1806 Insomnia

I don’t have it, but like a lot of people my age, I certainly don’t enjoy a night’s rest like I did when I was younger. As many as 40% of people over 60 have sleep problems from mildly irritating like mine to severe, causing health and life-style problems. This may be the most common complaint I hear from friends and relatives.

My problems began in 1991 when I started getting up around 2 or 3 a.m. to check CNN on the Gulf War. Once my body had adjusted to that bad habit I moved on to watching Charlie Rose who had a talk show in the middle of the night on one of the networks. Now if I wake up at that time, I go to the living room couch, turn on Nick-at-Night and watch reruns from the 80s and 90s that I missed the first time around, or loved back then like Murphy Brown or Bill Cosby which I used to watch with my kids. If it’s a really good show I don’t want to miss, I fall right to sleep--if it’s one of those awful Roseanne things, I’m wide awake.

What you do if you wake up is important because you’re conditioning your body to expect it (it's called a habit). I sleep fine in the guest room, in a motel, at my relatives or on board a ship on the Danube River. My brain knows I can’t get up and turn on the TV. So if I wake up, I just go back to sleep.

Sleep hygiene is what you do during the time you’re not asleep. And it’s very important. Here’s a list from www.medscape.com. I don’t think the one about reading is such a good idea--if you are a reader, you may look forward to it and your body will suggest “book break” when it should be preparing for work. To this list, I'd add "don't nap," but I admit, I love little quick naps.

Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine;

Increase exposure to bright light during the day;

Perform regular exercise (preferably in the morning or early afternoon);

Avoid exposure to bright light during the night;

Avoid heavy meals within 2-3 hours of bedtime;

Avoid large amounts of fluids 2-3 hours before bedtime;

Allow for a comfortable sleep environment;

Minimize excessive noise, temperature, and light in the bedroom;

Allow time for social and physical stimulation during the day; and

Reduce time spent awake in bed, and if unable to initiate sleep, leave the bedroom and engage in relaxation activities, such as reading.

Technorati tags: insomnia

1805 Twelve year old critiques new Potter movie

Yesterday my daughter took the afternoon off work so she could take her girlfriend's kids to see the new Harry Potter movie. Her friend, Jennie, has been ill. But, as it turned out, Jennie felt well enough to go along, and so did her friend. . . and seven additional little friends of her kids. My daughter is a huge Harry Potter fan, and I suspect she was looking for a good excuse to see the movie with children.

"So, was it good?" I asked (I sat through about 10 minutes of the first one, but that's about it. I don't like fantasy.)

"I think the book is the best in the series, but the movie is the worst," she said. "The first 14 chapters are covered in about a minute, and they were too good to be left out. It's so complex that I'm sure it's difficut to translate it to film."

After the movie the three women took the nine children to "Old Bag of Nails" for dinner (I find this very hard to picture). She then had a discussion with the 12 year old who definitely gave it a thumbs down. She is a huge Harry Potter fan, knows every character and plot and detail, and was able to monopolize the dinner conversation with her critique of the movie, scene by scene, disappointment by disappointment.

So I went on-line and read a few very enthusiastic reviews, most thrilled that some boring details were left out. Then I checked Movie Mom, whom I trust, and she gave it an A-.

"As Harry gets older and the stories get more complex and intricate, hints of themes from earlier chapters becoming deeper and more resonant, the series is becoming one of the most reliably satisfying in modern movie history. And that's what magic feels like.

Parents should know that as in the books, Harry's adventures and reactions become more complex and his challenges become more dangerous, the series has moved from a PG rating (albeit one that was right up at the edge of a PG-13) to a full-on PG-13. The bad guys are scarier, both in looks and in the threat they pose. There is a great deal of intense peril and some scary monsters. An important character is killed and the movie, even more than the book, makes you feel how searing a loss that is.Characters use brief strong language ("bloody hell," "piss off") and there is some very mild adolescent romance (a crush, concerns about who is going to ask whom to the dance and the jealous consequences thereof)."

So obviously, this would have been way to scary for me. But my daughter loves this intense, scary stuff. And what could be more scary than taking 9 children to an adult restaurant on a Friday night?

Technorati tags: movies

1804 Trash or treasure?

In "Dear Abby's" column today, a very unsentimental reader asks how long are we expected to keep memorabilia? She had pitched all her baby albums and scrapbooks when she and her husband downsized--says she hadn't looked at them in 35 years. Now her mother (who obviously put all those albums together) is so angry, they aren't speaking.

So Abby (actually her daughter) notes it would have been nice to have offered other relatives those photos.

Maybe, but I think I know where mine will go. My kids aren't sentimental, and not only do I have our family's "stuff," I've rescued boxes of old photographs, family records, and glassware from relatives homes. When we moved here I gave my son his old Fischer Price toys. He sold them on e-Bay. I made them both their own photo albums from extras in 1975, and they are long gone.

So I've written this poem for our daughter, who is our Executor. Still, you can't control what other people do, and I know that, so I'll gradually sift, sort and give away. Maybe at our next downsizing.

To my daughter, about my treasures
August 29, 2005

I want you to have our paintings,
of flowers, children, boats and trees.
You’ll sit back and admire I know,
closing your eyes in a squint
to see the artist’s true intent.

I want you to have the books,
Bibles, histories, poetry and lit.
You’ll treat them well I know,
opening them from time to time
so their wisdom doesn’t go stale.

I want you to have the china,
silver, pottery, and goblets.
You’ll dine with them I know,
setting a lovely white linen table
as you continue the traditions.

I want you to have Aunt Martha’s quilts,
pieced and stitched by lantern light.
You’ll fold, touch and smooth I know,
positioning them on wooden racks
to display her detailed handiwork.

I want you to have the photographs,
albums from way back when.
You’ll wonder at your folks I know,
dancing and partying with their friends
when the whole world was young.

I want you to have Mom’s recipes,
sewing chest and maple suite.
You’ll puzzle where I know,
shifting and rearranging like I did
until they are welcomed in your home.

I want you to have our calico cat,
kitty toys, bowls and love.
You’ll feed, pet and groom I know,
holding her close at night
until she leaves to join us.

All the rest just haul away,
the auctioneer’s close, up the road.
You’ll get a good price I know,
banking the rest for a sunny day,
after you lock the door.

Technorati tag: memorabilia

1803 Getting ready for Thanksgiving

It's only Saturday, but it's time to start thinking about it. I'm going to move the 21 lb turkey into the garage refrigerator to thaw. We don't need two refrigerators for two people, but that side by side monster has been sitting there since we replaced it with a top freezer model. I need to find it a good home.

The dining room was dark faux orange (even the ceiling) and the window was draped when we moved here. Even now, it's a bit dark, but we love the view of trees, a creek and sometimes deer, not visible here--hence, no drapes, just plantation blinds.

Then I was browsing the Carnival of Recipes today and came across Shawn's recipe for Hummingbird Cake. I make pies for Thanksgiving, but this is also birthday week, so I'm leaning toward a cake. I'm always looking for something I can easily substitute Splenda for sugar, and this one looks pretty easy, plus it's got some healthy stuff, like crushed pineapple and mashed bananas, in it. Cream cheese frosting is a bit of a problem, however. So I went to the Splenda site and here's how you make powdered sugar substitute:

3/4 C Splenda
2 TBSP cornstarch
mix in a blender.
And that equals 1/2 Cup of powdered sugar.

Technorati tags: Thanksgiving
Splenda

1801 The most wonderful chair in the world

If I could've taken anything from my office when I locked it for the last time in 2000 (after walking around in the dark and saying good-bye to the prisoner made 1940s furniture, the musty stacks, and the cobbled-together equipment and computers), it would have been my Aeron Herman Miller chair.

In the spring of 1999 my arms below the elbow began to ache and my hands were tingling. I knew all about repetitive stress and also knew that my 1970s desk chair and my 1940s office metal desk were probably the incorrect height for heavy computer use. I thought maybe a new chair with adjustable arms and height would help. My line of command had recently been changed to the Health Sciences Library which had more pockets of special money than did my old reporting line, the Libraries, so my boss told me to go to an office furniture store and pick out a chair. After sitting in several, I thought the Aeron felt just about perfect, and I loved the design. I put it in the back of my van and went back to the office.

However much I enjoyed the chair and its support of my back and arms, the pain only increased. And it moved to my right shoulder. I finally went to the doctor who told me I had an injured rotator cuff, the clue being I could barely raise my right arm above my head without pain. For several months I went through physical therapy with all the OSU athletes. "How'd you get hurt?" they'd ask. "Lifting journals," I told them. The sports medicine doctor just shook his head at my lack of progress, and suggested surgery. That scared me, so I worked harder and eventually got back full range of motion.

But, I sure did enjoy that chair.

Technorati: rotator cuff, office furniture

1801 The Old School

Occasionally I drop in on the Davey family blog. They are Welsh evangelists in France. The adults are attending a special language school for foreigners, but their kids, Catrin and Gwilym, just attend a regular French school. Alan comments about this recently:

"The school culture is quite different here from in Britain. It is much more like school when I was a kid. For example teachers here do use the "You are no good and you'll never get anywhere" method of encouragement, children are hit by the teachers and the kids are encouraged to sort out their own problems of bullying etc."

And then he pauses to reflect that maybe things weren't so great in the good old days the way he remembered them.

1800 No one bowls alone in Cyberspace

Knitters are getting together at Knit Unto Others, a 2 week Knit Along for the charity of your choice. November 16th-30th, 2005; author wannabes like Hip Liz and Paula are furiously writing in the NaNoWriMo because in November they are suppose write a whole novel; all the smart and snappy ladies are hanging out together at the Cotillion where everyone is entitled to their opinion; Christian ladies group at Women4God; Bear Flag Leaguerounds up Californians and Ex-pats like me; Open Source Media has Blogjams; Homespun Bloggers features "Best of the week" and has radio broadcasts; the 96th Christian Carnival is up this week at Jordan's View; there's zest and spice at Carnival of the Recipes; and the photoblog and the audioblog people do their roundups, and it goes on and on and on. No one speaks or links alone in blogland.

1799 Complacency and Promiscuity

Apparently, teenagers are having oral and anal sex and SURPRISE! getting HIV and AIDS. Seems as though they too think that isn't "having sex" and constitutes abstinence. The media is full of this CDC report. I looked at yesterday's press release of the CDC and didn't see it--I'm sure it's there or maybe in an earlier report. But I did see that the rate of diagnosis has remained stable, that it is going down among blacks, but that half of all HIV diagnoses are among blacks. And guess what? Men are getting it from men and women are getting it from men. Seems to be a pattern here.

Call the teens silly and naive if you wish, but how could that be any sillier than entrusting your life and future health to a tiny piece of latex, expecting it to hold back virulent viruses and bacteria, and never fail or break?

1798 Cat abuse lands perp in the woods for a night

Judge Michael A. Cicconetti of Painesville, Ohio is known for his creative sentencing. Michelle M Murray has received a 15 day jail sentence for abandoning 35 mittens kittens in two parks. She has to spend the first night of her sentence in the woods without food or shelter (precautions have been taken for her safety, which is more than the kittens got). She also got a $3,200 restitution fine and can't own or care for animals for 3 years. I wish the courts were that tough on bad parents and in domestic abuse cases. Story is in today's Columbus Dispatch (no free on-line). If you Google this, you'll find a number of animal rights sites were watching this case, but in this judge's case, I don't think that made any difference. He sentenced someone who had called a policemen a "pig" to time inside a pig pen in public view.

If you kill a woman in Ohio while drunk, you'll only get 5 years (plus a few extra for a gun or abuse of a corpse) and no fine, and you'll probably get custody of the pit bull!

1797 The Ohio State vs. Michigan game tomorrow

The only time it is crazier is when the game is here. Last week Eric and my husband went to the OSU Northwestern game with 105,000 of their closest friends. Anyway, earlier this week I was writing about my husband learning to use some of our newer appliances, so I thought this joke I heard on 920 am this morning was pretty funny (and I paraphrase because I was driving and I'm just terrible at jokes).

The husband calls upstairs from the laundry room. "What should I do to wash a load of clothes?"

Wife responds: "Depends on what you're washing."

Husband: My "Go Michigan Beat Ohio State" T-shirt."

Wife responds: Use very hot water, a box of Tide, and four cups of bleach."

And be sure to read Mustang Mama's Go Bucks story.

1796 Put it on the opinion page

Yesterday a journalist in our local paper attempted to write a humor page about the various wizards you find in literature and movies, like Wizard of Oz, Harry Potter, Star Wars and Lord of the Rings (don't hold me to this, since I'm not a fantasy fan I probably have the titles wrong). The only part that got political in the entire not-so-funny piece was the Wizard of Oz with reference to "duping the good folk of Oz," "dimwitted country boy," Karl Rove "behind the curtain" and the "cowardly lion" Democrats. Ho, ho, hum. How funny. Does this man never read liberal blogs? That dumb country boy with strings attached to Rove behind the curtain has been done to death! No one laughs at these oh-so-tired jokes except the Michael Morons, and this guy's writing for a heavily Republican readership. So much for respecting your audience, huh? And your advertisers.

I think he'd had this idea burning a hole in his brain and really struggled to find other wizards so he could do a big spread and use the overworked Bush-is-dumb-and-controlled-by-Rove meme. Hose him down. Put him on the opinion page.

1795 Kissed by a trombonist

Trombone playing consists of three technical elements that must work together: blowing/buzzing of the lips (sound and flexibility), the slide (digital coordination) and the tongue (articulation and rhythm). From Online Trombone Journal

My husband says, you haven’t been kissed until you’ve been kissed by a trombone player. I’ll bet I’ve heard that line about 50 times in the last 47 years. I've been sick so long I haven't even had a hug in 3 weeks, let alone a kiss. But today I feel much better than yesterday, which was better than Wednesday, so we are planning on our Friday night date tonight.

And when my husband left this morning to lead the aerobics class (all female), I got a sanitary kiss on the back of my neck.

1794 Spending is out of control

under the Republicans. If you ever wondered why many Republicans don't consider George Bush a conservative, just read George Will's column of November 17.

Conservatives have won seven of 10 presidential elections, yet government waxes, with per-household federal spending more than $22,000 per year, the highest in inflation-adjusted terms since World War II. Federal spending -- including a 100 percent increase in education spending since 2001 -- has grown twice as fast under President Bush as under President Bill Clinton, 65 percent of it unrelated to national security

Read the "Grand Old Spenders." It's not a pretty picture.

1793 Need a memory refresher

Conservator had a link to a group that reshelves books from fiction to some other category at book stores. CNET article here. It seems to me that back in the days when I was a contributor/reader of misc.writing (Usenet), there was a plan whereby we were supposed to move the authors we knew (members of mwville) to the front. Somebody help me out here. . . Hip, Billo, Gekko, Doyle. . . I've forgotten the routine.

BTW, don't ever reshelve a library book (as this site suggests for bookstores). It throws off statistics and you'll probably do it wrong.

1792 Patriot Act extended but librarians are mum?

"Congressional negotiators reached a tentative agreement today to renew the terror-fighting USA Patriot Act, leaving the controversial law largely intact but with new restrictions on the ability of the FBI to gather information and new requirements for the Justice Department to publicly report on how the law is operating.

The agreement makes permanent most of the existing provisions of the law, which was approved after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, while two sections, including a widely debated records-gathering measure known as "the library provision," would expire in seven years unless extended." LA Times, Nov. 16, 2005

Apparently, the 7 year extension is considered some sort of "curb," or victory, but after all the whining and teeth gnashing by librarians the last several years, all the effort spent and pixels burning up blogs, columns and journal articles, I'm a bit surprised that I found no one mentioning this either as a victory or a complete failure at the ALA website or the LISNews.com. Of course, it's still early on the left coast. . . and Blake is redesigning LISNews and I'm having problems with some of the features, so maybe it is there . . .

BeSpacific says this came out from the ALA Washington Office, but I couldn't find it: "The House is scheduled to vote on the PATRIOT Act conference report as early as Thursday, November 17. The revised bill does not contain important civil liberties safeguards sought by ALA and other advocates...The revised bill sunsets at seven years (The Senate bill sunset was 4 years and the House bill sunset was 10 years) -- A four year sunset will make it possible to correct an abuse of Section 215 at an earlier date." Maybe it was a subscription item--librarians talk "open access" but don't observe it for their own publications.

Patriot Act
Librarians

1791 What should I do?

Listen to Bach, play with Norma's knitting, or take a nap? Naps win paws down.



cats

1790 Plame Name

The "secret" widens. Must have been an even worst kept secret than we thought--even Bob Woodward knew before Scooter Libby, but Patrick Fitzgerald's two year investigation never even got him in the cross hairs. What's going on! But Bob, who must be the only reporter who CAN keep a secret, didn't tell his bosses at WaPo for two years, and now they are mad at him!

"Fitzgerald [on Nov. 14] asked for my impression about the context in which Mrs. Wilson was mentioned. I testified that the reference seemed to me to be casual and offhand, and that it did not appear to me to be either classified or sensitive. I testified that according to my understanding an analyst in the CIA is not normally an undercover position." Read Woodward's full statement here, and ponder again how silly this all looks.

1789 Time for a new notebook

and I don't mean a computer--the old fashioned, use a #2 pencil, 6" x 8", spiral bound, hard cover, lined paper notebook. I don't write these blog entries out of the air, you know, (well, sometimes I do). I read and take notes in long hand, then I think and decipher my scribbles and look for links to see what American Daughter or Dr. Sanity or Jane Galt or Neo-Neocon and Barbara Nicolosi are writing about. Usually, they aren't blogging about my topics, but that takes another two hours. Anyway, a notebook can last for three months, but the last one was begun on September 1, and I had way too much to say about Katrina and the liberals who claimed the federal government should be the first responder. So by November 1, I only had 15 pages left. I actually ran out on the 14th, and was scribbling in margins and on the covers. So today, it is officially, NEW NOTEBOOK DAY.

New notebook on left. I think I bought it at Meijer's. The notebook on the right (Sept-Nov) was purchased at Wal-Mart and is one of two styles I buy by Day Runner that includes passages from the Psalms, King James Version, every 3rd page. It started with 3:3 and ended with 86:12

1788 Purchased any Sony CDs lately

with XCP Content Protection Technology? Like perhaps Bette Midler Sings the Peggy Lee Songbook or Billy Holiday’s The Great American Songbook? Buyers are furious and the law suits started. I don’t pretend to understand the technology, but I think I know it’s not right for Sony to assume I'm a thief and modify my computer when I insert a CD.

Here’s Sony’s apology.

The back ground, with links, is provided by Charles Bailey,The Sony BMG Rootkit Fiasco. Especially read the first link in his article. Your eyeballs will fall out, but hey, it's good exercise.

rootkit

1787 A Soldier's Funeral on Veteran's Day

Soldier's Mom writes about the funeral of SPC Tommy Bryd who was in her son's squad. Bring along a tissue. She is the wife of a career naval officer (retired), and mother of four--a currently serving career sailor (Norfolk, VA), a hazardous waste specialist (a Navy vet in upstate NY), daughter in medical school (VA), and a 3rd Infantry Division soldier deployed to Iraq in January 2005, WIA August 2005 and now recovering in the U.S.

1786 A very good list

of things she wished known starting out is over at Alana's Morning Coffee. Smart lady! Especially enjoyed these:

6. Live on LESS than you earn. Be radical in order to make this happen.

7. Stay the #%#% away from credit cards.

8. Have an emergency fund saved up so you CAN stay away from credit cards.

29. Find a way to give to others: whether time, talent or money. Be deliberate about it. You will be a better person for it.

47. Pray more. Worry less. Amazing how much God seems to care about the details of your life.

48. Get over yourself and don’t take yourself so seriously.

1785 Grown Up Land

Orange Judd Farmer, Young Folks column, January 14, 1889.

Good morrow, fair maid, with lashes brown,
Can you tell me the way to Womanhood town?

O, this way and that way--never a stop,
'Tis picking up stitches grandma will drop;
'Tis kissing the baby's troubles away,
'Tis learning that cross words never will pay,
'Tis helping mother, 'tis sewing up rents,
'Tis reading and playing, 'tis saving the cents,
'Tis loving and smiling, forgetting to frown,
O that is the way to Womanhood Town.

Just wait, my brave lad--one moment I pray;
Manhood Town lies where--can you tell the way?

O by toiling and trying we reach that land--
A bit with the head, a bit with the hand--
'Tis by climbing up the steep hill Work,
'Tis by keeping out of the wide street Shirk,
'Tis by always taking the weak one's part,
'Tis by giving the mother a happy heart.
'Tis by keeping bad thoughts and actions down,
O that is the way to the Manhood Town.

And the lad and the maid ran hand in hand,
To their fair estates in the Grown-up Land.

Orange Judd Farmer (Chicago, 1888-1924), then became Orange Judd Illinois Farmer, which merged into Prairie Farmer). Attributions in farm journals were sort of careless in the 1880s, but this poem is credited to The Pansy published until 1896.

1784 Teaching an old husband new tricks

We've been married 45 years and have a good system for division of labor--I do the easy stuff, he does the tough stuff. Even when I was a SAHM (1968-1978) in the midst of the feminist propaganda of the 70s about how downtrodden and overworked we women are, I sat down and charted the work loads of our family. The kids were given credit for "work" for each hour in school and homework and any little jobs they had around the house. My husband got credit for hours at work, travel time, meetings, continuing ed and work around the house like gutter cleaning, yard work, carpentry, small repairs, autocare and night time child care if I was out of the house at a consciousness raising group. I gave myself credit for time spent on the seven C's, cooking, cleaning, clothes care, car pooling, children's outside the home activities and clubs--VBS, Campfire, etc., cat care and child direct supervision (they were in elementary school and not at home from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. week days). Wow. How humbling. I was definitely the sluggard--working about half the hours of everyone else, which gave me time for reading, painting, watching TV and lunching with friends.

So I've never been too eager to include my husband in household chores. But being sick the past two weeks, I've learned we need some minimal instruction if I don't want him snapped up by some floozy in 6 weeks if something were to happen to me. I never thought about the fact that when we moved here in 2002, we had all new appliances, and I spent a little time experimenting and learning their foibles, all of which come without thinking now. But although he could load the dish washer (sort of), he didn't know the digital settings for heavy and light and times; he didn't know the digital settings on the ovens; he could put clothes in the dryer, but didn't know how to turn it on (4 setting and a bazillion choices for time and fabrics); and he knew how to buy bananas, but not apples.

Thank God he knew how to scoop the kitty litter because she was getting hair ball cat food instead of her usual diet!

1783 Were you out of town on October 22?

Site meters are strange. They suck you in with their weird searches ("cartoon lice love story"), and leave you wondering about the days when almost no one looks at your site.

Oct. 16-Nov.15, 2005

1782 Ohio's Medicaid is broken

says State Auditor, Betty D. Montgomery. The $9.5 billion program serves 1.7 million blind, disabled, poor children and poor elderly without supplemental insurance or about 40% of our state budget. Forty percent of the state budget for 10% of the population. Only 1/5 of these Medicaid costs are coming from our state budget--the rest is coming from the federal government, also known as your wallet if you live in North Dakota or Michigan.

There have been numerous studies and recommendations supposedly being implemented, but I think they've all gone into the CYA file.

We have friends who live in Illinois and keep their mother in a nursing home in Ohio on Medicaid because apparently Illinois is worse off.

Tell me again why you think the government should be in control of our health care system. How much do you suppose graft, corruption, over charging, cronyism, nepotism and lack of oversight are adding to the real cost of taking care of the poor and elderly? How much more for the working healthy population?

Medicaid
Ohio

1781 Kroger workers to strike

Go ahead. I don't care. We stocked up on our favorite kitty litter (biodegradeable and dust free) this week and I won't darken your doors again until she's crossing her little legs.

I used to be a loyal Kroger shopper--I knew which house brands were as good as name; I knew all the cashiers and stockers and produce people. Then upper management decided they needed a "loyalty card" to compete with other chains. I don't like to play games with my food, my airlines or my credit card, so I walked.

They sell that information you give them--they don't just track your purchases. Loyalty cards are just one more way to add to the cost of anything you buy. I do use the little coffee card they punch at Panera's when I buy a cup of coffee (they don't ask for information). After eight cups, I get a freebie. Since it only costs about 10 cents to make a $1.50 cup of coffee, they aren't out much, nor are you, the other consumers who pay for loyalty and rewards plans. Staples (office supplies) doesn't offer a two tier price range, like grocery stores, and since it is only 1/2 mile from here I do use theirs (don't need to have the card with me), and they keep sending me $10 off my printing costs which I think is more than I spend.

"In the U.S., several major grocery store chains and at least one major pharmacy nectar loyalty card require the cards in order for customers to receive the advertised loyalty price. These include loyalty card machines Kroger, Safeway (through its own name and many of its regional chain names), Albertsons, Winn Dixie, Ingles, and CVS/pharmacy. However, stores also allow a customer to use the store's card if loyalty card statistics a customer does not have theirs on hand or if the customer is new and agrees to sign up right away. Many of the stores allow accumulation of fuel discounts. Some have tie-ins with airline frequent flier programs, and some agree to donate a percentage of sales to a designated charity.

The practice is also common among book and music retailers, from large chains to independent retailers. In some instances, the customer purchases the card and receives a percentage discount on all purchases for a period of time (often one year), while in other instances, a customer receives a one-time percentage discount upon reaching a specified purchase level. (For example, a bookseller's loyalty card program might provide a customer with a 10% off coupon once the customer has spent $200.00 at the bookseller.)

In addition, office supply retailers Staples, Inc. and Office Depot started issuing club cards in 2005." TaxGloss.com I used to be able to use the store card, but not anymore (at Kroger's), and they have a hissy fit if you borrow one from the guy behind you in line. So if they are only tracking merchandise, why would they care whose card records the purchase? Nope, they want that personal information about their shoppers. I have a friend who just gives inaccurate information on the forms. Why should I let a retailer dictate my ethics and cause me to lie?

Library lights the future

A hundred years ago your community probably didn't have a public library, but if you poke around in your town's history you'll probably find out that there was a community group, most likely a women's club, who had a circulating library. That is going on right now in Marblehead, Ohio, with a vigorous town committee that is buying the old 1914 quarry hospital building in the middle of downtown Marblehead to renovate it into a library/community resource center that will be the jewel of the Marblehead Peninsula.

We own a home up there, and several times I've donated books to the library's bookstore, Ex-Libris, located in the Kukay building [raises money through donated books]. The library committee has some gift ideas for Christmas--books about the area. I have a lot of them already--many authored by locals. The most recent is "My Sweetest Libbie" by Jean Gora, which tells the story of life in Put-in-Bay, Lakeside and Detroit circa 1886 and 1887 through the love letters of Libbie Magie and Alex Bruce (no relation). Web site is www.marpenlib.org and they've just issued a newsletter, MPLC Connection, which will probably end up on my premiere issue blog.

1779 Ted Kennedy on Wal-Mart

Do you suppose anyone has told Teddy how his daddy made his money? The money he's never worked for but always lived on? And he's saying Wal-Mart isn't in line with American values? Ted's family came out of the Depression richer than it went in, rolling in race track and liquor money--now that's good 'ol down home Amerika. At least Sam Walton worked.

"Joe Kennedy's money may have had unsavory sources as well. He is rumored to have imported liquor during Prohibition, working with mobsters in that industry (he later sold his legitimate liquor importing business to a known mobster named Abner "Longy" Zwillman). Joe Kennedy never publicly revealed his wealth, but the New York Times estimated his net worth at $500,000,000 when he died in 1969.Unlike their father, none of Joe Kennedy's sons went into business. Instead, they pursued his dream: elected office." American Experience, PBS

"Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is the world’s largest retailer, with $285.2 billion in sales in the fiscal year ending Jan. 31, 2005. The company employs 1.6 million associates worldwide through more than 3,600 facilities in the United States and more than 2,300 units in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, South Korea and the United Kingdom. More than 138 million customers per week visit Wal-Mart stores worldwide." Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart has beat out every other American business in the aggressive use of information technology and in meeting the needs of its customers--and for that it has most businesses trying to imitate it, and everyone on the left who hates capitalism trying to stop it.
Wal-Mart Dist. Center. Imagine if Washington was this well-run!

1778 Why I don't support the death penalty

First, I'm pro-life, and I believe I'm being consistent. But, second, our system of justice is extremely uneven, and I don't think we should condemn one guy to death for murder because he planned it, and another to eight years because he was stupid drunk by his own choice and plan. There are just too many ways to weasel out of it, so let's not play games and buy into another killing and have the blood on our hands.

Damian Hayes shot and killed 16 year old Angela Hughes, a freshman in high school, and seriously wounded her mother, Phyllis Sanders during a drunken New Year's "celebration" here in Columbus. He got eight years. Five for killing her and 3 for using a gun to do it. His sentence was lenient because he turned himself in. Of course, she's still dead; her mother is still recovering from her injuries and grieving.

If he'd been white, we'd probably had race riots in Columbus. But this was black on black, and when a black man kills a black woman, hardly anyone raises an eyebrow. It was the same thing on my husband's jury trial case in October. Jesse Jackson didn't show up. Fox News didn't bring cameras to town with Greta and Geraldo. This story didn't even make the front page--it was in the "Metro" section of the Columbus Dispatch.

Tell me again why choosing to get drunk as a skunk and killing someone is worth only 5 years (+ 3 years for using a gun) and choosing to shoot someone deliberately is worth a lethal injection.

1777 My Autumn Wastebasket

The Cheryl's Cookies seasonal gift bag (for about a dozen cookies) is just the perfect size to fit under my desk for a week's worth of trash. It is very good quality, colorful, and stands up to accidental kicking and cat curiosity. I've just replaced the Easter Egg bag with the Fall produce bag.

Since I've been ill, I've missed three events--a trip to the Dayton Art Museum to see the Egyptian exhibit, the Frank Lloyd Wright tour group reunion, and the autumn condo potluck. About noon yesterday my husband, who does not cook, said, "What should I take to the potluck?" I always make a pie, and if I must say, it is terribly wonderful, but I didn't think anyone would appreciate it just in case I'm still contagious. So I suggested he buy some sugar-free Cheryl's cookies. They come individually wrapped, so if they weren't all consumed, he could freeze them. Now, they aren't as luscious as a regular sugar laden Cheryl's, but they make a good second choice. So he did. And I got this nice wastebasket.

1776 I've been propositioned

A librarian found my blog about my hobby, collecting premiere issues of magazines. He wants me to sell one of them so he can complete that library's run of a particular serial title. Having incomplete serial holdings creates a lot of angst and sleepless nights for librarians. They are like drug sniffing dogs. I know I was.

I used to run a pretty good veterinary replacement title service out of my office. We vet librarians would put our list of extras on our listserv and offer them to other libraries. We had a thousand extra JAVMA's, but not so many Dairy Goat Journals. Our method of exchange was postage stamps. If it cost $4.50 to send them, then that librarian would send you $4.50 in postage stamps. You never actually used your stamps for postage--just used them as barter. Some of these stamps in really odd denominations had been around the world several times.

One day in 1995 someone left a sheet of Marilyn Monroe postage stamps in the copy machine. No one ever came back to claim them. (I used to find divorce papers, lab tests, medical records, and love letters in the copy machine.) I put them in the stamp box, but never used them. I suspected they'd never come home in the exchanges. That 32 cent stamp issued in 1995 is the 12th most popular stamp ever issued by the USPS, earning it $15,000,000 from 46,000,000 stamps sold. If I'd been smart, I would have just replaced them with the same amount in ordinary postage stamps. But in 1995, they were just worth 32 cents--$6.40. Or, I'm too honest for my own good.

I'm still thinking about that guy's offer.

1775 Welcome back Gaylords!

For 25 years we enjoyed the Little Professor Bookstore in the Lane Avenue Mall operated by the Gaylord family--husband, wife and kids. It expanded to five, went public, then bankrupt. The family also operated some Cookstores, and I think perhaps a bath and linens shop. Now they've come home.

The new bookstore, back on Lane Avenue, will be called Liberty Books, and will have a coffee bar, internet access, and study area. Oh--I'm in heaven. It will be 10,000 sq. ft. and have 7,000 magazine titles. Be still my heart. Newspapers (foreign) will be printed from the internet and sold by special order.

Here's an Aug. 3, 1998 Publisher's Weekly article about its demise:

"In today 's cutthroat bookselling environment, smaller chains look for a niche to survive. Crown Books's Chapter 11 filing last month is the latest in a string of bankruptcies and downsizings that have caused many observers to question the viability of regional bookstore chains.

Left behind as Barnes & Noble and Borders grew rapidly in the 1990s and often not as flexible or close to the market as single-store independents, most regional chains have suffered dramatically.

In addition to the high profile bankruptcies of Crown and Lauriat's, three other, smaller regional chains filed for Chapter 11 over the last 10 months. The Gaylord Companies, which operated five Little Professor Bookstores as well as six Cookstores in Ohio, filed for Chapter 11 last November. Village Green Bookstores, which at one point operated 12 stores in upstate New York, went the Chapter 11 route in January."

Story about Empire Books in West Virginia, owned by the Gaylords.

1774 Cat Bloggers

Many years and one cat ago, my beloved We Be Three (died of CRF at age 4) had a web page. It was in the distant, dark past, before anyone thought of blogs, and when librarians who knew a little html were ahead of the pack instead of sitting in the back. I can't remember how it was posted, or where, Japan possibly, and I think I used to walk across the street to the vet hospital to scan her photos because I didn't have a scanner.
She was a lynx point Siamese (almost) with issues. After her death, I went right to Cat Welfare and rescued our current calico, who, because she was abandoned, also had issues, but at least she loves to cuddle and she doesn't eat the furniture.

Now I do occasionally look through the cat blogs to look at cute pictures. I was checking out Catbloggers, and looked at their http://www.frappr.com/catbloggers map, and discovered they have no one from Ohio. When I get well and can follow instructions maybe I'll read through it and see what's required. My cat, however, will not be given her own blog, Jane. I also need to read the instructions with my digital camera, another project for the future.

And no, I'm taking no applications for my son, either. Even if you sent me your resume, and you passed muster (beautiful, intelligent, employed, sense of humor, Christian, good cook), he does not take his mother's advice.

cat

1773 Preparation H: Itchy and Tender

What are Californians thinking? San Franciscans passed Proposition H, which outlaws handguns, so now people who watched what happened in New Orleans and know the "big one" is coming any day when they may need to protect life and property, are buying shotguns! The voters couldn't disarm the criminals, so they decided to disarm the law abiding citizens. Those folks spend too much time in the sun. There's a challenge, of course.

1772 Fat Ohio

The Nutrition and Physical Activity Program to Prevent Obesity and Other Chronic Diseases is designed to help states prevent obesity and other chronic diseases by addressing two closely related factors — poor nutrition and inadequate physical activity. The program supports states with developing and implementing science-based nutrition and physical activity interventions. The program’s major goals are balancing caloric intake and expenditure; increasing physical activity; improving nutrition through increased consumption of fruits and vegetables; reducing television time; and increasing breastfeeding.

In 2005–2006, 21 states are funded at $400,000 to $450,000 for capacity building. Seven states are funded at $750,000 to $1.3 million for basic implementation, bringing the total number of funded states to 28. CDC site.

Ohio is fat--I think Columbus is 5th or 6th fat city USA. We are not one of the 21 states taking federal dollars to fund yet another bureaucracy that will pay the salaries of nutritionists and physical therapists on temporary contracts as the money is filtered through the state offices. (I've been a librarian on state library contracts , so I know how this works.)

Can we talk? I think we know what's causing this--too many calories and too little exercise. I can't imagine one more TV ad will take one more hand back off from a Big Mac or a third helping of turkey and dressing.

But, let's do lunch, soon.

1771 My Life in a Box

This quiz makes no allowance for "retirement." I think that is why I was rated low in financial health. I had to check "unemployed." Also, of course my grandparents are deceased (lived into their 90s) and the writer wants you to have more than 3-5 close friends, which is silly. That would add stress! So I'm rated low on family and friends.

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	9.2
Mind:	8.9
Body:	8.9
Spirit:	8.4
Friends/Family:	6.6
Love:	10
Finance:	8.6
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

I saw this at Bethany's Blog.

1770 Some ads are so cute

that you forget to notice what the product is! I always stop and watch the TV ad of the young woman explaining how to get-over/break-up with a boyfriend. Her final instruction is about deleting his phone number from her cell phone and answering in the affirmative when it asks if she really wants to dump him. You've seen it, right? She's sitting on a bed in dark jeans and laughing while she talks about it. It's really cute--but I have no recall if she is advertising a motel chain, a jeans brand or a phone service. However, it does remind me of this item that was circulating the internet last fall during the campaign.

1. Open a new file in your PC.
2. Name it "John Kerry."
3. Send it to the trash.
4. Empty the trash.
5. Your PC will ask you, "do you really want to get rid of John Kerry?"
6. Answer calmly, "yes," and press the mouse button firmly.
7. Feel better don't you?

1769 Misquoting Christians? What's new?

Wayne Lutz points out at his blog, No Shades of Gray, that Pat Robertson didn't say what the media says he said. It's a fine, fine line that Wayne draws in the sand, but he's got a point--CNN misquoted him and that's being passed around.

"Virtually all of the news accounts that I have heard or read, and even many of the blogs that I otherwise respect, are perpetuating a lie about Robertson. They are saying that he has called down the wrath of God on a Pennsylvania town for voting against the idea of introducing Intelligent Design into schools. CNN, as quoted on a friend's blog, states the lie like this:

Conservative Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson told citizens of a Pennsylvania town that they had rejected God by voting their school board out of office for supporting "intelligent design" and warned them Thursday not to be surprised if disaster struck.

Just one niggling little problem with that: That is not what Robertson said. Not that the truth has ever been a priority at CNN, especially in connection with conservatives in general and Christians in particular.

I heard what Robertson said, and no, Robertson did not "warn them" "not to be surprised if disaster struck." That quote is a lie, and it is being perpetuated by even well-meaning people.

What Robertson said was that IF something bad were to happen to this town, then, those people, having rejected Him, should not call on Him for help, rather they should call on Darwin."

What Robertson said:

"I‘d like to say to the good citizens of Dover: if there is a disaster in your area, don‘t turn to God, you just rejected Him from your city. And don‘t wonder why He hasn‘t helped you when problems begin, if they begin. I‘m not saying they will, but if they do, just remember, you just voted God out of your city. And if that‘s the case, don‘t ask for His help because he might not be there."

I notice Robertson is described as a "fundamentalist" by most news people. Are fundamentalists and pentecostal/charismatics interchangeable? Do they worship together under the same roof?

1768 Martha Pullen's TV Show

Someone on a Martha Pullen Forum mentioned my sewing blog as a good place for memories, and I got about 40 hits from that one mention. Since I don't sew much (actually never) anymore, I had no idea who this Martha is. So I looked Martha up and found out she has a TV program on PBS and a very loyal following with lots of interesting stuff on her web site. Take a look even if you don't do victorian embroidery. I've watched people use software to embroider and it looks like a fascinating use of technology.

Another Martha to admire.

1767 Biblical language used by reporters

Dr. Claude Mariottini, a professor of Old Testament, analyzed the language used by reporters during Katrina. There's important information imbedded in words, that when carelessly or intentionally used might convey another message--"this is God's judgement." Check it out here.

1765 Your Dream Library

On September 8, Booking Through Thursday asked this question.

1. What kind of room is your dream library in (one wall of your living room, dedicated room, corner of the kitchen, etc.)?


2. What genre are most of your books?


3. Are the books all hard cover, paperback, leather, or mixed medium?

This would be my dream library if the shelves weren't stationery stationary and 2 ft deep, and if it weren't in the lower level. Right now, we call it my husband's office. But he is retiring and I have plans. I've already taken over most of the far left section.


Most of our books are non-fiction; theology and religion; art and architecture; reference sources; and parts of my grandparents' home library. I really like "collected works." I don't cook much but seem to have an awful lot of recipe collections, the newest of which is from our church.

I'm fond of cheap books--free is best; resale next. But I do like a good hardcover with a decent, artistic cover. I like the bargain shelves at Half-Price Books, and the free box at the church library. My newest find is "Complete Guide to Needlework" (1979) from the clearance shelf for $3. I'm learning to knit--it has pictures. I'm a sucker for books of art exhibitions, like the Columbus Museum of Art gift shop. I'm so enthusiastic about the exhibit, then buy the book, then never look at it.

There is no good way to store a premiere issue collection. They lean, they flop, they don't like their neighbors. Even with their own blog, they are out of control.

1764 Big shoes to fill

If you are pro-choice, you may not actually contribute money for women to have abortions or give to abortion clinics--you don't go THAT far. You try to put out of your mind that "choice" means taking a life. But if you are pro-life, I hope you're putting your money where your heart is. We support the Pregnancy Decision Health Center of Columbus.

This fall's newsletter came yesterday and had an interesting story about the Fall fund raising banquet attended by 600 people at Villa Milano. One testimony was by a woman who 26 years ago rejected the "life" message her doctor gave her and proceeded with plans for an abortion. "She subsequently got up from the abortionist's table and returned to Dr. Raymond who helped her through her pregnancy and delivered her baby boy. The child was placed for adoption and the presentation ends with a still photo of the baby. At that point, John Vorlicky, now 26 came out on stage to announce that he is the baby in the photo." PDHC wasn't in existence then, but he thanked the group for the moms they are helping today.

If you are part of the adoption triangle (adoptee, birth parent, adoptive parent) you are part of an amazing transaction where grief and sorrow are miraculously turned into joy and hope. Not all adoptions create picture perfect families--but then I don't know any families like that made the other way, do you? Abortions, on the other hand, create nothingness forever and ever.

Some women among the 30,000+ who have been helped by PDHC choose to raise their children, and here's a list of items you can donate to help.

1763 Bird Watching

When I retired in 2000, I posted my "Post Employment Plan" on my web-site (no longer available). One of the things I listed was bird watching, something I knew nothing about, but thought it would be interesting. So my colleagues in the Departmental Libraries got me binoculars. We've actually used them quite a bit just sitting on our deck watching the condo wild life, but I haven't gone to any cemeteries at dawn to peek at the birds. Here's an interesting rare birds site, called, well, Rarebirds.com.

For instance, by clicking on the pushpin on the map of Indiana, for Nov. 8: "The Gray Kingbird, first discovered at 1:20PM on November 5, was seen again today. It was reported this morning at 9:20AM CST on the wires on the West side of US 35 and County Road 1100 South. It was observed while actively feeding, catching flying bugs for 20 min before flying about 200 yards south to the first fenceline South of the intersection. It gave close views on weeds and fenceposts on the East side of the road then moved further East along the fenceline where it was last observed today at 9:55AM CST. This bird constitutes a first state record for this species in Indiana.

Photos of the bird were taken by John Cassady on 11-05-05 and may be viewed
at: http://www.jkcassady.com/gallery/gyki.htm "

I saw this listed at Blogdriverswaltz, in an item about Google Maps. Neat, huh?

1762 This is not news

but it bears repeating. A few brave souls tried to get this message out last year during the campaign meme, "worst economy since Adam and Eve," but they were drowned out.

“The enormous US trade deficit has caused many observers to conclude that international trade, particularly a massive flood of imported goods from China and of services from India, is to blame for the loss of US jobs since 2000. In fact, research shows that only 11 percent of the job losses in manufacturing—about 314,000 jobs—can be attributed to trade, and even in this instance the real culprit was falling exports, not rising imports. Offshoring in the services sector destroyed even fewer jobs. The real causes of job losses were weak domestic demand, rapid productivity growth, and the dollar's strength.”
McKinsley Quarterly, Nov. 11, 2005

1761 Another ex-soldier

wants to be a senator from Massey-chews-its. Worked for Kerry.

1760 Harriet is a class act

Maybe so. But I still think she was a decoy.

"It would have been easy for her to skip the event [Federalist Society Dinner], and one might think it would have been more comfortable, given how much opposition her nomination, withdrawn just two weeks earlier, had stirred up among this crowd--especially since one rap against her was a disparaging comment she made about the Federalist Society back in 1989. But she went, and she got a warm reception. We chatted with her briefly after dinner and found her most gracious. We haven't changed our mind about the nomination, but we can say Harriet Miers is a class act."
James Taranto WSJ Nov. 11, 2005

This White House press release referred to her as a staff secretary

1759 Booga Uga Booga Bag

Cathy is making this for a church bazaar. I have no idea what it is, but she "felted" it. She's a very talented lady. I love to check her site. I'm learning to knit.

1758 Just who is politicizing the war?

The Democrats were out with their talking points seconds after Bush's Veteran's Day speech. Shock. Horror. He's politicizing the war!!!! He's finally, finally, pointing out what we all know--they were all convinced and supporting the issues that brought us to Iraq when they thought they'd get some votes. I hope he keeps it up. He's sticking by his words--let them do the same.

"While it's perfectly legitimate to criticize my decision or the conduct of the war, it is deeply irresponsible to rewrite the history of how that war began.

Some Democrats and anti-war critics are now claiming we manipulated the intelligence and misled the American people about why we went to war.

These critics are fully aware that a bipartisan Senate investigation found no evidence of political pressure to change the intelligence community's judgments related to Iraq's weapons programs.

They also know that intelligence agencies from around the world agreed with our assessment of Saddam Hussein.

They know the United Nations passed more than a dozen resolutions, citing his development and possession of weapons of mass destruction.

Many of these critics supported my opponent during the last election, who explained his position to support the resolution in the Congress this way: When I vote to give the president of the United States the authority to use force, if necessary, to disarm Saddam Hussein, it is because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a threat and a grave threat to our security.

That's why more than 100 Democrats in the House and the Senate, who had access to the same intelligence, voted to support removing Saddam Hussein from power." From Veteran's Day Speech, Nov. 11, 2005, President George W. Bush

1757 Jak sie masz? Na zdrowie! Daj mu buzi!

These are said to be the three phrases non-Polish Americans are most likely to know in Polish. The most familiar single words are thought to be kielbasa, pierogi and the four-letter "D-word."

I read that in the Polish American Journal (Buffalo). No Poles in my family--don't think we've even brought any in via marriage. But if you are Polish within recent generations, you might enjoy this updated offering at the College and Research Libraries C&RL News; it's an update on on-line resources about the Polish Presence in North America.

(I got kielbasa, pierogi and Na zdrowie, but the rest is Greek to me.)

1756 Happy Birthday Marines

Semper Fi, and thank you all veterans and current armed forces members for your service this Veterans' Day.

Dad and his brother Russell, both Marines
"On November 10th, 1775, the Second Continental Congress resolved to raise two battalions of Continental Marines marking the birth of our United States Marine Corps. As Major General Lejeune's message reminds us, the ensuing generations of Marines would come to signify all that is highest in warfighting excellence and military virtue. Each November as Marines the world over celebrate the birth of our Corps, we pay tribute to that long line of "Soldiers of the Sea" and the illustrious legacy they have handed down to us." Message from M. W. Hagee General, U.S. Marine Corps

Dad's brother John was in the Army and took part in the invasion of Normandy and was wounded then and again in Belgium; Russell served in Alaska and then was with the first wave of Marines who stormed Iwo Jima and was wounded; their cousins Andy, Bill and Phil were in the Army serving in Europe, Philippines and Korea; cousin Wayne and brother-in-law Glaydon were in the Navy and served in the Pacific; cousin-in-law Harlan served in the Army in New Guinea and the Philippines; brother-in-law Johnny was in the Coast Guard; brother-in-law Charlie was also in the service, but I don't know the branch. Another brother-in-law, Clare, was in the Army Air Force and died in the China, Burma India Theater.

Dad served on the U.S.S. Mayo and made two trips across the Atlantic and one trip each to Okinawa, the Philippines and Japan. Not bad for a kid who had probably not been further away from home than Chicago and never learned to swim.

All but two of these men were from the same town and all are deceased now. [Service records and photos of over 400 men and women for a town of less than 3,000 appear in "War Record of Mount Morris" edited by Harry G. Kable, 1947.] Even the town band was part of the National Guard and served in the Fiji Islands.

1754 This is a GLOBAL WAR.

Dr. Sanity says she's too busy to blog much right now, but she still gets in a few licks. about Islamic violence in France, Denmark, Australia, Indonesia, Jordan, Iraq and Afghanistan.

"This is a GLOBAL WAR. It is being waged by TERRORISTS who have no particular nation and who seek to unify all nations under an Islamic Caliphate. It is against EVERYONE who does not believe as the terrorists believe, including fellow Muslims who might be inclined to live and let live.

It is not caused by Bush, Cheney, Blair, or Howard's policies. It is not caused by poverty or lack of assimilation. It is not caused by oppression. It is caused by the terrorist's desire to force people through murderous violence and intimidation, to conform to their fanatical religious ideology, and accept a view of the world where Liberty, Justice and Human Dignity play no part.

It is barbarians versus civilization."

1754 A new book blog

New to me anyway. Looks like it could start some interesting discussions.

1753 No more stories about Mitford

Jan Karon, 68, is leaving Mitford with her latest in the series, "Light from Heaven." And I haven't read the first one yet, "At Home in Mitford," although I've borrowed it. After awhile, I suppose, a character, even one like Father Tim, must move on. She's not killing him off, just changing locations. I used to think that about "Murder She Wrote." You sure wouldn't want to be that woman's relative--they were always on trial for something. After awhile, Jessica just ran out of cousins and neighbors in trouble and the series had to have her traveling more.

That's how my newest blog, Memory Patterns, will be. Eventually, I'm going to run out of material (pun), because it is based on various sewing projects and patterns combined with photos from my albums. At the rate I'm writing, I should not have left a spool of thread or a scrap of fabric unturned by Christmas. Then I'll print it out, pass it around to relatives, and eventually shut it down. Print on paper is really the only way to preserve your memories and photos, much as we might like to think digital is the end all, be all, of communication.

1752 Is it something I said?

Today I left a comment at a very nice Christian book site called Buried Treasure. The blogger is an official prairie muffin and has written a nice entry on Agrarian Picture Books. Wow. My kinda site. So I left a comment. Here's the reply.

"Spam Karma: Your comment looks suspiciously like spam and has been moderated. It will be displayed once the admin approves it."

Since when did Christians believe in Karma?

1751 Just about a good idea

Today I was browsing through LIS news feeds and came across About Children's Books. I think all the About.com sites were originally good ideas, but they are extremely aggrevating to read. The page is packed, jammed, smashed with advertising, some of which bounces and moves as you scroll, and you get one paragraph of information--always good, but not worth the struggle. I get queasy reading. I'm often amazed at the writing ability of the specialists who host these pages. Maybe they write a weekly essay and then chop it up into 7 parts? I only subscribe to one About.com feature, and often they build up in my mail box and I eventually delete them just because they are a good idea gone just about bad.

1750 Google Print

Google Print. You won’t find a better wrap up than Charles Bailey’s bibliography. Still no comment by the American Library Association, however. He's good. He'd find it. They are busy with bigger fish, you know--Bush, torture, Patriot Act--all that library stuff.

1749 He's so good to me

Yesterday he went out and bought me tapioca pudding from the Chef-o-Nette and a bag of corn chips. Don't know if it is the pneumonia or the medications, but I've had some food cravings. Then he willingly hid the corn chips after I put some in a small bowl, so I wouldn't eat them all at one sitting. Then this morning he refilled the bowl for me so I wouldn't have to go to his office and take it apart looking for the bag. He is such a blessing.

1748 A frenulectomy

What's that? Check my sewing blog for an explanation why I have nice teeth.

1747 Women who have abortions

are more likely to die within 12 months than women giving birth? And a violent death (suicide, homicide, accident)? I wish I knew more about statistics, ratio and risk after reading this report based on statistical data from Finland. Finland has liberal abortion laws and socialized medicine, but not the privacy laws that the U.S. has which has prevented this study being done here. (But if you want to study equine orthopedics [horse bones] which would cause pain to horses, Finnish vets come here due to their animal welfare laws.) Even non-pregnant women were more likely to die than women who carried to term or miscarried. It's an amazing story. Have to think about that. About how much God wants his little ones to live.

1746 I voted today, did you?

Yes, I drug my self from my sick bed (in the passenger seat) with my husband driving to the local Catholic cathedral, looked for the one 12" American flag, walked down 16 curving steps into an outdoor reception area, and found the upside down "vote here" sign with the arrow going the wrong way.

Vacation Disaster Avoidance

Here's some good advice on vacation and time share planning. I'm not going anywhere soon (except out to vote), but you might be. She also has lovely photos of Hawaii, Ohio and Arkansas--they love to travel.

1744 Three signs your marriage might be in trouble

When I sit down to blog, I have no idea what I'm going to say (except for those entries drafted while I read the paper). Today I was innocently writing about an apron pattern, and ended with 3 ways to know a marriage is in trouble.

1743 WMD in Iraq

This advertisement was attached to the most recent Novak-Evans Report. I have not gone to Iraq to check this out, but I hope someone beside Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame have. Their reporting is a bit dicey.

WMDs Found in Iraq!

1.77 metric tons of enriched uranium

1,500 gallons of chemical weapons agents

17 chemical warheads containing cyclosarin (a nerve agent five times more deadly than sarin gas)

Over 1,000 radioactive materials in powdered form meant for dispersal over populated areas

Roadside bombs loaded with mustard and "conventional" sarin gas, assembled in binary chemical projectiles for maximum potency

This is only a PARTIAL LIST of the horrific weapons verified to have been recovered in Iraq to date. Yet Americans overwhelmingly believe U.S. and coalition forces have found NO weapons of mass destruction. The question is: WHY do they believe this lie?

Richard Miniter explains why these and other popular media factoids and urban legends are not only wrong, but severely damaging to our war effort, in Disinformation: 22 Media Myths That Undermine the War on Terror.

1742 Book Club tonight

We're doing Spin Sisters by Myrna Blyth. But I'm not there. Went to the doctor today for this cold that has lingered longer than usual and I have pneumonia, first time since I was in grade school. So I'll just snuggle up with a good cat instead of a good book. After a breathing treatment and 3 medications, frankly, I feel much, much worse.

1741 Bone tired, always?

There are good, solid medical reasons to be tired all the time. Various sleep disorders, narcolepsy, shift-work disturbances, post polio syndrome, stroke, post-head injury, Parkinson's Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, hypothyroidism, ADD and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) to name a few. No matter how much you sleep, you're always tired. And if you can't get the right kind of sleep, you're not going to ever have energy.

Go to the library (or to Google) and research Provigil or Modafinil. It works miracles for some, does nothing for others. Check it out. Ask your doctor--always.

I feel their pain

After the Suze Orman show on MSNBC, I didn't change the channel and a feature came on about a couple with a six figure income living in Buffalo who were having a struggle making it financially. They've already borrowed against their home equity. The wife is a SAHM with an MBA who is still paying off her college loans and has three children. The house and cars were very nice--not palatial, but better than anything I've ever owned. They appeared to be in their early 40s.

Then today USAToday featured the Hetmers of Rockwall, TX, another family (blended) with a six figure income, wife has two jobs and the husband has a sales job that has a base of $30,000 and then he works on commission. He'd been making about $130,000, and this is a new job, probably a step up. They can't borrow against their home equity, because they have none, and have an interest only mortgage. She too is paying off her college loans, and now has decided that her college age son should borrow her half of the costs (his father pays the other half), so they'll have two generations of college loans in that family. She is about 41.

What do you want to bet that neither family tithes their income to a church or synagogue? And yet that's about the best way to stay out of debt that I know of. I don't know why it works, but it does. If you start early enough, you won't have any excess cash to fritter away on eating out or shopping as a hobby. Later, when it's a habit and not a hardship, it will help you focus on what's important in life.

Back to Suze Orman (soapbox alert). I enjoy her show and her dramatics. It's well-paced with good advice. But I wish she'd slap some of these "living together" couples up side the head instead of giving them advice on investments. Living together without marriage screams "lack of commitment," so why should they be mingling funds just because they are mixing body fluids? Marriage isn't always a good financial base, but shacking up never is.

1739 Liberals have all the interesting advocacy programs

In government, the conservatives have all the new and innovative ideas, but in organizations, clubs and workshops, the liberals have cornered the market. I was reading the local freebie paper Saturday at the coffee shop and noted these meetings about town.

CURE [Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants] life skills workshops

8 week course on justice/public policy

Bicycle advocacy group for transportation

Green Party monthly meeting

Earth Institute--Simple living, voluntary simplicity and "deep ecology."

Impact Safety program--self defense for women and children

Mercy for animals--rights of all animals

Arts Relief--art supplies for hurricane victims

Surviving the Violence luncheon

Spirit of the 60s Coffee House

Abortion Access Fund

Health, peace of mind, and mental clarity workshop

Choices for victims of domestic violence

Equal justice

Jewish GLBT

1738 Did Bush get instruction before the Latin America trip?

Generally, when you greet friends and relatives in the Latin culture, here's what you do. When a male greets a female or when a female greets a female, they will gently touch both arms while moving their bodies to about 6 inches apart, then they cock their heads, put their cheeks together, and make a light kissing sound. Their lips don't actually make contact with anything. All this will take about 1 or maybe 2 seconds. For men greeting men, in most areas, it is completely customary to give each other a hug. This may seem unnatural for many people outside of the Latin culture, so you may have to practice hugging a few times before you gain any close friends or relatives that live in Latin areas.

Spanish lesson

1737 The poulets have come home to roost

says Dr. Sanity, "and we should not be glad of it, because this could mean the beginning of the end for a free Europe." She's gathered some comments from other blogs here.

1736 Nothing's changed since I was in school

Actually, a lot has, but not this--students don't like to be called on. Usually, because they aren't prepared. In fact, I'm a little surprised anyone had to study this. But 200 introductory psych students were questioned about "being called on."

"The “top five” behaviors that 125 introductory psychology students said they use to avoid being called on (each endorsed by over 50 percent of the sample) included:

• Avoid eye contact.
  
• Look like you are thinking of the answer (but have not come up with it yet).
  
• Act like you are looking for the answer in your notes.
  
• Act like you are writing in your notes.
  
• Pretend to be reading something course-related.

Other responses included dropping a pen or notebook to look busy, hiding behind the person in front of you — and even a write-in response: pretend to be asleep. Constructive, preemptive participatory behaviors — such as raising one's hand to say something related to the topic or to ask a question about the topic — were endorsed by less than 20 percent of students."

This doesn't sound terribly imaginative of either the students or the authors, but the authors do have some suggestions on getting a discussion going.

1735 More negative news about alcohol advertising

"A study slated to appear in the January issue of Psychological Science suggests the mere presence of alcohol-related images -- including those in advertising -- encourages aggression even if people aren’t drinking." That's all I know, because the issue isn't available yet.

1734 Who owns the computer system on which you're reading this?

Ad Age reports something surprising (to me) about blogs--551,000 years of paid work time is being spent on blog reading! Yikes. Turn me off right now and go back to work, you slacker! And if you're listening to AMC on headphones or a tiny TV stuck in your desk drawer, turn that off too.

A report last week by Advertising Age Editor at Large Bradley Johnson noted that about 35 million workers -- or one in four people in the U.S. labor force -- spend an average of 3.5 hours, or 9%, of each work day reading blogs. This blogification of workplace time is no minor concern -- the total losses across the national work force are estimated to be the equivalent of 551,000 years of paid time that is being spent on blogs via the employer's own computer systems.

Another important point was that the time spent reading blogs on the job was in addition to the time already spent surfing the Web in personal pursuits. The debate appears to be one of reasonable limits. At what point, or at what length of time, does the use of company assets for personal activities become unreasonable? And is the problem likely to become an even greater one as more and more TV content goes online, becoming easily accessible from one's office computer? Do employers need to find new ways to police their computer systems?

AdAge.com

1733 Free marketing and promotion advice

for librarians (but would work for various agencies who are clueless) in ten parts is currently running at Ex Libris. I can't say as I think much of the author's example [Tia Dobi] of the DoD as selling a product for "killing," but once she gets off her liberal soap box, she has some good things to say about how and how not to market libraries.

There are some people who by personality and profession are not inclined to use public libraries--my family, for instance. My daughter and I were together Friday evening for dinner. She brought it in because I've been ill and she stayed until about 9:30. She was explaining to me the plot and intricacies of her latest read--The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. Big, big book. She looked at her watch and said, "Oh Barnes and Noble will be closed. I want to buy 1776." "Don't you ever use a library?" I asked. (I'm totaling up in my head not only the pages, but the cost--it's a mom-thing). "Never. I like to own my books."

OK. I can accept that, but what if libraries had a decent advertising campaign at anytime except when they want to pass bond issues? What if their staff smiled and acted like they were happy to see you, the way boutique clerks do? What if they stopped talking to each other, and asked if you needed help? What if they bought more than 5 copies of books on the best seller list for 2 years? Do librarians think people are immune to advertising? Why is it that magazines, TV and newspapers actually support their product with advertising and appealing to their niche market, if it won't work on the homogeneous general public within driving distance of the public library?

Then there's my husband. He always has a beautiful, fancy library card because he uses the library so rarely, he is always issued a new one each time he shows up. Mine is about 30 years old and has a glued bar code on it because I stop by about once a week. But even that is way down from what it used to be before the internet, databases on-line, and Google.

Come on, librarians, toot your horns a bit.

1732 There's this guy in Bucyrus

who sells gasoline about 15 or 20 cents higher than the competition. Friday it was $2.39 for regular and Saturday he had dropped to $2.29, but the Mobile and Shell were $2.17. Around here the Sunoco is selling for $2.15, and the cheap gas places are probably less. So I'm thinking, how does this guy stay in business? It isn't just one week-end, but week after week. He's always way higher than stations two blocks away. Surely he can't be living on the loyalty of his relatives and the naivete of motorists coming in from Columbus and Cincinnati. He also has the dirtiest restrooms this side of the Third World--which I discovered the last time we stopped there. When I complained to the cashier she told me it wasn't her job. Well, maybe not, but did she go across the street when nature called? It was a sewer.

Maybe he sells something else and tries to keep the rest of us away.


Bucyrus has two beautiful murals that look like you could walk right into them

1731 Save a plant and it might return the favor

Plant and animal biodiversity isn't just for tree huggers. We've got Lyme Disease because the white footed mouse doesn't have enough natural enemies, and we need to protect the plants too, because they may be the source of treatments that will prolong our lives. This is not saving a snail species because it has "rights" but because it is the smart, productive and safe thing to do.

"Preserving biodiversity also means preserving a reservoir of as-yet-undiscovered medical treatments and cures. Consider the cancer drug Taxol, made from the Pacific yew tree; morphine, which was initially derived from poppies; and Artemisia, which yielded chloroquinine and other treatments for resistant strains of malaria. In addition, microbes -- the most diverse organisms on the planet -- also hold promise: aminoglycosides, a group of antibiotics used in the treatment of severe infections, were derived from a bacterium found in tropical soil.

Animal species too are treasure troves of medicines: the cone snail yields a toxin (recently FDA-approved under the name "Prialt") that is a thousand times more potent than morphine as a painkiller but does not lead to tolerance or addiction. That same snail also yields a broad-spectrum anti-epileptic used for the treatment of intractable epilepsy. It should go without saying that the destruction of species such as these means that potential cures are lost forever. Even species that may seem inconsequential to human life (like soil microbes or cone snails) actually have the potential to improve human life greatly -- if they are not driven to extinction."
American Council on Science and Health

1730 Creating a piece of art?

I found a neat site called typoGenerator. Type in the words, change the font, or colors or background, or toss two of the three and move on.

Not sure I like these colors, or pink flamingos

This might be better

This is such fun!