Style vs. Substance

Although I think even his most ardent supporters are tiring of his whining, finger pointing, and stalling this item on style vs. substance is still important.

Rasmussen Reports (Michael Barone) - "The Obama enthusiasts who dominated so much of the 2008 campaign cycle were motivated by style. The tea party protesters who dominated so much of 2009 were motivated by substance. Obama enthusiasts seem to have been motivated by a yearning for a rapturous, nuanced leader. Send that terrible tyrant with his tortured sentences and moral certitude back to Texas and install The One in the White House, and all would be well.

"In contrast, the tea party protesters, many of them as fractious and loudmouthed as [New York Times Columnist David] Brooks thinks, are interested in substantive political issues. They decry the dangers of expanding the national debt, increasing government spending and putting government in command of the health care sector." Barone's article here

I can't remember a time when Democrats weren't contemptuous of Republican leaders--I certainly believed Ronald Reagan was just a dumb movie star who read lines when I was a Democrat. That's all I heard from the media and my colleagues. And how many times did you see Bush portrayed as a knuckle dragging, cowboy cartoon with huge ears? And unfortunately, like small children who are abused and grow up doubting their abilities, many RINOs behave as they are told they believe. The Harry Reid racism flap is just the latest of letting the Democrats set the agenda. Everyone in both parties knows he isn't a racist, but they also know there's a double standard for what can be said, thought or acted upon. Without a moment's reflection, our President can blast the Cambridge police as racist, but waits 3 days to say anything about terrorists. The time to wring the Reid comment out and hang it out to dry is the next time a Republican says macaca or water buffalo and the Democrats scream RACIST! Then rally the troops. Go after speech codes that do nothing but divide. Reid should go down in history for the comfort he gave our enemies during time of war not for using the word "Negro," which many people still use, or calling Obama light skinned, which he is because his mother was white teenager impregnated by an older married man and who didn't have an abortion.

When women use steroids

they look like men in drag. Those are not natural female faces. They look like sextuplets. Same long jaws, high foreheads, elongated noses--and probably the ears too if we could see them. The breasts look like soccer balls. My husband said, "Who would want to come home to that?" Nice shoes, though.

Latest map on Haiti Earthquake

Click to enlarge. USGS M7 Haiti Earthquake of January 12. Shows earthquakes of the last 100 years, and historic earthquakes and tsunamis since 1492.

Earthquake glossary

HT Mary Scott, Geology Library, OSU

Thursday Thirteen--Thrift shop buys

Today's Wall Street Journal has an article on Alicia Kan giving up her executive look wardrobe for a more relaxed look. She sold her designer clothes and reinvented herself. Three years ago I lost 20 lbs. and since I already had an old wardrobe (retired in 2000) and didn't need anything new, I discovered The Discovery Shop, a resale thrift shop that supports cancer research. I found much more than clothing. Here are some of my favorite buys:

1) Silverplate flatware, Reed and Barton 1776, service for 8, with all the serving pieces, $35. I use this set for every day and thoroughly enjoy it.

2) Soup bowls to match my fine china. Not the exact pattern, but close enough that I won't have to pay $50.00 a piece to buy them. I have Countess pattern in Syracuse China, and the bowls are King's Court, Wedding Band pattern. $4.00 each.



3) A CD of Urbie Green and Umpteen Trombones. I used to play trombone and this CD is fabulous! $1.00




4) Two beautiful Christmas cups, $1.00 each. Dunoon Stoneware Scotland, Jane Brookshaw (she has a series).

5) At least 5 pair of dress khaki slacks for my son to wear to work, $4 each. All name brands and in good condition.

6) Jeans and cotton slacks for my husband to wear for Haiti mission work; then they leave their clothes there. Some were better than his own. $3-5.00 each.

7) Numerous pairs of lined wool slacks, made in USA, with natural waist fit, already professionally shortened with dry cleaning tags still attached. Various sizes as my weight changed. Average cost $5.00 each.

8) Pendleton pants suit, tan tweed, short jacket, fitted waist, lined slacks. $25.

9) London Fog raincoat, zip liner, $10.

10) White dress pants suit, summer. $25.

11) Coleman, light weight zip front jacket, blue and gray, for my husband. $5.

12) Cat's Meow buildings, 2 bookstores and a library, $3 each.

13) Talbot and Coldwater Creek jeans--black velveteen, pink, red, charcoal gray, olive, burgundy, all new with tags. Natural waist, some with a bit of lycra or little extra fabric for eased fit in hips and legs for the "mature" woman. Average price $4-5. Anyone need red size 8 jeans? Too tight now. Won't zip. Can't sit.
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Coakley and Obama's fat cats and special interests

An editorial in today's WSJ points out how cozy Democrats are with Big Health. They occasionally appear for whip lashing by the Administration, but right now they are needed to "fill Teddy's seat." This Massachusetts race is certainly getting strange. I'm for Brown. I'm part of the right wing rich fat cat conspiracy (DNC ads) that sent him money.

"Amid a Beltway panic, the health lobby is riding to the rescue of the Massachusetts liberal, whose defeat in the special Senate race next Tuesday could deny Democrats the 60th vote for ObamaCare and thus maybe spare the U.S. health system from the coming damage.

As first reported by Timothy Carney of the Washington Examiner, the host committee for the fundraiser at Pennsylvania Avenue's Sonoma Restaurant includes lobbyists for Pfizer, Merck, Eli Lilly, Novartis and sundry other drug companies that have been among the biggest of ObamaCare's corporate sponsors. Other hosts—who have raised at least $10,000 for Ms. Coakley—include representatives from UnitedHealthcare, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Humana and other insurers. As far as we can tell, the insurance industry claims to oppose ObamaCare's current incarnation.

Naturally, lobbyists from America's Health Insurance Plans and Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the major trade groups, were on hand too. Money follows power in Washington, obviously, though this example seems especially inexplicable given that Ms. Coakley's GOP opponent, state senator Scott Brown, may be the last chance to defuse the health-care doomsday machine. But maybe someone in the press corps will bother to mention this episode the next time President Obama takes aim at the "special interests" he claims are opposing his agenda."

Does he have anything to say about dark skinned Muslims who shoot up military bases and hide bombs in their underwear?

It seems the Obama Administration is fearful of the word "terrorist," unless it's not connected with Muslims or non-white ethnic groups. This may be the most racist appointee yet. Obama thought the power of his charisma and personality would calm things down--even the Norwegians thought so--gave him a useless peace prize for doing nothing. But he continues to appoint crooks, cheats, marxists, losers and racists. This guy Southers used his FBI position to snoop on his ex-wife. I'd put that in the Geithner tax cheating category. It would certainly have stopped a Bush appointee.

I was looking at the "World News" section of the paper yesterday. . .

1) Militants attack crude oil pipe line in Africa
2) Togolese soccer squad attacked and killed in Angola
3) Afghan blast kills U.K. journalist and U.S. Marines and photographer injured.
4) Chavez devaluing their currency--dismantling the middle class.
5) Argentin constitutional crisis threatens Central banks--ripple effect at our Fed.
6) Merkel leadership under attack
7) Northern Ireland rocked by sex + money scandal.
8) 3 Palestinian militants were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.
9) Australians are in trouble in China for commercial crimes and in Vietnam for fuel-hedging trades.
10) Beijing cracking down on dissidents who are using the Internet.

No, the world hasn't changed yet. Not much hope either.

Miss me yet?

From John Hawkins at RightWing News.

Yet, horrible approval rating and terrible messaging aside, Bush was a much better, more competent, and skilled President than Obama. That's even the case if you set aside ideological issues.

Bush was more transparent, worked better with the other side, was a much more skilled diplomat, had a much better idea of what government could accomplish, and was several orders of magnitude more honest.

Bush was not a great President. On the domestic front, he wasn't even a good one. He also did great damage to the Republican Party by being so stubborn, obtuse, and by making so little effort to get his message out.

But, all that said: When you get beyond the hyperbole and polling data, it's Obama, not Bush, who suffers when the two men are compared.

He lost support of his party because of amnesty, and caving on AGW, and spending like a drunken Democrat, but he'll go down in history as a much better President.

An instant ice age

Puts man made global warming and industrial pollution into perspective, doesn't it? We can't hold a candle to natural disasters. From the University of Illinois LAS News:

"A new study provides “incontrovertible evidence” that the volcanic super-eruption of Toba on the island of Sumatra about 73,000 years ago deforested much of central India, some 3,000 miles from the epicenter, researchers report.

The volcano ejected an estimated 800 cubic kilometers of ash into the atmosphere, leaving a crater (now the world’s largest volcanic lake) that is 100 kilometers long and 35 kilometers wide. Ash from the event has been found in India, the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal, and the South China Sea.

The bright ash reflected sunlight off the landscape, and volcanic sulfur aerosols impeded solar radiation for six years, initiating an “Instant Ice Age” that—according to evidence in ice cores taken in Greenland—lasted about 1,800 years.

During this instant ice age, temperatures dropped by as much as 16 degrees centigrade (28 degrees Fahrenheit), says University of Illinois anthropology professor Stanley Ambrose, a principal investigator on the new study with professor Martin A.J. Williams, of the University of Adelaide. Williams, who discovered a layer of Toba ash in central India in 1980, led the research."

Did you know that the warming cooling cycle research on the earth's temperature had been gradually removed from Wikipedia by global warming fundamentalists?

Ouanaminthe is safe

There has been a terrible earthquake in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. We received an e-mail last night from our UALC pastor in Haiti, that Ouanaminthe is safe. They felt it, but there is no damage. "Everyone is fine," he reported. Video of the school and medical clinic we support (the young man with the Akron t-shirt is Frandy, who has spent time with us, and you briefly see Zeke also). My husband goes again in February and is so anxious to get back--he loves the Haitian people.

People of all political stripes in the U.S. need to look hard at Haiti; conservatives for what happens when government provides nothing--not police, not electricity, not safe water, not postal service, not roads; liberals for what happens when aid from non-profits and other countries goes to line the pockets and decorate the palaces of corrupt, mini-Africa type despots and dictators year after year--nothing makes it to the people.

Update: a bus loaded with medical personal and supplies left Ouanaminthe on Friday for Port au Prince with the intention to give away the supplies and find their students who were studying in the area and return with any of their townspeople who wanted to come home. The good news today was they accomplished this and are safe!

Attention Black Caucus

Still wearing your Che t-shirts? Swooning over all those wonderful medical benefits Castro doles out ala Michael Moore's propaganda pics?

"Afro-Cubans officially make up 62 percent of the Cuban population and possibly 70 percent. Afro-Cubans “are experiencing strong and growing instances of racism on the island, with their 25-odd civil rights movements reporting a wide range of discriminatory practices in hiring, promotion and access to Cuba’s socialized medicine and educational system,” according to the U.S. State Department." Read article by Matt Hentoff, Rampant racism in Cuba

HT SafeLibraries

$787 Billion in Stimulus, Zero Jobs “Created or Saved”

Are we surprised? You only have to read the history of the 1930s to know what was going to happen. It's one thing to sprinkle a little fairy dust to get people shopping again; it's another to pour billions into "shovel ready" projects that were already on the books, or into zip codes that don't exist. When does government "create" jobs, except when it increases unemployment and needs to add red tape and bureaucracy to its own rolls?

"The problem with infrastructure spending as stimulus, and really government spending as stimulus, is that Congress does not have a vault of money waiting to be distributed. Every dollar Congress injects into the economy must first be taxed or borrowed out of the economy. No new spending power is created. It is merely redistributed from one group of people to another. Businesses are telling pollsters that among the biggest reasons they are not creating jobs is the prospect of new tax and regulatory burdens. A better solution to reduce unemployment is to simplify and reduce the barriers to business success." The Foundry Blog

And the sluggish economy is definitely linked to the Democrats' obsession with passing health care, no matter what, no matter how, no matter how many businesses go under, no matter when, but right now is what they prefer.

"Congressional "reforms" of the American health delivery system have gone through dozens of versions. The separate bills passed by the House and Senate worry small businesses, in particular. They fear their labor costs will increase because of mandates to spend much more on health insurance for their employees. The resulting reluctance of small businesses to invest, expand and hire harms households as well, because it slows the creation of new jobs and the growth of labor incomes." WSJ Uncertainty and the slow recovery

Got Milk--cutest website

The Got Milk website had me just staring at all the activity and listening to the upbeat, but calming music. Like a horse jogging on a treadmill. A lot of thought and money goes into marketing campaigns. This is so cute, I almost forgot I went there for a recipe. In fact, I had to look a bit, but click on the blender icon on the lower left, and you'll find absolutely wonderful milk drinks that look and sound like what you might get at one of those upscale juice bars at a trendy health/exercise spa.

Take care of your bones. And don't forget Vitamin D!

Monday Memories--The Chemise

The clothing and hair shapes and styles of the late fifties were harbingers of the changes we would see in the early 60s--blousy and bouffant. Especially after the beautiful, young Jackie Kennedy led the way. My mother was a good seamstress, so I wanted something I’d seen in Mademoiselle magazine, and although I don’t have the pattern, the above photo from the April 1958 issue is similar. Also similar is that teenagers regardless of the era are pretty bossy and careless about other’s time commitments, especially their mothers!

April 8, 1958

Dear Family,

[other stuff about my sister Carol and me visiting at Easter]

Mother: If you look on page 102 of the April Mademoiselle I think you'll find a good idea for the chemise pattern. I still need an outfit I can wear for school, but that combination would be darling for good.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

April 17, 1958

Dear Ones,

I'm still waiting for my new sheath and chemise.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

April 21, 1958

Dear Ones,

I received my package and really went wild. I love the yellow chemise. That material is wonderful for spring skirts. Mom, could you get some more for 2 or 3 straight skirts--brown or green?

In less than 2 weeks, Mom found the magazine, the style, the fabric, made it and shipped it to my college in Indiana. And before she could catch her breath, I was asking for more!

This was excerpted from my sewing blog, Memory Patterns, with stories of crafts, quilts, doll clothes, formals, housecoats, aprons, etc. And I wasn't even a good seamstress!

Saint Elizabeth and the Ego Monster

I started to read the bizarre account in New York Magazine of John Edwards and his wife, and what was really going on during the last presidential campaign, but finally just had to stop. Whether it is gossip, sleaze or half-truths, it was too sick. You can almost see how a candidate can become a megalomaniac, and his wife might be a shrew-- "abusive, intrusive, paranoid, condescending, crazywoman"--considering what she'd been through (although it appears she was that way before), but I kept wondering, "Why do the staff put up with it? Why would they want people like this running a hot dog stand, let alone our country?" So I gave up, not on the Edwards, who seem to deserve each other, but on their campaign staff. It would seem megalomania is contagious.

Harry Reid shouldn't resign

That was a stupid remark he made about Obama--about him being light skinned and talking white to be acceptable to whites (or was that talking black to be acceptable to blacks--he did both, you know). He told the truth, and many people black and white have said essentially the same thing especially before he became the clear front runner. No, kick old Harry out for being stupid, for being a traitor when speaking against the war saying the war was lost and giving aid to the enemy, for the illegal cornhusker bribe--but I don't think he's a racist. Is there a double standard? Absolutely. They kicked Trent Lott's butt for a lot less, and remember the macaca guy--no one even knew what that was so how could it be racist? Harry's just a man of his era--he thinks African Americans are "Negroes" and useful for political purposes as long as they don't leave the Democratic plantation or cause too much trouble. This is just one more crisis for Rahm Emanuel to manage.

Update on why Reid should resign for being a crook, not a racist: "While you passed out Christmas gifts to loved ones, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid passed out Christmas bonuses via the passing of the Senate health care bill -- what I call perpetual pork, gifts that keep on giving, unlike those familiar single hits at the public trough. He initiated a new frontier in pork barrel politics. His corrupt and creative diversions included giving out Medicaid and Medicare credits like another round of pork projects. . . And all the costs haven't even been calculated yet because the bribery isn't over. The House and Senate leaders will hold private negotiations this month to merge the Senate's $871 billion health care bill and the House's $1 trillion bill." Read more from Chuck Norris, If the Price is Right HT Bill L.

Maybe Obama should try some Reagonomics

Lower taxes, smaller government. After dawdling for a year over crises that don't exist, Obama now says he's concerned about jobs. That should have been his number one priority last January, instead he frittered away his popularity going after a notch in his history belt and a bee in his socialist bonnet.

Grace--pass it on

We don't get a lot of snow, but it can close schools and events when we do. This photo is from the OSU Image of the Day page, by B. Tran, of the "Oval," and you can see classes were not closed out by 4" of snow. But Thursday and Friday last week the radio announcements were full of closings.

On Thursday our Lytham Road UALC campus closed at 3 p.m. to allow staff to get an early start. Buff Delcamp, our Celebration Service leader, after cleaning off his own car decided to go over to the school (near our church) where his wife works and clean off her car too--and then a God moment hit him--why not clean off everyone's car? So he did. Spreading a little love and grace. The teachers and staff were surprised and pleased when they made their way to the parking lot and found their windshields, lights and mirrors were ready to go!

One teacher e-mailed his wife and said she was now looking for a way to pass it on.

The attack on Westergaard cows media and academics

"The attack on [Kurt] Westergaard is a textbook application of terror. Even the weapons chosen — an axe for example — contributed to instilling fear. Although Westergaard himself escaped unharmed, every European writer knows that the next victim may not be so lucky. And that next writer may be himself. The Somali also demonstrated the second object lesson of terrorist pedagogy. They reminded the world that they never forget. Salman Rushdie is still on the run. Westergaard will have to be guarded until the day that he dies. There is no statute of limitations on al-Qaeda’s anger. Blasphemy is forever.

And it works. By slow degrees the intellectuals are being cowed into silence. . ." Belmont club

Ralph Nader--Car and Driver Interview

When you buy a new car, after you do the test drive you do a lot of sitting around in offices with plastic plants or showroom floors with shiny monster SUVs while they pile up the papers you need to sign, even when you pay cash the way we did in November when we bought our 2010 Town and Country. I can't just SIT. I have to be reading or writing, so I did both, and took notes on the Car and Driver interview with Ralph Nader in the September 2009 issue. Maybe you're too young to remember, but Ralph Nader was the consumer crank of my generation who got all the press in the 1960s and 70s. Didn't hurt that he was Hollywood handsome, very photogenic and quirky--he actually lived the lifestyle he recommended for others, as I recall. On auto safety, he says history has redeemed him, and the critics in the government, industry and the media now look like fools. Even the horse chariots in Roman times had a padded dash, he said.

"Everything we’ve gotten so far, we should have gotten years ago. And everything we don’t have, we should have gotten years ago. The first generation of auto safety devices are in play now—you know, seatbelts, airbags, padded dash panels, collapsible steering columns, side protection, head restraints, things like that—but there’s a second generation out there. Part of it is made up of upgrading existing standards that came out in 1968 or so, because they get obsolete. So we need to take that first generation and upgrade them—better collapsible steering columns, stronger side protection, airbags that protect you at higher speeds. Then there’s the second generation, of which most people are not aware, like collision-avoidance systems, much more effective vehicle dynamics in terms of handling and braking—all these should have been phased in back in the 1980s and 1990s. All in all, though, over a million lives have been saved."

When asked what he could have done differently, he responded,

"Well, I’d like to have had a different set of presidents."

But he also tosses in the unions with the automakers as blame worthy, and you can look at the current bailouts and payoffs for health care boondoggles and bennies right up to today to see that he is correct.

"Fuel efficiency, that was the real disaster. Anybody could have seen this coming, and the UAW and GM marched up on Capitol Hill and crushed, year after year, any attempt at fuel-efficiency legislation. And that’s why GM went bankrupt. They did it to themselves."

Then he closes with a quote (paraphrased I assume) from Ross Perot.

" He was talking to some senior GM executives in 1986, and he said here’s a company that doesn’t like its dealers, doesn’t like its workers, doesn’t like its customers—you people don’t even like each other!"

That said--and I do believe auto safety is important--it's not more so than some common sense. Lowering the speed limit to 55 in the 1970s not only saved thousands of lives and billions of gallons of fuel, it made driving far more pleasant and allowed much smoother, more pleasant trips. The decade following 1995 when the speed limits went back up (had been 55 mph), studies show an additional 12,500 people died and about 36,500 injured through 2006, even though overall deaths are going down due to safer cars, more seat belt use, and alcohol crack downs. And health care costs? Gracious, even lives that are saved through safety features, if those people are in an accident the costs to the person, the insurance companies, their investors, the court system in litigation and the state and federal tax system while people are out of work, are billions. Better to get the driver and passengers to their location at "fifty five and alive," but no one wants that any more. The death toll in Iraq and Afghanistan of our brightest and best? Not high compared to our highways. We lose 5,000+ teen-agers (16-20) a year on the highways just because we won't raise the legal driving age from 16 to 18! Their passengers are in danger, too--nearly 5,000 teen passengers were killed in 2006.

Where are our priorities! I can only conclude there is no political advantage to either party or lobbyists or the free market or wing-nuts at either end of the political spectrum to save lives through common sense and raising the legal age to drive.

Get in line. . . Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, New York. . .

"Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asked for $6.9 billion in federal funds in his state-budget proposal Friday and warned that state health and welfare programs would be threatened without the emergency help." Link at WSJ

Why are U.S. medical costs high?

Open the newspaper. I've got the Columbus Dispatch in front of me.

1. Cordray opposes Medicaid break for Nebraska. The Cornhusker Kickback made headlines, but this kind of bribery is rampant in all legislation--sometimes it goes to big Pharma, sometimes to the states.

2. Latex paint will no longer be accepted by SWACO (toxic cleanup). I'm sure there were research grants to determine if latex paint leaches into the ground water system, but I'm also sure in 10 years some green non-profit will be filing a lawsuit and we tax payers will be paying to clean it up.

3. Ratus Norvegicus (brown rat) control program has been cut, despite an increase in the income-tax rate to handle these problems. It's below 2%, so no action is needed. Listen up OSU students--clean up your own fast food trash and beer bottles you leave in the streets and alleys. Don't let the rats return to your neighborhood!

4. Blake Haxton's parents are suing for medical negligance the very doctors and hospital who saved their son's life after he developed flesh eating bacteria (not at the hospital) and had to have his legs amputated with less than a 20% chance to live. He's now attending college.

5. An auto accident kills one, injures two, destroys 3 autos. A man stops to help an 18 year old in a ditch and is hit by another driver who lost control and hit them both.

6. Two owners of dogs are sued under dog bite statute. No pictures of a child's face torn apart by a dog and the resulting surgeries, but you can find them on the web. Don't ever, ever say, "Oh, he won't bite." All dogs will bite, given a reason, some of which only they know.

7. EPA grant to make school buses in Olentangy School District more "environmentally friendly." Retrofitted to reduce fine particulate emissions.

8. Central Ohio Technical College is expanding into Pataskala (already has locations in Columbus, Mt. Vernon, Newark and Coshocton)--nursing, lab tech, public safety programs. Health care is a growth industry. Purchased a former banquet hall and remodeled it.

Then turn the page and find. . .

9. A man shot in an SUV (why the auto make is significant, I don't know--I think because SUVs aren't "green" and therefore they contribute to gunshot wounds) but he was declared dead at the hospital.

10. Red Cross Clinics taking blood and H1N1 clinics dispensing vaccines. I've seen the cost figures for UK and Canada--can't find them for the U.S. Frankly, I think vaccines are worth the cost of development and marketing, but this one was definitely confusing and. . . botched. People have become so distrustful there will probably be millions of doses and billions of dollars lost.

11. Joe Montgomery, former OSU running back, is suing OSU over false information in his medical records while he was a player which is now cutting into his disability claim. Ah, more lawyers involved in our "health care" and nary a senator to take a peek.

And that was just one day, and I didn't even read the entire paper--like the obituaries!

Obama Tries to Turn Focus to Jobs, if Other Events Allow

IF OTHER EVENTS ALLOW? (Headline in NYT)

There was zero urgency to tackle health care; zero urgency to raise our taxes with cap and trade; zero urgency to insult the Cambridge police department; zero need to appoint all those czars and tax cheats who were clueless; zero, zero, zero. That's his score for his first year, not a B+ as he thinks. He should have tackled the economy as his number one priority. He was a Senator in a Democratic controlled Congress when unemployment started to rise a bit. It has soared on his watch with his absolutely ineffective "stimulus" and his threats to "fundamentally transform" our country while he's dawdled over the troop surge, played golf more than any other president in recent history, and refused to see terrorism as a necessary war we need to fight with determination and leadership.

"Anita Dunn [the gal who admires Mao so much], until recently Mr. Obama’s communications director, said that when the health care bill was completed, “that will give the administration more space to really communicate to the American people about those things that have been done and that the president continues to push forward on to make the economy work for middle-class families.”"

When Rush Limbaugh announced that he hoped Obama failed, he meant fail in his plan to destroy our economy. However, it looks like he has succeeded in proving Rush wrong--which is hard to do. His most egregious and grandiose plan is working!

Watching the Elvis birthday tribute

Last night I watched/listened to about an hour of the Elvis documentary, Elvis on Tour, on the Turner Classic Movies network which had a marathon and decided that I'd been quite influenced by our local Elvis impersonator, Mike Albert, the Big-E who sings often at Lakeside. By the time Elvis died at 42, I was long past listening to him, and only rarely saw him on TV. But Mike does a great show--the entry, the costumes, the back-up singers, water, scarves, the works, including a great voice--and I've finally learned to like Elvis.

This is from King Creole, HT Invincible Armor. I don't think I've ever seen this one at Lakeside. What's with the swishy limp wrists?



JD Sumner of the Stamps singing "Elvis has Left the Building."

Today's New Word--BRFSS

There are websites devoted to acronyms, but here's one that affects you whether or not you know what it means. "The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is a state-based system of health surveys that collects information on health risk behaviors, preventive health practices, and health care access primarily related to chronic disease and injury. For many states, the BRFSS is the only available source of timely, accurate data on health-related behaviors. Established by the CDC in 1984, more than 350,000 adults are interviewed each year, making the BRFSS the largest telephone health survey in the world. [If you don't have a land line, are you in the game? I'm sure buried in the code book are corrections for that or they'd lose the younger population.] Here's why you should know what it is: States use BRFSS data to identify emerging health problems, establish and track health objectives, and develop and evaluate public health policies and programs. Many states also use BRFSS data to support health-related legislative efforts.

Here's the context. In the December 16 issue of JAMA there was an article about perceived insufficient rest or sleep. I like this section of JAMA because 1) I can usually understand a MMWR report, and 2) if I can't there is a good editorial explanation. This one's a bit tricky--the old double negative. "Insufficient sleep" means "not enough sleep" to me, but the wording is "no days of insufficient sleep or rest." So my brain has to stop and think "no no sleep days." But. . . here's what was interesting.

"Retired persons (43.8%) were most likely to report no days of insufficient rest or sleep in comparison with adults reporting other types of employment status (P = .003). Those with less than a high school diploma or general education development certificate (GED) (37.9%) also were more likely to report no days of insufficient rest or sleep in comparison with those with a high school diploma or GED (33.8%) or with some college or college degree (28.0%). Finally, reports of no days of insufficient rest or sleep were similar among adults of varying marital status, although never married adults (31.6%) were more likely to report no days than members of an unmarried couple (28.4%; P = .005)."

Almost everyone my age that I've ever talked to complains about not sleeping as well as she or he did when younger. But BRFSS data says that's not how it's reported--assuming I'm reading that double negative correctly. Also, could there be a trifecta here? It looks like elderly, less educated old maids sleep better than the rest of us. Is that how you read it?

Friday Family Photo--the Deardorff Sisters

It wasn't too long ago, just yesterday as a matter of fact*, that I found out what happened to Uncle Cornelius' grand daughters, Bessie, Rhea and Carrie. They are the 3 young ladies with X's above their heads in the back row of this photograph. Uncle was the older brother of my Great Grandfather, David. They were born in Adams County, Pennsylvania. David started out for California when he was about 20 to prospect for gold, but settled down to farm instead in Lee County, Illinois, after working in Rockford as a carpenter for awhile. His family was German Baptist Brethren (now Church of the Brethren), and there were a number of that group in the Franklin Grove/Ashton area. For awhile, Cornelius also lived in Lee County. One of Cornelius' daughters married a Sarchett, the other a Deardorff. At some point, the Deardorffs moved to California, and people sitting on my branch of the family tree back in Illinois and Iowa didn't know what became of that branch.

Yesterday I received a packet of information from a 2nd cousin once removed in Iowa from a third cousin once removed in Virginia. She has written an article for a Chinese American history journal, but when I checked the web, I see she'd also added something to the web about the Berean Bible School in Los Angeles, which is where I found this photo. This school was modeled after the Bethany Bible School in Chicago of which my grandfather was a trustee. Both of these schools had very active missions among the Chinese in their respective cities.

*I actually learned about this family in 2004, but hadn't put all the pieces together and had lost the e-mail of the source.

All this fuss over forgiveness

Brit Hume has come under attack for making a suggestion about Tiger Woods spiritual needs.

"He's said to be a Buddhist. I don't think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. So my message to Tiger would be, 'Tiger, turn your faith—turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.'"

I've seen every imaginable lurid and ridiculous comment about his promiscuity, adultery and disease spreading behavior--even a 12 month calendar featuring his mistresses, but leave it to a Christian offering comfort and help to really upset the left. Story here. Oprah is a much bigger name than Hume and she talks up her faith all the time--that warm, fuzzy, new agey stuff--they don't complain about her, nor do her supporters, fans and sponsors.

HT Helen.

Prayer march in Houston for Life

Planned Parenthood is renovating a former bank in Houston, turning it into a 78,000 square foot facility that will include a surgical wing equipped to provide late-term abortions. There will be a prayer march January 18 headed by Lou Engle, founder of the pro-life group The Call to Conscience to protest this expansion by Planned Parenthood which targets minority groups.

Joining Engle at the prayer march will be Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, and Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. Religious leaders expected to attend include Bishop Harry Jackson, senior pastor of Hope Christian Church; Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention; Star Parker, president of the Coalition for Urban Renewal and Education; and Abby Johnson, the former director of a Planned Parenthood clinic. Story at CNS.

Winter in Oklahoma . . . or Iowa or Nebraska

Just about anywhere except central Ohio, where we got 4" last night and the streets are clear. My exercise class didn't meet today because the schools are closed. We meet in a church and it's been 15-50 years since most of us were pregnant, including our leader, my husband.

This poem was seen at Staci's, and she borrowed it from her niece who lives in Iowa.

It's winter in Oklahoma
And the gentle breezes blow,
70 miles per hour
at 25 below!

Oh, how I love Oklahoma
When the snow's up to your butt;
You take a breath of winter air
And your nose is frozen shut.

Yes, the weather here is wonderful,
I guess I'll hang around.
I could never leave Oklahoma,
'Cause I'm frozen to the ground.

It's too late for me, but

when they perfect that fat transfer for facial wrinkles and the back of the hands, I'm in!

The source for the fat [to enlarge breasts] is typically from the thigh, buttocks, or thighs. The fat is usually harvested and prepared in a process right before the fat transfer. The survival rate for the transferred fat cells depends on a number of things. Factors include the method of fat retrieval, the method of fat preparation, and method for depositing the fat cells. Doctors will generally inject more fat cells than what the final desired result will be. This is because a percentage will be naturally reabsorbed by the body.

Recovery time for breast augmentation using fat transfer is much quicker than other forms of breast augmentation. This is because the process is less invasive than the surgery required for saline implants. Results for breast augmentation using fat transfer so far, so good. link

Thursday Thirteen Rerun edition

I originally wrote this in December 2006, about 3 years ago; 13 things I was wondering about. Still haven't answered these important questions, some of which were making small headlines that year.


This is the season of wonder, so I've been wondering, in no particular order, while you've all been fighting the crowds at the mall:

1) Have Catholics advanced spiritually more with the vernacular rather than the unifying language of Latin?

2) Do Lutherans, Methodists and Presbyterians have a better grasp of the gospel with loud rock music?

3) If every household now has 2 or 3 fuel efficient cars, are we really better off, environmentally speaking, than when we had one gas hog that could hold six people comfortably?

4) Has bussing children for 45-60 minutes to and from school ever improved the quality of education or even built friendships and understanding among the races and income groups?

5) How many lawyers will get rich from restaurant operators (passing the costs on to us) trying to figure out compliance with Ohio's new minimum wage law (now part of our constitution) and the anti-smoking bans?

6) What do little children strapped into safety seats in automobiles think about or learn listening to mommy chatter on the cell phone while ignoring them?

7) Do restaurant employees really "lávase las manos" before leaving the restroom?

8) Do baseball caps on guys really hide thinning hair, or do they increase the fallout and make it difficult to give their wives a kiss?

9) Will Nicole Kidman change Keith Urban's drinking behavior or has she made another bad marriage?

10) Will the visual quality and intellectual content of YouTube be a passing fad?

11) Do gun enthusiasts, hunters and collectors really need assault weapons?

12) Did George Clooney really share his bed with Max his 300 lb. pet pig and could this be the real reason he's not married?

13) Does sloppy, loose clothing hide weight gain or does it visually add pounds?

------------
Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others’ comments. It’s easy, and fun!

The husband store

This came from a Chinese-Filipino chat room/forum (I was looking for something else). I think it's old, but oh, so true!

The Husband Store

A store that sells husbands has just opened in New York City, where a woman may go to choose a husband.

Among the instructions at the entrance is a description of how the store operates. You may visit the store ONLY ONCE!

There are six floors and the attributes of the men increase as the shopper ascends the flights. There is, however, a catch.. you may choose any man from a particular floor, or you may choose to go up a floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit the building.

So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband.

On the first floor the sign on the door reads:

Floor 1 - These men have jobs and love the Lord.

The second floor sign reads:

Floor 2 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, and love kids.

The third floor sign reads:

Floor 3 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, and are extremely good-looking.

"Wow," she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going.

She goes to the fourth floor and sign reads:

Floor 4 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are drop-dead good-looking and help with the housework.

"Oh, mercy me!" she exclaims, "I can hardly stand it!"

Still, she goes to the fifth floor and sign reads:

Floor 5 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are drop-dead gorgeous, help with the housework, and have a strong romantic streak.

She is so tempted to stay, but she goes to the sixth floor and the sign reads:

Floor 6 - You are visitor 4,363,012 to this floor. There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please.

Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store. Watch your step as you exit the building, and have a nice day!

Random Dozen from Lazy Daisy

1. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being a cranky-baby-hissy-fitter, how much of a complainer are you? I’m definitely an 8 or a 9. You pick the topic, I’ll complain.

2. When someone else is talking, do you listen, or are you thinking about what you're going to say in response? Not such a good listener. And the harder I concentrate on listening, the worse it gets. I call it a learning disability--auditory dyslexia--sounds better and more PC than interrupting.

3. I just deleted 1062 messages from my email account. Do you have any plans for a clean sweep this month--of anything? After my bruce dot six ended up with several hundred, I cleaned up a few every day and then finally began reusing it. Terrible spam at that account. Now I clean out everyday. The basement storage areas are waiting--last did that 3 years ago.

4. Tell us about your perfume. Was it a gift? What does it remind you of? Do you have a signature scent? Rarely use it because my favorites are no longer made. But do occasionally use Cachet.

5. What is your best organizing tip for the new year? I’m not sure this is organizational, but I did bring the exercycle in from the garage to my office. The garage looks better, and if I work at it, so will I. In the winter it's 10 degrees in the garage and in the summer it's about 90 and I'm at Lakeside!



6. What is your favorite comic strip? I’ve never followed comic strips.

7. Do you sleep with a fluffy or flat pillow? For years I used a down pillow, then discovered if I went to flat and firm, my arm was no longer numb in the morning.

8. What color is your kitchen? Why did you choose that color? Beige, Khaki and cream. I’m a rather dull person, so it suits. I love deep rich colors in others' homes, but don't want to live with them. If I could find this wall paper, I’d do it over. One of the previous owners installed it.

9. What‘s the most interesting bumper sticker you’ve seen? Oh, I love all the liberal ones. They’re so snarky and clever and full of self-righteousness. They make me laugh remembering my past.

10. Do you prefer an expensive writing tool or whatever is lying around? (Are you a Montblanc or a Papermate?) I’m definitely a #2 BIC--have them in all colors and sizes. I carry them with me for my blogging drafts.

11. What chore doesn’t feel like a chore you just enjoy it (at least most of the time)? Writing letters. I’d rather write than pick up the phone. I have most of the letters I wrote to my parents over 40 years, and boy are they a snooze, but I know every slip up and accomplishment I ever made.

12. If your parents often repeated themselves, what is something one of them said more than once? My parents, both of them, were just full of advice, so I come by it naturally. I could count on my father to remind me to put on an apron even when I was 60. Mom always subtly tried to get me to lower the volume (she was deaf when I was growing up) and be more gentle. She was a good example, but apparently that’s not what it takes. Genes matter. But I do usually wear an apron now.

Why the kids got gift cards for Christmas

This is really cute--didn't see it in time for Christmas.



However, they gave us some neat stuff--subscription/memberships, ink cartridges for my printer, a beautiful framed replica of the Declaration of Independence, an itsy-bitsy TV, under the cabinet radio/cd player, hand cream, a right-size skillet, and of course an afternoon of their time, which is always the best gift for anyone.

HT Writers dogs, and Germans

Winter Weddings

Doesn't that sound romantic? This morning at the coffee shop I heard a couple discussing a winter wedding where they sang up near Cleveland the day after New Year's in extreme weather--but it all turned out well. The church was near the hotel where all the other events took place and the men were even able to gather early for the football games. The worst winter wedding I attended was that of Cheri and Donal O'Mathuna, and it was during one of Columbus' freak April blizzards. At one of my other blogs, Lynne is guest blogger and writes about attending our classmate Ebba's wedding during a 24" snow storm in 1964. It looks like Illinois is being socked in again today--our snow is expected a little later today.

Today's new word--Myocardial Infarction

This isn't a new word, but when I see it in print I do slow down--sort of like a "detour ahead" or Big funny words ahead. A myocardial infarction is a heart attack, and ischemia is lack of oxygen to the heart muscle cells, which may have been caused by plaque, a build up of fatty junk, in the arteries which supply the blood to the heart.

Whether or not you listen to Rush Limbaugh, heart attacks (myocardial infarction) have been in the news, either because you heard his confirmation of the excellent care he received from EMTs and at a hospital in Hawaii after experiencing severe chest pain (including aspirin and nitroglycerin tablet before getting to the hospital) or you heard one of the many MSM talkers complaining that he had politicized his emergency by announcing the U.S. has the best health care in the world.



Actually, that's not at all political--although the liberal talkers made it that way. First of all, heart disease is the leading cause of death because our excellent health care and research have pushed it to the top by eliminating so many of the childhood diseases that used to kill or weaken us--scarlet fever, polio, early onset diabetes, measles, etc. Both liberals and conservatives and libertarians should be able to agree that there are many health concerns that only the federal government can tackle--like clean water and air, safe highways, speed limits, and food purity, etc. The political challenge comes in deciding how far can you go in eliminating all risk without destroying people's ability to earn a living so they don't succumb to other health problems--like starvation and freezing for instance.

Secondly, I can't recall ever talking to anyone in the last decade who was rushed to the ER with chest pains who didn't rave about the near miraculous care they received. While Rush was explaining the procedures as he remembered them, a cardiologist from central Illinois called the show (that's called "down state" for those of you not from that area since Chicago overwhelms everything else) and reported that what Rush described was exactly what anyone would receive at his small hospital, regardless of insurance, gender, or celebrity. Rush put his emergency care on his credit card because he's one of the millions of Americans who chooses not to use health insurance, which is his right at this time, but will not be under the new PORK (Pelosi-Obama-Reid-Kennedy) Plan. Liberals continue to quote inaccurate stats--it's not 47 million--and the PORK Plan will not cover all the 10% of our citizens who currently do not have insurance because of choice, neglect to sign up, or being between jobs, or lack of money. Also, no health plan in the world will make Rush exercise more or lose weight or stop smoking cigars--that's the same option we all have regardless of our insurance, lectures from the family doctor, or New Year's Resolutions. He loves his steak, his exercise seems to be limited to golf outings and jaw boning, and he probably doesn't like vegetables. Everyone should know Yo-Yo dieting is unhealthy, but he's a poster child for that method of weight control.

However, he's right about our quality of care. He was treated immediately and didn't need a queue for tests to return when the damage was unrepairable. A free-market economy, whether for heart attacks or building automobiles or publishing on the Internet, is the healthiest way to go for Americans. It is our regulators, unions, creeping socialism in every aspect of life, and our federal bureaucracy that are increasingly plugging up the arteries of our economy with fatty barriers.

BTW, if you google "Myocardial infarction Rush Limbaugh" you get only one hit (now there will be two)--I think it was Money Times (it reports he makes about $50 million a year). You have to use "heart attack" to get all the articles, bizarre comments and smear attacks. That one source linked to over 3,000 that used other language.

Waffly wedded wife

It's good to have a few laughs.

Wrong question, NPR

"The headlines of the past day and a half, no matter how much Democrats would love to spin them, don't look especially good. Sen. Byron Dorgan, Democrat of North Dakota, announces he will retire. Gov. Bill Ritter, Democrat of Colorado, says he won't run again. And now comes the news that Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat who chairs the Senate Banking Committee, declared at noon today that he will pack it in after five terms -- longer than any Connecticut senator in history.

Yesterday afternoon also came the news that Michigan Lt. Gov. John Cherry, the clear Democratic frontrunner to succeed term-limited Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D), withdrew from the race.

And all this comes a week after a freshman Democratic congressman from northern Alabama -- Parker Griffith -- switched to the GOP. It's the first time in history that the district will be represented by a Republican in the House.

What to make of all this?" NPR Political Junkie

Here are my questions. How much are they being paid? What think tank will take them in? Will Reid be next? For whom will they consult? Lobbyists have never been more welcome at the White House. Dodd should be in jail, not in the Senate.

All you have to do is Google, "Dodd Ritter Dorgan"--Cherry and Griffith were by-products.

Atlantic

Air America

Beltway Blips

PrimeBuzz

America Rising

This is better than you'll see in most theaters and Hillbuzz says you better see it quickly because the Obots are coming after it. Hillbuzz also questions the YouTube counter system.

Eating from the pantry

That's the title of today's food blog at the Columbus Dispatch. Occasionally I have to do that, because I don't plan menus, and increasingly have become careless about planning my shopping (I was quite good about planning ahead when I was working). But if there's one diet and budget trick I've learned over the years, it's DO NOT buy in quantity. You need those fresh fruits and vegetables, and you can't expect them to last. Also, every overweight person I know keeps huge stores of food in the house, and always accumulates leftovers, which they use as an excuse to "clean up" (eat). I doubt that it saves much money if you really keep track of prices. The super jumbo size is not always the best buy per ounce or pound. Also, every grocery store has weekly "loss leaders," and even if you avoid coupons the way I do, you can always pick up a good deal with those.

However, on my grocery shopping day, which is usually Monday or Tuesday, I do tend to clean out the tired and poor that have taken up residence in the frig yearning to be free. Monday this week I made sweet potato soup--and I did make it a few weeks ago, but this one was better because I didn't toss in the slightly sharp fresh pineapple that wasn't very fresh anymore. Cooking tip: pineapple is too stringy to go through an old blender that's about 35 years old. So here's the recipe:

1 can (14 oz) of chicken broth
1 medium onion, cut in pieces
1 medium white potato, peeled and cut in pieces
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in pieces
1 small carrot, peeled and cut in pieces (this is just for color in case your sweet potatoes are pale)
Bring to boil, reduce heat. After the veggies are tender scoop them out and run through the blender.
Add about 1 cup of half and half, or can of evaporated milk, or regular milk.

Return to sauce pan and the remaining broth. Just a smidgen of cinnamon really brings out the flavor.

The white potato is for thickening, just as in broccoli soup, but I suppose you could use flour or corn starch.

This soup was very hearty and thick. My husband scraped every bit out of his bowl; served with a bowl of fresh fruit and sugar free brownie for dessert.

And that's another item. Pillsbury reduced-sugar brownie mix didn't sit long in the pantry. In fact, I made it on Monday. I would give it a B+. It's very hard to make low or sugar free favorites taste right (uses Splenda), but this was very close, and served with a little sugar-free vanilla ice cream, "it wasn't half bad," as my grandpa use to say.

Where is the transparency?

Not that we knuckle dragging, AGW skeptics and right wing wackos believed that campaign promised, but since he made it and continues to spout it as though it were actually happening, he should be held to it.

Obama met with Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer in the Oval Office [yesterday] and with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin joining via telephone.

Although they did not share the details of the meeting, Obama and top Democrats are expected to use informal, back-room negotiations to get a final bill without using the conference committee process.

That's because the process opens up the pro-abortion health care bill to more filibuster attempts in the Senate that could see the defeat of the legislation or postponing it long enough that it can't be approved.

The process has come under fire from Republicans and pro-life advocates and even CSPAN got involved in the debate by sending a letter asking to cover the conference committee. Life News

And how about that EPA? Actually it is being very transparent--it's just by-passing our elected members of Congress right out in the open. Maybe that's the kind of transparency he really meant? Just openly by-pass the federal laws? Miniscule regulatory poo-bah Czars have enormous power in all areas of our lives, and it didn't start with the current administration.

Let's give Congress one more chance to show a spine and support Republican state senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts against the Democratic flunky to replace Ted Kennedy. A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in the state finds AG Martha Coakley (huge support from ACORN) ahead of Brown 50% to 41%, but among "certain voters" he's within two points.

Return to sender--Craig Becker, SEIU

Sneaking Health Care through on Christmas Eve and a terrorist plot on Christmas Day weren't the only events we needed to watch. We could've missed this one.

"Amid the health care and debt debates on Dec. 24, the Senate conducted a bit of low-profile but welcome business, sending back to the White House a number of controversial nominees made by President Obama.

Included in the list of too-hot-to-touch nominees is Craig Becker, counsel for the Service Employees International Union nominated to serve on the National Labor Relations Board. Becker has proposed a radical shifting of employee-employer relations to force unionization of workplaces. The National Association of Manufacturers formally opposed his nomination.

Despite Becker’s outside-the-mainstream views, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee confirmed his nomination without even holding a hearing to hear Becker’s testimony. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) subsequently put a hold on Becker’s nomination." Full story.

ACORN'S Ally--WSJ

A radical by the board

Obama owes SEIU and ACORN

Ready for prime time--the Deka arm

You don't need to be a techie or nerd to find this story of wedding engineering, surgery and computers absolutely fascinating. These dollars are well spent! From the Black Anthem web site.

A career with a future--terrorism studies

There was Russian Language and Area Studies, Black Studies, Women's Studies, and now, a Graduate Certificate in Terrorism Studies

"The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) is a U.S. Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence, tasked by the Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate with using state-of-the-art theories, methods, and data from the social and behavioral sciences to improve understanding of the origins, dynamics, and social and psychological impacts of terrorism. START, based at the University of Maryland, College Park, aims to provide timely guidance on how to disrupt terrorist networks, reduce the incidence of terrorism, and enhance the resilience of U.S. society in the face of the terrorist threat."

Isn't it odd that when an American born Muslim, member of the military with an elite education shoots up a military base and kills and wounds many Americans, the administration doesn't get too worked up about it. But when a foreign Muslim doesn't bring down a plane and doesn't kill anyone, the administration eventually goes into high gear. Perhaps it's because both these guys had the same mentor in Yemen, so their age, ethnicity, nationality and careers weren't the defining similarity. I wonder if this certificate program teaches profiling? Nah.

Monday Memories--New Year's 1946

This was the first entry in my mother's Commonplace Book, a little 5 x 7 leather bound 3 ring notebook where she pasted items that interested her. As a young child I would sit for hours and pour through what she had saved.

Her final hand written entry (in the scanned copy) is undated; but it was near the end of her life--perhaps the end of 1999. She died in January 2000. There is no attribution other than her name.

If
Each day we fill a page
The year a volume makes
These last ten books are very full
of joys
changes
sorrow
growth.
Gently place this year on the shelf--
if there is room.
Close the decade.

Cute crafts from a very busy Mom

Lora is a book club friend, an OSU professor of music and mother of two lively boys who need some special help. At her blog she writes, "At the end of the day at our house, if no one has been to the emergency room, Children's Services has not called, my sweater wasn't on inside out at work, and we have eaten something other than poptarts and donuts for at least one meal, I call it good!" I hadn't checked her blog for awhile and see she's taken up the craft of felting--mittens, Christmas stockings, caps, birds, and really fun monsters! Link here.

My retirement blog

My last entry, Nov. 1, was pretty funny. You'd think I'd have more to say--I'm in my 10th year now. My cousin mentioned in her Christmas card that she was retiring as of Jan. 1, 2010, so I think I'll write a "letter blog" to J. on that topic. However, she's been a teacher, and my experience with other retired teachers is that after a month or two, they go into subbing because it's so much fun to do what they love without all the paper work and committees. Norma's Retirement Blog, Growth Industry.

Even if you can't find it. . .

It never goes away in cyberspace.

Two ions are walking down the road. Suddenly, one ion says: "Damn, I think I lost an electron!" The other ion says: "Are you sure?" The first ion turns to the other ion and replies: "Yeah, I'm positive!"

“A recent study done in England discovered that subjects who cursed while in pain could tolerate the pain longer. Experimental subjects inserted their hands in a bucket of very cold ice water and told to curse repeatedly. Results showed that subjects who repeated "f--- U" kept their hands in the cold water longer than subjects repeating non-curse words. Wow, maybe Canadian doctors can now recommend cursing while their clients wait 9 months for treatment for back pain. Can tipsters think of other practical applications of cursing?”

These are two of the topics I came across on the TIPS archive for July 2009, a discussion list for the teaching of psychology that can be searched by thread or date. I’m not sure why lists that require a subscription by people interested in a particular topic, then put their archive online for anyone to see. Most of the topics are serious, but I know that some of the off hand remarks I made on discussion lists back in the early 1990s as a librarian are still out there. That’s scary. I was always the one who didn’t stay on topic.

Can you match my score (100%)

I got all the answers right on the Sleep Quiz. But I did guess on two of them--just because I thought they might be trick questions. About 15 years ago I took one of those sleep diagnosis tests at OSU hospital. Had the best night's sleep of my life even though I was wired to machines. How crazy is that? I think I messed up my sleep pattern--it was during the first Iraq War and I started getting up to watch CNN. Maybe it's a coincidence, but since then I've been waking up about 2 a.m. wondering how long before it's time to get up. After an hour or so I do fall back to sleep. Then the cat gets a hair ball or a snow plow comes by. Also, I just love to nap. That's really bad sleep hygiene, as is evening exercise classes, drinking coffee late in the day, or doing anything interesting after 5 p.m. Your mileage will differ.

Gitmo, Illinois

"During his campaign, Obama maligned President George W. Bush for detaining our enemies, even though they were being held according to the laws of war. Now, Obama has adopted that policy (though for a new facility) and outraged the far Left. “Prolonged imprisonment without trial is exactly the Guantánamo system that the president promised to shut down,” said Shayana Kadidal, a lawyer for the Center for Constitutional Rights.

Preoccupied with building the new detention center, the president has failed to set up legal rules for determining who can be detained. Prisoners facing long-term captivity without trial will inevitably seek to challenge their detention in federal courts, a right that they have under the 2008 Supreme Court decision Boumediene v. Bush. Unfortunately, the Obama administration has neglected to work with Congress to establish evidentiary rules governing these proceedings, such as how to handle classified information, witness testimony, and discovery rights. With so many legal and procedural questions still unanswered, Obama remains determined to use taxpayer dollars to buy and renovate a Gitmo look-alike so that he can claim to have carried out his pledge to close the original facility. This is the price the American public pays when a president makes a hasty promise without knowing if it’s possible to keep it." read the full account, A New Guantanamo by Stephanie Hessler

Ray Stevens on Obamacare

Congress--We the people have awakened to your tricks. About 1.2 million views.

Put some oomph into that New Year's Resolution!

Diet and Exercise are the most common New Year's Resolution. Joining an exercise class was one from my 2009 list that I actually kept, plus I had those wonderful 70 sunrise walks along Lake Erie in the summer when I wasn't in the class. Watch this video on Alzheimer's Disease research for a low key, somewhat dry but informative, pep talk on how oxidative damage may be contributing to brain decrease. It's about 16 minutes, but well worth it.

Sorting, stashing and trashing

We (or more accurately, he) packed up the tree and poinsettias to go back to the garage attic today. I had thought that since it is shedding, this might be the year to pitch it, but he said no, it could go another year.

Today I pulled out the extended-family and friends photo albums and was determined to insert the photos we got for Christmas. Nothing is easy, however. I hadn't done this since 2003. I have two family/sibling albums, mine and my mother's (which I had made for her because she always threw photos into a box). So I also spent time combining those albums into a notebook of ungodly dimensions. It's very painful for me to give up anyone's history or photo, but I just had to make some decisions. We had 13 years of annual photographs for one family (not related), so I selected the oldest and newest and a few in between. The baby in the 1993 card now looks older than her three older sisters. Some album pages were in terrible shape. JoElla, my friend from grade school and my college roommate, kept falling out--or her 3rd grade class photo did--now she's a grandmother and I have those photos too. So I pulled out some double side tape and she's in there for good! I inserted a loose photo of my sister bottle feeding her grandson at my house in 1993 and his photo at 17 with his family. Time warp! I've finally wised up after 50 years and I just write the date on the photo--nothing worse than trying to figure out the date from the shades of hair, the shoulder pads, or lack of hair. The worst part was finding spaces for families that have divorced. Or people who have died. Makes me so sad. Our good friends in 1987 with 2 toddlers and a baby looking so happy, and again in 2000 when the oldest was heading off for college, and now it's all gone. I found the wedding invitation from the early 60s sent to my parents from my cousin--I think I'll send it to his daughter who lives here in Columbus.

Time. It just goes too fast, doesn't it?

Christmas 1965, Champaign, IL

So what does work? The common cold

With three events cancelled this week, we're still slogging through my husband's annual holiday cold, or so it seems. My colds usually last three weeks, his two weeks. "Americans spent about $3.6 billion on over-the-counter cold, cough and throat remedies in 2009 . . . In addition, cold and flu sufferers will spend millions of dollars on prescription antibiotics that have no effect on viral infections." according to a NYT health/money article. And I know that, but was out there helping the profit margin at CVS and Wal-Mart refreshing our supply of dated OTC cold "remedies," none of which seem to work. This time I bought real Claritin because I couldn't find the generic Loratadine that I like, and I bought a different unbrand antihistamine because the one we like wasn't around anywhere. We also used the old faithfuls of more bed rest, chicken broth, and a whole lot of football (which is the only plus for holiday colds). For the first time my husband put Vicks on the soles of his feet instead of his neck--that remedy is going around the internet! The article continues:

"So, what does work? While few, if any, medicines can shorten the duration of a cold, some can help reduce the onerous symptoms of upper respiratory infections. Nasal sprays shrink swollen blood vessels and relieve stuffy noses, though the relief is temporary and you should not use spray for more than three days.

Acetaminophen and ibuprofen can reduce fevers and body aches. Rinsing your nasal passages with a saline solution or breathing steam can help loosen mucous and increase nasal secretions, which can help to prevent a secondary sinus infection. Humidifiers and hot showers also help. Drinking warm liquids like tea has been shown to reduce a variety of cold and flu symptoms.

And don’t forget chicken soup. The age-old remedy, as you’ve no doubt heard, actually does help to reduce the symptoms of the common cold."

So far, I haven't caught his cold, but I'll touch a door handle or table top at the coffee shop that a germy 2 year old's parent recently used and I'll then be down for the count. If that's the worst health problem I experience at my age, I'll be grateful for the cold. (My New Year's resolution is "practice gratitude and appreciation.")

HT Tara Parker Pope of NYT

TLC's One Big Happy Family

Today I clicked into One Big Happy Family, the story of the Coles, who are indeed happy, live in a beautiful home in a nice neighborhood, but are all overweight.

"Each half-hour One Big Happy Family episode will follow the Cole family, which resides in Charlotte, NC and weighs a collective 1,400 ponds between the four of them. Norris, the 41-year-old father who weighs 340 lbs., is a stay-at-home dad while his wife Tameka, a 36-year-old who weighs 380 lbs., is responsible for financially supporting the family while also serving as the disciplinarian for their two children -- 16-year-old Amber, who weighs 348 lbs., and her 14-year-old brother Shayne, who weighs 308 lbs."

Since diet and exercise are usually the #1 New Year's Resolution, it's a good program to watch while surfing for bowl games.

June 1, 2010 update: "The day the doctor said Coles would die, he weighed in at 345 pounds. He's now down to 263. His wife was 380 pounds, and she's at 259 now. His two kids were each in the 330-pound range, and they're down to the 290s.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2010/06/01/2010-06-01_change_your_diet_or_youll_die_so_tlc_family_steers_away_from_fatty_food.html#ixzz0pi4ozho3

$230 million of tobacco settlement diverted

The 10th district Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that Ohio could spend the tobacco prevention money (American Legacy Foundation via The Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation) on an expansion of health care for children. This is part of the lucrative settlement from the 1998 tobacco companies settlement. Between the 1998 Tobacco Settlement and tobacco taxes, Ohio will receive $1.8 billion, but only $7.4 million goes for prevention. Less than the CDC recommends. In my opinion, they might as roll the dollars and smoke them. Tobacco use is up, and I doubt there's hard evidence that educational programs on tobacco prevents smoking or chewing in children; it only educates them about tobacco and its harmful effects. I've been in education all my life, but education does not mean wisdom, or action, or prevention, or right choices. It's just. . . education . . . and the person makes the choices. I don't know a single smoker who doesn't know the facts, dangers, and pitfalls. They know they stink, have yellow fingers and wrinkles, but the pleasure outweighs the negatives and they keep kicking the stop date down the road. Most obese people have more knowledge than some dieticians--they just don't use it. People who talk or text while driving have probably heard dozens of times how dangerous it is--but they don't act on what they know, even if they've seen the accidents or attended the funerals.

Health librarians were salivating when they first got a whiff of this tobacco money back in the 90s. I remember sitting in the meetings wondering what would happen to programming and staff when, 1) the settlement money ran out, or 2) if education were successful and people really did stop smoking, what would happen to the tobacco tax supported programs?

Well, I think adults do smoke less--usually because of a health scare, or the health of a family member, like a child with asthma. But it takes a lot. The other day a woman I know went outside the coffee shop to smoke and slipped on the ice jamming her cigarette into her face. Will she stop smoking? No. Does she not know the dangers? Yes. She'll just be more careful about icy parking lots next time.

New Year's Resolution for 2010

Looking through last year's resolutions, it appears I didn't post them (13) because they were so boring, but instead I blogged about them as they came to mind. I must be the only person in the world who made a resolution to buy a decent floor lamp--#5 on the list. You'll be thrilled to learn that I bought one on Dec. 30, 2009--I would have rejected it in January, but I finally concluded there are no decent floor lamps anymore. I put it in a corner of the living room where I hope no one will notice it, and when I turn it on it reflects on the ceiling and 2 walls, and improves visibility.

I also dusted off a resolution from 2006 to get back to my watercolor, #9 and join Mindy's class. I actually did a few--maybe 10 through the year, and about 70 drawings/sketches. At least I had enough to make it into an art show. I sort of did 11 and 12 which involved cleaning kitchen and bathroom cabinets. I may have been really crazy and did those twice! #13 was to read Dewey, and suggest it to the book group--did that.



And my new word a day--well, that didn't last too long, but I still keep an eye out for words or phrases new to me. Today it was "boom bag raft" (a method to move logs on lakes). The worst day was when I found vaticinated, decoction, phantageusia, ventoseness, noisome, hyposmia, anosmia, retronasal, orthonasal and habromania all in the same book review!

Another 2009 resolution was to read a chapter a day in a 10 volume set of Westminster Pulpit (compiled from sermons of G. Campbell Morgan preached about 100 years ago). I got about half finished then began reading other things and never got back to it.

I did successfully complete #6, which was to join the exercise class at UALC, Lytham Road, 9:15-10:15, M-W-F.

This year's is much simpler. Keep a gratitude journal. Not sure if it will be a blog.

Twelve movies I've never heard of

Apparently, this writer/photo compiler (Matt Pais) thinks someone in each film deserves an Oscar. I wonder if any of these films will come to the dollar theater, which seem to be the only ones I see. Great '09 performances the Oscars will ignore.

Holiday smoochies--not yet

No kisses for Christmas or New Year's yet. They'll have to wait. We cancelled three events this week due to my husband's cold. Maybe next week?

Photo from Christmas 2001.