On to week two

The parties are over, thank goodness; yesterday was the last of the holiday open houses. It's wonderful to have a full dance card--I'd feel just awful if we were never invited out, but boy it is rough on the hips! As Richard Simmons says, "A smaller behind in two thousand and nine." I start the second week of exercise class today. I was pleasantly pleased with last week--I particularly liked Monday and Friday (led by women much younger than I) which included a lot of stretching and weights. At my age, bone health is probably more important than cardio, which my husband emphasizes on Wednesday when he teaches. I didn't have any more leg pain than usual when I do nothing or just walking. The trick will be to keep it going to week 10 or 11, right? I still have some of the same measurements as high school--just not in the same places.

Older drivers in Florida

In January 2004 a new law requiring a visual acuity screen was put in place in Florida for drivers 80 years and older despite there being little evidence for an association between visual acuity and fatal motor vehicle collisions. The results were reported in Archives of Ophthalmology, 2008;126(11):1544-1547.

From 2001 to 2006, there was a nonsignificant increase in MVC fatality rates in Florida; in contrast, fatality rates among drivers 80 years and older demonstrated a significant downward linear trend. When comparing prelaw (2001-2003) and post-law(2004-2006) periods, the fatality rate among all-aged occupants increased by 6%; conversely, fatalities among drivers 80 years and older decreased significantly by 17%. The researchers are not sure what explains this relationship.

Here's my guess (I've only seen the abstract, not the article). When states first began to require drivers' licenses, those who already knew how were "grandfathered in", at least in Illinois. Neither of my parents (born in 1912 and 1913) had to pass a test--they just received a license by applying for one. Once vision tests are required, the older drivers probably also read up on "rules of the road" and practice a little, out of fear of losing their license. My father was driving before he was a teen-ager, and probably regularly by age 14 (his mother was blind and he was the oldest so he drove everyone to church). He had only one accident that I know of, at around age 87; but another driver slid on the ice and hit him. No one was injured. Still, I think an angel must have been in the passenger seat after about age 80; at least it looked that way from the back seat where I was watching white-knuckled and gasping for breath.


Judging from the hair styles (my natural color, no perm, and my husband actually still has red hair) in this undated photo of my parents visiting Columbus, I'm guessing it is fall 1982, around the time they decided to go to Florida for an extended period. They only did that once--my mother was really bored and she thought Florida traffic was unreal. Then they just went for a week or two to visit my sister and brother who lived in Bradenton.

Today's new word--VICISSITUDE

The root of this word is Latin, vicis, meaning change. Vicissitude mean regular or irregular change, don't know if Obama used it during the campaign. It also means revolution or mutation, or change of fortune or condition. It wasn't that I'd never seen the word, but I couldn't think of any situation when I'd want to use it. "Is there vicissitude on the menu tonight, honey?" So I checked google "vicissitude blog," and found a blog called Vicissitude written by a Filipina, Bambee de la Paz. And I walked right into it. Apparently she had witnessed her 56 year old father and 14 year old brother being beaten on a golf course and blogged about it. Over a thousand people responded to her blog entry. It was in the papers, some links which no longer work, and others in a language I don't read. Then I found a follow-up story that said her dad and brother have now been forbidden to come on the golf course, as have the goons that beat them up. However, the public official about whom she wrote is very unhappy and is suing her for what she wrote on her blog.

“May na-file nang kaso ng libel kahapon ang anak ko doon sa probinsya (Lano del Sur) against Bambee de la Paz (My son filed a libel case against Bambee de la Paz yesterday in our home province)," Pangandaman told GMANews.TV in a phone interview.

You've got to watch out for those golfers--they take that game very seriously!

Really bad advice for saving on food

The Extension Office at the University of Illinois has a special web page on financial advice, which includes saving on your food dollar. The worst possible advice is to suggest clipping coupons (or using a loyalty card). Here’s my e-mail to them:

Dear Debra,

I see on the web site for financial advice that clipping coupons is suggested as a way to save on food costs. Coupons are a marketing scheme--in the long run it is very deceptive. Coupons, now often shaped like credit cards, are the size of a dollar. They most often are used for promoting 1) processed food, 2) to cover price increases, and 3) to introduce a new product, which is probably a variation of one already on the shelf, like a Ritz cracker in a different shape. Coupons help the printing companies, the ad designers, and the workers in 3rd world economies who count them, but they don't help the American consumer. The smart consumer should plan menus, stick to a list, shop the walls, stay out of the snack and soft drink aisles and contribute her own labor to reduce food costs. Loyalty cards also increase food costs as do games and sweepstakes. The first coupon was a wooden nickel, and you know what we say about those.

Three Word Wednesday on a Sunday afternoon

Three word Wednesday offers these words for thought and composition. But it’s Sunday. Should I try? Is that cheating? Why not--I didn't see them until Sunday.
Deception
Panic
SchemeWinter in central Ohio is a season of deception. Early on Saturday it was rain; then snow; then sleet. By the time we left for the neighbors’ for a pancake breakfast, my worry meter had started to buzz. It wasn’t registering panic yet, but there certainly was caution. “I think I'll change into my low shoes,” I said, kicking off my stacked heels that looked Oh so smart with my new velvet jeans. “What’s their driveway like?” “You won’t have a problem, I can get you right up to the front door,” my husband said matter of factly.

When we arrived, his driver's side to exit the van was too slick to even stand up, let alone walk safely to the house. So I came up with a scheme. He climbed over the center post--fortunately, I had remembered to carry my to-go coffee into the house before we left. I removed the floor mats from the van, tossed them on to the slippery ice and made us stepping stones of rubber and carpet. We arrived hale, hearty and hungry, with no broken bones, ready for pancakes, real maple syrup, fresh fruit and breakfast casserole--the recipe I need to get, because it was so yummy.

When we left about two hours later, the gray skies had warmed slightly to rain, and we waddled safely to the waiting car.

What has she done to deserve this?

Joyce Beatty lives in Columbus, OH and was elected to represent the 27th district (Ohio) in 1999. Now she’s landed a real cushy position at Ohio State for $320,000! My, not once did I meet anyone at Ohio State who was worth that--not even the president of the university. Of course, I retired in 2000, and now President Gee is the highest paid public college president in the country.

"Ohio State pays 154 employees at least $250,000 a year, with university president E. Gordon Gee topping the list at $775,000 a year," transparency center director Mike Maurer said. Mr. Gee's total annual pay package, between $1.6 million to $2 million, makes him the highest paid public university president in the nation, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education and the Columbus Dispatch.

From the Buckeye Institute via an OSU student blogger, .Justin Higgins

Mass in Motion

Sandy at Junk Food Science has a great article about a new tax waster [or waister, if you will] in Massachusetts, called Mass in Motion. It's $750,000 in grants for wellness programs. Remember, this is the state which has sent Barney Frank to Congress year after year to supervise Fannie Mae. If employers can tap you on the shoulder and coerce you into a "lifestyle management program" can voters suggest that some of the Congress need to lose pork in order to be returned to Washington?

I'm no expert on weight loss, but some of the things in the "tool kit" have already been judged in peer reviewed research to have little affect in long term weight loss--such as Weight Watchers

There was no difference between the low-carbohydrate approach of Atkins, the high-protein low-glycemic load approach of the Zone diet, the very low-fat approach of Ornish, and the low-calorie/portion-size approach of Weight Watchers, according to a 2005 study published in JAMA

And drinking 8 glasses of water a day was also debunked some time ago as a weight loss aid. I think that myth was started by plastic bottle manufacturers.

These type of grants (the $750,000 to Massachusetts) are ubiquitous--the only surprise is that it is so modest. They are everywhere, especially from HHS and USDA which props up our farmers, and the private foundations; it keeps the grant writers busy and the bureaucrats and lawyers employed. They often go hand-in-hand with greenies and vegan wannabees--so you throw in a few million for bike lanes, redesigned housing complexes, and community gardens. Mike Huckabee may be one of our most famous former fatties, and he put Arkansas on a diet because it worked positive results for him. The results are quite mixed, and Sandy also reported on this two years ago. There was an increase in underweight children, and the percentage of overweight and at risk African American girls significantly increased as they grew.

I can't prove it, but I'm guessing if you chart the huge weight gains of Americans and the rise in diabetes and other obesity related health problems, you might track it back to government interference 30-40 years ago with our food commodities like corn and sugar. When I was growing up we had real sugar in Coca-cola and candy bars, and I sure didn't see so many obese people. Our legislators and regulators, probably after a few hearings before Congress, slapped tariffs on imported sugar (because it was bad for us and made us dependent on foreign imports), and then paid U.S. farmers to grow more corn to put high fructose corn syrup in everything from soup to soft drinks. And each generation got fatter. Anyone know where there's a chart?

We don't eat oil, but we're dependent on it for everything in our culture. The government has done the same thing in the name of being "independent of foreign oil" and going green. Then when the government botches it up and creates huge industries like carbon exchanges and ethanol that support their mistake, they can tax us again to try to correct it.

Today's new word is TWITTERSQUATTING

New word of the day--twittersquat--a verb. I don’t Twitter, could never say anything in 140 words or less, and I can’t think of anyone who is that hyper about staying connected to me. I started this digital revolution in communication in the early 90s with e-mail, then learned HTML and wrote my own web page back when you had to know code and how to FTP. I actually remember the first time I saw the World Wide Web demonstrated in a workshop and asked, "What would you do with it?" I can remember when a vet librarian from Tennessee suggested that the rest of us try out a new search tool called GOOGLE. Yes, I'm an old timer. Early on I joined a group on Usenet which was only text, discovered mean nasty people who would insult me for no reason, so I switched to blogging (writing a diary) in 2003 so I could throw them off my cyber-property. But that's about where I stopped. No Facebook or social networks. Hey, I remember junior high school--who wants that on the internet? Therefore, I was unaware of "twittersquating." Here’s the definition from Erik which I noticed at Techmeme.

“Twittersquatting, like cybersquatting, is when somebody registers a company's trademark (or a famous person's name) as a Twitter username with the intent of profiting or causing confusion. Other possible names for this practice include username squatting, usernamesquatting, squitting, usersquatting, and brandsquatting.”

So, just add it to the catalog of sins for which Jesus died, or your list of CW "somebody done me wrong" songs. You know what people do when they squat.

Sneaky new taxes

Murray's a bit suspicious of some of Obama's plans to only raise taxes on the rich. I haven't checked out either one of these, but I do own a second home and the county that taxes us should have gold plated computers and diamond studded swim pools in their schools, because few in the community have children (in that district). Based on square footage and what we cost the county in services, it is pure robbery. I can't imagine why this would be considered "double dipping"--we pay huge taxes for what we receive--a county sheriff driving through occasionally. He writes today in an e-mail

"There are new rules taking place in your financial world that your legislators seem to think you don't need to be aware. Like in the first bailout there is a provision that says you can no longer double dip on the tax savings with your vacation home and personal residence. You will pay taxes on your residence only if you exceed the limits but the vacation home, rental or flipper must be taxed. I'm not totally clear on this since it is written like most tax laws, so if it affects you, you might want to check it out.

Then in Obama's "save everyone" plan he says he's going to lower the PAYROLL tax tables so that individuals will have more money each week to spend. THIS IS NOT A TAX REDUCTION! It only means there is less tax taken out on payday, but at tax time you are still going to have to pay on what you earned. People who do this are going to owe big time on 4/15. I may be wrong on this but it's the way I see it.

Who knows what other changes were in the bailout that's been kept quiet. With all the jockeying around with the tax code makes it almost impossible to plan your financial future. You must remember this. The government's source of income is YOUR TAXES. So, with the current federal debt, the bailout plus Obama's grandiose plan TAXES WILL BE GOING UP UP UP in spite of what any of your favorite party members say. So you better plan now as best you can particularly with your taxable retirement funds."

The bailout and the run on handouts certainly can not be laid at BO's feet--except in the sense that he and McCain were two of the senators who thought it had to be signed immediately or the world would collapse, and put into play a contract with America that any 5 year old should have questioned. Everyone with a retirement plan from age 20-90 is participating in a loss of trillions in value, and now he plans a few more trillion to "stimulate" the economy. FDR tried this for a decade and the Depression didn't budge. Governments don't grow the economy by taxing us and spending our money on public works projects. The recent drop in gas prices from over $4 a gallon in the summer to under $2 in December amounted to a couple of thousand in the wallet for most families--especially Californians for whom driving is like breathing. But it didn't stimulate the economy. (It just proved all the libs were wrong that announcing drilling would bring down prices immediately.) We were on a credit binge (spending $117 for each $100 earned) and the hangover isn't pretty. Going into more debt is not the way to fix this.

Floor lamp update

New Year's Resolution number 5 was to buy a floor lamp. I've now visited four stores, so yesterday I stopped at a large builders supply chain, which will remain nameless, because I like the store. I stopped there after my mail run to the church's suburban location, telling the return campus receptionist I'd be about 15 minutes late. After browsing the shelves, I settled on one not-as-ugly-as-the-others, which had two lights--a 100 watt that reflected on the ceiling and a movable arm with a squirrely, low energy bulb that was supposed to be "full spectrum" to help with reading. The box in 3 languages was explicit about that low energy bulb--13 watts. All I could find on the shelf was a 15, so I lugged the box, now getting a bit heavy, to the service desk. Two handsome young people looked quite blank when I told them the problem, and the young woman got on her cell phone and called someone. Many older people think sales staff are being rude or ageist, but I suspect they just know nothing or aren't trained. Then the woman-child said, "He first has to cut some wire for another customer than he can help you." I stood in the light bulb aisle about 10 minutes, then returned the box to the shelf. No one came.

Usually, the only people in these warehouse supply places who know anything are the gray haired part-timers who have retired from something else, got tired of golf and want to get away from their wives' honey-do list. Also, I suspect there has been a serious staff cut back, because I've never had a problem at this store getting help.

All was not lost, however. I stopped at the Discovery Shop (cancer donations) because occasionally entire rooms of furniture are donated (a truck was there). No floor lamps, and the clerk said they go fast. She knew exactly what I was looking for. But I did find a beautiful pair of navy blue velvet jeans which look unworn for $5. Not a lamp, but they are a reminder that I need to stay with my exercise program (was a size 8 last year, these are size 10), New Year's Resolution 6.

Finally, I've agreed with Obama!

Although I didn't hear it directly, I heard it reported that Obama thinks the government should extend the time on the digital conversion. He's not President yet, but I'm guessing someone's listening--especially since they ran out of money, and there aren't enough landfills to accept all the old sets. I never saw the importance of it anyway--TV being the wasteland that it is, why do something to expand it? No one in Obama's administration wants more views on radio. As soon as Obama appoints just one liberal to the FCC vacancy, the fairness doctrine will go away (fair to conservatives, that is). Yes, it doesn't have to be Pelosi or Reid or Obama that takes away our right to hear the whole story, it only has to be a regulatory commission. This is how groups like ACORN brought down the banking industry and started the world wide recession with the CRA--any group under these rules is allowed to complain about treatment or coverage. The way I figure it, there are 60 different viewpoints on religion, politics and gender in the country, so by the time a station manager/owner has to file all the papers and hire a lawyer, the talking heads will be removed and we can all go back to do-wop and hip-hop top 20 formats and destroy the radio industry by having them all move to the Internet.

I really do listen to Obama's speeches, at least the first 2 or 3 minutes, before I change channels. I swear I don't know what excites you libs. The man says nothing but platitudes, promises and proverbs. Off teleprompter he's a worse speaker than Bush. Ah, ah, ah, er, um. And if he hadn't sat under the tutelage of Rev. Wright for 20 years, he wouldn't even get the cadence correct that makes it sound like he's God's oracle. You don't learn that in Hawaii living with white grandparents from Kansas.

But back to the digital TV conversion boxes which I wrote about the other day. My daughter came over last night to work on our two TVs that aren't hooked to cable. The kitchen TV which is also an am/fm radio, its primary use, may be a lost cause. The TV in the guest room is going great guns, even though it looks a little odd. The cord runs from the back of the TV, then drapes across the second bed, where an old pair of rabbit ears is propped up with several pillows, and from there to an outlet too far. She thinks we can buy a new set of rabbit ears for about $10, and then if we get an extension cord/surge protector we can construct something a little less hill billy.

As I mentioned before, I used to get WOSU fairly clear if I was lucky. Now I'm getting all sorts of channels--don't recognize the stations even. For instance, Channel 4 (NBC) and Channel 6 (ABC) come in as 4.1 and 6.1, then they both have sister stations 4.2 and 6.2 that seem to be 1950s-1980s reruns. Weird sci-fi movies, Martha Stewart. Sort of neat. It has a remote and there's an on screen menu. If a channel doesn't broadcast in digital the screen shape is a bit narrow, but nothing seems distorted. Now, WOSU is the poorest. I may try to put it on the dressing table so I don't have to drag it across the bed. First we'll try those new rabbit ears.

Today's new word is IRENIC

Number one on my list of New Year's Resolutions for 2009 was to learn a new word a day--or maybe a week. I expanded the borders a bit on this one--deciding a new word could just be one I'd skip over in reading, but probably not be confident to ever use. I keep a small spiral bound note pad next to the lamp in the living room, which is next to my parents Merriam-Webster 2nd Unabridged New International (1948) in the dining room. I find it much more satisfying to use rather than an on-line source, although it bothers my back just a stitch to lean over (sits on my mother's sewing cabinet).

I write on approximately 20 topics if you count all my blogs, everything from childhood memories of Camp Emmaus, to first issues of journals, to political campaigns to misuse of credit. However, the difficulty level of my blog (when I type in the URL to one of those widgets) is always middle school or high school. I think in order to rate higher, you need to use a lot of non-English words or quote famous people, neither of which I do.

So today's new word is IRENIC. Here's the context, the reason I wrote it down

"While not declaring the Roman Catholic Church apostate, Norman Geisler and Joshua Betancourt address the doctrines that evangelicals find problematic in Catholicism. The work is irenic in tone, meticulous in examination, and extensive in sourcing and footnoting."

Change that e to an o and you get IRONIC, which is what my mind tends to do when I'm not sure. However, IRENIC means peaceful or conciliatory. If your name or your mother's name is IRENE, it's from the Greek, "goddess of peace."

Other new or rarely used words for January

1. effete--excessive self indulgence, feeble, impotent, no longer fertile
   
2. immanence--nearness of God, God with us, Emmanuel
   
3. eremacausis--slow burning fire; gradual oxidation, decay
   
4. solecism--speaking incorrectly; minor blunder in speech; breach of etiquette
   
5. immutable--not capable or susceptible of change; unchangeable
   
6. insensate--without sensation; without sense or intelligence; unfeeling or foolish
   
7. Euroclydon--tempestuous northeast wind of the Mediterreanean
   
8. gibbet--gallows; to execute by hanging; a projecting arm of a crane; to expose to infamy

What's really fun is to see how other bloggers use these words. For instance, would you ever say or write, "effete Arugula"? That's stretching it a bit, don't you think? I avoid arugula in spring mix--think it is bitter. And would you feel safe living in the Euroclydon Nursing Home?

Frozen pipes and visiting moose

It's about 18 degrees here in Columbus. We had a smattering of snow yesterday, some ice on the fringes. Monday was a slick day--I think 4 people were killed and some semi's ran off the road. But at Tundra Medicine, they haven't seen zero in three weeks and the moose are visiting regularly. She's getting a tad stir crazy, what, with just the plumber to talk to. Stop by and leave a comment. That is always our big fear with our summer home--frozen pipes--because they ice fish just a few blocks away. We leave the heat set at about 50 degrees and leave all the cabinet doors open, but if the power goes off--good luck! And I hear a dog sled race has been called off in Minnesota--too much snow; and the Russians and Ukrainians are fighting over gas lines, which might leave some of Europe wishing for more global warming.

Americans often feel the same way

So many people I know say, "I rarely watch TV; or, I need to turn it off when the grandchildren are visiting." Therefore, what this Jordanian author Diana Abu-Jaber says about returning to her birth country, reminds me of what many Americans think of our hyper-sexualized and violent TV stories

"Years of shows like “Baywatch”—and now, even worse, so-called reality TV, give Middle Easterners the idea that Americans are all corrupt and decadent and frightening. Sort of in the way the American media portrays Middle Easterners as frightening and sinister."

Look!! A way for westerners to bond with middle easterners.

Digital Converter Box

Those of you hoping the government will take over health care should notice they are now out of money to offset the cost for the digital converter boxes and there is a waiting list. We were on time as usual, got our coupons, and received the 2 boxes as a Christmas gift. However, they don't work. We have a $14 b & w 7" set in the kitchen with an am/fm radio, and a 1988 9" set in the guest room that gets WOSU fine, an occasionally if the wind is blowing, and it's a month with 5 Tuesdays, a few other channels. So our techie relative, our daughter, is going to come over today to see if she can make it work. As a fall back, I found a phone number of a high school kid who is doing his "service credits" for graduation by helping senior citizens hook up their boxes.

The Federal Government has run out of money to help analog TV owners go digital in mid-February.

"USA Today" reports the $1.3 billion dollar program to offset the cost of buying converter boxes scraped bottom on Sunday.

Instead of giving out discount coupons worth $40 apiece, the Feds are now compiling a waiting list. If consumers can't wait, they can always spring for the box's 40-to-70-dollar cost without the coupon. MSNBC

The high cost of utopia

For every three “imperfect” children (in our stunted minds, not God’s) we may be losing two “perfect” children.

“Two healthy babies are miscarried for every three Down's Syndrome babies that are detected and prevented from being born, research has suggested.

The losses are down to the invasive methods used to test for the condition, which affects approximately one in every 1,000 babies conceived, the researchers claim. They also cast doubt on the advice and risk assessment given to the 6,000 women each year who are offered screening and subsequent testing to assess the health of their unborn baby.

If an expectant mother is deemed to be at risk of carrying a Down's baby following a blood test, she will then go on to undergo an amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling (CVS) test, which involves inserting a fine needle through the abdomen to either withdraw amniotic fluid or take a tissue sample.

The NHS cites a miscarriage rate of between one and two per cent following the tests, but the researchers, from the charity Down's Syndrome Education International, point out that only the number of Down's babies terminated, miscarried or born are recorded, not the number of healthy babies lost.”

What’s really ugly about this report is that the writers and researchers believe killing the unborn non-Down’s child is a tragedy--the other not so much. From Catholic Physician’s blog citing the Telegraph .

Ramalinga Raju--A tough couple of weeks for rich crooks

Stepping in front of trains, slashing wrists, messing with the minds of their friends, foundations and children. And now the outsoucing business guru in India who began with John Deere in Illinois after graduating from Ohio University and Harvard.

"Today, Satyam has over 53,000 employees on its payrolls, spread across 60 countries. In an interview with ET in 2007, Mr Raju had described his entry into the infotech sector as “a naïve decision.” What Raju calls naiveté — in effect a pioneering spirit motivated by passion and not profit — was backed by the hard edge of a keen intellect."

And he was cooking the books. July interview.

Hot Sauce for the Hispanic governor

isn't any sauce for the first black president. Oh no. We all know that fabulous pile of money raised for Obama during the campaign didn't come just from the little guys, and can't stand scrutiny. It won't be looked into--there are no investigative reporters left--so why are they even bringing it up? He has been ordained, crowned, chiseled in marble, and named supreme ruler by our media and he's already discussing his 2nd and 3rd term so he can fix things. This is play money compared to some of the rest.

This article by law professor Matt Mayer is the best you'll read on why Democrats need to follow the Constitution and seat Burris.

How hard can it be to get federal money?

Amateurs can do it. Ohio's former Attorney General Marc Dann was a crook and a philanderer. He was fired. Finally. But while in office he created a Washington job for Craig Mehall, a job unique among states' attorney generals, for $98,000. According to the Columbus Dispatch

1. No other AG had a Washington liaison
   
2. Mehall had no Washington experience
   
3. Mehall had never been a lobbyist
   
4. He was a lawyer, not licensed in Ohio
   
5. He had been a volunteer for Dann
   
6. He was from Chicago
   
7. He missed deadlines due to his lack of experience
   
8. He leaked information
   
9. He borrow a private plane from one of Dann's other political buddies
   
10. He continued to work for Ohio after Dann was fired

Mehall was just let go--due to budget shortfalls in the state, although his boss is long gone. Still, the governor's office says "he did a lot of good" by getting millions in law enforcement grants and representing Ohio in consumer rights and debt-relief. He would have been successful in getting a regional crime lab on behalf of a consortium of institutions, but someone backed away from it. Not too bad for someone with no experience, hired by a crook, who wasn't even from Ohio. Why do lobbyists need to do this? What are our elected representatives doing if not bringing home the pork?

What's her name is out of a job

Never heard of her, but if this is her level, I'm not surprised. I mean, how much of this incredible talent for wordsmithery is needed? How many writers are needed to photocopy the praises of the president-elect? She thinks Obama is extraordinary and Bush is a knucklehead. And what will she and the other unemployed or underemployed writers say in two weeks or next year?

With only 15 days to go until the inauguration of our president-elect, to this day, I cannot for the life of me even begin to imagine why on earth this brilliant, extraordinary man wants the job but am impossibly thrilled that he does (provided there is anything left to govern after W. is finished. The news from all over seems to get a little bit worse every day and he seems to get a little more absent.) Heckuva job. The Gaza is imploding. Iraq is forgotten. The rich feel poor and the poor are actually poorer. And, as if that all weren't enough, now Ann Coulter is back. And Laura Bush is about to be paid $8 million from Scribner's for a memoir? Married to a knucklehead for 31 years, her steep reward will now be roughly $258,000. for each year?

Liberals are so transparent

The new black kid on the block is being banned by Congress; a white female conservative was run out of town on a rail by NBC. You gotta love 'em--they are true to their phony core. Just-Us.

The former Illinois attorney general said he was "not seeking to have any type of confrontation" over taking the seat that he was appointed to by embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich. But Burris, who would be the Senate's only black member, also said he was considering a federal lawsuit to force Senate Democrats to seat him.

Burris, the pol from Illinois, who has every right to be appointed by the Illinois governor and take his seat, is apparently being rejected by his own party. Then Ann Coulter, the loud mouth hussy from the other side of the tracks who's always making snide remarks about the liberal media, was banned by NBC because she's too harsh on the new president. Gee, that sure didn't stop the Bush hatchet men from appearing on the MSM air waves and flogging their books, did it? And we were in the middle of a war! According to Editor and Publisher, now that she's gone public with the witch burning incident, NBC's relented.

NEW YORK Apparently NBC was "Drudged." Columnist/author Ann Coulter, bounced from a Today show appearance today, has been re-booked for tomorrow.

Michael Calderone at Politico reports: "Coulter has been talking up being bumped by NBC for the past two days, both on other networks and the radio. A controversy erupted when Drudge splashed that she’d been 'banned for life,' leading NBC to deny that she was banned, and later offering her a new segment.

"On her website, Coulter writes that 'Drudge gets results: Today show changes mind.' She'll be appearing during both the 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. hours.

"So in the end, NBC will probably get more viewers and Coulter will sell more books—or at least further convince those in her camp that the MSM isn’t on her side."

Coulter appeared on the CBS morning show today and was accused of being "goofy" by Harry Smith.

Does Harry called liberals "goofy?" I'm not an Ann Coulter fan, but she's smarter than Katie and more interesting than the View, so it should help their ratings. I get the feeling that the MSM has a different standard for women. For liberals it's very low; for conservatives, extremely high. They'll put up with a Larry or Keith or Whoopi, but then climb on their high horse standards and ethics over Ann Coulter?

Oh, and about Burris. Emmanual has denied any connection with Blagojevich and the senate seat; Jesse Jackson Jr. likewise; and also Obama says he's pure as the driven snow on the issue. If no one struck out, was the pitch thrown? If no one talked to Blago, where is the impeachable offense; and he hasn't been impeached for not talking to the Illinois three; and he's innocent until proven guilty under our system and is still the legal governor of Illinois. So Burris meets all the qualifications, including being a resident of Illinois--was probably even born in the USA.

The differences between men and women

Reading a church newsletter (not my church--we don't have women pastors) about a clergy women's retreat, I was reminded of what I wrote about 2 years ago on this topic:



1) In a Protestant denomination that ordains both men and women, the men wouldn't be allowed to have a retreat limited to only men.

2) But if they could find enough guys to pull it off (women are outnumbering men in many seminaries), chocolate wouldn't be a featured part of the programming.

Latin America's Leftist regimes

How left is left?

"First, the multiplicity of projects reveals the loss of a common political referent. The failure of the socialist experience in the Soviet Union and Central Europe, and perhaps more significantly the deficits in economic development and human rights of the Cuban model, made marked impressions on many leftist movements and organizations. Today, only Venezuela, and perhaps Bolivia, Nicaragua, and to a lesser extent Ecuador, seek to emulate the Cuban experiment.

Second, the ‘various lefts’ of Latin America reveal that the region continues in the search for alternatives to deal with the historical legacy of economic dependence and profound inequality. Although broadly speaking there are two distinct strands of the Latin American left—one that it is committed to democracy and free economies and the other that is trying to emulate the experiences of the socialism of the 20th century—the consensus emerging in the majority of countries about how to achieve the goal of development and progress seems to prioritize a commitment to democracy, the understanding of the importance of the market, with its limits, as the driving force of economic growth, and the obligation to a social agenda aiming to address the burden of poverty and inequality in these nations. . . The people of Latin American are choosing leftist governments of several sorts, but they are choosing them through use of democratic procedures." Damarys Canache, University of Illinois

Choosing leftist government . . . well, at least we're in step with our neighbors. Just keep in mind that the "failed socialist experience" (the politically correct term for the 70 years of the former USSR) he refers to killed more people through democide (murder of your own citizens, not through war) than the Nazis in WWII with all out war, invasion and murder of the Jews.

"In a couple of weeks the socialization of the United States will begin. Government ownership of bedrock banks will start. Widespread downturn of the economy will be guaranteed. Some say it was planned by the left. Some will say that it was just a fateful turn of events that led to the republics demise. All hail the new Leader of the United Socialist States of America. No longer will you be pressured to stand at American demagoguery such as Pledge of Allegiance, America the Beautiful, or Old Glory. The country was taken not by a communist country, but by a hidden socialist orator from within, promoted by a historically left leaning media, and by the new Brownshirt brigades formerly known as Acorn. Hail the One, the deliverer from racism, from selfishness, from capitalism." Comment at Houston Chronicle on Chavez' relationship with Obama

Update: I wrote this before I saw the book review in today's WSJ, "The threat closer to home" by Douglas E. Shoen and Michael Rowan, about the demogogue who is depicted as savior to the poor.

Another media myth

It's expensive to lose weight. And usually, if you read the entire article, someone explains that it is processed food that is expensive, not fresh or frozen.

It's January so newspapers are promoting their diet plans which probably have tie-ins with processed food companies, TV reality shows, and pharmaceuticals. News articles will also encourage coupon use, because they print them (they are ads that exercise your scissor muscles). Coupons cover up price increases and introduce the 15th type of Ritz cracker.

It's not expensive to eat fresh food, or even food labeled "organic," although that probably doesn't make a lot of difference, except to increase the cost slightly. The advantage to your health of not buying food fertilized or contaminated by sewage is probably huge, but by the time you get down to the minuscule, unmeasurable amounts of herbicide and pesticides on commercially grown food, which is where we are today with our health gate keepers who want to return American women to long food queues like Europe, the cost and health benefit is pretty small. You have a much better chance of getting Grandma's genetic links to cancer and heart disease than developing problems from eating too much fish or chicken on hormones. News flash. If you live long enough, everyone gets cancer or their heart gives out.

Anyway, today for lunch I took out about 5 spears of tender, fresh asparagus, rinsed them, and arranged a few "baby" (peeled) carrots from a bag, (always, always rinse) on a glass plate and zapped in the microwave uncovered for 1 minute. Add a dollop of low fat sour cream, a little salt and pepper, and enjoy. Then I had my sliced apple and 1/2 cup of walnuts, because I missed breakfast due to exercise class. The entire lunch/breakfast probably didn't top $2. You couldn't make and eat a bagel sandwich with potato chips for less than $4.

One thing mentioned in the USAToday article on dieting that I agree with is that half of all food dollars are spent eating out or take out. Combined with my morning coffee and our Friday date night, that's certainly true for us. However, I count about half of that as "leisure and entertainment."

Real food is cheaper

New Year's Resolution No. 6

Join the exercise class at UALC, 2300 Lytham Road, Upper Arlington, Ohio 43220, 614-451-3736, www.ualc.org. I much prefer walking outside (actually, I'd prefer to not do anything--I'm really a non-athlete), but it's just too cold.

9:15 a.m., Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If you live in the Columbus area, you are welcome to join us, too. It's $3 a class, or you can buy a ticket, $35 for 18 classes.

I'm all set. Got my sweats on and my clunky athletic shoes, ready for the new year with the 7 lbs I gained over the holidays, the average for Americans.

Sorry, fella, wrong blog

Someone arrived here looking for sex drive boosters, and found one of my library posts about the terminally perverted who hang around the library terminals.

Where was the investigative reporting three years ago?

The Wall Street Journal top notch investigative reporters, who could find every flaw and mispronounced word in a George Bush speech or each supposedly murky thought of Karl Rove, couldn't see this one coming. A 47% increase in Hispanic home ownership fueled through a combination of congressional misdeeds, a collection of myths about red lining by banks and realtors, pressure from low income housing groups taking money hand over fist from federal agencies, and a coalition of groups pushing subprime mortgages--all of which ignored sound credit practices. And to think we criticize other countries for lack of a free press. Maybe if they'd spent less time lionizing and chasing every speech of the man from Kenya, they'd have seen what was under their noses.

A good book for the New Year

I really like key #2. That was the name of the newsletter I used to write--No Free Lunch--about coupons, refunds, green stamps (remember those?), wooden nickles, sweepstakes, and so forth. Loyalty cards and clubs hadn't yet made much of an appearance in the early 1980s, but it's all the same--the belief that there is a free lunch. The latest edition is 2005, the 10th. We'll see if the basics have changed to meet the challenges of today's investment climate.

How do you find the time, Part 2

These are tips on how to be a good non-grandparent. I'm a little new at this, so if you don't have grandchildren, perhaps you have more ideas. I always thought I'd be one.

1. Find some friends in the same boat. These people might be available for movies and dinner out. We find grandparents have a very tough time scheduling because they are always on call. If dinner is at 7 p.m., they'll call at 6:55 with an emergency and you're already at the restaurant.

2. Find some new friends whose grandchildren are grown and live out of town. They still might not be around on holidays, because even college age grandchildren sometimes drop in for a day or two for 3 hots and a cot. However, these days even gramps might be checking the e-mail and texting his grandson. Be patient. You'd be doing the same if it were you. There's a corollary: if you meet someone who moved to your town to be near their grandchildren, it might be best to just pencil them in. If they made that kind of effort to be near the grandchildren, they aren't looking for a social life.

3. Meet grandparents your age somewhere neutral. We recently tried this with my sister-in-law and husband. We had to drive 100 miles to a Bob Evans, but we had an uninterrupted meal and a good time. We did get to talk to our nieces via the cell phone who found us at the restaurant. And no clean up!

4. Always ask about the grandchildren and admire the photographs. This works best, for some reason, right after "Hello, it's great to see you." These are the days of digital cameras and even the cell phones are loaded either with stills or video. Grannies are getting very good with this technology. It's a whole lot more interesting than the back surgery, arthritis or golf game.

5. We contribute money to causes that will save lives of children. We're the stand-in grandparents who didn't insist on aborting, but who think shacking up is a dumb idea for the long term solution. And say so. We know that you can't overcome poverty, AIDS, poor reading skills or autism by killing the children before you know what the outcome will be. Besides, haven't you noticed how many middle class children are now afflicted with the very problems we used to think only other people had?

How do you find the time? Part 1

Isn't that the oddest question? When interviewers have a famous guest on the show, that's often the first question. This morning I heard it addressed to Liz Curtis Higgs, while I was driving to the coffee shop. She is a fabulous speaker, and our Women of the Word group did one of her video series a few years back. But you know what? Liz and I have the same 24 hours a day and 60 minute hours that the rest of you have. Oh Norma, you're retired. Yes, indeedy, and even when I wasn't, I was usually not busy. When I retired in 2000--something I did very deliberately--I didn't know very many retired people--especially librarians, but most of the OSUL group I knew in the 80s and 90s (some earlier) have now retired, plus many of the women in the reading club I joined in 2000 have now retired; I signed up for some art classes, and all of those people were retired. Women who were frantically busy and over scheduled when they were employed, are that way as retirees. People like me who always paced themselves and said "No, thank you" a lot, we are still pacing ourselves, taking naps, reading books, blogging and volunteering in meaningful activities. See my "Six reasons to be late to the party."

As I've opined many times in this blog, all the verbs you use with money, you use with time. Now, occasionally, I have "found" money--like a quarter in my winter coat the first time I put it on in the fall, or a stash of pennies in the drawer of the guest room. But money, like time, gets invested, spent, wasted, frittered, and saved.

In the United States, if we are employed we are protected from a lot of time decisions--our employer tells us what to do, when and where. Our employer may even decide we need more exercise or a different diet just because it pays for our insurance (doesn't really--that benefit comes from our labor). We may make our fashion decisions based on what our co-workers wear, or see the movies they recommend, or buy the computer they are raving about. There are so many regulations protecting us from decision making when we work, our brains possibly have become a bit flabby by retirement.

Here's my second opinion about time. You can have it all, but not all at the same time. In recent years, I've also learned you need to redefine the word "all" to suit your stage of life.

Most people my age, most retirees I know, stay very busy with grandchildren. One of my friends from high school has great-grandchildren. If our friends aren't driving half way across the country to help out with a new baby or to attend a dance recital, they are actively babysitting 2-3 days a week so their daughter (usually) can pursue her career or education. One of the biggest cultural beams I've had to remove from my eye is my amazement at women who worked full time and juggled parenting with a complicated schedule of babysitters, day-care, and private schools while I was staying home raising mine, and they are now virtually full time nannies for their own children's children. And not complaining at all! They love it. They can't wait to get that baby in their arms, or drive the carpool or volunteer at the school and attend all the games they missed 25 years ago. So now they can "have it all."

In my case, ALL will not include grandchildren--it's one of those concepts that rests on someone else's decision, and my two children have decided not to be parents. I'm OK with that now, but it took a long time--their advancing age and health problems encouraged acceptance of my new definition of ALL. And please, no cheap grace about the joys of volunteering with children as a "just as if" grandparent. We all have unique gifts--and that one isn't mine, plus I did that back in the 1970s.

Photo: My grandparents and their 9 children at their 50th in 1962. I don't know how many of us there are now but in 1993 it was around 100.

Part 2 will be tips on how to be a non-grandparent.

Money

Do they play this at bailout board meetings? Citigroup, one of the "family" that has access to all the information (see my post on the 200% interest) Macy's collects about me has agreed to take no bonuses for 2008--and yes, they promise to keep a tight leash on expenses, and "limit" their lobbying efforts. I am deeply comforted. As I've always said here, I don't care generally how much these CEOver-the-toppers pay themselves for their mansions, mistresses and private schools for the kids as long as the stockholders don't care, but now that they want us to share the risk for their negligence and bad investments, I think it only right we have a say. According to Bloomberg, "Overall, the federal government has committed $8.5 trillion in trying to jumpstart a shrinking economy." And Obama hasn't even started filling the pot holes and killing talk radio yet!



Bloomberg.com summary of 2008, a year the writer calls a "Darwinian" event--only the most fit species survived. It may be the only type of Darwinian event I can believe in!

HT No Runny Eggs

Moral clarity

It's not always possible to know right and wrong, especially not on the international scene. But on the current (and on going) Israel-Hamas conflict, Charles Krauthammer says we know:

"Some geopolitical conflicts are morally complicated. The Israel-Gaza war is not. It possesses a moral clarity not only rare but excruciating.

Israel is so scrupulous about civilian life that, risking the element of surprise, it contacts enemy noncombatants in advance to warn them of approaching danger. Hamas, which started this conflict with unrelenting rocket and mortar attacks on unarmed Israelis - 6,464 launched from Gaza in the past three years - deliberately places its weapons in and near the homes of its own people. . . For Hamas the only thing more prized than dead Jews are dead Palestinians." Link

What a dilemma for Obama. He has something Bush never had--adoring, sycophant followers who are expecting the 2nd coming of American popularity throughout the world. That will only happen if he abandons Israel. Someone is in for a terrible fall--and I'm guessing it's the Jews and Catholics who supported him thinking that all his marxist leanings would disappear after November 4 and we'd all sing glory, glory, alleluia to the new king as we marched blindfolded into the sunrise to our reeducation camps.

Poets and Writers

It's been a lot of years since I picked up a writing magazine. I used to write some fiction back in the mid-1990s. It was lots of fun. The stories just came from no where and I was always surprised by the outcome. I'd write the first line, and the rest came. Then they stopped. First line and all.

Yesterday at the library sale I picked up for a quarter the Nov/Dec 2008 Poets and Writers. Do you think writing--fiction, non-fiction, biography, poetry, mystery, romance, sci-fi--is better today than the days before all the prizes and contests, degrees and workshops? Are the people on the best-seller list the best? Did they get there by entering contests? Or are contests just useful for paying off the organizers and their staff. Look at these

Fence Books awarded Elizabeth Marie Young of Berkeley the 2008 Motherwell Prize for her poety--$3,000 and publication of her book.

University of Evansville awarded David Stephenson of Detroit the 2007 Richard Wilbur Award for his poetry collection--$1,000 and publicantion of his book.

Frederick Reiken won the Fiction Open, $2,000, and his story will be published in the Winter 2009 issue of Glimmer Train Stories.

And so it goes. But look how much money these organizations bring in with their contests:

University of Evansville Wilbur Award competitors need to submit $25 per manuscript--what if 1,000 people send something? Yes, it takes some staff and handling, and someone has to read the submissions, but usually you know after the first paragraph whether it's worth it, and you've got that $25 check in hand.

Glimmer Train which is sold on newstands and certainly isn't cheap, collects $20 per entry for the opportunity to win that $2,000 prize. That journal is very well known and marketed, and I'm assuming gets thousands of hopefuls.

That Fence Books Motherwell prize will cost each entrant $25, and since it is for a first or second book of poetry by a woman, it probably gets thousands writing about baby spit up or lost loves. Here's one of mine based on the Suze Orman TV show. It's timely, got name recognition, pathos, and a snappy ending.

Girlfriend, Suze said,
while you imagined love
there's a slight chance
you missed the bounced checks,
school loans, credit cards,
child support and gambling debts,
a mortgage about to reset,
a house that hasn't flipped,
and his mother who has.

If you want to write for money, you might be better off putting ads on your blog page.

Flipping through this issue, I do see a few that have no entry fee, like National Council of Teachers of English and Nebraska Arts Council, but they are outnumbered by the for-fee contests/prizes/awards.

There's a photo on p. 18 of a party in 1963 for the founding of Filmwrights International, sort of a union. Most noticeable, given today's casual culture, is that all the men are in suits, and none of the women are identified. But the famous authors in the photo, none of whom had probably won an award to launch their careers or attended a writing workshop in Iowa or Arizona, are George Plimpton, William Styron, Ralph Ellison, Peter Mathiessen, H.L. Humes, Truman Capote, and Mario Puzo.

Call me crazy, but I think if you're good, someone is going to find out without your sending $25 to 100 contests to win $500.

Personal information about me they can pass along

After reading that Macy's was legally allowed to charge over 200% on a 30 day charge account, I looked a little closer at the teeny-tiny print on the itsy-bitsy pieces of paper that came with the bill.

First they told me my personal information was protected. That information included
Information I gave them on my application--name, address, phone, dob, ss, dln. Information about my transactions with Macy's their affiliates and nonaffliates--account balances, payment history and account activity Information about me from a consumer reporting agency, such as the credit bureau reports and other information relating to my credit worthiness Information about me from other souces, such as my employer, democraphic firms, and other third parties [isn't that a little vague?]
Then armed with all that which includes just about everything except my blood type and the name of the horse I owned in 7th grade, Macy's tells me that they can share that with all other affiliates about me--and that includes
the family of companies controlled by Citigroup Inc. the family of companies controlled by Macy's, Inc. affiliates in several different businesses, including banking, credit cards, consumer finance, insurance, securities and retail sales of goods and services Macy affiliates dba CitiFinancial, CitiMortgage, Smith Barney, Primerica, Macy's and Bloomingdale's
Nonaffiliated, "non-family" get to have my personal information too
financial services providers--banks, credit card companies, etc. non-financial companies, such as those in direct marketing and selling on consumer products and services and others, like non-profits (ACORN? Why not--they were able to bring down the banks.)

On a second tiny piece of paper there is an Opt Out Form (retain for your records). This replaces the wording on another piece of paper I don't have, or if I do, I don't know where it is. But upon reading it, I see it isn't the opt out form at all; no, no, it tells me the finance charge percentages, about which I just complained in the previous blog are going up to annual 22.9% instead of 21.6%, and if I miss a payment twice in any 6 mo. period it goes up to 24.9%; a $29 fee for returned check, and a late payment fee of $15 for balances under $50, $25 for balance of $50 and over, and so forth, until the late fee for over $1,000 is $35.

And get this. "You authorize us within each account type to apply your payments and credits in a way that is most favorable or convenient for us." Well, no wonder the print is so small and on itsy bitsy slips of paper. Then comes the "opt out option," which if I choose that, my account will be closed!

Usury

(yū'zhə-rē) I seldom use my Macy's credit card--must have pulled it out by mistake when I shopped there on December 19. Today I got a "red star rewards" statement for the period ending December 21. I charged about $60 (2 presents for my husband and 2 for me!) and the minimum payment is due on Jan. 15. So that's 25 days for a 30 day billing account. If I choose to pay less than the full balance, $1 will be added to my revolving account balance, which inexplicably is recorded as $22.41 even though I had zero balance on Dec. 19. It says in upper right corner of page one that the average daily balance is $5.98, the daily periodic rate 0.05918%, which corresponds to an annual percentage rate of 21.60%. On the second page is the note "A finance charge in the amount of $1.00 will be added to your Revolving account balance if you choose to pay less than the full balance by your due date. If that happens, the actual ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE charge on that account is 200.64%.

Anyone with better math and English skills want to explain this, without using the words usury, obfuscation, exorbitant or onerous?

Two ways to judge the economy of the 21st century

If you're retired, or were near retirement in 2000, as I was, just go back and look at your statements. My pension carrier, State Teachers Retirement of Ohio, in the mid to late 90s was busy throwing money at art and a newly remodeled building with all the latest of everything for its employees. They had so much money they didn't know what to do with it. Then came the tech bust and the party was over by 1999. At least that's what my 403-b statements from TIAA-CREF said. President Bush inherited a floundering economy in 2001--and I don't blame Clinton--there were too many dollars chasing too few opportunities and people were throwing money at any app, widget and dot com business that had a 23 year old in sweats and T running R&D. My funds had fully recovered by December 2003, I think it was, and then soared. Not bad considering 9/11 and all the bad media sob stories about "this economy." Team Kedwards in 2004 really moaned about the terrible economy--worst since the Great Depression Kerry and Edwards said. The day after the election on 2004, the Democrats shut up. But not for long. They drug out the same sad, sad stories from Appalachia and poverty moving to the suburbs for the 2006 elections, and took many seats in Congress. And Republicans let them do it. Here in Ohio our candidate, an African American, was smeared because of Governor Tafts golfing misdeed. Also, he didn't talk and walk white or spread guilt around or write autobiographies about non-accomplishments. Democrats also said we were losing the war, but that's another non-story that worked.

I have another way to judge the economy, both that of the mid-90s and the mid-2000s. My premiere issue magazine collection. Advertising out the wazoo during the days when the media was telling us how awful things were in mid-2000s. Id' seen the same thing in the late 1990s--Wired was so fat you almost couldn't find the stories. Industry Standard, before it went belly up, was just an amazing array of ads. So much advertising, and much of it inappropriate for the readership, that you almost can't imagine what the marketing departments must have been thinking. People in those positions must have thought they had the golden touch, that they couldn't do anything wrong.

I'm getting ready to review the premier issue of Cottage Living, September/October 2004. Here's the ads that appear before page 60.

Woodbridge wine--full page
kitchen appliances 2 full pages, 1/3 mostly white
women's fashion 1 full page each for J. Jill and Talbot
Andersen window 2 full pages
Pergo 2 full pages
Princess Cruises 2 full pages
VISA
ROC
Neiman Marchus
Ford Expedition
Chevy Equanox 2 full pages
Levi Strauss 2 full pages
Citi 2 full pages
Highlander
Jenn-Air 2 full pages
LL Bean
Lowes
Harchow
Bulova
Megerian rugs
Gevalia
WISP (Glade)
Emend (chemo therapy) 2 full pages
Show House (Moen faucets)
Norwegian Cruiseline

Yes, the run up was heady. So much money chasing so few products. Meanwhile, back in DC, every American had a right to a home, whether or not they could make the payments, whether or not their credit rating was awful, whether or not they when it balooned, they couldn't possibly make the payment. Money was being handed out by the fistful from a variety of government agencies to non-profits to make sure enough people got signed on--no down payment? no problema. No job--not to worry. The value of the house was supposed to go up. And so we had a really toxic mix; tainted investments, and the boys minding the store were just watching the boys.

Now we'll have to wait and see if we'll have the Bush-Obama version of Hoover-Roosevelt. Let's hope Obama doesn't give us a 10 year Depression the way FDR did.

How do you clean sticky Tupperware?

In my pretend move, I'm reaching to the back of the tall kitchen cupboards, standing on a chair. And what do I find? A large Tupperware canister, suitable for a one lb sack of potato chips or a few dozen cookies. It is so sticky, it almost wouldn't leave my hand once I took hold. The usual things I try don't work. Is it decomposing? Is it absorbing chemicals from the cupboard finish? Is this left over potato chip grease from the 1960s? So I go to the internet and google "how to clean sticky Tupperware" and someone suggests Bon Ami, which is the only ceramic cleaner I use. I dampen my piece of Bounty and go to work. Wow. This really works. And while I was at it, I buffed up a handmade ceramic bowl I found in there too that had some marks on it probably from metal. From the color scheme--gray, gold, taupe and cream, I'm guessing early to mid-1980s, and probably purchased at an artsy-fartsy shop here in Columbus, or at an art show. The name on the bottom is huge both upper and lower case, Wilks. So I google that and find a Kelly Wilks from Arkansas who works in clay, and I e-mail the supply house with which she is associated and teaches. Waiting to see if I've found the artist.

Let's pretend we're moving!

On my list of New Year's Resolutions is #11--clean out and rearrange the kitchen cabinets by pretending we're moving! We're not, of course, we absolutely love it here and haven't missed our home of 34 years even one day. So today, I'm standing on a chair cleaning a cabinet I can't reach unless I'm on a chair. Top shelf had only the waffle maker and my mother's decorative ceramic pie holder. But the next shelf down, the one I can reach, Oh My! Empty containers and a ton of supplements.

I found CVS Natural Fish Oil 120 mg, 100 softgels, probably about 90 left in the container. I looked it up here and here and here. So, I guess I'll keep them. We don't eat a lot of fish. Burp.

Floor lamp saga

Regular readers know that one of my New Year's Resolutions is to stop sitting in the dark, straining my eyes. I'm on the prowl for a floor lamp, one my mother would love, and my husband will probably hate. When I find the lamp, different from all the rest, I'm going to christen it, "Olive the other floor lamps." Hey! After 48 years, I think our marriage is secure. So yesterday about 4 p.m., while husband is watching his 97th football game of the Christmas New Year season:

"Would you like to go shopping for a floor lamp now? I saw a new store about 2 miles from here."

"No, that's OK. You go."

Ten minutes later Norma walks into a contemporary furnishings store on Bethel Road.

"May I help you find something."

Gulping down her shock and surprise at the woman's slovenly, ready-for-the-trail-ride appearance, "Yes, I'm looking for a floor lamp. Do you know how much wattage this lamp uses?" The tag didn't say, and there was one tiny bulb in it, but it did work. The price was $115, which I thought was reasonable because it was a very nice design.

Slovenly saleslady earns points by admitting she knows nothing about the lamp, but would check the catalog. Meanwhile Norma browses. There are floor lamps that look like three giant mushrooms stacked atop each other; there are floor lamps that spiral; there are floor lamps that swing out 25 ft. or so like bending broken cherry pickers on a windy day; there are biblical floor lamps that hide their lights under a bushel.

Saleslady returns, and says as her chin stud sparkles in the wavering light of weird and bizarre lamps, "It will take a total of 125 watts, with 2 bulbs."

It would hurt too much to look at her pretty face which she has mangled with a variety of holes, so Norma mumbles to saleslady's combat boots, "Thank you, but I need something a bit brighter."

After a spin through Marshall's which only had table lamps, and K-Mart which had floor lamps in boxes, one a "natural light" with a goose neck for close sewing that might be a possibility if hidden in the corner, she returns home to husband who hasn't moved from his lounge chair and the football game.

Are you smarter than the people you elected?

It shouldn't be difficult. The most recent annual report on Civic Literacy, released by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute in November revealed an average score of F by both citizens and elected officials. I'm not surprised. Remember the election video where Obama's supporters said it was OK for him to be running with Sarah Palin and thought she'd do a good job?

"More than 2,500 randomly selected Americans took the test on Civic Literacy, and more than 1,700 of them failed. The average score was a 49%. More shocking, the average score of elected officials was 44%, meaning that our public officials performed worse than citizens selected at random. Less than 1% of those surveyed (21 of 2,508) earned an A on the test (90% or higher)." I scored 78.79 %, which isn't all that great, but apparently better than the folks I elected. When I looked at the ones I missed, there were two I just didn't read carefully, and the others I guessed (wrong). But bad either way.

Take a stab.

Great 2009 Resolutions for Obama Administration

The Heritage Foundation is looking forward to some adjustments/changes, as we all are. I agree with most. Especially keep the Bush tax cuts in order to not further sink the economy. Right now his selection of helpers looks like either a Clinton third term, or a quasi-Bush third term, but Obama didn't get to the White House by revealing his hand too soon. So I'm not feeling as good as the leftists are bad. Here's what Heritage Foundation, via its blog, The Foundry, suggests:

TRANSPARENT GOVERNMENT [got a poor start here]
END OF TARP (Troubled Assets Relief Program) and deny any requests to use the second $350 billion of taxpayer funds.
IRAN WITHOUT NUCLEAR WEAPONS
NO NEW TAXES: Obama will make all of President Bush’s tax cuts permanent
CHEAP ENERGY: The U.S. will authorize oil production in ANWR and other promising areas in the lower 48 states
STATE DRIVEN EDUCATION [I'd like to send the new Secretary back home to Chicago, and close down that behemoth]
NO SOCIALIZED HEALTH CARE
FREEDOM TO WORSHIP: Obama will protect the ability of faith-based social service providers to honor their religious ideals; including debates about marriage
NON-ACTIVIST JUDGES
MISSILE DEFENSE
SUPPORT THE TROOPS

Read the full explanation of each issue here.

Preserving Special Media

If ever a government guide should be digitized and on the web so you could see it, I would think this one should be: "Records management handbook for United States senators and their archival repositories / Karen Dawley Paul ; prepared under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate by the Senate Historical Office. [Washington, D.C.] : U.S. Senate, 2006. Series: S. pub; 109-19. Then you'd know why information has disappeared through theft, deterioration, mishandling, or other oopsies as administrations come and go. Leafing through the copy at Ohio State University I see things that are also of interest to us average folk who increasingly are relying on non-paper to store our information. Say what you will about the way our grandparents did things, I can still read my grandparents' 1890s grocery lists, farm records and book notes, something I can't do for much of my own material from the 1990s. In the above photo (1988), I'm using one of the most advanced systems in the OSU Libraries--none of it works today--not even the curly perm.

But back to the senators. On p. 50 it says senators are supposed to have established guidelines for maintaining permanently valuable electronic records, including e-mail. Now, I don't see in this publication what those guidelines are, only that they are supposed to have them and the senator's staff is supposed to understand them (written in-house?) and archive the paper and e-documents. There are lots of questions on her check list, like are attachments systematically saved, are documents labeled, is scheduling information retained permanently, but I don't see the requirement to do so.

So how do they dredge this stuff up for the special prosecutors 5 years later, if the guidelines are not specific about who, what, when and where? The answer seems to be on p. 1:

"United States senators personally own and control the records created and maintained within their own offices. Because of the private status of these records, members must personally establish office policies and procedures that will preserve historically valuable documentation."

So it would seem that Senator Obama can withhold from our view anything he wants about discussions with Blago--he's not required to keep anything he doesn't deem historically valuable. He's still a senator until someone else is appointed, president-elect or not.

But back to the rest of us and our special media. According to Ms. Paul

More audio and videotapes are lost by accidental erasure than by misuse.

Fax paper lasts about 5 years.

Videotape must be re-recorded after 15 years.

Color photographs need cool, dark storage.

Audiocassettes need to be rewound every 2 years to prevent "printthrough."

Use of "fast forward" and reverse speeds can distort tape tension (I think anyone who has borrowed a tape has discovered that).

Computer tapes used for archival storage should be copied to new tapes every 10 years.

Computer software has a 3-5 year period of use before becoming obsolete.

Newsprint should be copied onto bond paper.

Permanently valuable mail should be copied onto bond paper, or it should be scanned and microfilmed.

Irradiation can erase magnetic media, expose film and fade color photographs

CD-ROM and DVD are not considered suitable for long-term storage of permanent records.

Digitization is not an alternative for preservation because of technology becoming obsolete.

Microfilm, remains for now, the preferred long-term preservation medium.

And to think when I was in library school we'd shake our heads over the brittle, "burning" paper in books of the 19th century. Now we've got stuff that won't even last a decade. We're going backwards. And we're throwing the paper stuff out!

Thursday Thirteen in Central Ohio

Winter blahs? All your friends going on cruises or to Florida during the cold weather? Here are 13 things to do right here in Columbus or central Ohio, and for one (13) you're already too late, and another, you'd better hurry.

1. Greenlawn Cemetery--I've lived here over 40 years and I've driven past, but never through. And yet it is very famous for its art and architecture. Bird watchers love this place. According to Amy's Genealogy blog which has many great photos: “Little Georgie,” as some refer to him, was the only child of Eli and Sarah Blount. Eli was the owner and proprietor of the American Hotel in downtown Columbus. On 7 February 1873, the family was getting ready to go out and little George, only 5 years old, decided that the fastest way to get downstairs was to slide down the banister. Sadly, the railing broke and George fell; he died eight days later. His tombstone features an almost lifesize likeness. People regularly leave toys at his grave.

2. Need a breath of spring? Try the Franklin Park Conservatory. A favorite place for art shows and weddings. Anyone remember Ameriflora? My husband's firm was very involved, and I think we went about once a week (free passes).

3. I've blogged before about the Objects of Wonder show at the Columbus Museum of Art. Absolutely stunning material from the nooks, crannies, closets and art galleries of Ohio State University. You haven't got much more time for this one--January 11, I think. Sunday is a free day. Go early and then enjoy lunch in the Palette Restaurant designed by my husband. Great food and ambiance.

4. Another place I've driven past but not visited. The Ohio Craft Museum is located at 1665 West Fifth Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43212. Parking and admission are free. Hours: Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sunday, 1–4 p.m. Closed Saturday. Telephone (614) 486-4402. The museum is owned and operated by Ohio Designer Craftsmen and receives ongoing funding from the Ohio Arts Council, the Greater Columbus Arts Council, and the Columbus Foundation.

5. There are a ton of things to see and do down town connected with the state government. The Ohio Statehouse is a wonderful example of a building designed to symbolize our democratic form of government--a Greek temple. Add a goddess with her hand held out, and you've got it! February, our short month, is also long and boring, so why not visit? The Ohio Statehouse is open Monday – Friday 7 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Free guided tours are offered from Mondays through Fridays on the hour from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., and on Saturdays and Sundays from noon until 3 p.m. Tours depart from the 3rd Street Information Desk. Groups of 10 or more are requested to call 614/728-2695 in advance to assure a guide is available for your group. You could stop in after your free Sunday visit to the Museum of Art. Parking down below. Couldn't be easier.

6. Celebrate Lincoln’s 200th birthday on February 12, or sooner. "Because of the state's political stature, the Ohio Statehouse has been visited by a number of dignitaries, including Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln visited the Ohio Statehouse three times. In 1859, he spoke to a small crowd on the east terrace; in 1861, he spoke to a joint session of the Ohio Legislature in the House Chamber; and finally, on April 29, 1865, President Lincoln lay in state in the Rotunda for six and a half hours. As his casket was being transported from Washington, D.C., to its final resting place in Illinois, more than 50,000 people came to Columbus to pass by the fallen President’s body. This continues to be the highest attended event at the Capitol to date. It is important to note that the city of Columbus only had a population of 31,000 residents at the time of Lincoln’s assassination.

7. Then stroll a few blocks and visit the incredible Ohio Judicial Center on Front Street. "The building was constructed in an era when architectural sculpture – carved and sculpted decoration and inspiring slogans – was popular. In carving the exterior, sculptor Alvin Meyer used the highly ornamental Beaux Arts style, incorporating symbolism and history. The exterior features portrayals of Ohio industry, bas relief sculptures, inscriptions and sculptures devoted to Ohio’s history." We watched the murals being cleaned back in the 1990s--which upset some citizens who thought the "original" colors too bright--and for one of the early repairs of the building before this current one (when my husband was a partner in another firm), we actually had the original architectural drawings from the 1930s in our house! They were a piece of art in themselves. Even if you are not a librarian, go up to the 11th floor and visit the Law Library. SPECTACULAR!!

8. I knew Ohio used to be under a glacier (we've had global warming big time), but I didn't know about Glacier Ridge Park. This is the one I said you'd need to plan for NOW. Winter survival skills Learn techniques to survive the winter cold, with John Bieseker of Coyote Trails. Only Jan 4, 2009 2 p.m. Named for the end moraine that was left behind when the Wisconsin Glacier retreated some 12,000 to 17,000 years ago, much of this Metro Park was once covered with farm lands. With help from Honda of America, Metro Parks has restored a 250-acre wetland area. Eleven miles of trails wind through the park.

9. Yes, this is a bit heavy on art, isn't it? Can't sing or dance. And what better topic for these days of sub-prime meltdowns and no more house flipping than real estate?
Dublin Arts Center
7125 Riverside Drive
Dublin, Ohio 43016.
January 6
Charles Kanwischer: Real Estate Drawings
DAC gallery
Opening reception
6 to 8pm
Artist's talk, The Poetics of Real Estate, 6:30 pm
Exhibition continues through Feb. 20

10. Sharon Weiss Gallery in the Short North. There's all kinds of things to see in the Short North, but I chose this because we were in Florence this past summer. Open Thursday through Saturday from 12 until 5pm, and Sunday from 1 until 4pm. The gallery is located at 20 East Lincoln Street, just east of North High Street in the Short North. January 2009 is Rachel Stern, artist, featuring paintings from Florence, Italy.

11. Short North is the home of The Gallery Hop which is First Saturday of the month, so if you miss this month, try February or March. Our friend Jeff Hersey runs Terra Gallery, 8 E. Poplar Ave., in the Short North. He's a member of the UALC Visual Arts Ministry.

12. Anthony Thomas candy tours
1777 Arlingate Lane
Columbus, OH 43228
614-274-8405
Free Open House Factory Tours are every Tuesday and Thursday from 9:30 am. to 2:30. In about an hour, tour groups can experience candy making from start to finish in our 152,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art candy factory. Opened in May 1995, it is conveniently located off I-270 in west Columbus, Ohio. I'm thinking they get crowded around Valentine's Day, so beat the rush and go in January or March.

13. This one was listed in the paper, but must be a mistake--the museum website said it is only open April through mid-December. The Dispatch reported that Jackie Kennedy's dolls were there. Mid-Ohio Historical Museum, 700 Winchester Pike, Canal Winchester, Ohio -- "Memories," dolls from the Jackie Kennedy Onassis collection; antique dolls and toys, such as the Stallsmith collection of china dolls; dolls from the 1800s and early 1900s; playroom from the 1950s; docent-led tours by appointment; closed on holidays and holiday weekends; $3 (614-837-5573). Call to be sure, maybe the website hasn't been updated and the Dispatch is correct.

Happy New Year!

Originally, I had 13 New Year's Resolutions finished for Thursday Thirteen, which upon rereading them, sounded about as interesting as "I promise to clip my toe nails," and "I will brush the cat twice a year." So I deleted the entire post (after printing it and putting it in my desk drawer). But I will share #5, as it was just about the most interesting, plus I told the group at Bill and Joyce's party last night, so they'll probably all ask us about it.

5. Buy a floor lamp for the living room.

Back story: About 25 years ago, my sweet, non-critical mother said on one of her visits, "Don't you think it's a little dim in here?" For 48 years I've lived in poorly lit spaces as some sort of concession to living with an architect, and we have different tastes in decor. The result of this is, if we don't both fall in love with something, we don't buy it. Look through any decorating or architectural magazine and you might see table lamps, but rarely floor lamps. If you want to know why, try googling the term "floor lamps" and then click on "images." Ugly your name is floor lamp. I want one or two like the 1930s style my parents had--a center bulb in an open globe with three naked side light blubs, all gently enfolded in a nice silky shade--preferably with cellophane to protect from dust.

Floor lamps spread and diffuse light--they don't throw and bounce it. Designers love track lights, floods, and buried can lights, all of which I hate, hate, hate. We also are cheap--keep what comes with the house, which is why we had funny glass baubles ca. 1940 over the 1960's modern dining room table on Abington, and why we have its first cousin from Woolworth in our hall here at the condo. Jim Tuthill, the carpet cleaner, commented on the hall fixture when he was here on Tuesday. He had something similar in his house rescued from an old theater in downtown Columbus when he worked there as a janitor. The previous owner took her fixture with her, and I think this one was in the basement.

Anyway, I'm getting too old to sit in the dark and squint to read. The older you get, the better light you need, even if it shows your wrinkles. Which may be why my Mom waited until her 60s to say anything. With my new glasses and better lighting, I may be able to keep resolution #2 which is to read one chapter a day in my 10 volume Westminster Pulpit, a collection of the sermons from 1906-1916 of G. Cambell Morgan. I got a set for Christmas.