Blah Blah Squared

ABOUT A YEAR AGO I CREATED A BLOG ABOUT DEALING WITH THE RECESSION.....

2009-07-02T17:47:00.000-07:00

Many of the blogs I've created, or pretty much 'one-time' blogs as it pertains to entries. Those blogs give ideas on ways to have family fun without much cost (http://allhappytalk.blogspot.com ). Some blogs were for my family; my mother, for people who wanted to eat a proper diet and lose excess weight, etc. Of course you can click my profile and see the blog names and links. I did one for charity; links to articles and organizations involved with charity. I did one focused on the homeless. The one that I created on handling the rising costs of living and how to reduce and manage those costs is called:

http://rollwiththerecession.blogspot.com

Now, a year later, I'm reading the good news that people have adopted ways of cutting their expenses, and some of those are cutting out the expensive coffee; cutting back on meals eaten out - vacationing 'at home' and finding local points of interest that are either 'free' or low-cost.

Cutting out magazine subscriptions; instead of buying books - reading books on line or at the library.

Cutting out the special added features on cable television such as Home Box Office and Show Time.

Reducing your insurance coverage for only the very necessary coverage and features.

Cutting back on water usage; buying bottled water - putting in cost-effective light bulbs and water-control devices. Keeping your thermostat 'set back' during the winter and reducing air conditioning costs in the summer, but 'tolerating' a little more heat and setting the thermostat a bit higher.

Keeping the blinds lowered in the summer to cut out the heat; opening them in the winter to take advantage of the sunshine.

Buying generic brands in prescriptions; in foods - taking advantage of sales and when shopping for produce, go with what's seasonal.

Shopping only once a week (or less if you've got storage for frozen goods and shelves to hold your dry and canned foods). Not only does cutting down on shopping save you money on gasoline and wear and tear on your car, but you aren't as tempted to pick up items that you don't really need.

Shopping all year for gifts; gifts that will be appreciated, but all too often the prices rise just before the Christmas season. Try to buy after Christmas for the next Christmas - we have storage for those gifts; we can keep them 'free of dust', and ready to give them when that holiday arrives.

Instead of using gift wrap; ribbons - gift bags, buy those reusable bags that are sold at many stores now - most cost $1.00 (the price of a cheap gift bag), and give all the gifts in those bags so nothing is thrown away or wasted.

We removed our land-line telephone; we use just the cellular phone, and we don't waste money on fancy phones - we use our phone 'just to talk on'.

You can share your I-net services and computer with others who don't have access. They can pay you a nominal sum of money to 'go on line', and it reduces your bottom-line cost. Obviously, using the computers at the library is also an option but you often have to wait in line to get access.

Take only the Sunday edition of the newspaper; it usually has a summary of the important news and offers coupons that can be clipped to help with your expenses when you shop.

When you eat out, make it a lunch rather than a dinner - less costly. Order appetizers and 'share' - don't order alcholic beverages; water with lemon will do just fine. Buy your wine and alcohol; enjoy it at home at far less a cost and put in a DVD you haven't looked at in some time - let that be your night out.

Save money on CD's by joining the http://www.playlist.com web-site and get thousands of songs for FREE - listen to them while you're on the computer.

We paid $59.95 for a wireless speaker so we could also hear our chosen music selections in the rest of the house - a lot cheaper than buying CD's that cost $15 for about 12 songs, and right now I have 91 play-lists with over 100 songs on each list, so that's saved us thousands in buying musical CD's.

We also have our money in a Credit Union; safer - less expensive as it pertains to fees that are charged, and we make certain we use our ATM card only where there is not charge for that use.

We keep our long-term savings in CD's that are paying 5.5% interest; we pay twice the amount on our mortgage obligation to pay down the debt sooner.

We buy a whole chicken; make 3 meals for 2 out of it. We don't buy anything pre-made or frozen; we use a convection oven because it takes less energy. We use the microwave efficiently - I can cut up potatoes and 'bake them' in 4 minutes; a lot faster than in the oven!

There are many other ways we live on our fixed income without difficulty - if you want to ask me more about what we do, or have any questions, then write me at kcir114112@cmaaccess.com, and I'll do my best to respond promptly and helpfully.

HEY, I CAN USE MY BLOG AS A 'REMINDER' TOO!

2009-07-01T13:27:00.000-07:00

Today I had an influx of e-mails that 'froze' up my computer. I was right in the middle of looking at a place I'd visited several years ago; one of the prettiest places - Glacier National Park.

I was trying to create a link to share with friends via e-mail, when 'boom' - frozen (like the ice and snow I tracked through at the park). So, since I want to find that link again - here it is; my reminder on how to find it.

If you love to travel as we do, you might like to consider this as a destination one day - it's lovely! In fact all of Montana; Wyoming, Idaho - the Dakotas, are simply beautiful; open - natural, and devoid of the glitz some of the bigger cities have. If you check the link (below), you might find yourself planning a nice vacation away from the heat (during the summer months), and the noise (forget Disney; Epcot - it's a lot less expensive and much more beautiful when you see the animals in the wild; the glory of what nature has given to all of us in this wonderful country - the USA).

http://www.nps.gov/glac/naturescience/index.htm

NOTE TOO: If your e-mails gets fouled up, and you've got a blog you can always post your reminders; e-mails that you plan to send, etc., and once you've rebooted and got your e-mail program working again, then you just go to the blog - copy/paste, and send.

......handy, huh!!!!!

Stop chasing the garbage some bloggers are promoting on Iran....

2009-06-30T23:22:00.000-07:00

There are some opportunistic 'bloggers', who're gaining readership by posting ugly videos; ugly stories about Iran and its election issues.

If you want to read something that is real - true, and from an Iranian who has first-hand knowledge of this dilemma, then go to:

http://www.sidewalklyrics.com and get a real Iranian's viewpoint of her country and its plight! Please visit this 26-year old woman's web-site, and read each and every post; her passion - her truth - her wisdom, has excited and informed me like no other blog or web-site (including MSM) has done.

The http://theragblog.blogspot.com also has garnered intelligent and unbiased reporting from a variety of reliable sources - check their site, and read not only about the issues of Iran, but other significant injusticies that are wide-spread and often fly under the radar of MSM simply because it's not something the general public wants to see on Fox, CNN, NBC, ABC, or CBS.

"Fish" for the truth; we all have to be 'fishers of men' if we want to know the truth!

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/06/30/michael.jackson.drugs/index.html

2009-06-30T23:09:00.000-07:00

If you click this link, read it and realize that not only a famous person like Michael Jackson has been given prescription drugs that could cause death. In my own experience, I nearly died from a 'toxic cocktail' contrived by a pain management doctor. I was given Xanax; Paxil, Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Demerol, and Morphine as part of my treatment following a car accident.

I was given 3 years of steroids that should have been limited to no more than 2 weeks. My body 'blew up' like a balloon; my hair dried - my teeth became brittle - they had to be removed because of the damage of the extensive steroids given to me to help me fight this 'trauma' to my system when I had a brain injury; back injury - pelvic injury; bladder injury, and several deep wounds to my body.

I was a zombie; I had heart difficulties - breathing difficulties, and went through a year of serious withdrawal misery when I found a doctor who told me all of this was not right for me.

I'm not a celebrity, but we know that people like Marilyn Monroe; Elvis Presley, Anna Nichole Smith, Judy Garland and many others have died because of the horrors of being over-medicated by doctors anxious only to make huge sums of money catering to their imediate medical difficulties, rather than seeking a long-term and proper course of treatment.

When a celebrity is worth more dead than they are alive, beware of how their physicians; managers, and greedy family members can be as they ponder the insurance and estate benefits.

Yes we can and yes we do..................

2009-06-26T00:48:00.000-07:00

We missed Johnny Carson; then Ed McMahon died in June of 2009. We loved Farrah, and she died the same day Michael Jackson did. MSM covered MJ, but little was given to Farrah; does one have to sing or make music in order to be 'remembered?

I miss MJ. I miss EMcM. I miss Johnny Carson. I miss all of those who gave us years of joy on the television.

Now I watch few channels; nothing is happy or jovial - nothing appeals to me. We have too much of Fox News with its hateful remarks; CNN who 'rides the rails' - CBS and NBC fail to give the viewing pubilc anything but ordinary programming.

I love C-Span; enjoy the food network, and that's pretty much 'it'....................

We send our best wishes to Michael Jackson as a man with extraordinary talent; persecuted until they drove him to a weakness that required medication.

We love Farrah for her joy; destroyed by cancer as was Ed McMahon.

We realize that pressures and stress are not limited to the down-trodden or poor; they strike all of us as we try to pass through this zone called 'life'.

Logic; courage, and ignoring the MSM as it 'programs us', is key! Stay strong; stay solid in your beliefs and your goals. Don't let the news media drag you down as they focus all too often on death; agony, conflict, and excess drama.

Now watch MSM as it will play out Michael Jackson's tragedies along with endless commentary; while we enjoy seeing him sing and dance, we don't need to hear all about his orphaned children.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if they could consolidate a tribute to all three as a television special - let that be enough, and move on to happier topics? As is so typical, the 'bad news bears' just keep it going...........they never let up!

Lots of opinions about the Iran elections going around........

2009-06-25T15:36:00.001-07:00

When you realize that in 1953 Iran was a democracy, and the U.S. helped it to be over-thrown; aided and endorsed the new shah, one wonders what's going on in this latest Iran issue of 2009.

Looking at their 'revolution' in 1979; protests and problems again in the 1980's, and more trouble in 1999, it's clear that not all of their problems are coming from 'within'. Outside interference and financial aid to continue to put Iran's government in a state of fragile and vulnerable circumstances, makes us realize that much of this has been because of Iran's oil resources and how it fits into the 'scheme' of all countries in the mid-east.

Of all the blogs; web-sites, and MSM news reports I've seen and listened to, I think this is what strikes me most - Israel's interference and financial support to militants and demonstrators who have a real interest in seeing Iran continue with its struggles.

Iran has a right to nuclear energy just as our country utilizes; how can the USA who have 'weapons of mass destruction' continue to challenge other countries and put sanctions on those countries for seeking to build appropriate ways to protect their own land and govern in the way they choose?

Name the hypocrites in all of this, and if you do it alphabetically start with "A" for America, and even as you get through the alphabet, you'll have to add the United States under "U".

I suggest we stay away from focusing on unrest and hot spots that disrupt our personal lives; cause fear and worry, and focus only on those issues that we can help control within our own country where we live.

When Darryl Hannah (sp??) is arrested for her recent protest in this country (along with others), then the only difference is in some countries it's okay to 'kill' the one protesting.

When 4 died in Kent State, it was the American National Guard forces that pulled the triggers.

When others died in the riots in Watts; when Detroit and Cincinnati were 'burned' - people injured and killed, this was no more right than what happened in Iran during the month of June, 2009.

When Dr. Tiller is murdered; when a 9 year old child is killed in a recent raid in Arizona by self-appointed 'militia', let's not fool ourselves in thinking that we don't have just as much unjustice in this country as in many other countries where MSM derides and condems.

Pointing a biased finger sickens me................

Comment Moderation; Profiles Restricted, etc.

2009-06-25T01:01:00.000-07:00

I got an e-mail from a friend in Canada. She was puzzled as to why some people put comment moderation on their blogs. Some use word verification. Some restrict their profiles. All of this puzzled my friend.

For comments: Yes, spammers and computers can complicate things, but of course you can always hit the delete button. Some are comments made that the author of the blog doesn't like, so they 'censor it'. Some restrict because they are either bashful or secretive.

The tougher a blog makes it for me to comment on, the quicker I eliminate it from my rss feed.

Some bloggers see themselves as 'beacons' - they somehow think they're the only ones in the blogosphere that are posting something that no one else is posting. Ah.....what egos they have.

So I wrote Johanna 'not to worry', forget these people most are self-centered, fearful, and egotistical.

In this cyber-world, few will have an 'exclusive', and none of us are saviors or sages - we just blab away; doing our 'blah blah', and very few even give a darn what we've got to say or what our opinions are.

We are but a tiny grain of sand...................

Recently, Johanna broached this same subject again; she got quite a few comments with a multitude of opinions. While she may have added some new posts since that particular discussion, you can read Johanna's posts (and all of them are worth reading I think) at:

http://amajorityoftwo.blogspot.com

Now that we're on vacation, you'd think I'd be outside, right?

2009-06-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

Well I was awake until 5:10 this morning; we left for the Grand Canyon at 6:30 a.m., so very little sleep. I'd expected to have a great 'beginning' to the vacation, but we hit some rain and are now 'inside' instead of outside enjoying the weather that we thought would be beautiful (beautiful as to people; not to ducks who love the rain).

Part of the reason I was up all night was I tuned into the C-Span televised hearings about the health-care industry; the mafia-like insurance CEO's as they tried to explain why everyone has to get into the 'mandated insurance pool', or they simply aren't going to be able to give we Americans decent health coverage at a price we can afford.

As they were questioned, one of the panel members asked the CEO about the meanings of certain questions on their own company's application form, and the CEO could NOT even answer those questions himself. Listening to him fumble; mutter, and look as if a death sentence had been handed to him, I nearly jumped out of bed as I realized just how many 'crooks' there really are in this country.

When I say 'crooks', do I mean vultures??? I don't know, but our nation simply has been submerged in 'fees, taxes, and fines'. Do we stop to think about the sales tax when we buy something? Do we think about the various fees added to our utility or phone bill? Do we realize the number of taxes added to cigarette purchases or gasoline purchases - heck, even when we buy a bottle of wine or a decanter of vodka?

We insure against theft from our home; the destruction and damage of our home - our car; we have to carry liability against other parties suing us should they fall in our home, or we bang into their car. We have been paying 'protection money' just as businesses and individuals paid the mafia 'protection money'.

Remember the signs that had to be placed on each house showing that they were paying insurance to cover their home should it catch fire? If the fire brigade showed up and the sign wasn't on the door, the house burned! Remember how long ago that was? Did we realize that this type of thing was only the tip of the iceberg as it tipped our nation toward becoming a nation of fearful citizens living under the governing hand of insurance companies; loan companies, manipulative huge corporations with rules and regulations as well as our own government who has become nothing but a band of war-mongers and terrorists under the name of liberty.

We have a 2-party system that winds up wiping each other's backs and hands as they 'pretend' to carry out democracy in some type of 'free choice' election. It's not an election when it's only a 'this or that' one can choose from. We've got 56 kinds of cereals to choose from on the store's shelves and only 2 parties who can drum up the huge sums of money it takes to campaign for office, and win.

Television is sickening; it's programming our people with its programs. It's a landscape of commercials and images that are not realistic - not even those miserable reality shows come close.

The news always opens with the most horrible and terrifying stories - it might slip in one or two bits of 'good news', but you'll have to wait until they put you through the horrors of the day, so you're sick to your stomach, as they've decided to keep us under 'control', with continued 'fear and worry'.

I could really make this much longer, but it sickens me to write this - it makes me ill as I read through a myriad of blogger posts, that underscore in much more detail, what I'm saying. If these many people can see and know the truth, I'm only encouraged that if the time comes for open revolt and initiating 'real change' (and change for the better), they will leave their computers, and hit the streets in protest and take the action that is so sorely needed.

I see this beautiful country; the trees and mountains around me, and as it rains with the cool water we all cherish so much and tend to take for granted. While we might be able to rely upon Mother Nature a good deal of the time, even she might be throwing the towel as the planet tries to bear the burden of our carelessness and abuse.

I remember reading, 'ye shall know the truth and truth shall set you free' - not true, knowing it doesn't set you free, doing something about adhering to the truth and bringing harmony and equality to every person on the earth, is what sets us all free.

As an addendum: I read through rss feed, http://therudepundit.blogspot.com every day. He doesn't allow for comments on his blog, but I just can't say how much I enjoy the way he tackles the political issues with such candor; humor, and sometimes rather 'crude and rude' expressions. Nevertheless, if you can get past some of his foul language, do yourself a favor, and visit his blog. He addresses the issue of health-care today, just as I did..........

GO WINGS!!!!

2009-05-31T20:08:00.000-07:00

The Wings won the Western Conference again this year; now we're into the play-offs with a 2 out of 7 game win against the Penquins!!!!

Another 'back-to-back' Stanley Cup for us again???? I hope so!!! We'll know by the end of the first week in June! I'm anxious to order my new shirts and hat that says 'back to back' just like we did 10 years ago!

I confess...........

2009-05-20T21:55:00.000-07:00

I'm an Adam Lambert fan; I think Susan Boyle belongs singing in her favorite church choir and for special events. Adam is the equivalent of Ted Neeley.....when I like it loud, I want it loud - when I want it soft, I go to:

http://www.playlist.com/playlist/16302148619

Good morning to Pempe!

2009-05-18T12:08:00.000-07:00

I have to say good morning to my dearest friend in the Philippines - Carlos! He said he couldn't figure out what blog to follow because I have so many.

I told him the reasons why - I simply don't clutter my blogs with all kinds of different topics - I prefer to separate them so anyone who visits a particular blog will get only what they want to read - nothing 'mixed in'.

Like I separate my food on my plate, I separate my subject-matter and thoughts when I post.

On this blog, you'll get 'scrambled eggs' - a mixture of remarks, but most of all this will just be what one could call 'chit-chat'.

Today, it's a wonderful welcome to Carlos and what a marvelous young man I think he is.

Carlos enjoys many things in life; he's great at his job, and he loves to take photographs. He does kick-boxing; is learning to shoot a gun, and loves his family so very much!

He is a joyous individual and I'm glad we share the same birthdays on November 26 of each year.

Today is Carlos' Day - with my love to you, I'll sign it with the nick-name you gave me! Lady Di.

TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES..........

2009-05-17T20:21:00.000-07:00

Cliff Robertson is hitch-hiking to Mesquite. Has a great 1949 Hudson like my dad's - pulled over for a bad exhaust............

Ida Lupino plays a harried woman who won't dance with her son or husband.

Movies like this were made in the 1970's; get a clue from the distress and stress of life before automobiles.

Crazy west - shooting; fighting - gunning people down and we think things are goofy in 2009!

Matt Dillion had his problems; 'To Catch a Thief' was a popular program, and Hogan's Heroes made fun of the Nazi camps!

Today, most of those stars are dead; what were they trying to tell us??? I think they were reminding us that things we just as rugged back in the 1800's as they are in the 21st centurey!

My how I loved the show "I Love Lucy". Lucille Ball was a wonderful lady committed to comedy and joy. She allowed women to see the funny side of their mistakes, and I'm sure many men nodded in agreement that 'that's my wife', as they also learned to see the hilarity in the errors of women's ways, rather than getting angry.

My hat is off to Red Skelton - The Nelson family tried to show us family values and today 'Oppie' (or Oppy) makes block-busting movies to take your money; over-charge you for pop-corn and sweet corn still is sweet to those of us who grow it; cook it, and love it with sweet butter....

We should count the blessings of living in the USA instead of cursing everything and thinking someone is conspiring to do us simple folk in. We should also remember that life in any country is never without trauma, violence and dispute - that is the nature of the human when they gather in large masses and try to maintain a society where each wants a piece of the pie and some just want a bigger and better piece!

I'm not a gabber, and rarely post on my blogs lately............

2009-05-16T15:05:00.001-07:00

A friend of mine said he didn't know why I didn't write my daily journal like he does on his blog. I guess we all have a purpose for blogging; mine is for sharing ideas and once in a while a thought or two.

Today I read a cute couple of jokes. One was about how you could tell an extroverted engineer from an introverted one. When he talks to you he looks at YOUR SHOES, not his! Another was about an engineer who sees a good looking girl on a bike; she stops - takes all her clothes off, and tells the engineer he can have anything he wants. He decides on the bike because he knows her clothes won't fit him!!!

On a personal front, I get my teeth extracted May 21 so I'm anxious to have a new set of chompers and a brighter smile. That will seems good!

In June of 2009 we will make our regular 3 month trip to the Grand Canyon to escape the heat. When we get home, the pool will be nice and warm to swim in and then we can plan for the holidays!!!!

In the spring of 2010, we'll take a long trip 'cross country to visit my mother; spend a few months with her and pick up a new car from my son's dealership. My grandson (Justin) will graduate in June of 2010, and we'll give him our older car; lots of good miles on it, and then his dad can afford the insurance because it won't be so expensive.

A lot of people are talking about the recession; economy, issues that still bother them that were bound to become a problem when a country gets as old and as big as ours. I trust ultimately things will work themselves out - we're not self-destructive, and I think the human being is still 'humane' enough to care about his fellow-citizen.

I'm going to continue to be optimistic, and hope others will shut off the bad news and start focusing on the good things in their lives - it's the best way to keep the din and noise from those who would try to turn us against our country and instill fear.

Nuf said for today............

Gad, Google keeps trying to sell me on 'creating a blog'....

2009-01-01T17:58:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of my great, great, great uncle - Ralph Waldo Emerson

I keep having so much trouble posting on my Google blogs. Strange, I get this invitation to create one; then it asks for my e-mail and pass-word. Ironically, then the little box reads: 'remember me' (the title of the song you're hearing). I keep telling Google to remember me, but it doesn't seem to listen.

I spent this year re-reading Walden; Walden Two, The Prophet, The Essential Ghandi, and other books that I cherish.

I also enjoyed the books by B.F. Skinner - didn't always agree with him, but he certainly was fascinating.

I figured I'd use the profile I found on Wikipedia to make this post regarding Skinner; some of his ideas will probably be more appealing in the future as it seems society has taken a major 'jump' toward indifference and shed many of its traditions and concepts that have been regarded for hundreds of years.

Is it a time of change that would have taken place regardless of what our past president did? Was that change taking place ever so slowly; sort of like coming home from school as mom's cookies are in the last 2 minutes of baking before they're done? Mom had to start those cookies earlier in the day - how long did she wait until she put them in to bake; did she time it so we could smell them finishing up as we got home from school? We don't know the intentions of nature; we really don't grasp just how much is really being controlled by something we know little or nothing about, and how much is within our control but we simply don't see it.

Not believing in the traditional concepts of any religion, I can only trust my nose that could smell those cookies; with that, how about this summary of B. F. Skinner - seems he took control of many things not all of us think about.

Happy New Year again! Diane

A Technology of Behavior
In this chapter Skinner argues that a technology of behavior is possible and that it can be used to help solve currently pressing human issues such as over-population and warfare.
"Almost all major problems involve human behavior, and they cannot be solved by physical and biological technology alone. What is needed is a technology of human behavior."[2]

[edit] Freedom
In this chapter Skinner argues for a more precise definition of freedom, one that allows for his conception of determinism (action that is free from certain kinds of control), and speaks to the conventional notion of freedom. Skinner argues against "autonomous man".[3]
Skinner notes that the forces of Freedom and Dignity have led to many positive advances in the human condition, but may now be hindering the advance of a technology of human behavior. "[the literature of freedom and dignity] has been successful in reducing the aversive stimuli used in intentional control, but it has made the mistake of defining freedom in terms of states of mind or feelings..."[4]

[edit] Dignity
Dignity is the process by which people are given credit for their actions[5], or alternatively punished for them under the notion of responsibility. Skinner's analysis rejects both as "dignity" - a false notion of inner causality which removes both credit for action and blame for misdeeds. "...the achievements for which a person himself is to be given credit seem to approach zero..."[6]
Skinner notes that credit is typically a function of the conspicuousness of control. We give less or no credit, or blame, to those who are overtly coached, compelled, prompted or otherwise not appearing to be producing actions spontaneously.

[edit] Punishment
Skinner saw punishment as the logical consequence of an unscientific analysis of behavior as well as the tradition of "freedom and dignity". Since individuals are seen to be making choices they are then able to be punished for those choices. Since Skinner argued against free will he therefore argued against punishment which he saw to be ineffective in controlling behavior.

[edit] Alternatives to Punishment
Skinner notes that the previous solutions to punishment are often not very useful and may create additional problems. Permissiveness, the metaphor of mid-wifery (or maieutics), "guidance", a dependence on things, "changing minds", all contain either problems or faulty assumptions about what is going on.[7]
Skinner argues that this mis-understanding of control championed by the defenders of freedom and dignity "encourage[s] the misuse of controlling practices and block progress towards a more effective technology of behavior."[8]

[edit] Values
Skinner notes a 'prescientific' view of man allows for personal achievement. The 'scientific view' moves human action to be explained by species evolution and environmental history [9]
Skinner speaks to feelings about what is right, as well as popular notions of "good". Skinner translates popular words and phrases around value issues into his view of contingencies of reinforcement. Skinner notes that even if the technology of behavior produces "goods" to improve human life, they expose environmental control which is offensive to the "freedom and dignity" perspective.[10]

[edit] The Evolution of a Culture
Skinner suggests that cultural evolution is a way to describe the aggregate of (operant) behavior. A culture is a collection of behavior, or practices [11]
Skinner addresses "Social Darwinism" and argues that as a justification of the subordination of other nations or of war competition with others is a small part of natural selection. A much more important part is competition with the physical environment itself [12]. Skinner relates the idea of cultural evolution back to the question of values: whose values are to survive?

[edit] The Design of a Culture
Skinner notes that cultural design is not new, but is already existing and on-going.[13]. Skinner notes that most discussions of current problems are dominated by metaphors, concerns for feelings and states of mind which do not illuminate possible solutions.[14]. Skinner notes that 'behavior modification' is ethically neutral [15]
Skinner notes that Utopian speculations, like his novel Walden Two is a kind of cultural engineering.[16]. He then devotes much of the rest of this chapter to addressing the criticisms and complaints against cultural engineering.

[edit] What is Man?
Skinner again addresses the notion of the individual, and discusses how aspects of a person's character could be assigned to environmental factors. [17]. He also covers cognition, problem solving, self-control and counters some arguments or possible misconceptions. Skinner notes that his analysis does not "leave an empty organism"[18]. Skinner addresses the issue of mechanical models of human action, which are better addressed elsewhere [19]. Skinner notes that, "The evolution of a culture is a gigantic effort in self-control." and ends with, "A scientific view of man offers exciting possibilities. We have not yet seen what man can make of man."

[edit] Walden Two
Beyond Freedom and Dignity is consistent with Walden Two, an earlier novel in which Skinner depicted a utopian community based on his ideas regarding behavior modification. In Beyond Freedom and Dignity Skinner extends his argument for explicit cultural engineering of which Walden Two may be seen as an example.

[edit] Criticisms
Linguist Noam Chomsky wrote influential works attacking Skinner's methods and conclusions[20]. Chomsky devoted much of the essay "The Case Against B.F. Skinner" to attacking 'Beyond Freedom and Dignity' as well as more general attacks on behaviorism and empiricism [21]

[edit] Quotations

[edit] People are not free
"In the traditional view, a person is free. He is autonomous in the sense that his behavior is uncaused. He can therefore be held responsible for what he does and justly punished if he offends. That view, together with its associated practices, must be re-examined when a scientific analysis reveals unsuspected controlling relations between behavior and environment."[22]

[edit] People are bodies displaying repertoires of behavior
"The picture which emerges from a scientific analysis is not of a body with a person inside, but of a body which is a person in the sense that it displays a complex repertoire of behavior. . . . What is being abolished is autonomous man — the inner man, the homunculus, the possessing demon, the man defended by the literatures of freedom and dignity. His abolition has long been overdue. . . . Science does not dehumanize man, it de-homunculizes him."[23]

HAPPY NEW YEAR...ALMOST!

2008-12-29T18:54:00.000-08:00

This year I'll be writing more e-mails; spending more time away from the computer, and traveling about the state grabbing some great photographs!

It's been a great year - loved making up my 'blogs', and have put enough on all of them to feel they can roam around in cyber-space without my having to update them all that often.

My family is healthy; happy, and working with the tough economic times in a way that makes me proud! We've all pulled together in those difficult years of the past - we'll continue to do the same in the years to come.

Thanks to all of you who e-mail me and have made my 2008 such a joy.

Diane

Boy, today it was 'up and down' - sad news; some happy, and thought I'd leave this idea before we leave for the holidays.

2008-11-28T17:28:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of my great grand-daughter on June 23, 2008. She lost her grandmother Jean (who died of lung cancer); this picture was taken as she was handing a rose up to 'Nanna Jean' because the family had told her "...Nanna has gone up to the sky to be with the angels..."

So, Isabella - like all children who ask no questions; who believe everything we tell them, tried to hand the flower up to her grandmother who she figured would just reach down and take it from her.

Don't we all wish we could have not only the child-like belief, but be as healthy and safe as little 'Bella' is?

Surely we think of those who didn't celebrate Thanksgiving with a full plate of delicious food; a loving family, and a home and soft bed to snuggle down in yesterday.

For me, it brought many thoughts about the needs of billions around the world; the real chance each of us can take to help out, and the sad reality that many of us are just too selfish and self-centered to really do what we can to help someone in real need - who is really suffering!

The greed and hurry of a mass of Wal-Mart shoppers caused the death of an employee; another woman to miscarry her unborn child - no 'new babe' for her, just pain and grief.

One of my son's lives where two men were shot and killed in a Toys-R-Us today; many mothers, dads, and youngsters were put 'at risk'.

Over the years, one of my traditions was to 'eliminate' Santa from the dialog when my children were very tiny. I figured if I had to tell my children that while I loved them so much but couldn't afford a Christmas gift', I'd rather they never thought Santa didn't love them enough (or abandoned them). So, my children came to believe in ME; in that belief, Christmas also was expanded to not just celebrate the birth of a marvelous young baby boy, but to know how to provide gifts not to 'our family', but to those who were poor; homeless, disabled or ill.

I'm grateful I decided to take this course of action with my own children because there has never been a 'sad Christmas' because mom or dad couldn't come up with enough money to put piles of 'gifts' under the tree for them to share. My children learned that Christmas is a 'spirit'; a feeling inside, and a GIVING NATURE that is year-round and ever-constant.

Now that I have grown grand-children; a few grand-kids still under the age of 18, and 2 great grand-children who are tiny and adorable, I'm glad there has been a similar effort made by my children to 'teach' the real meaning of Christmas; Thanksgiving - GIVING OF LOVE, TIME, ASSISTANCE, and it's all about 'giving of one's self' - gifts have become secondary or non-existent.

When I do shop for gifts, the first thing I do is buy ONLY AMERICAN MADE PRODUCTS. Part of that 'buying' process is going to bazaars; to the Indian reservation and to local businesses where the talent and efforts of 'our neighbor' manifest themselves into gifts for our family and friends.

The next thing I've suggested is to do what we now call: BYOG. Bring Your Own Gift. We all share the cost of the meal; we all help make the holiday dinner, and then to make sure that EACH CAN AFFORD THE GIFT UNDER THE TREE, we BUY IT WITH THE MONEY WE HAVE - it is for OUR SELF; we WRAP IT, and everyone gets to open a present and share 'the moment'. Nice thing too - no one has to stand in line to return the gift; no shirt is too big or too small, and EVERYONE LOVES WHAT THEY GOT!

I also suggest NOT BUYING GIFT CARDS. This restricts the recipient to 'shopping at a certain place'. If you can shell out the money for a gift card, you can 'shell out the money for a personal check'. If you have to put a gift card ON YOUR CREDIT CARD, then you did NOT save throughout the year, for the holiday. When I say SAVE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, I mean just that.

Since 1960, I've set up first a 'tea-pot' fund; then as it grew, a savings account that is ONLY FOR GIFTS. The account earns a small amount of interest; I would put in a weekly deposit (or monthly depending upon how/when I was paid). By early November I had 90% of the money I needed 'on hand', to start buying gifts. I keep a 'gift closet' - throughout the year when I find items that I know will be loved and appreciated, I buy them right then and there (on sale or NOT on sale). I never experience a 'huge and sudden expense'; I use any credit card for SALE ITEMS ONLY. The items on sale (if for a gift) have to be American made; I want the revenue and sales tax to STAY IN MY COUNTRY that I love so much.

If you don't want to 'set limits' to giving gifts, then do the BYOG idea - you automatically 'set the limit on your own gift and purchase'; it's a perfect way to handle this issue.

If you want to do a 'stocking stuffer' gift, then define what 'stocking stuffer' means (most assume it means a low-cost gift). To me, it means memories of those times when some of my sisters couldn't even afford a 'low-cost' gift. One creative sister of mine set a big brown bag under the tree; each of us got one, and we opened it up to find a 4-pack of TOILET TISSUE! She laughed; told us since we were all 'full of poop', it was a gift she knew we could certainly use. The HUMOR was worth the moment; back then the price for a 4-pack of toilet tissue was 19 cents!!! How's that for 'clever'!!!

Making your own cards; inside those cards, offering to GIVE OF YOUR TIME AND RESOURCE has a constant and loving VALUE - get creative that way.

I took an old photograph of my mother's farm-home; had that photograph turned into first class STAMPS, and it helped my mother with the cost of mailing/postage, and she also 'stuck them' in her scrapbook; a photo' album, and put a couple on tiny magnets to keep on her refrigerator.

If you're really short of cash, take the time to CLIP COUPONS not only for yourself, BUT CREATE A COUPON COLLECTION to some of those on your list. Put those coupons inside GREETING CARDS (you make them or buy one for $1.00 at the Dollar Tree), and you've saved that person the time of trying to find those coupons. From the I-net, you can often PRINT COUPONS - again, do this and use them in place of 'gift cards'.....

Go through your collection of 'cherished things' (and I have so many); pick out that collector book you have had for years - make it a gift to a 'reader' who will now love it. Make a clever card that reads: 'USED, NOT ABUSED'....and inside write a small note about why you now want to part with it.

This year all gifts were packed inside the SIMPLY GREEN tote bags from J. C. Penny's. They are beige and green, so I only had to add RED tags to make them bright and cheerful. I wrote a little poem about NOT WASTING PAPER; or KILLING TREES to make up expensive 'gift bags', and the fact we should reuse the gift tote for shopping items or storing things in our closet (there are other uses for them, but these two come to mind immediately).

Remember, it's not about the huge amounts of food and drink that are the reason we celebrate. It's not about the number of gifts and how much was spent on each one. Consider the food and gifts as 'tokens' that can be used if it doesn't create hardship on the part of those you invite to your home, or to those who are part of your family and friends' network.

Then if you really want to channel the $$$ in a way that can't be 'topped', get down to the nearest charity; 'adopt' a few families where you can buy for (as I do), and pick a date and time to deliver the gifts and food YOURSELF - that's when you realize THERE REALLY IS A SANTA CLAUS!

Okay, that's it for today - I probably won't post until after 2009 (unless something comes up that I think might be helpful to share before we leave to visit our family and friends who live many miles from where we live). So, have a wonderful 'finish' to 2008; a great 2009, and let's avoid being critical of our new president-elect who (right now) has no 'say' in anything that's happening in our country, and let's give him a COUPLE YEARS to repair and start the CHANGE that we need - what was done to our country was done over a series of YEARS by political leaders who were selfish; militant, and certainly not putting the interest and well-being of the average American (and I mean ALL AMERICANS) at the top of their list of things to address and resolve those issues and the plight of those who have little or no voice, because of the 'din' in the White House - the 'noise of corruption and the result of money doing the talking'......

As my grandmother said: "Beauty is as beauty does", and of course 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder', so figure out what is beautiful to you; become that, and appreciate it in others.

Happy 2009. Diane

READ THIS TRUE STORY - BE GRATEFUL AND THANKFUL..........

2008-11-19T23:13:00.000-08:00

Elegance? Majesty? Not all of her skin color have enjoyed such comfort...

Forget the word 'opulence' and think of the word 'oppressed'; even more, think of the word abused when you read this post. Diane

I remember when this story hit our local news channel - use GOOGLE to locate more on this, and give anything you can to help this young child who will turn 4 on December 16, 2008.

If you think your troubles are difficult, this is the story I've been following since it happened in October at our local Wal-Mart store:

'BEATEN BOY HUNG BY PANTS ON DOOR INSIDE CLOSET"
Dave Hawkins, THE STANDARD, Bullhead City, AZ

After 3 open-heart surgeries and horrific abuse that has made child-hood difficult for Jonathon Hadsall, this Bullhead City boy turns FOUR YEARS OLD on December 16 and will spend neither his birthday or Christmas with his mother.

The badly battered boy was placed in the care of the Children Protective Service agency following the October 1 arrest of his mother and her room-mates. Each of the 3 are charged with child abuse in a criminal case that was developed from a shopping outing at Wal-Mart in Bullhead City, Arizona (which is about 18 miles from where we live).

Robin Hall called police after spotting the near lifeless Jonathon in a shopping cart inside the store. The child was pale; blood-shot eyes - eyes sunk into his head; his cheeks also sunken in with blood dried upon his lips.

Johnathon had bruises all over his face, neck, head, arms, and legs. He had marks around his wrists from being tied up and hung from a door inside a closet in his home.

I'd like to finish the article but I'm sick to my stomach right now; crying so hard, and I don't think anyone needs to read further about this young boy's suffering.

To conclude this, the young child was worth $637/month because he was on disability and had had THREE OPEN-HEART surgeries to save his life in his short life. The only reason they were keeping the boy was the monthly income check that helped pay for their 'dope'; their addiction was being satisfied (in part) by the disability check little Jonathon was entitled to receive because of his heart issues and the fact he is considered to be a 'near-terminal' tiny boy.

If we can't think of one thing to be thankful for in our own lives, we can be thankful little Jon is now in the care of child services; locally both our town and other towns have given donations to his care and we wish him a long and happy life; all of us are committed to seeing this tiny babe grow strong and hopefully never remember the horrors of his first 4 years on this earth

CINCY AND BRITTANY IN 1994 WHEN CINCY WAS JUST A BABE - BEFORE SHE LEARNED HOW TO 'DANCE ON THE PIANO KEYS'........

2008-11-18T19:24:00.000-08:00

I was 5 years old when my mom said she loved the song KITTEN ON THE KEYS. Within a few weeks, my black cat started 'dancing' on the piano keys - I was almost 6. I loved it! I was 8 years old when my mother said I could have piano lessons.

My teacher (Ethel Roe) was a concert pianist; she was brilliant, but her husband contracted tuberculosis within a few years of her career, so she stopped playing/touring, and became a teacher!

We lived in a small town of less than 550 people. Ethel came to your home; she taught - she charged $1.00 for a half an hour, and she took care of her beloved husband (Floyd) who was ill with T.B. She told me I was a 'prodigy', and I had no idea what that meant.

Ethel came to my home from 1950 until late in 1951; I learned SO MUCH FROM HER, I won state competitions, and was a piano teacher by age 14!!! This is the legacy; the power, and the love of Ethel Roe; a student - a graduate of the Juliard School of Music in New York who loved her husband more than any career she could have had.

I loved this woman; I tried to adopt her beliefs, and over the years I taught many many students who to this day, write to me of their love for me; my dedication to them and praise me for what I taught them! Me??? No - it was Ethel's spirit; a woman of incredible strength and belief.

In 1967 I was living in New York; I heard Ethel was ill - I bought a beautiful Bible beccause Ethel has such a belief in God, and I made sure she got it and a recorded tape of my most recent music. I told Ethel I was singing in the North Country Music Society (which I was). I told her about my playing 'lead piano' in the society. I told her how much she'd given me; how her power and belief in me gave me the confidence I needed.

Ethel died before I returned to Michigan in late 1968; late - with sorrow about our loss of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. I was a little late to get involved with politics. I was pregnant with my 3rd child, but ever encouraged by Ethel's spirit! I started teaching piano; using everything Ethel had taught me! By 1974 I was given a number of awards; some for charity - some for service to my community - some for my contribution to various local clubs and organizations, and MOST OF ALL, a gift from MY PIANO STUDENTS who said they'd never learned as much in such a short time as they did with me. I had to remind them it was ETHEL who had guided me.

I love the kitten on the keys that I chose for the blog. The wonderful cat that ran up and down mine as a young person. The one who jumped on my piano - my son's cat (named Cincy -short for Cincinnati where we'd lived) who 'danced' - Cincy who was born in 1994 and died in 2007 - 13 x (7) = 91 years in 'human life' - Cincy LOVED THE PIANO/MUSIC/KEVIN, and thought she was a 'dog' the way should did tricks only a 'dog' normally does.

My mother made me learn to play KITTEN ON THE KEYS - I knew it was a tough song, but after all my little cat (Blackie) had played them in 1946...so I learned that song.

Tonight I spent almost 2 hours trying to POST ON MY BLOG; so frustrated, I sent an e-mail to a former marine and a man I trust 100%. This is the e-mail; when in trouble, TRUST OTHERS - don't listen to the main-stream media who make you feel afraid; lost, and as if you do NOT matter. Yes, you do matter, and I've learned that all my life.

In memory of Cincy who died about this time one year ago, TRUST - IGNORE FEAR - LISTEN NOT TO THOSE WHO WOULD BRING DOUBT TO YOU, BUT TO THOSE WHO GIVE YOU ENCOURAGEMENT!

This is the copy of my e-mail I sent to Alan when it seemed I would NEVER GET MY BLOGS TO LOAD UP, and that I would be almost 'banned' from posting.

Thank you Alan if you add to this post and commentary! Thank you Cincy, for making so MANY MANY PEOPLE LOVE YOU - we miss you and your adorable ways.........

MY COPY OF MY E-MAIL:

Dear Alan:

I can NOT access ANY OF MY BLOGS, AND HAVE NO REASON (or ability to understand) WHY????!!!

Please go to http://blahblahsquared.blogspot.com/ and POST THIS FOR ME AS A COMMENT! If you have time, go to http://billytiptonc.blogspot.com/, and COPY/PASTE THE SAME THING that I'm writing you in this e-mail.

I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO ACCESS MY BLOGS FOR DAYS WITHOUT EXTREME DIFFICULTY. I'VE WANTED TO THANK SO MANY WHO'VE WRITTEN ME. I CAN'T UPLOAD PHOTOS. I CAN'T MAKE A 'NEW POST'. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS IS GOING ON, BUT I'VE ASKED MY FRIEND ALAN, TO POST THIS ON MY BEHALF.

I have several friends/posters/bloggers, and e-mail friends from around the world who've told me they can't POST A COMMENT. Again, I don't know why.

THIS WOULD BE A CURRENT POST, BUT I CAN'T GET ONE DARNED BLOG TO OPEN SO I CAN POST! So, I've asked Alan who I trust, to COPY AND PAST THIS E-MAIL AND HOPEFULLY HE CAN POST IT AS A 'COMMENT' onto some of my blogs such as

http://blahblahsquared.blogspot.com/

http://billytipton.blogspot.com/

And the ones I've listed in my e-mail to Alan that are listed below (the links).

I no longer trust the reliability and efficiency of theI-net; I wonder what in the hell is going on, and I'm concerned that those of us who've taken a rather public and controversial stance on a few of the issues surrounding our country; our lack of leadership, and the need for change that might have to be even more productive than our new president's viewpoints, might have led to my inability to POST ON MY VERY OWN BLOGS.

Thank you for reading and caring. Diane Stirling-Stevens. E-mail is: kcir114112@cmaaccess.com

Okay, Alan, please copy and PASTE THIS onto my blogs and see if you have the access I no longer have. Many thanks. Diane (note: on the blogs listed in this permanent signature, please add that same 'comment' to those blogs since NONE OF THEM ARE WORKING FOR ME. Diane

Diane - kcir114112@cmaaccess.com

http://blahblahsquared.blogspot.com/

http://whyilivewhereido.blogspot.com

http://journeytosleep.blogspot.com

http://allhappytalk.blogspot.com

http://www.playlist.com/playlist/user/20509435

LET'S BRIEFLY MENTION ISRAEL, PALESTINE, THE GAZA STRIP, ETC.

2008-11-13T16:47:00.000-08:00

I don't have a real desire to have a blog that focuses on the 'ills of the world' except as it gives guidance and appropriate links to assist in certain projects and issues that I find particularly important from my point of view.

As you know I read the Rag Blog as my primary source for issues that 'matter' (to me and to others as the authors of that particular blog also deem necessary).

Tonight I did read another blog; the atrocities being committed by Israel are rarely mentioned in the United States' main stream media - we have to use web-sites and blogs to get critical information.

I'd like to suggest you read the following blog to keep abreast of the issues surrounding the blatant 'crimes against humanity' being committed by Israel - it is well-written and documented.

This is the link: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jrcole/ - I'll also make a link on the side-bar as well.

I'm glad for the election of Obama; glad for the chance that will be his when he takes office on the 20th of January, 2009, to see what he and his administration can do during the next four years to demonstrate the fair play and consideration for every American citizen - not just those with celebrated names and huge bank accounts with all too often have had privilege and recognition (as well as power) completely unjustified. Now go to the side-bar and find where I've also put the link mentioned in this post.

October 29, 2008 - my dad's 85th birthday.

2008-10-29T20:13:00.001-07:00

I didn't realize today was the anniversary of the stock market crash back in 1929 - 79 years ago when my dad was celebrating his 6th birthday the same day.

IN MEMORY OF MY FATHER - IN THE HOPE OBAMA WILL BE OUR NEXT PRESIDENT BY THIS TIME NEXT WEEK, I'm making a very quick entry since I rarely blog any more. Like I said, I have difficulty uploading photographs; the web-site is slow - Google has changed the format and I find it irritating and a waste of time to deal with it.

Most bloggers are so busy blogging on their own sites, they rarely visit their 'mutual buddies'. I've found it better to share e-mails; share links in those e-mails and keep current with those who actually take the time to write something worth reading. Comments on blogs are often rude; not worth 'repeaping', and certainly don't build any kind of bond in the long 'haul'.

It's rare to find a good blog now; it's even harder to find a reliable web-site. Television is geared to the mind-set of a 4th-grade play-ground recess.....

The I-net is great for resourcing and building musical play-lists to enjoy; that's about it for me - after 9 months of giving 'blogging a try', I've just decided to let my blogs 'orbit in cyberspace' - peacefully of course.

In closing:

Happy Birthday, Dad - I miss you and wish so much you could see this year's 'change' in how our country is finally seeing opportunity and accepting the many and new concepts that I think will one day, make us a better country. Love, Diane

VOTER INFORMATION - EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT!

2008-09-29T23:33:00.000-07:00

Voter Registration To be eligible to register to vote, Americans must meet three basic requirements: (1) be at least 18 years of age at the time of the next election, (2) be a U.S. Citizen and (3) be a resident of the jurisdiction where the voter is registering. Under federal law, every state must allow voters to register at least 30 days before Election Day. However, some states go beyond the federal mandate and allow potential voters to register one or two weeks prior to the election and some states allow same-day voter registration. There is a growing same-day voter registration movement that permits eligible citizens to both register and vote on Election Day.

Early & Absentee Voting Most states permit registered voters to cast a ballot-in-person prior to Election Day. This is called “early voting” and thirty-four states and the District of Columbia permit their residents to vote early in-person. Some of these states require their residents to cast their early vote at a single, centralized location (e.g., the board of elections office), while other states establish multiple early voting sites. Additionally, these thirty-four states and the District of Columbia differ with respect to the situations where residents may vote early in-person. In most states, voters may cast an early, in-person vote for any reason or no reason at all (“no-excuse voting”). In four of these states, residents must state a reason for requesting to cast an early vote and that reason must be on the state’s list of permissible reasons. Permissible reasons include an early, in-person vote include absence from the state on Election Day, illness, incapacity or military deployment outside of the jurisdiction.

Proof of Citizenship & Voting Identification All states require an individual to be a U.S. Citizen in order to vote in state or federal elections. Each state requires its residents to provide some form of identification (“ID”) and Arizona even requires its residents to present proof of citizenship to be eligible to register to vote. Each state selects the form of ID it deems acceptable. In the least restrictive states, residents only need to have their signature verified. Other states permit residents to provide either picture ID or non-picture ID, including utility bills. In other states, residents are required to present picture ID. If the resident is unable to provide the required pictured ID, the individual may still vote if they sign an affidavit attesting to their ID. Finally, in the most restrictive states, individuals must present a government-issued photo ID and individuals unable to produce the required ID are not allowed to use an affidavit to attest to their ID and subsequently cannot vote.

Residency In order to be eligible to vote within a particular jurisdiction, an individual must be a resident of that jurisdiction. Each state is empowered to create its own definition of “resident.” Generally, the test of residency is two-fold: (1) presence within the jurisdiction and (2) the intention to be a resident of the jurisdiction. For certain categories of voters, the test for residency is fluid. Such is the case for college students, members of the military stationed both domestically and abroad, individuals assigned to long-term out-of-jurisdiction work projects and retirees who spend significant portions of the year in different jurisdictions.

Voting for People with Felony Convictions Felony disenfranchisement is the practice of denying people with felony convictions the right to vote. No other nation disenfranchises as many of its citizens as the U.S. Over five million Americans are denied the right to vote because of felony convictions. The U.S. Is the only democracy in the world that takes the right to vote away from citizens who have completed their sentences. This causes over two million U.S. Citizens to be “permanently” disenfranchised from the voting process.

Poll Workers Poll workers are the people who organize a polling place, set up voting equipment, greet voters, verify registrations and provide voters with ballots. At the end of the day, poll workers close the polling place and prepare election materials for delivery or actually deliver the material to the elections office. Typically poll workers are required to be a registered voter in the precinct or county where that they are serving. Many states call these people different titles, such as poll judges.

Provisional Balloting A provisional ballot is used to record a vote when there is some question about a voter’s eligibility. Provisional ballots may be utilized when the voter’s name is not on the voter list, the voter’s eligibility is challenged pursuant to state law, the voter is in the wrong polling place, or the voter cannot provide the ID required by federal or state law.

Voter Challenges, Deceptive Practices & Voter Intimidation Every state provides some method to challenge the eligibility of a voter. However, bad-faith challenges may cross the line and can constitute voter intimidation, particularly when mass challenges are based only upon a voter’s race or status and the challenger lacks personal knowledge of the voter’s eligibility. For example, in past elections, there have been allegations of challenges based solely on voters’ Latino or Asian sounding surnames. State laws differ regarding who can make challenges, when challenges can be made, what are the proper grounds for a challenge, which party has the burden of proof, what evidence is relevant, and who decides challenges.

Overseas Voters Under the 1986 Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (“UOCAVA”), members of the seven uniformed services, members of the U.S. Merchant Marines, eligible family members of the above, U.S. citizens employed by the federal government residing outside the U.S. and all other private U.S. citizens residing outside the U.S. all have the right to cast an absentee ballot in federal elections. Overseas civilian and military voters can register and vote absentee using their last legal address in the U.S. While there are state-specific regulations, the general practice is that most states require the ballot to be either signed or postmarked by date of the election and received within ten-to-fourteen days after the election.

Auditing With the shift from punch cards and lever machines to optical scan devices or direct recording-electronic voting machines, there is a need to ensure accuracy through auditing. The most commonly used auditing system is the voter-verifiable paper record (“VPR”) which is designed to allow voters to verify that their vote was cast correctly, to detect possible election fraud or malfunction, to create a paper record in the event of a recount and to provide a means to audit the stored electronic results.

Now I must vote OBAMA - a man not unlike Nader; just wiser to have chosen a major PARTY with STRENGTH!

2008-08-28T21:40:00.000-07:00

To Chairman Dean and my great friend Dick Durbin; and to all my fellow citizens of this great nation;

With profound gratitude and great humility, I accept your nomination for the presidency of the United States.

Let me express my thanks to the historic slate of candidates who accompanied me on this journey, and especially the one who traveled the farthest - a champion for working Americans and an inspiration to my daughters and to yours — Hillary Rodham Clinton. To President Clinton, who last night made the case for change as only he can make it; to Ted Kennedy, who embodies the spirit of service; and to the next Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, I thank you. I am grateful to finish this journey with one of the finest statesmen of our time, a man at ease with everyone from world leaders to the conductors on the Amtrak train he still takes home every night.

To the love of my life, our next First Lady, Michelle Obama, and to Sasha and Malia - I love you so much, and I'm so proud of all of you.

Four years ago, I stood before you and told you my story - of the brief union between a young man from Kenya and a young woman from Kansas who weren't well-off or well-known, but shared a belief that in America, their son could achieve whatever he put his mind to.

It is that promise that has always set this country apart - that through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual dreams but still come together as one American family, to ensure that the next generation can pursue their dreams as well.

That's why I stand here tonight. Because for two hundred and thirty two years, at each moment when that promise was in jeopardy, ordinary men and women - students and soldiers, farmers and teachers, nurses and janitors — found the courage to keep it alive.

We meet at one of those defining moments - a moment when our nation is at war, our economy is in turmoil, and the American promise has been threatened once more.

Tonight, more Americans are out of work and more are working harder for less. More of you have lost your homes and even more are watching your home values plummet. More of you have cars you can't afford to drive, credit card bills you can't afford to pay, and tuition that's beyond your reach.

These challenges are not all of government's making. But the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W. Bush.

America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this.

This country is more decent than one where a woman in Ohio, on the brink of retirement, finds herself one illness away from disaster after a lifetime of hard work.

This country is more generous than one where a man in Indiana has to pack up the equipment he's worked on for twenty years and watch it shipped off to China, and then chokes up as he explains how he felt like a failure when he went home to tell his family the news.

We are more compassionate than a government that lets veterans sleep on our streets and families slide into poverty; that sits on its hands while a major American city drowns before our eyes.

Tonight, I say to the American people, to Democrats and Republicans and Independents across this great land - enough! This moment - this election - is our chance to keep, in the 21st century, the American promise alive. Because next week, in Minnesota, the same party that brought you two terms of George Bush and Dick Cheney will ask this country for a third. And we are here because we love this country too much to let the next four years look like the last eight. On November 4th, we must stand up and say: "Eight is enough."

Now let there be no doubt. The Republican nominee, John McCain, has worn the uniform of our country with bravery and distinction, and for that we owe him our gratitude and respect. And next week, we'll also hear about those occasions when he's broken with his party as evidence that he can deliver the change that we need.

But the record's clear: John McCain has voted with George Bush ninety percent of the time. Senator McCain likes to talk about judgment, but really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush has been right more than ninety percent of the time? I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to take a ten percent chance on change.

The truth is, on issue after issue that would make a difference in your lives - on health care and education and the economy - Senator McCain has been anything but independent. He said that our economy has made "great progress" under this President. He said that the fundamentals of the economy are strong. And when one of his chief advisors - the man who wrote his economic plan - was talking about the anxiety Americans are feeling, he said that we were just suffering from a "mental recession," and that we've become, and I quote, "a nation of whiners."

A nation of whiners? Tell that to the proud auto workers at a Michigan plant who, after they found out it was closing, kept showing up every day and working as hard as ever, because they knew there were people who counted on the brakes that they made. Tell that to the military families who shoulder their burdens silently as they watch their loved ones leave for their third or fourth or fifth tour of duty. These are not whiners. They work hard and give back and keep going without complaint. These are the Americans that I know.

Now, I don't believe that Senator McCain doesn't care what's going on in the lives of Americans. I just think he doesn't know. Why else would he define middle-class as someone making under five million dollars a year? How else could he propose hundreds of billions in tax breaks for big corporations and oil companies but not one penny of tax relief to more than one hundred million Americans? How else could he offer a health care plan that would actually tax people's benefits, or an education plan that would do nothing to help families pay for college, or a plan that would privatize Social Security and gamble your retirement?

It's not because John McCain doesn't care. It's because John McCain doesn't get it.

For over two decades, he's subscribed to that old, discredited Republican philosophy - give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. In Washington, they call this the Ownership Society, but what it really means is - you're on your own. Out of work? Tough luck. No health care? The market will fix it. Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps - even if you don't have boots. You're on your own.

Well it's time for them to own their failure. It's time for us to change America.

You see, we Democrats have a very different measure of what constitutes progress in this country.

We measure progress by how many people can find a job that pays the mortgage; whether you can put a little extra money away at the end of each month so you can someday watch your child receive her college diploma. We measure progress in the 23 million new jobs that were created when Bill Clinton was President - when the average American family saw its income go up $7,500 instead of down $2,000 like it has under George Bush.

We measure the strength of our economy not by the number of billionaires we have or the profits of the Fortune 500, but by whether someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a new business, or whether the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off to look after a sick kid without losing her job - an economy that honors the dignity of work.

The fundamentals we use to measure economic strength are whether we are living up to that fundamental promise that has made this country great - a promise that is the only reason I am standing here tonight.

Because in the faces of those young veterans who come back from Iraq and Afghanistan, I see my grandfather, who signed up after Pearl Harbor, marched in Patton's Army, and was rewarded by a grateful nation with the chance to go to college on the GI Bill.

In the face of that young student who sleeps just three hours before working the night shift, I think about my mom, who raised my sister and me on her own while she worked and earned her degree; who once turned to food stamps but was still able to send us to the best schools in the country with the help of student loans and scholarships.

When I listen to another worker tell me that his factory has shut down, I remember all those men and women on the South Side of Chicago who I stood by and fought for two decades ago after the local steel plant closed.

And when I hear a woman talk about the difficulties of starting her own business, I think about my grandmother, who worked her way up from the secretarial pool to middle-management, despite years of being passed over for promotions because she was a woman. She's the one who taught me about hard work. She's the one who put off buying a new car or a new dress for herself so that I could have a better life. She poured everything she had into me. And although she can no longer travel, I know that she's watching tonight, and that tonight is her night as well.

I don't know what kind of lives John McCain thinks that celebrities lead, but this has been mine. These are my heroes. Theirs are the stories that shaped me. And it is on their behalf that I intend to win this election and keep our promise alive as President of the United States.

What is that promise?

It's a promise that says each of us has the freedom to make of our own lives what we will, but that we also have the obligation to treat each other with dignity and respect.

It's a promise that says the market should reward drive and innovation and generate growth, but that businesses should live up to their responsibilities to create American jobs, look out for American workers, and play by the rules of the road.

Ours is a promise that says government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves - protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools and new roads and new science and technology.

Our government should work for us, not against us. It should help us, not hurt us. It should ensure opportunity not just for those with the most money and influence, but for every American who's willing to work.

That's the promise of America - the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the fundamental belief that I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's keeper.

That's the promise we need to keep. That's the change we need right now. So let me spell out exactly what that change would mean if I am President.

Change means a tax code that doesn't reward the lobbyists who wrote it, but the American workers and small businesses who deserve it.

Unlike John McCain, I will stop giving tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas, and I will start giving them to companies that create good jobs right here in America.

I will eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and the start-ups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow.

I will cut taxes - cut taxes - for 95% of all working families. Because in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle-class.

And for the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, I will set a clear goal as President: in ten years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East.

Washington's been talking about our oil addiction for the last thirty years, and John McCain has been there for twenty-six of them. In that time, he's said no to higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars, no to investments in renewable energy, no to renewable fuels. And today, we import triple the amount of oil as the day that Senator McCain took office.

Now is the time to end this addiction, and to understand that drilling is a stop-gap measure, not a long-term solution. Not even close.

As President, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. I'll help our auto companies re-tool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America. I'll make it easier for the American people to afford these new cars. And I'll invest 150 billion dollars over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy - wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can't ever be outsourced.

America, now is not the time for small plans.

Now is the time to finally meet our moral obligation to provide every child a world-class education, because it will take nothing less to compete in the global economy. Michelle and I are only here tonight because we were given a chance at an education. And I will not settle for an America where some kids don't have that chance. I'll invest in early childhood education. I'll recruit an army of new teachers, and pay them higher salaries and give them more support. And in exchange, I'll ask for higher standards and more accountability. And we will keep our promise to every young American - if you commit to serving your community or your country, we will make sure you can afford a college education.

Now is the time to finally keep the promise of affordable, accessible health care for every single American. If you have health care, my plan will lower your premiums. If you don't, you'll be able to get the same kind of coverage that members of Congress give themselves. And as someone who watched my mother argue with insurance companies while she lay in bed dying of cancer, I will make certain those companies stop discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most.

Now is the time to help families with paid sick days and better family leave, because nobody in America should have to choose between keeping their jobs and caring for a sick child or ailing parent.

Now is the time to change our bankruptcy laws, so that your pensions are protected ahead of CEO bonuses; and the time to protect Social Security for future generations.

And now is the time to keep the promise of equal pay for an equal day's work, because I want my daughters to have exactly the same opportunities as your sons.

Now, many of these plans will cost money, which is why I've laid out how I'll pay for every dime - by closing corporate loopholes and tax havens that don't help America grow. But I will also go through the federal budget, line by line, eliminating programs that no longer work and making the ones we do need work better and cost less - because we cannot meet twenty-first century challenges with a twentieth century bureaucracy.

And Democrats, we must also admit that fulfilling America's promise will require more than just money. It will require a renewed sense of responsibility from each of us to recover what John F. Kennedy called our "intellectual and moral strength." Yes, government must lead on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and businesses more efficient. Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair. But we must also admit that programs alone can't replace parents; that government can't turn off the television and make a child do her homework; that fathers must take more responsibility for providing the love and guidance their children need.

Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility - that's the essence of America's promise.

And just as we keep our keep our promise to the next generation here at home, so must we keep America's promise abroad. If John McCain wants to have a debate about who has the temperament, and judgment, to serve as the next Commander-in-Chief, that's a debate I'm ready to have.

For while Senator McCain was turning his sights to Iraq just days after 9/11, I stood up and opposed this war, knowing that it would distract us from the real threats we face. When John McCain said we could just "muddle through" in Afghanistan, I argued for more resources and more troops to finish the fight against the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11, and made clear that we must take out Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants if we have them in our sights. John McCain likes to say that he'll follow bin Laden to the Gates of Hell - but he won't even go to the cave where he lives.

And today, as my call for a time frame to remove our troops from Iraq has been echoed by the Iraqi government and even the Bush Administration, even after we learned that Iraq has a $79 billion surplus while we're wallowing in deficits, John McCain stands alone in his stubborn refusal to end a misguided war.

That's not the judgment we need. That won't keep America safe. We need a President who can face the threats of the future, not keep grasping at the ideas of the past.

You don't defeat a terrorist network that operates in eighty countries by occupying Iraq. You don't protect Israel and deter Iran just by talking tough in Washington. You can't truly stand up for Georgia when you've strained our oldest alliances. If John McCain wants to follow George Bush with more tough talk and bad strategy, that is his choice - but it is not the change we need.

We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don't tell me that Democrats won't defend this country. Don't tell me that Democrats won't keep us safe. The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans — Democrats and Republicans - have built, and we are here to restore that legacy.

As Commander-in-Chief, I will never hesitate to defend this nation, but I will only send our troops into harm's way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home.

I will end this war in Iraq responsibly, and finish the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. I will rebuild our military to meet future conflicts. But I will also renew the tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and curb Russian aggression. I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation; poverty and genocide; climate change and disease. And I will restore our moral standing, so that America is once again that last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future.

These are the policies I will pursue. And in the weeks ahead, I look forward to debating them with John McCain.

But what I will not do is suggest that the Senator takes his positions for political purposes. Because one of the things that we have to change in our politics is the idea that people cannot disagree without challenging each other's character and patriotism.

The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. So let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain. The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America - they have served the United States of America.

So I've got news for you, John McCain. We all put our country first.

America, our work will not be easy. The challenges we face require tough choices, and Democrats as well as Republicans will need to cast off the worn-out ideas and politics of the past. For part of what has been lost these past eight years can't just be measured by lost wages or bigger trade deficits. What has also been lost is our sense of common purpose - our sense of higher purpose. And that's what we have to restore.

We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country. The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for those plagued by gang-violence in Cleveland, but don't tell me we can't uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals. I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination. Passions fly on immigration, but I don't know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers. This too is part of America's promise - the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort.

I know there are those who dismiss such beliefs as happy talk. They claim that our insistence on something larger, something firmer and more honest in our public life is just a Trojan Horse for higher taxes and the abandonment of traditional values. And that's to be expected. Because if you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare the voters. If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from.

You make a big election about small things.

And you know what - it's worked before. Because it feeds into the cynicism we all have about government. When Washington doesn't work, all its promises seem empty. If your hopes have been dashed again and again, then it's best to stop hoping, and settle for what you already know.

I get it. I realize that I am not the likeliest candidate for this office. I don't fit the typical pedigree, and I haven't spent my career in the halls of Washington.

But I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring. What the nay-sayers don't understand is that this election has never been about me. It's been about you.

For eighteen long months, you have stood up, one by one, and said enough to the politics of the past. You understand that in this election, the greatest risk we can take is to try the same old politics with the same old players and expect a different result. You have shown what history teaches us - that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washington. Change happens because the American people demand it - because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time.

America, this is one of those moments.

I believe that as hard as it will be, the change we need is coming. Because I've seen it. Because I've lived it. I've seen it in Illinois, when we provided health care to more children and moved more families from welfare to work. I've seen it in Washington, when we worked across party lines to open up government and hold lobbyists more accountable, to give better care for our veterans and keep nuclear weapons out of terrorist hands.

And I've seen it in this campaign. In the young people who voted for the first time, and in those who got involved again after a very long time. In the Republicans who never thought they'd pick up a Democratic ballot, but did. I've seen it in the workers who would rather cut their hours back a day than see their friends lose their jobs, in the soldiers who re-enlist after losing a limb, in the good neighbors who take a stranger in when a hurricane strikes and the floodwaters rise.

This country of ours has more wealth than any nation, but that's not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military on Earth, but that's not what makes us strong. Our universities and our culture are the envy of the world, but that's not what keeps the world coming to our shores.

Instead, it is that American spirit - that American promise - that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences; that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that better place around the bend.

That promise is our greatest inheritance. It's a promise I make to my daughters when I tuck them in at night, and a promise that you make to yours - a promise that has led immigrants to cross oceans and pioneers to travel west; a promise that led workers to picket lines, and women to reach for the ballot.

And it is that promise that forty five years ago today, brought Americans from every corner of this land to stand together on a Mall in Washington, before Lincoln's Memorial, and hear a young preacher from Georgia speak of his dream.

The men and women who gathered there could've heard many things. They could've heard words of anger and discord. They could've been told to succumb to the fear and frustration of so many dreams deferred.

But what the people heard instead - people of every creed and color, from every walk of life - is that in America, our destiny is inextricably linked. That together, our dreams can be one.

"We cannot walk alone," the preacher cried. "And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back."

America, we cannot turn back. Not with so much work to be done. Not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for. Not with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save. Not with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend. America, we cannot turn back. We cannot walk alone. At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future. Let us keep that promise - that American promise - and in the words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess.

Thank you, God Bless you, and and God Bless the United States of America.

Blah, Duh, Da, DAH - write these NUMBERS DOWN!

2008-08-26T10:47:00.000-07:00

Like most of us who try to get a real human being on the phone when we call to ask a question (or report a problem), we get nothing but a voice system that keeps us frustrated; on line (holding), and running up our phone bill.

Here's a link that's been created to help you by-pass some of the waiting time - it's organized by category. Notice most of the banking institutions are using it; travel agencies - credit card companies, and many large retail stores.

I'm using it - hope it helps you.

http://www.dialahuman.com/Categories.htm

I noticed an entry about the BURNING MAN Festival on the RAG BLOG today...

2008-08-22T09:57:00.000-07:00

I've been reading a number of web-sites that are talking about the upcoming BURNING MAN festival that takes place this coming week.

A few friends have e-mailed me thinking we're not that far from Black Rock City, Nevada. Well in fact, we're about 11 hours from where the celebration takes place. Some years ago we headed up there for the event - our assessment was that it's a place for people to run around naked - acting pretty crazy while under the influence of alcohol (and drugs sometimes), and nothing more than another example of just how loose-moraled people who (in the name of art), find a way to essentially create an excuse to party and get snockered for an entire week.

It makes money for the area and those who've organized this event since 1986 when it originated in San Francisco. I've seen postings on blogs that indicate people are willing to come in from all parts of the United States just to attend the event. I've read comments about how much it's going to cost the individual and their companion. I've noted many are going to come in by plane. After that, they have to trek to the site.
There are no tickets at the start of the event; all tickets have to be pre-paid, and cost between $200 to $300 (each) to experience this 'wild-life' event, which trulyhas puzzled me for years.

Now that I have a blog to 'speak' about that puzzlement, I'm mentioning this just to get it off my chest.

With the high cost of gasoline; the high cost in food, and all the irritations of flying the 'not so friendly skies' today, I think it's a complete waste of time and money.

We citizens of America need to settle down; focus on the important issues of our nation. There's entirely too much 'party hearty' money being funneled into short-term fun and games. I can't imagine how many credit cards are burdened with such frivolous entertainment expenses - we are a nation given to vanity and greed.

If we lose this wonderful country to bankrtupcy and become no better than a 3rd world country, then the BURNING MAN festival (where there is no housing; hotels - you camp and bring your own water), will prove to be only a high-cost 'training ground' for the millions of us in the future. I say 'high cost' because after you buy the entry ticket; get all the equipment you need to camp - drag all of that to this 'festival', and pay for any air-fare that you had to add because you lived too far to drive, you've spent hundreds - or thousands - of dollars for a few days of milling around with half-dressed people; all sweltering in the triple-digit temperatures.

Still, in fairness to those who find this celebration of interest, here is a web-site you might want to check out:
http://www.burningman.com/blackrockcity_yearround/#top
This link is not the direct link to the event's page, but more of a historical accounting of what has taken place as well as photographs and dialog about the area as well as the annual celebration.

SHOULD OLD ACQUAINTENANCES BE FORGOT?

2008-08-22T08:42:00.001-07:00

Probably not, but GWB should be! Less than 6 months to go!

This video was recorded in 2006, and we've had over 2 more years of his miscarriage of his office! While this is an animated cartoon, GWB isn't.

It's time to pick a statesman, not a politician. I'm voting for Ralph Nader!

2-0-5 | Funny Jokes at JibJab

THIS IS TERRIFIC! APPARENTLY BARRACK HAS LOTS OF CHOICES!

2008-08-22T08:37:00.001-07:00

Watch and listen to all the voices of those who'd love to be picked as Barrack's running mate!

Have fun....

VP Hopefuls Call Senator Obama | Funny Jokes at JibJab

I just love the old cartoons - I was 5 years old when I watched some of these.

2008-08-21T21:56:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that 61 years have passed, and I still laugh just as hard at the 'classics'.

Another favorite of mine! By the way, Walt Disney and I were born on the same day; different years.....

Tom & Jerry "Pecos Pest" | Funny Jokes at JibJab

Love this - courtesy of Jib Jab

2008-08-21T20:54:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite web-sites is http://www.jibjab.com. You can get thousands of funny videos at that site.

Enjoy - Diane.

This Land! | Funny Jokes at JibJab

I've pretty much given up on GOOGLE...

2008-08-12T20:33:00.000-07:00

I get so tired of having to 'sign in'. I get tired of the fact Google drops my 'cookies' (as they call it), and I have to fool around trying to 'sign in' again.

I was thinking that I haven't recently seen the words on any web-site (or blog)...Thank you - much obliged - appreciate it....

Does it strike you (as it struck me), few are saying thank you? Few are feeling 'obliged' for anything? When was the last time someone actually thanked you for a kindness you'd done for them?

I spent hours helping a woman fix her problems with her 'tailoring' - she couldn't figure out how to stitch on chiffon.....

I gave of my time to help a few women figure out how to save money on their food budget - with no thanks....

I'm not complaining because I'm surviving and actually 'thriving' on a down-turn in the 2008 economy.

Nevertheless, I'm still wondering why I don't see those wondeful 'tributes' to those who have given to us; guided us, and we should be so very much 'obliged', and saying 'thank you'......

If Ralph Nader isn't your pick, then at least listen to Kucinich!

2008-08-11T23:28:00.000-07:00

18,000 people die in the richest country in the world, because they have to pay 100% of their medical needs, or 'die'. Ralph Nader has accumulated these figures from reliable sources. No other western country has an absence of universal health insurance except the United States. Millions of our 'slave-workers' make under the minimum wage. We can not live on $5.15 an hour. We can not live on Wal-Mart wages in this country. You can not support a family on $15 an hour in this country.

Nader reminds us that the corporations prevail. Such big industries as General Dynamics; Lockheed, and Boeing. Nader reminds us of the huge bloated military budget. Nader tells us the truth; we need to have that bloated military dollars returned to our country in the form of rebuilding libraries; schools, and proper drinking water systems. Nader says solar energy first; crack down on crime. We need to go after the corporate crooks - CEO's paying themselves 400 and 500 times the wage they pay their employees. Government of the Exxons; the DuPonts - the General Electrics. Stolen have been the rights of the working American - jobs put off-shore. This country has risen on the back of American workers; American tax-payers, and young people have died for the wars that have recently been for nothing more than control of oil and resource.

We are going to turn back into the dark ages; back to the serf and servitude condition. They're taxing the necessities of life; yet they ignore the luxury taxes. Our tax system provides tax shelters for big business and the wealthy. Nader is articulate on all of these issues - he does not falter in his remarks, nor does he use notes as he passionately speaks the truth.

Nader reminds us that a family of four requires $40,000 a year in order to live a modest life. The standard poverty level is $18,500 - 35 million people or more live in poverty.

While our national railroad system crumbles for lack of money to keep the bridges in repair (Amtrak), we're allowing this transit system to decline. Bush has said only $900,000,000 would be set aside for infrastructure; repairs and maintenance. Compare this to the missile defense program who will receive more than nine and a half billion dollars! Bush has taken away money from schools, libraries, clean-air programs. In my opinion, Bush continues to work toward the destruction of our United States.

As Nader puts it, it is an insane program that Bush has implemented. What is insane is the lack of focus on the working American, and the imbalance in this nation's wealth and power. Clearly, we've had a president for the past 8 years that has only sought to empower the rich and become richer himself! Bush cares not what he can do for our country, but what he can do to destroy our nation.

Nader reminds us we only want a living wage; decent health care - essentially the basic needs and expectations a citizen of the United States should be able to harvest from a solid day's work.

Nader reminds us that 2 to 3 million American's will lose their homes in 2008; again in 2009. All of this because of the sub-prime mortgages. McCain wants to take a 'hands-off' approach to the home-owners. By separating investment banks from commercial banking, this created this 'predatory lender' condition, and we compound the damage by asking the American tax-payer to bail out those very establishments who created this monster to start with! And why wouldn't McCain take this position; he was part of the Keating Five who cost the tax-payers billions of dollars, and destroyed the lives of thousands - maybe millions, who lost their money by investing in American Continental - depositors at Lincoln Bank; powered by Carl Linder - the man pulling the strings of Charles Keating and his cronies!

Bush is creating a burden upon our grandchildren - one almost impossible to manage in the coming years. Today's parents have to work - most, both work. They have to fill the cupboards with food; they are lacking in time because of the way today's frantic pace has drained our citizens in a way that doesn't allow them to focus on anything but meeting the deadlines and demands of the next 24 hours. All of this keeps our citizens tired; confused and how better to describe what Adolf Hitler did during his reign of terror! I'm quite certain GWB studied the history of Hitler, and found he could apply the same principles to our precious country.

Nader has reminded us that we have clear basis for impeachment of Bush and Cheney. Nader also reminds us that Wall street and Washington D.C. - not our allies, but our enemies. As Nader says, it is a 'puppet show in Washington'. Nader reminds us we should not be allowing this puppet show. Nader reminds us that Bush and Cheney are war criminals. Spying on Americans in the thousands - impeachable. Violating the Geneva Convention. Arresting thousands of Americans without just cause. If we do not impeach Bush and Cheney they are setting the bar for allowing future concessions and failing to set an example of these two people who've violated numerous laws.

I believe our country has to feel the gratitude for Ralph Nader - for the real changes he's caused to happen. I am hoping the American people will finally pay proper homage to Ralph Nader and vote for him before it's too late for our country!

If Mr. Nader isn't someone you quite agree with (to me, how could you not), then go to this video link, and listen to this man who is equally viable and certainly as patriotic: http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=Kucinich2008

Essentially, we do not need politicians - they should not receive millions of dollars to campaign; do champagne, and expensive dinners and 'hoopla' at our expense.

We want patriots - we want intelligent beings with a resume that is glowing - a resume that proves their value and worth. We need to remember to FORGET that two-party system that is nothing more than this 'this or that' selection, and both sleep together at the end of the day.

How do you do a two-party dictatorship - well you should know; we've lived with it for many many years! Nuf said.....

And of course the 7th day he got arrested...whoops, no - he 'RESTED'!

2008-08-09T16:22:00.000-07:00

....or was that 'wrested'.....

"Just a walkin' in the reign, getting soaking wet - thinking how we met...."

2008-08-09T16:19:00.000-07:00

When you're 66 years old; have trouble seeing, and need a vacation.

2008-08-07T15:50:00.000-07:00

So, now the videos (a few) are uploaded; a few pictures I've labeled, and some posts that let me speak my mind, I think it's time for a rest.

My eyes are tired; I need new glasses, and I'm heading out to visit family and friends in California, Ohio, and Michigan before the year is out.

It's been a great year; met lots of 'blogger-buddies' - learned a lot about how people feel from e-mails I receive in all parts of the country.

It is an era of information - a time when no one can claim to be 'unaware or uninformed', if you'll just seek, find, and use your brain - the thing that still ticks inside of you as it joins up with the morals you were taught by your ancestors, and the heart that still beats inside your chest.

I hope we have a country that will grow strong and honorable again; how that happens, puzzles me right now so I'm going to take a break and trust that right will prevail. What is right? Don't ask me to define it from my point of view - I see too many feel right and wrong can be defined, but I see the evidence of what I think is right and wrong and it surely doesn't match up with many of those who I share my views with.

I labeled this photo myself...

2008-08-07T15:47:00.000-07:00

I labled this photo myself...

2008-08-07T15:44:00.000-07:00

I labeled this photo myself.

2008-08-07T15:41:00.000-07:00

DOES THIS WHET YOUR APPETITE - ARE YOU A READER?

2008-08-06T06:17:00.000-07:00

Not if I have anything to say about it. That’s why I’m hitting the road this September in Rosie the BigReadMobile for The Big Ride, a cross-country road trip through roughly 30 Big Read towns in 25 days, designed to spread the word about the program in as splashy a way as possible.

More about this as the itinerary crystallizes, with questions and curiosity cheerfully entertained at kipend@arts.gov in the meantime. In other words, don’t look now, but the Big Ride is rolling down the road toward a city or town near you, with Steinbeck in back poring over WPA maps, Hammett in the passenger seat violating open-container laws, and Edith Wharton hanging on for dear life…

Posted by David Kipen at 4:39 pm

The link is on the side-bar. enjoy

From PROMO business journal - May, 2000

2008-08-04T10:59:00.000-07:00

(sign made by me - Diane - 8/4/08)

I'm a keeper of magazines, newspapers, and trade-journals. While reviewing the May, 2000 issue of PROMO, I came across their published statistics on a few things that showed certain trends developing as of 8 years ago.

This one article, titled GREENING AMERICA, mentions that the U. S. diet is now moving toward a more vegetarian diet. In 2000, 2.5% of the United States consuming citizens were 100% vegetarian (as I am an have been for many years). The Asian's come in at 8.1% (no surprise to me).

It was noted women more often shun meat than men. The east coast and west coast have the greater number of vegetarians. The trend from 1997 to 2000 showed red meat having dropped .5% in consumption; poultry had DOUBLED in consumption (as did fish). Now I can see why the cost of chicken in our area has tripled these past 8 years and fish that we once bought for $2.97 a pound is topping out as high as $12.97 a pound. Ah, the 'supply and demand' and the capitalist just keeps it going..........

Noted: In 1999, the athletic shoe industry was $13.8 billion a year. The average woman's shoe nearly 10 years ago, was $43.88; the men's shoe was $50.84, and we still go to Big 5 shoe store, and get ours on sale for $19.95.

The other item that interested me was the increase in 'hot jobs' in the managerial and professional category. Nearly HALF OF THE TOTAL EMPLOYMENT in 1999, occurred in high-paying managerial and professional positions. Roughly 940,000 new jobs were added in 1999; school teachers, computer scientists, lawyers, and social workers showing the strongest employment gains.

Service occupations DROPPED 313,000 workers from their rolls from 1998 to 1999. The author of the entire article remarks: "Maybe that explains why customer service is so lousy these days."

My remark would be also that's probably why we're going through the credit crisis; gas hike and shortage, as well as foreclosures. All these 'professionals' had to have the big house; the big car - the big boat, and 6 credit cards to keep their ward-robes and home furnishings up to par with their associates. This type of demand certainly inflated the value of 'stuff', and the refusal to do a job that required physical labor or service, has required not only the lay-offs, but fueled the influx of citizens from other countries, to come to this country - willing to work for lower wages, and much like our early settlers, be willing to live a life-style that is modest - or even below the welfare level, just to become a part of a country they thought would give them that 'American Dream'.

I'm wondering what's going to happen when that middle income working group can no longer afford the delivery pizza; the deli meals - the Starbucks coffee, or the dinner and fine wine meals out 2 or 3 nights a week.

Those of us that are over 65, are still on fixed income - we can't increase our take-home pay, or get an increase in salary; not even a cost-of-living adjustment. Still most of us are resourceful and know how to make a meal of a sandwich; banana, and a few grapes with iced tea we made ourselves.

Many of us enjoy shopping those used clothing stores because what the younger generation call 'used', we call it 'washed once or twice'. We get out our needle and thread; stitch up that tiny seam that's come open, and don the blouse to our Senior Center's community dinner.

While the younger generation does the 'toss and trash' routine, we do the 'dumpster-dig and haul it home routine'. We do the 'cash and carry' - we carry no credit card balance, and we've already worked for food, so we don't stand by the side of the road with a sign complaining about, or begging for a thing.

I saw this picture, and labeled it myself - the lines of a long life.

2008-08-04T07:11:00.000-07:00

I talked with my mother early this morning - she's 84, and I hear that voice on the 'phone that always has a cheery 'hello' when she answers....

Soon I'll be spending a couple of months at her home, and thinking of all those who're reaching the latter years - wondering what Ted might have been thinking as I looked at the face of a man whose entire family devoted their lives to our country.

I imagine his mind runs the memory of his father; his beautiful mother, Rose. He remembers his brother who died in a plane crash; another brother who died in Dallas - another who was also shot in Los Angeles, and a young nephew, JFK, Jr. who died in a plane crash in that hot month of July. I'm inspired by the Kennedy courage and stamina - they've all shown us what it is to do 'more' than their fair share in service of our country. My heart is with this man as I know his life is coming to a close.

Okay, I learned Nader is on the ballot - that's my good man of over 40 years! I'm voting for Ralph!

2008-08-01T21:36:00.000-07:00

The survey, taken after Obama's high-profile trip to Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East and Europe, shows him with about the same lead he had last month. It also shows little change since the spring in the faith people have in Obama to handle the Iraq war, terrorism and other issues. People thought his trip was appropriate by a two-to-one margin.

More than four in 10 say they think Obama is acting like he's already won the election, and nearly that many say McCain is attacking him unfairly.

Just over a third think both are arrogant. Obama leads McCain by 46 percent to 42 percent when third-party candidates are included, with Ralph Nader getting 6 percent and Bob Barr, a former GOP congressman from Georgia running for president as a Libertarian, getting 3 percent.

I ironed this gas receipt so I could photograph it - this was 8.5 years ago.

2008-07-24T16:06:00.000-07:00

Back then people paid about eight times per gallon, to get their sugar and caffeine 'kick' as they did to power their car. Today, they're still paying about 3 to 4 times to 'power up with Pepsi or Coke', but you don't hear one complaint about it!

This same 12 gallons that cost us $19.20 on 4/17/2000, now costs us $85.50 where we live. But - the good news is - we don't drink Coke or Pepsi, so since we prefer to 'run on water', and have for about 45 years, I guess we don't gripe as much about gas prices....

I found these, and thought I'd share.

2008-07-24T08:55:00.000-07:00

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
Bibliographic Notes: First published, anonymously, in the 1894 November 17 issue of Saturday Review.

Education is an admirable thing. But it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.

Public opinion exists only where there are no ideas.

The English are always degrading truths into facts. When a truth becomes a fact it loses all its intellectual value.

It is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information.

The only link between Literature and Drama left to us in England at the present moment is the bill of the play.

In old days books were written by men of letters and read by the public. Nowadays books are written by the public and read by nobody.

Most women are so artificial that they have no sense of Art. Most men are so natural that they have no sense of Beauty.

Friendship is far more tragic than love. It lasts longer.

What is abnormal in Life stands in normal relations to Art. It is the only thing in Life that stands in normal relations to Art.

A subject that is beautiful in itself gives no suggestion to the artist. It lacks imperfection.

The only thing that the artist cannot see is the obvious. The only thing that the public can see is the obvious. The result is the Criticism of the Journalist.

Art is the only serious thing in the world. And the artist is the only person who is never serious.

To be really mediæval one should have no body. To be really modern one should have no soul. To be really Greek one should have no clothes.

Dandyism is the assertion of the absolute modernity of Beauty.

The only thing that can console one for being poor is extravagance. The only thing that can console one for being rich is economy.

One should never listen. To listen is a sign of indifference to one's hearers.
Even the disciple has his uses. He stands behind one's throne, and at the moment of one's triumph whispers in one's ear that, after all, one is immortal.

The criminal classes are so close to us that even the policemen can see them. They are so far away from us that only the poet can understand them.

Those whom the gods love grow young.

It's getting close to that long vacation, and I'm going to miss posting....here's where I'm going:

2008-07-24T08:11:00.000-07:00

Gotta hurry on this post - Google says a 'scheduled outage' at 5:30 p.m., PDT

2008-07-22T13:35:00.000-07:00

I guess Google is doing more maintenance; that's about the 4th time in 3 weeks they've shown that 'scheduled outage' statement.

Anyway, what do you think about this five dollar bill!?! I think I'll print out a few, and start handing them to the cashier at the gas station where I get mine - should bring a laugh.

Possibly they should write on the $1.00 bill - "No longer enough for a full cup of coffee".

On the $10.00 bill - "Good for 2 gallons of milk".

On the $20.00 bill - "Buys 2 tickets to a crummy movie".

On the $50 bill - "Food for 4 at TGIF".

On the $100 bill - "Don't have many of these in your pocket do you!"

On the $1,000 bill - "For rich people only". Nuf on that one......

Just a SIMPLE MAN...

2008-07-22T12:06:00.000-07:00

We love to gamble and eat our Saturday evening meal at the Pioneer Hotel and Gambling Hall that's about 8 minutes from where we live.

About 5 months ago I said I was so tired of hearing that lousy country/western music they pipe in. I came home, and built this play-list; to me, there is 'good country' and 'bad country'. Yes, you can ruin a hamburger (some say you can't). You can foul up coffee; the beans can be dry, but I'm guessing those cow-pokes liked anything after a hard day on the range. Here's the play-list; it seems to go well with that photo I took of the 'wooden cow-boy' that's outside one of our favorite places to relax.

http://www.playlist.com/node/27282848

Look at these pictures/photos.

2008-07-20T15:10:00.000-07:00

Two of these copied documents, were NOT drafted by me; you can tell which of the two I'm certain. Another is a painting of an indian - lovely, but how much did that indian who posed for that painting get paid?

I lived in Seattle for 3 years; I saw the Native-American exploited. Here is but a small example of current-day discrimination and bigotry from their blog:

Broadmoor neighborhood
"No part of said property hereby conveyed shall ever be used or occupied by any Hebrew or by any person of the Ethiopian, Malay or any Asiatic Race...excepting only employees in the domestic service on the premises of persons qualified hereunder as occupants and users and residing on the premises."

Greenlake neighborhood
"No person or persons of Asiatic, African, or Negro blood, lineage or extraction shall be permitted to occupy a portion of said property or any building thereon except a domestic servant or servants who may actually and in good faith be employed by white occupants of such premises."

Lake City neighborhood

"No person of African, Japanese, Chinese, or of any other Mongolian descent shall be allowed to purchase, own or lease said real property or any part thereof."

Queen Ann neighborhood
"No person or persons of Asiatic, African or Negro blood, lineage, or extraction shall be permitted to occupy a portion of said property"

Ballard/Sunset Hills neighborhood
"No part of said property hereby conveyed shall ever be used or occupied by any Hebrew or by any person of the Ethiopian, Malay or any Asiatic Race."

Magnolia neighborhood

"No person or persons of Asiatic, African or Negro blood, lineage or extraction shall be permitted to occupy a portion of said property, or any building thereon; except, domestic servant or servants may be actually and in good faith employed by white occupants of such premises."

Bellevue
"No person other than one of the white and Gentile and Caucasian race shall be permitted to occupy any property in said addition or portion of a building theron except a domestic servant"

Kenmore
"None of this property shall be sold, leased or rented to any person or persons other than of Caucasian race use or occupy said premises."

White Center
"No part of said property hereby conveyed shall ever be used or occupied by any Hebrew or by any person of the Ethiopian, Malay or any Asiatic Race.."

After 3 years, I moved - I'd had it...just think about it - if you haven't already. We talk about freedom and rights for all; hardly..........

This is a photo of my husband's old t-shirt...

2008-07-16T17:51:00.000-07:00

I must have spent four hours replying to e-mails today. Most of my readers who follow my thoughts about all that's going on in the U.S.A. 'today', find my open and honest remarks, posted at http://thigsbearalbum.blogspot.com/.

Like many bloggers, most of the time we like to make positive and happy remarks; we like to share information and even provide humorous entries to 'teach or treat' the reader. I don't think it's much of a 'treat' to read about the mess Bush and his buddies have gotten this country into, but if you want to 'learn' a bit more about some of the truths; get links that might 'teach you', then visit the Thigs blog....

I love this shirt; love what my husband did for his country - 2 tours of duty in Viet Nam, and admire what my father contributed as he served in WWII. I will not clutter this blog with my political remarks or thinking - just visit 'Thigs' - Thigs is my copyright for my bear completed in 1989. Thigs wore his yellow ribbon; his name means truth, honor, integrity, good spirit. I love my bear, my country, and those who live in it and try to make it better.

2008-07-14T19:57:00.000-07:00

My friend (Mary Marr) who lives in Michigan, keeps me laughing with all the jokes and Maxine cartoons. I'm too lazy to upload the cartoons, but ambitious enough to share some of the remarks Maxine makes - I liked these:

"A man without a woman is a bachelor - a woman without a man is a genius."

"Sure, marriage can be fun some of the time; trouble is, you're married all of the time!"

I get my summer glow from a bottle - it reads 'Zinfandel'....

Why adopt a highway when I already drive like I own the road!

Most stress is caused by 3 things; money, family, and family with no money.

Only on a cruise ship will you pay hundreds of dollars a day to sleep in a closet.

As 'gruff' as I sound; as much as I laugh at Maxine, I remember my favorite time in life was being up at 2:00 in the morning; feeding my little babes, and rocking them near the window as I'd look out at the night. Sometimes it was winter snow piled up; other times it was barren trees with colored leaves scattered on the lawn. I could hear the sounds of the owl; the summer nights the windows were open as I rocked and smiled at my nursing child.

It would often be a spring rain that had come up - off and on; I loved hearing the water run down the water-spout....

I would change my baby's diaper; smooth their hair - hug them up close under my chin, and play with their fingers and toes as they started to fall back to sleep. I'd lie down on the davenport; put them on my tummy, and wait for them to fall to sleep. Nothing smells sweeter than a baby; nothing ever gave me so much joy and peace. I repeated that with my grand-children, and now they're all grown up. Time really does go too fast - we must not miss a single precious moment with our children and loved ones.

I was delighted to find this today. It truly departs from the BIBLE, and makes it UNIVERSAL!

2008-07-14T19:48:00.000-07:00

The Lords Prayer translated from Aramaic into English, rather than from Aramaic to Greek to Latin to English:

O cosmic Birther of all radiance and vibration!

Soften the ground of our being and

carve out a space within us where

Your Presence can abide.

Fill us with your creativity so that we

may be empowered to bear the fruit

of your mission.

Let each of our actions bear fruit in

accordance with our desire.

Endow us with the wisdom to produce

and share what each being needs to grow and flourish.

Untie the tangled threads of destiny that

bind us, as we release others from the

entanglement of past mistakes.

Do not let us be seduced by that which would

divert us from our true purpose, but illuminate

the opportunities of the present moment.

For you are the round and the fruitful vision,

the birth-power and fulfillment,

as all is gathered and made whole once again.

My, it certainly was a lovely and peaceful day.

2008-07-14T17:56:00.000-07:00

Today I met a couple new ladies at the swimming pool. One asked me about recipes; I gave her some for my husband's favorite Greek foods. Another asked me about cutting her hair; tomorrow I'll do that for her.

Then I got a few e-mails; most were about 'songs', and one asked me to create a peaceful set of melodies that would let her sit down on her outside patio; serve a light meal, and just relax.

I told her first to go to http://www.baby-to-sleep.com to get the sounds of rain after a storm; and some lovely birds that we often find at the ocean. Then I made this list up for her - it will last about 4 hours. I told her to 'stay cool' when she prepared dinner. Wine, bread - fruit; cheese, and this play-list, and a nice iced coffee after dinner. I make mine up very strong; I add a bit of vanilla extract; a bit of sugar to make it slightly sweet, then I put in half-and-half. It's chilled over-night; served over crushed ice. I like it....

I figured I'd finish my day by putting this link for the music I gave to Lynn right here too: http://www.playlist.com/node/40645918

The music is pleasant; refreshing, but it's 10 times better with the http://www.baby-to-sleep.com link playing in the back-ground.

I made this sign today because I wish REAL GAS STATIONS would post this type of comparison!

2008-07-14T09:56:00.000-07:00

Those who patronize STARBUCKS - what are they spending for 12 ounces of coffee? They drop $3 for a muffin, and I buy a dozen eggs for $1.79, add a loaf of bread for $1.50, and eat breakfast ALL WEEK for the price of their 'muffin'! I make coffee for the 2 of us for seven days, for the price of their single cup!

I've made a couple entries (below) about how sick I am of all the complaining that's going on right now. In one entry, I made a direct quote from a newspaper when we 'complained' through the recession of 1991! I saved that editorial these past 17 years, to remind me how 'not to complain' when things change; prices increase, and people/consumers still make blunders; mistakes, and rarely see the problem as 'their fault' for their greed - their consumption; their demand to have 'everything'!

I spent years in marketing - the 'law of marketing' is CREATE A NEED AND THEN FILL IT!

Key word is making people THINK they NEED it! Once they believe they've 'gotta have it', it's a whirlwind of retailers and production houses that will show up on the door-step as they drop

their 'latest and greatest' item for you

(like a dumb puppy-dog) to pick up;

take home, and never worry about the balance on your credit card.

We have to pay the price of our carelessness, but we'd rather blame the government or someone else, that 'made us buy it'. Nope, 80% of the time no one was holding a gun to your head to make the purchase; to obligate yourself for a house that not only kept up with the Jones's home, but kept up with their high mortgage and financial obligation/constraints.

Maybe the next time you'd better find out if Mr. and Mrs. Jones are really happy with their purchase, and if they're eating beans 3 nights a week to pay for it.

I promised myself 'no rant' - just the sign I made to try to illustrate how we quickly complain about the cost of gasoline, but keep on buying bottled water and coffee without batting an eye-lash.

Hey dare, Diane - I dig Ron's ditto-head blog!

2008-07-14T09:39:00.000-07:00

Man, I watched all doze videos; got me really pssssssst (gotta write da proper letters now don't I) off! So, seems like you use people still got a pile uv problemz down dare in dat USA!

Well, you gotta know dey got my number back in New York; did my time - shaped up since I got to dah udder side (didn't do much for my spelling tho'). Thx for the hook-up to Ron's blog; hope a few uv doze voters will use dare noggins dis year! Tanks for giving me dis space. Lucky.

I enjoy visiting Ron Tipton's blog....

2008-07-14T09:28:00.000-07:00

If you'd like to offer your commentary on Ron's preference for Obama (as is mine) for president, go to http://notadittohead.blogspot.com, and share your thinking.

Gad, GOOGLE IS SLOW! But, it's still working - look at the time/date I posted the journey to sleep entry, and here's my husband. Diane

2008-07-13T17:20:00.000-07:00

Rick kept insisting that no music list I could put together would put him to sleep. So, I clicked this link for him: http://www.playlist.com/node/28253823 - the music started.

Then I clicked this web-site: http://www.baby-to-sleep.com and the sounds of rain and birds started. They both played simultaneously. Off to sleep is Rick? I think you can see just how peaceful.

Oh yes, and I'm getting tired of people telling me my husband should be John McCain's look-alike even though I do see a resemblence.

I laughed so hard, I woke my husband up!

2008-07-13T16:45:00.000-07:00

Below is my entry about how to 'relax' and settle down. I sent the links to my husband. He decided to check them out. Believe it or not, after about 5 minutes, I looked over and this is what he was doing. My camera flash and my laugh woke him up. Priceless shots, don't you think? Diane

"Teach me, or treat me" - for about 50 years, this has been my personal 'slogan'.

2008-07-13T16:20:00.000-07:00

If the element and source, doesn't 'teach me', or 'treat me', I turn away pretty quickly. Before web-sites and blogs, there were books; teachers - all those influences from when I was born in 1942.

'Teach me tonight' - a song by Doris Day. Yup, teach me, or I'm outta here as I'd say in these most recent times.

'Treat me'? From trick-or-treat when I was a youngster who was very poor; hardly tasted a sweet treat, Halloween was an event to be remembered, and Santa didn't always have the same bank account those town-folk had (so I noticed), and my sock was rarely filled with much at all.

Knowledge is 'king' to me; wisdom is saintly. A peaceful heart was my goal at age 10; by now, at almost age 66, my great grand-daughter (Bella) who's waving to me from the beach (with her parents) gives me a wonderful feeling of joy and accomplishment.

Now, what do I do when I can't see Bella? I first lock into this link: http://www.playlist.com/node/40645918. Once I've got that music playing, I go to http://www.baby-to-sleep.com, and start the sounds of rain; birds, and between the two (since I diminish a window so I can link up to both at nearly the same time), I'm ready to remember my child-hood; my dreams, my goals, and appreciate my country; my children - my simple pleasures, and my health.

I hope you'll do the same. Diane

Nuf said? I think so - gad, pictures are worth a thousand words aren't they!

2008-07-13T10:40:00.000-07:00

After listening to all the 'blah, blah', about Obama versus McCain, and remembering all the 'blah, blah', about why we should elect Bush those many years ago, I figured rather than going on with my own 'blah, blah', these 4 pictures could save me a lot of typing time. Nuf said...

Damn...that Larry at NiteWrite is smart!!!

2008-07-12T17:25:00.000-07:00

Larry left a comment about the post (below), and it's just too good not to turn it into a valid 'entry'. Here it is:
Nitewrit said...
Seems I get old, but these type of come-ons don't. I've been seeing this scam all my life, just the object of quick-buckism changes. When one considers the problem with the mortgage business, perhaps a $100 coupon to get you a $500,000 home will be the next 'bright idea'.
July 12, 2008 5:52 AM***

***A wee bit-o-editing done by the Blogging Elf since Larry noticed a wee bit-o-error. The elf knew what Larry was writing about, and kinda fixed it so he thinks some of us readers can understand it better. By jove, I do believe I understood it the first time, but I'm definitely certain no one will miss the point now.

Okay, now I think I've seen everything! $300 in gas coupons; $1,000 in restaurant-food coupons.

2008-07-11T22:22:00.000-07:00

I just read this, and wonder how many people will send in their money for the coupons, and never receive them. I'm suspect this is definitely a 'shell' game....

All the ifs, ands, or butts*** are at http://www.gas4america.com Here's their 'home page' statement:

For limited time you can purchase a Reward Certificate that will entitle you to $300 worth of FREE GAS CARDS and $1,000 worth of fast food and restaurant coupons.

There are no additional offers to take, no surveys to complete and no "free" samples to try. And the certificate is just $10.00. Buy your certificate, send it in as instructed and within 2 to 4 weeks you will receive your redemption membership kit.

Follow the simple instructions and you will receive $300 worth of Free Gas Cards from your favorite gas station and $1000 worth of fast food and restaurant coupons from more than 60 franchaise and fast food restaurants. It's that easy, again there are no other requirements, buy your gas from your favorite station and begin receiving Free $25 gas cards monthly! A total of 12 - $300 of FREE GAS!

The Gas & Fast Food Reward Certificates were created as a joint venture between Major Ad Agencies and Rewards Printing of California. The purpose is to increase brand loyality. The gas companies want you to buy their brand consistently, not buying a different brand each time.

THIS IS THE MOST EXCLUSIVE GASOLINE REDEMPTION MEMBERSHIP AVAILABLE. Gas4America.com is an authorized distributor of these certificates.

Here's how it works.

1. Purchase your certificate. Click on the Order Your Certificate button to purchase on line or call toll free 1-866-451-3390. The cost is $10.00 plus $9.95 service, postage and handling.

2. You will receive your Official Certificate packet in the mail. The certificate will have a secure serial number, only one certificate per household is allowed. All certificates must be redeemed prior to December 31, 2009.

Fill out the back of the certificate and follow the instructions.

3. Shortly you will receive your redemption membership kit. Again simply follow the instructions. To validate the gas card vouchers you will need access to the internet. Start buying your gas from one gas company and save your receipts. You will receive 12 vouchers (one per month) valued at $25 each. Send that months voucher and $100 worth of gas receipts to fulfillment and in approximately 2 weeks you will receive your Free Gas Card.

No receipts are required for the restaurant coupon vouchers.

4. Start enjoying your coupons and receiving your FREE GAS CARDS!

***Spelled this way, because there's probably going to be a few in a sling, and a couple of tits in a few wringers as I see it.

We have an epidemic of over-weight people, and that's all we need is to give them coupons for junk food (80% of the restaurants participating in this 'joint venture' are fast-food).

Instead of suggesting those obese folk start walking (hopefully to lose some weight as part of their daily exercise routine)instead of driving their gas-hogging cars, we just give them a chance to gas up their cars,

and get gas after pigging out at Burger King!

Geez, America's 'marketing mafia' seem to have gone more than bananas....

Speaking of more than bananas, now how about some of their 'stipulations and requirements' - again, from their FAQ page:

Home > FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
1. This sounds too good to be true, how can you give away $300 worth of gas cards for so little?
We agree it does sound too good to be true. There is however a good business strategy involved. This is a true win-win, the consumer wins and the gas company wins. In today's economy with your money being worth less and less and the cost of gas and food being more and more all consumers will shop for the lowest price. Brand loyalty is disappearing, for gas we will drive around looking for the lowest price per gallon, we don't care what brand of gas it is (Shell, Hess, BP,etc.) The requirement for the FREE GAS cards is that you buy your gas from the same gas company. Just buy $100 worth of gas each month from the gas company you chose when you activated your certificate. Send the receipts and the voucher as instructed and you will receive a $25 gas card in the mail.
This is a huge deal, if you are paying $4.00 gallon and buy $100 worth (25 gallons) and you get $25 worth of gas free the 25 gallons effectively cost $75.
You saved $1.00 per gallon!
2. Why do you send gas cards in $25 monthly increments?
By collecting receipts from the brand of gas station you have selected, we can prove that we are helping to establish brand loyalty to the gas manufacturers and that consumers deserve to receive a discount for purchasing that brand.
3. How long does this program last?
Simply divide the certificate amount by 25 and the result will be the number of months you will be able to participate in the program.
This $300 certificate (300 divided by 25 = 12) gives you twelve months.
4. Why do I have to purchase $100.00 in gas per month?
This is the minimum purchase requirement established by the program underwriters.
5. What about the restaurant coupons?
They are easy. When you receive your redemption kit you will receive $1000 worth of franchaise restaurant coupon vouchers, choose some restaurants, send in a voucher and you will be mailed coupons.
No receipts to gather, nothing to buy.
---(.)(.)---
---( )( )---
(this all expires 12/31/09)

Diane is snickering as she types this - like I said, 'butts' and a few boobies....

Oh the mighty Pastor of Posting has spoken!

2008-07-11T15:31:00.000-07:00

Hey, I think I should share how I create the most relaxing environment for either 'just listening' - just 'surfing the net', or reading/writing on blogs!

#1 - Go to this website: http://www.baby-to-sleep.com/. Now you've got the birds ever so slightly chirping; the sounds of a restful rain-shower (with a few thunder-claps to boot). Diminish that window....

#2 - Go to http://journeytosleep.blogspot.com Now you've got 'all the right stuff' aka music, that goes terrific with the sounds you captured from the web-site called baby to sleep. If you don't want 8 hours of music to 'rest and sleep' with, but a couple hours of nature's sounds and music to set the mood for a wonderful dinner on the patio, then I suggest you do this. If you can cook, wonderful! If not, then have a few fresh fruits; cheese - wine, and some great bread. Grab up your best glasses and napkins; go to the patio or balcony - get near a window that brings the setting sun 'full-bore' into your home. Now click that baby to sleep site (you can do it with your lap-top). Next, go here: http://www.playlist.com/node/40645918 - you've got wonderful music to enjoy that light meal or selection of fresh fruits and foods to really keep you relaxed; calm, and healthy while you discuss the week with your loved one.

If you want music that's a bit more 'up and running', go to http://retiredindelaware.blogspot.com - there, you might not start falling asleep, but you'll love the music with that soothing rain I'm sure!

At the bottom of this blog (and on the side-bar at the bottom), you'll find all my blogs; each has 6 to 12 hours of music - creating an atmosphere of peace in my life is what I've always managed to do even during the toughest of times.
Diane

Do you ever get tired of those web-sites/blogs with all that 'stuff' on them?

2008-07-11T11:54:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd make a brief entry about what attracts me to a blog. It might be easier to say what makes me 'walk on by'...

I hate advertisements; pop-ups, and all kinds of junky stuff that tells me the primary reason the author created the site, is to pick up some extra cash. So many times, the text isn't worth the read; I don't 'do advertisements', so I move on.

Clean; crisp layouts - I'll stop.

Good bold 'headlines', and I'll take a look.

The first paragraph has to bring it all together

(details and dialog follow that first paragraph).

Type-style has to be easy to read;

good contrast to the back-ground,

and paragraphs set up

(and set out) properly.

Do I like music on blogs? You betcha!

I always go to the musical 'blogs', and web-sites first to see what new melodies might be added.

I guess that's about it.

Time to get things ready for a busy week-end.

Oh yes, and I did decide to put up just 'one seal' - for some reason I think of boots when I hear the word 'Blog'. Put on your 'bloggers' - make tracks, so that's why I designed the seal like I did.

Where that energy comes from....

2008-07-10T03:41:00.000-07:00

I got an e-mail today asking me where I get my energy. Earlier in the day my neighbor asked me to handle some computer work and telephone calls since she felt a bit unsure of how to deal with a medical matter. When I finished et. al. with her, she said she noticed I was up at the wee hours of the morning, and up rather late at night. Again, she asked me how I did so much on so little sleep....

I'm not quite sure, but I've been like this since I was a tiny child. I wonder could it be the music? Right now I'm listening to a short play-list of what I call "Grover and Gato". How can one not be 'up and running' with the sound of their music; lively, and timeless. I've put a link to that play-list on the side-bar because I simply don't want to change the music on this blog; classical is still what I enjoy more than any other kind of music.

But, where do I get my energy from? 'Grooving with Grover & Gato' is my answer....

Oscar LeVante; Gene Kelly, and Lay's Potato Chips

2008-07-07T21:23:00.001-07:00

I love the piano music of Osar; Gene Kelly was my favorite dancer, and Lay's are my favorite chips when I buy them.

Tonight I decided to make them; along with sweet potatoes and the regular white ones, they were delicious! However, the stove was splattered - what a mess to clean up! Suddenly I realized why somethings I do buy 'ready-made' (not often), but Lays is one I can depend on.

Yes, I make my home-made dip; all my stews/roasts - nothing is 'ready-made' because I like my cooking the best. But....let me say, cleaning up the splattered stove; cooling the cooking oil, and finding a 'vessel' to hold the oil so I can use it again, was a bit of a bother.

Then I came back to post a thought, and got this:
Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage
Most likely causes:
You are not connected to the Internet.
The website is encountering problems.
There might be a typing error in the address.

What you can try:
Diagnose Connection Problems
More information
This problem can be caused by a variety of issues, including:
Internet connectivity has been lost.
The website is temporarily unavailable.
The Domain Name Server (DNS) is not reachable.
The Domain Name Server (DNS) does not have a listing for the website's domain.
If this is an HTTPS (secure) address, click Tools, click Internet Options, click Advanced, and check to be sure the SSL and TLS protocols are enabled under the security section.
For offline users
You can still view subscribed feeds and some recently viewed webpages.To view subscribed feeds
Click the Favorites Center button , click Feeds, and then click the feed you want to view.
To view recently visited webpages (might not work on all pages)
Click Tools , and then click Work Offline.
Click the Favorites Center button , click History, and then click the page you want to view.

Okay, once I reconnected, I 'surfed' a bit; here's a little statement about Oscar:

As a headliner in England's music halls, Levante socialized with many of magic's greatest names including Houdini, Dante, Goldin and Selbit, and he does not mince his words when describing these men, some of whom were his friends, some of whom weren't.

Levante - His Life, No Illusion contains over a hundred photos illustrating his long career and spectacular magic show. An appendix describes many of Levante's classic tricks and illusions that have been explained in magic magazines over the years.

My Grandfather Reese is the great grand nephew of Ralph Waldo Emerson

2008-07-06T21:11:00.000-07:00

I see the likeness; Grandpa always said he was glad he didn't get Ralph's ears, but I'm wondering.
These are the words of RWE...with a slight edit by me.
Oh, when I am safe in my eternal home,I scoff at the pride of Greece and Rome;

And when I am stretched beneath the pines

Where the evening star forever shines,I laugh at the lore and the pride of man,
At the sophisticated schools, and the learned clan;
For what are they all in their high conceit,
When scholar and Aborigine, both with God, finally meet.

Yes, I actually had to 'fix' Ralph Waldo's last stanza of his poem called GOOD-BYE, because it was a bit unclear since he chose to use some archaic language that we don't use today.
I love the entire poem; this last stanza seemed to sum it all up for me because I think we often get too infatuated with 'self' - that pride; etc.
I thought you might like this "Diane version" - you can always read the original to see if you think RWE did it better (smile) - most people would never challenge this master, but since he's in our family tree, I'm guessing he would even like a little input once in a while. Love, Mom-Diane
...from an e-mail to my children....

Danilo Bugtong sent me this picture when he thanked me for the money I sent for their Christmas celebration.

2008-07-06T19:16:00.000-07:00

After I read about the terrible typhoon that hit the Philippines a few weeks ago, I sent more money to these children - via Reverend Danilo Bugtong.

Here is the most recent e-mail he sent me:

Dear Diane,

I am blessed to have read you blogs. I am not so
familiar constructing it myself though I know it is
helpful in communication.

We are thankful in including us in your charity effort
despite of the hardship of raising funds to help the
less fortunate children. You can send to our address:
TRICORD, Calitlitan, Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya,
Philippines making it registered. It will be a big
help for us here. It is your direct participation is
what is important to us in touching other peoples'
life.

My family is fine so far. My father who is turning to
his 84th birth is too weak now. The picture I remember
I sent you was standing with his customary and
cultural g-string attire. Now he is totally blind and
bed ridden. He no longer manages himself. Always
assisted in all his movements.

Our children Anilene (25) and Andrew (23) are grown
enough now who are helping me as volunteers during
their spare times in my community development work.
While they are searching for better employment.
Anilene who is registered nurse is eying to work
someday in your country but still looking for an
employer who can provide her job offer, a necessary
document in applying for permit to work in the US.
Andrew is a graduate of two year Information
Technology course while their mother is as usual busy
in the enrolling children in the elementary school as
their entrance is fast approaching, June 2.

We are busy helping farmers to improve their harvest
despite of the calamities that hit northern part of
our country because rice, the staple food among
Filipinos is rising up. In deed we did some
importation from other countries because of shortage
supply. The normal price of 18 pesos a kilo of
ordinary rice now 35 pesos a kilo. We are also
affected by the oil price increase making all primary
commodities prices hike high! But we are confident it
will return to normal again IF it will.

Again, thank you so much of contacting me. I do
appreciate as I long for it be hearing from someone
who come for encouragement at the right time.

Sincerely, Danilo
____________________________________________________________

No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG.
Version: 8.0.100 / Virus Database: 269.24.1/1468 - Release Date: 5/26/2008 3:23 PM

Carlos, this rose if for your grandmother; your grandfather - it's also been given to a dear friend (Jean) who died June 10, 2008

2008-07-06T18:44:00.000-07:00

Note: This is a photo' of my great grand-daugher, Bella, holding a rose that was part of the ceremony and memory of her other great grandmoterh (Jean), who died of cancer - June 10, 2008.

Today I received this e-mail from a darling young man (Carlos) who lives in the Philippines (he's the age of my grandson, Robby):
Dear Lady D,

I apologize for the low volume of my replies. I have been very busy with work as I try to keep up with my responsibilities give to me by my boss. Just yesterday my step - grandfather lost his battle to esophageal cancer. He died at his home peacefully and was pronounced DOA as he was rushed to the hospital. He died at the age of 53.

My grandfather was a farmer. He was happy toiling his farm in the Philippine southern province of Masbate. He would go there early in the morning and greet the dawn with a body full of strength and a simple heart yet overflowing with love for what he did.

His body lies at the small chapel near the cathedral of the nearby city of Marikina. A lot of people are expected to come. Mostly relatives all around the surrounding provinces. My grandfather has a very big clan, so big that places are named after last names of immediate family members.

His body will be flown back to the province after a few days wake.

Personally, yet mourning, I am very happy that he is now at peace along side my grandmother and grandfather of my father's side. He is now at a place were joy and peace is enternal.

As for me, luckily my boss has awarded me a very nice schedule for me this week. I think it was his way of rewarding me for my recent accomplishments and improvements on work. I was planning to celebrate and relax on my rest days but I guess, God made it so for another time for family.

I thank you Lady D, for the mail that you send me. I read them during my few minutes and I learn from them a lot. I will write you more soon. I hope you are doing well on your end. Stay safe and take care.
Love,
Carlos

I can't believe what I stumbled upon!

2008-07-06T17:48:00.000-07:00

I believe that matters of conscience cannot be dictated by laws. Taking a life is not a matter of conscience, but determining when life starts...at conception or latter IS. Approving the RIGHT to an abortion does not mean that I approve OF abortion. It means that I approve of one's right to make a mistake. Either a mistake by getting pregnant or a mistake by eliminating the pregnancy. Apparently that makes me a liberal.
I believe that parents should actually relate to their children rather than simply being related to them; they should be involved in their lives, shape their choices by helping them understand the consequences of their actions and allowing them suffer the consequences when the need arises. Apparently this makes me a conservative.
I believe that the best case scenario for #2 is one loving mother and one loving father. Unfortunately, this is not always possible. Life happens. But the consistent factor is LOVE. One loving mother or father is better than none, and two loving mothers or two loving fathers is better than a dysfuntional mother and an incompetent father. Apparently this makes me a liberal.
I believe in being personally responsible for one's decisions and one's choices in life. A drinker or a smoker must be accountable for the sum of their choices. A thief, whether it is money, credit or identity that is being stolen should suffer the consequences of the crime committed. Equally, a hardworking, dedicated individual should be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Apparently, this makes me a conservative.
I believe that the state of an individual is not always attributable to the sum of their choices. Children are born into dysfunctional families and become dysfunctional students out of no fault of their own. Families are split apart by financial difficulties borne of illness, overall economic downturns and other situations that are not of their making. These people, who for all I know could be me someday, deserve access to tools that will allow them to survive, flourish and renew. Apparently this makes me a liberal.
I believe that mistaking lack of motivation and neediness for true need creates a weaker individual who in turn creates more weak individuals. Many people in need are only victims of their own choices and decisions and should be held accountable for those choices. Apparently that makes me a conservative.
I believe that those who are enriched by the labor of others should share their good fortune proportionally based on the effort, captial invested, creativity, etc. that created the wealth. Apparently this makes me a liberal.
I believe that entrepreneurs take risks that employees do not and that Capitalism provides greater reward for greater risk. Income derived from employment requires little more risk than the continued success of the employer. And while no employee should be taken advantage of, neither should any employer be unfairly exploited just because they may have more capital than their employees. Apparently, this makes me a conservative.
I believe that Capitalism and Greed are not synonyms but that too often they have become fused and confused , aided by the jargon of talk show hosts such as Rush Limbaugh who manipulate the concepts to equate Capitalism with an American right to waste and excess; as if this is somehow a trait to be applauded and lauded as patriotic. Apparently this makes me a liberal.
I believe the forefathers were bent on creating a community of faithful who could worship God as they saw fit. As such, belief in God was an important element that guided the hands, hearts and minds of the creation of our nation. Re-writing history to pretend that separation of Church and State somehow was meant to provide freedom FROM religion or to deny the reality of its import in our communal beginnings is foolish and wrong. Apparently this makes me a conservative.
I believe that the world we live in today is a very different place than it was at the time of the framing of the Constitution and that the spirit of the meaning of freedom of religion has only changed enough to allow embracing ALL of humanity's various ways of worship. Inclusion vs. exclusion. Apparently this makes me a liberal.
I believe that the concept of the "majority rules" is the backbone of democracy. If the decision of the majority somehow offends the sensibilities of the minority it is up to the minority to use the tools of reason and education to affect the decision but not to impose the will of the minority on the majority. Apparently this makes me a conservative.
I believe that government should provide its citizens with national safety and security including protection from any collective means of spreading harm from forces of power; internal or external. Apparently this makes me a liberal.
I believe that citizenship is not to be taken lightly; it requires sacrifice and understanding of our government's structure underscored by the history that created it. I believe that it is the responsibility of each citizen to feel passion for their country, for the process that gives it continual life; to discern between politics and public service. I believe that Patriotism is not a collection of words but a series of actions and I believe that the further we drift from the orgins of our nation, the more the world grieves for us because the world has benefitted from our success. What does that make me?
Confused. That much I know.
Posted by AJay at 8:09 AM

His blog is http://banannachips.blogspot.com/ Yes, he put an extra 'n' in banana....

Today Google said I'm using 23% of my allowance for uploading photos/pictures.

2008-07-06T17:32:00.001-07:00

Well I'm glad I picked a blog template with lots of bright colors; means I can reduce the number of uploaded photos/pictures, since I'm now approaching 23% of my allowed usage.

I want to mention two particular bloggers, where I visit as often as I can. I enjoy their candor; their music, and their writings. First, Ron who lives in Delaware - http://retiredindelaware.blogspot.com. Second, http://nightnotes-nitewrit.blogspot.com/

Their remarks are sincere; personable, and about real life. I think of 'real life' - I hate reality t.v. shows; wouldn't watch one unless you paid me a handsome sum of money to do so. Reality T.V. is not about what is real - it's contrived, and manipulative. I could do a real long entry here on what I think about it, but I think I'll spare you the 'read', and your eyes.

Take a visit to the 2 blogs I've mentioned, then check out the links they've selected. After you've made all those 'visits', you'll be glad we have these kind of people as part of our USA.

Going through my old file called 'News Articles I want to keep'...

2008-07-06T12:47:00.000-07:00

The signs are unmistakable - the U.S. economy is not merely in a temporary recession - the yang of a ying-yang trade cycle. Rather, it is trapped in a structural and possibly long-term depression. As the illness worsens, the hyenas in the White House and Congress are circling, to see what political profit they may derive from the remaining bones.

The connections between regulation and America's economic woes are high-lighted when comparing the U.S. auto industry with its relatively unregulated German counterpart. German cars - particularly Mercedes, Audis, and BMWs - may be the best in the world. Volkswagen is the best-selling car in Europe.

American environmental regulations have backfired. The U.S. national 55 m.p.h. speed limit was introduced as a conservation measure, then maintained because it was deemed to make highways safer. Yet gas consumption today is at an all-time high.

According to Congress's Office of Technology Assessment, making cars more efficient requires that they be either smaller or lighter. Saving weight means abandoning technologies such as rear-wheel drive, which handles better under dry conditions, or four-wheel drive, which is safest in wet and snow. It means lighter materials such as aluminum or plastic.

-Hey- These words were written November 7, 1991 - Orange County Register - drafted by Alston Chase. When you realize this is almost 17 years ago, and we're still doing 'blah blah' about that, let's take note of what is really been done about the small cars. I think the announcement of the 'Smart Car' shows what's been part of one company's agenda these past 17 years.

Now, about that recession.....should we say simply, "I'm baaaaaaaaaaack".....

Hi - if you came to visit, the most recent post is on the side-bar.

2008-07-06T12:28:00.000-07:00

To keep from having to scroll for old posts, there won't be any entries kept more than 10 days. Look to the right; see the diary? Think of that space as the old chalk-board your teacher used. Remember having to get that assignment 'copied down', before she errased it? Not only that, 'old news' is old news'...what I have to say is thought; written, and then I 'move on'.

I got a kick out of this sign, and I do have a son named 'Tom'...

2008-07-05T05:57:00.000-07:00

I'm getting a bit tired of my family and friends talking about the high price of gas; the increase in groceries, and all the troubles with the economy - foreclosures, etc. We're all in the same boat (to some degree), but going over the same ground; 'sawing sawdust', drives me buggy. All this 'venting; moaning, and complaining really doesn't seem to relieve the load, because if it did my friends and a few family members wouldn't keep harping about it (as I see it anyway).

So, I got up early - took a great walk, then I decided to head over to one of my favorite web-sites, and as I was reading through the section on how not to be a grumpy old man, I found these words:

If the price of oil increases, there is not much you can do about it. Just because you incessantly complain about the price of oil, Saudi Arabia is not going to start producing an extra 10 million barrels a day. If you get upset things like this, you will invariably make yourself miserable. To some extent, we have to be accepting of external things beyond our control.

For example, Governments always have and always will do things which are popular; we can’t expect this to change. But, what we can do is change our attitude.

Rather than getting worked up by these things, we can develop a greater sense of detachment. Don’t allow your life to be dominated by complaints on the outside world.

So, this morning I'm going to print this entry about 8 times, and put it into the mail with a humorous card - I really think we need to 'get on with it', and was tickled to find this man's words (so I can sneak out of trying to say them myself).

Now, let me share the link to this man's web-site; it's just one of my favorites!

http://www.srichinmoybio.co.uk/blog/category/happiness/

I used this to memorialize GC on another blog of mine...

2008-07-04T21:07:00.000-07:00

A while ago, we decided to have a little snack before heading out to the fireworks for the 4th. We got to talking about George Carlin; I think I had the most to say, because he was part of my 'trinity' of favorites.

Jackie Gleason; I could do at least an hour on why I loved him. Red Skelton - make it two hours as to why I thought he was not only one of the finest comedians, but artist and human being.

George Carlin - brilliant; genius - probably had to release his pent-up disgust (and potentially, his anger) through humor....if not, he'd have committed murder multiple times. Yes, that's a harsh statement and comparison, but I truly believe GC saw so much injustice; so much abuse - so much that he wanted to vomit. Vomit; kill - destroy or make joke of....

There was no room in the life-time of GC, for vigilante recourse. This was not the time of Wyatt Earp; no Jessie James thinking allowed!

GC had to 'deal with it', and he helped many of us accept

and handle it too.

I really enjoyed spending some time watching some of his videos of late, as well as early ones too.

In memory of someone I really respected and who kept me laughing my entire adult life - George Carlin - May, 1937 to June 2008.

Here's the link - I hope you enjoy the videos

as much as I did....

If you want to see some of the 'old Carlin',

use this link: http://www.hulu.com/videos/search?query=george+carlin

To see a more recent GC - complete with his beautiful gray/white hair (what was left of it), then go to:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/2183/inside-the-actors-studio-george-carlin-on-dogma

Up at 3:10 a.m.; pouring coffee in my cup, and thought I'd take a picture of it.

2008-07-04T07:12:00.000-07:00

I have so many 'one of a kind' coffee mugs; just one more of my goofy quirks. For some reason, I like the taste of coffee out of an interesting mug or cup. No doubt it goes back to my child-hood when dad and grandma drank out of those plain white (or green) mugs.

Anyway as I said on the side-bar, my periodic entries will be at the bottom of this site - cleared out so this doesn't get all filled up with my idle remarks. When I do think something is worth keeping, it will be here as it is now. Why is this worth keeping?

It's the 4th of July; I'm getting lovely phone calls and e-mails, and each individual seems to really be focused on just what this day means to the citizens of America. I can't recall in recent years, so much awareness, but I'm very happy to hear it since I've always had such a sense of patriotism and pride in my country.

No doubt, having my dad be gone during WWII, gave me a clue (early on) as to just how important our freedoms are - and what millions have done to protect them.

It's a good day ....

About my love of music and my piano...

2008-07-02T12:25:00.000-07:00

Blackie's on the keys
He taps and bats the ivory
as if he's coaxing a song
I try to pick out a melody
but I seem to get it wrong
Grandpa comes in the driveway
and here comes Ethel too
Ethel looks down at me
and says,

"I'm here to teach the piano
To you!"
Barefoot Contessa I'm not;

Barefoot and
Messy I am
Whispy hair; dirty blouse
Bruised knees - grubby elbows
But I politely say, "Hello, ma'm"...
Out come 3 books; Hanon and the
Red Book "A"
A funny booklet with 5 lines real thin
One half hour to learn;

$1.50 to pay
My legs dangle from that enameled piano bench
I stare at these funny black blots on the page
Ethel's talking; pointing here and there
Pretty darned smart (I tell her she knows a lot)
...she first answers me with a penetrating stare...

Then she chuckles softly;

that strange look still in her eyes
Then she says skill comes from experience
and the older we become

we get ever so wise!
She moves to my first assignment - 3 pages to learn
C-scale;

up and down, over and over
so an excellent grade I will earn

She bids me good-bye; I know I will try

I'll work really hard - I'll not dally or sigh

I'll be a 'pianist' one day...all my friends I will tell,

but then
two days later my dad starts to yell!
"Do you have to play that damned thing
today?"
"Stop singing those lyrics 'this is up, this is
down'...
...can't you go outside and play?"
Lucky me, it was harvest time
Dad spent long hours in the field
Mom worked in the garden
And for every song I played well
Grandpa paid me a dime
I learned all the songs in that Red book
In one week; proud of me, yes sir-ee
Got the C-Scale 'knocked'; went to
the F-Scale and what's this
Tic-tac-toe thing
very puzzling to me
Mom called Ethel; she said wait 'til
I come
I called up grandma, and told her
I thought that was dumb
Well grandma agreed; told me what to do
"Better yet, let me drive out, and show
that sharp to you...."
So, a brand new book to start my second week;
The Schaum's Blue one
and of course I have to peek
all the way to the end; again I explore
and by week 3,

Ethel said,

"Marie, we need
one more...."
Now it's the Orange book - I'm going through
"C";

faster and faster, now two sharps on my scales
Before I know it

I'm in book "E"
"F" is for the hard stuff;

then I learn Chopin
Mozart; Beethoven - oh how they challenge
my tiny hand-span
Glizzando - trill; arpeggio
and away I go
Chords and Occidentals
Thirds and triplets (my I'm getting good)
Then Ethel gets sick;

no more lessons will I have
But I just keep studying

because I knew I could
Now I play for Sunday School
Then the Glee Club's next for me
The Follies; I'm teaching
My first student; my second
Then I'm up to three
I'm 17; I'm excited - 10 students to learn (as I did)
I hardly remember that time long ago
when I was a wary, scrawny, kid
A kid with dirty finger-nails
A child who heard my cat on those keys
A bit of a Tom-Boy with flying hair
Ever curious, and with scrubbed-up knees.

This is the farm-house where I walked the quarter-mile drive for 9 years.

2008-07-01T01:38:00.000-07:00

I'm very tired; should be sleeping,

but had to put this here before I leave for Palm Desert:

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village, though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there's some mistake.

The only other sound's the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.
-Robert Frost-

Yes, he had such beautiful feet - and so did she....

2008-07-01T01:28:00.000-07:00

I wrapped him once in swaddling clothes
and now I wrap him again in death
I wrapped him special to keep him warm
I wrap him carefully as he takes his last breath
I hold him close
the cloth is too short
his feet will be cold
Oh my God - help me
please!
I've kissed those toes so many times before
I watched him crawl on
wee chubby knees
I've prayed on mine today
bruised and cut
like his face
our blood now mingles again
now
as I hold him
in this final embrace
If only I could cover
his trembling feet
please help me find more cloth
Such long toes
weathered
still so very sweet
his muscles lean - straining
going limp
his wet hair - matted
could someone help me dig the grave
that holds him now
so warm
and find me a scarf
the one
I dropped on the way?
We'll wrap his beautiful feet together and forever in all
men's hearts he'll stay - I promise
you one day they'll cherish
what you tried to say...
I promise you, my son, you'll
live years beyond your time
and all that you've done will be legend
in song
in prose
and in rhyme.
Yes, all mothers will sing
kiss their children's faces as I
kiss yours
and cover their tiny feet with bootkins;
sandals
as they walk the many shores
by many oceans - on grass
and soil
and though they sweat
in the pain of birth
and toil
they'll kiss their sons
all their children
..their fingertips and nose
holding their babes - eternal
Eternal and Delicate
is my
beautiful ROSE
The thorns that have cut my fingers; the thorns that
have crowned your head
each will I pick out carefully
carefully as once
I laid you in your bed!
I fold your hands across your chest
and remember when you waved good-bye
I've wrapped my son
again
carefully
so your feet and hands will stay safe
Dry - safe; from head to toe
dry and warm you'll always
stay
dry - wrapped again in your
'swaddling' shroud
One day from the manger mansion you'll arise....
"...now you can take my
son
away!

I wrote this in March of 1993

-Diane Stirling-Stevens-

My neighbor (Jackie) is black - she works with Autistic children

2008-07-01T00:28:00.000-07:00

Jackie is as beautiful as this model's picture. I have a friend Rovinia - I call her 'Ro'. Another friend is black - her name is Lessie; she's the best. I swiped this picture from one of the best blogs I've yet to read. I've got more black lady friends, than white - I wonder why....

Most recently I received the nicest e-mail from Justice Jones; another brilliant black lady - poetic; beautiful indeed. Here is her e-mail to me:

Dear Diane,
Hello and greetings from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
I read a lot of what you had to say on your blog about weight loss and music.
I loved the music you have playing especially "dancing in the streets". That is one of the songs that plays on my Cher's Hot dance video.
I consider myself to be young but I feel that I have an old soul.
(that's just a side note)
I set up my blog page yesterday and today I was searching for people that have the same interests as myself and came across your page.

I'm grateful for your wisdom and I do hope you will reply and that we can begin to communicate.
I read the power of your subconsious mind about a year ago.
And I just recently read the secret like last month. I've been reading the science of getting rich everyday now for about 3 weeks.
I believe in my heart that reading is fundamental to our growth and maturity.
I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder about 13 years ago and a few years later I had a therapist that suggested I begin keeping a journal. I did and what came out of me was a book of poetry and prose.
I thought that God had given me the gift of poetry to share with the world, so in 2006 I had my book self-published.
I was drawn to the books I mentioned earlier because for several of my adult years I have been poor...living on disability...with no transportation and all that goes with being poor.
My situation is changing. Praise God!
A few months ago my husband did some work for this guy and he paid him with this computer. So now I'm using it to try and connect with people in order to get the word out about my book as well as to broaden my horizons.

I would like it if you would visit my blogspot..I'm just getting started so I don't have much on it yet. It would be great if you would also visit my website and sign my guestbook.
I hope this email reaches you and I hope when it does that you are having a great day.
Thank you for making such a postive impression on me.
Take Care, sincerely,
Robynne Price
AkA
Justice Jones
Author
The Breadth of Love
Main Website: http://www.thebreadthinc.ws
Blogspot: http://www.justicejones.blogspot.com

Now check out the site where I swiped this beautiful photo,

and meet more of what I call, 'Black Beauty'. http://gorgeousblackwomen.blogspot.com/

Now the English say: "What do you mean there's no rhyme for orange!"

2008-06-30T23:36:00.000-07:00

Orange for my foot-man; you lazy old pup

Orange for my carrier to pick me up

Orange is not a word that can rhyme

Unless you orange for the Queen - with her accent - it's time

To orange for a reduction in petro

Because if you don't orange

I can't go

here, there

everywhere

From Ireland to Scotland

'lest I take the mare

the mare who dumps her oats

in a manner quite unmannerly

who sometimes passes gas

and I'd like to pass the lass

who is passing on buying gas

as she thumbs her nose and rides

she thumbs her booty

and not as snooty

while I scream for guides

and try to hide

my face in this disgrace

wondering where there is a way

to ploy the USA to start

another war

today...

From the mum who's keeping it, Queen "E".***

***today someone reminded me there was no rhyme for 'orange', but I won $200 in a contest back in 1989 for doing just that.....

Now I really do need to get my sleep - it's about 11:42 p.m., I was born 11:42, and I'm old.......

Time to 'hit the hay'...

2008-06-30T22:04:00.000-07:00

Geez, as my grandson would say! I'm tired; have put in a long day, and ever so ready to take the next 2 weeks 'off' from 'things to do', and almost run out of the blah, blah, blah, I thought I was up to posting!

I wanted to get enough on this blog before I left, to possibly give a few friends (and family) some links to some very good 'stuff' - leads, as I used to say when I was running my own business.

The ability to 'network' - to sell, without really selling is so 'key' into today's competitive world!

You have to believe in what you're selling - service or product. You have to know your product; you have to be capable of providing a top-notch service, because competition is very keen and very cruel if you won't stay on top of the game.

Today I helped a telemarketer with a very simple method of 'talking personal'. You put up a picture of someone you love, while talking about your product or service. You'll automatically 'smile' as you talk; you're looking at a special person, and it will truly show in your voice.

It is 'music' to the ears; it appeals to the senses - it is like the songs playing here now. If I had posted a bing, bang, boom irritating set of songs, you'd be out of here in a heart-beat!

They talk about web-sites that are 'sticky'. This means will the reader 'stick' to your site long enough to have a clue as to what you're offering (if you're trying to promote yourself, or sell something).

Sticky indeed! You've got to stick like glue; stick with the sweetness of honey, and hang in there with the tenacity of vinegar and a vintage wine!

The strength of apple cider vinegar; the softness of a mellow red wine - the courage of a pit-bull, and the gentleness of a lamb. Wow, I've just invented a hybrid 'creature'!

Anyway, now that I'm really ready for bed; have accomplished a lot this week, I'm going to relish my sleep time. I'm heading on over to http://journeytosleep.blogspot.com for my sleepy-time music.

Below this beautiful prose, are the words of Alan Watts. I like them.

2008-06-30T18:27:00.001-07:00

I suppose most of you have heard of Zen, but before going on to explain any details about it I want to make one thing absolutely clear. I am not a Zen Buddhist. I am not advocating Zen Buddhism, I’m not trying to convert anyone to it. I have nothing to sell. I am an entertainer. That is to say in the same sense that when you go to a concert and listen to someone play Mozart he has nothing to sell except for the sound of the music. He doesn’t want to convert you to anything. He doesn’t want you to join an organization in favor of Mozart’s music as opposed to Beethoven’s. And I approach you in the same spirit, as a musician with his piano or violinist with his violin, I just want you to enjoy a point of view which I enjoy.
-Alan Watts-

And away I go - just when I think I'm going to do the blah, blah, blah thing....

2008-06-30T17:55:00.001-07:00

Husband is back; we're almost packed - this sounds like a rhyme, and I'm out of time. The holiday is going to be fun; plenty of pictures to take, and beautiful scenery to gaze at as I drive along. Wish I could take this music with me, but I've got some pretty good songs for the road. It's a hot one here today; we run in the triple digits most of the summer and early fall. Sad to say, we're needing some rain for the trees and grass, but at least the sprinklers are 'doing their thing'.

Our state is starting with its water-rationing, so don't know how long I can sneak my little buckets of water to the plants, without getting into trouble with the water company.

Most of the foliage is made up of desert cactus, so they hold up well. Rocks and cactus .. gotta love it, and we have an abundant supply.

Car's gassed; check-list complete, and now it's time for a shower and dinner out. Have a wonderful 4th of July, and do remember why we celebrate it; it's not all about hot dogs, potato salad, and fire-works.

I simply can NOT let this go un-noticed....

2008-06-30T17:27:00.000-07:00

Boy, I just love this music web-site; gotta share right now!

http://www.thepastwhispers.com/Music_of_the_Night.html

Do yourself a favor, and visit it - it's splended!

I got an e-mail from this lady who asked me "Why all the blogs?"

2008-06-30T17:04:00.000-07:00

Essentially I needed a place for my music, and to eliminate over 370 'bookmarks' that were driving me batty trying to find anything. So I broke up the topics - figured where I could create 'blogs' that would augment those subjects, and my 'blogs were born'!

On the side-bar you can find my 'stuff'.

You'll find the Ron Sails Away blog; that was 'born' because I was helping a very nice man in Delaware put music on his web-sites. His love of people; family - friendships, and nature said I should 'build on that blog', and so I have. I don't add much to it; it really is a tribute to Ron....

And they Call her Breezy is a tribute to my mother; her life - and her recent bout (and recovery) from cancer. It's a 'biggy' - lots of photos; memories, and love on that blog. Probably nothing anyone wants to look at but 'me and the kids'.....

The Women on Women blogs are just that - 'women stuff'.

The one on Rock and Roll with the Recession came from the current situation in the USA - and friends who wanted ideas. I was just so tired of writing e-mails and analyzing friend's 'budgets', that I figured a blog could do it for 'anyone and everyone' who wrote me.

The Billy Tipton blog is in memory of a great pianist - super music is waiting for you if you visit.

Charity for All was inspired by an e-mail friend who lives in Michigan; she's a sweetie, and wanted to build up a blog, but didn't have the time - it's a tribute to her, and also focuses on some of the things that I believe in as well (and am doing to help).

Easter & Inspirational Melodies - very simple; I love to have this music 'on demand'. The same with the Christmas All Year blog......

Make it Pretty Please is for those who just want to relax to some good music; get a few ideas on how to spend their Tuesday afternoons (as I do) - with a hobby. The All Happy Talk blog is for children - ideas for how mom and dad can have a great time with their kids, and not always be in front of the 'boob-tube'. It features crafts that I've done; crafts and game links, and lots of games that can be played together with your kids - on your computer! I love it, and it has a super photo-show of my children, grand-kids, and great-grand daughter.

Poetic Just is Mine - and part II (2 blogs), are simply my poetry - and more outstanding melodies.

The Crayfish Stewart blog is in memory of a loved-one who died at a young age; more music, and some of my thoughts about prejudice.

The Journey to Sleep is a simple blog; no commentary - music, and links to sites that offer meditation and relaxation concepts. I needed that for my own insomnia.

Country Music for Snobs is just 'goofy' - lots of Red Neck jokes; a few photos, and some country music that frankly I don't like all that much, but gotta be 'tolerant', so tune in if you like that twang-stuff.

Five-Way Chili and Dexter's People Recipes is pretty darned cute if I do say so myself. Photos and great recipes - that's it!

Diet and Music for Weight Loss is how I kept slender my entire life (I'm going on 66 years old). Many people are using it - it's got great bouncy music to exercise to; then the music slows down, as you will after a good work-out.

The In Memory Of blog is just that - we've lost a few friends and family members; we needed 'something' to honor them, and some calming music as well.

I think my favorite 'blog', is the Why I live Where I do one. I get a chance to talk about the area we live in; the places we visit, and show off some of my photos I've taken in the course of my travels. The music is just some of the 'best', and it will play for about 10 hours before you have to start the play-list again. It's truly an up-lifting experience, and it reminds me why I really do love where I chose to retire!

WARNING NOW

Where I get really on my soap-box is on the Thigs Bear Album - do not go there, if you get 'queasy', or don't want to read about all the events in our past and current history that really get me grouchy. Travel at your own risk - but hey, I still managed to find some darned good music to go with that blog as well.

There - all explanations are done; my next entry can actually be some 'blah blah'..........

This blog I made is a bit of 'this and that', but always GREAT MUSIC!

2008-06-30T16:59:00.000-07:00

I like to gab a bit on this blog, but my real 'sneaky' reason for creating some of the sites I did, was just to get my music 'up and running'. I've got about 5,000 songs selected on my play-list web-site, but often it takes so darned long to load up all those songs, I simply had to 'divide and conquer'.

You can visit this blog; it's pretty much 'female talk', but the music is 'dynamite' (or so I think). Here's that link: http://womenonwomenwow.blogspot.com/

I'm always curious; seeking answers....

2008-06-30T16:56:00.000-07:00

One of my first blogs, was just getting together all the information I liked, and putting it in 'one place'. Along with that, I offered up a bit of my thinking - my answers that work for me. You can visit that blog by hitting this link:

http://wowanswers1.blogspot.com/

I built this TWICE-BAKED POTATOES BLOG because I love to do both!

2008-06-30T16:48:00.000-07:00

I love twice-baked potatos. I love red potatoes. I love to make garlic-mashed potatoes using red potatoes (keeping the skins on); garlic to taste, some nice butter and a bit of sour cream all 'squashed' into those potatoes! I don't blend them; I mash them leaving a few little 'lumps' of goodness.

This blog isn't all about mashed potatoes or baked potatoes - it has some of the things I think about - things I would suggest we keep as part of our daily 'pact' to ourselves, to be grateful for; never forget, as well as some measures I take to minimize my hectic day. Here's the link:

http://twice-bakedpotatoesandthinking.blogspot.com/

My first entry! I got the idea for this template because of all the music I've gathered for my playlists!

2008-06-30T16:38:00.000-07:00

I also figured I won't need to add too many photos here because the musical tape template is busy enough! Now I'll finally keep a journal and make periodic entries like the 'normal' bloggers do!

All my other blogs are filled with ideas; photos, and are 'theme'-oriented. Well, after I got done with those 'themes' and pictures, I didn't leave myself a place to write about 'stuff' - things that happen to me, that I'd like to share.

I'll probably put links to my other blogs, if I dare show just how many I've built. After all of that blog construction; looking at my old CD's and musical tapes I rarely dust off any more, it seemed I could pile up my simple remarks along side these tapes - stacked and gathering dust....

Blah, blah, blah - seems like the right title for a gabby old lady like me.

Added entry July 3, 2008 - watch me sneak this 'punny' poem in...

Actually, it has significant meaning to me - usually when something is so VERY serious, that it might make me 'cry', I resort to humor - for me it works. The poem? I wrote it in less than 70 seconds:

The title: UN-HAND ME, DOWNS!
Un-hand me downs my talent
And hand me down my brains
Un-hand me downs my spirit
And hand me down disdains
For those who fail to notice
What and who, have done it before
Mom - dad; uncle; grandparent
That inspires and opens our
Un-handed door
Habit; custom - do it or bust-em
Bust a move; bust a mouth
Bust the bank, and move down south
Bust the dust; dust that bust
With a gust and a soul
I easily know my goal
Mentor; dented - or carriage pushed
Papoose; Talouse - trek or wreck
Grab that kid behind the neck
Grab the young'un - spelled right or not
I grabbed it early - look at what I done got!