I finally got my guitar today.


I managed to tune it, and learn the C chord.

Now, I put it away until tomorrow - it's about 9:30pm here, and I'm having problems keeping the sound quiet (too much pressure when I strum), so more practice will have to wait until after 8am.

Yes, my fingers are starting to hurt. I think I'll by some chainmail gloves. Think that'll help?

Just bought my first "real" instrument (as opposed to little battery powered toys, with really bad sound).

A guitar - EBay so rox!

Should be here within a week.



Now, I just need to learn how to play. But, I know my way around the Youtube vid maze, so that shouldn't be a problem.

...Dark Kaptane and Sebastian Burks. Both seem to use psychological abuse, and may, though not definitely, be the same person using two alts.

It is against Linden Labs TOS to share conversations, so I can't share conversations here. But, after the type of harassment they have been subjecting my bf to, which I have been told about over the phone, and could view the logs of if I asked for them (which I won't, because it would be breaking the TOS); and, after the conversations I've had, and IM's I've received from them, it is my opinion that neither is to be trusted.

These two (or one) are psychological bullies. It is as simple and as complicated as that.

I personally believe that they may also be somehow involved in P.N.
Those on Secondlife will either know, or know of, those initials, and what that may mean. However, this is only the feeling I get. Not proof in any way, and no intention of accusation is being made.

But, I do have to say that my feelings about things like this usually lead me to the truth.

I have muted both of them. My bf has taken steps to stop the harassment. But, if they are PN, or have similar knowledge, it won't be that easy to deal with. So, take this as a warning in case you see either name.

However, this is how I feel. Like anything else, you may not have the same experience with, or feeling about, either of them. Like anything else, you may take your own chances, and find out one way or the other for yourself.

I've been having a lot of problems with my DSL staying connected to the internet lately, but last night, when I couldn't stay on for more than literally a minute - after resetting, and unplugging the replugging the modem supplied to me from Verizon, like a person is supposed to when having these problems - I decided enough was enough.

So, I called Verizon.

After unsuccessfully trying to use their automated like, I had it switch me to a human.

When I got the human, he went through the same things that the automated line went through.
Nothing changed.

He had me unplug wires. Switch the ends of the phone line. Switch phone lines. Move the modem to another phone jack and try again. Finally, on a phone jack away from my computer, with a different phone cord, and ten minutes after making sure it was turned on, the modem finally connected to the internet.

I requested a technician come out.
The tech switched me to someone to make the appointment. They will be here sometime in the next 5 hours of my writing this.


Why do I ask about Verizon's patriotism?

Because everyone that I talked to, and everyone I could hear in the background who were talking to their callers, had Middle Eastern accents.
Some heavy accents. Some light accents.

None who sounded as though they were from the States.


Don't roll your eyes yet. This isn't going to be a "Yeah, we've been there with companies. We know what you mean. Same old, same old." post.


Two things:

1) I am NOT disrespecting anyone in another country trying to earn a living. They are doing what they need to do to earn income.

2) I am NOT disrespecting anyone of Middle Eastern decent. This isn't being politically correct. This is being honest, because people are where they are from, and move to where they move to. It makes no sense to disrespect anyone because of who they are or where they are from.

But...
Why the middle east?

Why is a company here in America, namely in this case, Verizon, outsourcing to another country, when there are so many people in this country looking for work?

Why on earth would any company, at this time, in this economic climate, want any people in another country to have the jobs that so many people in this country need? Sometimes, desperately need?

How many people here would do anything just to be able to work, whether it be in a call center, or any other building, at this time? And, yet, companies like Verizon continue to use cheap labor in other countries?

Why?

Because it's cheap. It's cheap to hire people in other countries; and with the customers that these companies have in this country, they're going to continue making a profit, no matter how bad the economy becomes.

Does this seem wrong to you?

I hope so, because it is.
With a vast number of people here who are without work, or without a steady source of income, it's disgusting that companies would place their own desire for wealth over the needs of the people who have none.

I'm not saying they shouldn't do what they can to make a profit. They need a profit, or they go out of business.
But, at what cost? The loss of food for a family because those in the family who can work, can't find any?
The loss of homes because people have no jobs to pay for their mortgages, or rent?
The loss of income that pays for heating those homes they're losing, or electricity that keeps a refrigerator running so people can have food for more than a day?

Heaven forbid, possibly the loss of life because someone out of work can't afford to pay, or pay their co-pay, for their medications?


How can we change that?

Simple.

Stop being these companies' customers.
Stop buying items or paying for services from companies that outsource to other countries.
In one word - Boycott.

These companies don't give a damn about petitions. And letter campaigns and phone campaigns do nothing but make them put on a "good will" show that impresses a few people, and wears off in a few months.

To get them to stop, they need to be hit where it hurts the most, and the only place for that is in their bank accounts.



And, by not accepting excuses anymore. The "Oh, we just do that for a little extra help" act doesn't work, when they could be getting that help in their own back yards, from people willing to be trained and work to make a living.



As soon as I'm able, I will be switching my internet provider. I may not be able to find a company that doesn't outsource at all, but I can find one that does so the least.

I urge anyone who reads this to do the same. If you deal with a business that hires out-of-country help, do whatever it takes to deal with another business.
When the company asks why, tell them it's because there are too many people here who have no work to go to, and their company is part of the reason for it.


And, no, this is not just an American problem. Anyone from outside the states who reads this, I urge you to do the same for companies where you are, who'd rather help someone else than to help figure out how to fix their own homes before the ceilings cave in on everyone underneath.



To Verizon, and all companies that outsource jobs that people here need: How dare you act like it's no big deal. How dare you act like you have the right to do it.
How dare you excuse it away.
And how dare you literally take jobs away from the people around you that need it the most.
If you continue, then I hope like hell that people see what you are doing to us, and decide to never use your products and services again.
Outsourcing is not only outdated, but completely unnecessary, and it needs to stop, now.


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If you use Secondlife, or if you know someone who does, the current rumor is that Linden Labs is placing a cap on the number of inventory items each resident can have.

According to websites, blogs and forums, the rumor says that the institution will occur sometime this January.


The caps will be:

*10,000 inventory items for those with free accounts, and...

*15,000 inventory items for those with Premium accounts


So, if you're like a friend of mine, who has over 60,000 items at the moment, you'd better start cutting your inventory NOW, because there's not much time left.



As far as script limits go, this is all anyone really has to go on right now....

https://blogs.secondlife.com/community/technology


To outsiders, that sounds fine and dandy. To those of us in-world, it's just a harbinger of bad things to come.


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To point out (thanks for the comments), this is just a rumor at the moment, but I say trying to knock down the inventory amounts now is a good idea, just in case LL does do this. Probably not going to happen as quickly as January, but LL has surprised it's users before, so there's really no telling.


.

Looks like the website I wanted to build is going to have to wait a little bit longer.
I just don't have the funds to be able to get the webhost or pay for the domain name right now.

On the bad side, I'd like to be able to get it up and running as soon as possible.

But, on the good side, it gives me another month (shooting for the 15th of January now) to work on it.

-----

In other news....


The swelling has only happened once since Thanksgiving, so I hoping that means that what ever caused it is out of my system.



And....



I love Second Life, but what Linden Labs (the creators of SL) have been doing to the XStreet merchant site is disgusting.


BTW - The Better Business Bureau gives Linden Labs an "F" rating.
Not good.

http://www.bbb.org/greater-san-francisco/business-reviews/video-games-wholesale-and-manufacturers/linden-lab-in-san-francisco-ca-57373


I did have the Second Life products I was selling listed on XStreet, but have now removed my items, and am in the process of moving all of them to Slapt.me (http://www.slapt.me/market/index.php).

So if you're a resi (SL slang for resident), check Slapt.me out.


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Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

Mine... not so much.

Spent the morning, and an hour of the afternoon, in the ER.

I had been at my computer at about 5 am. I stood up to go see what the cats were doing, and both my calves felt heavy. Didn't think anything of it for a few minutes, thinking I had sat wrong, or too long in the same position, and that it was just the blood returning to them - until the heaviness kept getting worse. So, I looked down at them.

Both my calves and feet were swollen to twice their size. No pain... just extreme wrong-size-ation.

Ankle swelling, I've had. Full calf and foot swelling of both legs - that was a first. And freaked the hell out of me.

I didn't know what to do, so I called 911, and had an ambulance come for me (yes, they confirmed that the swelling wasn't just in my head).

Got to the hospital, where they did the triage on me, and got me into a room.
The tests were a full blood work up including testing of my kidney and heart functions; ultra sound of my legs (about 5 years ago, I developed a blood clot in a non-substantial vein in my right leg, and they wanted to make sure I wasn't having one or more now); an x-ray of my lower back, urinalasis (sorry, my spelling is a bit off tonight, and I'm too lazy right now to hit the spell check), and then a CT scan, sans any dye that I might be allergic to, of my lower back after the x-rays were checked.

During the first 3 1/2 hours there, fortunately, the swelling in my legs went down - I attribute that to having them elevated, or at least at heart level, for most of the time I was on a cot in my little room, and while being escorted (read: push/pulled by cot) from one test to another.
I also give credit to the multiple times I used the rest room (the swelling didn't begin going down until I did use it) while there.

They weren't able to find the cause of the swelling. But, they were able to find something else.
Degenerative Disk Disease, which finally explains why my back hurts so often (guess all those Docs that told me it was sciatica were pretty much full of crap).

It's not as serious as it sounds, but it's definitely a pain in the... well, lower back, area.

Though the ER team didn't find the swelling cause, they gave me a theory that one or more of my nerves in my spine may have become pinched, and that may have caused it.
However, I doubt it. I think it was just a sudden fluid build up for some reason, though I can't be sure myself (though, again, it didn't start to be relieved... well... until I did myself).

At least I did get to watch the parade. There was a tv in my temporary ER room.

They finally discharged me at around 1pm. I got home, gave the kitties a can of Turkey and Giblets cat food, watched some tv with my legs propped up; then, made myself a chicken, mashed potato, and buttermilk biscut T-day dinner.
And, that was that.


I'm still worried about why my legs swelled, and if it'll happen again. But, at least now I know that it isn't sciatica that makes me have to change positions every few minutes to avoid pain, so at least that's good.


Need to make an appointment with a doctor they recommended on Monday (not my regular MD, for some reason). Will let you know how that goes after I see him.


Oh - they did gave me 3 scripts for pain. Sorry, but as bad as my back can get, I've never needed that much pain reliever, and I SO do not want to become addicted to any (which, with my family/genetics history, there's a good chance of happening)... so I think I'll stick with my advil, as needed.


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A note about the parade...

Anyone notice that, each year that goes by, watching the parade gradually changes from something magical, to just one of those traditions you don't really have a reason to keep doing, but you do it anyway? Noticed that a few years ago, and it's been becoming more of a fact since.

Growing older... not so great, really.


Crap - and I'm only 34 now. What's it going to be like if I make it to 68? << cringes >>


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I'm depressed.

Been depressed since having problems in the old apartment. Just didn't realize it.

And I can't seem to snap out of it.

Not good, and no idea how to fix it.


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Edit:

Correction - since before the old apartment. That place just made it worse.

Again - not good.


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-

You can run headlong into a burning building, and save fifty people from death...

...but if you do nothing to reprimand and chastise those who, out of nothing but selfishness and laziness and the fear of getting their hands dirty, would stand back and watch the building burn, then you deserve no respect.


If you are on a job, no matter what that job is, where either a few or a majority choose to do what is wrong, and do nothing to stand up to it, then no good you accomplish in your work will ever be good enough.


If you live your life, yet do nothing to stand up to those who choose to purposely harm the lives of others, none of the good you do in your life will matter in the end.


And, if you can only do what you are able to do, and choose to do nothing at all for fear of what other's will say, or what may happen to you, then no choice you make from that point on will ever be able to make things right.

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Wish me luck, everyone.


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Next month, if all goes well, and according to plan, I am launching a new, GIANT home on the web, for everything I'd love to incorporate on here and at my current free host (at Angelfire), but can't.

-----

What will my new home have?

---

BIG areas for my stores (all the different categories I have for my designs, being sold through CafePress.com).


A multitude of blogs - one for each of my many moods, including Rants&Raves, Food Reviews, "Cheap" Living, and many others (*working* titles at the moment - we'll see how they look before I use them).


A page devoted to the many items I have, and am creating, for sales through Second Life (through the XStreet exchange).


A Fun Pages section, which I hope to grow to not only the size of my current Fun Pages, hosted on Angelfire (see my link in the header above for this page), but well beyond.

---

And MUCH, much more --- without the pop-ups that Angelfire seems to be SO enthralled with.


*

So, stay tuned!

*


As soon as I have things up and running - well, enough to have company over, at least :) - I'll let you all know.

And, yes, I do still plan on using this blog as my "catch all". Now, you'll just be able to choose if you want to read it here; or read it there, where you'll also be able to check out so much more.

-----

Again, wish me luck!


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'A six-year-old Brooklyn girl, Nikiyah Torres-Pierre, was hospitalized recently after being injected with the swine flu vaccine. The vaccination was conducted entirely without her parents' permission in an incident school nurses are calling "a mistake."'

The full story is here....

http://www.naturalnews.com/027395_swine_flu_hospital_vaccine.html

If I'm reading it correctly, it seems that the epilepsy medications the girl takes, and the substances in the vaccine, really don't like each other, causing the girl to have a severe reaction. A reaction, that could have VERY easily been prevented had the school nurse not decided to go ahead and give the vaccine without perental permission.
Though, seriously thinking about it, if the girl had been allergic to eggs, and given a regular seasonal flu shot, she quite possibly would have had an allergic reaction, and still have needed emergency services.


Setting aside what anyone thinks about vaccines, or medications, or what ever else... when a school or any other organization decides to go ahead and vaccinate someone's child for anything, without parental permission... this may be just my opinion, but... WE'VE GONE TOO FAR!

Because some over zealous idiot decides that she knows more about whether a child can have a vaccine or not, than that child's parent, a child ends up in an emergency room.

When the hell are we going to start standing up to these know it all, mother f**king peices of garbage, and ORDERING them to back the hell off?

Is there ever going to be a piont when we stop coddling these idiots? Stop making everyone feel like they're special?
Stop giving these morons a chance to feel so good about themselves, that they put people's lives in danger?

I'm, not even talking about whether the h1n1 vaccine is safe or not - I'm talking about people who think they know everything, being placed into positions where they think it's perfectly fine to jab a needle into a child's arm, knowing NOTHING about whether that child could have a reaction or not.
I'm talking about people who think it's fine if they text while they talk, because the ticket would be their's if they get one - not having the ammount of brain cells it would take to realize that if they killed someone, the guilt, and jail cell, would be their's too (BTW - if you've been in a car with a texting driver, and said nothing to stop them... including ordering them to pull over and let you out, you're just as guilty - If someone had been killed, you would have done NOTHING to prevent it -- and if you text while you drive yourself, then what the hel is wrong with you?!).
I'm talking about everyone who shows that attitude of "I don't have to care, because I'm too special for anything to happen to me; and you are so far below me that my world would be a better place without you in it... because this IS my world, after all."

It is WAY passed time that we stop treating these spoiled little brats as though they're actually as important as they think, as START treating them the way they desearve. With disdain, and anger at their incompetance and self righteous, self serving attitudes.
Frankly, I for one do NOT want to be in a hospital, telling the ER Doctor what medications I'm allergic too, just to have him or someone else on the medical staff turn around,and give me what ever they want, because if they get a repremand, it's their repremand and not mine.
Of course, I'll be dead, so I guess it wouldn't be able to be mine, anyway, now would it?
Yes, if I survived, there are multiple options that I would enjoy seeing happen, that are far worse than a repremand. But, that's what would be going on in the mind of someone who acted that way. That nothing horrible could ever happen to them, no matter how badly they screwed up, because they are so far above things like that, that nothing can touch them. That their 'Specialness Sheild' will protect them.

How about it? Anyone else out there want someone like that taking care of them? Want someone else like that taking care of your neices? Your nephews? Your parents, when they need outside help?
How many more children are going to end up in hospitals, because no one has the balls to tell people that they're not special? Because no one has the balls to say "Hey, Jackass, make another decision like that because you think you know it all, and the police won't get here in time to stop me from beating the sh*t out of you!"?
When the hell are we going to stop being so damned afraid of what these stuck up little twits could do to us, and start making them afraid of what we could do to them??

I, for one, am tired of it.


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....for your viewing pleasure.


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Yes, these are mine - but if you don't like them, I was possessed by the spirit of WTF.

Click on the pics to get to them.

Yes, you are.

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Read previous caption.

Enjoy :)


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These are excellent - if you're a bit twisted like me :)


http://jeftoonportfolio.blogspot.com/2009/02/twisted-princess.html


My personal favorite - Beauty and the Beast. Great goth-romance feel to it.


Enjoy :)


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This is Dr. Weil.



No doubt that a few people who read this have seen him, or at least heard of him.

He is perhaps the best known alternative medicine doctor in America, and has literally been featured on Oprah, Good Morning America, and numerous other television shows, as well as a multitude of print media, including Time magazine.

Dr. Weil has his own company and website ( http://www.drweil.com/ ) and produces his own information about natural heath and healing, including many publications and books.

And, now, both the FDA and the FTC have taken it upon themselves to threaten Dr. Weil if he does not comply with their standards.
These threats include forcing his company to refund all of his customers for products purchased for literally no reason (none of his products have harmed anyone, nor have they been found to be contaminated or altered by outside forces); seizure at gunpoint of all Dr. Weil's nutritional products, which the FDA has done multiple times to other nutritional and natural supplement producing companies, organizations and individuals; and least, legal action.

If you have ever taken a nutritional supplement, even if nothing more than a vitamin, it is important that you read this article, and find out everything you can about how this action may affect you, including the supplements you get, any holistic treatment you receive or use on a regular basis (which would include activities such as yoga, since yoga is a healing art for mind and body), and what the FDA/FTC have in store for the companies and individuals you receive these supplements and holistic practices from.

Warning - this is an opinion piece, where the author shares his thoughts about vaccinations. However, the fact is that Dr. Weil has become the target of what can only be called tyranny by both the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and the FTC (Federal Trade Commission).

The article can be found here....

http://www.naturalnews.com/027303_the_FTC_America_vaccines.html

However, again, do NOT become lax at researching this for yourself. You won't see much about this on the news... unless, of course, you like being lied to.

If nothing else, pay attention because he's a good looking bear, and healthy as hell, so you know he'll be a good looking bear for a very long time. It'd be a disgusting abomination if the government turned this hot guy into a homeless has-been, simply because they don't want to acknowledge that he's telling the truth about natural health.




A couple of other sites on this....

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?p=2379310
http://www.infowars.com/fda-ftc-threaten-doctor-over-immune-boosting-supplements-for-h1n1-swine-flu/

Dr. Weils did make a statement regarding this, after statements made on the Today show, saying that he supports investigation into allegations of any wrong doing.

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART03081/Dr-Weils-Response-to-Today-Show-Story-OCT2009.html

However, the threats he and others have received are real, and have happened indiscriminately among those who were attempting to scam others, and those who are truly trying to help others. This is NOT the precedent that we need to be setting for those attempting to either seek or provide holistic approaches to treating illness.
It is the right of every American to seek out the treatments for diseases and disorders that we each feel is appropriate, and that right should not be stifled in a seemingly wild attempt by government officials to stop access to those treatments and options.


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^{I've noticed that some of my tags have not shown up in the past, and I don't simply mean that they been placed in alphebetical order so it just seemed like they vanished.
Has anyone else had this experience, or taken the time to check?
If they don't show up, the tags I used for this are: Dr. Weil, holistic, natural, nutritional, supplements, FDA, FTC, threats}

I heard a very interesting story today.

As I was at the bus depot with a friend, waiting for the bus to show, a woman decided to start telling tales.
She started telling everyone around her, in a loud voice, that a man who had just walked in to use the rest room, was a child molester. Swore up and down that she heard it from one of his relatives that he was on the sex offender registry.
As he walked out of the rest room, toward the door to leave, her voice got louder as she described what he did to children, and how he shouldn't be taking care of the children that he has.

And, she continued after he had left... right up to the time that her bus pulled in a few minutes later when she got up and left, still talking about it.

Here's the problem - the friend that I was with knows this man's sister. Has known her for years.
Has heard her talk about her brother many times, and never once heard that he had ever done something like that... which WE talked about loudly after the gossip girl had gone.
Gone, on the bus that I was going to take, and decided not to, so I wouldn't have to listen to the woman's mouth talking about people she didn't even know.
Just to be a little on the safe side, I pointed out that the woman claimed to hear the news from one of his relatives. NOT that she had looked it up and found out for herself.

Then, my friend and I walked out with another friend that had joined us, and went to kill time until my bus returned.

I think we did a fairly good job of discrediting the loud mouth, so I can look at myself in the mirror with no problem.

I will, however feel sorry. Sorry, for the man this woman was talking about, because someone may end up trying to hurt him, thanks to her words, in some mistaken idea that they'll get another pedophile off the street.
And, sorry for the woman, because in order to talk about someone as viciously as she did, a person must have nothing in their life that makes him or her happy other than the spot light speaking like that places onto them.


I don't care if you comment or not, but I am doing something that I hope you'll take part in. I'm initiating what I term "Stand Against The Mill Week".
You don't have to stand up to someone, but you do have to stand up for someone. To stand up for someone who is being put down by the rumors and gossip of others.
To stand up for someone who could easily be hurt, mentally or physically, simply because someone else feels the need to be the center of attention.
To stand up for someone who has been placed into the rumor mill, and is being beaten down by it.
To stand up for someone, in any possible way you can.

And, no, I don't mean standing up for "the little guy", or a group that "can't speak for themselves". They already have their groups and champions.
I mean something much more local and easily accomplished-actively doing something to end the spread of lies that people tell about others.

Whether that means discrediting the lies of someone after they leave, as my friend and I did today, so the people who heard won't be fooled, or fooled again; or telling someone trying to gossip to you that you don't want to hear it, because they don't know what they're talking about; telling someone who is making a show of their gossip to stop, because without facts to back up what they say, they're only making things worse for a person that could literally be innocent; or even blogging about what happened so others can read it, and get inspired to stop the spread of rumors themselves.

Again, I don't care if you comment on this or not, but I hope that from today, October 13, 2009, until Monday, October 19, 2009, you will do what ever you can to put the rumor mill out of commission.

Anything it takes - just one week-7 days-to let yourself feel good about actively, purposefully protecting others, and Stand Against The Mill.


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Are they serious?
Airports plan on using a device created for Wii to monitor when, and how often, people shift their weight while standing in airports, to detect hostile motives.



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http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/plugged-in/fit-to-fly-balance-board-tapped-to-detect-shifty-characters-at-airports/1361483

-


Ok - let's see how many problems there are with this...

1) Flying makes people nervous. Nervous people shift their weight while they stand.

2) Long lines make people irritable. What do irritable people do? If you said shift their weight, you'd be right.

3) People have bad backs. People with bad backs, who have to wait in line... take a guess. You got it - shift their weight.

4) Airports suck. No shifting weight - they just suck.

5) People have bad balance. Are they going to be expected to stand on this thing? For how long? Is a security guard going to help them keep their balance while they're on it?

6) Wheelchairs. Is this going to detect a person in a wheel chair shifting his weight? Would they cart him off to a room to do a strip search if he did?

...and, plenty more that I'm just too freaking tired to think of right now.

Seriously, where the hell do people come up with ideas like this?

"Gee, only people who are going to do something stupid get ticked off or worried at an airport! Everyone else is as calm as can be. [The thoughts that must have been in the head of the person who came up with this crap]"
-Yeah, and only morons think this way.

Yes, irritated, angry and nervous people move and fidget more than calm individuals. But airports and long lines make people irritated, angry, and nervous. Won't using this Wii equipment, even modded Wii equipment, just confirm that?

I wonder how many hundreds of people will have to get cavity searches because this thing pegged them as potential terrorists, before airlines actually get it through their heads that this is/will be a bad idea?
And, how many people will be the victims of it, before they demand that airports stop being so damned over-the-top stupid with security?


BTW - With all the movies in the past that have ever shown terrorists taking over airplanes, anyone ever wonder why airports were never serious about protecting passengers from a terrorist attack anytime BEFORE 9/11? I do, since it should have been on their minds WAY before then.
Sorry, but as far as I'm concerned, if it's a real possibility, it should be on the minds of people in that line or work. If there's a real possibility of a patient bleeding out, Surgeons don't stand back and go "Well, that has happened in a couple of movies, and could easily happen in the O.R., but I'm not going to prepare for it, because I'm so great that my brightness will ward it away from ever happening."

Of course, no matter what medication a patient has taken, they don't check patients' shoes for blood thinners that could cause bleed outs, either, so....


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I have no idea what to say, or what to write, or draw... or what to do or not to do.

Not a clue.

I haven't been myself, with no idea of who I want to be.
The same old things, just don't seem the same to me.

Life keeps changing. Shifting gears. And, I feel lost in the dust.
Drifting out to sea.
Wishing for a wave to bring me home.

The life raft was cast, and it forgot me.

I keep wanting to get in touch with who I was, but the phone lines have all gone down.
There's a wall in the way of where I used to live, and I don't have the strength to tear it down.
And still, sometimes, I not sure that I really should.

I feel like I'm at a turn in the road, but I don't know where to go, and the map I had was written with disappearing ink.
The directions have become a mist in the breeze.

But, I'm ok, too.

The car has enough gas.
The battery works, and the radio is playing my songs.
I'm just not sure if I should worry about when the power will go off; or climb in the back seat, and sleep until the stars tell me what to do... or the radio plays an ad for a business I should check out.

The only thing I don't want to do is sit here, twiddling my thumbs, and not moving at all.

Just give me some room. Let me get out, and walk, and be able to see what this place has to give, and what I can give back.

'Cause I don't know where I'm going, and I can't get back to where I've been. And I'm searching the ground with my head hanging down.
My collar against the wind.

And, maybe I'm tired. Maybe I'm wide awake. Maybe I'm someplace in between, with my dreams about to take shape.

Maybe I'm hopelessly lost in a storm, or maybe the storm has passed.
In the eye of it all, I can look around, and wonder how long it will last.


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moar funny pictures

"If you'd like to see Tuesday's Tips as a continuing spot in my blog (about three tips a week... sometimes probably more), you've got to let me know.
I may do it on my own for a while, but if I don't hear anything, it's more than likely going to turn into dust in the wind by the end of the month - it's no use sharing tips if no one's there to share them with."

Yeah... that's about it.

On the good side - dust is cheap.

Living below the poverty line, you tend to pick up a thing or two about saving money.
So, I thought I would share some of what I've picked up about it.

If I get some good feedback about this (hint, hint... wink, wink), I may make Tuesday's Tips a permenent feature.

Comment, and let me know what you think :-)

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Tip #1....

To make bananas last longer, remove the peals, cut them into 1/4 inch thick slices along the width, so you end up with slices that look like thick coins.
Take a length of aluminum foil or waxed paper (approximately 1 1/2 to 2 feet long), and lay the slices flat, in one layer, on one half of the length - think of it as though you were placing the banana slices flat on one page of an open book.
Cover the slices tightly (like closing the book, and sealing the pages), and freeze it.

When you want some bananas for yourself, or to add to a recipe, you can simply open the frozen package, and take out as many slices as you need without letting any of the rest go to waste.

The thin slicing of the banana, along the width, helps to ensure that the banana isn't damaged while it freezes, as can happen if trying to freeze an uncut banana.

Tip #2....

Invest in a reusable coffee filter for your regular coffee maker, if you haven't already.
It may not seem like much, but it'll ensure that the $0.99 to $2.00 you save on paper filters will stay in your pocket.

But, don't toss the paper filters you have left.
You can use them in place of paper towels when ever you have a non-cleaning job to do (and, even a couple of cleaning jobs).

You can use them as small paper plates for dry food items (think: sandwiches - why dirty a plate just because of the bread?).

Lightly dampen one or two, and use them on a hard to open jar lid for extra grip.

Use them in arts and crafts - try making a coffee filter rose by puncturing the center of 7 coffee filters with a pipe cleaner. Twist the end of one side of the pipe cleaner, the end in the "cupped" side of the filters, so it won't come through. Press the filters tight against the pipe cleaner twist, pinch the area around the pie cleaner to make a funnel shape with the filters, and Wrap the rest of the pipe cleaner around the pinch to hold it in place. Then, fluff the filters to spread the edges like a flower. Lightly mist it with some colored water (one or two drops of red food coloring in a cup of water), and you have your rose.
Or, lay out a few filters under a craft project for easy clean-up (best for projects that don't involve liquid materials).

And, those left over coffee filters are good for light cleaning jobs. Their great for dusting (using a list mist of a dusting spray).
They're also very good for helping to clean the lenses in a pair of glasses - the weave of the paper fibers in the filters keeps the filter from scratching the lens.

As for that re-usable filter, the grounds from it can be used as a scouring agent for dark surfaces.
You can also place the wet grounds onto scratches in wood furniture, that can't be readily repaired. The coffee color will seep into the scratch, making it much less noticeable until that piece of funiture can be sanded and restained.
Place the used grounds ONLY onto the area of the scratch - as with anything containing liquid, placing them on an area larger than you need may damage the staining of the wood (think: coffee or tea cup without a coaster - eep!). As long as the grounds are only at the point of the scratch, though, the rest of the staining will be safe.
Leave the damp grounds on the scratch for at least 10 minutes, but no longer than 2 hours (simply because there's no need for more time then that, and the water in the grounds will evaporate over time, making them useless for this after), occasionally gently pressing them into the scratch to ensure that the colored liquid from them enters the bare wood.
Use rubber gloves or a plastic bag placed on your hand to press on the grounds, to keep them off your hand, if you like.
When finished, use a dry sponge, dry cloth, or even a dry paint brush to brush the grounds off, and use one of your left over coffee filters to gently buff the area.
This isn't a cure all - the scratch will still be there, but enough of the coffee color should have entered it to be able to disguise it - again, just until an actual repair can be made.
If a repair can't be made, then you've just extended the life of your furniture by not having to get rid of it simply because it's been scratched up - that's enough to make this tip worth doing :-)

Tip #3....

For any sponge you buy, take the time, and the pair of scissors, to cut it in half.
Yes, this does reduce how much of the sponge you're able to use... but, it reduces how much of the sponge you use up, as well.

While half of the sponge is being used, the other half stays with your cleaning supplies, until the first half can't be used anymore. And, since they are halves of the same sponge, each half will last just as long as the whole one would have, extending the life by twice as much.

By cutting your sponges in half, you make them last twice as long... and you cut how much you spend replacing sponges by half as well.

For those who are afraid that only half a sponge won't do the job, put your fears to rest. Half a sponge does just as much as the whole sponge... it's just a smaller size, not a smaller cleaning ability.

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These may not seem like much, but when used with other money saving tips, that extra money adds up.

$2.00 (approx.) per new sponge, every two months equals $12.00 a year. Cutting the sponges in half saves you $6.00.
If a new sponge is bought each month, that would be $24.00 a year, making this tip save you $12.00.

$2.00 (approx.) per new package of coffee filters every 5 months (150 days/150 filters typically found in filter packages, using one a day) equals about $5.00. Use a re-usable coffee filter, which would also be better for the environvent, and you spend nothing more than what you paid for the re-usable (usually not much more than for a single package of paper ones).

$0.50 to $0.90 a pound for bananas, bought every two weeks, equals about $46.00 a year (going with the $0.90 cent estimate, and assuming 2 pounds of bananas are bought each time). About a quarter of what's bought uaually goes to waste by most people, so there's a loss of about $10.50 a year. Freeze slices of them, and that $10.50 is how much you save.

$ 12.00 Sponges
$ 5.00 Coffee Filters
$ 10.50 Bananas
$ 27.50 Savings

That's enough for you and that special guy to rent a movie, buy some pop-corn to make in the kitchen, and spend a romantic night at home... or forget him, get the movie, get the pop-corn, and put the rest in the piggy bank to go out to a movie later in the week so you can hit on the bearish usher at the theater ;)



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/=:+++:=\

If you'd like to see Tuesday's Tips as a continuing spot in my blog (about three tips a week... sometimes probably more), you've got to let me know.
I may do it on my own for a while, but if I don't hear anything, it's more than likely going to turn into dust in the wind by the end of the month - it's no use sharing tips if no one's there to share them with.

\=:+++:=/

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