i double-dog dare you (updated)

NO! I triple-dog dare you.

Stephan Ballasch, 35, of Wray, and Shawn Madsen, 36, of Ramah, bought two pairs of women's thong underwear at Wal-Mart, went into the bathroom, and put them on Tuesday. They strolled out wearing only T-shirts and the undergarments and made it to their cars before Scottsbluff police caught them, police said.

You read that right. Two guys who are 35 & 36 years old, who have obviously watched Old School too many times, did this.

Police reviewed surveillance tape before arresting the duo.

Assumingly laughing their asses off.

When asked why they were in women's thongs and T-shirts, one of the men said because one their friends "triple-dog dared" them to.

Oh yeah. They're cool. My guess is "single," too.

UPDATE 7/31 and bumped: Shawn left a message in the comments wanting to know if anyone had unanswered questions. This is a rare opportunity. If you have questions, bring em on.

I've never had anyone Google themselves to the extent of making it to my blog, before. I've gotten a lot of Google hits from the bunny guys too. I'm not too sure they'd be very well received, but the thong guys...hell yeah. I want to hear this story!

50 states - the travel meme

Hey, the person who hates memes is about to introduce one. Mark this down on your calendar. I had just been thinking about how many of the states I had been to and wondered about everyone else.

So, the following is a list of the 50 states, not including the District of Columbia or Puerto Rico. The ones which I have visited are struck through. I have also added some pertinent information about the states that stand out in my mind.

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

My brother and his family currently live in Phoenix, so I have spent time there rather recently. But, I also spent some time there as a child because my father’s best friend lived there. He is actually the person who taught me to swim in his wonderful backyard swimming pool. Fun times! Hot!

Arkansas

California

My best friend lives in San Jose. I have been there as recently as a year and a half ago. I love, love, love California, but my husband won’t go there because he swears the big one is waiting for him. My best friend’s response to that is, “Then by all means, do NOT come.”

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

My in-laws live there, so I have spent significant time there. Ari and I were there just a few weeks ago, when he learned how to swim…well, as much as you can learn at not quite 2. I also spent some time there as a kid as well. My aunt lived in Key West, so we made the trek from Chicago a couple of times.

Georgia

This is the site of the family lake house. Really beautiful to visit and relax in the summer. We have cousins there as well, so that adds to the experience. I will be there two weeks from now, sleeping late (yeah, right) and enjoying the lake and peaceful surroundings.

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

I was born in Chicago and lived there until I was 17 years old. Then, I was off on other adventures. Chicago is still one of my favorite cities and a place where I feel very comfortable.

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

This is where we live right now. It’s beautiful, but not my kind of place. I am looking forward to moving in less than a year.

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Ah…HOME. I miss it. Great people. Great culture. Great communities. Great access. Great. Great. Great.

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

New York City is definitely worth a mention. It’s a fantastic city to visit, but I don’t think I could ever live there. When you arrive, you feel like you’re plugging into a circuit of electricity that doesn’t end until you leave. I’ve had LOTS of fun there! However, there’s a different aura about it now. I’m not sure I could go there and feel the same positivity that I have felt before. I wouldn’t be able to be there without thinking of thousands of people who will never get to see it again.

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

This is likely the state of our new home. We have actually spent considerable time there as well. It’s anyone’s guess where we will end up, but my fave is Cleveland.

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

This is another possible site for our new home. Time will tell, but I like that it is so close to MD where we have tons of friends to welcome us back to the east. PA is also very beautiful, which is a plus.

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

I lived there for 11 years and was ready to leave at the end of 11 years. Though, I have to say that Austin is very different from the rest of Texas in that its feel is more like a city in California. I loved the nearby lakes and hills. It was very hot, but I had some favorite spots to visit and reflect that I haven’t found anywhere else on this planet. I had a very strong connection with Pedernales Falls. I miss that! I still have tons of friends and some family there, but I don’t think you will ever see me migrate back there.

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

I lived in northern VA for almost 7 months and found the area to be very nice. That part of the country just seems to agree with me. Lots of great things happened and most without force of any kind. Cost of living is more expensive, but the higher salaries more than make up for that.

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

Feel free to put your responses in the comments, or on your own blog with a link back here so we can all see where you've been. :)

classmates.com

Has anyone ever been contacted by someone through this online service?

Officially, as of last night, I have!

It's a bit bizarre being contacted by someone you haven't seen or heard from in 18 years. Bizarre, but nice. Quite honestly, she was the one person I have been waiting to show up there.

If you have never been to Classmates.com (you live in a cave), they have the free service for which everyone and their brother sign up. Then they have the gold service for which you can pay in order to be able to send email to the people you know. I had always said that if I saw her show up, I would pull out the credit card and send her an email.

When I looked last week, there was no one new. She must have signed up, paid for a gold membership and wrote me almost immediately. She beat me to it!

Her email was brief, but designed to open up a dialogue, which it most certainly did. I wrote her back and included a link to our family website, which tells at least a few years of my story. I'm sure the rest will be filled in eventually. I'm just thrilled she wrote.

This is actually the second reconnection that has been made over the last couple of months. The other is by a male friend of mine who got lost in himself for a few years, but is now on the right path.

Despite the fact that I haven't seen either of these people in a while, I feel very close to them. Part of that is true because they are tangible. These are people I know in person and with whom I have had extremely personal relationships, full of heavy emotional stuff. Sure, there are lots of friends in a lifetime. But those ones who join you when you're in the pits of hell are the ones who have volunteered to get some of that shit on themselves to stay with you during it all. It doesn't matter if you haven't seen them in 3 years, 6 years, or 18 years. They are still your friends.

Needless to say, I am feeling very blessed that these wonderful people are making second appearances. I would even go as far to say that this was fated. This really tips the scales toward real-life relationships after having a couple of problems in the virtual world. When I asked for guidance, I never expected to get such a quick response.

Baruch HaShem!

trix are for kids

But not for kids that mess with rabbits.

CASTRO VALLEY, Calif. (AP) - It seemed like luck had run out for Lucky the rabbit. Strapped to a powerful explosive with a lit fuse, she was tossed into a lake. But Lucky lived up to her name. The explosive didn't blow up, and the rabbit was pulled out of the water.

Lucky is, indeed, lucky.

Now Lucky's college-bound owner and his friend face misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty after photos of the July 13 incident surfaced on the Internet.

What kind of dumbass would actually post these photos over the Internet?

Nick Sigmon, 18, and Paul Collins, 20, are accused of taping an illegal M-1000 - a large firecracker equivalent to a quarter stick of dynamite - to the rabbit and throwing her into Lake Don Castro.

Damn savages!

Sigmon said he fished Lucky out of the water to save her from drowning, but that didn't impress Alameda County prosecutors, who charged the two Castro Valley lifeguards on Wednesday. Two other men who were present during the incident may also face charges.

So, blowing up the bunny is OK. But drowning the bunny is not OK. What's missing here? Oh, right...a fucking brain.

"I think that a lot of people are judging us without knowing us at all," Sigmon told the San Francisco Chronicle. But asked why he fitted Lucky with the explosive, he said, "Um, that's a real tough question to answer."

Tough? Let's shove a stick of dynomite up his ass and see if he has any answers. Anyone game?

Lucky is recovering at a foster owner's home, where she's snacking hay pellets and doing well, Williams said.

DAMN! Can an almost blown up bunny get some carrots, please!

random thoughts

This new desk chair is damn comfortable.

I’m very worried about Goldie. She hasn’t posted in weeks, going on months now. I’ve emailed her personally, which usually elicits a response no matter how busy and…nothing. If you’re lurking, you cute little Dramaqueen, you are missed and lots of people are concerned. Please check in.

Who runs the machine that puts the plastic/rubber seal on the inside of bottle caps, and how much are they paid?

If I weren’t married, I’d have to admit that I am completely in love with Dong. You guys are probably sick of me giving him so much attention, but you’ve got to read this: E-Flail. And, because of him, I can’t drink a cup of fucking coffee at Starbucks without feeling like I’m holding a sippy. Damn you, Dong! (in a good way)

Diet Big Red with Splenda ROCKS!!!

spam no sense

If the title doesn't make any sense to you, you're in for a real treat. The following is an excerpt from a piece of spam received today.

principal around finally may two when gave sort blow handsome. saw whether america walked stories? its seat turn married room fast excite
there, front gentlemen shame news particular american keep tried perform, worth gotten whos referred time twice calling have responsible?

Really! Spammers...

you have going do better get me buy you stuff

serenity

I like what the following article had to say about combatting stress and it's definitely worth posting here.

I know a lot of people who benefit deeply from meditation. I need my meditation to be moving, so I have chosen tai chi for my life, but gain the same benefits.

I don't normally present full articles, but this one is from a site where registration is required and requires more information than most. I don't want everyone to have to do that, so I will just post the whole thing. If you should want to register, you can see the whole article here, along with many others.

Serenity is just what the doctor ordered

SMALL DOSES

10:13 AM PDT on Tuesday, July 27, 2004

Diane Lau Cordrey is a petite clinical psychologist with some big ideas on how people can live longer without serious illness.

The Riverside-based private practitioner has written a new book titled "The Healing Force of Serenity" (Century Press, $15.95).

In the paperback, she explains how people can combine Eastern and Western medicine to maintain - or recover - good health.

Since 1986, Cordrey has specialized in treating patients with physical illnesses aggravated by stress or psychological disorders. She typically collaborates with physicians to provide her patients integrated care.

"We accept the fact that stress exacerbates disease," Cordrey said. "But the opposite is serenity. Serene, calming activities can center you - the Chinese call it mindfulness - and improve your immune functioning."

In the introduction, Cordrey, 65, writes that upon turning 50 she was beset by physical problems: high cholesterol, hypertension, a hiatal hernia, lack of stamina and cardiomyopathy (a rapidly weakening heart). Before long, she was on a transplant waiting list.

But Cordrey refused to give up. She worked with doctors to rebuild her immune system. "I tried to do a number of 'serenity' things every day - t'ai chi, meditation, long walks, music, art," she said.

After a year, her heart began to function normally and her name was removed from the transplant list. Five years later, Cordrey still feels good. She practices t'ai chi, walks and swims to keep her weight down. She regularly has check-ups and still heeds her doctor's advice.

Her book is available through www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com. Or call Cordrey at (951) 686-6839.

the science of getting even

Vindictive, perhaps, but also fundamentally protective. Revenge may be frowned upon, viewed as morally destitute, papered over with platitudes about living well. But the urge to extract a pound of flesh, researchers find, is primed in the genes.

Acts of personal vengeance reflect a biologically rooted sense of justice, they say, that functions in the brain something like appetite. Alternately voracious and manageable, it can inspire socially beneficial acts of retaliation and punishment as well as damaging ones. The emerging picture helps explain why many people who think they are above taking revenge find themselves doing nasty, despicable things, and how unconscious biases pervert what is at bottom a socially functional instinct.

Let’s say for the sake of argument that you have this gene. Would you want this to be something you could curtail by gene therapy? My assumption is that not many people would want to be prevented from doing this, even though it can be damaging to others. Why? Because getting revenge feels good.

I have similar thoughts about the supposed monogamy gene. We’re very close to a time in our lives where the response to someone finding out that their spouse has cheated will be legal documents that stipulate gene therapy be obtained to continue the marriage.

Better yet, what about stipulating that gene therapy be obtained as the prenuptial?

Can’t you see the revenge gene heading in the same direction? Business partners will be drawing up legal papers before they go into business with one another that stipulate that they must have gene therapy to prevent any complications in the venture that might arise from expressing revenge.

We live in an increasingly interesting world. These scenarios are not out of the realm of possibility. So, I ask you this…Are you a “get mad” or “get even” kind of person? If you are the “get even” type, would you obtain gene therapy to remedy this?

samples - part 2

This is the second part to my tour of the Samples links this week. I hope you enjoy some of these.

Ellen talks about old photos this week. Her hair is very long in the picture to this post and talks about how she loves donating to locks of love. While you’re at her site, check out the Gator Cam under links on her right side bar.

Swt_Ga_HunnyB talks about unexpected guests, especially when they bring Barbie with them. How about a phone call, people? Can you say, “Polite?” How about giving us a chance to actually have something here for you to snack on, if you should so please? Oh, I forgot. Barbie doesn’t eat.

Allan is a fellow Lexingtonian and has just finished his 26 things. Very fascinating. Apparently it’s a treasure hunt of sorts. * ponders entering this *

Jenn talks about rebelliousness and one sentence from her post should be enough to make you want to visit: Lesson learned? Being a bitch can be FUN! (And you don’t even get in trouble!)

Marjorie tells the tale of going “home.” This process involved a fun and interesting trip through airport security. Ah, we’ve all been there.

What more can I say about The Presurfer other than it’s everything you don’t need to know, but glad to find out. For instance, here’s one of the more recent posts entitled Aliens Built the Pyramids. You’ll find much more there, especially if you want to just have some fun on the Internet.

Suburban Bliss has a recent post that reaches just about everyone who has things planned out in life. Making plans? Prepare to hear God laughing. It’s reading posts like Time Lines that bring me closer to believing that control is an illusion; and I like it so much.

Paula found me way back when. The whole story is rather humorous, but she disappeared for a while. She’s recently found me and loves the new style here. Hey, so do I. You won’t find her talking about politics…EVER…but you will find her talking about Haiku for Jews, Zen Judaism, FiveSevenFive and MILFs all in the same post. I mean, damn.

Lynn is a new mu.nu blogger with Your Moosey Fate. Her most recent post is all about what’s going on in Canada. She has some really fun stuff going on there. She even hosted Carnival of the Cats this past week, if you’re into that kind of thing.

nostalgic

I just watched Clinton's speech at the DMC and I have to say that I am sorry we don't have laws that would have allowed us to keep him in the white house longer. That’s my personal opinion.

His speech helped to solidify, and in some cases clarify, my decision to vote for Kerry. I believe that his focus on the contrast between the candidates highlighted the difference in ideals accurately and succinctly, not to mention charismatically. You can feel that he has heart and fortunately transferred some of that to Kerry tonight. Honestly, if Kerry can be even close to as good as he was, I’m in!

One statement will resonate with me for the rest of this campaign: Strength and wisdom are not opposing values. That was a very powerful statement. And I know that many extreme right wingers are going to take that as Clinton saying that Republicans are not wise. But that’s not how I heard it at all. What I heard was him saying that just because Democrats don’t appear to be strong, doesn’t mean they don’t have the capacity to get the job done.

I am surprised and pleased that Hillary’s role was more than an introduction, in my opinion. She had some valuable podium time and she used it well. I think it’s important to remember that she was in the thick of things after 9/11. That fact will be important in the future. Mark my words.

I’m still processing the rest of that speech among other speeches today, so I’m going to leave this here. I’m not sure that I can visit any right leaning blogs tomorrow as I won’t be fond of anyone tearing today’s events apart. I am moved. Genuinely moved and secure in my vote for John Kerry and John Edwards.

God Bless

this could work

I like it.

July 23 2004 — A school-based sex education program taught by older students helped girls delay their first intercourse.

I'll tell you why this will work to everyone's advantage. Teens will see their older counterparts as peers and value what they say more than an older adult. In fact, it's already showing promise. The reasons for that?

The peer-led groups focused more on practical skills, such as how to use a condom. They also featured role-playing, including ways to decline sexual advances.

Stephenson said the role-playing may have been key. "The peer-led program improved knowledge about preventing sexually transmitted infection and included role play about resisting pressure to have sex, which may have led to fewer girls having sex," she said.

How to educate teens on sex is a major conflict right now. The abstinence only format is not gaining any headway, since its primary goal is to provide more information about not having sex than what to do to protect yourself if you do.

The traditional format is being criticized for informing teens directly into the bedroom.

Now we have these older teens who are teaching the younger teens. I happen to think that this is a refreshing idea. Unfortunately, I don’t think that this is going to work everywhere. I don’t think many communities are going to feel comfortable with 16 & 17 year old teens knowing enough about sex to teach it to the younger teens in the community. Those who decide to try this might be pleasantly surprised with the results, though.

Personally, I think this is our best shot to put the love back into sex education. In talking about this here before I have said that when I learned about sex, I was also taught the pleasure involved, thanks to my sister. My sister, who is 7 years older, had some experience in the sexuality department when she instructed me at 10 years old. She happened to throw in the fact that sex without love felt empty and bad. But sex with love was an amazing experience and worth the wait.

I don’t know what is currently being taught in the traditional sex education programs, but from what I’ve read, it seems like they are all about logistics, and I find that troubling. I actually find that almost as troubling as teaching abstinence only programs. I think that both formats help the child to detach their emotions (which are raging at the time of education because of hormones) from sex. Instead, they could help them connect and find love for themselves so that they know love for others and the appropriate time to have sex.

For some of the more emotionally mature teens, the appropriate time to have sex could be earlier rather than later. But helping them trust themselves is the key. Helping them make decisions to which the consequences are clear, is paramount. For this reason, I hope that communities remain open to the possibility of having this peer teaching group.

samples - part 1

The Samples section of my links are going to get some link love over the next day or two. Here is a small taste to get you started.

Amanda doesn’t implement permalinks or trackbacks, so I hope this is still the first post there. If not, go to “I got flashed,” where she talks about being tailgated. Hint: She likes to put on the breaks a little bit as they’re flashing their lights for her to get out of the way.

Dave at Better Living Through Blogging talks about giant spiders and William Shatner being the perfect combination. Of course this doesn’t make sense yet. You must go there. That’s why it’s called link love.

Blogmonkey saved 8 acres of rainforest this weekend. Check out the aftermath of his 24 hours of pure blogging madness in order to do so. (I’m so sorry that I didn’t post this prior to Saturday. Consider this my public apology as well)

Cheryl talks about buying her first home and all of the idiosyncrasies of being part of a neighborhood or community. Take a look at what she has to say about some of her old neighbors, and while you’re there, please send her some throat love. OK…I should rephrase that. Cheryl’s throat is hurting her terribly and she is concerned she has strep. Her comments don’t appear in her permalink view, so you will have to return to her main page to leave a note if you like.

Jef wrote this awesome post about inspiration and the capacity to complete your goals, or lack thereof in some cases. The undertone is about finding focus and how focus isn’t always be everything. Occasionally, the luck of a pod of dolphins helping you along is necessary in an ocean full of sharks.

Houston at Dancing with Myself writes about his love for flowers. But do yourself a favor and don’t stop there. All I have to say is that I want to hear more about Howard. Oh, and, Fuck You Howard. :) Just being supportive.

Dooce uses this post to succinctly state that she is human, not just a piece of paper (or webpage) for you to read and throw away. There are a lot of troll like readers out there who believe that because you make your blog public, that you should be open to their criticism. Unfortunately, the people who phrase it that way are the same people who don’t know the difference between criticisms and insults. Do you know that the contrary words for insult are admire, esteem and respect? Quite simply, if you don’t feel this way about who you are reading, go somewhere else before this grows to the extent that you feel the need to insult them.

forgiveness

I found a very interesting article this morning, debating the value of forgiveness (registration required).

On one side is the "forgiveness movement," a two-decade effort to study the health effects of forgiving. Proponents of therapeutic forgiveness, especially psychologist Robert D. Enright of the University of Wisconsin, have proposed that injured parties can learn to forgive their offenders - with or without an apology from them. Studies show that forgiving those who trespass against us can reduce stress-promoting anger and improve mental, emotional and physical health.

On the other side are critics of the movement, such as Jeffrie G. Murphy, a professor of law, philosophy and religious studies at Arizona State University. Murphy and other contrarians aren't against forgiveness itself, but against a theory of forgiveness that they see as, well, unforgiving. Murphy has no doubt that, for some people, forgiveness brings healing and allows them to move on.

"But, sometimes," he said "getting mad and getting even brings closure."

This could get fun!

The first thing I notice is that on the pro-forgiveness side is a psychologist, while the anti-forgiveness side sports a law/philosophy/religious studies professor. One of them is definitely more adept at dealing with human emotion. If I knew nothing else, this would make me sway toward the pro-forgiveness side. But, I do know something else. I know that each person is different from any other.

I don't think either position can be a one-size-fits-all solution. I think that any person's reaction to a troublesome event in their life has a myriad of factors involved; seriousness of the event, age of both people involved, extenuating circumstances (drugs involved), etc. The big picture is just that...BIG. Everything has to be taken into account before looking at what reaction would be appropriate.

I will say that I have a slight problem with the pro-forgiveness position when it comes to forgiving without an apology. I'm not saying that it isn't possible, because it is. I am saying that hearing an apology and having that person ask for forgiveness is very powerful and not to be underestimated. I think that offering people the solution of forgiveness without apology can prevent them from trying to obtain that apology, which will give them much greater closure in the long run.

What say ye about forgiveness?

interesting facts about me

My life has been spared by a potential fatality with almost every element.

Water: My uncle in Houston owns a summer home near the Gulf of Mexico that we visited when I was 5 years old. We headed to the beach for the day and I was having fun collecting shells. My aunt saw a shell near the water’s edge and asked me to pick it up. Just then a wave came in and took me out with it. I was pulled from the water and the water was extracted from my lungs. Despite this, I am not afraid of the ocean.

Fire: I attended a birthday party at my aunt’s house when I was around 6 years old. I wore a very pretty and very frilly dress. A lit candle adorned each table. I was walking around the living room and suddenly felt very warm. My aunt rushes in the room and begins to fervently hug me. I was confused about why she was being so attentive, until someone pulled her away from me and immediately brought her to the kitchen. I reached to feel the back of my dress because I felt a cold burst of air behind me, only to realize that the back of my dress was gone. I walked into the kitchen to find people attending to my aunts hands as best they could. A few minutes later an ambulance showed up and brought her to the hospital with 3rd degree burns on her hands.

Air: My first grade teacher was a bit of a cranky bitch, but I got to see her true colors in response to an event which hurt me. I was out on the playground for recess. This particular recess was spent seeing how high I could swing. I was swinging so high I was almost even with the top bar of the swing set. It was pretty cool, but then the teacher called us inside to return to class. Instead of waiting for the swing to slow down, I jumped. I landed flat on my back and was rendered breathless. I was struggling to breathe, and I definitely couldn’t move. The teacher watched from the door as I laid there, thinking that I was being defiant. I finally started to regain my breath, got up and headed toward the door. When I got in, she told everyone else to get in the class. She took me into the hallway, lifted me up by my shirt and screamed at me for not listening to her. I was still hurt from the fall and was further upset by the fact that she was being so abusive, so I began to cry. She said, “Why are you crying? I should be the one who’s crying because I have to take care of you.” She then shoved me in a corner, asked me to stay there and she returned to class. Bar none, that is one of the worst experiences of my life.

Earth: I said almost every element because I’m not so sure this one actually counts as earth, but its close enough. I was on my way to work at the mall on an icy day during my last winter in Chicago. I was about to cross the street that surrounds the mall and saw a car coming. I began jogging to get across faster and instead slipped on the ice. The car began sliding at the same time. I slid closer to the car as the car slid closer to me and I ended up under the car, miraculously untouched by any of the wheels. I did, however, obtain a burn from one of the metal pieces under the vehicle. It took a while to wiggle out from underneath and I was full of blood from the slide. But nothing…nothing will allow me to forget the look on the woman’s face in the car. She thought sure I was dead and was so paralyzed that she couldn’t move. I limped off toward the mall. When I got to the mall doors, she still hadn’t moved. I felt really sorry for her. My boss took one look at me and offered me a ride home, which I gladly accepted.

fish rights

If you're a Goldfish, Monza, Italy is a good place to be. They take the treatment of their fish very seriously.

"A fish kept in a bowl has a distorted view of reality...and suffers because of this. Also, this type of receptacle generally doesn't have a filter and doesn't allow for good oxygenation of the water, unlike in rectangular aquariums" Mosca explained.

A distorted view of reality? Bwaaahaaaaa

I'm curious about something, though. Italy is rich with Catholicism. I wonder what these people eat on Friday during Lent.

topics - my travels

Rachel Ann, of Willow Tree, asks:

If you have traveled a lot, I would love to hear how you compare life in different countries. I now know you lived in Belgium. Anywhere else? What surprised you or upset you? What would you have liked to take with you from Belgium and any other country, and implant in the US? (and vice versa)

This may take a while. I think I can lump a few of them together, though.

Mexico: Mexico is the only non-European county to which I have traveled. Based on the fact that I have only been to border towns, one could definitely say that I am missing the full experience. Life in the border cities can be described using one word; poverty. More often than not, children are out working the streets selling chicklets, hauling goods that tourists buy across the bridge or merely begging in the street. Cab drivers…well, just don’t get in one. They have no regard for your personal safety or the safety of pedestrians. If you manage to deal with all of that, there is some great shopping.

Holland and Luxembourg: These countries are VERY American friendly and stunningly beautiful. Most people there speak a little bit of English, while being very kind over your butchering their language. In their residential areas, you will find that all of their windows are sparkling clean with no blinds or drapes drawn. They are very community oriented and welcoming in nature to the extent of inviting others to be included in their daily life. I would like to see more of that in the United States. We would love to retire in Holland, or at the very least spend much more time there.

Switzerland and Germany: Brush up on your German, or at least know a few key phrases. That will get you far. Also, bring lots of money. This is more accurate for Switzerland than Germany, but Germany offers a lot to do at a price. Switzerland is gorgeous…the mountains will make your mouth drop. Germany is just plain fun! Fun, fun, fun. The people we encountered while in Germany were really good sports, albeit a bit cautious.

England and Ireland: Both were like touring a garden for the extent of our trips. They are very green, luscious countries. The whole driving on the left side of the road thing is a bit unnerving, but you get used to it. England serves up the very best Indian food in the world, outside of India, I assume. Ireland serves up the very best beer (Guinness) directly from the factory, if you like. If you took New York City, cut it and pasted it in England, you would have London, with the exception of a cooler subway system. As you can imagine, they are very American friendly. Friendly to the point of being quite amused by us silly Americans.

Norway: Cold & expensive, but VERY beautiful and rich with history. Had it not been for staying with family, we would have been broke after 2 or 3 days. They are a very, very friendly culture. For some of the older people, there is a language barrier. The younger generation is educated with a working knowledge of English, which makes communication much easier. Never have we been to a place that had cleaner air. The atmosphere is simply refreshing there. You take deep, long breaths and then the view of the fjords takes your breath away. My family actually owns an island off of the west coast that is only inhabitable during the summer month (notice how that’s not plural). We would love to visit again during that time.

I have only lived in one other country other than the United States, which you already know was Belgium. Despite the fact that NATO is there, many people are not very American friendly. They tolerate us, but that is about the extent of it.

I would have to say that the one really big issue in Belgium was the language barrier. I do speak enough French to get by, and now some Dutch as well, but the country is so conflicted in terms of unity. There are 3 major languages spoken there (French, Dutch & German) and occasionally all of them would be listed on one sign along the highway. It’s insane!

The one thing we missed while there was any store being open on the weekends. Actually, there was one kind of store that was open on the weekends…furniture stores. What’s up with that? You can’t buy food, but you can damn well buy a new loveseat. ??? In other words, a 7-Eleven, or something of the like, would have been nice.

I would love to transplant Valentino’s, a chocolatier in Zaventem near the train station, back to the U.S. Hershey sucks now, after having lived there! In addition, I would love to transplant the Thai food restaurant two stores down from Valentino’s. They knew us by voice. They had the best Thai food we’ve eaten, to date.

I hope that was what you were looking for, Rachel Ann.

Those are the countries I have visited and in some cases have spent significant time. On the list of countries that I would like to visit in the future are Israel, Australia and Canada. Can you believe I’ve never been to Canada? What’s wrong with that, eh?

i'm still open to topics

What I said in this post still goes. Though, I realize, now that it's morning and I've had some coffee, that you may all be a bit reluctant to partake in such a thing. That's why I posted the Sacred vs. Scared post below for something to chew on. I wrote it a few days ago, but it felt really incomplete to me. Fortunately, what feels incomplete to me may not feel incomplete to you at all.

On a more personal note, I'm tired and my boobies hurt. So, I'm hopeful the little soldiers were able to capture an egg this month. I'm not counting my chickens...just stating the obvious physical manifestations right now.

sacred vs. scared

I sent an email response today and while writing the word sacred, I accidentally transposed the a and the c only to realize that I had just spelled scared. I switched them around instantly, but have yet to switch that off in my mind.

I began thinking about how each one deters the other.

When you’re scared, you turn off necessary receptors to the universe. You no longer hear the messages you are supposed to be receiving. There is no longer a connection of your body to that which is outside of your body. The ability to see with clarity is diminished. You stop breathing normally and turn to shorter more shallow breaths. While your heart and respiration rate rise, there is often a feeling of being stuck, and immovable. Conversely, the feeling of needing to flee can occur as well. All of these aspects create a situation where there is a separation of your body, mind and spirit.

Sacredness has a different tone. Having things that are sacred in your life help keep you connected. Living a sacred life not only turns the receptors on, but turns them up so you can hear the universe loud and clear. Your eyes see clearly and your breath is full. You don’t have the fight or flight response. All of these create a situation where there is a joining of your body, mind and spirit.

In short, being scared closes you off and being sacred opens you up.

Can you see how experiencing either one of those would prevent the other from manifesting in your life?

I find that some people are uncomfortable with the term sacred because it sounds very new age. However, making something sacred does not have to include an elaborate and melodramatic setting of the stage. It may include ritual, another uncomfortable term, but even that doesn’t have to be grandiose to be effective.

EXAMPLE: When we lived in Belgium, our friend and coworker made it a point of visiting the same restaurant every Saturday morning. It was a ritual for him. He made that a special event that was both predictable and enjoyable. He made it sacred. We had a very difficult work situation to encounter during the week and I can’t tell you how many times he mentioned that his morning breakfast made all the difference in the world. Oh, and just so you know…that restaurant was the equivalent of McDonald’s. You see, sacred is NOT limited to the religious. Intent is where the difference lies. You can make anything sacred with intent, as exemplified by our friend.

Setting intent, thus making things sacred, is a very freeing experience. While ignoring intent and allowing fear to take hold, is a very unyielding experience. That’s the real irony, isn’t it? You would think that the situation that requires more intent would be felt and experienced as more controlling when it’s quite the opposite, actually. Setting intent is simply making a choice. If you’re not willing to make a choice, you better be prepared that the consequences may be more difficult in the long run.

What do you choose for your life?

topics

I'm really exhausted. I'm also frustrated about some things, so my mind is spinning right now. Nothing is organically emerging from my mind in to a post like it usually does and I don't really feel like I have the energy to come up with something to write about.

Here's where you come in....

If there is a topic to which you would be interested to hear my response, give a shout out in the comments. I will address those topics in responses, listed as updates at the bottom of this post in a new post, including a link to the site of the person who poses those topics. The topics can range from serious to silly.

I should have named this post, Link Love and Laziness.

Edited to say that I grossly underestimated the potential size of the responses and must put them in their own posts.

those 10 little words

While you were all happily surfing the Internet or blurfing the Blogosphere this morning, I was on the phone with Dell Technical Support.

Now, if you know anything about computers, the first thing you should pick up on is - was on the phone with. What this means, for the novice, is that my computer was fucked to the degree that I couldn't use online technical support.

Yes, fucked indeed.

Perhaps I'm getting a bit ahead of myself here. Let me explain the process by which this all started.

I was minding my own business, scripting a post which included a little link love from one of the link groups on my page. In the attempt to alphabetize the links, I opened up MS Excel and ordered them nicely. After switching from that document to several sites I was looking at, I got a memory error. No big deal. Instead of just closing things down, possibly rebooting and simply going about my day, I thought to myself, "I've been meaning to remove some programs from the control panel. What better time than now?"

So, I go to the control panel and start removing erroneous programs I haven't used in ages...like Kazaa (enter music from Jaws). I complete my changes and reboot my computer. Knowing that it will take a minute, I leave to use the bathroom.

NTLDR is missing
hit any key to restart

That's what I returned to find. So, I hit a key and got the same message. I rebooted again and got the same message. The same message. Oh shit...the same message.

The reality started to hit me. I didn't have access to my drives. I didn't have access to ANYTHING.

FUCK!

"Where is that Dell box," I was saying to myself. "Ah ha!" I found it after a brief moment of panic and called the 1-800 number. I survived on hold long enough to talk with a real person and once we got through verifying my account information, we were off and running.

I explained the problem and she told me not to worry, that what I described was a very common problem. I began to breathe easier.

She had me pull out my Windows disk and reboot to obtain the setup menu. Not unexpected, really.

She then asked me to move over to the boot tab, scroll down to the boot device and press enter. "Sure!," I exclaimed almost over-excitingly. Nothing. Nothing happened.

She asked me to do it again. Again, nothing.

We went through that twice more until she said, "Can you hold please?"

ARGHHHHH! Not the dreaded, "You are more fucked than I thought. Please hold on while I get my supervisor to explain to you how you can remove the dick from your ass with as little pain as possible."

As I held, the sweat began to drip from my forehead as if I had just been dropped from an airplane at 20,000 feet without a parachute. Those 10 words had already started to flow through my mind....

When was the last time you backed up your system?

She returned and asked me to do it all over again, though she asked me to change the settings for my boot device first. I humored her. She said, "Now, if you get a message on your screen that asks you to boot from CD, say yes." That never happened, but my computer came up as it had for the last several years. In shock, I told her that. She explained that she was pleased that whatever we did, worked. (What did we do, again?)

I freaked out near the end of our conversation and asked her not to hang up until I had booted the computer flawlessly, and without the boot disk, one more time. She obliged.

My computer is as it always has been. Perfect! However, in light of today's events, you'll forgive me if I am a bit absent in my blog journeying. I will be backing up my files.

When was the last time you backed up your system?

descriptive definition of "repulsive"

Tomorrow morning is "garbage day" in our neighborhood. I put our trash receptacle out the night before so that I don't have to rush out early in the morning. As I was gathering the trash this evening, Loki exemplified the exact behavior I want to have during the last step in this process.

First, I gather the kitchen rubbish. This is always so much fun because I can curse my husband, the misguided virgo, for putting the bag in the trash can the wrong way. Then, I get to put one in the right way, which always puts a smile on my face.

Secondly, the bathroom. This is pretty simple, considering it has to do with pulling out a grocery store plastic bag from a tiny little container in the corner, which doesn't get much use unless it's that time of the month.

And then, the ever-so-fun diaper pail. I always save this for last. There is a very good reason for this. If you have children, you know what that reason is already.

Everything else is ready and near the door to take outside. I head down the hall where the pail is contained to minimize offensiveness if any of what's inside happens to escape. Loki decided to follow me tonight. Poor, sweet, "little" Loki. I open up the pail and Loki, a creature who licks his own ass, scampered away so quickly he nearly left skid marks.

I really DO put good things INTO the baby.

*pondering the whole 'body as middleman' process*

true or false?

Yesterday, at Wizbang, I read that Michael Jackson has fathered quads by a woman in Florida.

Today, I read this:

Michael Jackson has denied a magazine report in America that he is to father quadruplets to a surrogate mother in Florida.

This could get rather interesting as far as credibility goes.

If he does indeed end up having quads, he has just lied about them in the recent statement. Though, he could claim that the statement didn't come directly from his mouth, since it is merely "listed" on his website. That would be some tremendous backstepping and he would still end up appearing as though he has lied. And, if he has lied about this, there's not a huge leap of logic about what other things he could have lied about.

If he doesn't have quads, this could help him look credible and further victimized by the press. If I were a supporter of Michael Jackson, I would be hoping for this option. This could help him quite a bit.

Which do you think it is?

Has quads and has lied about them.
OR
Doesn't have quads and is being victimized.

the rolling stones

These don't include Mick Jagger, though.

DIXON --The driver of a tandem-trailer truck traveling on Interstate Highway 80 near here hit the wrong button and dumped 12 tons of gravel on the roadway, the California Highway Patrol said.

Uh-oh. It gets better...

The driver, Eric Ingle, 34, of Sacramento, was attempting to set the cruise control when he hit the dump switch.

Now, why would the design engineers of this truck put the cruise control that close to the dump switch? As far as I'm concerned, this is the fault of the makers of this vehicle.

you know what irks me?

When the same people who refer to the "girlie men" comment by Schwarzenegger (an elected political official) as being a joke also refer to the "bush" comment by Goldberg (a comedian) as being serious.

Don't get me wrong. If you want to appear as though you can dish it out, but can't take it...you go right ahead. Just don't expect us to take YOU seriously.

c'est très ennuyant

PARIS, France (CNN) -- French President Jacques Chirac says Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is not welcome in Paris until he explains his appeal to French Jews to leave the country, a presidential spokeswoman said.

How do you say anti-Semitism in French? How about...

FUCK YOU, CHIRAC!

Until you can protect your Jewish citizens MUCH better, you need not question why Sharon is calling for all of them to immigrate.

UPDATE: To help those who need a bit more information, here is a basic definition of anti-Semitism and 3 articles which depict the rise of anti-Semitism in France.

an•ti-Sem•i•tism
noun
:hostility toward or discrimination against Jews as a religious, ethnic, or racial group

ANTI-SEMITISM: THE FRENCH CRISIS

Anti-Semitism rising, Jews in France ponder leaving

What’s New in Paris?

pinging and trackbacks

This info will be especially helpful for Blogspot bloggers.

When you are on Blogspot, especially when first starting out, you wonder what the fuss is all about when it comes to trackbacks. Mostly because you have to sign up and install code from another program because Blogger doesn't offer a cohesive program within their own software at this time. You hear others mention pinging and you think it has something to do with a big green table and little white balls. Well, there's so much more to it and here's the skinny, Blogspot bloggers:

Pinging: Think of it in terms of sound. You need to send a message to a particular place, so you send out a ping. Essentially, it's an electronic message sent to a post with which you have referenced.

Trackbacks: The URL addresses to which you send this electronic message. This will attach your information to the post you referenced. This lets the author of the post, in addition to other people who read that author that you have continued the topic to whatever degree on your own blog.

Kevin at Wizbang has made it nearly effortless to ping MT and WordPress blogs. The information on the newest release of the Wizbang Standalone Trackback Pinger, is available HERE.

So, let's say you wanted to link to my post which included that funny little Kerry and Bush video called, This Land. (and, if you saw it here first, I'd certainly appreciate that) At Kevin's pinger, you would enter in the following information (I'll use my blog info for this example):

***********************
Trackback Ping URL: http://blog.mu.nu/cgi/mt-tb.cgi/35965
[just open the popup (synapses) for the trackback url]

Your Permanent URL: http://auterrific.mu.nu

Your Blog Name: Auterrific

Title: Great Blog with a Funny Video

Excerpt: Linda of Auterrific is damn funny and you should go visit her right now to check out that video and let her know how much you appreciate her passing it along. :) Stay there for a while to look at some of her other posts as well. She blogs about more serious stuff too.

Submit the trackback and you should show up like those wonderful people at the end of that post right now.
***********************

If you still have questions about pinging, I can try to answer them. If you have questions specific to Kevin's pinger, you might have to ask him. I really wanted to make it possible for the folks out there who want to contribute in the way they see so many others contributing. Please make sure to give Kevin a big nod if it's working out for you.

abortion

I’ve had a really strong reaction to a couple of Michele’s posts lately. The first post, yesterday, described a woman who voluntarily aborted 2 out of three of the triplets she was carrying. The second post, this morning, went into more detail about views on abortion; the obvious pro-choice/pro-life debate that started in the comments from that first post.

As some of you know, we’ve been trying for 15 months now to conceive our second child. I am currently 35 years old and my body doesn’t work the same as it did when I was younger. Nature slows down and getting pregnant can take a bit of time. It took us 11 months to conceive Ari.

What you don’t know, is that I had an abortion when I was 18.

I was raped, by someone who was considered a “friend” at the time, and became pregnant from that one horrible event. When I found out, I was horrified, scared and alone in my decision to have an abortion. I don’t mean that there weren’t people around me who were supportive. There were plenty of them. But, the decision was all mine. I still remember why I made the decision to have an abortion.

1. I couldn’t stand the idea of looking at a mirrored image of the “man” who impregnated me.
   
2. I wasn’t married and didn’t have the emotional and financial support of a partner.
   
3. It relegated me to living at home for an extended period of time.
   
4. I didn’t want to be a mother at that time in my life.

I made the appointment, met with a counselor that same day and very openly said, “Schedule the extraction.” The appointment was a little more than 2 weeks later. They cannot perform the extraction unless you are at least 6 weeks along. I was suspected to be only around 4 weeks at that time, and already very sick; very sick in terms of nausea and vomiting. That is very early to be getting all those symptoms so heavily, but admittedly I was very soul-sick at that time, which was a contributing factor.

By the time that 7th week rolled along and I was getting prepped for the procedure, I was even more ill. My blood pressure was elevated beyond the norm for nervous women about to have the procedure along with my temperature. I had spent the last few weeks vomiting almost non-stop and had lost a tremendous amount of weight for a pregnant woman. My doctor said that he believed the pregnancy would not make it to term. Despite the fact that my condition was borderline to have the procedure, he agreed to move forward as long as I understood the risks. The procedure itself took very little time and I was home recovering within a few hours.

The regret happened almost instantly, but came with a vengeance later when with some therapy I was able to heal more emotionally from the rape. I had people who supported me around at the time. I could have survived all of that. Again, it was my choice.

Do I still regret the choice? Yes. If I had it to do over again, I would have seen where that went. If my choice had been to keep the pregnancy, I would have been hospitalized that day because of being so ill. At that point, a heartbeat could not be determined and the doctor felt like there would not be one…but I would have given it a chance.

It should come as no surprise that I am pro-choice. And, yes, even after hearing Amy’s story, I am no further toward pro-life. Many people from the pro-life side of the ledger would like to believe that pro-choice means pro-abortion. I am NOT pro-abortion. I regret the choice I made and I have taken the time to explain that decision to other women who have had a choice to make. In some cases, I have prevented others from making the same mistake.

I believe that what Amy did was abhorrent, and sets the pro-choice movement back several steps. I believe that women who have repeated abortions as a form of birth control are equally as abhorrent. However, I still believe to my dying day that until that until that little person inside can take a breath on its own by itself or with the help of a respirator, that it is solely the responsibility of the woman whose womb it is located.

I included in my comments to Michele’s first post that I thought Amy will regret her decision after the birth of her baby and as the life of that baby matures. When you are pregnant with the first child who is born to you, it is all theory. They change your life. They change your life for the good. It’s the biggest responsibility anyone can take on, while being the most rewarding. Once she figures that out, she’ll realize she could have taken on two more and instead recklessly threw them away. On that day, she will be the only one rueful for her decision. Even if others are sad, like her husband, they were not carrying those in their body.

Just her.

Just her decision.

homeland "security"?

I haven't heard anything about this, mostly because I don't live in CA. However, this is REALLY concerning. (registration required)

Homeland security officials and lawmakers have been busy shoring up the country's borders and safeguarding airports, utilities and water supplies. But this month's heist at a munitions depot in San Mateo County revealed something they have done nothing to secure: bunkers that law enforcement agencies use to store some of the most dangerous explosives on Earth.

Thieves needed just bolt cutters and a blowtorch to steal more than 200 pounds of military-grade explosives -- enough for a devastating car bomb -- from the remote storage site near the Crystal Springs Reservoir. The alarm at the site had been broken for more than 10 years.

Explosives experts called the site's security negligent, but the bunker did not run afoul of any federal safety requirements. For more than three decades, about all that is required of law enforcement explosives depots is that they be locked and isolated from residential areas.

And since the Sept. 11 attacks, that has not changed. With no new security requirements -- and no independent oversight -- hundreds of munitions depots across the country like the one in San Mateo County have become a major concern.

All over this country right now, many of these sites stand with no more security than the one that was ripped off in San Mateo. Yeah, this makes me sleep well at night. *insert sarcasm*

You know, I wonder how receptive law enforcement would be to working with the public to help security. What I mean by this is enabling concerned citizens to help them out. I can only speak for myself, but if one of these places were near me, I would be willing to go through a background check and fingerprinting in addition to some basic training to volunteer a shift (albeit short because of the toddler) of security for these sites. Even small increments of help, collectively, create more security.

I don't know. Maybe I'm just talking out of my ass, but this kind of news scares the shit out of me. We have to get more focused and attempt to help locally if at all possible. The events of 9-11 did not end on 9-11. Sorry to burst everyone's bubble.

You keep hearing things about, "If we get angry, the terrorists have won." No. Getting angry is necessary. But, getting angry and going back to the comfortable lives that we live does not make it harder for people to steal 200 pounds of explosives. Getting angry and saying, "How can I help. I'm a proud American," is what will get the job done...if only a bit more.

my kind of party

"We empower women from the bedroom to the bank."

Rose petals are strewn on the surface and at the foot of a table draped with sensual purple fabric. It holds an abundance of lotions and potions allegedly endowed with seductive powers. The looks in the women's eyes seem to say: "Let's get this party started!" Or more specifically, this "Passion Party." It's sort of like a Tupperware party — but instead of containers for leftovers, the products are sex toys and experience enhancers.

The article says that their highest earning consultant earns $400,000/year. That's no small chunk of change. Honestly, I might be reconsidering my career goals.

a nice day

When we finally got our booties moving today we escaped the toddler to see a movie and run some errands.

First, we went to the drug store to pick up some prescriptions for Joe. Sounds pretty benign, right? Wrong. Walgreens somehow gave him the wrong glucose strips, so we sat in the drive up while they tried to work it out. Our goal was to hit the office supply store BEFORE the movie. Time passes by and 3 cars pull up behind us and 2 to the side. They finally asked us to pull over, and we said that we would just be back later or tomorrow. With just enough time to get to the theater, we were off.

We saw Anchorman. If you liked Old School, chances are you will like Anchorman. There were some parts that were so funny I was crying, and others that were so silly or ridiculous that I pondered why we had spent good money. Actually, if you’re old enough to remember the 70’s, it’s one big flashback. Design, clothing, attitude and music all screamed back to a time when things were much different, yet memorable. All in all, it was worth the matinee price and quite a few laughs.

After the movie we headed to the office supply store so that Joe could pick up some fancier paper with which to copy his recommendation letters for his residency applications (can you believe it’s already that time?). I picked out what I thought would be best and brought it up to the counter to realize that the cashier was an old classmate; a Spanish classmate, to be exact. Despite the fact that I knew he struggled through the whole semester, I said, “Hola!” If he had access to a cross at that very moment, he would have held it up to cast the Spanish demons from my body. We laughed and wished each other well.

Then we were off to the gaming store, our last stop. Isn’t it always the last stop? If you know our family, you know how dangerous these visits can be…dangerous to our wallets. This particular store sells used games, so we got out of there with a lot less burn. The newest additions to our collection are all x-box games, with another headset for live play.

Crimson Skies (live enabled) – This is the game that most of our x-box live enabled friends rave about. On our last family game day I got to try this out and it was a blast. I suck at it, but it’s tons of fun. It’s a flying game. WWI era type planes shooting down enemies, and such. Very cool!

Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King – Neither of us have played this yet, but I cannot believe that for as long as we’ve had our x-box, Joe has not purchased anything with the words Lord of the Rings.

Oddworld, Munch’s Oddysee – We bought this purely for nostalgia’s sake. We used to play the old CD version of Oddworld games way-back-when. I’m guessing that the graphics will be much improved as they’ve had several years to work that out.

Now we’re home and getting ready to put the toddler down so that we can play with all of our toys. Tonight should be rather fun.

If you have x-box live and are interested in playing any games, please let me know by sending an email.

sleeping in

You never fully appreciate this concept until the capacity for it nearly non-existent.

The one life-changing event that makes this more possible than any other is the birth of a child. You realize very quickly EXACTLY what you can do on 4 hours of sleep in a 48 hour period. Oddly, it’s not that much less than you could do with the recommended 16 hours of sleep in the same period. Though, after a few more days of the exact same thing, you don’t even want to hold your child for fear that you will most certainly fall asleep no matter where you are and that you might smother them if that happens. But I digress.

As time moves on, the baby starts sleeping longer hours and you move on to what is a new “normal” sleep schedule yourself. The new “normal” is going to bed at around 10 P.M. instead of the old 1 or 2 A.M. because you are so exhausted from a day full feeding, cleaning, chasing and changing. More importantly, the earlier bed-time is warranted because the new awakening time seems to be 6 A.M., when it used to be whenever you damn well pleased. Toddlers have cornered the market on when the day’s activities begin and you are nothing more than a lowly trader on the floor of life sucking up to God for any additional strength he can muster.

Then there’s your partner. If he’s anything like my partner, he is gone for 5 out of 7 days a week, making this whole parenting thing a solo gig in the process. But the weekends…the weekends can be pure bliss.

In the past, my dear husband would arrive home at the beginning of the weekend and everyone here would fawn over him as though he was a god and they were looking for salvation. Admittedly, that made me very frustrated. Hey! I’m the one doing all the work and here he is claiming all the glory. Now when he comes home, and they all run for him, I run in the other direction. Oh yes! It’s MOMMY TIME. It’s amazing how a subtle shift in perception can work to your advantage.

This weekend, my husband arrived home early on Friday, as anesthesiologists can leave when their cases are done (he picked a LOVELY specialty). We had a nice dinner, put Ari to bed, watched a little TV, did a little dance, made a little love…got down last night. This morning, when Ari started fussing at his usual 6 A.M., Joe took him out of the room, closed the door, and left me to my peaceful slumber for another two and a half hours. Ahhhh.

I feel so refreshed!

drink coffee?

Do you drink it from the cups with lids that have the small spouts? You know, like the ones at Starbucks? If so, you must read this.

I wrote him a personal email after reading the aforementioned post, in an attempt to express how brilliant I thought he was, while adding that his tenderized lips were a "your loss is my gain" kind of thing. Here was his response.

Thab yoob.
weeb heabling nihebly.

No. Thab YOOB, Dong!

I'm still laughing.

move over lorena

There's a trained surgeon in the house.

I'm taking this one bit by bit (no pun intended).

BUCHAREST (AFP) - A Romanian surgeon who underwent a fit of madness while operating on a man's testicles proceeded to amputate his penis and cut it into three pieces.

Why 3? Why not 4 or 2? Is 3 a magical number with which to chop a penis into pieces?

The surgeon, Naum Ciomu, was said to be a senior member of the hospital staff and a professor of anatomy.

Not anymore!

He had been operating on a 34-year-old man for a testicular malformation when he committed the act, hospital officials said Friday.

Committed the act? This isn't vandalism we're talking about. This guy chopped a patient's penis into pieces. How about, "...when he violently stripped this person of his manhood forever."

"We are shocked by what has happened. It is the first time we have had such a case," said Sorin Oprescu, head of the Bucharest emergency hospital where the operation took place.

Well, I would hope so.

Doctor Ciomu had been banned from entering an operating theatre for two months pending the results of an investigation by the medical council, Oprescu said.

2 MONTHS? How about, "You are so fucking fired."

Meanwhile the wife of the unfortunate patient said she was suing Dr. Ciomu.

Yeah. The hospital should be next!

opportunity to do a mitzvah

From the USCJ Webmaster Listserv

Rabbi Irving Elson is the Jewish Chaplain for the US Marines and has been on the front lines in Iraq. Some of the leadership of United Synagogue had an opportunity to meet and speak with him earlier this year. Rabbi Elson has asked our office to pass on the following information:

The military hospital in Landshtull, Germany has requested DVDs and personal DVD players for our Marines who are recovering from battle wounds.

You can send them to:
Chaplain Irving Elson, Rabbi
c/o Commanding Officer
Headquarters & Headquarters Squadron CHAPLAIN
P.O. Box 452013
San Diego, CA 92145-2013

Rabbi Elson's office will rebox them and put them on a MEDEVAC flight to Germany to be hand delivered to the Marines.

Many thanks if you can do this to brighten the recovery days of some soldiers.

truly tasteless

Do NOT go to the extended entry of this post.

Now, why didn't you listen to me?

OK...well, absolutely, positively, without a doubt, do NOT click on this link.

true story

The Secretary...

When I lived in the D.C. area, I worked for a pharmaceutical company.

I didn't have to work too closely with the CEO's executive secretary (a strikingly beautiful brunette, with hair down to her ass and legs that went on forever). But, I knew she respected me.

One day, she came to ask me for some computer related help. I said, "Sure" and followed her to her office.

She picks up a floppy and says, "How do you use this? I have to get a document off of this and I'm not sure what to do."

Yeah! Guaranteed, her salary was about $70k and she didn't know what to do with a floppy disk. I'm pretty sure she knew what to do with a floppy dick, though!

Get a [doc]ument off, indeed.

I had shared this in a comment over on Blown Fuse earlier today, but I thought people here might get a kick out of it as well.

the overblog

"What's this?," you say.

Who's getting entirely too much traffic and doesn't deserve it?
Got any nominations?

Check it out!

human nature & responsibility

I never cease to be amazed by the nature of humanity. I don’t exclude myself from this amazement. I shock myself sometimes, both in good and bad ways. I have flaws. I’m not perfect. I don’t always make good decisions. I don’t always follow the rules. However, what I try to do with regular effort is be true to myself.

Unfortunately, there are people who don’t appreciate me being true to myself. They’re the people who want me to be something I’m not so that they, or others around them, can be more comfortable. They’re the people who will read that last statement and gauge that I am totally inappropriate in social situations, as if I shun them and society as a whole. They’re the people who read into that and think that I don’t have any friends at all. They’re the people who have never met me and think that they get the full picture because they have filled in all of the blanks in their head.

You know what? There is not ONE person on this earth who is liked by all others. Not every person is going to bond with another to form a relationship. Not everyone likes me, nor do I like everyone else. We choose our friends. Friendship is a choice. It is a choice based on many factors, some of which can be very mysterious even to the people involved. Some choices involve a lot of effort and others no effort at all. But there is always responsibility.

In terms of human nature, let me end this post with the wish that the responsibility was a little more equal in some cases and that others had the capacity to focus more on their own faults and responsibility in the relationship rather than zooming in on mine with a high powered lens.

ever heard the phrase, "light a match?"

Well, it might be a really bad idea as it turns out.

A man is recovering from burns after lighting a cigarette in a portable outhouse -- causing the outhouse to explode. It happened Tuesday in Blacksville, West Virginia.

A spokeswoman for Monongalia Emergency Medical Services said the explosion was caused by a build-up of methane gases inside the outhouse. She said the methane didn't "take too kindly" to the lit cigarette.

google cache hits

I've had a lot of hits to my cached pages lately and am wondering if people are having a hard time accessing the main page.

No IPs are banned anymore (providing everyone remains civil), so everyone should be able to enter in http://auterrific.mu.nu and have access to the updated version of the blog.

If you only have access to the cached pages, please let me know. If it has something to do with my server settings, I want to remedy it as quickly as possible so that people don't have to wait a couple of days to see what I've written here.

Thanks!

UDPATE AND BUMP: Now there is just one person accessing the cached pages. I have looked through all of my settings in my server account and can't find a reason that anyone would be blocked from viewing the current pages. If you are that person who is viewing the cached version of this site, please see the comment section of this post. Thanks!

bwaahaaaa

The Amazing Fish Rescue!

the northernmost synogogue in the world

Right across the street from one of the most magnificent Cathedrals in the world in Trondheim, Norway, sits an old railway station. What used to be called Trondheim Station is now, and has been, the northernmost synagogue in the world since 1924.

While visiting relatives on a one-week tour of Norway, we visited this synagogue and attended Shabbat services. At first, we were curious whether there would be enough people to actually hold a service. Surprisingly, there were about 20 people from all walks of life, who attended. The service was reminiscent of most Shabbat services insofar as it was performed in Hebrew. The Siddur, however, was translated in Norwegian rather than English (illustrating how important it is to learn and understand Hebrew). After the service we took great pleasure in introducing ourselves to the members and other visitors of the synagogue.

We questioned whether or not such a small synagogue with such a small population housed a Torah scroll. One gentleman had spent some time explaining the history of the synagogue we had not read about, beginning with the answer to that very question. He proudly announced that the synagogue had 3 Torah scrolls that had endured Nazi invasion. When Germany had invaded Norway in 1940, the scrolls were entrusted to a nearby Methodist church, where they were safely held until the end of the war. Also, during that same period of time (1941), the synagogue was confiscated and used as a barracks for German soldiers. The Magen David was removed from the many windows and replaced with swastikas. The premises were left in ruins from the soldier’s occupancy. Once the war had ended, the building was reclaimed and restored to its original form and dedicated in 1947.

In the basement of the synagogue, there is a small Holocaust museum that documents the history of Norwegian Jews with regard to the war and the rebuilding process for their existence today. The museum is only open on the first Sunday of every month. As fate would have it, we were there the first Sunday of April. We were given a personal tour from the granddaughter of the synagogue's founder. As in most European countries, Hitler and his irrational ideals annihilated what could have been a thriving Jewish population.

The Jewish population in Trondheim, Norway currently stands at around 120, far less than the Jewish population of central Kentucky. The synagogue currently holds services every Friday evening at 5:30pm with the exception of one mid-summer month because of the lack of participants who vacation during that time. They do not have a consistent rabbi because of the geographical difficulty of keeping kosher and congregation population, but rabbis from around the world share responsibility for services, particularly during High Holy Days.

The experience is one we will never forget. We left feeling incredibly humbled by the fact that we were moving to an area (Central Kentucky) that has a Jewish population that towers over the existing population in the entire country of Norway. We highly recommend visiting our international friends and community if you have the chance.

This was originally written for publication in the local Jewish Federation newspaper, Shalom. I hope you enjoyed it.

worldclass dumbass

Man jailed after shooting his testicles

Tue 13 July, 2004 18:05

LONDON (Reuters) - A British man who accidentally shot himself in the testicles after drinking 15 pints of beer has been jailed for five years for possessing an illegal firearm, a court spokesman says.

David Walker, 28, was arguing with a friend at a pub in South Yorkshire when he went home to get his sawn-off shotgun, which he jammed into his trousers.

But as he walked back to the pub, the gun went off, blasting pellets into his testicles. Doctors later removed what remained of his testicles during emergency surgery.

Walker admitted possessing a prohibited weapon at a hearing in June at the court in Sheffield.

Now, while jailing him might seem like adding insult to injury, he really should be locked up for doing something THAT stupid!

bottom of the book shelf

I went looking for a book the other day and realized that the bottom shelf of one of our book shelves has a rather interesting collection of books. I'll share them with you now. They are listed only by title, so if you want to know the authors, you are welcomed to ask. You should be able to recognize quite a few, though.

Your Purebred Puppy
Adopting a Racing Greyhound
What All Good Dogs Should Know
This is the Doberman Pinscher
The Hidden Life of Dogs
Great Dialogues of Plato
Walden and Other Writings
Walden
Civil Disobedience
The Portable Thoreau
The Iliad
The Portable Nietzsche
What Is Philosophy
Consciousness Explained
Love Medicine
Democracy for the Few
Black Elk Speaks
Winter in the Blood
Tracks
The Demon Haunted World
Immortal Poems
French Verse: 19th Century
The Captain's Verses
Possibility of Being
The Poetry of Robert Frost
Tao Te Ching
The I Ching
Zen Mind, Beginners Mind
365 Tao
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Tai Chi
Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book

OK, so I think they're interesting. Some of them are favorites of mine. Might any of you have read these?

i've got archives!

WOO HOO

Yay! Everything that was over on my old Blogspot blog is now right here. I can't tell you how excited I am. I'm going to start removing some things from the old site now to make it bare bones over there. The only problem is that all of the comments are no longer with the posts since there is no way to transfer Haloscan comments to the MT commenting system. Maybe I'll get crafty one day and recreate some of the more responded-to posts. Or, maybe not. Either way, I'm so glad to have everything here now.

Thank you Pixy!

what do you want to discuss today?

I'm kind of enjoying the unfocused posting. This morning I've already had to resort to putting Shrek in the DVD player since the munchkin is being a cranky pants. So, I'm going exploring again...

Do you like the Blogrolling system? Do you get pissy when it's down? Do you have any idea how often it goes down? Well, Kevin does!

The anti-Semitism problems going on in France are horrendous. Meryl certainly has the updates, with her latest entitled "Accused of Being Jewish." Here's a little story about Lexington, to go along with this. I was perusing some furniture in a local oak furniture store here a couple of years ago. I believe I was pregnant with Ari at the time. I had on a necklace with a star of david pendant dangling where everyone could see it in plain sight. One of the workers, who had previously had a smile on his face, caught a glimpse of it and instantly turned red with what looked like rage, gave me a scowl and stormed to the front of the store. He whispered something to his co-worker at the front counter and they proceeded to ignore me for the rest of my visit there. But, they made sure to follow me around the store. Shortly thereafter, I left because I was feeling VERY uncomfortable. Kentucky is NOT without their KKK members. I just never thought I would run into any of them. NO...I don't have any idea if they were KKK members. But, they certainly didn't like my wearing that pendant. That was clear.

Java Diva thinks that there may be a link between blogging and pregnancy. Where's mine, then? I've been trying for 15 months now. However, I've only been blogging for 10 of those months.

On that note, SJ had her baby girl, Ellie. Look at that punam!

Uptown Girl talks about the spawn of Satan living next door to her. I feel your pain, sister! The kids in this neighborhood are very similar to what she's explained. We used to have a lot more trouble with them until we did the crackdown. Actually, the real help came from one of the children themselves. This little dude who used to peek in our window and get angrier every time we told his mom, purposefully put his bike under our van one day. I guess he was thinking that I always look under my car before I leave. Instead, his little bike got run over. Ooops. I told him to let his mom know what happened and we never heard anything from them again. The kid doesn't even come down the street this far. Woo Hoo! I was willing to pay for the bike, but I wasn't going to do the explaining. They've got to take SOME responsibility at some point.

Here's a cartoon from Cox & Forkum that more than adequately describes the U.N.'s relationship with Israel.

That's it for now. If I find anything else exciting, you can be sure I will post it.

Alright. I have to add this, since Kim brought it to my attention. Here's a U.S. Map of Hate Groups from Tolerance.org. If you click on your state, they show you which groups are in your area, and where they are located by city. South Dakota and Vermont are the only states that have none. Pretty scary.

in the stars - july

First, a word from Laura:

Dear Friends,

Thanks so much for all your wonderful responses to my newsletter.

I’d like to ask a special favor. My astrology is very good now for a career and referrals are the best way to expand a personal service practice such as mine. If you could take the time to forward this on to friends it would help me tremendously. Please include people from outside of Austin, I do a lot of long distance readings.

I am very grateful to those of you who have already forwarded my e-mail news. I trust that it is a valuable service to you.

Also note that I am announcing a new type of reading on “Love, Relating and Sex” at a special price this summer. It is described below. You may e-mail me here to set an appointment.

I appreciate your loving support so much in my quest to go from World Class to World Famous Astrologer.

Love, Laura

Now, for her latest newsletter...

LAURA'S MIDHEAVEN NEWS

Home and Heart New Moon

The Moon is new in the sign of Cancer early on Saturday morning July 17. Cancer represents the safety of the family nest. It is a sensitive, protective, vulnerable energy. During the coming month you will find yourself acting like your parents. Yes, even if you have worked hard to differentiate from family, or healed forgiven and reconciled, in certain ways you will walk in your parent’s moccasins this month. Witness yourself with compassion and know that every style of loving is still love, and therefore Divine. Feel the difference between 1)protection based on fear and 2) support based on trust in Spirit.

When you think about Cancer think Mother Mary as an archetype of unconditional parental love. Each of us was a perfect Star worthy of adoration when we were born. Life on this planet throws us around a lot until we develop hard shells like the Crab, the Zodiac symbol for Cancer. In the summer of ‘03, ’04 and ’05 while Saturn is in Cancer, we have a particularly acute experience of the ways that we brace ourselves and close up against love because of past disappointment, pain, and conditioning. If we live from heart and soul we can step into a different basis of security and breathe into our vulnerability. Be a treasure to yourself and open to the people who care about you. Ask directly for some of you needs to be met. Everyone needs nurturing sometimes. Let your home be a place of play, restoration, and beauty.

If you do a new moon ceremony this weekend focus your wishes on subjects of housing, connecting with family, and true security. Include a scent that reminds you of Mom (Jergens lotion? Patchouli?). This section of the Zodiac is enhanced by muscular action so include dance, tai chi or symbolic gesturing to the Four Directions. Cook an inner child yummy food and share it with someone (Pillsbury brownie mix? Corn Dogs? Hot homemade whole wheat bread?) If you have a heart to heart talk, do it while you are walking or puttering around the house together as long as there is movement. Enjoy exposing your soft underbelly, just like your pets and kids do when you rub their tummies.

Ante Up

On August 6, Jupiter squares Pluto. This combination can be described as an ambitious advancement of power. It can produce great leadership or great exploitation. It can be a driven gambling type of energy. Astrology works in cycles and we are referencing 1994 when the baby boomers who had been self indulgently playing around saw age 50 on the horizon and decided to secure their future by investing. Jupiter working in synergy with Pluto at the time flavored this decision with speculation and greed as a power trip. Thus the rise of the stock market. When planets come opposite each other we get a reflection and results of the original impulse. That was September 2000 through May of 2001. The markets corrected. This summer’s turn of the cycle demands that we take responsibility for our behavior. There may be more regulation of markets, accounting oversight and important court cases to redefine accountability. We must understand and change our consciousness in regard to “getting something for nothing” without consideration for the effects on others. In your personal life look for the power that stable planning and discipline can give you and make amends for ways that you have catapulted into selfish action on overdrive.

What's Love Got To Do With You

In the six weeks of Venus Retrograde earlier this summer, I made an extensive study of my chart in order to cope with all the subconscious material that came flaming up in my life. My revelations can be your gain. I am offering a new Love, Relating and Sex reading that covers completely different material than I usually present about love in your original birth chart (natal) reading with me. To be technical, we will explore the progressed chart, love asteroids, phase relationships, and last over methods of delineation. This reading is an in depth exploration of yourself and will explain a lot of mystifying things about the greatest mystery in life. As always, you will be validated , we will laugh, and you can be transformed into a higher octave of love. It is OK to do this reading as an introduction if I have never worked with you before. The reading will cost $70 until September 1 when it goes to $95. What a deal!

Laura Waldman has been a professional astrologer since 1982. She offers private consultations on all personal and business topics , does geographic location astrology, and teaches astrology classes. You can also work with her in regular spiritual mentoring sessions or astrology tutoring.

overdue link love

SJ is blogging through the birth of her baby right now.

Captain Ed calls out all upper midwest bloggers for a little bash at an Irish Pub.

Ditto on everything this post at A Small Victory says.

Gotta thank Lawren for this info about Indiana.

Daniel posts some facts that are truly disgusting, but accurate. EW!

Lisa talks about her success with Herbalife, a program I HIGHLY recommend.

Always Victoria on Self Confidence

Please validate Funkalicious.

ET addresses men.

Bacon and Eh's issues an international knowledge challenge.

Though I'm voting for Kerry & Edwards, GT still offers this very funny cartoon post.

a synopsis

Since you haven't gotten too many of my thoughts on current events over the past nine days, here's a little taste of what I have been thinking about the major stuff.

The appearance of presumed beheaded Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun.
Link

I can't wait to hear the whole story on this. I have a very good friend who is Lebanese and can tell you that he is a fiercely loyal American while being very firmly rooted in Lebanese culture and his family there. There's a balance there that might be very difficult to explain to the authorities. Either way, I'm glad he's alright.

Kerry picking Edwards as VP
Link

One word: YUM! I only wish it were the other way around. There...I've said it! My husband said that it would be interesting if Bush dropped Cheney and took on McCain. My response? "Shit. If he takes on McCain I might even vote for him."

*preparing to be flogged by fellow democrats*

While we're on the topic of being flogged by fellow democrats...

Moore Hype

Sorry...you don't get a link because there are far too many of them out there. F9/11 is the Passion all over again, except in political terms. Can you please remember that these people are writers and producers? Remember that they run up dinner tabs at restaurants that equal your average American's car payment per month and that you are putting that money in their pockets. I'm not saying we shouldn't go see movies or that these writers and producers don't deserve the fruit of their labor. What I am saying is that Mel Gibson is NOT a priest or historian...he is a writer and producer. Michael Moore is NOT a senator, representative or lobbyist...he is a writer and producer. Their job is to write and produce something that the public will PAY to see. When I see huge donations to worthy causes from both of them, they will get a little more respect from me.

Home

It's GREAT to be back!

swimming lessons - day 5 and final

You don't even want to know!

Alright, I'll tell. He screamed more than he did the first day. But, I couldn't ask for a better instructor. He has my toddler holding his breath under water and swimming for the pool wall each time he goes in. He loves jumping into the pool and is good about finding the edge when he makes it to the top of the water. I can't ask for more than that right now.

He screamed so much, though, that we thought something was genuinely wrong with him and took him to see uncle Craig (family practice physician and family doctor) after his lesson. His ears, nose, throat and lungs are fine. He thought it might be allergies or teething issues. Approximately 2 hours after that visit, he had one of the hardest poopies ever. So, I think he was just stopped up.

HA...don't you all love coming here for that info?

Anyway, we went swimming later and he did better, but really wasn't into it. I just don't think he wanted to be a water baby today.

Tomorrow is our last full day here and I am exhausted. Ari is really testing his limits and he is running me ragged to the point that all of my clothing is very loose. Hey, I'm not complaining about that, but it would be nice to have an actual vacation at some point. The most time I had was for about an hour and a half to get a massage. That alone was worth the trip because I LOVE the massage therapist here. But, again, I really need some time away. This whole full time mom thing with limited help is really getting to me.

Whine over...time for wine. Hiccup.

swimming lessons - day 4

Much less crying...thankfully! He's really trusting J.C. now and having some fun with it. He LOVES the jumps, but is having a hard time doing his kicks, which is probably the most important thing after holding on to his safety wall. He can hold his breath for a pretty long time.

When I practice with him in the pool, he likes to jump in, turn around to hold the wall, then he turns around and plunges into the water to swim to me. It's very cool! I can't believe he has learned this much in one week.

His last lesson is tomorrow, and we're going to be sad that they're over. I guess I need to find a pool in Lexington with which I can keep us this work. I might check into the YMCA.

it's happening

UPDATE AND BUMP:
It's blooming, finally. See the webcam!

Bloom Watch for Corpse Flower. This is soooo cool!

LIVE WEBCAM HERE

swimming lessons - day 3

There's finally a little less screaming, but it's not totally gone. According to J.C. (the swim instructor), Ari is still being a "fuss bucket."

Like day 1, he swam to the side ("safety wall") several times.

He also did some jumps from the side of the pool, like day 2.

Added, was a jump, then a turn around to reach the wall. He didn't do very well with that one until his very last try. I think he gets a little disoriented right when he jumps in. But, damn, I have a 22-month-old jumping in a deep pool. I can hardly believe this.

What I consider to be more of a success, was how he didn't rush to me after getting out of the pool. He went to play with toys around the pool. Then, when it was his turn, J.C. would call him over. If he was reluctant, I would hold his hand to the outside of the sidewalk of the pool, and he would go the rest of the way himself. I wasn't having to drag him to the stairs of the pool.

Also, very cool, was the fact that half the time he was playing outside of the pool, he was watching the other boy get his lesson. So, it shows that he's interested in what's going on in the pool. YAY!

As a side note, Ari had an interesting day today in Grandma's house of poodles. The little fluff balls don't really know how to wait to go outside, so often they do their business in the house. Ari decided to pick up and explore the texture of some of that stuff. "TO THE BATH, YOUNG MAN!!!," I shouted as soon as I saw him. But, alas, he got some on me too. Grandma was laughing. Mommy was not. *sigh*

swimming lessons - day 2

Today, Ari learned jumping!

His lessons included everything that his first lesson included, with the added level of difficulty being a jump into the pool going under water and swimming to the stairs (assisted, of course).

He is still screaming during his lessons, but not as much. I will consider it a huge success if we get to the end of the week and he no longer screams. We'll see.

I walk him to the pool each time it is his turn, but he gets out and finds me after his turns all by himself. This is not a problem, since all he really wants to do is curl up in my arms and not really EVER go back in the pool. But, we're learning several lessons here...

1. How to handle himself if he ever finds himself in deep water.

2. There are specific things that can help him with that.

3. That he is safe with other people besides mommy. THIS is the toughest for him, bar none.

swimming lessons - day 1

My 22-month-old son, Ari, embarked upon a week's worth of swimming lessons today. If you're anything like me, you're thinking, "What are they going to teach a toddler, with limited verbal skills, about swimming?" Let me tell you, I am shocked at what he learned in one session of 3 turns.

First, I can't be in the pool with him. It's the instructor, and the other two students. Because Ari will just take off around the pool for his turns, I bring him to the steps of the pool and back.

His first turn. Screaming the whole way. The instructor shows him the wall of the pool and explains that this is his "safety wall." He tries to get him to blow bubbles in the pool, but no dice. He tries to get him to kick, but no dice. Then, he shows him the wall again, puts his hands on the side and asks him to hold on briefly, then steps back with him, asks him to take a big breath, counts to three and puts him under the water toward the wall. When he brings him up, he puts his hands on the side of the wall and explains that it is his "safety wall," again. They do that a few times and he swallows some water. I go to meet him at the stairs of the pool after his first turn and he is dazed and confused.

His second turn. He is already screaming before getting into the pool. The very same techniques are used, except now he's holding his breath. By the time he is on 3 of saying, "1 - 2 - 3," he is quiet and ready to hold his breath to go under the water. He still screams during the rest, but he held his breath during the whole underwater part of the turn.

His third turn. Yes, he is still screaming on the way to the pool, but oddly, he is walking down the stairs to the instructor. This time, as soon as he hears the 1 of the 1 - 2 - 3, he is quiet and ready to go. By the end of the lesson, he is even putting his face down to go under AND he can hold on to the "safety wall" by himself as the instructor steps back a few feet.

Truly unbelievable!

The instructor said that we will be surprised what he can do by the end of the week. By the end of that lesson, I don't doubt him!

As you may have noticed, I am out of town and blogging will be light...but blog reading will be almost non-existent since I have others to contend with over computer time. This will return back to normal next week. I may try to get on late one night or two to do some catching up, but I have to tell you that I have been passing out right along Ari's side at the end of a night.

Keep an eye out on that Corpse Flower, though. It looks like it's going to start doing its stuff today.

thoughts for the 4th

I could have posted something profound.

I could have posted something fun.

What I am posting, is a request that when you are enjoying all of your barbeques and swim parties today, that you take a moment to remember those who can't.

The recently beheaded...they won't be with their families today.

The people in the twin towers...they won't be with theirs either.

The people in the flights that went down in the Pentagon and PA...nope, not theirs either.

The countless soldiers who have given their lives for the war in Iraq and to keep our country free so we can enjoy those steaks on the grill, and the fireworks that will be so spectacular this evening...they understood how important this all was, but alas, they will not be with their families either.

In remembering them...remember that either willingly or unwillingly, they did it for all of us...democrats, republicans, moderates or libertarians.

They did it for LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL!

I'm sorry if you came here to find something fun, but the aforementioned were the first things on my mind this morning and, well you know my deal with this blog, you get what's on my mind.

newcomers to the blogosphere

Find them at the new Blog Showcase!

You'll find an entry there from one of my new favorites, RedSaid called The Stages of Moving.

dog week

In keeping with the spirit of everything dog this week, I direct you to a post written by Meryl last year: A Dog's Life. For all of you African dog fans, the Rhodesian Ridgeback is another. Much like the Boerboel, they were bred to hunt lions. They are very, very bright dogs and on our short list of what to get next...though I think the Doberman is winning out.

Sidenote: It's weird that we have a dog that is bred to hunt lions and named our son, Ari.

Anyway, Meryl was looking for a little more readership because she has plateaued and I thought this was the perfect fit seeing as though dogs have dominated this week. I've said before that this blog can look like a different blog each week. I guess I'm one of the mile wide inch deep blogs she talks about. Though, I'd prefer to think I have a little more balance in terms of depth. Hey, I just write what interests me at the time.

star-schmucks

Mark, how do you know me so well?

diana's story

Diana is a retired racer that we adopted in Baltimore, December 1998, from Greyhound Rescue.

We dubbed her “Houdini Dog.” She somehow managed to get everything she ever wanted without us seeing her in the process. We used to have her gated off in the kitchen, when we lived in our Pikesville apartment, and would come home to find her sitting on the futon. We thought she was jumping over, so we raised the gate about 6 inches from the floor to make it too tall for her to jump. We still came home to find her on the futon and wondered how she performed her little trick. One day, Joe forgot something from the apartment and returned home about 10 minutes after leaving. He opened the door and found her halfway UNDER the gate. He laughed so hard that he forgot about his own anger. That should have been a sign for the future.

She also managed to chew quite a few pairs of really expensive shoes, purses, etc. The appearance was one of defiance. When we left her for the day, she began her well thought out plan for destroying things we loved. And, if she was crated, she would actually bloody herself trying to get out.

Suffice to say, she was a challenging dog. But, despite the fact that she gave us a run for our money, we grew attached to her and brought her with to Belgium as a result. See the picture of her with her sheepish friends on the farm behind our apartment.

Her foolhardy ways changed, though, when we brought Loki home. He has mellowed her out and she is much more manageable now. They have loved each other like siblings and they are tribute to the theory that opposites attract.

Now, I really do love Diana. However, I have vowed not to get another Greyhound. I know that many of them are really sweet and have no real issues at all. We didn’t get that one, though.

Diana still finds ways to get into the garbage can, bread on the countertop, snacks from Ari’s baby bag, coffee from mugs on the desk (yes, you would think I would truly relate to her for this trait), and has even gone as far to take food off of Ari’s highchair while he is still in the process of eating. Today’s little event was the last straw, though.

I left at around 1pm today to go to the mall to buy Ari some sandals at Stride Rite (I would love to be able to buy Ari’s shoes at any old place, but he is 22 months old and has the feet of a 3 year old: 8-WW) and a quick trip to Lazarus so I could pick up some Prescriptives mascara and eyeliner. That mall was stressful, as Ari was your typical toddler, but the afternoon got better. We headed to the post office and then to get some groceries. We came home about 3 hours later.

When I left the house, I performed the regular duty of taking all food off the tables and countertops and placing them atop the microwave or refrigerator. The only things that were on the kitchen table were my vitamins and Loki’s Rimadyl (Ibuprofen for dogs). When I returned home, the Rimadyl bottle was lying on the floor, open and what I thought was empty. When I looked in the bottle, there were two pills. I quickly recounted how many of the tablets Loki had taken in the last few days and calculated that Diana had eaten 6 of them.

I very speedily dialed our wonderful veterinarian and explained her very stupid stunt. The nurse, in a very calm, but insistent voice said, “Can you get here quickly?” She informed me that they would need to administer peroxide so that she could vomit what she had eaten and that she would likely spend the night because of possibly GI bleeding. GREAT! I inform her that I will be right over.

When I arrive at the vet’s around 4:45pm, they take her right to the back to administer the first of what would be 3 doses of the peroxide to make her vomit a total of 3 times.

Time goes on, and I read 3 magazines front to back and they call me in a room where she is waiting as well. The vet comes in laughing and informs me that this is the second case of its kind in the same week, and that before then it has hardly happened at all. I’m pretty sure that the techs are a bit tired of sifting through dog vomit. He continues to say that her vomit produced 2 whole tablets and the crushed remnants of what appears to be several others. He said that he didn’t believe she absorbed much, if any at all because we worked so quickly to get it out. He announced that she could come home and that he was giving me a free sample to bring home for Loki.

At 6:30pm I walk out of the vet’s office…again.

a-ha!

Ampersand at Alas A Blog exclaims, "I finally understand the anti-SSM view!"

This is a fucking brilliant post with illustrations. Go there NOW!

a happy dog story

It's always nice to show off the loyalty of family dogs.

In this story, Daisy Smith, 2, went missing from her back yard. She was found more than a mile away from her home, having spent the night there, guarded by the family dog.

Conservation Officer Andy Crozier found the girl about 6:30 a.m. after following dog tracks that led him to the family's Labrador retriever at the site about 25 miles northeast of Louisville, Ky.

"I found the tracks and just followed them," Crozier told The Evening News of Jeffersonville. "When I first found the girl she appeared fine, but obviously scared. The dog was a little hesitant to let me get near her, after I made up to him a little bit he let me bring her to safety."

GOOD BOY!

"This girl has a guardian angel," Spainhour said. "And it's the dog. He stayed with her throughout the night, and in the end he led us to her."

Don't you wish all the missing child cases worked like this?