Friday, March 22, 2013
Temporary Absence
I'm going to disappear for a while. Being a full time grandma of a very fussy baby and a full time employee as well has fried me, as cold sores in my nose and on my mouth will attest. I'm too tired to be brilliant, or care. So I'm going to go away for a couple weeks until the dust settles. I'll probably still read and comment some, but I haven't got brain cells left to write with.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
A Bit of a Marine Corps Joke
A Marine squad was marching north of Fallujah when they came upon an Iraqi
terrorist who was badly injured and unconscious. On the opposite side of the
road was an American Marine in a similar but less serious state.
The Marine was conscious and alert and as first aid was given to both men,
the squad leader asked the injured Marine what had happened.
The Marine reported, "I was heavily armed and moving north along the highway
here, and coming south was a heavily armed insurgent. We saw each other and
both took cover in the ditches along the road. I yelled to him that Saddam
Hussein was a miserable, lowlife scum bag who got what he deserved.
He yelled back that Barack Obama is a lying, good-for-nothing, left wing
Commie who isn't even an American.
So I said that Osama Bin Laden dresses and acts like a frigid, mean-spirited
lesbian!
He retaliated by yelling, Oh yeah? Well, so does Nancy Pelosi!
And, there we were, in the middle of the road, shaking hands, when a truck
hit us."
terrorist who was badly injured and unconscious. On the opposite side of the
road was an American Marine in a similar but less serious state.
The Marine was conscious and alert and as first aid was given to both men,
the squad leader asked the injured Marine what had happened.
The Marine reported, "I was heavily armed and moving north along the highway
here, and coming south was a heavily armed insurgent. We saw each other and
both took cover in the ditches along the road. I yelled to him that Saddam
Hussein was a miserable, lowlife scum bag who got what he deserved.
He yelled back that Barack Obama is a lying, good-for-nothing, left wing
Commie who isn't even an American.
So I said that Osama Bin Laden dresses and acts like a frigid, mean-spirited
lesbian!
He retaliated by yelling, Oh yeah? Well, so does Nancy Pelosi!
And, there we were, in the middle of the road, shaking hands, when a truck
hit us."
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Monday, March 18, 2013
Home Gym
Baby in the house, since Daddy is sanding and painting in the Baltimore house. Miserable colic. Hours of walking her to try to comfort her, listening to the gassy rumblings in her tummy. If the carrying and walking and bouncing and rocking keep up long enough it will be better than a home gym for upper body development.
Appears to be a food allergy. At least that's what green poop is supposed to mean. Mommy is taking all the most probable culprits out of her diet: milk and milk products, soy, beans, raw vegetables. And all vegetables have to be what we consider overcooked. Things like bread have to be carefully checked, because they, and many other things, use some component of milk in them. Which really affects a huge part of our normal meals. No pizza. Bummer.
Odd thing is, considering that milk and soy are the top 2 in causing such problems, that baby formula is made with either milk or soy, so not nursing isn't an option.
It's March 18 and this is the scene out the window this morning:
Appears to be a food allergy. At least that's what green poop is supposed to mean. Mommy is taking all the most probable culprits out of her diet: milk and milk products, soy, beans, raw vegetables. And all vegetables have to be what we consider overcooked. Things like bread have to be carefully checked, because they, and many other things, use some component of milk in them. Which really affects a huge part of our normal meals. No pizza. Bummer.
Odd thing is, considering that milk and soy are the top 2 in causing such problems, that baby formula is made with either milk or soy, so not nursing isn't an option.
It's March 18 and this is the scene out the window this morning:
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Truly Respected
Of course the media is horrified by our new Pope, Francis. They can't call him a Nazi like they did Benedict, but the guy has the temerity to believe in moral absolutes and in a couple thousand years of Church doctrine and liberals can't stand that. The Church needs to change according to how the wind blows. Sorry, Jesus had something to say about that and it involved not building on shifting sand. And the personal opinions of spoiled brats is shifting sands.
Of course, there already was the "how badly the Church treats women" American media crew out in a hurry. Yada yada.
Give me a break. The same people think the likes of Bill Clinton and Teddy Kennedy are just ducky. It wasn't until I started attending a Catholic church that I realized what it felt like to be treated as a full human being with an infinite worth just because I exist, discovered what it felt like to be truly respected. I haven't encountered anything to change that in 23 years. But then, I don't define respect as being treated like a bad tempered spoiled child who is indulged because they scream a fit otherwise.
Of course, there already was the "how badly the Church treats women" American media crew out in a hurry. Yada yada.
Give me a break. The same people think the likes of Bill Clinton and Teddy Kennedy are just ducky. It wasn't until I started attending a Catholic church that I realized what it felt like to be treated as a full human being with an infinite worth just because I exist, discovered what it felt like to be truly respected. I haven't encountered anything to change that in 23 years. But then, I don't define respect as being treated like a bad tempered spoiled child who is indulged because they scream a fit otherwise.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Looks like... Update: Yep!
...white smoke to me!
Habemus Papum?
Update: Our first pope from the New World, an Argentinian-Italian. Our first Pope Francis.
Habemus Papum?
Update: Our first pope from the New World, an Argentinian-Italian. Our first Pope Francis.
A Test
In the spirit of Lent and of a Papal election, I thought I'd throw out something that a friend e-mailed me.
TO All:
You will learn more about yourself in the next minute and a half than ever before. This is a Moral Test – please be honest. This test only has one question, but it's a very important one. By giving an honest answer, you will discover where you stand morally. The test features an unlikely, completely fictional situation in which you will have to make a decision. Only you will know the results, so remember that your answer needs to be honest, yet spontaneous.
THE SITUATION:
You are in Florida, Miami to be specific. There is chaos all around you caused by a hurricane with severe flooding. This is a flood of biblical proportions. You are a photojournalist working for a major newspaper, and you're caught in the middle of this epic disaster. The situation is nearly hopeless. You're trying to shoot career-making photos. There are houses and people swirling around you, some disappearing under the water. Nature is unleashing all of its destructive fury.
THE TEST:
Suddenly you see a black man in the water. He is fighting for his life, trying not to be taken down with the debris. You move closer. Somehow the man looks familiar. You suddenly realize who it is. It's Barrack Obama! At the same time you notice that the raging waters are about to take him under forever.
YOU HAVE TWO OPTIONS:
You can save the life of Barrack Obama or you can shoot a dramatic Pulitzer Prize winning photo, documenting the death of one of the world's most powerful socialist Muslim men hell bent on the destruction of America .
THE QUESTION:
Here's the question, and please give an honest answer.
"Would you select high contrast color film, or would you go with the classic simplicity of black and white?"
TO All:
You will learn more about yourself in the next minute and a half than ever before. This is a Moral Test – please be honest. This test only has one question, but it's a very important one. By giving an honest answer, you will discover where you stand morally. The test features an unlikely, completely fictional situation in which you will have to make a decision. Only you will know the results, so remember that your answer needs to be honest, yet spontaneous.
THE SITUATION:
You are in Florida, Miami to be specific. There is chaos all around you caused by a hurricane with severe flooding. This is a flood of biblical proportions. You are a photojournalist working for a major newspaper, and you're caught in the middle of this epic disaster. The situation is nearly hopeless. You're trying to shoot career-making photos. There are houses and people swirling around you, some disappearing under the water. Nature is unleashing all of its destructive fury.
THE TEST:
Suddenly you see a black man in the water. He is fighting for his life, trying not to be taken down with the debris. You move closer. Somehow the man looks familiar. You suddenly realize who it is. It's Barrack Obama! At the same time you notice that the raging waters are about to take him under forever.
YOU HAVE TWO OPTIONS:
You can save the life of Barrack Obama or you can shoot a dramatic Pulitzer Prize winning photo, documenting the death of one of the world's most powerful socialist Muslim men hell bent on the destruction of America .
THE QUESTION:
Here's the question, and please give an honest answer.
"Would you select high contrast color film, or would you go with the classic simplicity of black and white?"
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Silly Season
I always think of election cycles ushering in a silly season, where people say and do the stupidest things either as candidates or supporters. A papal election is even worse, because, at least in America, the election is viewed in political terms. Undoubtedly the Cardinal's involved, being human, do some horse trading in order to elect the person they think is best for the position, but the balance of what is going on right now is rooted in prayer, seeking guidance from the Holy Spirit, and knowledge of what the Church faces today.
Lack of knowledge of Church teaching never stopped anybody from bloviating about what the Church should do, of course, and the usual suspects rejoice in having a microphone and/or camera to bloviate into. The chants of "the spirit of Vatican II" from people who have never read the documents ramp up, as does the railing against a Church who, well aware that most of the sex scandal in the Church came from homosexual liaisons between priests and teenage boys, has banned ordination of openly homosexual men - how awful that the Church condemned for the scandal take steps to avoid a repeat of it! And all the other squawks from folks who think their 50 or 60 years of living with the words "I want to" foremost in their lives trumps a couple thousand years of prayer, study, and philosophy, are even louder. The likes of John Cornwell, whose Hitler's Pope is so easy to show as nonsense that even the cover photo is easily proved as a deliberate falsehood, once again get to get up an rant and rave, making one think of nothing more than the Maria Monk stories of the 1830s.
But in the nonsense there's pretty funny stuff, and Creative Minority Report has stumbled across it. Amazing how a camera and mike will make people talk about things like what they think of the new Pope's ex-wife....
Note to those not paying attention - we don't have a new Pope yet. And I'm pretty sure that none of the eligible Cardinals have been married.
But in the nonsense there's pretty funny stuff, and Creative Minority Report has stumbled across it. Amazing how a camera and mike will make people talk about things like what they think of the new Pope's ex-wife....
Note to those not paying attention - we don't have a new Pope yet. And I'm pretty sure that none of the eligible Cardinals have been married.
Friday, March 8, 2013
In the "You asked for it by being stupid" Catagory
The stupidity burns. All over the country. Nibble a Pop Tart into something vaguely resembling a gun and some idiot teacher freaks out and a kid gets suspended. It's no wonder schools are turning out kids without basic skills: the classrooms are infested with teachers and administrators who wouldn't know common sense if it leaped up and bit them on the arse. But the same people will be happy to show your grade school kid how to slap on a condom or provide your 12 year old daughter with drugs containing carcinogens or take her to the nearest Planned Parenthood clinic for surgery without your permission.
Today's candidate for stupid school of the day was the straw that broke the camel's back for a Baltimore talk show station. A Michigan elementary school confiscated a 9 year old's cupcakes because they had toy plastic WWII soldiers on them. They were, the principle said, "insensitive" "in light of the Newtown shootings."
A soldier hitting the beach in Normandy, it seems, is the equivalent of a lunatic spree killer.
WCBM has had enough. Every phone number and contact available has been posted at their website. Funny thing is that nobody wanted to talk to folks who contacted them...
Check the story and info out under "Latest" at www.wcbm.com. And if you feel like explaining the difference between insane murderers and the guys that made sure that +40,000 murderous Nazi internment sites were shut down, there's even a FAX number were you can send a history dissertation if you like. Not that I'm sure the adults on the other end can read. It's obvious, after all, that they can't think.
Today's candidate for stupid school of the day was the straw that broke the camel's back for a Baltimore talk show station. A Michigan elementary school confiscated a 9 year old's cupcakes because they had toy plastic WWII soldiers on them. They were, the principle said, "insensitive" "in light of the Newtown shootings."
A soldier hitting the beach in Normandy, it seems, is the equivalent of a lunatic spree killer.
WCBM has had enough. Every phone number and contact available has been posted at their website. Funny thing is that nobody wanted to talk to folks who contacted them...
Check the story and info out under "Latest" at www.wcbm.com. And if you feel like explaining the difference between insane murderers and the guys that made sure that +40,000 murderous Nazi internment sites were shut down, there's even a FAX number were you can send a history dissertation if you like. Not that I'm sure the adults on the other end can read. It's obvious, after all, that they can't think.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Storm Damage
A photo of the devastation left by the late winter storm that passed through here yesterday:
Well, OK. Not so much.
Well, OK. Not so much.
Questions
Weeks of being Grandma have raised some questions in my mind.
Like, how is it that holding a sleeping baby in one's arms has the same effect as a heavy sedative?
And how is it that something so small can eject so much stuff out of both ends and look so contented while doing so?
Like, how is it that holding a sleeping baby in one's arms has the same effect as a heavy sedative?
And how is it that something so small can eject so much stuff out of both ends and look so contented while doing so?
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Cue "Jaws" Theme
It waited until March.
And snow levels are still problematic and will be determined by how fast the storm moves out. But I wasn't even thinking about snow of any amount when I left to come back to help with Baby Girl. So I have tennis shoes, a light jacket, and, oh, yeah, the chains for my SUV are laying by the back door at home in West Virginia.
Fortunately, a friend is staying at the house because my kitties need daily medication and if the power goes off she can fire up the kerosene heater. But, really, as of March 1 I thought we were free and clear.
Fortunately, a friend is staying at the house because my kitties need daily medication and if the power goes off she can fire up the kerosene heater. But, really, as of March 1 I thought we were free and clear.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Friday, March 1, 2013
What I Missed
...while I was away. Of course, with a new baby, one tends to be distracted and one's sense of time goes flooey.
Some interesting stuff:
I think Cousin Dick was found just before I took off. After centuries of debate, the unearthing of the skeleton now confirmed as that of Richard III revealed why he was called Crookback Dick. Even while still in situ, the skeleton shows his scoliosis clearly.
It's too much trouble to go back over the number of once, twice, thrice removeds of the family tree, so I'll use our running joke of him being my fourth cousin. Richard descended from Edward I "Longshanks" Plantagenet (reigned 1272 - 1307), who was so badly and inaccurately treated in Mel Gibson's "Braveheart". My Felton line is descended from Longshanks' brother Edmund Plantagenet, 1st Earl of Leicester and Lancaster (1245 - 1296).
Of course, the debate still rages as to Richard's culpability in the deaths of his nephews and whether he was a monster or not. Unfortunately for Richard and for those interested in the facts, just the facts, Tudors wrote his history after taking his throne and his life and we may never know any more than we do now.
And then there was the fireball that blasted the heck out of an area of Russia. That was a serious Wow!, particularly since it occured during an asteroid fly-by and a couple other smaller fireballs were seen within the next few days. I thought at first that maybe the asteroid wasn't traveling alone, but the trajectories of the fireballs were so radically different from the asteroid and the big fireball that it was just coincidence. The fact that the explosion affected a populated area gave scientists something to chew on in their research on the 1908 Tunguska event.
Oh, and hearing a media interviewer asked if the fact that a large asteroid passing relatively close by on the same day was because of global warming pretty much confirmed my opinion that news and interview shows are worthless.
And the resignation of Pope Benedict. Which I think is brilliant. He has headed off the worst of the descent into bureaucracy that happens when a pope is physically disabled at the end of his life. Nobody knows better than Benedict what his action means, and he didn't do it lightly. But of course the loss of a pope always triggers the silly season. Creative Minority Report posted the funniest and most spot on video about that I've ever seen, put together by Lutheran Satire:
Old Senile Joe appears to have been on a shotgun tear, emphatically advising us to do what is not only illegal but highly dangerous. People need to remember that it's not his stupidity or Obama's corruption that are really at issue so much as the stupidity and corruption of those who put them in office and the stupidity and corruption of a Congress that either supports them or rolls over for them.
And the Obama's spent a lot more of our tax dollars for their vacations. That isn't surprising. See my stupidity and corruption reference above.
The world is ending, I gather, because of "cuts" that Obama supported before he was against them. It probably would have been a lot easier for him to go up to the Capitol and meet with the folks in Congress than to fly thousands of miles fighting the cuts he signed into law, but I guess once he got into the campaign mode he hasn't been able to get out of it. And maybe Air Force One is a lot more comfortable than any other meeting space available to him. It might be helpful if the Senate actually did their job and brought out a budget, but breaking the law seems to be OK these days.
And I say "cuts", but only in government can a decrease in growth be a cut, and only in government can agencies who will have higher budgets this year than last scream that they are devastated by those "cuts".
That's pretty much all I noticed. Except the Dow Jones numbers. It's so hard to pull into the pre-retirement safe investment zone when the market is hot.
Some interesting stuff:
I think Cousin Dick was found just before I took off. After centuries of debate, the unearthing of the skeleton now confirmed as that of Richard III revealed why he was called Crookback Dick. Even while still in situ, the skeleton shows his scoliosis clearly.
It's too much trouble to go back over the number of once, twice, thrice removeds of the family tree, so I'll use our running joke of him being my fourth cousin. Richard descended from Edward I "Longshanks" Plantagenet (reigned 1272 - 1307), who was so badly and inaccurately treated in Mel Gibson's "Braveheart". My Felton line is descended from Longshanks' brother Edmund Plantagenet, 1st Earl of Leicester and Lancaster (1245 - 1296).
 |
| Grandpa Edmund's Coat of Arms |
And then there was the fireball that blasted the heck out of an area of Russia. That was a serious Wow!, particularly since it occured during an asteroid fly-by and a couple other smaller fireballs were seen within the next few days. I thought at first that maybe the asteroid wasn't traveling alone, but the trajectories of the fireballs were so radically different from the asteroid and the big fireball that it was just coincidence. The fact that the explosion affected a populated area gave scientists something to chew on in their research on the 1908 Tunguska event.
 |
| Tunguska BOOM |
And the resignation of Pope Benedict. Which I think is brilliant. He has headed off the worst of the descent into bureaucracy that happens when a pope is physically disabled at the end of his life. Nobody knows better than Benedict what his action means, and he didn't do it lightly. But of course the loss of a pope always triggers the silly season. Creative Minority Report posted the funniest and most spot on video about that I've ever seen, put together by Lutheran Satire:
Old Senile Joe appears to have been on a shotgun tear, emphatically advising us to do what is not only illegal but highly dangerous. People need to remember that it's not his stupidity or Obama's corruption that are really at issue so much as the stupidity and corruption of those who put them in office and the stupidity and corruption of a Congress that either supports them or rolls over for them.
And the Obama's spent a lot more of our tax dollars for their vacations. That isn't surprising. See my stupidity and corruption reference above.
The world is ending, I gather, because of "cuts" that Obama supported before he was against them. It probably would have been a lot easier for him to go up to the Capitol and meet with the folks in Congress than to fly thousands of miles fighting the cuts he signed into law, but I guess once he got into the campaign mode he hasn't been able to get out of it. And maybe Air Force One is a lot more comfortable than any other meeting space available to him. It might be helpful if the Senate actually did their job and brought out a budget, but breaking the law seems to be OK these days.
And I say "cuts", but only in government can a decrease in growth be a cut, and only in government can agencies who will have higher budgets this year than last scream that they are devastated by those "cuts".
That's pretty much all I noticed. Except the Dow Jones numbers. It's so hard to pull into the pre-retirement safe investment zone when the market is hot.