1704 Tiny transactions for your credit card

On my way to the coffee shop this morning I heard an ad by American Express for using its credit card--saline solution (one cheery voice), pack of gum (another voice), groceries (yet another voice). I was shocked. Couldn't imagine asking people to make such poor credit choices. Then I read in today's Wall Street Journal that credit card companies are in fact going after our loose change. Even parking meters and juke boxes will now accept credit cards. I've never paid a credit card fee--never have had a balance to carry over.

1703 Looking for boomer-bloggers

As you can see from my links, I haven't been terribly successful in linking to the over 50 crowd. I know they are out there--after all, the oldest baby boomer is now 60 and there's a whole bunch more coming up that want to look good for their grandchildren. Some of my over-50 are in other linkages, like Homespun Bloggers, and usually I don't link twice. Some, like Murray, are shy, quiet and soft spoken and rarely post (joke alert). Others, like Eric, are just so busy enjoying retirement/consulting that they only occasionally post. Mr. Cloud, a retired Canadian school teacher, stays very busy and his blog is a popular meeting ground to chat and look at photos, and Bonita always has carefully researched things to offer. Now I've added Randy Kirk, who bless him, has three blogs. He's also a writer and an entrepreneur and a Christian, so he fits well in my links.

1702 Do you buy a book to look good?

Me either. Never do that. I buy so many books I never read, but my intentions are good. The books you see me with in public are the ones I'm actually reading. When I was reading "The purpose driven life" I met many new people. Now, we didn't become fast friends--just conversed awhile in the coffee shop. And when I was reading "Amazing Grace, 366 inspiring hymn stories," people did stop and chat about that one too. When I see people reading books in public I sometimes stand on my head trying to read the spine title.

This is only part of the problem

On the left is religion, theology and Bibles; in the center is family, genealogy, yearbooks, and cookbooks too tall for the kitchen, plus magazines up at the top I want to keep guarded by a little figurine I painted when I was 10 years old; on the right are books about books, about magazines, poetry, literature, reference works and finances. Current fiction is all in another room since I don't read in my office. My antique books (parents' and grandparents' and great grandparents' books) are in the upstairs hall shelves, and my don't-fit anywhere books are in my husband's office because a previous owner built humungous shelves in that room. And then behind those cabinet doors below the shelving are paper supplies and file boxes of old stuff I'll probably never read again but can't give up. I've been writing almost all my life, so you can imagine what came before six blogs.

1701 Ohio's heroine, Erma Bombeck

In case you were hoping to attend the Erma Bombeck Humor Workshop in Dayton next year, sorry, it was sold out after 12 days. In addition to Dave Barry and W. Bruce Cameron, instructors include columnists Mary McCarty of the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News, Susan Reinhardt of The Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times, Craig Wilson of USA Today, Dave Lieber of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and self-syndicators Gordon Kirkland and Jodie Lynn, among others. Tim Bete, a humor columnist, is the director of the workshop.

"The 2006 Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop sold out in 12 days. Three hundred writers from 43 states and Canadian provinces plan to attend. An additional 60 writers are already on the waiting list. We're investigating the possibility of recording some of the workshop sessions and will let you know if we move ahead with it." Newsletter

I wonder if Jinky signed up. For a dog, he's pretty funny.

1700 The debate about blogs

On Fox News this morning (before 6 a.m. so it may have been from yesterday) they are having a debate about Forbes article on blogs.

Here's the funniest line in the article: " "It's not like journalism, where your reputation is ruined if you get something wrong. In the blogosphere people just move on. It's scurrilous," Grantham says." How often does that happen?

I'm guessing we'll see a full court press from the regular media sources about the pitfalls of reading and writing blogs. Especially if blogs pressure them to be honest and report sources, something that should be learned in journalism school. And especially if they start cutting into profits.

1699 Funnel cakes get fatter as you move westward

Sal took her child to Busch Gardens for the final week-end to ride the roller coasters and on the way out they stopped for funnel cake. Her photo was yummy, so I decided to look it up--just to see how bad fair food can be.

The first site I found said, 250 calories, then the next said 320, then 380, and so forth. Finally, I got to the Iowa State Fair and got this bad news--out there it is 800 calories and 40 grams of fat:

“The numbers were astronomical, high enough to turn the stomach of even the most committed fair diner. Everybody’s traditional Iowa State Fair favorite, the “corn dog” – that delectable treat of a hotdog wrapped in cornbread batter and then deep fat fried and eaten on a stick – 700 calories and 40 grams of fat!

The funnel cake, 800 calories and 70 grams of fat. Candy bar on a stick, 800 calories and 40 grams of fat. Nachos with cheese, 900 calories and 35 grams of fat. And, lest anyone be so foolish as to think he could slide by with a turkey drumstick, oh no! That drumstick was reported to have an entire day’s worth of calories at 1,400, not to mention its 60 grams of fat.” Offenburger.com

1698 Columbus blogger calls for Harry Reid to resign

That would be me. The man is unbalanced. I'm demanding Harry Reid stop making the Democrats look silly, and that he step down. The American people---Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians---need someone else to watchdog the Congress.

"The leader of the Senate Democrats today called for White House chief political strategist Karl Rove to resign, saying it's time for President Bush to "come clean" with the American people about the administration's role in the disclosure of a CIA operative's name."

Reid and everyone else in DC knew who Valerie Plame was, so how do we know he didn't tell reporters? I want the investigation expanded to powerful Democrats. This pronouncement is a CYA move because of his war resolution in October 2002. Either that or Harry's memory is so short about how he believed the intelligence reports and supported the war, he might just need nursing care because here's what he signed:

""Whereas members of al Qaida, an organization bearing responsibility for attacks on the United States, its citizens and interests, including the attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, are known to be in Iraq:

"Whereas Iraq continues to aid and harbor other international terroist organizations, including organizations that threaten the lives and safety of United States citizens;

"Whereas the attacks on the United States of September 11, 2001, underscored the gravity of the threat posed by the acquisition of weapons of mass destruction by international terrorist organizations ..."

I'll bet Harry is very, very frightened that this power-house blog has seen through his little plan.

1697 Happy Halloween

For many years after he left home, our son would come back to pass out candy to the neighborhood kids. Where we live now, no one stops by, and there are no children living in our complex. It's a NORC for DINKS.

So in keeping with the season, here's a photo from about 25 years ago of our beautiful children. Would you look at that wallpaper--it was very healthy and educational--full of fruits and vegetables and words. That table is now in my son's house. From the skill and artisanship, I'm guessing their dad, not me, helped with these beauties.

1696 Dr. Sanity and self-esteem in children

She's on the couch for Sigmund, Carl and Alfred, and has this to say about the dumbing down of students, a problem that Bill Gates addresses rather bluntly.

Given your experience in a university setting, in your opinion, do lowered academic standards impact campus life and social development?

What worries me more than the low college academic standards is the “dumbing down” of the K-12 curriculum Having a daughter in school has made me all too aware of the extent to which the “self-esteem” gurus and the priests of multiculturalism and political correctness have infiltrated even the hallowed halls of kindergarten! Students are propagandized from age 5 on these days (OK, so I’m exaggerating a little bit) and this is the place where the primary aspects of social –and intellectual—development should begin to flourish. By the time these kids get to college, they have learned that their self-esteem is everyone else’s concern; that their feelings are primary; and that thinking is for suckers. Such an outlook on life is bound to have an impact on campus life and any further social development. Sadly, for most college students, lowered academic standards are what they feel entitled to, and most university professors aren’t highly motivated to take on the consequences of challenging the system. Besides, many of them like the system; particularly since they can have much more of an influence on students who have been properly discouraged from independent thinking."

Unfortunately, this goes back quite a ways. I remember going to an awards banquet over 20 years ago when my daughter was in junior high. I sat through interminable presentations and realized that my daughter wasn't really being honored--every kid got something, not for excellence or skill, but for effort and showing up. She was already pretty and smart, but I guess they wanted her to be an athlete too.

1695 Escutcheon plate blues

When Mr. Miracle (his real name) installed the handsome replacement faucets and drain in the bath off my office last spring, I noticed that there was always a little pool of water sitting on the drain. Rather than ruin the finish or corrode the marble, I'd mop it up after each use. Finally, I said to architect-husband, "That sink drain is installed incorrectly because there's always about a teaspoon of water that just sits there." That's when I heard about escutcheon plates. That's the trim piece you see around faucets and drains. Actually, he wasn't positive they are called that when trimming out the drain, but that's what he calls them, and he's been supporting us as an architect for all these years and has spec'd many a bathroom. "They've been standardized and now instead of sloping inward, they are raised slightly higher than the drain hole." Another case of early obsolescence I think, because water will eventually discolor or erode the pretty finish on my new escutcheon plate. I Googled this problem (discovering I didn't know how to spell it and neither did about 12 other people), but only found one diagram of an escutcheon plate for a drain, and sure enough, it appeared to be raised. We are overbathroomed in this house, and have three other bathroom sinks, all with escutcheon plates that slope down, but all have lost their finish and are sort of ugly, being rather old. Not that old is ugly, necessarily, but old escutcheon plates, although designed correctly, do show their age.



This photo, which barely shows the escutcheon plate (are we clear now on how to spell this word?) does show another disaster. A few days ago I was blogging away and I heard glass break. I had no glass on my desk, so I got up and looked in the bathroom. I had some hand lotion and cologne bottles sitting on a small glass plate so they didn't get damp from the counter top. If you look closely, you can see the plate split in two, all by itself. I was so upset. This plate is actually a relish dish given to my parents as a wedding gift in 1934. It's probably the only memento I have of that day so important in my family's life. I have a few glass and china objects that were my mother's, but because they married during the Depression years, they really had very few gifts. It always graced the table on holidays, even though it was very small, and Mom gave it to me about 10 years before she died. I didn't cause it to break (seems to have had a weak spot along the line of the etched celery), but I feel I've not been a good steward for something that had a useful life for 70 years.

1694 Why the Federal Government should not usurp the role of the states in disasters

Governor Rick Perry of Texas says the federal government does not need to step in and be a first responder, but it does need to look at its role in relocating the refugees. He reported that almost two months after Katrina, Texas is still looking after 400,000 refugees from Louisiana “left in hotels, shelters, and other places of last resort and 6,000 evacuees with special needs in hospitals and nursing homes with no federal plan in place to help determine what happens to them next.” He believes housing vouchers would be a better plan than spending hundreds of millions of our tax dollars for the government to be a landlord/social worker. I’m guessing that the word “voucher” which brings up the thought that people can make decisions independent of the government, will defeat this idea.

In the same presentation, he points out another area of Homeland Security that the federal government really needs to attend to in order to prevent a disaster, that shouldn’t be left to the states, and that is border security. I had no idea that so many non-Mexicans (OTMs) were entering this country through our border.

“Perry said that an indication of how the federal government will respond to future disasters is how it is currently responding to the ongoing threat of disaster posed by a porous border with Mexico. In the first seven months of this year, the U.S. Border Patrol apprehended 119,000 illegal immigrants who did not originate from Mexico, or "Other Than Mexicans" (OTMs) as they are sometimes called. As a result, federal officials are taking desperate measures, including busing OTMs to inland towns, dropping them off and asking them to return for a detention hearing on their honor.

"Federal officials must significantly re-examine this nonsensical deportation system that depends on the honesty of those who have already broken our laws," Perry said. "Unless the federal government changes course and adequately addresses our border problem, it's only a matter of time until the federal 'catch and release' policy leads to another terrorist attack on our nation."

How would you like to live in one of those inland towns where illegals are being dropped off “on their honor“ to be good?

First Response

1693 Designer Dogs

Ann Viera, the veterinary medicine librarian at University of Tennessee has designed a very nice pet page to answer your animal health care questions at Pet Health. Ann and I used to hang out together at conferences, so I was browsing this nice site and came across an article on designer dogs. I’d heard of cockapoos and yorkipoos, but never Labradoodles. They are sort of cute--maybe cuter than either breed, pure bred. Supposedly the mix combines the intelligence, aloof nature, the delicate frame, and the low-allergy, and non-shedding traits of the poodle with the boisterous exuberance, lovability, and loyalty of a lab. Sometimes hybrids can create health disasters, but this one seems to be working. It takes a long time for a hybrid to become a standard breed, and the Labradoodle isn’t there yet, and is also very pricey--$2,500, if you can find a breeder. And remember, don't buy a dog at a pet store. Put those back yard breeders out of business.

1692 Plame as an undercover book agent

This one was dug up from the archives of Beautiful Atrocities.

1691 It's hard for liberals

to say anything nice about big American corporations like Wal-Mart and McDonald's--easily two of the most successful business giants who started from nothing and have been leaders and innovators in many areas of good business practices. JoHo the blog gives McDonald's the nod for serving Newman's fair traded coffee, but jabs them for cutting down trees for packaging. Then over at The Well-dressed Librarian Wal-Mart is slammed for selling too many books, and influencing the NYT best seller list (can't find a way to link to the specifics, but it is Oct. 28). Go figure!

As I told Matthew, who really is a fashion plate and will gladly tell you how beautiful he is, in his comments:

"Wal-Mart provides millions with the opportunities you don't give a second thought to--clothing, household items, books, fabric, crafts, plumbling dohinkies, etc. in [their] price range.

I can go anywhere I want, and afford what I want, but if there is a Wal-Mart near by, they definitely get my business. Mom-Pop stores have been going under since before the 20th century. The business district in my home town was already gone when Sam Walton was still managing a Ben Franklin store. It was good highways and suburban malls that closed the stores in small towns, not the Waltons.

I would also suggest you take a trip to NW Arkansas and then step over the line into Missouri. Wal-Mart has created a booming economy there (in Arkansas) that has had under a 2% unemployment rate for nearly 20 years. And you should see their libraries. To die for."

Tomeboy, another librarian, has looked into some of the do-gooder consumerism. Take a look.

1690 Library blogs

There are a lot of library blogs out there, as you can see from my links. I'm not really one them--I've been retired 5 years as of Oct. 1, but I really enjoy some of the fresh perspectives, even naivete, and of course, all the tech stuff that I regularly read in their blogs. Even if Walt thinks I'm the only "right-winger," I know I'm not. There are a few conservatives on my list, and others who have to hide out or lose their jobs and promotions. Today I found a new one. I always go to the first entry to find out why people blog.

"There are a lot of library blogs out there. I hope mine isn’t like any of them. It isn’t that I don’t value them; I’m grateful they are out there covering library news, all the sexy new technology and next gen, tattooed, gay, belly dancing librarians perspectives. I am enriched by all this information and all these peoples’ points of view. But honestly, the best part of my job is working at the desk, with the public - all that other stuff is just extra to me."

This librarian is a real softy, and some of her stories about her people are really moving. I haven't read them all, but check her out. I particularly enjoyed this one about Alex Haley.

1689 Fiction with an agenda--Boxer's novel

Barbara Boxer is the sort of pol you love to hate. Whenever she's on TV, I just say a prayer for California. She's come out with "her" first novel, "A time to run." All the Republicans are bad, and all the Democrats are good. I think the fiction part was contributed by her co-author, Mary-Rose Hayes, and the agenda part by Boxer. When is a novel, not a novel? When it is a political poster.

Phrases used in the reviews:
"dull plot"
"political twaddle"
"tedious crawl"
"sex scenes--horses with nostrils flaring"
"a cross between a bad romance novel and a soap opera script"
"Ah, to be a liberal Democrat. The world is so simple. One's soul is so caring. One's mind is so enlightened."

So how do two people collaborate on a novel, one a writer and one a politician. Here's what Beautiful Atrocities said in December.

"Barbara Boxer is soon to be a best-selling 'author'. Her 'literary' agent hooked her up with SF novelist Mary Rose Hayes to 'collaborate' on a novel: "Boxer's provided characters, details & descriptions; the novelist has combined those elements into a story." In other words, Babs' contribution is - her name."

1688 Minnesota Gophers and Ohio State Buckeyes

That's the talk around here as the Buckeyes play in Minnesota today. I'm wondering what these guys talk about when they get together? Like Thanksgiving dinner, maybe. The Buckeye Head Coach, Jim Tressel, has his brother, Dick Tressel as the OSU running backs coach, and he in turn is the father of Minnesota's receivers coach, Luke Tressel. Think of the secrets these guys have to keep. Makes Scooter Libby's job look easy, doesn't it.

There are 17 native Ohioans on Minnesota's roster, and 10 are from central Ohio. OSU only has 11 from central Ohio. Sounds like someone is falling down on the recruiting job. These kids probably used to play on the same high school teams. And it's much colder in Minnesota.

1687 Frankie Coleman's DUI

Our Columbus mayor's wife hit a parked truck one night last week in Bexley (suburb) and was apparently too drunk to know she should refuse a BAC, and tested at .271! According to an article I read, that could mean 10-15 drinks. A sloppy drunk might be .16-.19, a .2 BAC can cause blackouts, gagging and choking to death on vomit, and a .25 BAC means all mental, physical and sensory functions are impaired--the function that tells you your lawyer would not want you to take that test.

It's been distressing to hear her misfortune bandied around the news, especially on the Glenn Beck national show. (He and Mayor Coleman have a "thing.") Beck is a recovering alcoholic and should have a bit more compassion. Mayor Coleman has announced his candidacy for governor. If Mrs. Coleman was even able to walk out of the bar and get behind the wheel with that much alcohol in her system she has built up a resistence over a period of time. Her alcoholism was no secret to people who knew her. What a shame her family and friends haven't had an intervention. Being embarrassed in the press is not nearly as serious as wiping out a carload of people or killing herself, as she could have done. She was way past due for someone to step in and save her. Three days in jail and a week-end in rehab, which is the sentence if she's found guilty, will not be enough to turn this around, but it could be a start to saving her life and the lives of others who share the road with her.

1686 Do you like quilts?

Woof Nanny has posted some photos of the quilt show she attended in September at the San Diego Convention Center. Really spectacular. Interesting architecture too to reflect the city's history near the water.

1685 Last night we discussed the possibility

over dinner that Harriet was a decoy. That Dubya really wanted someone else. I see I wasn’t the only one thinking this way. I thought maybe I was just perverse. I missed this when it was posted on October 3.

“My own prediction: She may not make it to the Supreme Court. Bush may not even intend for her to get there. She may be, rather than the “misdirection,” many expected, an out-and-out decoy, floated to allow both the liberals and the conservatives to blast her out of the water so that Bush can then put up another candidate that both left and right - after having behaved very badly over Miers - will not dare to behave badly over, again.” The Anchoress

Now I certainly can’t claim I knew he’d select her (which Anchoress said), because I’d never heard of her before the nomination, but I know Bush loves to outsmart both his enemies and his friends.