October 2003 diary

That’s the least of what that bastard deserves, and GOOD ON those neighbors for helping out! I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before the asshole is filing lawsuits, but hopefully judges won’t let it get very far. Creep.

Quote of the Day

10/30/2003

Return of French-Man!

Woohoooooo!!!! Speaking of Harvey, he has a new French-Man post! In this one he talks some sense (or… something…) into the DC protestors.

My favorite quote, though? OK, but it doesn’t make sense unless you read the whole thing.

RSS Feed Issues

Well, looks like I’ve been having a problem with my RSS news aggregator. I don’t know if the problem is the software or my computer, so I’m not going to link-and-slam them. Instead, I’m just going back to the low-tech method of actually going to the different sites each day. It took me this long (been REALLY busy with work) to notice that Bill had stopped posting, for example. What finally tipped me off was that I stopped getting the posts from Harvey. He’s my favorite blogger, and he posts religiously, every day. When two days went by with no word from him (other than comments on my own blog) I knew things were in trouble.

Low Morale?

So it looks like morale in Iraq, or at least parts of it, or at least in a particular company, might not be as good as I had hoped. Granted, this is the word from a Sgt of a BioChem unit that, as best as I can tell, is being underutilized for what they were trained to do, and is comprised of National Guardsmen. I wonder if the story is the same for regular enlisted? It’s impossible for me, here in my cozy spot in the peanut gallery, to know for sure; all I can do is read little anecdotal bits here and there. But this is a valid datapoint, and one that bears mention. Love ya, Will.

Quote of the Day

“A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining, but wants it back the minute it begins to rain.” - Mark Twain

10/29/2003

Presidential Platform

He comes up with some very thought-provoking positions of his own (most of which I agree with). It seemed like a useful exercise, so I decided to formulate a “platform” of my own.

1. Firm commitment to the war on terrorism and implementation of a democratic solution to Afghanistan and Iraq, possibly to include other nations in the future.
2. Increased pay for military, and increase in spending for recruitment efforts (to include advertising).
3. Drastic cuts in all forms of welfare - food stamps, subsidized child care, Medicare, Medicaid.
4. Gradual phasing-out of Social Security Insurance.
5. Repeal of any and all federal laws having to do with same-sex marriage.
6. Repeal of all federal gun-control laws.
7. End federal funding for education. Education is a states issue.
8. End federal funding for abortion services. Money given to “mixed services” clinics and hospitals should be ear-marked for sex education and birth control, but not for abortion.
9. Get an external audit/examination of all federal government agencies, and cut any waste/overlap.

I realize there are other issues that a President needs to deal with on a daily basis, but these are the ones that concern and interest me the most. I may add to and/or modify this list as time goes on.

I realize that my list may seem harsh to some, but I’m one of those “strict constructionists"; I think the federal government ought ONLY get involved in those areas specifically outlined in the Constitution. Part of the reason federal spending (and deficits, and taxes) have gotten so out of control is that too many things have been shifted to the federal domain that are not, in fact, federal in nature.

Update on my toe

First of all, thanks to everybody who wrote in with well-wishes about my toe. Turns out it isn’t broken (thank God), and the swelling went down. It doesn’t even really hurt anymore, so I was just being a big crybaby. Which is really too bad, because I was looking forward to some unconventional therapy from Harvey. Maybe I ~~can figure out a way to~~ will accidentally injure myself elsewhere.

The Leakin’est Leaker Who Ever Leaked Leaks

I had been disappointed with some of the latest “In My World” posts over at Frank’s (that Demoncrat… *yawn*), but he more than redeems himself today. Some of my favorite lines:

10/28/2003

Broken Toe?

Well, my one-year-old just dropped a sippy cup on my foot. You know that bone, right where your big toe joins your foot? The part that poke out if you bend your toe? Right there. It friggin hurts. I’m actually concerned it might be broken or fractured, but after calling the hospital I’ve determined a) I should wait and see if my toe swells up like a grapefruit, and b) there’s not much they can do for it, anyway, except stick me with a hugeomongous ER bill. Bah!

10/27/2003

Selective Quoting

It’s really annoying to me when people take quotes out of context and twist them around to seem to mean something they were never intended to infer. Ricky illustrates this quite well in his post criticizing a statement by moveon.org (to whom I refuse to link).

10/25/2003

New Iraqi Blog

10/24/2003

Confession

OK, so … here’s a deep, dark secret that no one (but NO ONE) knows about me. I’ll tell you, but you have to SWEAR not to tell. Swear? No, seriously, swear!!

OK…. ever listen to country music? Yeah? You know that Montgomery Gentry song Hell Yeah? Cool. Well, you know the chick in the second stanza or chorus or verse or whatever the hell the musician-types call it? I SOOOO want to be her. If you don’t know the lyrics, here’s that part of it.

Doesn’t she just totally rule?? I mean… I don’t have an MBA or a corner office, or a tattoo, and I’ve never been to Panama, and I don’t really like Springsteen that much… but… that’s the kinda chick I’d just love to be!! Just all “don’t mess with me, cuz I’m a badass, and I’ll just climb up on this bar and dance in my bra, dammit!” (I’ve heard a rumor that in the video she does that, but I’ve never seen the video, so I don’t know for sure… but I bet she’s the kinda chick who would!) Because I don’t give a damn what people think, and I’m just gonna have a good time!

Plus that song is just THE best “crank it up, scream it out, feel good, by God” country music around.

Top Ten Advantages to Being Pregnant in Winter

Some of you may not know that I’m pregnant, and that the baby is due in mid-June. I seem to keep having summer babies, which means I’m pregnant every-other-winter. In some ways this sucks (vomiting, icy ground, splashback, nuff said) but there are some advantages as well.

10. Never having to shovel the walk.
9. Built-in heater!
8. Bulky sweaters help cover a bulky you.
7. You have a ready excuse to avoid any office parties or other holiday festivities that you know will bore you to tears. “Sorry, but we have our childbirth class that night. I’d really hate to fail THAT test!”
6. People will often take pity on your big, swollen, pathetic self and carry things for you.
5. You can pack on the infamous “Holiday Ten Pounds” and no one will EVER notice.
4. Walkways are often sanded/salted. This is very useful when you get so big you can no longer see your feet. It’s like Braille for the pregnant!
3. Your spouse won’t worry about you getting drunk at the company Christmas party and making an ass of yourself.
2. If you eat some really nasty fruitcake/pumpkin pie/turkey/other “gourmet cooking” and throw up, you can always blame it on the pregnancy.
1. Pre-packed Santa belly. Suit up!! (Did anyone else watch Angie, with Geena Davis?)

Goofy Fun

10/23/2003

Totally cool Amazon feature

I like to think I’m not very easily impressed by new add-on technology, but Amazon.com has added a REALLY COOL new feature. In addition to searching for books by their titles, authors, ISBN numbers, and other standard criteria, 120,000 of their books are now searchable by any of the words in the books!! Now, that’s just incredible. Imagine! Some phrase that’s stuck in your head, or that you jotted down somewhere that you want to place - just search for it at good ol’ Amazon! Or maybe you’re researching Winston Churchill, and you want to find all the books that mentioned a particular quote from one of his speeches. Just search for a unique string of words, and voila!

This is UBER-cool! Granted, it’s first-day roll-out, and 120,000 titles really isn’t all that many, so there will be plenty of holes in the results, but it’s a bold, new step, and Amazon is to be applauded.

How does this keep happening?

You may begin to notice a change in the focus of some of my posting. See, a couple of weeks ago, I found out that I was pregnant. I already have two children - a three-year-old boy and a one-year-old girl - and the third one is due mid-June. Naturally, this will mean some of my interest in “all things webby” will have to do with pregnancy and childbirth. Feel free to skip that stuff, if it’s not your thing. :D

10/22/2003

Quote of the Day

“Dealing with network executives is like being nibbled to death by ducks.” - Eric Sevareid

10/21/2003

Innovation

Remember when I bemoaned my lack of programming skills? Well, turns out Harvey already has the program I wanted to design! I wonder if you can get workman’s comp for a worn-out index finger. And if they make replacement springs for the spacebar.

10/20/2003

The Take-down

Betcha didn’t know I was in a gang, didja? Don’t mess with the Corner of the Bar Babes. Next time, though, I’m holding out to be the Beer Tub Babe; nobody tips the Cover Charge Chick. ;)

10/19/2003

Homeschooling under attack

We don’t get CBS where I live (long story), so I missed this this slash job on homeschooling. Justin saw it, however, and here’s what he had to say:

You know, I bet if you dug around a little bit, you’d find that there were other similarities between Laney and Yates. Maybe they both used the same brand of hairspray or nailpolish, or maybe they both used cast iron skillets instead of aluminum ones, or maybe they both grew up in East Buttfuck, New Jersey. Saying “both mothers taught their children at home” is meaningless. Here, I’ll save Jon the trouble: Correlation does not mean causation. And in any event, two is a damn small sample.

In the comments of that post is another great post, by someone named Sage, in response to an assertion by another reader than children “need to be with other kids to grow up. Kids need time to be kids. Giving a child tunnel vision is one of the worst things you can do to them.” The whole thing is fantastic, but I’ll reproduce part of it here:

It was very tempting to quote the whole thing. Go check it out for yourself. There are comments from homeschoolers, parents considering homeschooling, and (as of this writing) at least one guy who was homeschooled. Very thought-provoking stuff!

New Categories

Well, I just whiled away many hours assigning categories to all of the entries I’ve made thus far, so if you’re interested, you can check them out (over there on the sidebar).

Comforting the children

Quote of the Day

“Liberals are very broadminded: they are always willing to give careful consideration to both sides of the same side.” - Anonymous

10/18/2003

Things taken out of context

My son is playing a game on his computer. (Yeah, yeah, he’s 3, and he’s had his own system since he was 1. My daughter has had her own since she was 6 months. Sue me.) The game is about animals, and one of the activities is trying to help an anteater eat the ants. So I’m trying to tune out the inane dialog, but every now and then this bit jumps out at me:

If only I could make that command work in other “applications", I would be rich.

Sprouted a Tail!

Attacked by Geese

I took my kids to a quilt show yesterday. After a little while, my son was getting wild and, I thought, needed to run off some energy. We left the show, and I decided to let him play on the concrete steps next to the river that runs through Spokane.

He had a grand time; he climbed all the way down the 15 or so steps to the water’s edge, then scampered back and forth on the bottom step, heckling the ducks that were milling about. They realized he didn’t have any bread crumbs or popcorn on him, so they quickly lost interest in him.

About this time, I realized my daughter’s diaper was badly in need of changing. I laid her down on the top concrete step next to me, and started the change. While digging around for a clean diaper in the diaper bag, I found a few kernels of popcorn that had, probably, fallen out of a snack bag I packed a few weeks ago. I called my son up, gave him the popcorn, and told him to go feed the ducks, thinking it would keep him occupied while I finished with his sister.

He lost one kernel on the way down, but the other made it into the water after a couple of unsuccessful tosses. My daughter was bare-bottomed by this time, and I was looking for a clean outfit for her. The ducks fought for the kernel then, through some psychic waterfowl mental-fu, every duck, gull, and goose on the river was alerted that we were PrimeTargets. They came out of nowhere - paddling and swooping toward us.

I was amused at first, until the flock of Canadian geese started in. We raise ducks and geese, so I know something of their natures. Suffice to say that geese are not to be fucked around with. They are mean, nasty, aggressive little bastards, and these Canadian geese were as big as my three-year-old. I called my son up from the water’s edge, and tried to hurry up the diaper-and-clothes-change on my daughter. The geese started up the steps. They’re big, fat, ungainly birds, so it took them a few seconds to negotiate each step, but there were a dozen of them, and they were determined.

*hop*
Me: “They’re getting closer. Put your arm through the hole, dammit!”
*hop*
Son: “Mama, are they gonna eat us?”
*hop*
Me: “I sure hope not.” (worried glance at the geese)
*hop*
Son: “I’ll stop them, Mama!” (flings my purse at the lead goose who is, by now, only 4 steps away)
*hop*
Me: “Adam! My camera is in there! Leave that alone!”
*hop*

So there I was… my son was flinging valuables at the NightOfTheLivingDead Canadian geese, my daughter was bare-assed in the wind, the contents of my purse were all over the steps (the camera, luckily, escaped injury), the geese were two steps away, and a crowd of onlookers was starting to form. So, I grabbed my daughter, planted her on my hip, and went down the steps to shoo the geese away.

Geese do not “shoo” very well. The lead goose started posturing at me - stretching its neck, opening its mouth, sticking out its tongue, and hissing at me. It had also pooped on the steps, and that’s just nasty. (If you’ve ever seen goose poop, you know what I’m talking about.) I finally, slowly, managed to chase the lead goose down a few steps (as he retreated, so did the others), then turned around and went back to the top to try again to finish dressing my daughter.

Here they came again. A simple onesie is quite a complicated garment when you’re trying to hold your belongings together, keep your children safe from deadly (ok, maybe not, but still!) wild birds, and your fingers are shaking uncontrollably. I finally managed to get her dressed, buckled back into the stroller, my purse’s contents reassembled, and get us out of there, but it took two more sessions of chasing geese away, and the ducks were starting up the steps by then, too.

Toy Drive Back On

There’s a new address to send toys to, for Chief Wiggles to distribute them to Iraqi children. That address is:

Keep in mind, please, that now the toys are being shipped to Columbia, Maryland, repackaged, packed onto a cargo container, shipped by boat to Kuwait, trucked to Iraq, THEN distributed. All that shipping costs money, so in addition to sending toys you can donate funds to Operation Give, who is handling all of the shipping.

10/17/2003

Polite Discourse

Jesse and Erasmus respond to my response about a Salon article a day or so ago. An interesting read, and I posted a comment there.

I do have to say that it’s at the very least nice to know there are people in the world with whom I can disagree, but still have respect for.

Hey, I’m cool!

Remember when I told you about An Army Wife Life? I happened to find out about her via a comment she posted over at Sgt Hook’s. Well, by some weird twist of bloggy kismet, she found, me, too, and has listed me on her sidebar under the heading “Other Cool People". Sweet! It’s a pretty short list, full of lots of other people I read regularly, so I’m quite pleased. Thanks! Oh, and if you haven’t been by since she remodeled, you should really take a peek. It’s excellent.

10/16/2003

Apologize for what?

Erasmus posts his commentary on a Salon article written by Mark Hertsgaard that suggests president Bush should follow in the footsteps of Reagan and Clinton, who made public admissions of wrongdoing (Iran-Contra in Reagan’s case, Cigar-Lady in Clinton’s). The Salon article suggests Bush “[g]o on television and come clean with the American public so you can put the scandal behind you.” Just what Bush is supposed to be so apologetic about, I’m not sure.

Politicians always have, always will, be subject to criticism. You can never please all the people all the time, and when you’re a public figure controlling trillions of dollars of public funds; commanding the largest, most powerful military the nation has ever seen; and making decisions that directly or indirectly impact the lives of everyone on the planet, you’re bound to take a few hits. So what? What exactly is expected here? Criticism alone does not constitute proof of wrongdoing. It’s extremely disingenuous to compare illegal selling of arms to insurgents and perjury to a little bit of faulty intelligence that, in the grand scheme of things, was insignificant in the overall decision to invade Iraq.

As to Bush’s “errors", I’m not even sure what Hertsgaard is talking about. Other than the infamous yellowcake story, what else are we talking about here, exactly? President Bush did a remarkable job warning the Americans that overthrowing Saddam Hussein’s Ba’athist regime would be long, hard, and expensive. Anyone who didn’t hear that, frankly, wasn’t listening. I also don’t know what parts of “the government” should be involved in the Reconstruction of Iraq. The military, Pentagon, and CIA are fully engaged. What more are we asking for, exactly? It’s possible more should be involved, but no case is made for additional participation, so there’s no “there” there.

The “fall guy” bit is just downright stupid. Treason was committed in the outing of an undercover operative. Whoever is responsible for leaking Plame’s name faces the possibility of execution. You don’t “offer up a fall guy"; you let the Justice Department do their job and find the one(s) responsible, and deal with them. There is nothing to indicate Bush, or anyone else in the White House, had any role whatsoever in the Plame leaking, so laying it at Bush’s feet is, I think, another of those partisan, petty actions that is making more and more of the American population swing right.

Finding the Truth

Remember, campus newspapers operate on a shoestring, and your donations to them are always welcome. Conservative newspapers are usually in the minority, and fighting an uphill battle in the liberal-minded university community. Diversity of opinion is important.

Quote of the Day

“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy.” - Ernest Benn

Perspective on Iraq

Citizen Smash expresses better, with more eloquence, better links, and a broader view than I ever could, my own thoughts.

10/15/2003

Parents prefer boys?

This article just set my Bullshit Meter to clanging. Some researchers at UCLA have concluded “Boys hold their parents’ marriages together, while girls break them up.” Their reasoning?

Color me skeptical. I also have to wonder if the fact that little girls are more than three times more likely to suffer from child sexual abuse has anything to do with it. The study doesn’t appear to have considered this - or any other factors - except for the child’s femaleness.

Wednesday, October 15, 2003

This thing still work? ;) I don't really know why I haven't posted more here, since I haven't been busier than usual. Just haven't felt motivated to, I guess. I'm not sure if anyone even checks here anymore, but that's ok; 2Frogs has become as much about remembering things for posterity as for having other people read it.

I noticed that it was a year ago that I first mentioned Candi was getting married, and that I was going to make her the Double Wedding Ring quilt she wanted. Well, here it is a year later, and I'm still working on the damn thing. The top is together, but I haven't done as much quilting on it as I should. It's another thing I just don't feel motivated to do. Instead, I've been scrapbooking and finishing up a quilt I started four years ago. I don't really like the pattern that much, but I started it, so I've got to finish it. It's not ugly; it's just not really my style. It's a country sampler, made of homespuns and plaids. The top is just about finished, and I plan to hand-quilt it. Oh, well; if I don't like it, it'll be finished in plenty of time to be a nice Christmas present for someone. :) I also recently finished up two other UFO's - a doll blanket for Kayla, and a community service quilt for the guild to give away. Nice to clear out some of the older, unfinished projects sometimes.

I had a scare about a week ago. There's a quilt that was designed for ATVP, as a raffle quilt. Amanda was going to make it, but that didn't happen, so Ulrika is going to make it instead. I had already bought the fabric (about $120 worth), so I sent it to Ulrika in Sweden, along with a few other things. Well, almost two weeks went by, and she still hadn't received it. I was very disappointed, especially since it cost another $30 or so just to send the package over. I was getting ready to tell ATVP that the quilt wouldn't happen (since I wasn't ABOUT to drop another $150 on fabric and shipping), when Ulrika told me the package had arrived. Hooray! So she's started cutting it out, and I have one less worry.

I've overcommitted myself again this year. I'm crafts chairperson for the kids' preschool, secretary for B.E.T.A., and co-chair of two committees associated with my guild. I'm managing, but I'm starting to wish I hadn't taken so much on myself. I would say, "Well, I just won't do that again!" but it never seems to work out that way. *shrug*

I'm starting to think about my next home decorating/remodeling project. This time, I'll be converting our den into a bedroom for Mike and me. This will involve putting up a wall, dividing it from the stairway up to the office. It involves other things, too, like ripping up some old, smelly shag carpet; uninstalling more nasty wood paneling; installing electrical outlets and an overhead light (and possibly rerouting some electrical to make that happen); replacing the ceiling tiles with something else; plus the usual priming, painting, trimwork, molding, etc. It's definitely a big job. If I have time and/or inclination, I might make some improvements to the adjoined bathroom, too. We'll see. I plan to start on it right after Christmas.

There's another Mall Crawl starting November 1st, so I'm scrambling to try to get ready for that. I've got the routine down pretty well, I think, but it's always a little tedious getting the details squared away. So it goes.

I took a quilting class last week, with Dixie McBride. It was a "Create Your Own Cottage" class, and it was a total blast. It was an applique class, and I don't do much of that, so I expected to be completely daunted but I wasn't. Dixie is a great teacher, and she made everything do-able. She also took some extra time to teach some of us a few applique tips, which I'm now happily applying to the applique on my own cottage. It's going to be a slow-going project (such is the nature of hand-applique) but it's fun and relaxing and enjoyable and makes me feel like a real quilter. Dixie was also the speaker at our guild's Fall Festival dinner/lecture, and she spoke on the subject of garage sale quilts. Very enlightening! I may never look at a garage sale the same way again.

Oh, and a note to my children, who may read this later: if you ever sell my quilts or tops for 25 cents, $2, $5, or some such after I've died, I will come back, and I will haunt you. You will know my vengeance. No selling Mommies quilts! Or fabric! Or blocks! Got it? *stern look*

10/14/2003

Sophoristic

I found a great new blog, called Sophoristically Speaking. He’s been blogging about as long as I can, but his commentary is very thought-provoking. A smart guy. Check him out.

Quote of the Day

“Childbirth is more admirable than conquest, more amazing than self-defense, and as courageous as either one.” - Gloria Steinem

10/13/2003

Old Glory

Quote of the Day

While looking at a salad: “That’s not food, thats what food eats.” - Mike of miniluv

Child at heart

10/11/2003

Top Ten Toys That Will Be a Huge Hit This Year

It’s always tough to figure out which toys will be the “in” thing each year. Trends come and go so quickly, it’s tough to stay on top of the game (no pun intended). Everyone wants their kid to be happy when the big day comes, so here at Note-It Posts, we’ve done our part to help whittle down the huge selection, and tell you about the best of the worst.

10. Paul Krugman’s “Fun With Facts” - Similar to Trivial Pursuit, but the correct answer is never listed among the multiple-choice answers, and you get +1 point for each wrong answer and -1 point for each correct answer.

9. Socialist Piggy Bank - Teach your toddler the benefits of socialism, by having them deposit all of their money into the Socialist Piggy Bank, then watch as it is all redistributed in equal parts to everyone on their block.

8. Who’s Got the Vice-President? - Founded on the popular “Where’s Waldo?” game, “Who’s Got the V-P” encourages players to look behind the sofa, under the bed, in the closet, in Mommy’s trunk, and other fun places for Vice President Dick Cheney.

7. New, Improved, Madonna doll - body made of recycled rubber, face entirely synthetic. Breasts stuffed with silicon, head stuffed with air. Comes complete with microphone, wad of Monopoly money stuffed in her imitation Gucci bag, “berry cherry” lip gloss, tiny box of condoms, yoga mat, and adult diapers.

6. Democratic Presidential Primary - The Board Game - You and your friends can play this fun, fast-paced game that’s a race to the finish line. “Monopoly meets Life meets Hungry Hungry Hippo meets Battleship.” Areas on the board represent key primary states, and the object of the game is to capture more states than any of your opponents, using a variety of strategies ranging from mud-slinging, libel, and historical revisionism to theft, pandering, and slander. Requires at least nine players.

5. The PowerGrab - Designed especially for Texan kids, the PowerGrab is a jumbo piece of chalk, tied to a whoop-stick. Intended for redrawing the “Mom! He’s on my side of the line!” line, and whomping anyone who protests. Ideal for older siblings.

4. John Kerry combat action figure - Attired in Vietnam-era battle fatigues and wrap-around sunshades. Accessories include: jumbo bottle of EverPoof® hairspray, 3-pack of hairpicks, and picket sign with “I served in Vietnam” on one side and “No Blood For Oil” on the other.

3. Britney Spears Fashion Kit - Now you can dress like Britney! Comes with everything you need to make three complete outfits just like the pop star wears. Includes: two yards fuschia embroidery floss, three square inches of gold lam , eight medium rhinestones, and one bellybutton ring.

2. Politically-Correct Crayons - New set of crayons assures that your child will never offend a classmate with their drawings. Crayola has removed any color that, when used to draw a bodily feature, might cause emotional hurt or discomfort to minorities. Out are brown (Latinos), black (African-Americans), red (native Americans), yellow (Asians), orange (Middle Easterners), gray (the elderly), green (Martians), blue (Smurfs), and purple (one-eyed, one-horned, flying people eaters). The boxes of white crayons will sell for the same price as the regular, racist crayons.

1. Sing-a-long Songs for Toddlers and Preschoolers, featuring Eminem, Dr. Dre, and 50 Cent. Includes such classics as “Old McGangsta Had a Gatt,” “Twinkle, Twinkle Pinkie Ring,” and “Three Blind Macks.” Holiday version to include “Rudolph, the Red-nosed Cokehead,” “Santa Claus Is Blowing My Mom,” and “I’m Dreaming of a Suspended Sentence.”

Brand-spankin new blog

Found out about this one by a comment that was left on Sgt Hook’s blog. It’s called An Army Wife Life, and looks to have a lot of promise. Only two days old. Check it out!

10/10/2003

Don’t Miss Out!

I won!

Hey, I won! I never win anything (well, that’s not really true, but it’s what everyone expects you to say), but this time I won a buck! Joey from Single White Male asked the question: “If you could only bathe one day a year on what day would you do it and why?”

My answer? “If I were pregnant (seems to happen in even years), I’d save it for the day after delivering the baby. Reasons for [this] should be obvious. :)“

Today’s Good News Part 7

And now, for the last entry in the Good News Item Per Day challenge, issued by miniluv. This has been harder than it looks, and has served to make me aware of just how negative news reporting is in general. I won’t be accepting this challenge again. ;)
*********************
A thirty-two year-old woman survived thirteen hours (including overnight) in the Gulf of Mexico.

Bad Boys 2

I had occasion to watch Bad Boys 2 two nights ago. All I have to say is “Poor Reggie.”

Milestone

Today is Bill’s one-year anniversary. That’s right, everyone’s favorite whipping boy has now been posting for 365 days, and counting. Now that’s longevity! ;)

10/9/2003

Today’s Good News Part 6

Nothing Better

Boycotting Recall Blogging

I’m sick to death of the circle jerk that is post-recall election analysis, be it big media, small media, or weblogs. Not everyone lives in California, and not everyone wants to read about the damn recall election, ad nauseum. So this is my public proclamation: I hereby refuse to read, watch, or listen to another single word about it. I’ll change the channel, tune to another station, or close that browser window. We’re an intelligent people; let’s find something else of interest, k?

Comments Off | Permalink

God, I love capitalism

Check out the sponsored link (on the right-hand side) when you do a Google search for ‘Dean’.

10/8/2003

No, I mean REALLY big bags!

I’ve mentioned here before that someone left four big bags of toys at the bank for me to pick up, as part of Chief Wiggles’ toy drive. Yesterday, my hubby went into town and picked them up, and today I unloaded them from the truck. Now, I expected, say, those grocer paper bags full of toys, and was damn proud of my community for that level of generosity. But you know those great big black plastic leaf bags? Yep, that’s right - four of those bags full of toys. Amazing. I love the Palouse.

Contest Winners

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Spot the Boobies contest. It was a fun little experiment, and a great way to raise money for a good cause. The Blogger Boobie-Thon has now raised almost $5500 for breast cancer research! There are only 3 more days to go, so please - go visit, go give.

And now for the contest winners. As you’ll recall, there were 2 categories - “Free Boobies” and “Pay-Per Boobies.” Contestants were asked to guess which racks (covered in Free Boobies, uncovered in Pay-Per) were mine. These were the winners!

Free Boobies

Mike of miniluv. As the first to spot the free boobies, he had a $20 donation made to the Boobie-Thon in his name.
Mike of Exercises in Futility. After winning in the ‘Pay Per’ category, he guessed in ‘Free Boobies’ just for fun, and got it right the first time!
Harvey of Bad Money - he got it right in one!
Steve of Pidooma. He’s the only contestant who’s actually been in touching range of the boobies in question.

Pay-Per Boobies

Mike of Exercise in Futility. As the first to spot the pay-per boobies, he won the right to have $50 donated to the Boobie-Thon on his behalf, but he made half the donation himself. For the mathematically challenged, that means he’s donated at least $75 to breast cancer research. I love him.
Nathaniel of sectio aurea. He’s a Papa Bear, which is UberSexy.
Ed of Late Final. As a member of the Dream Harem it’s only right that he has now seen my boobies. ;)
Steve of Pidooma, another who played in both categories. Somehow makes how we met all the more meaningful. ;)

So there you have it - the lucky (?) winners of the Spot the Boobies contest to benefit the Blogger Boobie-Thon to benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation. God Bless the Boobies!

Today’s Good News Part 5

This is part of the Good News for a Week challenge issued by miniluv.
*****
Pork! BBQ! Country music! Or “Why I wish I were vacationing in Lexington, North Carolina this month.”

The 20th Barbecue Festival will celebrate the history of Lexington’s specialty - smoked pork shoulder barbecue seasoned with tomato sauce and tangy vinegar.
…
Headlining the musical attractions will be country music greats Montgomery Gentry, Kellie Coffey and Joe Diffie. Many other bands will perform without charge on the festival’s five stages.
…
If all goes as planned, Lexington natives, as well as new visitors, will be in the streets stomping their feet in appreciation for the famous food and other events.

Today’s Good News Part 4

This is part of the Good News for a Week challenge issued by miniluv.
*****
I neglected to post this yesterday, so I’m double-posting today. First up, the Red Cross has teamed up with VIDISolutions, AOL, and HP to allow military families in Nebraska to record two-minute video messages for their servicemembers, to be sent via email.

“It’s part of our family support system … trying to get families closer together,” said Edie Christopher, who is a caseworker with the local Red Cross.

Project Video Connect allows military families to create and send video messages to their loved ones serving overseas by installing VIDITalk, a video communication software application donated by technology company VIDISolutions, on computers at Red Cross chapters and stations around the world, according to a news release at www.redcross.org.

10/7/2003

CNN On Blogs?

I was just listening to CNN Headlines on the satellite radio, and they said they were going to do a report in a little while about blogs, and new weblog software by a husband-and-wife team. Turn on the TV, maybe it’ll be something worthwhile.

I’ll bet you didn’t know

Did you hear there was a quake in California today? Well, it turns out they’ve found the reason. I can’t excerpt it - it’s that short - so go read!

Intro to Zen

I’ve always avoided Mike’s Zen stories, because I never really knew anything about Zen, and thought the stories would be over my head. He’s now written a kind of Zen 101, or Zen for Dummies. Very interesting!

My First Top Ten

Top Ten Reasons Not to Vote for Howard Dean

[caveat]This entry is not suitable for children. If you are a children, go somewhere else. Like here.[/caveat]

10. That smile reminds me of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. Creepy.
9.He comes from a state best known for things that are either slow (maple syrup), dying (leaves in fall), or dead (the Vermont economy).
8. As an avid gardener, I can tell you that nothing good ever came from grass roots.
7. Naming an entire generation after yourself - especially when that generation is 35 years younger than you - is just weird.
6. Has already had his legal team look into the possibility of signing over the deed to the United States to Middle Eastern terrorists, to pay for universal health coverage for ~~Americans~~ Omanis.
5. The fear that soldiers currently stationed in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kuwait would contract whiplash from being yanked out of those countries so fast.
4. He suffers from an incurable syndrome known to the medical community as “Pollus Changus Stanceitis.” To the lay community, this is called The Bumpy Waffles.
3. “Dr. Dean” sounds a whole lot like a slasher flick character name.
2. He has proven ties to terrorism.
1. We all know what happened the last time we had a pussy in the Oval Office.

Hey, I know that guy!

Everything about him is obvious. He lives for catch-phrases and rams them down everyone s throat, day after day. He has no depth of personality. He is completely one dimensional. He emails everyone about everything.

Contest Ends Today!

The Spot the Boobies contest ends today. If you want to get your guess in, better send it soon! You have until 5PM, Pacific Standard Time.

10/6/2003

Today’s Good News Part 3

You know, this whole finding-good-news thing is much harder than you’d expect, especially the day before that recall election!

Nearly $2600 raised in walk to fight hunger

More than 100 persons walked three miles in Keokuk [Iowa] Sunday to raise money to fight hunger both locally and abroad during the annual CROP Walk.

Quote of the Day

Shamelessly stolen from Heretical Ideas:

“I don’t want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.” - Grover Norquist

10/5/2003

On being a cloud

I never knew it was so much fun to be a cloud.

What’s down there? A couple hippies smokin’ a joint. I wonder if I can…

[sprinkle sprinkle]

Have some cloud-whiz, boys! Tough lighting a wet roach, ain’t it? HA HA!… Stupid hippies.

Get well soon!

My favorite military medical personnel is, herself, feeling unwell. Get better soon, girl; you’re needed!

The Wellstone Line

Ed has a thoughtful post about the ineffective strategy the Democratic party has employed over the last year.

Then the Democrats’ hope took a walk over to the dark side. For many voters and observers, the turning point took place when party activists turned a memorial for Wellstone and his family into a political pep rally. A loud, boisterous, in-your-face pep rally. They crossed a line, and much of the good will independents and others felt vanished.

Call it The Wellstone Line.

It’s a very thought-provoking piece. Check it out.

Today’s Good News Part 2

Finally, researchers have had success with a male contraceptive therapy. The guys got a shot of testosterone every four months, and one of progestin every three months. They used no other contraceptives, none of their partners got knocked up during the trial, and there were no side effects. Sweet!

10/4/2003

Mama’s Girl

Another contest!

Queen is having her own version of “Spot the Boobies” (which is still ongoing, by the way).

A photo of my RACK is posted on this page. If you guess correctly which photo is of me I will send you a printed/signed and personalized version or a personalized fansign version. I will be giving out NO clues. Comment here with your final guess or email me. I will take final guesses until Sunday night (10/4) 8:00 PM CST (2:00 AM UK)

I think she means Sunday night (10/5), so you still have about a day.

Today’s Good News

The folks at miniluv have put out a challenge to bloggers to post at least one positive news item a day, for a week. The week starts today, so here’s my item!

Oman has had its first-ever democratic elections. The right to vote is now extended to include “over 21s” (no word on whether that includes women).

Voters were previously selected by the government from among tribal leaders, intellectuals and prominent businessmen, representing only about a quarter of the population.

They will elect an 83-seat advisory council, or Islamic-style Shura Majlis Council, that has a say on economic matters, but not defense, security or foreign affairs.

It’s definitely a great first step toward having a fully-democratic system, and has some parallels to our own (America’s) evolution into representative federalism.

They’re getting there!

Chief Wiggles, who initiated the Iraqi Toy Drive, announces that the first 50 or so boxes have arrived!

I took out the first toys and school supplies to a family we visited with tonight, treasuring each smile and sparkle in the children s eyes as I handed them the specially selected items. You are making so many great things possible here in this land of trouble. This is just so magical.

He also informs us that the children’s orphanages need socks and underwear for both boys and girls, ages 3 to 18.

Thank you, Captain, for all you’re doing!

UPDATE: It turns out now that the military has stopped shipments of toys going to Chief Wiggles. The volume (440 packages received as of Oct. 10) is just too much for them to bear, on top of the normal mail load. They’ve got alternate shipping arranged, someone has donated warehouse space, and now they need someone in Baltimore to coordinate the shipping from the warehouse to the Chief. If you can help, email Operation Give. I guess I’ll just hang on to the packages I have for now, until there’s more info. Thanks to Citizen Smash for the heads-up.

Motives

I answered this in comments, but thought the matter deserved an entry of its own.

Jessica of miniluv asks:

Dana,
Ya know you could have donated the 20 and 50 dollars without having a “look at me and my tits” contest, and still raised awareness. And what is with prize number 3?
Girl take a step back and make sure you aren’t doing this for readership and personal fullfillment of some sort of confirmation of your #1 pin-up girl status.

Just got to calls em like I sees em.

Sincerely -J at miniluv

Sure, I *could’ve* just donated $70 and called it “good", but I really don’t think that would’ve raised all that much awareness. I’m not really the type to say, “Go over to the Boobie-Thon and give; I gave $70!” As for prize #3, the point of that is to get more people to donate the $50 themselves, before they even enter the contest. I don’t know if it’s worked or not, but it’s worth a try.

Almost every single woman in my family has, upon reaching menopause, contracted some sort of cancer. It doesn’t bother me at all to have a friendly little contest to raise some money for cancer research. For that matter, it doesn’t bother my husband. His comment was “it’s just boobs.” Perhaps having put them to their intended use for the last 3 years has colored our perception somewhat. ;)

I was wondering when someone was going to call me on the “#1 pin-up girl” thing. I’ve posted exactly two pictures of myself here, and neither is a “pin-up” kind of picture (at least, I didn’t think they were). Calling myself a pin-up girl is an attempt at humor, not at arrogance.

Hey, I’m never going to turn down readership, but I get all the personal fulfillment I need from my work and my family.

10/3/2003

Exaggeration

In this story about several amusement parks rescinding their senior citizen discounts, one elderly patron likens such a move to “taking away his bread.” Now, wait a second.

I think having senior citizen discounts is a good thing, if for no other reason than it makes good marketing sense. I am adamantly opposed to any forced discounting, of course, but it’s become so prevalent that it’s expected pretty much everywhere you go.

But… your bread? No. Having to pay twice as much to go ride roller coasters is not the same as taking away your bread (or food, more generally). One is an obvious necessity, one is obviously not. Let’s keep things in perspective, shall we?

Some ideas don’t scale well…

I was talking to my husband (AKA The Most Self-Secure Man in the World) about the Spot the Boobies contest. His comment? “You better hope they don’t start a Cervical Cancer fundraising site.”

Spot the boobies!

Alrighty! I’m now proud (??) to announce that my boobies are online! There is a picture on both the free boobies page, and on the “Pay-Per-Boobie” page. “Pay-Per-Boobie” is a bit of a misnomer; you just pay once, at least $50, for all the boobies. But when I last looked at PPB, there were 24 pictures posted. That’s 48 boobies, so just about a buck per! You CAN’T beat that price.

I’m having a contest, to see who can spot my boobies first.

1. The first person to correctly identify my boobies on the Photos page will get $20 donated to The Blogger Boobie-Thon in their name.
2. Everyone who correctly identifies my “free” boobies will get a picture of me, waist-up, including my face, similarly attired to the “Free Boobie” picture I sent in.
3. The first person to correctly identify my fully-exposed boobies, on the Pay-Per-Boobie page ($50 donation required), will get $50 donated to the Blogger Boobie-Thon in their name.
4. Everyone who correctly identifies my fully-exposed boobies on the Pay-Per-Boobie page will get a picture of me, waist-up, including my face, wearing nothing but a smile (and maybe a little make-up and/or hair product… I’ll let you dictate the photo session to that extent!).

Yes, this is a thinly-veiled attempt to get you to give for the boobies, but at least you’ll get something back!

Rules:
1) One guess per email.
2) Only send me one email per page (free or pay-per), then please wait for my reply before responding.
3) Multiple guesses, subject to rules 1 & 2, welcome.
4) No cheating, and no sharing pay-per-boobie passwords!

OK, people, go ogle the boobies, then send me your guesses.

Giving back

You may have noticed the Visa/Mastercard “Donate” button on the right-hand side of the screen (right under the boobies). I wanted to explain what that’s about. Many of you may have heard of Chief Wiggles’ toy drive for Iraqi kids. It’s a fantabulous cause, and I’ve already sent two boxes, myself. I have more stuff to send that I bought (gotta love the Dollar Store), and I notified the ladies at my kids’ preschool about the toy drive. I went in yesterday, and they loaded me down with five huge grocery bags full of toys. I gave a little interview to the local paper about the toy drive, and today I found out there are already four more huge bags of toys there waiting for me, and the paper just came out yesterday! I’ve told folks this will be an ongoing thing, as long as I have stuff to send or until Chief Wiggles calls it off.

Today, I found out that one of my penpals - an Army captain stationed near Baghdad - has adopted a school, along with the rest of his battalion. They’ve done lots of work on the structure itself, and have bought desks, chalkboards, and other supplies for the school. I’m going to place an order with Daedalus Books (a remaindered book outfit) to send some new books to the school, hopefully to arrive soon after school starts. I will probably also send other items to Capt. Will to distribute to the locals in his area.

Postage is not cheap, and is the bulk of where my money goes when I send packages overseas. I’ve vowed to send everything I receive, regardless of the cost, but I wanted to give others the opportunity to contribute, and help defray the costs of shipping. Hence, the button. I will provide a page, with a full accounting of what money comes in, what goes out, when packages are sent, and what they contain. If, by some chance, I receive more money than I need for postage, I will use the funds to buy more stuff to send. I will not use any of the funds for myself, or for this site (those expenses have already been paid, anyway). If you could also help spread the word, that would be very much appreciated.

Just last night…

… I felt like this.

10/2/2003

Quote of the Day

“A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” - Mark Twain

Acts of love

Harvey points to this as proof of all that is evil with the Trading Spaces television show. After reading it, and smiling like a sap through the whole thing (Mike took similar pictures of me taking up the floor in our kitchen), all I can think is “well, what the hell’s wrong with that?”

Flappy Bird

I’m evolving!

Play nice!

It would be really nice to get a few more blogs participating in the miniluv Week-Long Nice-a-palooza. C’mon, people, you don’t have to be nice all week, you just have to find one nice thing to say every day! I tell you what, I’ll donate $5 per blog who signs up (and sticks to it) to the Blogger Boobie-Thon. Who’s in?

We got boobies, yes we do!

OK, you talked me into it! I’ve decided to add my boobs to the Rack. Oh, please, you knew I was easy when you came here! I’ll let you know when my boobies have been posted, and may even offer a prize to the first person to correctly guess which boobies are mine. ;)

Thanking the troops

The homicidalManiak puts into words exactly how I feel and what I mean when I say I support the troops.

I owe every single soldier that has lost their life or been injured a great debt of gratitude. It’s because of them that I live in a country that is still free. It is because of them that I am able to understand just how precious freedom is and how much it is worth. It’s priceless.
…
Not all of us can fight. Not all of us choose to fight. Hell, not even all of us think we should be fighting. But I just wanted to let those of you who have done the fighting know that I don’t cheer on your pain. I wish I could do more for you. I wish I could say thank you in a more impressive way. And I sincerely hope that none of you ever take my support of this war as indifference for the things you’ve given up to fight.

hM is military, stationed in Germany, but there is plenty that civilians (such as myself) can do to show support for the troops. Once upon a time, I gathered a page full of links and advice on what to do, and how. We all need to do our part.

10/1/2003

Boobies

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and from Bill I learned about the Blogger Boobie-Thon for Breast Cancer. What a concept! Women (and men!) send in pictures of their “racks", to encourage site visitors to donate money for breast cancer. All proceeds over $359 go to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. I’ve posted one of their logos on my sidebar, and switched to pink “post-its” for the month, instead of green.

Bill’s about to have his first blogiversary, and he was wanting some female bloggers (not me, alas) to send him boobie pictures. Maybe they’ll post them here, instead!

I’ve been toying with the idea of posting my own boobies to that page. I mean, it’s for a good cause, right? And it’d be anonymous, unless I admitted to my own boobies. I won’t do it without a clamoring for them, though! Hey, I did some damn fool things in high school and college because of peer pressure, at least this would be for a good cause! So whaddaya think? Anybody wanna see my breasts?

Diary -- October 2003

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10/31/2003

AttaGirl!

Quote of the Day

10/30/2003

Return of French-Man!

RSS Feed Issues

Low Morale?

Quote of the Day

10/29/2003

Presidential Platform

Update on my toe

The Leakin’est Leaker Who Ever Leaked Leaks

10/28/2003

Broken Toe?

10/27/2003

Selective Quoting

10/25/2003

New Iraqi Blog

10/24/2003

Confession

Top Ten Advantages to Being Pregnant in Winter

Goofy Fun

10/23/2003

Totally cool Amazon feature

How does this keep happening?

10/22/2003

Quote of the Day

10/21/2003

Innovation

10/20/2003

The Take-down

10/19/2003

Homeschooling under attack

New Categories

Comforting the children

Quote of the Day

10/18/2003

Things taken out of context

Sprouted a Tail!

Attacked by Geese

Toy Drive Back On

10/17/2003

Polite Discourse

Hey, I’m cool!

10/16/2003

Apologize for what?

Finding the Truth

Quote of the Day

Perspective on Iraq

10/15/2003

Parents prefer boys?

Wednesday, October 15, 2003

10/14/2003

Sophoristic

Quote of the Day

10/13/2003

Old Glory

Quote of the Day

Child at heart

10/11/2003

Top Ten Toys That Will Be a Huge Hit This Year

Brand-spankin new blog

10/10/2003

Don’t Miss Out!

I won!

Today’s Good News Part 7

Bad Boys 2

Milestone

10/9/2003

Today’s Good News Part 6

Nothing Better

Boycotting Recall Blogging

God, I love capitalism

10/8/2003

No, I mean REALLY big bags!

Contest Winners

Today’s Good News Part 5

Today’s Good News Part 4