularly fond of the bird call section. You can click on one of the types of birds and it will give you a list of the various species and a "listen" link to hear their calls. I like that the audio doesn't have to play through a player, it just plays.

I plan to put a link to the home page of this site on my sidebar soon.

Please enjoy!!!

Super Bowl advertisers aim for funny bone again - Yahoo! News

Yeah!!! I am looking forward to the Superbowl commercials this year.

Last year was the first year in several that we were able to watch the Superbowl with US commercials and they just weren't that great...I was disappointed.

I am thrilled to hear that they are going for it again. Whoooeee!!!!

Link Etiquette

I was asked the other day by a fellow blogger about what the accepted link etiquette might be. I kind of figure it is up to each blogger but it did make me think, and over the course of the day, I did come up with a few questions.

1. Do you link someone just because they link you, even if you don't read them much?

2. Do you remove someone if they stop linking you, even if you read them?

3. Do you remove someone that you might have read before, has a link to you, but you just don't like to read any longer?

4. Do you only link blogs that you read and want to share regardless of who links you?

I read (everyday at least, some more than that) all the blogs in my sidebar. Some of them have me linked and some don't...I figure to each their own as far as that goes. I have others that I read regularly that are not linked yet. They are in a favorites list on IE that contains ones that I am trying out before I link them since I hate editing my template (only because it takes forever to load back up). I probably go with option 4 more than anything else.

What does everyone else think?

ABC News: Punxsutawney Groundhog Sees His Shadow

Apparently, winter is here for a bit longer....interesting article that contains a bit of the history of the legend too.

There is also a Punxsutawney Groundhog Club (sayt that fast three times) at this link http://www.groundhog.org if you want to check it out.

Amazing Candy

The new commercial running for M&Ms Amazing candy bar with Barry White singing in the background is just too much for me...now candy is having sex????

I would love to work for an advertising company...I can just imagine these guys pitching this stuff to corporate execs.