Top Ten Newsworthy Events of 2004

1.  Martha Stewart going to jail
2.  The devastating earthquake and tsunami
3.  Boston Red Sox winning the World Series
4. Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction at the Superbowl (aka Boobgate)
5. The election
6.  Scott Peterson being convicted and sentenced to death
7.  Gov. Fletcher's plane disrupting President Ronald Reagan's funeral
8.  The fall hurricanes
9.  The Memorial Day weekend tornados
10. Holiday Storm 2004

The Coolest Things That Happened To Me In 2004

1.  My parents are still going strong at 71
2.  Summer vacation to Nashville
3.  Getting a private tour of the Country Music Hall of Fame
4.  Front row seats for Shania Twain and getting her autograph
5.  Tammy Fest II
6.  Chrysler 300 stretch limo ride to the Glory of Rome
7.  Completing all of my dental work
8.  Going to my first biker night
9.  Starting my own journal
10. Getting my BMW
11. Taking a Pilates class
12. Going to the new Hard Rock Cafe on Fourth Street Live

Holiday Storm 2004 Reflections

I always try to keep a positive outlook about life; even in the midst of trouble and sadness and crises, I try to find something good that came/will come out of it.  It's been a week since Holiday Storm 2004 hit, and I've been thinking back on everything that's happened this past week here in Louisville.  Even though it was a bitch last week and this past weekend, as the thaw continues, I've found some positive things that have happened.  At first glance, they seem like negatives, but if we look deeper we can see how they're not so bad after all.  Also included is commentary by my dear friend and eloquent writer Michael. 

1. No mail
    Negative - no Christmas cards and no package deliveries
    Positive - no bills

Michael Thought:  The US Post Office is free to increase the price of postage with no value adds on its services.  I didn't have mail delivery for five days after the holiday storm and the Post Office could never find it when I drove to their office.  However, the Courier-Jounal was delivered faithfully every morning in a green plastic sleeve.  It seems strange that I see the postman and get the wrong mail but on the other hand, I have never seen my newspaper carrier and receive my newspaper faithfully on a daily basis before 5:30a.

2. No garbage pick-up
    Negative - no garbage pick up
    Positive -  no trips out to the end of driveway dragging garbage bags in 8 degree temperatures

Michael Thought:  I had no problem in this area.  I do fondly remember though in the 1994 storm, how the mayor urged garbage trucks and fire equipment vehicles to visit neighborhoods to mash the snow down since we were lacking in snow plows.

3. Cars being snowed in/stuck
    Negative - you can't go anywhere
    Positive - you don't have to go anywhere

Michael Thought: Snowfall prediction is more accurate than a decade ago.  We should take proactive measures when snowfall is predicted and use the two days to stock up on food, kerosene, beer, cigarettes, video rentals and whatever else will sustain us through bouts of cabin fever.  When asnow emergency is declared, people need to stay in and avoid driving to allow the snow removal team to operate more efficiently.  I often wondered how many drivers of the numerous ditched vehicles really had an emergency to attend or were mandated to be at work.  On the other hand, I'm willing to bet that many were out to catch a last minute sale or finish up Christmas shopping at the local mall.

4. Piles of snow from snowplows blocking driveway/subdivision entrances
    Negative - you can't get out of your driveway
    Positive - friends/relatives that you really did not want to see can't get out of their driveways to come pay their obligatory visit to you

Michael Thought:  Some people need to stay in their driveway.  Bryan and I feverishly snowblowed our neighbors drives and driveway/mailbox approaches without a barely mumbled thanks.  We attempted to plow the wall of snow at the entrance of the subdivision left by the county plows only to be hampered by joyriders who repeatedly entered and exited thereby redistributing the snow wall.  We finally gave up and let the parade of traffic spin and stall.  This storm was easier to weather though because of the computer age and instant messaging.  I don't recall ever wanting to leave the driveway and enjoyed not have the solicitors approach the front door.

5. Not being able to get out to the grocery
    Negative - you run out of milk and fresh vegetables
    Positive - you have to eat leftover Christmas candy and cookies and drink eggnog or pop

Michael Thought:  Again, we have more accurate storm prediction teams and ample time to collect our food and staples than a decade ago.  I was well prepared for this storm and even during periods of boredom, explored the forgotten pantry.  It was amazing the number of chili kits, bread mixes and neat grocery items I had collected from New Orleans and the South that I got to use during and after the storm.  

 

This Day In Soap Opera History

This can't compare with the test tube baby story, but it's blog-worthy, nonetheless. This day will be remembered years from now in All My Children soap opera history -- the day that Bianca woke from her deep coma and was reunited with her baby Miranda, who everyone thought had died in a horrible helicopter crash.  She was switched at the faked crash of the hospital transport helicopter, and given to Babe and J.R. Chandler, whose own baby (born just hours after Miranda) was stolen by the evil Paul Kramer and given to his sister Kelly, who was unable to have a baby. (Guess they never heard of IVF there in Pine Valley and Landview). Poor Bianca, the anorexic lesbian daughter of tycoon Erica Kane was left to believe that it was her baby that had died at the crash site.  But baby Miranda was the one to make Bianca come out of her coma (caused when she was pushed out a 2nd story balcony by the aforementioned J.R. Chandler, who refused to believe that Miranda was not his child) and all is well in Pine Valley for at least a few days.

This Day In History

How many of you, my faithful readers, know who Elizabeth Carr is?  No, she's not the girl abducted from bedroom of her family home in Utah; that's Elizabeth Smart.  No, she's not the recent winner on "Survivor" nor "American Idol." She's not the reigning Miss of America, the Universe, Kentucky, nor any other state or principality.  But she holds a very strong place in American history:  Elizabeth Carr is America's first test-tube baby. 

Elizabeth was born 23 years ago today.  At birth, she was a normal 5 pound, 12 ounce baby. The obstetrician that delivered her told reporters that she was the perfect baby; the only difference in her and the other babies being born that day was that she was conceived through in vitro fertilization.  FYI - "in vitro" in Latin means "in glass" - makes perfect sense since she was conceived in a petrie dish.  The first picture above is of Elizabeth when she was just four cells old. 

Just last year, Elizabeth got to meet Dr. Fred Wirth, the obstetrician that delivered her.  Even after 23 years, the doctor was still proud from delivering the country's first test-tube baby.  He still says "When her eyes opened up I was the first person that she saw."  The second picture above is Elizabeth and Dr. Wirth. 

In the ancient time of 1981, medical technology like this was scarey - it was something we'd only dreamed of or watched in a science fiction space movie.  Now, IVF is commonplace; in fact, I have a friend who had a baby through IVF.  Little Taylor is now a year and a half old - a healthy, happy cutie patootie.  Maybe when she's older, her Mom will teach her about Elizabeth Carr. 

I've Been Googled

Last week was a historic week in the short life of TWIT.  Not only did I receive my first fan latter, someone found my journal through Google.  Yes, I was Googled.  And I was proud.

Friday afternoon, while snowed in, I was playing games at Pogo.com when the AOL Instant Messenger box popped up. I didn't recognize the screenname, but I thought that it might have been a friend from work IM'ing (instant message-ing) me to see how we were coping snow.  They asked "How are ya doing?" and I answered back "Fine" and went back to my game of Jungle Gin.  After a couple more IMs (instant messages), they explained that they went to Google and did a search for "Holiday Storm 2004" and TWIT was the first hit that they got.  Can you believe it?  On a powerful search engine like Google, my journal was the first hit the search engine found.  I can't tell you how proud I was.  I was almost weepy.

While I was basking in the afterglow of this accomplishment, I left my computer to go take a nap.  When I returned, I noticed that while I was gone, I had received 25 IMs, all from the person that IMd me earlier.  I looked at my computer screen and let out a gasp when there in black and white was notes that I had posted on message boards over the past few years.  I was horrified.  My first thought "this person is a stalker."  I even IMd them back and told them so.  But they said they were just trying to keep me informed and aware of things; they said that all they did was go back to Google and this time, they put in "PuddinPRP" in the search and it brought up all of these messages that I had posted.  I did it for myself, and came up with 3 Google pages full of things I had written - notes on forums, posts on friends' blogs, comments on message boards, etc.  It taught me that you need to be careful what you write online because everyone on the world wide web can read it.  I'm still amazed.  I don't even post things that much, other than comments on friends' blogs, and maybe an occasional message on a forum board.  So it's not like I'm putting messages out on the web on a daily basis. 

So now, I would like to give props to my new faithful reader and non-stalker, LaBonteBoy.  Thank you for taking the time Christmas Eve to do a search for "Holiday Storm 2004" which led you to TWIT.  You've opened my eyes to the ways of the web. 

Happy Birthday Dear Stacy, Happy Birthday To You

I'd like to give a shout out to the world wide web and ask that you join me in wishing my best friend and co-Diva, Stacy, a happy birthday today. 

I always felt kinda sorry for her, because her birthday fell on the day after Christmas, and I thought she got cheated.  So nothing, not even nine inches of snow, was going to prevent me from coming over to help here celebrate her birthday this afternoon.  All I will say is thank God and General Motors for building such a fine 4WD as the Blazer.  I was prepared to park and walk to her house, but I was able to maneuver the big hill and safely made it to her driveway. 

For one month and one day, I'm able to rub it in to her that we are [sorta] the same age.  Then for the other 11 months, she can rightfully proclaim that she's younger than me.  I still love her anyway.

Happy Birthday, my dear friend.  You rock. 

Link of the Week

If you're in Louisville or southern Indiana, I know you've got cabin fever right now like I do. I can only play so many games at pogo.com before I went crazy this afternoon.  Holiday Storm 2004 really put a damper on our holiday travelling, so we all really couldn't get out and go places like we normally would on the day after Christmas -visiting friends, going to a restaurant, or just going to the store to see what after-Christmas bargains they have. 

I've got the perfect site for you to check out this evening - it's sure to keep you occupied for an hour or two, and keep your mind off trying to dig your car out of the garage tomorrow morning when you have to go back to work.  Take a look at www.magixl.com/heads/stars.html.  I have my dear friend BioTat to thank for sending me a link to this cool site.  It has caricatures of movie stars, music stars, sports stars politicians; practically any famous is on there. It's very cool, and kept me entertained for over an hour this morning. 

Merry Christmas

It's hard to believe that Christmas 2004 has come and is almost gone.  We're just like little kids - we look forward to it all year long, and then in the course of 24 hours, it's over till next year.

I had a great Christmas - we were all safe, warm, and happy here at The Compound today.  Even the donkeys got a Christmas treat.  We're still a bit tired from the snow removal, so we've not done a whole lot the past 2 days except eat and watch tv and keep in touch with family and friends over the phone and computer; it's been too cold and still too snowy to get out.  I must have been better than I thought this year - I got a very cool HP photo printer, and not one, but two, awesome Gone With The Wind music boxes to add to my collection.  A highlight of Christmas 2004 was watching Dad open his present from his extended family, the Linkers - along with me and a cast of other Santa's helpers, they made Dad a shadow box with his Navy medals and ribbons.  He doesn't get weepy too often, but the ol' man was very moved when he saw it.  Another highlight was seeing Mom open her present from the Linkers, a very nice blue winter coat; a replacement for her beloved "Old Blue" coat that she finally had to throw away a few weeks ago.  Funny how Santa knew she needed another, isn't it?

I feel sorry for all of the those whose travel plans were screwed up due to the ton of snow we got this week - but hopefully they can reschedule and celebrate Christmas next week when it's supposed to be in the 50's. 

Holiday Storm 2004 Update

I've heard the age old story that on Christmas Eve, animals are given the ability to talk.  While my donkeys Pancho and Pedro didn't talk to me today, I still believe they were part of a Christmas miracle. 

Earlier this morning, I bundled up to go out to the garage to get one last present from the trunk of the car to wrap.  En route to the garage, I thought I'd try to start the Blazer one more time.  The donkeys heard me and both trudged over to the fence and stood there looking at me.  I put the key in the ignition and lo and behold, it started right up.  I got out and left it running for 20 minutes to get everything charged back up, and once they heard the Blazer running, the donkeys turned and walked back to the barn, as if to say "our work here is done."  Thanks, boys.

Happy Chrismas Eve From The Frozen Tundra

Today marks the deep freeze portion of Holiday Storm 2004.  As I type this, it's a frigid 10 degrees on our back porch. The high today is expected to be 16.  They're expecting 0 or below tonight - I sure hope Santa remembers to put on his long handles for his big trip. 

Just as our city is not prepared for snow, they are not prepared for the cold temperatures, either.  I use the term "they" because I do not include myself in this category.  Here's a few cold weather lessons my family taught me at a early age:

Never let your car get below half a tank of gas in cold weather. This makes perfect sense to me - if I'd been on of those many unfortunate ones stuck out on I-64 Wednesday night, a full tank of gas would have been a God-send.  Come to think of it, that's a good lesson for any part of the country - just think of the millions of people that were trying to get out of Florida and the Atlantic coast states this fall when all of the hurricanes were hitting.

Make sure you have at least one ice scraper/brush in the car.  If you don't already have one, I recommend getting one those scrapers that has the built in glove.  They are priceless when you're out scraping off the windows and windshield.  Don't rely on using a credit card - most of them won't even swipe through the point of sale terminals at the store, much less be able to withstand scraping ice off a windshield. 

Buy a pair of waterproof shoes/boots that you can wear in the snow and slush.  If they have Thinsulate, halleluah.  Yesterday during the shoveling and digging out, I would not have taken $1,000 for my pair of boots from Land's End.  I can honestly say my feet were dry and warm all day long.  During my trip home from work Wednesday in the snow and ice, I can't tell you how many silly people I saw out walking or waiting for the bus in tennis shoes. Most of them were PATs. If they can't afford some rubber boots, they could at least put some bread bags over their shoes. 

Dress warm, preferably in layers.  Get some use out of those sweaters and sweatshirts that take up space in our closets and drawers.  If you ride anywhere with my Dad during cold weather, you'll want to be dressed inlayers so you can take some of them off because he will blast you out of his Blazer with the heat.  You'll want to be able to strip down to the bare essentials if it gets too toasty in the car. 

Now that I've given you winter weather tips, please drive safely, dress warm, and have a great Christmas Eve. 

 

Holiday Storm 2004, Continued

I hope none of my faithful readers were alarmed because you didn't see a post on here this morning - I've been a bit busy today.  And as I type this, I'm not ashamed to admit that every bone and muscle in my body is aching right now.  We've were outside from 9 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. clearing our driveway and helping neighbors dig out.  The official snow count in our back yard was about a foot.  Yes, you heard it right - a foot. 

The morning got off to a rousing start when our neighbor Todd came over to borrow my Blazer, which was nestled snug under the carport.  He needed to run up to the corner to get a few cans of gas for their snow blower.  I was more than happy to oblige, since his Dad would help us clear our long driveway.  I bundled up and decided to go with Todd, in case he got stuck.  Image my disgust when I attempted to start the Blazer and nothing happened.  The lights came on and everything on the dashboard was lit up, but nothing except a click.  After a quick check, Todd diagnosed the problem as the starter celenoid.  I didn't stress too much, since I had planned on taking it to the shop the first of the week.  So on to plan B, using Dad and Mom's Blazer.  Only there was one small logistics issue -- it was in the garage, with the BMW behind it.  It took 3 fairly strong adults 15 minutes to push/pull/rock it out of the garage and into the snow covered driveway so Dad could get his Blazer out.  Once we got that taken care of, the shovel brigade (Dad and I) started to work.  We first cleared a path from the house to the garage, and then we trudged out to the end of the driveway and started clearing it so Todd could see where to pull in when he got back.  There's a drop-off on both sides of the driveway entrance, and all I could envision was Dad's Blazer nose first in the ditch. 

Once we started clearing, it was like we couldn't stop.  We'd get tired and say this was our last shovel full, but we just kept on inching our way on down the drive.  Todd and his Dad Steve took turns with the snow blower all morning and got the driveway about 95% cleared. God bless them both. 

Holiday Storm 2004

The city is a buzz this morning -- not because Christmas is just a couple of days away, but because we're in the beginning stages of the first snow storm of the winter.  (Never mind winter officially started just yesterday.)  The news channels are already calling it "Holiday Storm 2004"!!!

We started bracking for the storm Monday night when the TV weather people issued a "winter weather watch" for today and Thursday.  Tuesday morning the "watch" turned into a "warning" and the excitement started to build.  As leftovers from my childhood, the anticipation of snow is as exciting to me as the snow itself.  I was in heaven yesterday - we kept a vigilant watch of the local news channels web pages to get the up-to-the-minute forecasts. I was almost giddy from the excitement. 

My parents were preparing for the storm while I was watching Dopplar radar - they did our Christmas grocery shopping early yesterday morning.  I called them yesterday afternoon to get a report from their trip to grocery store - I was sure that it would be a madhouse with people jamming the aisles as they get their obligatory bread, milk, and beer.  I was shocked when my folks said the store wasn't crowded at all.  That was a different story last night; one co-worker said she had to circle the Krogers parking lot 3 times last night before she could find a place to park. 

The latest forecast for Louisville was about 9" of snow by the time the storm ends tomorrow.  But honestly, anything more than an inch of snow here really doesn't matter - it could be 3" or 30", and it would still have the same effect:  panic.  An inch we can handle with no problems; anything more and the city shuts down.  Our saving grace with Holiday Storm 2004 is the fact that schools were already out this week for Christmas break, and alot of workers decided to take a vacation day today when they heard the forecast. 

I, too, am prepared for this storm - I got out my snow boots last night, dug out a couple of scrapers and brushes, and most off all, yesterday morning I postponed putting my Blazer in the shop for some repairs.  I think it was a wise choice - in the few minutes it's taken me to type this in, the updated forecast is now 12-15" for Louisville. Last night, I shuffed the vechicles and tucked the BMW safely in the carport and moved my Blazer back to the nice toasty garage.

My First Fan Letter

I'm proud to say I have another first in my journalistic endeavors -- I received my first fan letter last night!  It's not just a "your journal is great" email - there is also a lesson we, as workers, can all learn from it.  Here's the email letter in it's entirity:

I loved your article about the Blue Q products.  I received another shipment today that included Total Bitch moist anti bacterial towelettes.  I guess I feel somewhat justified in distributing additional Blue Q products to some of the spiteful people that I work with. 

 Do you ever tire of the people that constantly ask for your Clorox wipes or Kleenex?  Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy being a grocer in a way—ready to distribute a Shout wipe for the poor dear that accidentally spotted or someone that had an emergency wet sneeze or even someone that needs a can of albacore tuna to qualify for wearing jeans on the day of the Dare to Care food drive.  But you would think after months of habitual panhandling that they would purchase their own supply of frequently needed items.   After months of scoring numerous saves for people, it amazes me that one can take a vacation day and come back to find his box of instant oatmeal discreetly opened on one side so a packet can be taken because the consumer was too lazy to eat breakfast at home.  Again don’t get me wrong—I generally shun oatmeal but do pick up sale items just in case I have a desire for brown sugar and maple flavor that can be quickly prepared in a cup of hot water from the coffee machine toggle. 

You had written a journal entry a few months ago about a co-worker that kept a jar of pickles in the company fridge to adorn his meager sandwich only to find nothing but pickle juice after days of co-worker pilfering.  I now feel his defeat in being prepared.  I hope you will be able to enter a journal entry sometime in the future to appeal to your readers that proactive anticipation of work time needs and bargain shopping will help them from becoming a burdening drain to their co-workers. 

Michael P

A Christmas Epiphany

I witnessed something very disturbing Friday night.  I decided to run up to Wal-Mart to pick up one last gift, and I was not prepared for what I saw: there was a line of a dozen people waiting to take their turn at the claw/crane machine.  In and of itself, this site was disturbing enough, but one thing made it worse: a few of the people waiting to use the machine were in wheelchairs or on crutches.  

I had to wait a couple of minutes before I could maneuver my way through the lobby to get into the store, so I was able to just stand there and take all of this in.  I have to admit that it really bothered me.  I am almost ashamed to say this, but all of the people waiting for the machine looked like they couldn't afford the quarter to put in the machine.  As I was watching the people waiting for the machine, I started thinking and came to the conclusion that maybe the prizes they win in the machine might be the only Christmas presents they give out.  That was the part that got to me.  I have an overactive imagination, so I started to envision little kids opening up their package on Christmas morning only to find some generic stuffed animal.  Or an adult opening their package and getting a gold plated watch or necklace. 

I had a similar epiphany the next morning.  I ran up to KMart to pick up a water bottle for our water cooler, and as I was walking across the parking lot, I saw a cab pull up by the door.  A woman and a kid got out and they went in the store to do their shopping.  When I left the store, the cab was still there, I'm sure with the meter still running, while the woman was doing her shopping.  This was at about 9:30 in the morning, so I'm pretty sure the woman hadn't been drinking and was using a MADD cab.  I guess she didn't have a car and needed to do her shopping. I don't want to sound sappy or corny, nor use worn-out cliches, but these experiences made me truly thankful for all that I have. 

Link of the Week

The other day, my friend Michael and I were discussing Lisa Marie Presley selling her daddy's estate, and we both mentioned how we'd never been to Graceland, and we had a good laugh over the "Love Me Tender" shampoo that they sell at the souveiner places there.  He then went on to tell me about a cool product that he bought his co-workers for Christmas - "Wash Away Your Sins" antibacterial towelettes.  He told me more about the entire line of Wash Away Your Sins products, and I was hooked.  He told me how this site also sells Bert's Bees products.  Bert's Bees is the current rage at all of the big health food stores.  I did some checking, so I could verify before I posted information for my faithful readers, and you have got to check out www.sesto-senso.com.  It's an awesome site.  I spent an hour looking at all of the product lines on there this cold, snowy afternoon.  I recommend going to the "search by brand" spot and on the drop down menu, pick "Blue Q". There you'll find the previously mentioned Wash Away Your Sins products, as well as Total Bitch products. 

Michael said that he received his Wash Away Your Sins shower curtain just 3 short days after ordering it.  They offer regular UPS ground, second day and next day shipping, so you could actually do your shopping on here on the 23rd and still receive the stuff by Christmas Day.  What a deal.  I'm making a list and will place an order tomorrow for some January birthdays I have coming up. (Incidentally, your beloved author's birthday is just a month and a week away, in case you'd like to get her a gift.)

You Go, Lisa Marie

I thought I was going to go into cardiac arrest yesterday at work.  It wasn't when I looked at my paycheck or my checking account balance; it was when I heard the news that Lisa Marie Presley had sold her father's estate.  I thought I was going to have to crawl to the HR department and have them get our portable defib machine out to revive me.  I calmed down only after I read that she was not selling Graceland.  

In case you didn't hear the details of the deal, Lisa Marie, the sole heir to the Elvis Presley estate, sold Elvis Presley Enterprises for $100 million. The estate will be part of a publicly traded company called CKX Inc.  She got $53 million in cash, absolution of $25 million in debt, and will get $20 million in shares of publicly traded CKX stock.  I'd call my broker now if I were you and get a piece of this action. 

Lisa Marie is not selling Graceland, thank goodness.  I'm glad she kept her childhood home.  And when the money keeps rolling in from Graceland revenues she'll be glad, too. An average of 650,000 people visit Graceland a year.  Currently, a ticket to get in Graceland costs $27.  She'll rake in over $17.5 million next year just from ticket sales alone.  When you add in souvenir sales, I'd say that was a very wise move. 

Lisa Marie's music career flopped last year, but I think this will prove that she's nobody's fool.  I think her Daddy would be proud of her. Maybe if Priscilla wasn't so wrapped up in her Scientology stuff, Lisa Marie might have given her a cut. 

Tin Roof, Rusted

More sad news to report this morning.  No, I'm not talking about the new video taped message from Osama Bin Ladin.  A fire has destroyed the five-room cabin in Athens, Georgia that was the inspiration for the awesome B-52's song "Love Shack."  The authorities said all that's left of the cabin is the infamous tin roof. 

"Love Shack" will always hold a special place in my heart; it was the first song that I ever danced to in a public place.  If my memory is correct, my dear friend Michael and I were the only people on the dance floor.  In fact, besides the bartender and d.j., I think we were the only people in the entire club.  We didn't care.  "Love Shack" was our favorite song and we just wanted to dance.  It was August, but there was silver Christmas tinsel everywhere.  I think they had store manaquins in there, too.  Anyhoo.  We had went out before and Michael had tried to get me to dance but I never would.  But that night, it was different.  Mainly because nobody was there to watch. 

There was just something about "Love Shack" that made you want to dance, if you had rhythm or not.  There's still something almost magical about that song.  If I'm bummed out about something, I can play it and within seconds I'm smiling and bobbing my head to the beat and singing along.  It's a very good road-trip song, too.  Rolling Stone magazine placed it at number 243 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.  Personally, I would put it in the top twenty. 

Let's All Lend A Helping Hand

Today's post is written by my friend, faithful reader, and fellow blogger GoalieGirl.  Before I post her post, let me take a moment to congratulate her - she got 5 A's and 3 B's this semester.  She deserves major props not only for getting awesome grades, but for taking so many hard classes while working and managing to fit in a few hockey games here and there.  Now for her post:

For all of you folks who may not be able to donate money to charity this year:

1. Donate clothing (especially winter clothes) to the Salvation Army or Goodwill.

2. Volunteer at the local homeless shelter to feed the hungry.

3. You can donate just about anything to charity. just Google it.

4. You can donate yahoo points to charity via: http://store.yahoo.com/yahoopoints/charity.html

5. You can send phone cards to injured soldiers via:

http://www.aafes.com/
http://www.navy-nex.com/
http://www.usmc-mccs.org/

6. You can donate frequent flier miles to charities via:

http://www.heromiles.org/donate.html
www.Delta.com/skymiles/use/donate/index.jsp
http://www.wish.org/home/giving/airmiles.htm
http://www.redcross.org/donate/donatemiles.html

7. I'm unsure as to how reputable these charities are but you can visit them and click to send donations via their sponsors. What happens is everytime you click, the sponsors on the webpage will donate on your behalf.

http://www.thehungersite.com/
http://www.thebreastcancersite.com
http://www.thechildhealthsite.com
http://www.theanimalrescuresite.com http://www.freedonation.com http://www.quickdonations.com/

I hope this helps some of you. I know it's helped me. I'm about to donate all my frequent flier miles as soon as I decide on which charity to give to.

God Bless and Merry Christmas.

Courtney

New Product Review

I just bought the coolest gadget that I've got to tell you about -- it's a cell phone holder that fits on the heating/air conditioning vent of your car.  How cool is that? 
We hear on the news about the freak accident that happened when someone was talking on their cell phone; I'm surprised we don't hear of more wrecks out on the road caused by people fumbling for their cell phones.  Ask anyone who has a cell phone and most likely they will agree - you're driving and your cell phone rings and you can't find the phone.  You [try to] keep your eyes on the road while leaning over to feel for the phone in the passenger seat, where it is either in your purse or bag.  If you're lucky.  Usually, the phone will be somewhere on the floorboard, just an inch out of your reach.  Most likely, the phone will continue to ring, all the while you can't answer it.

I'm notorious for keeping my phone in my purse; a good place for a woman to keep her cell phone, you might say.  Usually have my purse in the back seat of the car.  I don't know why, but it's just a habit - when I get in the car to go to/from work, for some odd reason I put my purse, etc in the back seat of the car.   Not a week goes by that someone will call and I can't answer the phone without climbing to the back seat.  Friends and family that call during this time are constantly going off on me -  "Why do you even have a phone if you don't answer it?"  Those days are over, thanks to my new cell phone holder.

I saw one at Target back in the summer, but didn't buy it.  After a friend yelled at me the other day because she called and I couldn't answer the phone because it was in the back seat in my purse, I decided to look on EBay for one.  They had hundreds on there, the majority of them for the low low price of $4.99.  It clips into the air vent, so the phone will be eye level, allowing you to see it with your periphreal vision and reach for the phone without risking running off the road.  The seller even through in a very cool ear bud and microphone for the phone, too.  Free items take away some of the sting of the shipping and handling charges.

Some of you with new cars might have a hands free kit already installed in your car; I've got one in my BMW, but I 'm not going to pay $25 to have Verizon activate it.  It is cool, though.  It has a microphone already installed, that's just to the left of the driver's side sun visor, and it's all wired up so the phone can be heard over the speaker system in the car.  Stacy calls the mobile phone installed in the console my "Knots Landing phone." 

I'll give an update when I get my phone holder and get it hooked up in the car. 

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

Everybody has a favorite Christmas cookie.  For alot, it's oatmeal raisin.  Some prefer sugar cookies with colorful icing and sprinkles, and some like plain old chocolate chip cookies.  My favorite Christmas cookies are springerles. 

My Grandma would buy them every Christmas from Thornhill's Bakery at the Dixie Manor Shopping Center.  That was THE bakery to go to in our area.  After a day of shopping at Dixie Manor, we would stop by Thornhill's and have a ham sandwich and a Coke before heading out for more shopping.  After we ate our sandwich, Grandma would buy a box of springerles, and would bribe me - if I behaved the rest of the shopping trip, I could eat one on the way home in the car.  It usually worked. 

Not many people like springerles - I guess it's because of their strong licorice flavor, or because they're so hard.  I love them.  A couple of springerles and a cup of strong coffee is my breakfast of choice during the holidays.  Thornhill's Bakery closed about 20 years ago, and our only local full-service bakery closed it's doors 2 years ago, so since then, there's been no place close to get springerles.  A co-worker mentioned a bakery about 10 minutes from work, so the other morning, I decided to stop in and see if they had springerles.  I was thrilled when I saw the top of one of the glass display cases full of bags of springerles.  I picked up a bag and handed it to the clerk.  I thought I'd won the lottery when she said "Oh, we sell these by the dozen, but we put in 2 or 3 extra in each bag."  Sweet. Imagine my surprise when she rang up my purchase and said "That will be $6.50."  WTF???  After I picked my jaw up off of the floor, I managed to get my voice back and asked the clerk "Did the baker make a mistake and put gold flakes in them instead of anise?"  Needless to say, she looked at me like I had 3 heads.  I reluctantly paid the $6.50 because I really wanted the cookies.  I've been rationing them out, and only allow myself to have one cookie a day.  Maybe I can go there after Christmas and they'll have them marked down.

Where's The Elves?

I normally don't complain about NOT getting forwarded emails, but it disappoints me to say that it's almost Christmas and I've yet to receive an email with the elf bowling game. 

I had email at work a couple of years before I got my computer at home, and the elf bowling game was the first forwarded email that I received here at work. Every year since then, I usually got a dozen or so emails with the game.  In case you don't know or have forgotten over the years, elf bowling is a game that you could download and play any time, much to the dismay of bosses everywhere.  Santa was the bowler, and ten of his elves were the pins.  You could control where he rolled the ball, so there was a bit of skill involved in the game.  If you missed and got a gutter ball, one of the elves would drop his pants and smack hisself on the butt and  say "Who's your daddy?"

The first email virus hoax I received was also about elf bowling.  Not long after I got the email containing the elf bowling program, I got an email saying that there was "malicious programming" in the elf bowling program, and on midnight Christmas Eve it would unleash a virus that would bring my computer to a crashing halt.  I wasn't too worried about this as I was sitting in church at our midnight Christmas Eve service.  Midnight came and went and the next day I played the game and my computer worked just fine. 

I know that productivity drops during the holidays, with eating and partying and merriment going on, and I'm sure there's an even bigger spike in productivity due to elf bowling.  If you'd like to sneak and play elf bowling on company time, here's a link to the site where you can download it:
http://www.nstorm.com/games/download2.asp?game_id=64&display_name=Super%20Elf%20Bowling

This Just Doesn't Seem Right

Becks nativity smashed to pieces
By Chris Millar And Bo Wilson, Evening Standard
13 December 2004
The controversial waxwork Nativity scene depicting David and Victoria Beckham as Joseph and Mary has been wrecked in an attack.

Wax models of the stars, worth £50,000 each, suffered "extensive damage" when a young man attacked the display at Madame Tussauds.

The exhibit, which caused uproar after church leaders called it blasphemous, has now been removed only days after it was unveiled.

The attacker waited until other visitors had left the area and charged at the figures, kicking and punching them in a frenzied attack. The face on the Victoria model was damaged most but her husband's was also severely crushed before the man fled into the street.

The other seven waxworks in the display, which include Hugh Grant, Samuel L Jackson and Graham Norton as shepherds and Kylie Minogue as an angel on all fours, were not damaged.

The scene, which also featured Tony Blair, the Duke of Edinburgh and President George Bush as the three wise men, was condemned by church leaders when unveiled last Thursday.

The Beckhams were also said to be furious and said they had not given permission for their waxworks to be used in such a way.

It is now thought the Nativity scene will be replaced by another display featuring the England football captain and his wife.

The attack has some similarities to the decapitation of a statue of Baroness Thatcher in 2002.

 

I Think We Can Save Her

I've mentioned before that I'm a big X-Files fan, even though it's been off the air for a few seasons now.  I've always thought David Duchovney and Gillian Anderson were hotties.  Until now.  He still is.  But being unemployed has sure taken it's toll on her. 

The first photo of Gillian Anderson was taken last week at the Britisn Independant Film Awards.  Sad.  Just sad.  After seeing her as a red head for all of those years, the blonde hair takes some getting used to.  But I while researching this hideous photograph, I discovered that she is a natural blonde.  The new hair color, I can handle.  But her ribs sticking out is just too much to bear.  It's been over 2 years since "The X-Files" ended, and in addition to not working, it appears she's also been not eating.  Surely she hasn't blown all of her money to the point where she can't afford groceries.  She has a young daughter, so she could qualify for AFDC and food stamps.  And she could probably get some Christmas baskets for the needy during this holiday season, too.

Also, in addition to being so thin, Gillian Anderson managed to be photographed with the worst possible expresson on her face.  The second photo is of her taken during the peak of her X-Files success.  What a difference a few years makes. 

I think if we all pitch in, we can save her.   I'd be glad to send her a case or two of Little Debbie Christmas Tree cakes to help get some meat back on those ribs.  We could also send her some Doritos and nacho cheese, and some gift certificates for Kentucky Fried Chicken.  If she is a coffee drinker, we could maybe get her to start using the calorie-laden Coffe-mate flavored creamers.

Link of the Week

We all hate to pay bills - I've yet to meet someone who does.  I don't such a person exists.  While I'm not married and don't own a home, I still have my fair share of bills to pay every month - Bell South for my phone, Insight cable, Verizon Wireless for my cell phone, CitiBank Visa, Capital One Mastercard, Amica car insurance, etc etc etc.  I like to simplify things as much as I can, and for me, paying bills online is the way to go. If possible, I have automatic withdrawal set up so I don't even have to lift a finger to pay the bill every month.  For the rest of the bills, I pay them online. Some of you may still be hesitant to pay bills online, but I've been doing it since I got my computer five years ago and I've yet to have any problems.  Not meaning to sound like a financial planner, but the best way for me to take care of my monthly bills is as soon as I get the bill in the mail, I get online and go to that company's site (if applicable) and pay the bill right then.  I'm the grand prize winner of procrastinators, so you can see why this is the best way to go for me. 

I've found one website that will give you the opportunity to pay quite a few of your bills online - all at the same site.  This awsome place is www.checkfree.com.  Best of all, you don't have to pay any fees.  And they have over 800 stores, utility companies, credit card companies, etc that they cover. So chances are the majority of your bills can be paid through them.  If you use Quicken, you can even download your payment information to make your budgeting and financial recordkeeping even simpler.

Tammy Fest II Review

It's a bittersweet day - Tammy Fest II has come and gone, but the memories will linger on until Tammy Fest III.

Sunshine and blue skies would have been ideal, but we didn't let a cold rain put a damper on our festivities.  The food was delicious, the champagne was bubbly, and the music was outstanding.  Stacy's living room floor was covered with our memorabilia.  My favorite item at this year's Tammy Fest was a Tammy 8-track tape that Stacy got on EBay for a buck.  Stacy's favorite item from my archives was a George Jones and Tammy album autographed by both singers in a gold Sharpie.  Alognside the Tammy figurine on the fireplace mantle was a new addition to Tammy Fest - a lead crystal cube with the official Tammy Fest photo etched in it by laser.  Believe me when I tell you Stacy was weepy when she saw it. 

Preparations are already underway for next year's Tammy Fest III.  Tomorrow, as we always do, we'll look through the Tammy Wynette items on EBay, in search of something different and unique.  We vowed last night that for next year's festival, we WOULD have a piece of clothing owned and worn by the First Lady of Country Music, Miss Tammy Wynette. 

 

Farewell, Jerry Scoggins

On such a happy day as Tammy Fest II, I'm saddened to report that Jerry Scoggins has died at the impressive age of 93.  He had a long, full life.  Jerry left quite a legacy: he was the man that sang "The Ballad of Jed Clampett", the song that opened and close the awesome show "The Beverly Hillbillies."  Jerry sang the song, written by the show's producer Paul Henning, and bluegrass legends Flatt and Scruggs played the music.  The song went to #1 in 1962 shortly after the tv show debuted.  Scoggins came out of retirement in 1993 to sing the theme again for the movie based on the tv series.

You'll be missed, Jerry Scoggins, but rest in peace, you won't be forgotten.  Y'all come back now, ya here.

Tammy Fest II

My how time flies.  It's hard to believe a year has past and that it's time once again for the annual Tammy Fest. 

For those that might not be familiar with Tammy Fest, it's simply the annual celebration of the life and music of the First Lady of Country Music, Miss Tammy Wynette.  Some fans celebrate on her birthday, May 5 (1942), or on the day of her tragic death, April 6 (1998).  The Divas choose to celebrate on December 10, just because.  Actully, the first Tammy Fest was held on December 10 last year just because it was one of the few evenings we both had free on our busy holiday calendars. It was such a success that we knew we much do it every year.  Believe me when I say that preparations have been under way for months and months. 

A lot of planning goes into Tammy Fest: child, husband and parent care needs to be arranged, the menu needs to be planned, shopping lists need to be assigned, and most importantly, Tammy Wynette memarobelia needs to be purchased from EBay. The items in our collection have more than tripled since Tammy Fest last year; we check on EBay daily for interesting items that we might want to acquire.  I'll go on record and say that the coolest EBay purchase this year has to be the Hot Wheels-like replica of Tammy Wynette's tour bus.  All of the details for this year's festival have been painstakingly worked out, and Tammy Fest II is guaranteed to be a success. 

I can't disclose all that will take place during tonight's Tammy Fest; it is largely shrouded in secrecy like the meetings the Masons have.  But I can give you a brief rundown of the evening's events.  The food will be prepared while listening to the Tammy Wynette Christmas cd.  Also at this time, items from the Tammy archives will be put on display.  Next comes the pomp and circumstance - the Tammy Wynette figurine will be taken from the china cabinet and placed in the center of the fireplace mantle for the evening.  Then we eat and drink while we watch our Tammy Wynette concert dvd approximately 4 times through.  At the close of the evening, the figurine will be placed back in the china cabinet until next year's Tammy Fest.  As I said, the majority of the event has a "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" theme, but I think you can get the gist of things. I might post a few pictures tomorrow. 

WTG, Karen Smith

Karen Smith is a hero in my book.  Sunday morning, in an act of self defense, Karen Smith shot a robber in the Sunoco convenience store where she worked as a clerk.  The PAR (punk ass robber) leaned over the counter and demanded money.  He had his hand in his coat pocket, with his finger pointed, giving the impression that he had a gun in his pocket.  Ms. Smith gave him the money from the cash register, but he demanded more.  When she told him she didn't have any more money because she had just opened up the store, he became agitated and pointed his hand in his pocket at her, making her believe he did in deed have a gun.  He took a few steps back from the counter, and Smith reached down below the cash register and pulled out a rather large revolver and shot him.  WTG. 

The PAR was hit in the shoulder (excellent shot, Karen).  The tape showed him flailing and flopping around on the floor, all while Ms. Smith still kept the gun pointed at him.  She called 911 and told them she shot a robber who was still in the store.  Minutes later, officers arrived and simply asked Ms. Smith to put the gun down, and then arrested the PAR.  When he was released from the hospital the next day, he was taken into custody and charged with armed robbery.  I was very happy to hear that no charges would be brought against Ms. Smith.  Even if they had charged her with assault, after they saw the store surveillance tape, there's not a jury in this country that would have convicted her. 

The article I read had the headline "Tape Shows Clerk Shooting Robbery Suspect."  Somehow, I think "innocent until proven guilty" just doesn't apply in this case after seeing the surveillance tape.  I'm sure the ACLU would think otherwise, but who cares.  Here's a link to the video if you want to see for yourself: http://nbcsandiego.feedroom.com/iframeset.jsp?ord=941764

One day when I'm a boss, I'm going to track down Karen Smith and offer her a job; she's the kind of lady I'd like working for me. 

File Under: OMG

I'm sure this isn't what Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John had in mind when they wrote about Jesus' birth in the Gospels.  I'm don't think they had a clue that the sacred nativity scene would be displayed using statues of celebrities at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. 

In case you don't recognize some of these celebrities, here's the cast:
      Mary - former Spice Girl (Posh Spice) Victoria Beckman
      Joseph - soccer star (and husband of Victoria) David Beckham
      Shephards - Samuel L. Jackson, Hugh Grant, Irish comedian Graham Norton
      Wise Men - Tony Blair, the Duke of Edinburgh, President George W. Bush
      Angel - pop star Kylie Minogue
     

Scissor, PAPER, Stone

I added more qualifications and skills to my resume today.  In the course of one hour this morning, I fixed the big network printer, fixed our new high-tech copier, and found a box of pipe fittings that nobody in the building had been able to find for two days.  I feel so much more valuable now. 

It's a never ending battle between our department and everyone else on the first floor that uses the manufacturing printer.  It seems no one else knows how to load a new box of paper except our department. So what do they do?  When that printer runs out of paper, they just use one of the purchasing department printers, and leave the other printer empty.  We run reports from 8:00 until 4:30 all day long - if the hallway were carpeted, I'm sure our department would have worn a path to the printer.  I'd guesstimate that 98% of the reports and information printed on this printer is from my production department.  So when we go to the printer and find it out of paper, we don't mind loading a new box of paper since we use it the majority of the time.  But it's the other 2% of usage that really hacks us off -- when someone else doesn't take the time and courtesy to load a new box of paper when they see the printer empty. 

The paper we use in this printer has red on the edges of the last 20 or so pages, to ALERT the user that the paper is getting ready to run out.  When one goes to get their report from the printer and sees the red on the edges of their report, the thoughtful thing to do would be to drag a [heavy] box of the paper over and load the printer, so the next user won't be forced to cuss when the paper runs out in the middle of their report.  But no. This doesn't happen.  I guess our department is just damned to eternal paper loading. 

A Holiday Visit To The Mall

Last night, my friend PJM and I made our annual holiday trip to the mall.  Actually, this was only our second yearly trip there - last year's trip marked the first time that we hung out together.  So this was a special trip - the first anniversary of our official friendship.  I had met PJM a few times prior to our first mall trip when she visited our church with her parents (who are members), but that visit to the mall got the ball rolling on a fun-filled relationship.

We expected to have a fun-filled night of eating and shopping, but last night's trip was not all fun and frivolity; it was marred by two ugly incidents: we were accosted by foreign mall employees.  Our purses weren't stolen, and thank heavens our virtue is still intact (as intact as it could be for a couple of 41 year olds, lol) but we were accosted nonetheless.

The incidents took place out in the open walkways of the mall; not in a dark, secluded area.  The first (and most heinous) incident took place at a kiosk selling skin products.  A foreign woman grabbed my hand as we walked by and attempted to convince me that I needed to spend $12.99 for a nail buffing block.  I quickly told her that #1, I bought an identical one this past weekend at Walgreens for $1.29, and #2, if she didn't let go of my hand, I would call 911.  Realizing she wouldn't be able to sell me the nail buffer, she then tried to sell me some faicial cleanser made with ingredients from the Dead Sea.  Riiiight.  The Dead Sea is called the Dead Sea because nothing can live in there because it's too salty.  Like I'm going want stuff from that on my face.  I then told her that I didn't need any of her products, because I had just ordered the Susan Lucci "Youthful Essence" microdermabrasion system. 

We hadn't walked 50 yards when the next incident happened.  This time, it was a forgeign man who did the accosting.  He didn't grab us, thank goodness, but he stepped out in front of us and blocked us from walking and attempted to sell us a wire kitchen whisk.  My friend PJM put her hand up and politely told him "We don't cook" and then we stepped around him and walked off. 

The more I thought about last night's accosting, the madder I got.  I'm guessing that this sales behavoir is common in the marketplace back in their Old Country, but they really need to know it's not acceptable here at Mall St. Matthews.  On break this morning, I called the mall and asked to speak to someone in the security department, and I gave him the sordid tale.  He took my name and number, and assured me that this type of behavoir would not be tolerated by mall employees.  I hung up from talking to him, and 10 minutes later, I got a call from the mall manager who apologized and assured me that this would not happen again.  He offered to send me a mall gift certificate, too.  Maybe I'll use it to get some Godiva chocolates. 

If-Money-Were-No-Object Christmas Wish List

Link of the Week

If you live here in Louisville, I'm sure you heard on the news this week about 2 deadly wrecks on a road I travel every day to and from work, the Greenbelt Highway.  The drivers on this road must have it confused with Talladega.  Cars doing the speed limit of 55 get left behind like they're standing still.  But it's not just on the Greenbelt - it's everywhere.  During the rush hour traffic reports, we hear report after report of wrecks all over the city.  It seems like the streets are getting worse. 

A traffic safety activist group, Surface Transportation Policy Project (STPP) gives us detailed reports on how bad our streets are.  Just go to www.transact.org/report.asp?id=235  and you can check out the bad news for yourself.  STPP tells us that indeed the streets are getting meaner. 

If you have pop-up blocker installed on your computer, be sure to allow pop-ups for this site so you can read the pages.  The state reports will open up in a PDF so it might take a few seconds to download. 

File Under: Tales of the Bizarre

That settles it - I'm going to trade in my cell phone for one with the built in camera.  I experienced something yesterday that nobody will believe unless I had pictures for proof:  I saw the same mini-van four times yesterday.

No, I'm not hallucinating - I saw the same van four times yesterday.  It was a dark red Aerostar van - they had two WJIE Christian radio station stickers on the rear hatchback window along with a soccor ball sticker. They also had a big "Marriage = 1 man + 1 woman" sticker on the bumper.  So it's not like I would have mistaken it for another van.

It was like the "Ground Hog Day" movie all day long.  Sighting #1 was on the way to work.  I was behind the van at a light on Cane Run Road.  Sighting #2 was during lunch on my way to the credit union.  I was behind the van at a light on Cane Run Road.  Sighting #3 was on the way home from work.  You guessed it - I was behind the van at a light on Cane Run Road.  Sighting #4 was last night on my way to a friend's house.  The pattern was broken as I was behind the van at a light at the big intersection of Dixie Highway and Greenwood Road.  I was always behind the van, and it had tinted windows, so I couldn't see who was driving it.  Just out of curiosity, I would have liked to have seen who it was that I saw four times throughout the day. 

It was just weird.  After I saw it a second time, I didn't think a whole lot about it - just a weird coincidence.  After I saw it a third time, I thought it was even weirder.  And when I saw the van the fourth time, I thought was down right bizarre.  As I sat in my car waiting for the light to change, I wished I'd had a camera with me to document this oddity.  But I thought how pictures of the van wouldn't prove anything to the skeptics - unless the pictures had a time stamp on them, it would look like the same 4 pictures of the back end of a mini-van. 

As I was running errands this morning, I was looking for van, in hopes of seeing it again.  I had the aforethought to bring my digital camera with me, but unfortunately there were no dark red Aerostar sightings.  Maybe I'll see it tonight on the way to my company Christmas party.  If I do, you canbet I'll get a picture of it.

Blog News

'Blog' most popular word on Web dictionary

Top 10 includes 'insurgent', 'defenestration', 'peloton'

The Associated PressUpdated: 8:25 a.m. ET  Dec. 2, 2004 

 

"Blog" is now the most popular search word in the online version of the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

 

Its frequent lookup paralleled its growth on the political scene this year as keepers of Web logs aggressively chronicled campaign developments they thought were undercovered or ignored by traditional media.

 

Politics dominated Merriam-Webster's top-10 list, with "incumbent," "electoral," "insurgent," "partisan," "sovereignty" and "defenestration" among the top searches.  Rounding out the list were "hurricane," "cicada" and "peloton," the main body of riders in a bicycle race.

Last year was the first that the company kept a list of the top words looked up online.  As with this year, the most popular words were frequently in the news.

Last year's winner was "democracy."

As for a blog, Merriam-Webster defines the noun as "a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer."

 

We're coming of age!! I was thrilled when I read that headline.  But I have to admit - it wasn't until this summer that I knew what a blog was.  I knew about online journals, but I had no idea they were called a blog until my friend (and blog mentor) Lachlan explained the term.  For those that don't know, "blog" is simply short for "web log".  I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise that "blog" was the most popular word searched on Webster's online dictionary - nobody else knew what it was, either. 

I'm hesitant to use the term in mixed company, however.  If someone were to come up to me in a crowd and ask "How's your blog?", the unknowing bystanders might think I have some terrible rash that hasn't cleared up.   They might even think a "blog" is some exotic pet or a foreign car.  I could answer them "Oh, we're trying to get our blog house broken" or could say "I just love my new blog. You should feel the way it handles the turns."  "Blog" could also be mistaken for a German drink served at Oktoberfest or maybe a musical instrument.  The possibilities are limitless.  But thanks to Webster's dictionary, now we all know what a blog is. 

Pssss....Wanna Buy A Watch?

If your company is anything like mine, you have firewalls and spam filters and anti-virus software installed to protect the computer system from attack.  They do a good job of keeping out hackers and viruses, but no matter what they do, they just can't keep us from getting spam emails about fake Rolex watches.

I've always wanted a Rolex ever since I saw my "Knots Landing" and "Dallas" characters wear them.  I'll have one sometime during the next few years, but I'll be damned if jump on the trend bandwagon and buy a knock-off during the current craze.  On my Outlook email program, I have it set to automatically move any emails containing the words "Rolex" to my Deleted Mail folder.  But still, quite a few sneak through.  We used to be bombarded with Viagara emails, but for the past couple of months, the fake Rolex emails have taken first place in the spam department. 

The other day, out of curiosity I looked at a site listed in one of the emails.  I was shocked when I saw how much they were charging for a fake Rolex.  I'm sure in some parts of the world you could probably find a real Rolex for just a few dollars more.  I know that real Rolexes will set you back a couple grand, but fake ones shouldn't cost $600-$800.  You'd think they'd have them for twenty bucks.  They sell fake Gucci and Louis Vuitton purses for about 1/10 the price of a real one, so you'd think they could do the same with a Rolex. 

You know, after thinking about this, I guess if I really wanted a Rolex bad enough right now, I could always sell off some of my Kmart stock and buy one.  But I would probably slap somebody if they came up and asked "Ohhhh - Is that one of those trendy fake Rolexes?"

File Under: Tales of the Bizarre

Lava Lamp Kills Kent Man

POSTED: 9:01 am PST November 30, 2004 UPDATED: 9:46 am PST November 30, 2004

KENT, Wash. -- A 24-year-old man who placed a lava lamp on a hot stovetop was killed when it exploded and sent a shard of glass into his heart, police said.

"Why on earth he was heating a lava lamp on the stove, we don't know," Kent Police spokesman Paul Petersen said Monday.

Philip Quinn's parents found his body in his Kent trailer home at about 8 p.m. Sunday. They went to check on him after his girlfriend reported that she couldn't get in touch with him.

The King County Medical Examiner's office estimated the time of his death at 2 p.m. Sunday.

After the lamp exploded, Quinn apparently stumbled into his bedroom, where he died, Petersen said.

Police found no evidence of drug or alcohol use.   I just don't know what to say about this.  I'm guessing the poor guy just wanted to heat up the lava blobs to make them move up and down faster in the lamp.  The only thing I can come up with is maybe it was a new lamp - it takes a few hours for the lamp to heat up enough to get the lava moving.  I guess this unsuspecting guy just wanted to speed up the process and enjoy his new retro toy.  It's sad  What a way to go. 

Farewell, Uncle Roy

I'm sad to let you know my favorite uncle died yesterday.  Roy was 79.  He had suffered a long time from emphysema. 

He was a Navy veteran, and served during the war on a ship out in the Pacific.  He had some cool jobs during his life - he drove a cab, delivered for the old Donaldson bakery, worked for Premium Foil, and for Campbell's Soup.  When he worked for Premium Foil here in Louisville, I thought it was cool because he would always give us boxes of aluminum pie plates and tv dinner plates. (They made the plates for Banquet).  They transferred him to their plant in Modesto, California so he and my aunt Helen moved out there in the late 60's.  When that plant closed, he went to work for Campbell Soup.  He worked in the Prego spaghetti sauce division until he retired in 1991. 

While they lived in California, Roy and Helen would travel on the weekends with their cool Airstream trailer.  They loved going to Yosemite and to Lake Tahoe.  They were also into square dancing, and travelled around the state with their square dance club.  Roy loved playing cribbage, a game he learned in the Navy.  They would play cribbage every night after supper. I'm almost positive they played a few games this weekend.  

When Roy retired from Campbells, they moved back to Louisville.  Once again, it was nice to have family to be with.  After battling pneumonia twice, Roy was diagnosed with emphysema, not a real shocker since he had been a smoker all of his adult life.  His health was starting to deteriorate, and after Grandma died (his wife's mother) they decided to move back to California to be close to their daughter and her family. 

As you can see, Uncle Roy had an active life.  After making countless trips across the country over the years, he saw more of the United States than all of us put together.  He was full of fun, and he and I had some great times before they moved back to California.  One adventure that I'll always remember was our trip down to the 'hood in Portland.  One summer, Roy asked me to bring Dad's little Ranger truck over to haul a load of scrap aluminum to the recycling center. So we loaded up the little truck and headed down to Portland.  For those not familiar with Loiusville, the Portland area is one of the toughest, baddest parts of town.  I was leary of going there in the broad daylight.  But we went and sold his scrap.  He was thrilled to death over getting $42 for it.

Roy and Helen were also faithful watchers of "The Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy."  I'm hoping that yesterday morning as Uncle Roy was waiting at the pearly gates, St. Peter told him that Ken Jennings lost on Jeopardy.  

Ken Jennings Jeopardy Update

I think this is the night Ken Jennings will finally lose on Jeopardy.  The chatter that I've picked up still indicates that he will lose his 75th game, which will air tonight.  I thought last night was toing to be the night, though.  The 2nd place challenger gave him a run for his money, but lost $15,000 on Double Jeopardy. 

I had planned on going out tonight after the crappy day I've had, but instead, I'll be parked on the couch with a glass of egg nog and will cheer the other 2 contestants on to victory. 

Big Brother Will Be Watching

Security officials to spy on chat rooms Last modified: November 24, 2004, 10:28 AM PST By Declan McCullagh
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

The CIA is quietly funding federal research into surveillance of Internet chat rooms as part of an effort to identify possible terrorists, newly released documents reveal.

In April 2003, the CIA agreed to fund a series of research projects that the documents indicate were intended to create "new capabilities to combat terrorism through advanced technology." One of those projects is research at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., devoted to automated monitoring and profiling of the behavior of chat-room users.

Their proposal, also disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act, received $157,673 from the CIA and NSF. It says: "We propose a system to be deployed in the background of any chat room as a silent listener for eavesdropping...The proposed system could aid the intelligence community to discover hidden communities and communication patterns in chat rooms without human intervention."

Riiiiight.  This shouldn't come as any big surprise to us.  But somehow, I really don't think that terrorists that want to blow up our country are spending their time in chat rooms where the most pressing questions are "A/S/L?" and "Got a pic?"  Who knows? Maybe there are some terrorists who used to watch "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and want to chat with other Buffy lovers.  Or maybe there are some terrorists that are into quilting, and want to chat with other quilters and exchange patterns. 

I'm Hacked Off

I'm really hacked off today. Actually, I've been hacked off for almost a week.  Last Tuesday, we discovered that our church had been broken into and robbed. 

The good Lord is still watching over Fourth Avenue Baptist - the robbers didn't vandalize nor tear up anything in the church except for the door handle on the refrigerator.  There are couches and chairs that they could have slashed, and they could have torn out new carpet.  But for some reason, they didn't.  Maybe the thieves had a conscience.  The thugs cut the padlock on the courtyard gate, and broke a basement window.  Once in through the window, they went through the catacombs, aka the dungeon, and came up by the sanctuary. 

Based on the items they took, it was as if they were furnishing an apartment: a big tv from our Sunday School room, a couple of brass urns, a few pairs of brass candle holders, a few pairs of sconces, my Dad's tool box, a small relaxatin fountain from the Pastor's study, and a big mirror.  From the refrigerator they took a couple cans of pop, and from the freezer they took a 5 pound box of frozen Old Folks sausage patties and two Lean Cuisine meals that Mom kept there for an emergency if they were working and had to stay late at church.  How low can you get?

We don't have any real suspects.  We could have gotten fingerprints from the refrigerator and from the empty pop cans they left in the church.  But without proof all they could be hauled in for would be receiving stolen property if they still had the items.  Our only hope is that they try to hock the tv - it was engraved with our church name in 3 different places, so hopefully the pawn broker would notice it and call it in. 

Our church may be small in numbers (we average about 30 every Sunday) but you'll be hard pressed to find a congregation with hearts as big as Fourth Avenue.  Through the generosity of members' bequests and offerings, this year we've been able to get the church in tip-top shape -- new lighting in the sanctuary, new carpet, a new central air unit, reupholstering on chairs in the sanctuary, and we're currently working on getting a new baptristy.  So we'll keep plugging along and doing the Lord's work at the corner of Fourth and Oak as long as we can.

Link of the Week

We might be reluctant to admit it in mixed company, but we all have at least one tv show that we watch faithfully every week regardless of what's going on at home.  For me, it used to be "The X-Files."  Even though I taped it for the archives, if I had to miss it "live" and didn't get a chance to watch it late Sunday night, I was at a loss the next morning at work when everybody was talking about what happened to Mulder and Scully.  When the closing credits were playing, I could usually count on my friend Steve, another X-Files fanatic, to call so we could discuss the show.  Now that "The X-Files" is off the air (although it will be aired forever in syndication), "CSI" has taken its place.  While "CSI" is a consistant top-ten show in the ratins and has spawned two other hit "CSI" shows, I've had a hard time finding CSI fanatics to discuss the week's episode.  That was before I found www.televisionwithoutpity.com. 

TelevisionWithoutPity is a forum for TV lovers.  There's a section for most of the current drama or science fiction tv shows.  They even have original series from HBO, Showtime, and MTV.  You can read very in-depth re-caps from previous episodes, and if you want to express your opinion you can post on the message boards.  Back in the summer, I spent an hour one evening actually LOL while reading the message boards about Jessica and Ashlee Simpson's tv shows.  What was so funny wa not the comments themselves, but the fact that while these people were merciless a they trashed the shows, they apparently watched the shows on a regular basis or else they wouldn't know the details.  For some reason TWOP dropped their forums about Jessica and Ashlee's shows.  But don't let that hinder you - go check out their site. 

 

Where's A Camera When You Need One?

This summer when Radio Shack had a big sale, I bought a new Fuji digital camera.  I've used it twice, I think.  I still use my ancient Polaroid digital for all of my photo needs, and said that I would keep the Fuji in the car in case I saw something or someone that needed to be photographed for the journal. And who knows when I might see a celebrity here in the 'Ville?  Well, needless to say the Fuji camera is in the case setting on my dresser.  I would have given anything to have had it with me last night. I saw not one, but two, journal-worthy things that were major Kodak moments.

I was on my way home from having dinner with some friends, and was running low on gas so I stopped at the Dairy Mart to fill up.  My BMW has a 26 gallon tank, so filling up takes a few minutes.  I took the opportunity to throw away old receipts and empty Kroger bags and a few leaves from the car while I was waiting.  I walked over to the garbage can by the gas pump and as I was tossing in my bag, something in the garbage can caught my eye.  I looked down in there, and saw a plate in there.  No, it wasn't a paper or styrofoam plate - it was a nice big dinner plate.  Pfaltzgraff to be exact. The plate was upside down, and had foil wrapped over the top of it.  I guess someone was just NITM (not in the mood) for any more leftovers so they just tossed it in the garbage when they were getting gas.  I looked in the garbage can again, but didn't see any more of the place setting. 

By this point, the tank was only about half-full, so I just leaned against the car while I was waiting.  I was looking at the doors to the store, watching the people coming and going, and then I saw him - he was coming back out of the store, walking over to his white S-10 pick-up truck, carrying a small bag.  It was an Elvis impersonator.  He had on the white jumpsuit (complete with the big belt, and with the big rhinestone eagle on the back.) His hair and sideburns were jet black, just like The King.  And he looked like him, too.  I'm going out on a limb and assuming this guy was an Elvis impersonator, and not just someone who felt like dressing up like Elvis; besides, Halloween was a month ago.  If I'd had my camera with me, I would have had to have asked another person at the gas pumps to take my picture with the Elvis impersonator to add to my collection. 

All of this happened at about 11:00 at night - not at 2 or 3 in the morning when most  bizarre things occur.  And the strongest thing I had to drink last night was Nestea decaffeinated iced tea, so I know I wasn't seeing things.  There truly was a Pfaltzgraff plate in the garbage can and an Elvis impersonator in the parking lot of the Dairy Mart.  That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Updates

The auction has ended for the Virgin Mary grilled cheese sandwich.  The winning bid was a whopping $28,000.  No, that wasn't a typo.  There were only 27 bids for this miraculous sandwich, with the opening bid at the bargain price of $3,000.  EBay said that financing was available, too.  No payments were due until April, or if you were expecting a big income tax refund, there was no interest if you paid by April.  Shipping was only $9.95 - a bargain by EBay standards, considering that for the majority of the items I buy on EBay the shipping and handling is usually more than what I paid for the item itself.  While the item listing had the amount of the winning bid, they didn't give the identity nor even the EBay screenname of the winning bidder. My guess is that person didn't want everybody on the internet to know how stupid they were. 

My co-worker Adrian and I have collected 201 E-Ploids so far.  We only have a week left to eat as many specially marked bags as possible; Adrian is taking care of the Funyons and I'm handling the Doritos.  We're still confident that we'll win our Pizza Hut gift card to prove the unbelievers wrong.  I'll keep you posted on our progress.

There is currently a federal investigation into Krispy Kreme's accounting practices.  The SEC is looking into the company's franchise reacquisitions and its future earnings outlook.  Whew.  I'm relieved to know that their losses may be due to shady bookkeeping and not from actual sales declines. 

 

Top Ten Things I'm Thankful For

1.  God's love
2.  My parents
3.  My friends
4.  My family (related and extended)
5.  My church
6.  Music
7.  My job
8.  Laughter
9.  My college education                                                                                           10. Freedom of speech so I can continue writing in TWIT

I Need A Favor

I don't ask much of you, my faithful readers, except to continue reading TWIT (That's What I'm Thinking).  But today, I am asking you to do something for me: buy some Krisy Kremes.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts announced a 3rd quarter loss of $3 million, or 5 cents per share, down from a profit of $14.5 millions, or 23 cents per share, a year ago.  If the company hadn't posted one-time charges related to discontinued operations, the company would have only earned $2.4 millions, or 4 cents per share.  Analysts had expected Krispy Kreme to earn 13 per share.  When this was announced, shareholders started selling off their stock, and shares fell $1.56, or 16 percent, to close at $9.64.  The Krispy Kreme stock is trading at less than a quarter of its 52-week high of $41.73.

As was the case with Hostess declaring bankruptcy earlier this fall, Krispy Kreme also blames its problems on the low-carb diet craze. You can't make me believe that THAT many people have stopped buying KKs.  The two Krispy Kreme stores in Louisville are open 24/7 and they are busy no matter what time you drive by.  Here in Louisville, back in the day, KKs were only available at these two bakeries and a selected few stores.  Now, they're in all of the grocery stores and can be found in the majority of the convenience stores.  The trays in the convenience stores are usually empty when I stop by, so somebody is buying them.

So getting back to my favor, please buy some Krispy Kremes.  We've got to help the company and get those earnings back up.  If you're low-carbing it, buy a box any way and take them to work.  Co-workers everywhere love KKs.  You don't have to spend extra to get the fancy ones, either - plain glazed KKs will be just fine.  By giving doughnuts to your co-workers, you're also practicing the Golden Rule by treating others the way you would want to be treated - you'd love for someone to give you a doughnut, right?  It's a proven fact that co-workers you share snacks with will remember your generosity and wil share their snacks with you. 

Mad, er, Red Hatters

I went with my Mom to a fabric store on Saturday, and we thought they were giving away something because the parking lot was full and we had to park at the nursery next door.  We went in and the store was packed.  I walked around the store and didn't see any contests or giveaways going on.  What I did see was about 20 or so women clammoring over Red Hat Society fleece.

The fleece was garrish.  There must have been a dozen bolts of it, all different yet tackily the same: different shades of purple with the infamous Red Hat in different shapes, sizes and styles.  They also had quite a few bolts of cloth with the Red Hat Society theme.  Mom asked me what was up with all of the purple and red cloth in the store and I took her aside and gave her a synopsis of the Red Hat Society.  She was fascinated, but not to the point that it was something she would want to join.  When she got her red felt and we went up and got in line at the cash register, she struck up a conversation with a Red Sat Society in front of us.  Mom commented on the "colorful" fleece and asked what the woman was making.  The Red Hatter proudly said they were all making fleece bath robes. 

Let me tell you a bit about the Red Hat Society.  It's a club made up of older women who wear purple clothes and red hats.  I'd venture to guess there's thousands of these clubs all over the country.  The Red Hat Society gets their name from an old poem whose first line says "When I am an old woman I shall wear purple, with a red hat that doesn't go and doesn't suit me."  Well from the Red Hat Society women I've seen, they've got that part down pat.  The first time I read that poem was in 1990 in a frame shop in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.  In fact, that's the only time I've read the poem.  With the internet and email giving people the [annoying] ability to forward sappy email stories, I'm really surprised I haven't gotten hundreds of copies of the poem. 

Soooo this poem is at least 14 years old, and all of a sudden we have packs of older women wearing red hats and dressing in purple.  It evidently wasn't trendy a couple of decades ago, but now it is.  It's so trendy that the groups pop up everywhere.  I saw 2 or 3 groups at each of my 4 trips to the state fair this summer.  As if they don't already stand out in a crowd wearing purple and red, they were all all loud and obnoxious and drawing even more attention to themselves.  I also saw a group over at the Caesar's casino boat last month.  With the holidays around the corner, I'm sure we'll see the clubs dining out at restaurants celebrating.  You won't have any trouble spotting them, that's for sure. 

Let the Red Hat Society women do their thing - more power to them.  I'm content with being a Diva - at least we don't have to pay dues or wear purple and red.