Thanks Suz!

Economics explained! ! !

The best explanation I've heard yet. It's a slow day in some little town. The sun is hot....the streets are deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit. On this particular day a rich tourist from back west is driving through town. He stops at the motel and lays a $100 bill on the desk saying he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one to spend the night. As soon as the man walks upstairs, the owner grabs the bill and runs next  door to pay his debt to the butcher. The butcher takes the $100 and runs down the street to retire his debt to  the pig farmer. The pig farmer takes the $100 and heads off to pay his bill at the feed store. The guy at the Farmer's Co-op takes the $100 and runs to pay his debt to the local prostitute, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer her services on credit. She, in a flash rushes to the motel and pays off her room bill with the motel owner. The motel proprietor now places the $100 back on the counter so the rich traveller will not suspect anything. At that moment the traveler comes down the stairs, picks up the $100 bill, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, pockets the money & leaves. NOW, no one produced anything...and no one earned anything...however the whole town is out of debt and is looking to the future with much optimism. And that, ladies and gentlemen is precisely how the U.S. and Canadian Governments are conducting business today!

Dinner and A Movie February 2010

Nicole hosted dinner and a movie this month and we were joined by my sister and her husband.  Nicole made a great dinner with an entree of lasagna - she even made a separate vegetarian one for me.   It was my turn to pick the movie so I chose "The Time Traveler's Wife",  which I had posted about this book a couple weeks ago.   After Alice and Doug left,  Nicole and I watched a second feature -  "National Treasure Two".  Spending time with my daughter made for a great weekend off!

A Book For This Week - 2/28/2010

The
House
of
Thunder

by
Dean Koontz

From Publishers Weekly:

"Koontz ( Watchers , The Servants of Twilight ) has come up with an intriguing premise: Susan Thornton wakes up in a hospital after a serious car accident with an odd, selective amnesia. She can remember nothing of her job, yet she is stricken with fear when the company she works for is named. And that's not all. Thirteen years earlier, Susan had witnessed the murder of her boyfriend during a brutal fraternity hazing; her testimony sent one of the four men responsible to prison. Now she sees the same men, looking not a day older, walking the corridors of the hospital. Even worse, she has recurrent macabre hallucinations involving them and the decomposing corpse of her boyfriend. Susan doubts her sanity until she stumbles upon a bit of hard evidence right out of one of the "hallucinations." Koontz's resolution, involving a complex Soviet plot, transforms the story from a cozy chiller to political thriller and may not please readers tired of cold war paranoia and propaganda. Others, however, should find this tale satisfying from start to finish."


(I just finished listening to this book yesterday on my way to my daughter's house.   It was a gift from a friend.  I have to admit that the bulk of the book I was feeling it was not realistic and not liking it much.  But at the very end Koontz pulled it together in a way that I really liked.   The ending made the book.  Parts of the book alluded to the idea that sexual violence was coming and when that did not occur I felt better about the book.  I find sexual violence offensive.  Remember to click on the title of the book and the author's name to learn more)

A Cry For Help

Someone sent me a link to this via email this morning and I wanted to share it in case people didn't see it.   It is very moving.

From My Email Bag Tonight

This just made me belly laugh as  someone has a convoluted but amusing point of view.

"  Life would be much better lived backwards.

You'd start out dead and get it out of the way.

Then, wake up in an old peoples' home feeling better every day.

You get kicked out for being too healthy; go collect your pension, then
when you start work, you get a gold watch on your first day.

You work 40 years until you're young enough to enjoy your retirement.

You eat what you want, you party... and you get ready to start school.

You go to primary school, you become a kid, you play, you have no
responsibilities, you become a baby, with all the joys of breast feeding and then .........

You spend your last 9 months floating peacefully in luxury, in spa-like
conditions; central heating, room service on tap, larger quarters every
day...

And then, you finish off as an orgasm.   "

Catching Up - updated

It has been one of those weeks that I can't seem to get away from work at a decent hour,  so I get to bed late (or early is probably a better term since it is the wee hours of the morning),  so I get up late,  so the dishes and mail pile up.  I am off today and I really am sort of  cleaning.  But that involves going through the mail.  Before I put the Indiana State Nurses Association Feb/Mar/Apr 2010 newsletter into the recycle bin I wanted to share some of the resolutions that they passed at their October 2009 Annual Meeting.

"Concepts of Health Care Reform:  that the Indiana State Nurses Association encourage collaboration with other stakeholders in the design of health car reform, and that the ISNA provide information to nurses throughout the state on these major areas of care reform.

Health Care Reform:  That the Indiana State Nurses Association assist nurses in the state to become acquainted with the major issues of health care reform and key contributions of nurses in addressing access, cost and quality that should be incorporated in health care reform.

Preparing Nurses for Health Care Reform: That the Indiana State Nurses Association educate Indiana nurses on these important health care reform measures; and that the Indiana State Nurses Association encourage nurses to advocate for these health care reform measures. "

Now I really am going to dust and vacuum,  clean the bird cage,  scrub the bathroom . . .


Updated - now that I know how to add attachments to blogs I wanted to add the actual newsletter to this post that I was referring to.  You will find the quoted resolutions on page one and two. 

Attachment: IN2_10.pdf

In Honor Of President's Day 2010

Be sure and take a quiet moment to remember our nation's leaders.

A Book For This Week - 2/13/2010

The Time Travelers Wife

by

Audrey Niffenegger

From Publishers Weekly

This clever and inventive tale works on three levels: as an intriguing science fiction concept, a realistic character study and a touching love story. Henry De Tamble is a Chicago librarian with "Chrono Displacement" disorder; at random times, he suddenly disappears without warning and finds himself in the past or future, usually at a time or place of importance in his life. This leads to some wonderful paradoxes. From his point of view, he first met his wife, Clare, when he was 28 and she was 20. She ran up to him exclaiming that she'd known him all her life. He, however, had never seen her before. But when he reaches his 40s, already married to Clare, he suddenly finds himself time travelling to Clare's childhood and meeting her as a 6-year-old. The book alternates between Henry and Clare's points of view, and so does the narration. Reed ably expresses the longing of the one always left behind, the frustrations of their unusual lifestyle, and above all, her overriding love for Henry. Likewise, Burns evokes the fear of a man who never knows where or when he'll turn up, and his gratitude at having Clare, whose love is his anchor. The expressive, evocative performances of both actors convey the protagonists' intense relationship, their personal quirks and their reminiscences, making this a fascinating audio.

(I finished listening to this book on Thursday night.   It is long but was a good choice to listen to this Valentine season.  Click on the author's name to learn more about her and the title to learn about the movie they made from this book.  I would not recommend this book for anyone under age.  It has quite a bit of adult content.)

I learned of this from Suz - thank you Blaze.

There is a blog I enjoy reading  called "Margaret and Helen",  I first heard of it on Suz's page and really think the blog is a real hoot.   Here is the most recent post from it.   Please follow the above  link to read more of their posts. 

"

 Margaret, I really do like this President.  He is young and smart… and I think he is trying his best under bad circumstances to do the right thing and create change for good.  Not easy these days… Sort of like  your convincing Howard that  seeing a doctor annually at his age is still preventative medicine.  You’ve both got a tough sales job ahead of you.
I really do appreciate his trying to reach across the aisle - as they say – and get Republicans to work towards bipartisanship.  But honey, that dog just don’t hunt.  Trying to reach bipartisanship with this particular Republican Party will probably achieve bipolarism instead of bipartisanship.
Harsh?  Well yes maybe I am being a bit harsh.  Part of the problem?  Well maybe that too.  After all bipartisanship requires a little give and take from both sides.  So who am I to suggest that the problem is mainly with the Republicans?
Good questions all of them – particularly because I was the one who asked them.  You know me, Margaret.  I’m always trying to play both sides of the same issue.   Well what do you expect from a woman who invented the all pie diet?
To all my Republican readers out there – I have had quite enough of your nonsense.
Your party gave us Sarah Palin and George W. Bush – dumb and dumber.  He’s the guy whose mission still isn’t accomplished and she’s the gal who couldn’t handle being governor of one of our least populous states.  Even the “professional” wrestler was able to finish the job in Minnesota.
Your party had an issue with President Obama telling school children to stay in school and study hard.  I guess a black man can’t be trusted with your children regardless of his credentials.    And your party decided the tradition of separating church and state had an expiration date.  You love the constitution but you seem to pick through that document the same way you pick through the Bible – with all the effectiveness of eating corn on the cob through a picket fence.
We are actively involved in  two wars, but you  just can’t understand why the deficit is so big?   Regardless of what you have been told,  every time a bomb is dropped, an angel does not get her wings.  Hint:  Defense spending represents almost one quarter of all federal spending.
Today’s Republican Party has an issue with abortion, but then fights against healthcare reform knowing full well that more than 9 million children lack health insurance.  A stretch argument to be sure, but then again 18 19 Children and Counting is a big hit.
My party at least recognizes the need for increased access to birth control.  Your party is pro-life right up until they cut the cord and then you turn your attention to electing judges who promote shortening the waiting time on death row.
And for Pete’s sake your party has an issue with gay people, but you gladly send your straight children to war while telling gays they cannot serve.  This one, more than any other, has me scratching my head.  Aren’ t you just delaying their eventual trip to Hell?
You  actually have Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck as your spokesmen.   Rush Limbaugh?  Are you serious?  Even the NFL didn’t want Limbaugh.  And Beck… Glenn Beck?  When people use the expression ”nuttier than a fruitcake” Glenn Beck is the main ingredient.
The Republican Party of yesteryear was respectable.  You were all about a small government that carried a big stick.  Now you are just despicable.  You used to be the Party of Lincoln and now – honest to God –  you make Archie Bunker look progressive.
If it wasn’t for Fox News you would be irrelevent.  That’s right.  You have become a party that owes its entire existence to a cable news channel owned by an Aussie.  Your mascot should be a kangaroo instead of an elephant.  After all, the last guy you sent to the White House arrived there thanks to a kangaroo court ruling rather than an election.   He then spent the next 8 years bringing our nation to its knees.   How about sitting down and shutting your damn pie holes long enough to see if the guy in office now can actually clean up your mess.  Honestly, you are embarrassing yourself.
Look.  My party has problems too.  It’s biggest problem might be in attempting to please everyone, the Democratic Party seems to please no one.  But diversity of opinions is something I am willing to work through.  Bigotry and ignorance is not.  I mean it.  Really.   "

A Major Life Accomplishment For Me

Those of you that have been following my blogs for awhile perhaps will remember that way back in Y360 days, or about 2 1/2 years ago,  my wok leaked onto my stove top and in an instant I had a stove top fire.   The fire extinguisher that had been under my sink forever worked and no major damage was done.  I cleaned up the mess myself although it took me a few weeks to get all the coating  on things cleaned up on into the living and dining areas from the kitchen.   All though no major harm was done,  my stove has never quite been the same.   I don't think it was the fire so much as the powder from the extinguisher that permeated into every thing.   Powder was visible in the clock and I am sure was settled into the inner workings of things.   First to go out was the self cleaning oven ability. I think it was a timing thing as it turned on but not off.   Then the oven just no longer was the right temperature and eventually areas of the oven were too hot and areas too cool.

I kept putting off buying a new stove for obvious reasons.   I  dreamed about a corning wear top stove until I read that canning is not a good idea on them due to the possibility of cracking caused by the weight of the water bath canner.   Then I dreamed about a 40 inch model.   I had to talk myself out of that one as the cupboards did not really facilitate the size and I would have to spend money having things adjusted after spending more on the larger stove to begin with.   Mark helped me reason that out with the promise of some help with a dishwasher.  I so want a dishwasher.   He then sweetened it with the promise of a new fan/light/hood installed as soon as one comes on sale at Menards.  So I went with a standard size stove.

Right after the first of the year I started watching the January sales and finally bit last week.  Today my new stove was delivered.  Woot!  Woot!   Woot!