Pronounceable Acronyms

Acronyms have fascinated me since my early librarian days when we used primarily paper resources. I think Gale published a thick 3 volume set (also the reverse list) even back in the 80s. I'm always finding new ones that are completely understood in certain professions, but sound funny to outsiders.

TrOOP = true out-of-pocket, not to be confused with OOP, out-of-pocket: This is a government insurance acronym, and you can read a 30 page book on it here. While there, you'll notice all the unpronounceable ones like OIG, OAS, OEI, OI, OCIG, CoBC, PDE, MA-PD, MMA, ECRS, and CMS (whenever you see this last one it's a clue that it's about Medicare).

MOLDI = Mid-Ohio Library Digital Initiative. Wow. Leave it to librarians to find a pronouceable acronym that leaves a bad taste in your ears! Instead of reading a book, you can download it 24/7. Ever a baby step behind, it is not compatible with the Apple I-Pod right now.

DISCOVER = Disease Investigation Through Specialized Clinically-Oriented Ventures in Environmental Research. "The DISCOVER centers will help to define the role of environmental agents in the initiation and progression of human disease and develop new ways to both prevent and treat disease,"

Thursday Thirteen--13 Things to do when Microsoft updates in the middle of your blogging, and then reboots your extremely slow computer

1) Stare at the frozen screen in disbelief as your entry disappears.
2) Warm your coffee.
3) Unload the dishwasher.
4) Load the dishwasher.
5) Gather the magazines due at the public library for later.
6) Put away the remote and close the TV cabinet doors in the living room.
7) Write a card and address it for a friend who has been ill.
8) Find a stamp because there are none in your desk.
9) Check the laundry and dryer cycle.
10) Put away the straggler Christmas cards that arrived after you'd put everything away.
11) Throw out the trash that's been accumulating on your desk.
12) Use the restroom.
13) Brush teeth.

New Year's Resolutions

If I'd made a New Year's Resolution to update all eleven of my blogs, it would never have happened. But yesterday I noticed all but three had been updated in 2008, so I decided to go for it. I want you to know I'm doing my part to maintain the English language. A year ago, the Japanese language blogs slightly outnumbered the English language blogs. I'm not sure how social sites like MyFaceSpace are counted, but many young'ns like those self-absorbed thingies instead of blogs. Is it your patriotic duty to start another blog (regardless of your language or country)?

Hugging and Chalking--looked like a no brainer to me.

In the Beginning--usually I don't feature losers, but. . .

Coffee Spills--An embarrassing moment, now corrected

Church of the Acronym--Rahab's thread.

On my bookshelves--cross posted here with some revisions.

Memory Patterns--updated the statistics (final entry was over 2 years ago, but it keeps plugging along)

Growth Industry--5 tips for women

Class Reunion Blog--Lynne's letter to the Rockford paper

Exercising through the church year--group blog, but many have fallen away!

Illegals Today--new I-9 rules and new handbook

And my new computer still isn't unpacked! Do you think I'm avoiding something?

The Hillary Memories

Although I have a number of female friends who are Democrats, I don't know any who support Mrs. Clinton. I'm sure they'll be loyal Democrats and vote for her if she is the party's nominee, but there is zip, nada, zilch passion about her in the primaries. I think it's women's memories. They pre-date Hillary for a lot of us.

She reminds us of "the older woman" in the office or organization when we were 30-something--witchy, bitchy, menopausal, sneaky, know-it-all, humorless--you remember her don't you? Or if you're a lot younger than me, maybe you remember the boomer feminist who gave both of those terms a bad name. Always agitating, playing the victim. Or maybe your favorite was the gossip who stirred the pot every now and then.

Dear reader, I'm older than you, but my earliest memories of my three grandmothers begin when I was about four years old--they were 71, 68 and 49! And Hillary is 60. Now, we don't necessarily think "grandfather" when McCain or Kerry run, but as women, we just didn't hang out with a lot of adult men when we were growing up. Men were at work--doing big guy tough stuff. And the feminists made that even more lopsided by making sure women were put in positions of authority, so maybe you knew even fewer adult men than I did! Surely I'm not the only woman who sees this in Hillary. Now, all my grandmothers were terrific women--they ran their families just fine and they were powerful in their own right--but they just weren't presidential material.

Tomorrow we'll know after New Hampshire pulls the levers whether women have Hillary memories.

Jan. 9 update: So much for the accuracy of polls! "Obama Widens Lead Over Clinton in New Hampshire MANCHESTER, New Hampshire- Democrat Barack Obama expanded his lead over Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire to 13 points as voting began in the . . ." (Jan. 8 Zogby Poll)

I'd know those legs anywhere

When my husband was a teenager, he ran cross country and lettered (block T) at Arsenal Technical High School, a huge school in Indianapolis larger than the town where I grew up. Today we were looking for a classmate in the 1956 Cannon (no index) and I came across this photograph, with an incorrect caption. The book says it is the football eleven, but I noticed these guys weren't the football team and there sure were more than eleven. Then my eye fell on the guy in the foreground (#2), and I just knew it was my husband. You just never forget legs like that! Nowadays he's just a skinny guy who leads a bunch of ladies in an exercise class, but back then. . .

I can get a bit envious when I leaf through his yearbooks. I had fine teachers and a new high school building (the town no longer has a high school), but then I look at the opportunities Tech kids had (in addition to a wide range of sports): service clubs, Future Nurses Club, Chemistry Club, Music Club, Nature Study Club, Drama Club, Future Teachers of America Club, Radio Club, Square Dance Club, German Club, Art Club, Home Economics Club, XYZ Club (no idea what this was, but it was very large), ROTC, all sorts of musical groups which included a string quintet, concert band, dance band, brass ensemble, madrigal singers, boys octette, concert orchestra, woodwind ensemble and to top it all off, they even got to play Christmas music! Tech had 48 people on its cafeteria staff, a staffed bookstore, and 47 people on the custodial staff including 7 engineers! A display of "The American Way of Life" in October 1956 in one of Tech's main buildings drew 9,000 visitors. Would teenagers today even be allowed to host such a patriotic display? They had 140 different courses in Shop and a class in Stagecraft that built the downtown Christmas display on Monument Circle. Tech had classes in intelligent voting (although voting age then was 21), posture, recognizing marijuana and other drugs, and keeping their campus and property clean. I don't think I ever thought about that in high school.

One of my favorite things to read in my husband's yearbook is the full page note from his girlfriend. She too knew a good man, but she lost.

Keep a Quiet Heart by Elisabeth Elliot

Liberated from the freebie box at the church library, Keep a Quiet Heart by Elisabeth Elliot may be one of the best devotional titles I've ever read. I try to spend about 30 minutes in the morning reading either scripture, or a short meditative selection, or both. This title is a collection of her essays from her newsletter (The Elisabeth Elliot Newsletter, published 6 times a year, Ann Arbor, MI, 1982-2003). My paperback was published in 1995 by Vine Books, an imprint of Servant Publications. There are 104 selections, arranged by 5 topics, but including small excerpts from other authors (verses from poetry or hymns usually) there may be a total of 120-130.

The most amazing entry in my opinion is pp. 118-120, "Lost and found," which is about an answer to prayer. I've told this story to anyone who will listen, and photocopied it to give away. I love it. I've enjoyed this title so much, I'm rereading it. The newer editions of this book have a different cover.

Elizabeth Elliot, widowed twice, is 81 and has been married 30 years to Lars Gren. Her webpage is here. Lars and Elizabeth keep an update going called Ramblings from the Cove, and here's December 2007, quite lively and filled with humor. For those of you who fret over the health and risks of older relatives or friends, you'll enjoy:

There is no distinct age when operations—ailments—aches—replacements—3rd generation descendants creep into end of the year greetings but we may as well begin by saying that I did break a leg bone on my first day of trying down hill skiing—but I am fine since that occurred 60 plus years ago and nothing broken since.

Fashion models of distinguished merit

The things you learn by reading government gobble-de-gook for 2008.

"Established by the Immigration Act of 1990 (IMMACT 90), the H-1B nonimmigrant visa category allows U.S. employers to augment the existing labor force with highly skilled temporary workers. H-1B workers are admitted to the United States for an initial period of three years, which may be extended for an additional three years and, in some cases, beyond, if an a/s application is pending.

An H-1B nonimmigrant (with the exception of certain fashion models) must have a bachelor’s degree or higher (or equivalent) in the specific specialty. The H-1B visa program is used by some U.S. employers to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in a specialized field and a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent. Typical H-1B occupations include architects, engineers, computer programmers, accountants, doctors and college professors. The H-1B visa program also includes certain fashion models of distinguished merit and ability and up to 100 persons who will performing services of an exceptional nature in connection with Department of Defense (DOD) research and development projects or coproduction projects. The current annual cap on the H-1B category is 65,000. Not all H-1B nonimmigrants are subject to this annual cap."

Monday Memories

Did I ever tell you about my retirement party?Somewhere, I'm sure I did. I think I had five of them. Librarians love to party--it's a well-known secret. I found my thank you to the committee in the OSU Knowledge Bank here on p. 5. My thank you works itself around some photos of people I don't know who were at the party. Tom Heck, the music librarian, and I had a joint party, so the cake had animals (for veterinary medicine) and musical instruments on it. I received a beautiful glass vase as a gift, and still use it regularly. I think I had the best job in the world, and I haven't missed it a minute.

I wish I could explain Knowledge Bank to you--it's called a "digital repository." There is no explanation on the website, and the arrangement looks like the game of 52 pick-up, even though it is a cooperative effort between the Libraries and the Office of the Chief Information Officer. Just type something into the search window--you'll be surprised. You might get an undergraduate honors thesis in biology from the 1970s, or an entire book published by the OSU Press, or even a blank screen. Or my retirement party.

Balmy breezes

Much of the midwest has a respite from the cold for a few days while storms blow out west. It's 65 degrees in Columbus today, and I think Cincinnati was expecting 70. I've actually had two walks today, so my little pedometer is clicking right along. Yesterday, my first day of aiming for 6000 steps I came close--5600, and I'll go well over today.

The biggest hypocrite

It's a tough one--who's the bigger hypocrite, John Edwards who claims to be looking out for the little guy, or Hillary Clinton who thinks 30 years "behind the throne" supporting Bill and supporting highly suspect candidates when she was a youngster qualifies as "experience" because she's been thoroughly vetted by the press. But, I choose John.

John Edwards, Democratic candidate for President 2008, and Vice Presidential candidate in 2004, has assets of nearly $30 million. Normally, I don’t begrudge anyone his wealth--if he’s earned it honestly. Before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 1998, Edwards had a very successful career as a personal-injury lawyer in North Carolina. He ran for President in 2003 and was selected as Kerry's V.P. running mate, resigning from the Senate to do so. If you want to talk about experience, he probably falls behind Obama who at least was in the Illinois legislature. What I don’t like about him is his dishonesty. Readers in today’s WSJ (and I can’t find the article to which they are referring) suggest that the 25-33% contingency fee trial lawyers get in law suits is much more excessive than the greed of which he accuses corporations‘ officers. Since he wants to limit the income of CEOs (who actually are contributing something to the economy), a reader suggests that he help stop “legal abuse” and limit lawyers to $300/hour, with an income not to exceed $750,000 a year. This would help reduce the inequity he sees among the high income earners. Others suggest why stop at corporate CEOs? Why not limit entertainers, sports figures, writers, etc.? This, of course, is a straw man--people who suggest this don’t really believe in limiting anyone’s income, but they do it to point out his hypocrisy. But just tort reform would reduce our health care costs without jeopardizing our health (the way dumbing down with universal health care would). Step up to the plate, John Boy. Put on those blue jeans and come out for the little guy and the pensioner like me.

Irish immigration

When we were in Ireland in September we noticed 1) the booming economy, and 2) the booming immigration. We visited a Catholic church and the newsletter was in Polish and Portuguese. William over at Atlantic Blog is an American living in Ireland, and he comments that they are undercounted in the Census (although obviously, it's a lot harder to sneak into Ireland than Texas or Arizona).

The other night, my wife and I went out to dinner with another couple we know. Here is how the nationalities stacked up. We, an American born couple, got a French born babysitter for our Vietnamese born daughter to go out with a Polish born couple who left their two Polish born children with their Polish born au pair. We went to a Spanish restaurant, where the waitress was Polish and the only other group in the restaurant were English. We did not encounter one Irish born person that evening.

More anti-Evangelical than anti-Mormon votes in Iowa

Read what Michael Medved has to say about Huckabee and Romney in Iowahere.

Huckabee did very well among women, those under 30 and the poor. 75% of Iowa Republicans voted against Romney, not just Evangelicals.

"The preferences of Evangelicals mirrored those of Iowans in general. But the preferences of the "non Evangelical" group were distorted by their religious beliefs (or non-beliefs) and led them (as the same prejudices leads angry members of the conservative establishment) to blast, resent and dismiss the Huck."

Sort of "non-Christian identity politics."

4497

Quilt Show at Mill Run

Yesterday we hung a new quilt show at The Church at Mill Run (Upper Arlington Lutheran Church), which will run through Thursday, February 7 (comes down on Friday). These ladies work very hard and have great fellowship and workshops, too. The OSU Buckeyes play LSU this week, so here's to them:

Charisma

If there's a buzz word going around these days (since Iowa), it is charisma. I've been told I'm smart, tenacious, dogged, resilient, funny, flirtatious, critical, boring, opinionated, analytic, practical and prophetic, but not charismatic. It's one of those qualities which you know when you see or hear it--you can't learn it, buy it, or bottle it. These folks walk in a room and it just lights up. You either have it or you don't. You have charismatic people in your organization or work place, don't you? They are quite visible--sometimes because they have been promoted beyond their ability level. They pep-talk the people around them do the work, which they willingly do. Hey! Even the entry level is often beyond their ability level, but they've just got that something special that attracts people.

So last night I was watching some talking heads--think it was Fox. They were all just gushing about Obama and his charisma. One fellow compared his to the appeal of Bill Clinton. Then he observed that when Bill was on stage with Hillary, while he was talking the room was just charged. And then she took over, and the room went flat. He said you could feel it. I believe.

Cool clips

Being a print person myself, I claim no fascination with podcasts of important events. Even less for unimportant. The NARA Presidential Libraries archivists are providing an opportunity for you to listen to "cool clips"-- podcasts of events, trivial and policy, in our Presidents' lives. Here's the description as it appeared in the Society of American Archivists October newsletter:

"Presidential Libraries Launch Podcast
Using technology to bring its unique holdings to the public, the Presidential Libraries of the National Archives and Records Administration announced August 2 its podcast series, “Presidential Archives Uncovered.” It features audio clips from the libraries' collection, ranging from serious policy discussions between the President and his advisors to conversations among Presidential family members. In one of the audio clips President and Mrs. Nixon discuss the pandas' arrival at the National Zoo in 1972, following the President's historic trip to the People's Republic of China earlier that year. A new clip will be added each month. Audio is free and available on the Presidential Libraries' podcast website and at iTunes: Presidential Library Podcasts."

I'm not sure why we need the panda discussion or the one where Lady Bird calls Lyndon on August 4, 1964 (Gulf of Tonkin crisis and discovery of the bodies of civil rights workers). And I could do without little synthesizer ta-da at the beginning. Also, voice overs by women need to be selected more carefully for tone, volume and diction. I had to increase the sound for her introduction, then set it back for the content. I didn't expect a Barbara Jordon (who spoke with the voice of God), but . . . she sounds as timid and tentative as the gal who let Sandy Berger steal documents from the NARA. New information on the Berger thefts here.

A few steps shy

Yesterday was the final day for my 5,000 steps a day on my pedometer. This would be duck soup for my friend Lynne, who is already up to 2 miles a day, outside in the snow, just 6 weeks after major abdominal surgery. She's amazing; I'm a wimp. Anyway, it's not really that tough, and with only an additional 1,000 steps a day, I would have made it to 150,000 (fell short by 32,807). The pedometer fell off so many times I finally started clipping it to my bra. That seems to work better.




So now I'm going to set it for 6,000 steps a day or 180,000 by Feb. 5.

Do you have clutter?

I was going to download this scale of clutter, but when I saw that it was 9 pages long and included newspapers stored in the oven, rodent dirt, snakes in the house, and rotting food, I decided it might be intended for someone with more than the usual daily build up of library books and print-offs from the internet. But interesting. I got to it from Tara Parker Pope's article in the NYT.

Too what?

Sister Told Jah always has an interesting take. Here she is on Obama's Iowa victory. Don't necessarily agree, but conservatives can disagree and stay friends.

As with everything else related to liberalism, it’s more about looking and feeling good about something or someone, rather than digging deeper to examine that person or issue’s complexities - or lack thereof. Obama’s lack of experience and possession of a solidly liberal record is going to get heavily scrutinized in the days, weeks, and months to come, especially if he makes it beyond the primaries. I think Rudy or Fred would be a good general election opponent against Obama because, considering how the media will/would be falling all over Obama like a lovesick puppy, a “new and improved” McCain or Romney would be too busy trying to paint himself as the Republican version of Obama rather than trying to distinguish themselves and emphasize their differences with Obama, tout their accomplishments, and discuss their ideas. I think Fred and Rudy, on the other hand, have shown, that they have no problems differentiating themselves from the pack.

Last night I had to explain to a young'n who was worried that she might have to choose between a Muslim and a Mormon, that Barack Obama is not a Muslim. He's a member of a UCC congregation in Chicago, the same branch of Christianity which baptized her. I met his pastor this summer at Lakeside--fine young man with just enough call and response and politicizing to keep things lively. There are lots of reasons not to vote for him--but being a Muslim isn't one of them. And as for Romney being a Mormon? You couldn't get a piece of dental floss between the theological beliefs of Bill Clinton and George Bush, but you can drive a truck between the borders of their ethics and values. I will see them both in heaven. Go with the politician who lines up with what you believe is best for the country--that may not be a Baptist or Methodist or UCCist.

The truth about mandatory health insurance

This excellent article by Betsy McCaughey appeared in the Wall Street Journal yesterday. She writes about how mandatory insurance shifts the costs to the young (who are very healthy) from the old (who use the system much more). "If people in their 20s paid attention to politics and voted, politicans wouldn't dare try [mandatory] health insurance." I'm guessing the Obama Iowa supporters did understand--he got the younger Democrats, and he was mum on health care mandates. The heaviest users of the ER aren't the uninsured--it's the elderly who are already covered by Medicare and those with mental illness.

Also, nearly 75% of the increase in uninsured people in the USA since 1990 consist of newcomers and their U.S. born children, according to the Center for Immigration Studies, Washington, DC. Most of this happens in five border states--Arizona, California, Florida, New Mexico, and Texas. But newly arrived immigrants are less likely to use ER than US citizens.

Of the 47 million uninsured, nearly 10 million have household incomes of at least $75,000--they could have it, but they don't, for whatever reason. Another 14 million of the uninsured are eligible for government programs that already are on the books, such as Medicaid or SCHIP and all they would need to do to be insured is SIGN UP!

So that leaves 23.7 million--many of them illegals. And for that our candidates are hand wringing and hyping the election--so we can insure people who are here illegally. Read it and weep. Americans are so gullible.

Her Bio: "Dr. McCaughey is founder and Chairman of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths (RID) – http://www.hospitalinfection.org – a national campaign to support greater infection control in hospitals and other healthcare institutions. Her research on how to prevent infection deaths has been featured on ABC’s Good Morning America, the CBS Morning Show, 20/20, Dateline NBC, and many other national television and radio programs. McCaughey’s writings on health, education, and the law have appeared in many national publications, including Los Angeles Times, The New Republic, The New York Times, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, and The Wall Street Journal. Her 1994 analysis of the Clinton health plan won the H.L. Mencken Award and the National Magazine Award for the best article in the nation on public policy." Some think she defeated HillaryCare of the early 90s, but we all know it went down in flames because of her unelected power grab. Dr. McCaughey also has written two books on the history of the U.S. Constitution (neither of which are in my public library, no surprise there).

Our U.S. history from a British point of view

My ancestors came to the USA in the 1730s and before. Their reasons (if I understand history and genealogy) were religious freedom (Swiss Mennonites), land ownership (some religious groups in Europe were not allowed to own property) and to get away from the hated British (Scots-Irish). In another hundred years the reasons were 1) cheap sea passages, 2) food shortages and bad weather in Europe, 3) the huge tax burdens and internal customs and duties killing the little guy, and 4) cheap land.

You won't find a better explanation of what was happening than that written by British author Paul Johnson. I don't know what is being taught today in our schools, but supplementary reading assignments from Johnson couldn't hurt.

"The bad weather of 1816, and the appalling winters of 1825-6, 1826-7, and 1829-30, the last one of the coldest ever recorded, produced real hunger. . . Then there was the tax burden. . .all Europe groaned under oppressive taxation . . . on the backs of poor peasants and tradespeople. . . By comparison, America was a paradise. Its army was 1/50th the size of Prussia's. The expense of government per capita was 10% of that in Britain. There were no tithes because there was no state church. . . There were virtually no poor. Europeans could scarcely believe their ears when told of such figures. . . No conscription. No political police. No censorship. No legalized class distinctions. . . The President's annual addresses to Congress were reprinted in many Continental newspapers until the censors suppressed them. . . But the most powerful inducement was cheap land. . . During the first 11 years of the 19th century, nearly 3,400,000 acres were sold to individual farmers in what was then the Northwest, plus another 250,000 in Ohio. . . The tendency was for the land price to come down--in the 1820s it was often as low as $1.25 an acre (the price my great grandfather paid in the 1850s in Illinois). The system worked because it was simple and corresponded to market forces. A history of the American People, by Paul Johnson, (HarperCollins, 1997) p. 289-293

Cross posted from one of my other blogs.

Tired of resolutions? Try confessions

This is the best list you'll see for 2007. Check it out.

No grown-ups allowed

The public library in my community has some terrific resources--not for Christians, not for conservatives--but great for those fascinated by entertainment, popular culture, audio-video, business, computer technology, scrapbooking, gourmet recipes, painting, travel and fiction readers. However, this is beyond the pale.

READ DOWN FINES
Tuesday, Janury 8 at 7 p.m.
Lane Road Branch Library

Got fines? Arrive at the Lane Road Library downstairs meeting room at 7 p.m. and read for one hour. You will receive a voucher for up to $8 off of existing fines for overdue materials. Be sure to arrive on time and with reading material in hand.

This is worse than last year's joke: a list of nine new "holiday/seasonal" titles none of which were about Christmas. "Up to $8?" Does that mean you might only get $6 off your fine if the librarian doesn't like your selection? What if your fines were for overdue DVDs? Can you watch a DVD for an hour if you don't read? What about one of those ear blasting, air guitar programs the library does for the kids? Can you bring a real guitar and work off your fine that way?

I don't know how many Upper Arlington library users have fines at a level that they are willing to work them off at minimum wage in the basement of a library on a cold January night, but I'm willing to bet, not many. And does the library get money by doing this? Of course not! It's just a way to insult and belittle people who owe you money. Why not, 1) write off the fine and take away their library privileges, or 2) send them a letter after dunning them with phone calls at dinner time, 3) Hire a collection agency if the fine is really large.

Upper Arlington has a median family income of $90,208, the average home is valued at $324,200, 98% of the residents are high school graduates and 68% are college graduates. A deadbeat is a deadbeat, no matter what the income. However, reading for minimum wage doesn't sound like it would have much appeal for this community.

Disclaimer: I do not owe any fines to UAPL. I do, however, owe OSUL $12, and have for about 15 years. They don't expect you to pay unless you owe $50. I did try to pay it before I retired, but there was no one in the business office that day who knew how to do it.

Friday Family Photo

This is for the cousins.


Our son-in-law was sick on Christmas Eve, so he didn't get in the photo. My son still hasn't found the woman I blogged about two years ago, although there was one who was pretty close (except she wasn't a Christian). Sigh.

Thursday Thirteen--13 highlights of 2007
in no particular order

1) I learned to really love vegetables. I was really packing on the pounds--I called it blogging weight because I got broad band and sat more. I started adding veggies in 2006 I rarely ate and didn't particularly like, grilling them in a little olive oil. Now in 2007 I have 5-6 a day for lunch, and love it! I'd never go back to sandwiches, chips, cookies and leftovers!

2) Short term construction mission to a Christian school in Ouanaminthe, Haiti. This was actually my husband's trip, but I benefited vicariously. He's still talking about it and will go again in February. He also found some new subjects for his paintings that aren't boats or barns.


3) Serving communion. We've served at the 8:30 traditional service for several years, and I enjoy it more than anything I've done at church, but this year I volunteered for more opportunities--especially during Advent. It really put the season in perspective. Although I loved singing in the choir, my voice remained squeaky and scratchy, so I dropped that.

4) We have a delightful calico cat, but volunteered to puppy-sit our daughter's Chihuahua while they vacationed in LasVegas. I think we had more fun than they did. Abbie was extremely well behaved and didn't act like a spoiled diva until the last day when she decided they weren't coming back.
5) Our fabulous September trip to Ireland with Alumni Holidays International with new friends from the University of Illinois and the University of Georgia. Except for catching a cold at the end of the trip, it was absolutely perfect.

6) Our two class reunions, Arsenal Technical High School in Indianapolis, and Mt. Morris High School in Mt. Morris, Illinois.

7) Get togethers with my extended family and friends in Illinois in July. Aunts, uncles, siblings, nieces, nephews, classmates, even a funeral for the mother of a childhood friend, and a visit to Forreston, Illinois to visit a war memorial.

8) Buying new clothes for the weight loss and pitching the old.

9) Redecorating the master bedroom to go with our new Amish made arts and crafts bed.

10) The visit of my husband's sister Deb and her husband John who live in Tustin, California. They were married in September 2006 and my husband walked her down the aisle with her other brother. Divorce separated them in childhood, but friendship brought them together as adults. It's never too late to be a big brother.



11) Fun times with special friends, some new, some long standing--Joyce and Bill, Wes and Sue, Sharon and Eric, Ron and Jane, Carol and Bob, and our SALT group and VAM group from church.

12) Watching my husband have so much fun sailing on Lake Erie. It's a late in life love, but a mistress I can tolerate and appreciate.

13) Learning some new technology tricks. My laptop as failed so often, I have learned to load the software myself. I've got an easier-to-use digital camera, and a few things still in the box that I will save for 2008 challenges for my brain.

Four million Canadians

are descendants of an estimated 100,000 orphaned and abandoned children sent by British care agencies to Canada between 1869 and 1939. Researching a "Home Child of Canada" is described in the Nov/Dec issue of Family Chronicle. At least 200,000 are descendants of Scottish orphans. Go to www.collectionscanada.ca to begin a search, if your grandparents or great grandparents were British child immigrants to Canada. From there go to immigration and citizenship, and eventually you'll get to home children (scroll down) which is divided into databases by years. Just reading the story in Family Chronicle brought tears to my eyes. It seems in every generation there is a social theory that comes to the forefront on what to do with unwanted or inconvenient children. Afterall, many of these children were street urchins before taken off the streets by various agencies and homes. Bonding them out as servants (some were adopted, however) seems cruel by today's standards, but not when compared to abortion of the unwanted or letting them wander the streets of industrial cities.

The article also includes websites for various British Home children's stories and accounts, such as Tweetybird, Marjorie Kohli, Perry Snow, Annie MacPerson, Maria Rye, Louisa Birt, Dr. Barnardo, Quarrier, Middlemore, Fegan, and Church of England and Roman Catholic. In many ways, if you are searching for a lost history, you are better off with this system because of ship records, medical records, and institutional records, than you are with the closed adoptions of the 1960s-1980s which deny adults any information not only about their own past, but their ancestors too.

If your library doesn't carry this journal, you can probably get a copy of the article on interlibrary loan. "Home children--British child immigrants to Canada," by Janice Nickerson, Family Chronicle, Vol. 12, no. 2, Nov/Dec, 2007, pp.16-19. The magazine's website said it does not sell back issues.

It's not because

We are not fat or
snug in our jeans because
we watch TV ads and
billboards pointing to drive-thrus.

If that were the case,
I would drink beer,
smoke cigarettes,
drive a Mercedes,
and take several kinds of laxatives.

If that were the case,
I would have shiny floors
sparkling sinks,
buy Titleist golf balls
and tickets for Broadway shows.

Say and blame what you will,
but I like the taste,
feel, and energy
on my lips and tongue.

For Totally Optional Prompt, "Letter to the editor" theme, January 3, 2008
Poetry button by Boogie Jack

Mother's Commonplace Book

Both my mother and grandmother clipped things from magazines and newspapers or copied them, pasting and saving them in notebooks. When I was a little girl I would sit in a quiet spot and read what she had saved--poems, articles, proverbs, sayings. Most reflected what she believed. The earliest clipping was 1946--a cartoon of Father Time holding the leftovers of WWII handing the bewildered Baby 1946 a broom with an apology--the latest 1999. My niece Julie copied her notebook and distributed it among family members. I just noticed tonight that the size notebook she used, about 6 x 8, is the size I use for my blogging notes.

This one she typed out, and titled it "The Watcher-Mother." I looked it up on the internet, and found it with the author's name and a different title. This poem doesn't reflect Mother's parenting style--but it's pretty accurate for her own mother.

Watching for Us [The Watcher-Mother]

She always leaned to watch for us,
Anxious if we were late,
In the winter by the window,
In summer by the gate;

And though we mocked her tenderly,
Who had such foolish care,
The long way home would seem more safe
Because she waited there.

Her thoughts were all so full of us--
She never could forget!
And so I think that where she is
She must be watching yet.

Waiting till we come home to her,
Anxious if we are late--
Watching from Heaven's window,
Leaning from Heaven's gate.

-Margaret Widdemer

Margaret Widdemer (1884-1978) graduated from Drexel Institute Library School in 1909. She wrote both protest poetry (some still used in women's literature classes) and sentimental verse. She also wrote novels and short stories. Looking through some things she wrote, I also see an interest in death and "the other side." The wife in her novel "Rose Garden Husband" is a librarian. In 1919 she shared the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry with Carl Sandburg.

Seen somewhere

Always cite your sources. . .

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New tires

sure do feel good when there's an inch of snow on the ground and traffic has ground it down to ice. I was parked on a little incline at the coffee shop, sensed a little slippage, but not much. I bought them about 3 weeks ago. I so rarely watch TV that if it weren't for e-mails, I wouldn't know what else is going on. Lots of snow in northern Illinois and northern Ohio.

USAToday reports that Miami could have 30 degrees, and frigid temps will go as far south as Key West. Detroit yesterday had a 7 hour storm that dropped 15" of snow in three counties. O'Hare cancelled 150 flights due to the weather. A 100" snow storm is being forecast by computer models for the northwest. I think they already have quite a bit--maybe they mean 100" accumulation.

Meanwhile, Al Gore, call home. You've messed up some expectations.

This map from Weather Underground shows the deepest snow as a light coral color. Don't miss the wonderful photos at this site.

My frozen car door blog is getting many hits today.

<<<<<---------and in other news-------->>>>>

My husband is still "under the weather" so he's cancelled the exercise class today at UALC Lytham Rd, and I'm picking up his paintings at an art show that comes down today. So I've changed into corduroy slacks and flat shoes, and I'm off to battle the elements.

Four years ago, gearing up for the 2004 campaign

Four years ago about this time I was complaining about our President:

But I do wish George Bush would stop spending money like a drunken Democrat (no name, but you know who I mean). In fact, his spending increases are far greater than Clinton’s on domestic programs for the same time period in office. This makes it difficult for Democrats to criticize him on domestic policy, since those are their pet programs, resulting in a fractured and lack luster campaign. Also, it is hard for Republicans to rein him in, since he is their guy. A responder to a Cato Institute paper says he “has become the "Mother of All Big Spenders."

Nothing's changed. He's a Republican, but not a Conservative. No one will soak the rich the way GWB has--the tax coffers are now around 60% supplied by the richest, compared to about 54% under Clinton. The Democrats' tax increases will be to punish success, not to grease any economic squeaky wheels. And they'll hit all of us who live on investments in our retirement. So where does that leave Edwards and his "two Americas" theme--the man who made his fortune suing the very companies we need we for surgeries and cancers, driving up the insurance costs of doctors, all the while promoting universal health care to dumb down the whole system. Want universal health care in a disaster like an epidemic or terrorist attack? Look to FEMA and Katrina for results. Want cheaper health care? You won't find it in Washington. In addition to what I pay for Medicare coverage (a lot), I'm paying $132 a month for Medi-gap.

New Year's Dinner

Just us. Eating in separate rooms. My husband is sick, so the house is zoned. But here's the menu for tonight. After all, it is a new year.

Beef roast in barbeque sauce
scalloped potatoes with cheese
tender, crisp asparagus
cherry topped, sugar-free cheesecake

He's in 7th heaven with all the football, and has a little table by his side for food. It reminds me a bit of Christmas 2003 when he decided to have his shoulder surgery between Christmas and New Year's so he could watch football on TV while he healed. He was so deathly sick and in such pain, none of us enjoyed anything!

Good-bye Charlie

And I just found him. It's over.

The most popular New Year's Resolution

Do we even need to research this? It's most likely to "lose weight," "lose 10 pounds," or "get in shape." So I've looked back over my notebook for inspiration, and here's a few tidbits, some encouraging, but most not.

The hallmarks of successful weight loss maintenance include a low-calorie diet and high energy expenditures--1300-1800 calories a day consumed, and 2600 calories spent a week in physical activity.

Medications for weight loss haven't worked well compared to lifestyle changes. In fact, Robert Lustig, MD, says their effect is "underwhelming."

Based on observation of who uses them, I'd say that diet drinks and special diet foods help make people fat. These foods, in my opinion, don't taste right and create a craving for more. Want low fat? Add some water or milk. The label says that's the first ingredient. Or use less of the real thing.

According to the EPA, removing 100 lbs. of "stuff" from the trunk or back seat of your car will improve your fuel efficiency by 2%. Removing 10% of your body weight from your "trunk" or "back seat" will improve your own energy efficiency too.

Losing the sloppy jeans and t-shirt look, a close shave, and a good haircut can probably make a man look 10 lbs. thinner. Math clue: baggy sweat pants and shirt add, they don't subtract.

The ordinary person without type II diabetes has average health care costs of $2848 a year, including $541 out of pocket costs; the person with type II diabetes has annual health care cost of $9,797, with oop of $1566. In 2006, the nation spent an estimated $22.9 billion on direct medical costs related to diabetes complications (www.aace.com).

Research shows that kids will eat more of anything after watching food ads, so the advertising doesn't necessarily build brand loyalty, but does increase weight. Turn off the TV or computer and send them outside to play.

A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine (2007;167:766-773) found a clear relationship between being overweight and filing Workers' Comp claims. Employees with a BMI 40 or over had 11.65 claims per 100 FTE, where recommended weight employees had 5.80. So on a job interview, does the HR person see you and your skills or $51,091 vs. $7,503 per 100 FTEs and more lost work days? Think about it. Is that really discrimination or watching the bottom line (no pun intended)?

Children with sleep disorders are often hyperactive, have attention deficit, and more absenteeism from school, according to a study in JAMA, June 27. Obesity, adnoids, tonsils, facial abnormalities, colds and allergies are contributing factors.

Women who weigh themselves every day are on average 7-8 lbs lighter than those who don't. Just wearing a pedometer will increase your activity level.

Obese people tend to sit for 150 more minutes a day than their lean counterparts.

Only 30% of older women get regular exercise.

Healthy eating doesn't fix everything. JAMA reported in the July 18 issue that women breast cancer survivors did no better on special low fat, high fruit/vegetable diets than the control group who ate the recommended 5 servings a day. The researchers were surprised and disappointed.

Out of the frying pan into the fire: according to a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences some powerful drugs used for treating mental illnesses cause patients to gain so much weight that they often develop life-threatening complications such as diabetes and heart disease. I've seen this happen to a loved one who was depressed and suicidal last year at this time, and mentally healthy today but 70 lbs heavier.

Arthur C. Brooks observed in the WSJ (2-17-07) that a BMI of below 25 can't be "normal" if so few people are there. Overweight men give more money to poverty relief and also are more generous with their time in volunteering than thin men. Brooks suggests that denying one's self may translate into denying others.

Of all the "foodie" books I noticed in 2007, this one, "What to eat: an aisle by aisle guide" by Marion Nestle (2006) looked really good. I haven't read it yet, but she has my philosophy, "eat less, move more," and eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Arranged like a tour of your supermarket, the book is, according to a CDC review, "a revealing look at the standard practices of government agencies, retailers, and food manufacturers that the complex world of food sales comprises." I have certain aisles at Meijer's that I won't walk through.

About a year ago, JAMA reported that in a study of the four major diet plans, the only successful people were the publisher and the author/researchers who got the grant. None of the diets worked well, or consistently, and none of the groups (ladies) were really following them.

It's not rocket science. Reading and following even well-intentioned, healthy recipes can add pounds. A roasted pear, walnut and feta cheese salad has 400 calories. A side dish of fresh, tender crisp asparagus has 88. And if you're like me, the cheese will make you hungry.

Considering how many presidential candidates are suggesting that universal health care is the solution and not the problem, I'm concerned by how many positive research articles I see on 1) government regulation of food intake, 2) surgery as a solution for obesity in order to lower long term costs, 3) attributing obesity to social class, race and poverty.

And why am I an expert? Yes, I research and take notes. However, as an adult (I was reasonably skinny as a kid), I've lost a lot of weight--20 lbs. in 1960, 20 lbs. in 1982, 10 lbs. in 1987, 20 lbs. in 1993, 10 lbs. in 1998, and 20 lbs. in 2006-07. Plus multiple smaller adjustments along the way. Right now I have a refrigerator full of luscious desserts left from our party on the 30th. The cherry cheesecake hasn't even been cut! Tough decisions ahead. Need to start the new year right--how about you?

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I've been tagged--7 weird/random things about me

Here are the rules: Link to the person (Dancing Boys Mom) that tagged you.

Post the rules on your blog.

Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog.

Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.

Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

[I'm pretty sure I've done this one before--but here goes. The fact I'm doing this means I'm out of topics.]

1. I have 11 blogs, or 10 if you don't count the one that is completed and never added to, or 12 if you count the one that isn't at blogger.com.

2. [deleted] I hate to exercise, sweat, or breathe hard. I know it's good for me, but I've never liked it, and guess I never will. But right after I wrote this I went outside and walked a mile because the sun is shining. When I was 43 I joined an aerobic dance class and lost 20 lbs. But I still hated it.

3. I was an excellent student--mostly A's, and I loved school, but I think I withdrew from college 4 or 5 times. I've sort of forgotten the details. Rather than get a bad grade, I'd just withdraw.

4. I have all my permanent teeth, even four wisdom teeth.

5. I never worked in the first profession for which I trained (teaching).

6. I had grandparents until I was 43.

7. I do not like to be "overscheduled" (busy), so I plan accordingly. My theory is that people are as busy as they want to be.

My tags:

1. Matthew
2. John
3. Lady Light
4. PJ
5. Janeen
6. The Laundress
7. Emelou

The Christmas Exchange

The mirror looks nice in the bathroom--it was an exchange for a cast iron utensil too heavy for me to use. But the good news is, I found the itty-bitty Martha Stewart roaster I wanted at K-Mart--about $8.00. Then I exchanged the flannel pj's, fuzzy slippers and red dressy t-shirt for two jackets I am wearing for parties. Both with a wine or cranberry color backbround. While at K-Mart I found a nice T that would go with both--$4.00. The paisley print must have 10 colors, but I'm thinking only gray or wine/rust will work; the longer jacket with mandarin collar and side splits is wine (shown here in loden).

Generate your own jargon

With just a click, this little ap will provide the verb, adjective and noun you'll need to write that important grant proposal, or just stupify your friends. Educational Jargon Generator. I saw it at Joanne Jacobs blog and she saw it somewhere else. I've seen print versions for political speeches.

I wonder if Joe Morgenstern uses something like this to write his film reviews for WSJ? Friday he reviewed "There will be blood." As usual, by the time I worked my way through the complicated phrasing and multiple layers of performances by which actor played who in other films I didn't see, I had no idea why Daniel Day Lewis should have an Oscar for this. Four and five clauses per sentence using commas and dashes followed by parentheses just make my eyes swim.

The Eco-friendly rich

It's easy to be kind to the environment if you are over 65 and living on a teacher's pension and social security. We need less; buy less; budget more; conserve more. Plus we've learned that more stuff is just a burden to store and move around. But it's not so easy if we're rich with a "I deserve it" attitude. Last week USAToday featured a boomer couple using a solar powered water heater for their swimming pool. What sacrifice!

One of my favorite indulgences of opulence is Architectural Digest--you really see how the rich live in that magazine. And the green ads! What a hoot. The January 2008 issue has a special advertising section for just green money makers. Green renovating? Be eco-luxury and eco-gorgeous with the SBS-245 from Liebherr which combines your wine and food storage with 5 temperature zones in one eco-friendly unit! Of course, you'll want a refrigerator in your home office, your media room, your guesthouse too, so everyone will be happier with chilled drinks near by. A wine cooler in the pantry or bar is especially convenient, but when selecting these appliances look for the ENERGY STAR label so you don't waste energy.

Then you'll want to upholster your furniture with Edelman Leather, tanned with ancient techniques without chemicals (everyone knows that old ways are more natural and eco-friendly, right?) using vegetable dyes. You can even have that exotic jaguar, zebra or leopard print silk-screened onto cowhides to complement your new decor. Not to worry about the animals though, every hide is a by-product of the food industry, so you are actually preventing waste!!

And what could be more eco-friendly than a 65" flat screen LCD TV from a plant in Japan that has reduced its CO2 emissions by 76,000 tons per year!

Don't forget to rip out the HVAC system and replace it with a radiant heating and cooling system by Uponor (formerly Wirsbo)--eliminate allergens, use pipes (embedded in your wall$) made of polyethylene tubing, which unlike copper will not corrode (whatever happened to natural?) and enhance your indoor air quality.

And why not build a New England style home (originally designed by hardy folk to battle wind and snow on the east coast) along the windwept dunes of Malibu? Or a huge mansion in Palm Beach, FL that is inspired by jungle houses of Southeast Asia (designed by primitive peoples to work with that environment). Ah, the rich grow green. I'd love the irony if they weren't liberals trying to shove a limiting lifestyle on others while they merrily spend away.

And for the rest of us

hybrid cars which will take years to pay for, or ethanol spewing God-knows-what into the atmosphere while raising food costs

energy efficient bulbs containing mercury, made only in China in dirty coal burning factories, soon to be required by federal mandate, even though there are dozens of appliances that won't accept them

reusable cloth bags to carry into Trader Joe's to buy frozen fish from Indonesia and nuts from the Philippines

sale of carbon off-sets so we don't need to do with less, while cutting down trees in the midwest to grow more corn for ethanol

donations to "green" groups (with no track record)

public transit campaigns in suburban areas where it is a tax boon doggle for politicians, mostly Democrats who have grabbed the top 20 earmarks in the current Congress

employment in marketing firms that are now producing self-laudatory brochures and advertisements promoting green products

brands that say "organic" but not "grown in the USA."

Martin Luther's Christmas Book

Several weeks ago I checked out this title from our church library and forgot about it. Because of its seasonal topic I was only supposed to keep it one week! Now I'm reading it, and think it is so wonderful, I want to buy a copy. Luther's writing is timeless, and he wrote on every imaginable topic.

If I'm reading the publication data on the verso correctly, the editor, Roland H. Bainton, put it together with selected woodcuts from German artists of the era in 1948. This paperback is by Augsburg Fortress, 1997. Unfortunately, Bainton is a bit vague on where to find the originals, citing "the index to the sermon on the Gospels in the Weimar edition of Luther's works, vol. XXII," and suggests the stories are more beautiful in the original German. The back cover tells us that this little devotional contains 30 excerpts from Luther's Christmas sermons and that Bainton, a renowned Reformation scholar, translated and arranged them into eight topics. A reviewer at Amazon.com says that this represents 1/20th of what Luther preached and wrote about Christmas.

This is from the first chapter, "Annunciation."

"Our Lord Jesus Christ was born of a line of ancestors whom the Evangelist Matthew arranges with artistry into three groups of fourteen patriarchs, fouteen kings, and fourteen princes. Among the latter were a number of disreputable characters, as we learn from the book of Kings, and there were no savory women. God holds before us this mirror of sinners that we may know that he is sent to sinners, and from sinners is willing to be born."

So much of today's emphasis in evangelical churches is on Jesus as a friend and buddy, a close relationship, personal self-worth and happy, clappy, feel-good worship services, and service to God in order to feel good. Many of the songs are "I, me, my, mine" or "we, we, we." Luther never loses the awe and majesty of God come in the flesh, but also he doesn't let us forget why we need a savior. And as with all presentations of the Gospel, if you don't start with sin, you have no climax or ending either.

He takes the smallest part of the story and builds a sermon--like the birth of Christ taking place during a census and uses it to explain the Christian's relationship to government, or why virginity is not superior to marriage, or what low-down grubby work sheepherders had to do, or why the Wise Men, whom he called the sons of Abraham, were just learned, honorable men and not kings or princes. Always, Luther asks us to return to scriptures.

Why did the star not take the Wise Men straight to Bethlehem without any necessity of consulting the Scriptures? Because God wanted to teach us that we should follow the Scriptures and not our own murky ideas.

Thirteen Little Things

When we are children we learn life time lessons from our parents, some by their words, others by actions. Today I'm jotting down 13 habits, techniques, behaviors, attitudes, etc. learned from my parents that are still with me, some without thinking about them, some throw aways, in no particular order. Chime in with a few of yours.

1. If you are with someone, always open the door and let your friend(s) walk through first.

2. Make a square, military corner on the bottom sheet (when I was a little girl there were no fitted sheets) to keep it from pulling loose. Stop to admire your effort. Although I don't do this now, the principle of doing something right the first time and taking pleasure in it is a good one.

3. Always wear an apron in the kitchen. Aprons certainly aren't what they used to be, and it seems to me food splashes more, so when I put one on, I often think of my dad who always reminded me, even as an adult.

4. Turn housework into a game (usually against the clock). My mother was big at trying to make "work" into "fun." This usually got an eye roll from me and a whine.

5. Respect others with your appearance. Both my parents would "fix up" for the other after their work day, and we always ate as a family with properly set table, pleasant conversation.

6. Clean up the kitchen after the meal; never leave dirty dishes on the counter or in the sink. I often fail with this one--maybe this would be a good New Year's resolution.

7. Start the week right with church attendance.

8. A gentleman always comes to the door to pick up a lady for a date. First timers meet the parents.

9. Sit like a lady (this was back in the days when girls and women usually wore skirts or dresses). Corollary: don't slouch.

10. The proper way to answer the phone. We often had to take orders for my dad, so this greeting I no longer use. However, I still keep paper and pencil by the phone, and I try not to mumble. I also overheard how dad spoke to his customers and even today I expect this from business people.

11. "A soft answer turns away wrath." This is my mother's from Proverbs 15:1. Never quite grasped this one, but it worked for my mother, who lived it and often quoted it. I can't remember her ever raising her voice.

12. The person who feeds the puppy is the one who will be loved by it. Usually this was Mom, because despite all our promises to care for it, she's the one who usually took pity on the poor thing. When I was growing up the dogs and cats lived outside. If it got bitterly cold, they could stay on the porch or in the basement.

13. In your lifetime you will probably have three really good friends. I'm still thinking about this one. Life has different stages--friendships vary--but the number seems pretty accurate.

Banner by AmandaF

Christmas Returns

Yesterday I heard on the radio that 40% of the gift receivers return something. Usually, that isn't me. I hardly ever return a gift--primarily I suppose because I'm pretty specific about size and color or type. This year I had no ideas, so a lot is going back! On Friday I asked my daughter if she'd already bought me something, and she said not everything. So I mentioned that my little (ca. 3 lb) roaster was starting to look a bit shabby and chipped. I think I bought it at K-Mart maybe 5 or 6 years ago for $5.00. It's just perfect for a small roast and I use it a lot. She shopped and shopped and shopped, and couldn't find anything. . . except a 5.25 quart ceramic covered cast iron pot in lime green with Rachel Ray's photo on the box. It was so heavy I could barely lift it. Keeping in mind my small kitchen, marble counter tops and glass oven top, I told her I couldn't risk using it (dropping it). She's very organized, so she had the sales receipt taped to the box, and a $20 "same as cash coupon" for the store. So yesterday, expecting the worst, I was off to Kohl's to exchange it. It wasn't at all crowded and the staff was very helpful. I couldn't find anything in cookware, but did exchange it for a new mirror for the bathroom, new cotton flannel sheets in sage green, and I still have over $40 left on the temporary credit card they gave me. And it was 15% off for seniors.

My husband bought me some things that are too small and the wrong color, from a store I never use, so they will go back too. So I'm off to shop. Next year, I'll be more specific to save myself some post-Christmas shopping.

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Checking out the new blogger features

Today I was browsing the blogger.com blog and discovered, or rediscovered, some features. I'm trying out the new template format that doesn't require knowing any html to change your template. I tried it first on the blog with the fewest entries, Growth Industry, since I wasn't sure the changes and revisions would hold. I also learned that because of the objections of people who use blogger.com for their blogs, the comments by non-blogger users has been changed. I think everyone hated it. Works much faster than writing your congress representative!

Me? If people have revised their template to include videos, pod-casts, flickr and ads, my computer locks up, or I can jog around the block while it loads. I am restricted to leaving comments at the more simple designs. But my main blog (this one) is pretty busy too, mainly with links to things I like, such as library databases, on-line newspapers and magazines, and political blogs. Also, it is always a shock to see what my blogs look like on another screen, since on mine I have only a very tiny, discreet border.

Merry Christmas

Photo by Matt Carbone used with permission, mcarbone@aiacolumbus.org
This lovely photo of Matt Carbone's black lab, Mr. Cooper, will remain at the top through December 25. Scroll down for current entries.

'Twas the day before Christmas
and all through our house
all of us were bustling
even my spouse.

Our children are adults now,
happy and busy
with final shopping, all
in a tizzy.

With potatoes and cole slaw,
cranberries, pork roast,
apple bacon stuffing,
dinner we'll host.

Silent Night, Joy to the World
the carols we'll sing
9 p.m. service to
Jesus our king.

I ponder all my blessings,
read each Christmas card,
and thank the good Lord as
I pray so hard

for all my loved ones who will
gather around our tree,
in two thousand and eight
happy will be.

Second day of Winter

It is black as pitch at 7 a.m. in central Indiana this time of winter! We left our hosts still snuggled in bed (they leave for Florida tomorrow) and made our way down a windy 38 on to Mt. Comfort Road and the Rt. 70 exit.

"Oh, look at the lovely RVs," I sighed, as the bright lot lights lit the whole exit with the fancy paint designs of a huge RV sales lot. "Maybe we should spend $80-$100,000 and just take off across the country visiting little RV parks."

"If you're ever a widow, ask your next husband," he said, and a strong tail wind pushed our little mini-van home by 10.

A sober diet

Although I said I wouldn't browse when I returned my books to the library, I lied. Poor Richard's Almanack [Ben Franklin], December 1742, had this to say about eating a sober diet:

"A sober Diet makes a Man die without Pain;

it maintains the Senses in Vigour;

it mitigates the Violence of the Passions and Affections.

It preserves the Memory,

it helps the Understanding,

it allays the Heat of Lust;

it brings a Man to a Consideration of his latter End;

it makes the Body a fit Tabernacle for the Lord to dwell in;

which makes us happy in the World,

and eternally happy in the World to come,

through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour."

Today's 10 Tasks

1) Return 3 volumes to the OSU library on Ackerman Rd. DO NOT STOP TO BROWSE!!!

2) Pick up the dry cleaning.

3) Make dessert to take to Indiana.

4) Walk at least a mile. It's NOT cold.

5) Read my health care plan.

6) Open up the box with the new computer and read the instructions.

7) Clean my desk top.

8) Let everyone know the Monday-Tuesday schedule and check supplies for dinner.

9) Type VAM minutes.

10)Go out for dinner with friends and swap Ireland stories (they've been there many times).

Huckabee's Merry Christmas

The hysteria about Huckabee's "Merry Christmas" ad is amusing--is it political (yes), is it about Jesus (yes), are there cross shapes in bookshelves, venetian blinds, floor tiles, building plans and airplane wing spans (yes), does the birth of Jesus Christ come before his death on the cross (yes), are there pagan, non-Christian elements in the ad, such as a yule tree (yes), do other religions have celebrations that involve light (yes), is Huckabee wearing a red sweater which could possibly symbolize his party, his faith, or the Christmas season (yes), is he a former Baptist minister (yes), is he a candidate for President of the United States (yes), is the U.S. a nation where the majority of the citizens report being Christians (yes), are the media looking for reasons to bring him down (yes), do the media and the entertainment industry regularly look for ways to demean Christians and their faith (yes), is this controversy a way to sneak the word "Christmas" back into the winter holiday (yes)?

Thursday Thirteen--13 Employment Strategies

Although I'm retired, there was a time in my life 25 years ago when I worked in the employment field. Yes, I was unemployed, couldn't find a job in my own field (libraries), so I went to work for the state government of Ohio, using federal funds (JTPA), helping other laid off or unemployed people find jobs. A sweet deal for me, although my colleagues and I in the program may be the only unemployed people who actually benefited. I loved my co-workers and the tasks--I did research, wrote publications, put on workshops, travelled, wrote speeches for bureaucrats, learned a lot about government, and was on a steep learning curve, something that has always been the joy of working in libraries. Your tax dollars and mine hard at work.

So when I saw this in today's Wall St. Journal in Sue Shellenbarger's column, I just couldn't resist. A recent graduate with an MA in Art History can't find a job in the Memphis art community. I immediately attacked the problem with my own on-the-job training of 25 years ago, plus my 23 years in the library field, and 18 years of hands-on parenting skills dumping loads of unheeded advice on my own 2 children.

1. Although it's too late now, don't pursue a degree in art history. And you certainly shouldn't have gone on for a master's. Do your parents have a money tree in the back yard? This degree is for rich kids who just want to say they went to college or average income, scholarship students who get bumped from their first choice when it's time to declare a major. This field employs no one except the faculty who teach it.

2. Move away from Memphis. If there ARE any jobs in art history, you have to go where the jobs are. They don't come to you. This also applies to librarians, lawyers and linguists. Just don't come to Columbus. We have a terrific art college here (CCAD), plus OSU, Franklin, Otterbein, Capital, and Columbus State, and their graduates are looking for work, too.

3. Whatever computer classes or skills you have now, get more. If you're lucky, the left and right sides of your brain are on speaking terms. If they're not, get used to hating this aspect of your career because it isn't going away. Deal with it. No one said life is fair.

4. Spend 40 hours a week looking for a job. That was the primary take-away I learned from my own JTPA contract in the employment field. Your job today is getting a job. If you can't bear the thought of one more interview or sending out one more resume, you're sunk. (Keep in mind, however, that most people get jobs through people they know who know people. So make part of that 40 hours telling everyone you know that you're looking.)

5. Research each place you apply to, and that includes the "culture," especially (if you're female) what they wear to work. Sounds trivial, but if you show up looking like a bank executive and the boss is in a t-shirt and ball cap, you won't put on your best performance, even though he probably won't notice your outfit. Green or purple hair and tongue studs almost never work on an interview. Drool is so tacky. Wouldn't hurt to know what they do to please their board of directors and donors, either.

The next suggestions are from the WSJ column, but I have to tell you, if these worked, no one would be getting the tougher degrees, they'd all have art history degrees. Shellenbarger suggests expanding the job search into these fields--

6. marketing and advertising
7. design
8. photography
9. web-site architecture

(these are all art related, but look what CCAD expects of high school graduates to have in their portfolio)

10. publishing
11. teaching
12. writing

and then

13. hiring a job coach to work on your interviewing skills.

Pork Cracklings

Whether you call them scrunchions, scratchings or cracklings, they are fried, salty, fatty bits of pig skin. And Congress loves its pork.

"President Bush signed into law historic energy legislation Wednesday that will shape U.S. energy policy for decades to come. The law seeks to dramatically reduce U.S. energy consumption over the next 25 years by applying the AIA's 2030 carbon-reducing targets to federal buildings, increasing fuel efficiency standards for automobiles, and establishing new energy efficiency standards for appliances." AIA Angle Dec. 19, 2007

Not much new here. Move along.

Emergent or emerging, we were doing this EC stuff 35 years ago at another church--before we were believers. We sat in the dark, stared at candles, listened to strange music with no theology, and talked churchy-talk and psycho-babble. Nothing or little about Jesus. Just churchiness. Community. Feel-good service. Relevancy to the culture. I'm really surprised that young Christians (although their Pied Pipers aren't all that young--aging boomers) are falling for this. PBS seems to get it better than some evangelical pastors. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzZ14Sk9u9Y

Oldie but goodie

This has been around the net many times, but it popped up in my e-mail this morning, sent by a friend of my husband from his high school years. I got a chuckle, maybe you will too.

A woman in a hot air balloon realizes she is lost. She lowers her altitude and spots a man fishing from a boat below.

She shouts to him, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."

The man consults his portable GPS and replies, "You're in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of 2346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100 degree s, 49.09 minutes west longitude.

She rolls her eyes and says, "You must be a Republican!"

"I am," replies the man. "How did you know?"

"Well," answers the balloonist, "everything you tell me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to do with your information, and I'm still lost. Frankly, you're not much help to me."

The man smiles and responds, "You must be a Democrat."

"I am," replies the balloonist. "How did you know?"

"Well," says the man, "You don't know where you are or where you're going. You've risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise that you have no idea how to keep, and now you expect me to solve your problem. You're in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but, somehow, now it's my fault."

Can WSJ writers find a real victim?

I've complained here many times about the "news" stories in the Wall St. Journal, WaPo, and NYT. Most of the "social concern" stories belong on the editorial page, except that's what intelligent, well educated people read. But the one on Dec. 6 in the WSJ titled "House of cards; how the subprime mess hit poor immigrant groups" written by Jonathan Karp and Miriam Jordan really takes the cake for biased, bad reporting. What school graduated these incompetents? We really do have a subprime mess--but using one woman, Naira Costa, to make a blanket statement about immigrants, and she an illegal immigrant who used someone else's credit card to inflate her credit score, gets a home loan for $713,000 (on a cleaning job salary of $2,000/mo), never made a payment, and she's suing the broker? Oh PULEEZE! Just for good measure, they throw in her Pentecostal church as one of the bad guys, and in today's WSJ reader section, the pastor says she wasn't a member and besides he has no control over what members do. Karp and Jordan must have really been trolling the dregs to find this story.

I'm a Mandarin!

You're an intellectual, and you've worked hard to get where you are now. You're a strong believer in education, and you think many of the world's problems could be solved if people were more informed and more rational. You have no tolerance for sloppy or lazy thinking. It frustrates you when people who are ignorant or dishonest rise to positions of power. You believe that people can make a difference in the world, and you're determined to try.

Talent: 49%
Lifer: 38%
Mandarin: 54%

Take the Talent, Lifer, or Mandarin quiz.

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Bad dreams

We rarely see Law and Order in a current season, so we didn't see the 2005-2006 season finale until last night. It was really awful. I left the room and went to bed it was so brutal and vicious. Checking the show blogs and story lines this morning, I see that in April, 2006, Annie Parisse, who was playing Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Borgia, gave her notice because it looked like the show wasn't going to be renewed--or possibly, she was just tired after 34 episodes of the dumb lines and ugly clothes they always write for the ADA who does all the grunt work for McCoy, no matter who plays the part--Jill Hennessey, Angie Harmon, Carey Lowell or Elizabeth Rohm. Like a lot of series where women play the second banana, they are expected to look good if they peel. I never thought Elizabeth Rohm (the ADA before Parisse) was a very good actress, but she was stunning. I'm sure it was a surprise to her in her final episode to discover she was a lesbian--sure was to me. Smack her around a bit, Mr. Wolf; make sure the audience will always remember that just in case anyone casts her in a romantic lead. Sam Waterston and Jerry Orbach aren't pretty guys, how come they don't have beauty standards for men?

Annie Parisse (whose brother married Sam Waterston's daughter, according to Wikipedia) is not just brutally and graphically murdered in the final 2006 episode, but is found in a dumpster, not unlike the usual opening scene, mouth duct taped, having aspirated her own vomit and with her face bashed in. I hope they used a mannequin, because if it had been me, I would have refused that scene. Man, they were really mad at her!

I think it is time for Law and Order, all versions, to close up shop. Women, conservatives, anyone religious but especially Christians, and all honest and ethical law enforcement personnel should change channels; those are the folks either ridiculed, besmirched or written off as evil. No more reruns for me.