My Favorite Alibi

No more contract work!!

2006-01-22T23:07:00.000-05:00

On Friday, after some deliberation and negotiation, I accepted a full-time position at the university I have been working at for almost 2 years now (most of that time I was also a student). The position entails some really cool work, including assisting in creating and maintaining a virtual campus using WebCT and Blackboard, as well as researching education grants.

My instructional, research and technical abilities are being maximized and I'll be learning all kinds of cutting-edge apps.

I'm psyched.

And it's nice to have decent money coming in again!!!!

I want to thank everyone who has supported me through this wonderful, wacky adventure called my life. A big hug to each of you.

Astronomy is sooooooooooooooo cool

2006-01-17T22:56:00.000-05:00

Today one of my co-workers called out to me to come into her office. She was online, watching the countdown to the New Horizons mission liftoff and knew I would like to watch it.

And she was right. We marveled at this huge piece of machinery (that I noted looked like a giant metal suppository--am I the only one who sees that?) that would be traveling for nine years to get data from Pluto and the Kuiper Belt.

With about 2 1/2 minutes left, today's launch was aborted. We'll be back tomorrow (this time with munchies) to watch the next launch attempt.

This is so incredibly cool. I still love this stuff and marvel at the engineering that goes into creating the spacecraft.

I live in a great age.

Say a prayer for those with no home tonight

2006-01-15T00:37:00.000-05:00

Or send good thoughts to the Universe.

The temperature here outside of Philadelphia has been dropping steadily all day. It was downright balmy last week (people wearing tee shirts and shorts in January), and now it's snowing and the winds are blasting away (up to 50 m.p.h.). The wind chill is single digits.

I'm thankful I have a warm, well-insulated home and have gas for making a pot of hot tea and have plenty of blankets to keep warm snuggled next to my toasty husband. I am blessed.

But many live outside or in substandard housing and are suffering tonight. Keep them in your thoughts.

Mme Tussaud's museum is missing a wax figure

2006-01-13T17:07:00.000-05:00

Tennessee's recently-elected senator, Ophelia Ford, is one scary-looking woman. I had no idea that recent article from The Tenessean caught my eye for the obvious spooky visage of this woman whose election is being hotly contested (she won by only 13 votes and it appears as if several deceased persons somehow reached out from the great beyond to vote for her). Replacing her brother who was removed after being indicted on bribery charges, she might just be following a family tradition of malfeasance.

While not as fun, here's a photo that gives her some life.

Blogging about work

2006-01-09T22:40:00.000-05:00

Blogging about work, especially if it can be connoted as negative, is not a wise thing to do. An April 2005 New York Times article cites examples of people who were fired from their jobs for their entries which were considered in a negative light by their employers.

Are blogs protected speech? Sure. Can you get away with saying anything you want and not have to worry about consequences from what is said? No. In other words, you can write what you want, but you had better be ready for the consequences of your actions.

Many companies have their employees sign confidentiality agreements, and others are now specifically forbidding their employees from writing about their work, under penalty of firing or legal action.

Writing negative comments about your work can get you fired. Most jobs are not protected. And if you write about specific people, you could be sued for libel.
And think about this scenario: you're looking for a new job. You have contacts in the new company who are aware of your blog. If you have vitriolic content in it (e.g., calling a boss or co-worker "stupid"), you have just entered into the negative brownie point arena.

Electronic Frontier Foundation has written an excellent article on the subject, "How to Blog Safely (about Work or Anything Else) ." Read it before blogging about your job.

If you need to gripe about work, blogging is not the best place to write about it. Talk to your friends. Write a really bad poem. Go out bowling. Garden; I've found that weed-pulling is quite therapeutic. Walk your dog. Walk someone else's dog.

Just be careful what you say.

Gilligan's Island Trivia

2006-01-07T13:21:00.000-05:00

And now for something completely different...

In the opening credits of the show, before the S.S. Minnow sets off on its doomed three-hour tour, look for a flag. It's at half-mast because J.F.K. had just been assassinated.

More trivia at: http://www.sitcomsonline.com/gilligansisland.html.

You never know what's going to be posted on this blog, do ya?

It's good to be wanted

2006-01-05T22:16:00.000-05:00

I'm in a bit of a quandary right now; a positive quandary, but a quandary nonetheless.

The management of a department I really want to work in asked me to submit my resume for a job that is right up my alley (combining my education and technological skills). They seemed very interested, but I haven't heard from them yet concerning an interview. I'm sure I'll get one, as they approached me, but there's a problem (as I said before): other people are asking if I can work contract work for them. I cannot say yes or no, and time is running short. These projects are fascinating and long-term and I don't want to lose out on them if the other job falls through.

So, next week I'm going to ask the management of the full-time job if and when I could interview and see if I can hold off on a response to the others. I don't know how long that can last, but I don't want to screw myself or anyone else. I'll stay above board with everyone.

I really want to come out on the winning end of this. And I want everyone else to be on the winning end. So, wish me luck.

Mohair ain't no hair to be wearin' to an interview

2006-01-04T21:30:00.000-05:00

My office is next door to my boss's. Today I heard her coughing non-stop, so violently I rushed over to see what I could do to help. She said that she had started coughing as soon as a person she was interviewing had stepped into the office. After a bit of detective work, I figured out that it was the sweater the interviewee was wearing that was the culprit--it was mohair.

Apparently my boss hasn't been exposed to mohair much. But it brings up a good point: persons going on interviews are told not to wear perfume, too much hairspray, etc., but are not generally instructed to not wear possibly allergenic clothing (such as mohair, cashmere and angora). Another critical point is if you have pets and are interviewing for a job, it is very important to wear just-cleaned clothes that have been kept isolated (as well as possible) from the walking furballs.

As soon as the interviewee left the area, my boss brightened up and was fine. But I've crossed "mohair sweater" off my list of presents for her!

Prandtl-Glauert Singularity Condensation

2006-01-02T09:13:00.000-05:00

From the Gallery of Fluid Mechanics (I'm sure we all check it every day), comes great images of this particular phenomenon. Basically, the P-G Singularity is condensation that "can be seen in steady level flight usually at low altitude under humid conditions." (Google it yourself if you want a more detailed definition.)

And it makes for really cool picture-taking (if you're in the right spot at the right time with the right lens).

Happy Hogmanay!!

2005-12-31T13:23:00.000-05:00

Dictionary.com is a great resource (for those of you who don't use it already). Today's word is Hogmanay: the gifting of another year.

The past couple of weeks have been very busy. In short, they've included:

A very early Christmas morning run to the emergency room when my father's nose wouldn't stop bleeding (it took 6 hours to convince him it wasn't going to stop on its own). He's okay; this isn't the first time he's been carted to the ER for a spouting schnozz. Did you know that liquid cocaine is used in such situations? I can call my dad a cokehead and mean it!
My applying for a job that seems right up my alley (incorporating my teaching and technical skills). I would be working on a team that helps professors develop online courses in WebCT and Dreamweaver (there's more to it, but I don't want to cut and paste the entire job description here). I was made aware of the position by the two men who would be my bosses (very encouraging and flattering), who urged me to apply if I was interested. I'm hoping I get the position as it would be challenging and interesting and I'd be working with a great bunch of guys. And I'd finally have BENEFITS again! Wowza. Contract work is cool, but I like the continuity of a full-time, benefits-giving job. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
Celebrating the last Christmas with my folks at their lovely nearly 300-year-old home. With the early-morning excitement I was pretty zoned, but still managed to get up early and go for a walk, taking pictures before the hard-driving rainstorm moved in.
Celebrating Christmas with my husband. He and I go our separate ways on Christmas Eve (he to his family and me to mine; it is eminently more practical than us running back and forth to each other's families and getting exhausted). His presents were practical and cool and geeky (just the way I like 'em); a donut-shaped JBL speaker system for my iPod that delivers GREAT sound, and other groovy geeky stuff. Mine to him were just practical (but needed!); a neck massage pillow and shirts and pants. Oh yeah--one geeky present from me; a neato mouse to replace his dying one.

That's just some of the fun things happening in the Alibi household.

One other VERY important thing--yesterday marked the 7-year anniversary of my meeting the man who became my husband. He's pretending to itch like crazy (Seven Year Itch--get it?), but I know he's gonna be around for a long time. Lucky me.

Extraordinary sand sculptures

2005-12-19T07:42:00.000-05:00

When I was a little girl and my family went to the beach, my father would create astounding, intricate sand castles that people up and down the beach would come to see. I don't think we have any pictures of them, which is a shame.

My dad is an artist. He currently uses this talent to restore antique tin toys (his before and after pictures are amazing), which he sells at auction.

I think when he was younger, he could have been one of the people working on such amazing (albeit temporary) works of art as those found at Sandsational Sand Sculpting.

While my dad just used a kiddie sand bucket and kiddie sand shovel (along with his talented hands and mind), if you want a little more help in sand sculpting check out this cool site: Can You Dig It Sand Tools. It has hints and tips on sand sculpting aimed at kids and adults alike, and sells the tools of the trade (not expensive!).

What a difference half a world makes...

2005-12-15T14:57:00.000-05:00

Just to stay with my fascination with the wintry weather, it's snowing again.

A friend of mine just flew to Mumbai (Bombay). Looking at the weather for there, it promises to be almost eerily the same for the next 10 days: sunny with highs around 88, lows around 67.

Mumbai, by the way, is either the most populous city in the world (according to InfoPlease--with a 2001 count of 11,914,3980) or the runner-up (Wikipedia--2004 population at 12,692,727, a scant 100,000 behind Shanghai).

By comparison, New York City is just a hamlet at 8,085,742.

I can't imagine 1 1/2 times that number of people in another city. Boggles my mind.

The most fun I've had at George Bush's expense lately...

2005-12-14T22:56:00.000-05:00

I know, I know--it's totally juvenile. But it's funny!

What would Bush look like if he were a girl?

"Hotel Creates Giant Xmas Tree from Beer Bottles"

2005-12-14T22:42:00.000-05:00

With that headline, I had to check out for myself what they did.

It's amazing. Not cheesy at all. As the article states, it took 7 employees, 10 days, and 8000 empty bottles (donated by Heineken) to create a 12-meter-high, 4-meter-wide tree. If you happen to be in Quy Nhon, Vietnam, check it out.

Ingenuity & creativity. Gotta love it.

Just donate that wasted money to charity, PLEASE

2005-12-10T16:38:00.000-05:00

The folks at FAO Schwartz have the following:

For $175, you can get Swarovski crystal-encrusted Pez dispensers of Mickey, Minnie, Daisy or Daffy. Gift wrapping is extra.

For $5000, you can have your image recreated on an Etch-A-Sketch (it's made permanent, so it won't erase when shipped). If the examples shown are the best the artist has to offer, this is NOT a good option.

For $6000, you can give your beloved spoiled little Mimsy a handcrafted rocking horse. Looking at it, I'm sure little Mimsy would trim that long hand-applied real horsehair mane and tail.

It's that shocking time of year

2005-12-10T09:03:00.000-05:00

At home, at the office, I get shocked regularly now. Darn static electricity. I don't mind it, but it could hurt my electronic equipment and definitely sucks when I'm trying to kiss my husband and end up with zapped lips instead (and not in a good way, either). My teeny kitty-cat must think I'm trying to hurt her when I reach to pet her; I don't want her to start shying away.

So, today we clean out and prep all the humidifiers we have so that I can kiss and pet and not do anything shocking (unless it's of my own volition!).

The office--well, I'll just have to live with it. I could use StaticGuard or something like that, but I don't like the smell and God knows what breathing that stuff in would do to my lungs.

More snow!

2005-12-09T18:33:00.000-05:00

We got several more inches of snow overnight. Heavy snow. Snow that's fun to play in and make snowmen from. Snow that's not so fun to shovel. My husband did the looong sidewalk in front of our property before he left for work. I went out later to shovel out where we park our cars and when I had finished that I went down to the sidewalk and saw that the plows had shoved tons of clumpy, wet, dirty snow back onto the walk! Sooooo...I shoveled.

The main driveway was just too much, so I left that for tomorrow, when my beloved spouse and I can work on it together.

I got so hot shoveling I went out in the back with the dogs and played in the snow sans jacket, hat, mittens and scarf. I had to cool down. Apparently I'm too good at dressing for the cold.

My boss is heading to Mumbai for a couple of weeks, and there it's 90 degrees during the day. What a crazy temperature variance.

Noticeable snow accumulation

2005-12-04T22:35:00.000-05:00

While our buddies in northern climes or higher elevations will chuckle, we got about an inch of snow overnight. It began around 1:30 (I was up). Our bigger dog, Boo, has been bugging us all day to let him out as soon as we let him in. He has a thick undercoat and very hairy paws (we think he's part husky or malamute), and is made for this weather. He is what Petfinder would call an "elderly" dog (he's about 10), but you couldn't tell by how he plays fetch and chases squirrels and rabbits at amazing speeds. Today he ran out and flopped over and made a "doggie angel" in the snow; he vigorously wiggled around on his back, happy as a pig in poop.

Elderly indeed.

Happy Chrismahanukwanzakah!!!

2005-12-04T01:08:00.000-05:00

Check out http://www.chrismahanukwanzakah.com/. I think my favorite song is by "The Jews" with "Hindu Santa" running a close second.

Whatever happened to...

2005-12-04T00:02:00.000-05:00

..."Animal Psychic" star Sonya Fitzpatrick? This scary, loopy lady was everywhere for a while and then *poof*--she disappeared.

Her show was pure quackery. I watched it every now and then, hoping a pet would turn on her during a prediction. Dammit, the producers must have screened the animals before taping.

I came across this picture while looking for an answer to my question. I thought it was hilarious that she was hawking a dog food that was supposed to promote perfect hound health, when her own corpulent canines could have used a bit of doggie Nutrisystem.

Update: I did a Google search "Sonya Fitzpatrick" 2005 and came across an article where Paris Hilton's mommy lost a dog and called on the venerable Ms. Fitzpatrick. I love the following excerpt:

The psychic, however, refused to commit her occult arts to the search without first being told whether the missing dog was dead or alive, a sign that while she may be clairvoyant, she’s probably not all that bright.

So, she's still around. And still practicing her chicanery. And still loopy.

Kudos to Walgreen's

2005-12-03T23:40:00.000-05:00

They've got their heads on straight.

From perusing the Amazing Randi's site, I discovered that Walgreen's had decided to withdraw from sale Kevin Trudeau's book "Natural Cures 'They' Don't Want You to Know About." (That ex-con former car salesman promulgates dangerous propaganda.)

Walgreen's also suspended four (uber-moral) pharmacists who refused to fill emergency contraception prescriptions. Those pharmacists were not doing their jobs, and should have been fired, as far as I'm concerned. Would these same "holier than thou" pharmacists also refuse to re-stock the condom supply when it runs out? Hopefully the pharmacists woke up and did what was required of them or found work in, say, a retirement community where an unplanned pregnancy can't occur.

There's a Walgreen's being built near me. I think I'll start going there once it opens. And I'll check to make sure Trudeau's PoC (piece of crap) book isn't stocked in the store.

BOOM! It's winter.

2005-12-02T06:59:00.000-05:00

METEOROLOGICAL WINTER MAY JUST START IN ERNEST. PLEASE USE THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS TO PREPARE YOURSELF AND YOUR HOME FOR ANY WINTRY WEATHER. IT HAS ONLY JUST BEGUN.

This was at the bottom of the Severe Weather Alert window I opened this morning at weather.com.

Outside of the misspelling, I noted its rather doomsdayish (did I just make up a word?) tone.

They're predicting very cold weather and snow in the Philly region. A week ago I was sweating outside in a tee shirt while I did some last-minute gardening. It's usually like that in this meteorologically schizo area; we go from toasty to frostbite warnings in the space of a few days.

BOOM! It's winter.

Everyone who knows me knows I'm sentimental, but...

2005-12-01T23:08:00.000-05:00

...this goes way beyond the pale: WSNI (a Philly station) has been playing Christmas songs since waaaaay before Thanksgiving. It's ridiculous and cheesy and cheapening.

What are they trying to gain? How can they get away with this? With what population is this popular (and how far can I get away from this demographic?)?

Uck. Ptooey.

The best name for a coach EVER

2005-11-29T11:15:00.000-05:00

Drexel University's basketball coach is: Bruiser Flint.

For real.

Salmon-flavored soda

2005-11-26T06:20:00.000-05:00

Yes, folks, it's real--our favorite small-time soda maker with big ideas about what the public is willing to buy has done it again (I got the article from a New Zealand site; thus, the Brit spelling and explanation of Thanksgiving):

Bottler offers salmon-flavoured drink
SEATTLE: For beverage connoisseurs tired of turkey-and-gravy or green-beans-and-casserole flavoured sodas, there's a new choice being offered this year by specialty US soda maker Jones Soda: Salmon.
Jones Soda, the Seattle company that scored a hit during the last two holiday seasons with its turkey and gravy-flavoured sodas, said it is offering the orange-hued fish-flavoured drink this year in a nod to the Pacific Northwest's salmon catch.
"When you smell it, it's got that smoked salmon aroma," said Peter van Stolk, chief executive of Jones Soda.
The salmon-flavoured soda will be offered as part of a $13 "regional holiday pack" that also includes other unusual sodas such as turkey & gravy, corn on the cob, broccoli casserole and pecan pie.
While those five bottles will be offered locally, Jones Soda is also selling its similarly-priced "holiday pack" of turkey and gravy, wild herb stuffing, brussels sprout, cranberry and pumpkin pie sodas across the country.
Thanksgiving, a US holiday that falls on the fourth Thursday of November, typically features a dinner with turkey, gravy and other condiments.
Van Stolk, who built his Seattle-based soda company by selling traditional sodas as well as exotic flavours such as green apple, bubblegum and crushed melon, said that "the most important thing (about Jones Soda) is that we can laugh at ourselves."
Asked whether he liked his new salmon soda, van Stolk said: "I cannot finish a bottle, I just can't."

Who could resist this news header? (cool science story #2)

2005-11-25T07:03:00.000-05:00

Scientists pin hopes on worm eggs to fight diseases

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Scientists in Ireland have discovered that eggs from a parasitic worm may hold the key to treating inflammatory conditions such as lung diseases and the skin complaint psoriasis.
Researchers at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) said on Thursday they had found that the worm, schistosoma mansoni, which infects over 250 million people in tropical countries, releases a molecule with strong anti-inflammatory qualities.
Padraic Fallon of TCD's School of Biochemistry and Immunology said the discovery had "clear potential" for developing treatments for inflammatory or autoimmune diseases.
"This study is particularly exciting as it harnesses how the worm modifies immunity in our bodies to stimulate protection from undesirable inflammation," he said. "In effect, I see the worm as a 'drug cabinet' of the future."
Research carried out by Fallon and his team has shown that experimental infections with schistosomes could prevent severe allergic reactions and asthma-like lung inflammation.
However, intentionally infecting people with the worm risks side-effects that can include death, so Fallon's team is trying to identify which part of the worm can be used safely.
"Our strategy is to develop new drugs for human diseases by exploiting mechanisms and molecules that worms have developed over millions of years of co-evolution with man," he said.
Results of the study, which was funded by the UK biomedical research charity, the Wellcome Trust, are published in the latest edition of The Journal of Experimental Medicine.

Singing icebergs (cool science story #1)

2005-11-25T06:53:00.000-05:00

No, they aren't the Sirens of old...

BERLIN (Reuters) - Scientists monitoring earth movements in Antarctica believe they have found a singing iceberg.
Sound waves from the iceberg had a frequency of around 0.5 hertz, too low to be heard by humans, but by playing them at higher speed the iceberg sounded like a swarm of bees or an orchestra warming up, the scientists said.
The German Alfred Wegener institute for polar and marine research publish the results of its study, done in 2002, in Science magazine on Friday.
Between July and November 2002 researchers picked up acoustic signals of unprecedented clarity when recording seismic signals to measure earthquakes and tectonic movements on the Ekstroem ice shelf on Antarctica's South Atlantic coast.
Tracking the signal, the scientists found a 50 by 20 kilometer iceberg that had collided with an underwater peninsula and was slowly scraping around it.
"Once the iceberg stuck fast on the seabed it was like a rock in a river," said scientist Vera Schlindwein. "The water pushes through its crevasses and tunnels at high pressure and the iceberg starts singing."
"The tune even goes up and down, just like a real song."

There's a little more beauty in the world...

2005-11-22T13:38:00.000-05:00

...now that Sam is gone.

To the three of you who never saw a picture of the award-winning "World's Ugliest Dog," I offer this eye-searing picture of Sam--a blind, crooked-toothed, warty, wrinkled Chinese Crested horror of a little beast.

Bye, Sam. No one could (or should ever) take your place.

You never know what I'll discuss next...

2005-11-20T09:11:00.000-05:00

...as evidenced by what I've included below:

Old toilets pave the way for nature trail
Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO - Old toilets have found a new use underfoot.
The crushed remains of hundreds of cleaned and recycled porcelain toilets top off the Calaveras Park Nature Trail, officials said.
Kenny Fletcher, park operations superintendent for the San Antonio River Authority says the material lightens up the area where even in the dark somebody can still see where the trail is. "I've heard good comments about the material," Fletcher said. "People kind of take a step back when I tell them where we got it."
The San Antonio Water System has been collecting the old toilets, which often have been exchanged for water-saving newer models.

Now, this strikes me as eminently practical. I appreciate the idea of taking an item that most people would never repurpose (except those who think it is hilarious to make one into a planter) and using it for a nature trail. How cool is that?

My last Christmas at my parents' house

2005-11-16T22:59:00.000-05:00

Yesterday my father called to say that he and my mother had put a downpayment on a condo in a retirement community near where they currently live. They'll be moving in January.

I support them wholeheartedly in making the move while they still are in decent health. The home where they now live is far away from a grocery store and the nearest good hospital is a 40-minute drive. The place where they're moving has an amazing array of activities and is very well-maintained. Most importantly, there's medical help on-site if needed.

They are making the move in January. So this is my last Christmas at the beautiful old stone house. And at Easter the baskets will be hidden behind the new configurations of familiar furniture.

The house has seen its share of occupants in the centuries it's been around and hopefully the next people to live in it will treasure it.

Good quote

2005-11-13T07:59:00.000-05:00

Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting the bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian.

Dennis Wholey wrote this. I didn't know who he was before I researched this quote, but I think I might give a listen to his podcasts, as they look as if he's herded together quite a cast of characters to interview.

Brave pigeons

2005-11-11T22:52:00.000-05:00

My husband and I just watched a fascinating documentary about how racing/carrier pigeons (and their archenemy, falcons) were used during World War II. As they pointed out, pigeons have been used for millennia, but this show focused on the amazing work pigeons did for the Allies during WWII. Entitled War of the Birds, I strongly encourage you to watch the hour-long show on Animal Planet.

Winkie the pigeon was amazing. Mary of Essex, William of Orange, Duke of Normandy and G.I. Joe (the bird) saved thousands of lives when radios couldn't be used. They won awards equivalent to the Congressional Medal of Honor and might have ensured the success of D-Day.

Pigeons have a finely-honed homing sense and can fly for hours at speeds sometimes exceeding 60 m.p.h. They can remember landmarks and it is thought they can see the magnetic fields of the Earth, making it possible for them to cross large bodies of water and not get lost.

I know there was an animated cartoon, Valiant, that brought this aspect of the war to light, but this documentary was touching and real. Pigeon handlers from both sides were interviewed and a topic that could have been so readily made light of was instead given the respect it deserves.

The next time I'm waiting for my train at 30th Street Station and see a pigeon, I'll remember its heroic cousins.

What cute animal are YOU?

2005-11-05T23:09:00.000-05:00

If I ever had property big enough, I would LOVE to have one of these. I joke with my husband that our next pet will be a miniature horse. Now I are one!

You Are A: Pony!

Who doesn't love a pony? You are one of these miniature horses, renown for your beauty and desired by many. Full of grace, you are a beautiful and very special animal, full of strength and majesty.

You were almost a: Puppy or a Lamb
You are least like a: Mouse or a Chipmunk The Cute Animals Quiz

Take the quiz yourself. And ignore the bad spelling.

A concept car that only Jean-Luc Picard will truly appreciate...

2005-10-23T08:37:00.000-04:00

A MINI that will (hopefully) never see full production, it's designed for those individuals who HAVE to have their tea. NOW. (The tea featured is Earl Grey; hence, the Picard reference.)

The ceiling and the side-view mirrors would please Austin Powers. The matching Thermos is so chichi.

Here's a question that begs the obvious: Why not just have a picnic basket with tea AND the obligatory scones and assorted biscuits, jams, etc.?

The table and chairs on top are kinda cool, though.

Teddy, I LIKE ya...

2005-10-23T08:15:00.000-04:00

Teddy Roosevelt said the following in 1918:
"The president is merely the most important among a large number of public servants. He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able and disinterested service to the nation as a whole.

"Therefore it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile.

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or anyone else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else."

I like Teddy.

The reason I'm bringing this up is I came across a Madison (WI--specifically, The Capital Times)editorial by way of The Daily Kos that covers the obituary of one Theodore Roosevelt Heller, which read in the Chicago Tribune as follows:

"Theodore Roosevelt Heller, 88, loving father of Charles (Joann) Heller; dear brother of the late Sonya (the late Jack) Steinberg. Ted
was discharged from the U.S. Army during WWII due to service-related
injuries, and then forced his way back into the Illinois National Guard
insisting no one tells him when to serve his country. Graveside services
Tuesday 11 a.m. at Waldheim Jewish Cemetery (Ziditshover section), 1700 S. Harlem Ave., Chicago. In lieu of flowers, please send acerbic letters to Republicans."

(The red lettering is mine, for emphasis.)

Teddy Roosevelt and Teddy Roosevelt Heller: BRAVO.

By the way, I googled "Teddy Roosevelt Heller," and he is one popular guy right now.

Helicopter moms

2005-10-22T14:47:00.000-04:00

I'd never heard that phrase before until I read this article. Helen Johnson, a consultant on parental relations for some American universities, defines a helicopter mom as "...a mom who hovers over every state in her child's development, from basically in utero, through the college years and beyond."

While I understand that parents want to be sure their children are coping with the radical change of being in a college environment, not letting their children make mistakes and learn how to deal with the ramifications is NOT doing those kids any favors. I've seen some results of this over-parenting; college graduates who don't have a clue how to work on their own, or how to really be their own person. Without coping skills, without self-reliance, they fail at life. Stunted, these people make lousy friends and terrible roommates and partners. The confidence they have is that someone else will make everything okay for them, not that they themselves can improve a situation.

So what happens? The parents get what they want; little Bobby or Bambi runs back home and stays there. Safe. Blunted. Incomplete. Those who actually marry have spouses who take on the burden of (figuratively, hopefully) wiping their partners' behinds. AND more than likely the spouses have to deal with intrusive in-laws.

Etymology quiz

2005-10-20T22:34:00.000-04:00

This is a great site if you want to test your etymology mettle. You also learn a lot about the words we use every day. For instance, "devil" is from Greek and is derived from a word (phrase?) that means "accuser of the soul."

Now that is a deep etymological discovery. Worthy of a preacher's sermon.

Cool music

2005-10-20T21:19:00.000-04:00

Wowza. This is fun. I'm listening right now to KCRWMusic's Metropolis, music reflecting "the hypnotic pulse of modern city life."

I love these here internets. I can find music to fit any mood I'm in, while finding artists who I never would hear of otherwise. And it's FREEEEEEEEEE.

Don't let being dead stand in the way of your looking gorgeous

2005-10-16T09:46:00.000-04:00

LifeGem uses super-hot ovens to transform the ashes of cremated remains to graphite and then presses the stone into blue and yellow diamonds that retail for anywhere from $2,700 to $20,000.

This is definitely prettier than an urn full of ashes.

Note that they also will transform the cremains of your pets. With all the animals we have, I could have one heck of a gem collection in due time.

The 2005 Winners of the Ig Nobel Prize

2005-10-10T21:15:00.000-04:00

The antithesis of the Nobel prizes, it awards to recipients worthy of mention only because they have done experiments/written articles that are incredibly absurd. Read more and understand. (Note that the previous years' winners are listed under the 2005 award listing.)

Wham!

2005-10-10T15:21:00.000-04:00

No, I'm not talking about the 80's group. I'm talking abot the sound a 300-pound NordicTrack treadmill carton makes when a mover drops it onto the street. For some reason, Old Dominion Freight thought that one poor guy could handle moving the treadmill into our house. While it was wrong that only one man was sent out on this job, he was not up to the task and didn't use his moving equipment properly/at all. Next thing you know, BOOM!--the carton fell off the handcart (it wasn't secured at all to the handcart and our long drive is rather steep at the beginning) right into the street. We could see a huge gash in the carton (thank goodness it didn't land on the mover, or we would have been calling 911). Needless to say, we refused the shipment. It took the guy a good five minutes to get the heavy carton back into the truck.

Oh well. At least we can have a little more time to get the basement ready for the next treadmill being shipped to us.

We asked NordicTrack to not use Old Dominion Freight next time. They couldn't make any promises. Grrr...

Jesselli Guitars

2005-10-02T08:00:00.000-04:00

These are some of the most beautiful guitars I've ever seen. Using aged wood, ebony, silver, ivory and gold, this artist creates instruments that caress the eyes and the ears.

Look at his gallery for examples of his work.

Wow.

New Office Slang

2005-10-02T07:38:00.000-04:00

This is a great little compendium of fun words you can bandy about your office. We've all had our salmon days and I think we've all been guilty from time to time of getting a xerox subsidy.

And I'm lucky enough to sometimes be an open-collar worker, and boy am I glad I'm no longer in that cube farm I was in at my last job where there were so many stress puppies.

Americans need to SCREAM about this

2005-09-26T20:16:00.000-04:00

Mike Brown has been re-hired by (take a deep breath) FEMA as a consultant. Guess what he's in charge of?

He's evaluating his ex-department's response to Hurricane Katrina.

And I'm sure he's doing this self-serving, ass-covering job for more money than most Americans will ever see in thier paychecks.

This is an astoundingly in-your-face move by the Bush administration. Corrupt. Beyond absurd.

It's insulting and revolting.

And, as TIME points out, this administration has a lot more unqualified, politically-connected appointees out there.

I guess Bush/Rove figured he had shown enough contriteness. Now he's back to being his usual "f*** you, America" self.

We are FIVE!!!!!

2005-09-24T00:03:00.000-04:00

WARNING: SENTIMENTAL/MUSHY CONTENT BELOW

My lovely husband and I have been married for five years.

We had an eventful day and I'll write more about that later.

WE ARE FIVE!!!!

I am one lucky gal.

I love my hubby.

This is sooooooooo cute!

2005-09-21T15:28:00.000-04:00

It totally appeals to the girly-girl geek in me (especially the little ducky).

One of the leading ladies of fashion looks like a losing prizefighter

2005-09-21T10:59:00.000-04:00

'Nuff said.

(In case you can't put a name to this mockery of a human visage, it's Donatella Versace.)

For extra eye-searing badness, do an image search on her skeletal daughter, Allegra Beck. This family needs therapy. In-hospital, intestive therapy.

Sure, it could just be a coincidence...

2005-09-21T10:25:00.000-04:00

But somehow I doubt it. Bill Frist (who may run for president in 2008) just happened to sell bad stock right before everyone else found out it was bad stock. Soooo, he made one hell of a profit.

Martha Stewart (and many, many others) have gone to prison for similar unburdening of stock just before it plummeted.

Illegal? Not on the surface. If he should become a presidential candidate, however, the insinuation of insider trading might sully his image. Unless, of course, he has Karl Rove in his court.

FEMA Sends Trucks Full of Ice for Katrina Victims to Maine

2005-09-20T21:52:00.000-04:00

No, this is not a joke, though when you read the article header you would think so, wouldn't you?

Wouldn't anyone (but, apparently, FEMA)?

But it's true. And it's our tax dollars at work.

Jeez Louise.

I despise Pat Robertson

2005-09-18T00:40:00.000-04:00

Here's his latest shameful proclamation.

Idiot.

The man should be run out on a rail. Whatever happened to "love thy neighbor"?

I double-dog dare you!

2005-09-17T23:50:00.000-04:00

The Mission Mountain Testicle Festival. Your chance to eat prairie oysters.

If you go, have a ball! (Sorry, had to say it...)

ThinkGeek rocks

2005-09-17T21:55:00.000-04:00

This site is sooo cool. And yes, it does appeal to the geek in me (always just below the surface).

The latest thing I've come across that would come in handy is the PowerSquid Outlet Multiplier.

Every time I go to this site I have several "I wanna get that" episodes.

Enjoy.

Leaving these guys behind

2005-09-17T20:56:00.000-04:00

Last night my husband and I watched an Animal Planet show about volunteers rescuing animals from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Earlier, I'd heard a Fresh Air interview from a woman who had just returned from just such a rescue mission.

We have two dogs rescued at different times from terrible places. When they came to us they were in horrible condition; now they're happy and healthy. I telecommute a lot and I always feel safe with them around; no one could come onto our property without them letting me know.

We have two cats we got from a local SPCA. They are affectionate and funny and well-behaved. They love to cuddle and adore each other.

I couldn't imagine leaving these animals behind. The choices many owners throughout the Gulf Region had to make/were forced to make were excruciating. Heart-rending.

Keeping Bush in the dark...

2005-09-17T00:11:00.000-04:00

...by turning on the lights. According to the September 16 Daily Nightly:
"...the streets were lit last night, starting 30 minutes before the President's motorcade came through... then they went dark an hour after he left."

So Bush saw that there was electricity and decided FEMA was doin' a fine job.

Sheesh.

Museum of Bad Album Covers

2005-09-16T22:58:00.000-04:00

You'll be astounded at how so many people had such bad taste.

Some favorites (though there's so many to choose from!):

Songs for Gay Dogs (I am not making this up!)
Liebe Mutter ("Dear Mother") (I swear, this guy looks like one of those kids from Village of the Damned)
Country Church (The identical men's clothing, the hairstyles, and nooooooooooo...the guy on the left is NOT gay, really NO--he just hasn't found the right girl yet, um, yeah)

Browse and find your own favorites.

According to this, I'll be around a while

2005-09-14T15:03:00.000-04:00

The aging calculator indicates I'll live to 90.8 years. So how old are YOU gonna get? Click here.

What concerns me is my husband is calculated to live only to 75. I don't want to be without him for 15 years (even though the numbers are, of course, totally up for argument). We both still have time to improve so that, hopefully, we'll be holding hands in the old age home when both of us meet our maker.

May your numbers be good and your admonitions few.

Why, why, WHY do they do this?

2005-09-14T09:54:00.000-04:00

Robertson, Lindsay, Colson: They all are claiming to know the mind of God. This is revolting. Disgusting. I hope they are as glib when they have to justify themselves to the REAL God when their times come.

Now THIS is clever

2005-09-13T23:47:00.000-04:00

This guy actually created a curtain covering the entrance to his cubicle that has a life-size picture of him hard at work. A great trompe l'oeil.

A+ for creativity.

I always suspected...

2005-09-12T23:22:00.000-04:00

...that Bush is a real bastard outside the public view. We've seen glimpses of it, but Time and Newsweek are now growing a pair and depicting the real Bush:
"Bush's bubble has grown more hermetic in the second term, they say, with fewer people willing or able to bring him bad news -- or tell him when he's wrong."

We've all heard by now that Halliburton has a huge contract regarding the cleanup from Hurricane Katrina, but wait, there's more from Reuters:
"Companies with ties to the Bush White House and the former head of FEMA are clinching some of the administration's first disaster relief and reconstruction contracts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
"At least two major corporate clients of lobbyist Joe Allbaugh, President George W. Bush's former campaign manager and a former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, have already been tapped to start recovery work along the battered Gulf Coast."

Really, you gotta keep your eyes on this. This horrible administration is already trying some serious prestidigitation and we can't allow them to keep us from seeing what's REALLY going on.

Fifth wedding anniversary movie

2005-09-11T21:34:00.000-04:00

My hubby and I have decided to go to see Tim Burton's Corpse Bride for our anniversary. Strange, perhaps, but we know we'll both enjoy it. And it's supposed to have a romantic side to it, so it's not an entirely wacky choice.

September 24th was a great day in 2000, and it will be a lovely day in 2005.

Had to turn on word verification...damn spammers...

2005-09-09T22:42:00.000-04:00

I've been getting bogus comments to my entries promoting the latest and greatest crap.

Now I know why my buddy Mike enabled this feature.

I was wondering what Ricky Santorum was up to...

2005-09-09T12:13:00.000-04:00

And here he goes, making a bigger ass of himself than I think he's ever made of himself before (and that's hard to do).

From http://witf.org/temps/FM/news1.shtml:
Santorum has critical words for forecasters in the wake of Katrina 09/09/2005Damon Boughamer(Washington) -- U.S. Senator Rick Santorum is suggesting that early mistakes in predicting the path of Hurricane Katrina may be a symptom of lost focus at the National Weather Service. Santorum, who introduced legislation earlier this year to curb the output of government weather forecasters, says tracking life-threatening weather must be central to what the agency is doing.(Link to: 00148_ric09d.mp3) Asked about Katrina by WITF, Santorum described weather service warnings for Florida, where the storm first made landfall, as “not sufficient." Santorum’s bill instructs the government to abandon weather prediction and data reporting efforts that duplicate private-sector activity. He came under fire when it was revealed that the head of State College-based AccuWeather, which would benefit, has given his campaigns thousands of dollars.

Now go to the actual forecast, which couldn't have been more dire.

No wonder MSNBC's Keith Obermann has named Santorum the worst person in the world (8 September entry). Check out the video. And while you're there, check out the rest of this site, dedicated to exposing the absurdity of that abomination of a politician--Rick Santorum.

Our brains are evolving!

2005-09-09T09:20:00.000-04:00

Will we look like this by the time our brains are done? (Trekkies will appreciate the picture to the right.)

Me and my big ol' head must be higher evolved than I thought!

Katrina timeline

2005-09-07T22:19:00.000-04:00

Read it and weep.

Bush, Chertoff, Brown, Rice, Cheyney, Rumsfeld and God knows who else all deserve a personalized greeting from Lucifer himself when their times come.

Criminal. Horrible.

And while we're on the topic of Katrina, hopefully you've heard/read what Barbara Bush said when she and her husband toured the Astrodome:
What I'm hearing which is sort of scary is that they all want to stay in Texas. Everybody is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway so this (chuckle)--this is working very well for them.

Heartless. Total lack of compassion. Joining her son in a fiery circle of hell.

Keith Olbermann rocks. Read his commentary and cheer.

I had to end on something that showed SOME people care and aren't afraid to stick their necks out.

Bush--"Oblivious, in denial, dangerous"

2005-09-07T22:09:00.000-04:00

From The New York Times (Sept. 7, 2005):
Pelosi (D-California), speaking at a news conference, said Brown had ''absolutely no credentials'' when Bush picked him to run FEMA.
She related that she urged Bush at the White House on Tuesday to fire Brown.
''He said, 'Why would I do that?''' Pelosi said.
''I said because of all that went wrong, of all that didn't go right last week.' And he said 'What didn't go right?'''
''Oblivious, in denial, dangerous,'' she added.

Very interesting, considering in Bush's 2001 inaugural address, he said the following:
America, at its best, is a place where personal responsibility is valued and expected. Encouraging responsibility is not a search for scapegoats, it is a call to conscience. And though it requires sacrifice, it brings a deeper fulfillment. We find the fullness of life not only in options, but in commitments. And we find that children and community are the commitments that set us free. Our public interest depends on private character, on civic duty and family bonds and basic fairness, on uncounted, unhonored acts of decency which give direction to our freedom. Sometimes in life we are called to do great things. But as a saint of our times has said, every day we are called to do small things with great love. The most important tasks of a democracy are done by everyone. I will live and lead by these principles: to advance my convictions with civility, to pursue the public interest with courage, to speak for greater justice and compassion, to call for responsibility and try to live it as well. In all these ways, I will bring the values of our history to the care of our times.

So, George, when are you going to do the right thing, for once? Could you please start fulfilling your promise to your nation by removing Karl Rove?

Want to read what REALLY was going on?

2005-09-07T21:59:00.000-04:00

This guy, Interdictor, lived through Hurricane Katrina and kept a blog going throughout the whole ordeal. A man with Special Forces experience, he and a few friends stayed on an upper floor of a building in New Orleans and documented things you may not hear or see anywhere else. In doing so, he's come to international attention.

Read his entries going back to the days of the hurricane. Pulls you in and doesn't let go.

The title drew me in...

2005-09-07T12:56:00.000-04:00

...and the article kept me interested. Grass Hailed as Potential Source of Clean Energy. Though I don't like the idea of burning coal, I like it a hell of a lot more than "nu-cu-lar" plants being developed. Let's keep finding renewable energy resources!!!

This brought to my mind how industrial hemp has been marginalized in this country. An amazing plant from which we can make food, clothing, rope, and God knows what else, it is NOT chock full of THC as some gov'mnt people want us to think.

Sounds dirty...

2005-09-07T12:38:00.000-04:00

Mystery Bulge in Oregon Still Growing
Seems America is witnessing the growth of a brand-spankin' new volcano. Just what we always wanted.

Southeastern Pennsylvania is a good place to live. The rare teensy tremor, occasional weak tornadoes, and hurricane leftovers from time to time. No earthquakes, lavaflows or tsunamis to worry about.

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaack

2005-09-07T12:35:00.000-04:00

Yes, I'm back from a ridiculously-long hiatus from writing in this blog. I come across things I want to write about and then...don't write about them. Sheesh.

Well, here I is.

Covered up no more...

2005-06-24T23:23:00.000-04:00

I'm glad to see that Ashcroft's ridiculous (and pricey!) attempt to cover up the Spirit of Justice's "wardrobe malfunction" has been removed.

Golly, is Fox News in the GOP's back pocket?

2005-06-10T06:03:00.000-04:00

Or is it more likely inside the GOP's jockstrap?

Concerning the documented rape and torture of Iraqi prisoners, Sean Hannity said, "There was underwear on the head of one of them."

Sweet Jesus. This promulgation of patently false information and the dismissal of such overwhelming evidence is dangerous.

(ref: http://mediamatters.org/items/200506080009)

24 an hour, 576 a day, 210240 a year

2005-06-08T13:08:00.000-04:00

That is the number of women raped in the U.S. And I'm sure that number is conservative.

An interesting solution not to the actual rape, but to the state of a rapist's member post-penetration can be found here. I wonder if they'll find that the device causes Toxic Shock Syndrome or the like. It still is, from a victim's point of view, a wonderfully malicious instrument of justifiable torture.

Mrs. Kaminsky is gone...

2005-06-08T10:48:00.000-04:00

Anna Maria Italiano (aka Anne Bancroft) and Melvin Kaminsky (aka Mel Brooks) were married for almost 41 years.

An unlikely pairing that went on to work creatively together and who stayed married until death parted them.

By the way, Anne Bancroft died of uterine cancer. 90% curable if found early. Women--go to your GYN annually. Yeah, it's not the most dignified position to be in with a near-total stranger with an M.D., but it sure as hell beats chemo.

Take solace in your minimal housekeeping skills

2005-06-07T23:52:00.000-04:00

I look around my office, and think, "Boy, I really need to organize this place."

Then I look at this and realize I'm just fine...