Past and Future Predictions in Technology

In 1993 AT&T ran this seriers of ads.  Most of these have arrived. 



And here's a video from Microsoft about future technology in 2019:

Photo Friday

Y'all have accents, but we don't



Here's very interesting site where someone has mapped North American dialects.  You can click on an area and You-tube links are shown where you can hear the spoken dialects.

As I have said many times, I live in an area where we have no accent. This site indicates I live in Central Midland, the "Least distinctive dialect in the U.S."   His map indicates South Florida residents speak a similar way.


According to my SIL, who has a degree in linguistics in addition to computer engineering, we do have a quirky use of words in Central Illinois.  In most parts of the country "any more" is used in the negative (i.e. I don't want any more), but in our area we also use the words "any more" in the positive to mean "nowadays" (i.e. Any more I enjoy doing that.).  So we don't have accents around here, but we like to rearrange words to keep people guessing what we really mean.

PSA - Why the other lines at the checkout move faster

Here's an interesting video explaining checkout lines and why you should shop at stores with a single queue line if you're in a hurry.

Tuesday Titillation

They always brag about their big equipment

but now there's proof:  country boys' parts are bigger than city boys.

In the December issue of the journal Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Bulgarian doctors report results of a 6,200-boy survey showing “a modest though significant difference … with respect to penile size between urban and rural populations.”

These doctors used the latest scientific instruments to make their calculations.  A rigid tape measure was used for determining length and an orchidometer was used for measuring testicle size. An orchidometer is a series of beads that one holds up to the testicle and judges size by comparison (eye-balling it).

Now you understand why John Denver was thanking God.

Music Monday - For those of you meeting the family this week

Photo Friday

Christmas 1953

Thursday Thoughts - Repost just to annoy certain people

You long-time readers know of which post I'm speaking. For you new followers you can read it here.

Now if you live in warmer climates or don't want to deal with scratchy sweater material, you can purchase ugly Christmas sweater t-shirts here. I didn't see any with blinking lights or 3-D red noses so you may be forced to wear the real thing if you want to go first-class.

And here's a catchy apropos seasonal song for you to enjoy:

Gift suggestion for raising a feminist child

Tuesday Titillation

In Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, a local postal worker not only delivered a package to a local business, he delivered his OWN package.

"A male postal worker was arrested for lewd and lascivious behavior after walking naked into an office to deliver mail"

It was his personal effort at trying to bring some holiday cheer.

"he told an employee in that office that he was going to come back naked to deliver mail because she seemed stressed out and he wanted to cheer her up and make her laugh. "

She apparently didn't appreciate getting "junk" mail.

9 Questions to Ponder & Good Advice from Jefferson

Music Monday

Oh, Ricky, how I loved you when I was but a wee thing and you were a handsome older man. And I do believe those stories that you had sex with thousands of women. Who could resist those dreamy eyes?

Ninja Meme-Part I

From Sunday Stealing:

1. What do you add to your coffee?
Coca-cola, hold the coffee

2. What are you reading now?
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers

3. Do you own a gun?

I won't tell. It's best to keep 'em guessing.

4. Are you registered to vote?

Unfortunately I'm probably still in the system.

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments?

Only if I have to take off my clothes or get on a scale.

6. What do you think of hot dogs?
I'm a fan of big (Chicago) wieners.

7. Favorite Christmas Song?
If this doesn't make you feel good after hearing it, you're a Grinch.



8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning?
Coca-cola (Why have a doughnut and coffee when you can get your caffeine and sugar an easier way?)

9. Can you do push ups?
No, but my bras can.

10. What was the name of your first boyfriend/girlfriend?
I think is was Randy in first grade, but I was always concerned he was trying to look under my dress.

11. What’s your favorite piece of jewelery?
I don't wear any jewelry except on rare occasions, but I do treasure a small locket I have that belonged to my grandmother.

12. Favorite hobby?
writing or going to auctions

13. Do you work with people who idolize you?
Since I now work in a single person office, I suppose that answer is yes (and no).

14. Do you have ADD?

No, but I shake my foot if I'm bored.

15. What’s one trait that you hate about yourself?
that I'm not 5 inches taller and this just isn't working:

16. What’s your Middle name?
The last name of some stranger.

17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment.
The wind is howling.  I'm hungry.  BTL sandwich.

18. Name 3 things you bought yesterday.
Coca-cola, romaine lettuce, bacon

19. Name 3 beverages you regularly drink.
water, Coca-cola, milk

20. Current worry right now?

What, me worry?  It's easier to laugh about things.

21. What side do you dress to?
I'm a female, so it's not that complicated.


22. Favorite place to be?
Home

23. How did you bring in the New Year?

zzzzzzzzzzzz

24. Where would you like to go?
Anywhere but the bathroom. I've seen too much of it lately.

25. Name three people who will see today.

mom, dad,  and my brother-in-law from California who has been brave enough to stay at my house this week -a decision he may regret when he flies back home tomorrow and the airplane rest room is occupied.

TGI Saturday!

What a week!  I'm finally back and all three parents are now home from the various hospitals.  Yes, they were not all in the same hospital but at least they were in the same town.

FIL, who gave us a scare earlier this year, has amazed us again and recovered from pneumonia, an ear infection, and very serious sepsis. We knew he was back to normal when he did the Crypt-o-quote on Thursday.  He will be home to celebrate his 99th birthday next week.

What was originally thought to be more serious for one of my parents during an emergency room trip, turned out to be dehydration from intestinal flu.  The original diagnosis was discarded when the following day the other parent and my brother came down with vomiting and diarrhea. So my two parents were in the hospital getting fluids while my brother took care of himself and I cleaned the bathrooms.  We brought them back home on Wednesday.

I was bragging to them about how cautious I had been using latex gloves and sanitizers and how I rarely get sick because I have such a great immune system, when Mother Nature had had enough of my boastfulness and decided to make me pay for it. Thursday morning brought me 8 hours of misery ejecting fluids simultaneously from top and bottom, followed by 12 hours of sleep, and Friday spent gaining back my strength. I haven't been this sick in decades.

It is hard enough to deal with this kind of illness when you are normally very healthy and have the ability to run very fast, shower, and clean the bathroom before the next wave begins.  When one is elderly, however, and needs medical equipment simply to walk, speed isn't an option and the results are humiliating and degrading to the ailing patient.  If I find out who gave this to my dad and started it all, I'm gonna make him pay!

Of course, now that it is all over and under control, we laugh about how most of our discussions this week involved bodily fluids - blood, mucus, phlegm, vomit, diarrhea, urine.  Why there wasn't any pus this week is a mystery to all of us. The fact that semen was absent wasn't even questioned.

Quick update

Maximum number was reached this morning. 

This blog may be quiet for a few days

I am getting mighty close to the maximum number of my parents who can be in the hospital at the same time. Even the lone wolf remaining needs assistance.

Despite what Meatloaf said, 2 out of 3 is bad.

Snow tonight!

Thursday Thoughts - Civil Unions in Illinois

It appears that Illinois will become the fifth state in the US to allow civil unions.  The law is awaiting the governor's signature and he has indicated he will sign it. 

 According to the website, Equality Illinois, this Act will ensure all couples (including heterosexual, not just gay/lesbian) in Illinois access to nearly 650 plus rights, benefits, and protections guaranteed to married couples and their families, including:

*Emergency medical decision-making power and hospital visitation rights
*Equal access to state spousal benefits (including workers' compensation, spousal pension coverage, etc.)
*Equal access to domestic relations laws and procedure (including divorce and division of property)
*Equal access to civil actions dependent upon spousal status (wrongful death actions)
*Equal tax treatment at the state and local level
*Spousal testimonial privilege
*Inheritance rights and equal estate tax treatment
•Couples would be able to enter into a civil union by obtaining a license, exchanging vows before a secular or willing religious official, and then registering their unions. All current rules governing annulment, divorce, and property division would apply to partners in a civil union.

It seems to me that the only thing this bill did was create another fee generating license that duplicates the marriage license rules - a duplication done simply to appease those people/religions who define marriage as a union between two people of opposing genders - semantics.  But then, governments are experts in duplication.
 
It is surprising that Illinois legislators would pass this bill in the wake of the financial situation of this state.  The biggest ramification from this bill will be the inclusion of additional people collecting spousal benefits on state employee pensions.  The state pension program is one major reason Illinois is in such financial dire. The collection of civil union license fees will not absorb the additional expenses on the pension funds.  In addition, private insurance and businesses will have increased costs when mandated to provide coverage for these additional people.
 
Many of the other issues can be resolved through legal contracts such as wills, powers of attorney, estate planning, and other legal documents, which many married couples also currently utilize. Equal treatment for income tax issues is a moot point since Illinois has the same flat tax rate and exemption amount applied to both single and married persons. Spousal testimony privilege should be revoked.
 
What should have been done is to get rid of all spousal benefits to married couples, eliminate marriage license requirements, and treat all individuals in the state equally under the laws.

Tuesday Titillation

The winner of the Bad Sex in Fiction Award from Britain's Literary Review goes to:

Irish writer Rowan Somerville, who upon winning said,

'There is nothing more English than bad sex, so on behalf of the nation, I thank you.'

I'll let you British readers comment on whether Mr. Somerville's analysis is correct.

His winning passages from his book The Shape of Her:

“Like a lepidopterist mounting a tough-skinned insect with a too blunt pin he screwed himself into her.”

"... her nipple poking out, upturned like the nose of the loveliest nocturnal animal, sniffing the night."

Ah, romance!

The other nominees included:

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen


The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas

The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyon

Maya by Alastair Campbell

A Life Apart by Neel Mukherjee

Heartbreak by Craig Raine

Mr Peanut by Adam Ross

You can read some of the nominated passages here.

Winter's Bone - movie review

It is rare to see a movie about a teenage girl who is self-reliant and emotionally strong.

"There's a bunch of stuff you're gonna have to get over being scared of."

the main character, Ree, tells her little brother as she teaches him how to skin a squirrel.

For the average teenager, they choose not to do things that aren't appealing to them and run from responsibility when they have a chance. Many adults do the same, for that matter.

Winter's Bone tells the story of meth cooking, gang violence, and the effects of poverty, but not in urban areas - the hills of Missouri's Ozark Mountains.

Jennifer Lawrence gives a powerful performance as 17 year old Ree, a high school drop-out trying to raise her younger siblings, dealing with a catatonic mother, and a drug-dealing, missing father.  This is a girl who doesn't want you to feel sorry for her.  She sees what needs to be done and she does it, she sets aside her own dreams, and doesn't want handouts.

" Never ask for what ought to be offered."

The engrossing story is simply of Ree's search for her missing father who has skipped bail, and their home her father put up as bond is now in danger of being taken away from the family.

The supporting characters are as interesting as Ree.  Dale Dickey, who is always perfect in white-trash roles (i.e. Patti the Day Time Hooker in My Name is Earl), portrays a tough woods-woman protecting her Ozark mob leader.  John Hawkes, the mild-mannered Jewish shop owner from Deadwood, is Teardrop, Rea's mean drug-addict uncle.

Winter's Bone won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival this year.  It is available on DVD.  This is a must-see for teens and adults.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wacky Wednesday Wisdom

"I love Thanksgiving turkey...it's the only time in Los Angeles that you see natural breasts." - Arnold Schwarzenegger

Which part of the turkey is your favorite?

Do you like breasts?

What about legs?

 

Perhaps you're a wing man.

 

 

The meatiest and juiciest parts are the thighs.

 
 

 

Then there are all those other parts.

Tuesday Titillation

This is old news, but it is worth repeating this time of year.

In an odor study of men ages 16-64, done in the1990s by Dr. Alan R. Hirsch, who directs the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, the number one odor that enhanced penile blood flow was a combination of lavender and pumpkin pie, and pumpkin pie was the strongest stimulant on its own.

Other scents and their effects were:

•Lavender and pumpkin pie: 40%
•Doughnut and black licorice: 31.5%
•Doughnut and cola: 12.5%
•Lily of the valley: 11%
•Buttered popcorn: 9%

Forget about smothering yourself in cranberry sauce.  (Cranberry - 2%)

 If your man doesn't like pumpkin pie and is strictly a meat-eater, you could always wear a meat dress like Lady Gaga as long as he likes things rare.

Otherwise, try some Burger King "Flame" cologne that smells like cooked flame-broiled meat

and hand him a bottle of pumpkin ale. 

Football half-time on Thanksgiving Day could be better than the game itself.

Acoustical Rhapsody in Blue

Brazilian acoustical guitars performing America's George Gershwin classic.

It takes good eyes and patience to do this

How cool is this?  Dalton Ghetti, a carpenter by trade, makes beautiful, detailed art carvings in pencil tips using the graphite and sometimes the wood of the pencil.

Key:

Elvis:

Alphabet:

You can see more of his art here.

Questions a la Randomness Meme

From Sunday Stealing:

Have you ever licked the back of a CD to try to get it to work?
I've licked and licked and it still won't pay me more than 2%.

What’s the largest age difference between yourself and someone you’ve dated?
Plus and minus 6 years

Have you ever been on a blind date?
No.  I have been on a deaf one, but I got hoarse. CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

Do you have any friends that you’ve known for 10 years or more?
Almost all of them

Have you ever had a crush on a teacher?
No, they were way too old.

What song do you want played at your funeral?
No funeral - I'm going straight to the garbage pile.

But here's a list of songs that I hope will remind people of me:

No Regrets



Cabaret (no embedding allowed so you'll have to click on the link)

My Way

Autumn Leaves

Fields of Gold



Would you tell your parents if you were gay?
Not at their age; the shock would kill them

What would your last meal be before getting executed?
New York cheesecake, brownies, pound cake with raspberries, chocolate truffles, and bread pudding with rum sauce

Do you walk around the house naked?
Only once and then I go inside.  It gets mighty cold out there this time of year.


What do you do as soon as you walk in the house?
Put my clothes back on

Who is the person you can count on the most?
myself - usually on my fingers, but sometimes my toes if the numbers get high. 

You can count on me, too.



What is your favorite Holiday?

Would you ever get plastic surgery?
Nope. I want my face flexible so I can make silly faces.

Have you ever caught a fish?
Yes, the first time I every went fishing I caught several more trout than all the others I was, with despite the fact it took me 45 minutes to learn to cast my line.

What is the first thing you notice about people?
the kind of mood they're in  

What is the farthest you’ve been from home?
Cyprus

How did you meet your spouse or significant other (or most recent one)?
Classified ads. I've written about it before here.

Where was the last place you drove (other than home/school/work)?
The Goodwill Store to drop off some donations. It's that time of year.

Thursday Thoughts

Meg Whitman just settled the dispute with her former illegal alien maid for $5500.  You can bet that publicity loving, ambulance chaser, close friend of Jerry Brown, attorney Gloria Allred got her 50% of that huge settlement.

"Allred said Whitman and her neurosurgeon husband, Griffith Harsh, owed Diaz Santillan $8,000 to $10,000 for additional duties and expenses, such as mileage, beyond cleaning house. She claimed the maid was owed for grocery shopping, driving the couple's children around town and performing other errands during her nine-year employment. She did not release specifics about the settlement except to say that it did not include mileage."

Of course, Ms Allred makes good use of a photo shoot:

"Diaz Santillan's celebrity attorney, Gloria Allred, stood by and held Diaz Santillan close to her with one arm, never letting go. Another arm would have made it a bear hug."

Originally, the issue was that Whitman knowingly hired an illegal alien to work for her yet campaigning against the hiring of them.  Whitman claimed the subject of the maid was brought to public light just before the election in which she was running for governor against Jerry Brown and she alleged that Brown supporters (including Allred) were behind it.

Whitman denied she knowingly hired an illegal alien. She had used an employment agency which assured her that through their vetting process none of their employees were illegal.  When Whitman's husband had received notices from the IRS about Santillan's employment, Santilla assured them she had responded and resolved the inquiries.  Finally Whitman discovered that Santillan had lied about her residency and she immediately fired Santillan.  She even had documentation proving all this.  If she had kept employing her, Whitman would have been in deep trouble with immigration and IRS officials.

The media raked Whitman over the coals for firing a 9 year employee with no notice, and Allred milked it for all its worth describing Santillan as " like a member of their family."  Whitman was in a no-win situation - she did what she was legally required to do and her opponents spun it into a class war of big wealth against poor innocent immigrant (albeit liar) just trying to eke out a living in America.

Apparently Whitman was in the right, because there is no charge of hiring an undocumented worker and Ms. Allred had to find a way somehow to get paid:

"Dennis Brown, Whitman's attorney in the matter, described the $5,500 settlement as "routine" for this sort of pay dispute. He said the only reason the issue was heard was because there were no time cards involved and he emphasized that the settlement does not mean Whitman and her husband admit wrongdoing"

I am not a supporter of either political party, but I am sick and tired of this type of political maneuvering in which the public is manipulated into thinking that some crime has been committed when it has not.

Something very similar happened in the Illinois governor's race when Illinois current governor Quinn's supporters spent thousands of dollars on ads stating that his opponent had not paid any income taxes. The ads made it sound like his opponent had done something illegal or was skipping out on taxes due.

Quinn's opponent was a real estate developer and we all know what happened in the real estate market over the past few years.  His business had tremendous losses which wiped out any income he earned as a state senator and consequently resulted in a net loss (zero taxable income) on his tax return.

It all comes back to political parties (and it just happens that it is the Democratic Party in both these cases) using class envy as a way to destroy candidates.  It used to be that in this country women who rose up the corporate ladder were touted as heroines and businessmen who took risk, hired employees, and made money were admired.  Now people want to destroy them. 

Don Draper - What a man!

I was too busy looking at him to notice all the times he said "What."

Tuesday Titillation

There are vibrating hammers, but getting hammered by a vibrator is a whole different thing.

An Illinois woman has a few drinks at a restaurant called Joe's Crab Shack and allegedly skipped out on the bill.  The report didn't indicate if she had crabs or not.

A police investigator was called to the scene and found the woman lying nearby in the grass apparently intoxicated.  She didn't have any money with her so the investigator accompanied the woman to her apartment.  When she reached into her drawer to get her money for the unpaid bill, she instead pulled out a " clear, rigid, feminine pleasure device" and tried to assult the police officer with it.

"She was charged with aggravated assault against an officer, a misdemeanor.  Bildsten was also charged with theft of labor or services for walking out on the Crab Shack bill, Patrick said. She was also charged being under the influence while walking on public roadways."

Jeez, what's a girl to do? It's illegal to drive OR walk when drunk.

As a result of this new repurposing of  pleasure devices, and due to Illinois concealed carry laws, all women in the state are banned from carrying their vibrators in their purses for protection unless the batteries have been removed and stored elsewhere.

Decorating advice plus Music Monday

When adding a new family member to your home, it is always important that she coordinate well with the woodwork and furnishings.

Lola

Another 14 question meme

From Sunday Stealing:

1. Lots of pillows or just one? Describe your pre-sleeping rituals.
One for sleeping; many for decorative purposes.  Get undercover, shut off light, sleep.

2. What kind of books do you read?
hard cover, soft cover, and electronic

3. What are your neighbors like?
Perfect - they wave hello and mind their own business. OK, the little girl screams and squeals alot, but she's cute and charming so I'll forgive that part.

4. What's really creepy to you?
Some guy adjusting his crotch while he's talking to me.

5. What's your current fandom/obsession/addiction?

Purging.  You have been warned.

6. Do you prefer your junk food sweet, salty or savory?
a Salty Woman prefers salty food



7. What was the last expensive thing you bought?
It's been so long ago, I forgot.

8. What is your greatest fear?
That I'll lose my memory. Oops.

9. Do you get cravings? If so, what do you crave?

Brownie -

but not this:

or this:

or this:

but this:



10. What do you do to change your mood?

There's only one way I get Moody:

11. What was the last meal you ate that you loved?

Portabella mushroom stuffed with sauteed spinach and tomatoes served atop couscous, accompanied with skewered grilled figs and brie cheese  mmmmmmmmm

12. Do you want to learn another language? If so, why?

Klingon - just for fun

13. What's something that you'd like to say to someone right now?
Would you like fries with that?


14. What are you looking forward to?
The most wonderful time of year.  Care to waltz?

Wacky Wednesday

Finally a nutritionist developed a diet we can all relate to: days filled with eating Hostess Twinkies and Cupcakes, Little Debbie Snack Cakes, Doritos and Oreos.  The idea was to see whether dieting strictly by calorie counting and not by nutrition would yield weight loss and poor health.

 Here's a sample day:

Espresso, Double: 6 calories; 0 grams of fat

Hostess Twinkies Golden Sponge Cake: 150 calories; 5 grams of fat

Centrum Advanced Formula From A To Zinc: 0 calories; 0 grams of fat

Little Debbie Star Crunch: 150 calories; 6 grams of fat

Hostess Twinkies Golden Sponge Cake: 150 calories; 5 grams of fat

Diet Mountain Dew: 0 calories; 0 grams of fat

Doritos Cool Ranch: 75 calories; 4 grams of fat

Kellogg's Corn Pops: 220 calories; 0 grams of fat

whole milk: 150 calories; 8 grams of fat

baby carrots: 18 calories; 0 grams of fat

Duncan Hines Family Style Brownie Chewy Fudge: 270 calories; 14 grams of fat

Little Debbie Zebra Cake: 160 calories; 8 grams of fat

Muscle Milk Protein Shake: 240 calories; 9 grams of fat

Totals: 1,589 calories and 59 grams of fat

In two months of eating this stuff, he lost 27 pounds and his body mass and other health indicators changed for the good, not for the worse as the nutritionist had hoped.

"I wish I could say the outcomes are unhealthy. I wish I could say it's healthy. I'm not confident enough in doing that. That frustrates a lot of people. One side says it's irresponsible. It is unhealthy, but the data doesn't say that."

I'm a person who believes in numbers and numbers don't lie. So now you have scientific data to back up your junk food diet. Bon appetit!

Tuesday Titillation

Monarchs are a lot like politicians.  They have their proper public sides with lengthy marriages to adoring spouses, while behind the scenes they're keeping company with mobsters, strippers and prostitutes at sex parties. This time it's 64 year old King Gustaf of Sweden. Married to his lovely wife for 34 years and proud father of three beautiful eye-candy children.

In a new unauthorized bio  ("Carl XVI Gustaf - The Reluctant King")  which has already sold out its first printing, the investigative authors allege the King had numerous affairs, sometimes bedding down with multiple women at the same time.  Apparently the King would have elaborate dinners followed by lap dances in hot tubs and bedroom trysts.  They also allege he had an affair with a Swedish singer, Camilla Hennemark (from the group Army of Lovers), with whom he had fallen love love and wanted to run off with her to a far away island. Here she is playing nurse:



But the Swedes are sticking by their King, even though he hasn't denied the allegations.

"Over 80 per cent say the lurid allegations have not changed their perception of the king - and almost 50 per cent say that it is wrong for journalists to look into the private lives of their royal family."

As for the King, he said ""We're turning the page, much like you do in your newspapers, and look ahead instead...because we have certain duties to fulfill and we have work almost every day."

So if nothing else, the new biography answers our questions of exactly what kind of work royals engage in every day.

You Go, Girl!

I dislike most politicians, but every once in a while someone comes along that I feel could shake things up a bit and change the system.

This year that person was Kristin M. Davis, a woman who ran for governor of New York, but sadly came in 6th of 7 candidates.  The masses simply are ready for real freedom yet.

Ms. Davis is a former madam of one of the prostitution rings that another politician, Elliott Spitzer, brought to public scrutiny.  As a result, Davis was convicted of promoting prostitution and served a four month sentence.  She contended that Spitzer was a former client, but he had been blacklisted because of his behavior to her girls.

She is no dummy: graduated from high school at the top of her class at age 15, got a degree from St. Mary's College, spent ten years working in a hedge fund starting as a trading assistant and working her way up to VP. She started her escort service at age 28 and built it into a multi-national $5 million dollar a year business.

"When I got out of jail I was broke, the government confiscated all of my money, I was unemployable because of the stigma prostitution has for women in the business but not men, and I was appalled after seeing both the criminal justice and corrections system up close. I began reading Goldwater, Hayek, Von Mises, Freidman and Ayn Rand."

She made good use of her time reading all the right books, in my opinion.


Originally she was going to run on the Libertarian ticket, but she refused to appear at their party's convention, and as a result was not put on their slate. So she started her own political party, The Anti-Prohibition Party.
Her platform included legalizing marijuana, prostitution, gay marriage, and casino gambling. Sort of the anti-Christine O'Donnell.

She made the candidate's debate lively with her one-liner wit and  blond jokes and ripped her competition with remarks such as:

“The key difference between the M.T.A. (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) and my former escort agency is I operated one set of books and I offered on-time and reliable service,”

“Businesses will leave the state faster than Carl Paladino at a gay bar.”

I hope we will see more of Kristin in the future. Although some may think she's a bit wacky because of her view, she appears to be one of the biggest advocates of real freedom in the political arena. And she has more brains, wit, and initiative than Christine O'Donnell.

The 14 Question Meme

From Sunday Stealing:

1. What do you consider your hometown to be?

a small pimple on the prairie

2. What’s the hardest part of your average day?

walking in the dark down to my parents' house to fix their breakfast

3. The easiest? Why?

Going to bed 'cause I'm sleepy. (I bet you thought it was for some other reason)

4. What beverage do you reach for to quench your thirst?

water or The Real Thing that things go better with.

5. What is one not-so-secret goal you have for your life? I’ll let you keep your secret ones to yourself.

To stay alive another 40 years

6. What physical pain do you fear most? For example, I’m trying to decide how bad my jaw pain needs to get before I risk a potential needle from my dentist. So, for me, throbbing is preferable to jabbing.

Sore throat. I have a very high pain tolerance for everything else.

7. Where do you find solace?

in my vehicle

8. What makes you the saddest when you read/see the news?

that the reporting is so biased

9. What do you eat for a favorite snack?

10. What movie could you/would you watch more than two or three times and still enjoy just as much as the first time?
Wizard of Oz and I've watched it over two dozen times



11. What boy/girl first made you cry?
My brother

12. What brand of coffee/tea do you drink most often?
I don't drink coffee/tea. I get caffeine elsewhere (see #4).

13. Dig in the dirt with or without garden gloves?
Without - I like to get down and dirty once in a while.

14. James Taylor or Carly Simon?
Carly - a lot of talent in one package

Busting Stereotypes

Former cheerleaders in science:

Tuesday Titillation

The woman who appears in this commercial has been banned from her church until the ad goes off the air.  Apparently the church has no sense of humor.  She took the job for the money. "My Visa was calling out for mercy," she said.

Music Monday

Because Bob Dylan was in our area this past weekend and I prefer others singing his songs:

Sunday Stealing Meme

From Sunday Stealing:

1. Have you turned the heat on in your house yet this fall?
Turned it on, turned it off, turned it on, turned it off, turned it on, turned it off. It probably will be turned back on the end of the week.

2. Do you allow your pets on the furniture?
only heavy pet-ting

3. What were your final words for September?
Good riddance, 90 degree weather

4. What are your first words for October?
Hello, cool and crisp.

5. Do you think you’ve ever seen a ghost?
Yes, and he was very friendly

6. What is the one color that represents this time of year?
crimson



7. Which of your senses do you think is most sensitive this time of year?
My sensuality - cool weather always gets me excited.

8. What is your favorite thing to do at the county fair?
Gag from the sour odors of spoiled food from the trash containers and manure and urine odors wafting from the livestock area.

9. What do you like when you have a cold?
To be left alone.



10. Are you willing to spend over $100 for a piece of winter clothing, like boots or a coat?
Never, I only buy on sale and when items are bargained priced.

Note:  There is no #11. What happened?

12. What do you have too much of in your kitchen?
empty chairs at an empty table (a result of empty nest syndrome and ailing relatives, not a revolution)



13. What gripes do you have about this time of year?
It's dark when I get up; otherwise it's my favorite time of year

14. Other than yourself, are you responsible for getting anyone ready in the morning?
Yes, every morning I sleep-walk down the street and put compression stockings on my mother's legs.  Then I fix their breakfast.

15. When was the last time you cleaned your gutters?
Why clean them?  I grow things there.

16. So, it’s after Labor Day. Will you still be wearing white?

I never wear white; it makes the wearer look fat.

17. What shows are you most looking forward to this Fall?

the leaf changing show, the autumn sunsets show, and the harvest moon show

18. What three things have you just not gotten around to from the summer, but probably should do before snow flies?

lie on the beach, go to a baseball game, take a vacation. Oh, heck, I've haven't done those things in 25 years so why start now?