More from Reason

Yeah, apparently the fire marshal is totally insane.

Potty-mouth

What did he think he was doing? Is there a law in Texas against saying "fuck?" Or is there a rule that MalWart has about it? It isn't like I go around dropping the f-bomb every 5 minutes or anything, really. I very seldom use the word. I would be astounded and talking to an attorney or something if some moron arrested me for saying it!

Not only that, but does her using that word fall under any of the definitions of "disorderly conduct?" I don't know what Texas law states as being disorderly conduct. The laws vary widely and interpretation of those laws, even within a state, also vary widely. I think the general idea is this:

• Public drunkenness
• Inciting a riot
• disturbance of the peace
• loitering in certain areas
• fighting / physical altercations
• obstructing traffic
• use of extremely obscene or abusive language
• loud or unreasonable noise

Obviously, if Texas law includes the 7th point, sure, but who decides what is "extremely obscene or abusive language." IMO, "fuck" doesn't really seem all that extreme or abusive. I can do a lot better than the f-bomb without trying and I'm just a midwest old lady.

If the community decides what is obscene or abusive there are some places where uttering a "damn" would get you tossed in jail. There are other places where anyone who doesn't swear like a trooper is an object of suspicion.

I also wonder about a fire marshall's right within the law to actually arrest someone.


It's nuts.

More gads...

This from the always excellent Ed Brayton:

Support the troops, prevent them from voting

Seems to me to be a blatantly politically motivated action by the VA. It is, indeed, interesting that the Bushies choose to call on the Hatch Act but, at the same time, have violated it time after time after time. (Why do you suppose the administration and justice dept. are resisting congressional investigation so strenuously? Guilt by dumbassery.)

Another day in Bushie Paradise.

If I were a vet of any kind, I'd be screaming at the top of my lungs.

Rush Limbaugh

Shit from swine, again.

Rush blames Elizabeth

This guy is just such a total dumbass.

I wouldn't have even bothered with this but there are people out there who think like he does, if that's what it's called.

We are surrounded by barbarian hordes.

Gads...

Interesting article from Reason:

Coercive Paternalism


Please notice in the article this particular paragraph:

"The most prominent examples are in California, which was once synonymous with freedom. City officials in San Francisco and Los Angeles intend to ensure that individuals are free to do what they want, if what they want is good for them."

I find that sort of thing interesting. There should be a footnote or a comment that, individuals are free to do what they want, as long as what they want to do is decided for them by Big Brother.

Then this bit of foolishness:

"Councilwoman Jan Perry believes the measure will assure the locals "greater food options." The Los Angeles Times reports she "said the initiative would give the city time to craft measures to lure sit-down restaurants serving healthier food to a part of the city that desperately wants more of them."

That woman needs to have some lessons in economics. As the article goes on to point out, if "healthier choices" (ie. vegetarian and seafood) didn't see the area as being profitable this law sure won't change their outlook.

And just where did she get any information that South LA "desperately wants more of them [healthy choices]"? Has she been out on the streets interviewing the denizens of the south side? I rather doubt it. I suspect that this statement is based on nothing more than her desire to do what, to her, is the right thing. This begs the question of her having the right to tell anyone else what the "right thing" is for them to do.

"Libertarian paternalists may think they know better than you how you should live, but generally they limit themselves to promoting informed choices. Coercive paternalists have a simpler approach: telling us what to do."

I posted a while back about all the stupid, needless, warnings on things and this is just more of the same type of idiocy.

Yeah, well...

SS has an unfortunate tendency to stash "his" stuff so nobody can "get it." This now includes his schedule for the next year of school. He had both his copy and his father's copy for no reason that is immediately apparent to me.

It hasn't occurred to him that, since I am the main scheduler around here, I really DO need a copy. He can't get registered until I know what fees he has to pay.

He's the most secretive kid I have ever met in my life. It's annoying.

"Moscow can't be trusted"

In light of further information on what has been going on in Georgia, I am changing this post.

South Ossetia has not considered itself part of Georgia since 1991. It has been a unaligned demi-nation, the majority of whose citizens consider themselves Russian. The logistics of this whole ting are complex as there have been several referendums concerning independence in S.O. Not recognized by western nations, nor the Russian Federation, S.O. insists on it's independence. (This gets around to the point of who it is that should be making judgments about what alignment a people should choose.)

On August 7th, Georgian forces killed 10 Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia. Even before that there were hints of Georgian interference in S.O. resulting in what were considered human rights violations. When Saakasvili ordered the attack on Tskhinvali. There are differing stories on whether, in fact, there was actually an aircraft manufacturing facility in the city. One fact that is clear is this: August 7th, Georgian forces killed 10 Russian peacekeepers in S.O. and the ensuing incursion/invasion displaced many people and has caused widespread misery.

There are widely disparate stories about who/what/where/why/when and how things have happened. Given the fact that, over the last years, Moscow has actually behaved itself pretty well when considering external and foreign affairs while the guvmunts of the west have been notoriously aggressive in foreign and external affairs.

Saakashvili's cries of "Hungary! Poland! Finland" ring false. S.O. is not a sovereign nation in the sense of the above-mentioned entities. Since the Russian Federation doesn't officially recognize S.O. as being independent, rather considering it as something related to a protectorate, they certainly weren't likely to sit back and ignore what they would consider blatant and irresponsible aggression from Georgia. (It should be mentioned that, unlike the west, the R.F. doesn't recognize Georgia as an independent state. This makes the fact that the R.F. pretty much turned a blind eye to the war games conducted by the US/Israel/Georgian forces within Georgia.)

There is such a huge disparity between what is coming out of the R.F., S.O. and the western nations that it makes me highly suspicious.

Condy Rice's posturing, the news media's shrieking, the wailing and moaning about a third world war? Given the long history of the US and UK's guvmunt's mendacity and prevarication, I take it all with a very large grain of salt.

IMO, the leadership of the R.F., even given my distaste for Putin, could run circles around all of the western states leadership without trying, both in statecraft and intelligence. It has been said that there are no stupid Russian politicians. All the dumb ones are dead. I tend to agree. The west, on the other hand, rewards dumbassery with power and privilege.

Finally!

The last weekend of summer break. Bev, a friend with 4 kids ranging in age from 6 to 17, says that if the kids don't return to school darned soon, her head will explode.

I agree.

This last 2 months have been some of the longest in the history of the world. The collision of bad weather, me not feeling well, and kid problems has been just exhausting. The whole conference and registration process has been streamlined and is quite simple. Expensive, but simple. DS3 is only $70 currently. SS, because he isn't taking academics but "hobby" classes, will have a whole crapper full of extra charges. At least $20 extra and I suspect there may be as much as $30 possible. That will boost him right up over $100. I don't know where his father will get that much since he ended up having to get That Car out of hock because SS blew his last 3 paychecks on absolutely nothing and the garage was threatening to sell the car. (stupid car has added much stress and disgust to my summer.) damn it anyway.

It has cooled off enough that I can sleep at night without having the air on, which is nice. It sucks to be forced to choose between stifling all night and getting up congested from the a.c. It got so bad that I finally took a fan into the bedroom and turned it on me. Himself has been spending the nights all covered up with blankies while I lay and sweat. Had hoped all this kind of foolish endocrine crap would have been over and done but it evidently isn't.

Yet again, getting up in the morning shaky and "ucky" feeling. That's part of the whole Big M thing, for me at least. It's just darned irritating. The brain fog is worse. Fuzzy thinking is not something I have ever had to deal with, at least not until recently. I hear about it from many women who go through the same thing on a regular basis. It's frustrating, embarrassing, and infuriating, all at the same time.

Moreover, I have to wash my Keens at least once every 3 days or they get to smelling like my buddy E's nails. There's a high "eeewwwww" factor in that, too.

Lil Sis had a hysterectomy a couple of years ago and never had any of this kind of thing happen. Not One Damned Symptom... argh. She never had cramps or bloating or PMS or anything like that in high school, either. double argh. I'm 53 and still get the bloats and the whole thing. triple argh.

One thing that has to be done today is on my list of least favorite things to do: cleaning out the garbage dumpster. Someone keeps putting stuff in it that isn't in a bag or container and it's gotten pretty bad. Will haul it out to the yard and fill it with detergent and water. The scrub it out. (insert barf icon here)

Our bathroom should be cleaned, too. Himself has, after years of sitting, decided to stand to pee. That calls for another *barf* icon. At least the floor and walls are tile so they are not too horribly bad to clean. As opposed to what they were, blue shag carpet and all. Yuck.

The runaway eyebrows that I depilated a while back have returned. I think they're angry. They regrew very fine and I can't get a grip on them with the tweezers. Damn it. It's one of those little annoyances that nag at me like buzzing flies. I suppose I will have to find a different depilatory as I don't want to use that stuff I did before. Wasn't having hormone weirdness going on then and I suspect the stuff would burn my skin if I used it at this time. I have some wax-stuff around here somewhere but don't think that will work since hair has to be about a foot long before the wax will grab it.

The chicken last night was just OK. Not great, just OK. I hadn't used this particular recipe before and, as I was reading through it, it seemed like it wouldn't work out quite right. It didn't. It calls for browning the chicken, sweating the onions, garlic and mushrooms. Deglazing the pan with sherry then adding in heavy cream and chicken broth. Return chicken to pan and simmer until chicken is done. The order of ingredients led me to suspect that, during the simmering process, the cream sauce would be likely to break. It did. Ended up with butter chicken, basically. If the cream wasn't added until the very last minute, after removing the aromatics and chicken from the pan, it is possible that the combination of sherry and broth would have cooked down enough so the sauce wouldn't be runny. I'm not a huge fan of cream sauces, anyway.

Himself has got to get around to fixing my car damned soon. The rear struts will collapse totally if he doesn't get his fanny in gear and then I won't have a vehicle. Can't afford the $1500.00 charge at the Roo garage in Rochester so he is stuck doing it himself. Repairs are complicated by the fact that Giuseppe the Body Man has taken off to Vegas again. So, rather than just putting the car on the lift, Himself will have to put it on jack stands, slide under it and rattle away at the bolts with the air wrench. If he can manage on a day, I'll be surprised. If he doesn't, I will be carless, anyway. *sigh* Rear struts on Roos have a tendency to go out at around 150K miles. This one has well over 170K so it's doing pretty good. He hasn't fixed the car yet because of... ques what? That Car. It's taken over every free moment he's had this summer and, regardless of SS's promises, he's had to do 99% of the work himself. Pisses me off. Yes, it does. Whether I'm justified in being angry? I don't know, but I am. All I can say is that SS doesn't need a car and I do.

Waggy is snoring on the carpet right behind me. Funny dog.

Second thoughts

Maybe I shouldn't have sold the Bayliner.

Really.

The sky just opened up and it is raining so hard I can't see the river below me.

Donner and blitzen, wind...

Low tonight is supposed to be.......................


wait for it









wait for it










55F.
Yeah, this is Iowa. It is August. We are going to have a low of 55???

Houston, we have a problem...

There are no easy answers

to so many things.

The "whys" of life aren't easy to discern, in the normal course of events. I suppose some things just are the way they are and it isn't vital to know why. It would be much easier to know why, though. That way, with the knowing, would make it possible to fix things that aren't right. To repair things that continue to get worse.

Questions such as "what the hell is wrong with my icemaker?" really don't need an immediate answer. It's not making that big a difference in anyone's life.

Questions like, "Why do people die?" make some sense. Most of the time the only answer is just that people die. That's it. There are a myriad of reason why, but the brass tacks of that question are very simple: people, animals, plants, worlds, suns, galaxies, they all die at one time or another. The only difference here is a matter of acceptance as nobody in possession of their full faculties wants to live forever.

Questions such as "what is wrong with him and why does he keep doing the same hateful, hurtful, mean things?" demand an answer of some sort. The situation that precipitates that kind of question is of the sort that is directly, and negatively, affecting people's lives. What happens when there is no answer? When anything that might appear to be an answer is unmasked as merely an excuse? And the excuse has been made so many times that it's validity is wearing quite thin?

What happens, then, when a question that demands an answer finds none? I want to know. What road should be taken? What decisions need to be made? With damage spreading in ripples, far and wide, what in the world is one to do?

I don't know, and I must know.

Is this Thursday?

Gotta be. I think yesterday was Wednesday and Thursday usually follows right after. If it isn't Thursday, what day is it and where did Thursday go? Cosmic questions...


These four items are sitting on my desk, glaring at me. They are transmitting a subliminal message: "youdotooknowwhatweareforyoumoronthink" Being called a moron by unnamed metallic items is somewhat disturbing. The three skinny metal doohickeys have marking on them that would indicate they are for measuring something or somethings. There are 32nds, 16ths, 1/4s, 1/8ths, 64ths. And tabby kind of sliding things. The other whazzis looks vaguely like a speculum in reverse. There aren't any marking on it but it still must be some sort of measuring device. If anyone knows what these doodads are, please let me know. The buzzing in my brain is becoming a problem.

It's turned out to be a pretty decent day. The weather is gorgeous and I am putting off another trip to town for the time being. I was just thinking of several things that I am grateful for or happy about but being distracted by the doohickeys has driven them right out of my mind.

The icemaker in our fridge has quit working. I don't know why, either. Suppose will have to call Kev the Fixer and have him take a look at it. He's a ton cheaper than the other guys and makes me laugh. Would be nice to have the ice back, especially since it's getting to be canning season and blanch/shock is part of the proceedings. There are a couple dozen tomatoes in the kitchen at present that are vying with the metallic thingies for what little mental room I possess. The maters will be done by the end of the afternoon, though.

Something has been beeping at me for some time. I can't locate the beep and don't know what it would be. This happens every now and then and I find it very disturbing. What is making that beep? Never mind, I found it. Some twit left a text message on my cell phone asking if "you all want to go bowling." I've had that same number for several years now and still get weird stuff like that. Maybe someone has fumble-fingers and pushes the wrong button?

Men can be totally brainless, sometimes. DS3 and I left at 3:30 yesterday afternoon for his 4:00 conferences at school. At 5 minutes to 4, Himself calls and asks, "Where are you?" My first thought was to tell him we were in town at Ransom's pool hall, shootin' billiards and slugging Jack Daniel's. (We were actually standing in the hallway waiting for the teacher.) Since he and SS were on their way to their own conference at the same school only later, what the hell did he think we were doing?

Males ask totally pointless, rhetorical questions like the one above all the time. I fail to understand why they do that. If someone asks a question it would seem logical that they are wanting an answer. So why ask when there is no answer? What is the point? Females tend to ask when we went to know. At least, I do. So, it follows that when someone asks us something, we try to find an answer. When there isn't any point to the question, nor is there any answer, we find it frustrating. Why in the world would a man come growling out of the garage and ask no one in particular where the hell his crescent wrench is? I certainly don't know. That No One in Particular isn't answering, either. I just don't get it.

Kids ask all kinds of questions but at least they want to know an answer. My bunch asked the damnedest things, not just "why is the sky blue" which is an easy one, but things like:

• why does the water do that going down the drain?
• where does the poopy go when you flush?

There were also the questions that they didn't ask and went out and found their own answers. Sometimes this worked nicely, other times it was pretty bad. For instance:

• what happens when you walk barefoot on a smoldering pile of leaves?
• what happens if you stand on that fishtank when it's on it's side?
• what happens when you put dirt in the gas tanks of all the mowers, tillers and snowblowers in the barn?
• what would happen if we ran gigantic dill pickles through the industrial strength floor fan?
• what happens if you pull this funny ring-thingie on the handle of thise tall skinny red canister deal?
• does Mom's purse burn?
  

All true, gently reader, they did all those things. And more. Somebody ought to write a book about them. Endlessly curious and asking questions. At least they wanted to know...

Yup.

This has been one of those days when it would have been a very wise idea to just go back to bed and stay there.

Abortive trip to town.

Stupid purchase of fast food.

School costs.

Brain freeze.

Dog poopies.

Kid troubles.

Tell you what, there is no way I am going to shave my legs. No way. I'd cut a major artery.

On the wonderful side?

Cards from my darling daughter and the grandies. For Mother's Day and my birthday. My darling Dudie and sweet Nona signed their card. (say "awwww" here. DD signed for the zilla...)

The one that really got me was the Mother's Day card from Once that said, "Because you believe in me, I believe in myself."

Yes, Once, I believe in you and always have. That is why I told you to do anything out of high school other than getting married. You knew better than to do that. You needed the freedom to make your own decisions and we knew that you would make the right ones.

I know, too, that there is one decision you have made that you regret. But, even considering that, look at what you have gained! Dudie, Nona, Zilla... you may, at some time in the future, decide that you can do better but, for now, you are doing what you feel you need to do.

We may not like the situation but we respect your ability to make your own choices. You are 30 years old (ack, i'm not old enough to have a 30 year old daughter) and you must do what you know to do. I would not interfere with your adult life any more than I would your brothers'.

I believe in you and always will. Always have.

Love you, daughter.

Total eclipse of the brain

Went to town to get a few things.*

No big deal.

Ha.

Realized I was hungry so got some fast food. On the way to get it, two consecutive streets were closed. Drive 2 blocks south, 4 blocks west then 2 blocks back north.

Into the drive through. In front of me was a mini van with a group of old dudes in it. They were at the ordering thingie still trying to decide what they wanted. After several minutes and some inaudible exchanges they got a #2, a taco salad and a baked potato. Then it took them some time to come up with the cash for the transaction.

Finally got my crap food and took it to the local water hole to eat**. There was a blonde lady out floating around on an air mattress, a bunch of kids splashing around and the usual contingent of ducks. Sure made me wish I was floating, too.

Then off to the store. On the way to the store my eyes started to itch.

Then realized the bags had been taken out of the car and I had nothing to put the groceries in.

Then a headache arrived.

I figured I might as well go home so started back on 19th, totally forgetting that they are putting in an overpass. Double back because there was a train the next turn up, proceed to Monroe, turn south.

Then I started to bloat up like a blowfish.

It was at this point that I decided nothing was worth this crap and I had better just get my butt home before anything else happened.

There are some days it would be better to stay in bed with the curtains drawn and the door locked.

This has been one of those days.



* We need a whole bunch of stuff but have to get the kids registered for school so am holding off. The worst thing is we are out of onions. Disaster.
** I don't eat fast food and it will become clear as you go through this post.

# No more fast food for me. Headache and bloating are the usual reaction but this is the first time my eyes have started itching like that.

Mommy Knows Worst

I simply, absolutely, positively have got to get a copy of this book:

Mommy Knows Worst

James Lileks is a columnist for a twin cities newspaper. I have several of his other books and, along with Celia Rivenbark, he always makes me laugh.

I never experienced the kind of ridiculous stuff that is documented in the book. Well, at least not much of it. Will most likely put a short review here after I read it.

In re: Under the Bridge

A DM Register columnist wrote this article: Online Venom

She states many of the same points I have frequently made both here and in real life.* Trolls say things using the anonymity of the web that they know would cause damage to them in real life. They thrive on stirring up anger and, as Basu says, spewing venom.

It is possible that they don't realize that most websites can, if the offense is blatant enough, track them back to their lairs through servers and ip addresses. I don't know how many times this has been done in the case of a troll but it certainly can be done.

My mama raised me with a maxim: "Never put down on paper anything you wouldn't want everyone to read." This was in reference to paper correspondence but it holds true for the web, as well. I can get pretty raw at times and will offend some people but I don't do it for a thrill nor intentionally.

Something that I, and many others, have noticed? A majority of trolls are close to being functionally illiterate. Their composition skills are nonexistent, they don't understand grammar, syntax nor that written English is not the same thing as spoken English. The meaner and more vile the troll seems, the more ignorant their posts. There have been posts that were so bad I couldn't figure out what in the world they were trying to say, other than they were mean. It's easy to ignore those people, though.

The ones that are not so easy to ignore are the ones who are literate. Those who are educated, with responsible jobs, families... for instance, why would a software analyst post the following?

"What they really should be discussing is how to better please the men in their lives. If they would learn to be better in the sack, keep the house tidy, and cook a few good meals they might have more influence over the true leaders in this society - men."**

That is just plain stupid. Really, it is.*** So much of what trolls post is just plain dumb, though.




* I haven't had the opportunity to read the Times article she mentions but I will find it and read it.
** That guy has two daughters, as well. hmmmmmmm, wonder if they wear Promise Rings and attend Purity Balls, eh?
*** It may be true that men are still the leaders and look at the mess we have thanks to their leadership.

just can't help myself

To illustrate: have you ever watched MXC? or one of those animé cartoons?

I want to know, too. What IS that???

Uh, yeeeaaaaaah... no comment.

Another trip to paradise

I really should listen to my instincts better. Went to town to do some pricing on school supplies and was feeling a little jittery or something. Didn't know about what so just went ahead. There is a lot of construction so there are multiple single lanes, it had just rained and it was a tad slickery. Traffic was about usual for shortly before noon, meaning there was lots of it and everyone was driving different speeds.

Got gas. Other than the price, no big deal. Then headed west on the highway through town.

This is where the fun began...

At in intersection a Chevy pickup, one of the 3500s, pulled out into traffic. Three young guys in the cab who evidently worked for the company the truck belonged to, a ceramic tile firm out of Waverly. The driver, who looked like he was old enough to be living in the real world, seemed to be having some sort of hallucinatory experience wherein he was Dale Earnhart [sic] racing at Talladega. He came roaring up through trafic, blowing in and out of lines of cars and trucks. At every stop sign, he screeched to a halt then, when the light changed, revved his engine, dropped his clutch and took off fishtailing down the road. The swerving was extreme enough that he was in and out of both lanes of west-bound traffic. This continued through a long series of stop lights. Needless to say, everyone was hanging quite a long ways to his rear, slowly creeping up on him at stop lights. I initially thought that the first fishtail was just one of those "fun" things but he obviously was caught in the grip of a powerful fancy... I don't know how long this continued because I got off the road as quickly as possible and breathed a sigh of relief.

The Little Girl Squadron also seem to be possessed of some type of delusion. Inexperienced drivers are scary enough but these girls? Mercy. One came blasting up a hill in back of me (I was already going 10 mph over the speed limit) and blew past me, also roaring in and out of traffic) like I was standing still. She hauled ass down the hill then back up, pulling into the right lane only when it looked like a head-on collision was imminent. She continued on, I turned.

There were more members of the LGS but they all were doing the same thing and they all looked like they were driving Mommy's fancy car while doing it. *sigh*

Then had another one of those "WTF?" moments when pulling up to a stop sign on my way out of town.

I first noticed the older Oldsmobile in the left lane because it had pickup mud flaps on it, the kind with the silhouette of the reclining "dancer." Then the whip antenna. As I got closer two largeish statue-things in the rear window. One was a white Alsation, I think. The other was either a recumbent howling wolf, a yapping coyote or some other canine species I am not familiar with. Then I noticed the fuzzy red dice hanging on the rearview mirror. And the leopard-print seat covers. By this time, I was wondering what in the world this was. As I pulled up beside the car, I glanced over at the driver. An older man, probably late 60s, with one of those scraggly and greasy looking combover jobs. He also had on amber aviator glasses. On a dark and cloudy day, nonetheless. A blue, yellow and white striped cotton shirt, sleeves rolled way up his arms. There was an assortment of unidentifiable objects lined up on his dashboard and he was smoking a cigarette. I am left to wonder if he was just thawed out of some cryogenic time capsule? Also, do you suppose he was wearing bunny boots with silver buckles?

There was an old guy on a lawn mower riding along Woodharbor Dr. Evidently he was concerned about being run over because an older lady was following him in a Cadillac. So all of us heading west putted along at about 5 mph, unable to get around. I am just wondering where he was going with that mower. I'm also wondering why he was going so sloooooow. It was a John Deere and the neighbor's goes about 15 mph at top speed.

And a little old lady in a new chevy in the middle of an intersection, halfway through a turn, stopped dead on the road. I don't know what she was doing there. Talking on a phone? Have a stroke? Adjusting her bra straps? She moved along down the road eventually, with me behind her. She turned east on 19th, I turned east on 19th. She button-hooked her turn and went way off onto the shoulder, then weaved back and forth all the way up past the country club where she sped up. I figured I might just as well get as far aways from her as possible so I moved over into the right lane to turn south on Taft. I was about 2 cars lengths away from the turn at Taft when she accelerated and cut me off. Good thing the brakes on the truckmobile work or she'd have been smooshed.

Figuring I had endured about enough of this kind of stuff and it was likely to get worse, I proceeded south on Taft to 43rd, east to Federal and then down to the Interstate. I'm home now and am NOT going back to town today.

Unless I decide I simply must have that Italian loaf and bottle of red wine for supper.

We'll see.....

You just never know....

If it didn't work the first time, try it again

Ole Newt threatening to "shut down the guvmunt" if the Republicrats don't get their way. It's always interesting to watch a bunch of grownups (supposedly) throw tantrums and pout.

It's also interesting to see the tantrums get the same result they usually do. A bad one.

Somebody hasn't learned...

from Grist:

some Newt tactics

Nope, i just don't buy it...*

I don't think school kids of any age, regardless of their ability to pay for the things, needs a cell phone. I just don't. So some foolish parents lost their kid at Sea World. (That in itself is ridiculous since the kid was only 3.)

We have an adolescent here who, totally against our wishes, went out and bought a phone. In the months he has had it, his behavior has deteriorated. He spends hours texting and chatting at the expense of everything and everyone else. He makes plans without telling anyone here and is likely to announce some big idea five minutes before he is being picked up by a group of friends. He sneaks off when he has chores to do so he can answer texts. He drives while talking and texting. Hw comes home and shuts himself in his room all evening while talking on the phone, then gets mad at his stepbrother who wants to go to bed. The supposed "benefits" of that little piece of technology have been far outweighed by the deleterious effect it has had on him.

Not only that, but there are some possible health effects:

"In July, the University of Pittsburgh made headlines with a warning to faculty and staff: Limit your cell-phone use because of possible cancer risks. The message from the Cancer Institute director recommended that children use cell phones only for emergencies because their brains are still developing."

That, of course, is way beyond any kid's ability to think through. There is hardly next hour, let alone 5 years down the road. Giving a kid free rein with any technology will, as it has in the past, lead to problems as yet unforseeable, in health, safety and responsibility. This could be demonstrated by the growing kid-interest in the postings about "I text and drive and haven't had an accident" on a social networking site. Well, so what, young lady? This is a demonstration of your maturity and level of responsibility? In this old lady's opinion, you are demonstrating just the opposite. You show a lack off responsibility that would, if you were my child, give me every reason to take away your car, your phone and 90% of your privileges.

Unfortunately, in the case of the phone here, there is nothing we can do. Since he had someone else's mother drive him to the store while we were taking a short vacation, paid for the phone himself and pays for his minutes, we have no control over how he uses it, when he uses it, or who he talks to. This has led to some problems, as well. He spends so much money on the phone that he seldom has enough left to take care of his day-to-day responsibilities. His father has had to bail him out, repeatedly, in the past. (I think this was a bad idea, but I don't have any real say in the matter.) There are bills pending at this time that he may not be able to pay, either. It should be interesting to see how he manages.

I feel, perhaps wrongly, that parents are using cell phones as an easy way out. It is easier to give a kid a phone, regardless of the problems, than it is to behave like a responsible adult and just do what must be done to make sure the kid is where he needs to be when he needs to be there. At this point in time, the school will allow a kid to use the office phone to contact parents if there is a schedule change. No phone needed for that. We have had several instances of that cell phone being used to attempt a bait-and-switch maneuver so the kid can go running around for hours with friends. In each instance, the parental flags went up and teachers were contacted. Then the real story came out. (The situation improved some when one of the teachers was informed that, if the situation didn't improve and he didn't start showing more maturity and reliability, he would be pulled from all extracurricular activities. She panicked and made it clear to him that he'd better get it together or we would drop the boom on him. Another instance was a "missing the bus that left early" scenario. The co-ordinator of the shuttle program was contacted immediately, he looked into the situation and, lo and behold, the bus didn't leave early, the kid had been seen somewhere other than where he said he was doing something other than what he said he was doing. From that time on, the drivers were all on the lookout for him. It didn't happen again.) All this because of his ability to make plans on the spur of the moment without anyone's knowing anything about it.

Maybe this all just reflects on this one kid, but I doubt it. He isn't the best kid in the world, but he isn't the worst, either. Kids "try it on" and we know that. I just don't feel it is vital to give them any more tools for doing that kind of manipulation than they already possess.



* from CNN: Cell phones for kids

A BIG ohmygod...

That's 39F, Folks!


Do we have any idea how horrible that would be? Total and calamitous change.

Son of a gun!

Just received an email reply to a petition I sent to my state representatives concerning the hazards of biofuels. She writes:

Thanks for your email.  As you know, Iowa is moving forward with several initiatives for cleaner energy and moving toward energy independence.  I'm curious why you are opposing biofuels specifically since it is good for the Iowa economy and is only a small part of the larger plan which includes wind, solar, and future energy from hydrogen or another such source (ammonia is being studied). 
Thanks,

I have replied:

I am glad to know that we are working on alternatives. There have been some recent breakthroughs in thin-film solar technology that are fascinating and hold great promise. I also heard about a team of MIT scientists who have developed a working model for a storage battery that can keep excess solar production and make it available for use. This and it looks as if it could be affordable and reliable, something other forms of storage have not been to date. I haven't studied hydrogen or wind power's pros and cons at this point but am planning on getting to that. Ammonia is an interesting idea, as well. Anyone who has ever had to shovel out a chicken coop or cleaned a hog farrowing house knows quite a lot about where ammonia can be found.

My concerns about biofuel have very little to do with the economy and much to do with the impact of the system. From over-planting corn, year after year, on the same ground to the emissions from the actual production process. (My husband drives a semi for a co-op hauling corn and beans, too, so we are between a rock and a hard place on this one.) There are opinions on biofuel that range from those stating they are a harmless way to replace oil and are great for our economy all the way across the spectrum to those that state that biofuels are starving the world and raising co2 levels.

This issue, like the plethora of issues we are facing, has no easy, simple or cheap solution. It isn't merely a question of lessening our dependence on oil, it's beginning to look like a debate on where it is we plan to go in the future. How will we lessen the effects of pollution? How can we create a way of life that is sustainable? We certainly can't become Luddites and throw technology to the wind nor do I believe it is possible to return to a agrarian lifestyle. The thought of entirely reworking our infrastructure? Probably impossible.

Biofuels are not a single concern, set apart to be considered in and of that particular issue. Energy, of whatever sort and wherever it comes from, has to be thought of with a wisdom I am not sure the human species possesses. We can't continue on as we have been but where do we go from here? How do we retool our world without bringing it to it's knees? We have to unravel a tangled skein of interdependent issues. How we will do that, I simply do not know. We must do the best we know now, though. There must be some way to make it possible for our children and our children's descendants to have a decent life without constant fear that there will be no "next meal," that there will be no future free of environmental destruction, pollution, disease...

There must be some way. The alternative is unthinkable.

Wonder where this will lead?

I had been wondering

why the US is flying Georgian troops around.

It's oil!

Imagine that:

The Pipeline War

Long but vital

From OCU:

The Fire This Time?


An appalling read but, even with that, it is something we all need to face squarely.

So, what do we do now?

This is another must-read:

An Agricultural Waterloo

and the big picture, not the common good nor yet feeding people, the bottom line? Profit.

Monday malfunctions

Some Mondays are just weird. They start strangely and just get stranger all day. Think this will be one of those weird ones.

Himself took longer than usual to get around for no reason at all. Evidently the brain just wasn't kicking in like it should. Don't think he was late for work but he left later than normal and I didn't get my morning smooch. That's no way to start the day.

Keep putting my coffee cup down and forgetting where it is. Like that old joke says, women over 50 don't have babies because we'd put them down and forget where they are. LOL

Still working on reconstructing the grocery list. Know there are things missing, though. I still am betting the original will turn up after I get back with foodstuffs.

Sorting bills has become a real drudge job. Since incomes are falling you'd think that bills would also go down. They don't. Just keep going up and up and up and up.

Think I will not get tags for the fishing boat this year. Will take the plates in and have it titled as being in storage. We can't use it on the river because there isn't enough water left.

Still going down steps sideways. The knee is a lot more stable but it doesn't extend and bend like it should. When extended, it gets wobbly so... crabbing down the steps in the order of the day.

Can't seem to get that blasted prosthesis to sit right. Have rearranged it 5 or 6 times (and just did it again) but, short of gluing it to my chest, it just isn't going to stay in place. It slides off to one side or another or gets twisted or what all. That is uncomfortable so, go back in bedroom, look in mirror, readjust and refasten. It will be fine until I actually move. I want my boob back. *sigh*

Have to go to the school Wed. afternoon at 4 to get DS3 registered and take a conference with his home room teacher. That's early enough that I will actually be awake, still. Start running out of steam between 3 and 5 in the afternoon. SS can't get in at the same time so Himself will have to schedule separately and we'll take two vehicles. It's rather unhandy but that's the way it goes.

.....where is that damnable grocery list.....

It is turning out to be a beautiful day, again! Hooray! Not hot and muggy, not windy, it isn't raining.. have windows open and am enjoying the breeze. This sure isn't our usual Iowa August. Normally we are bedraggled, sweaty and exhausted by this time and ready for fall.

One more load of laundry and then I'm off to the market(s.) 3 stops: 1 for bread stuff, one at Aldi's for staples, eggs, butter, milk, cheese and so forth, one at Target for canned tomatoes, soap, tp, detergent and shampoo. I may decide to blow some extra cash and get some REAL cheese, too. The slices are fine for toasted sandwiches and on burgers but don't cut it for much of anything else. It's also hard to keep the pre-shredded cheese on a cracker. LOL

Disaster!

Well, sort of.

The grocery list, compiled over a month's time, has vanished.

It's gone. Kaput. Lost. Vanished. Missing.

Augh.

How in the world will I reconstruct the thing? Can't go to the market without The List!

We need stuff that I can't think of right off the bat and it might be anything from toilet paper to fruit.

We need bread. Milk. Eggs. Sandwich meat. Crackers. Cheese. Vegetables. Spices. Cleaning supplies. Cereal. Butter. Oil. The list goes on and on and on.

Any bookmaker worth his salt would lay 5 to 1 odds that, after returning with part of what we need, I will find the list. In reading through it, I will smack myself upside the head because it will be perfectly obvious that I should have THOUGHT of that stuff.

phooey.

It's Sunday.

Yup, sure is. Beautiful day, too. Clear skies, cool, slight breeze.

I'm thinking I should be getting something in my tummy but not sure what. Don't much want to cook and, since I haven't been grocery shopping for some time, supplies are low. We polished off the cheese slices last night, someone ate the last of the bread and there is only one egg left.

Tomorrow, DS3 and I are going to the bread store and Aldi's and we will stock up. I don't mind the shopping so much but sure hate the hauling in and putting away parts. Can't be helped, though, all part of the deal. Will be nice to have the staples we've used up even though my list has about 125 items on it. I don't even want to think about how much this will cost.

Have to get the Terrors registered for school this week. That will be another 200 dollars or so. Then school supplies but am hoping DS3's father will help some with that. (He usually does.) I can hear the checking account shrieking already.

DS2 went to a bachelor party last night. Don't have any idea when he got home, either. Came out to make coffee this a.m. and there was a bottle of Kamikaze shots and a bottle of vodka sitting on my kitchen counter. With a note for DS3, "***, to be blunt, what the hell?" ROFL*

DS3 is off to his father's family reunion. They left well before 8 this morning and won't be back until, well, who knows? He took a bag of balloons with him because a water fight is a tradition. So is general horseplay and harassment of anyone and everyone. It's kind of like a combination mosh and fraternity hazing. Everyone is guaranteed to be tired and over-fed by the end of the day. (DS 3 didn't go, though. I don't expect to see him much before noon. Maybe later than that.)

The ex's family is an odd mix of religiosity and profane behavior. They cheat egregiously at cards and other games, tell stories that would embarrass a longshoreman, pull gag jokes that are guaranteed to humiliate, frighten or embarrass the victim, swear like troppers but spend regular time in confession and at mass. (For someone raised as Methodist, dour as they were back then, it was both surprising and confusing.) As the older generation has passed away, the younger takes on the mantle. DS2 got tired of it all a couple of years ago and doesn't go to family stuff, anymore. DS1 and DIL go when they can but, like DS2, they aren't real comfortable and feel out of place.**

Since DS3 is not here and won't be here all day, SS will not be doing his usual and expected running around town. Instead, he will help his father shovel dirt out of the back of the pickup. He's sulking about this as he feels slighted when DS3 isn't working and he is. He doesn't seem to mind when DS3 is here breaking his butt helping me move stone and clear ground, weed tomatoes, freeze corn, and he is out running around, though. Odd perspective.

DS3 has been entertaining himself in his free time by learning to make adobe brick. It seems an odd sort of thing to do. He is experimenting to see what is the difference between bricks made from mud alone and bricks made with a binder of some sort, like grass or straw. I don't have any idea why he decided to do this but he seems to be enjoying himself. They whole lot have always been taught that learning for it's own sake is not a waste of time. The broader your knowledge and experience and interests, the better able you are to cope with what is thrown at you by the world. At least that's what I have always thought.

Finally found the driver disc for the video camera. It vanished over 2 years ago and haven't been able to use the camera since. Now I have to learn from scratch because I don't remember how this works. *sigh*

This is a couple of hours later and, TADAAAAAAA, the camera is now properly installed and I have relearned how to capture videos and suchlike. It's nice to have it working. So, here is a video of Himself and SS shoveling dirt, then a pan across the rest of our backyard. It's of no particular interest, just fooling around. (Once, if you can play this, you can see how low the river is. The actual bank is that second terrace up from the current water's surface.)





* Won't touch that Kamikaze stuff but that triple distilled vodka makes nice Bloody Marys. Lots and lots of Tabasco and very little booze, though.
** When they were married last March, only the grandparents made any effort to acknowledge the event. DS1 doesn't understand this at all and felt a little hurt. I think it may be because he has been gone since 2002 and has had little chance to attend family gatherings. The fact that the divorce created a lot of bitterness, combined with the fact that DS1 is obviously my son, may also have contributed something. Who knows? Even his father couldn't find out why nobody but Gramma and Grampa were interested.