Melissa Etheridge on taxes

Only found this today. If you haven't seen it or read it yet, you should.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-11-06/you-can-forget-my-taxes/

Shoppers be ware

It is the season to go shopping--Christmas presents, sales, self indulgences... Now, to be honest, I am not a big fan of shopping--really. I do like to shop for certain things --food, books, home decor, bath products, and occasionally shoes (notice clothes are not on the list). I am not one of those people who regularly shops online either. HOWEVER, after reading the following articles, I wonder if shopping online is not the way to go.

Walmart employee trampled to death.

Toy store shooting

Guns don't kill people, idiots with guns kill people and the world is full of idiots....

Apparently some people have deemed it necessary to carry a gun to appreciate enjoying a National Park... I can understand people wanting to protect themselves and their family and property, but the National Parks are NOT the place we need a bunch of random people running around with guns. If I were a ranger and on a traffic stop, I would want to be sure I was the only one with a gun. Other viewpoints:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-guns23feb23,0,6348105.story


http://www.gunguys.com/?p=1037


http://www.npca.org/media_center/fact_sheets/guns-in-the-parks.html


http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federal/Read.aspx?id=3899

November already?

So, it's a long time after the last post...yeah really long time.

I have a "permanent" job now!---with a "mandatory vacation" of a few months every year. I am making less now--due to benefits--than I did as a seasonal employee. My housing is still up in the air--and it is getting into winter time...The "new thing" didn't work out--for the better I am convinced. An "old thing" flared up, and fizzled, like it does on a regular basis.

yeah, that's life...

fun emails

I love reading the subject lines of spam--the made up words, ones that are spelled wrong, etc.

Here is a new subject I have not gotten before...

"Thunderflower magisterial psychopath deformation attorney"

Have no idea what it is about, but it sounds fun.

Have a new thing

Yeah, started something new and completely different. It's going well. Haven't done the whole "Uhaul" thing yet, but the sleep overs have been fun.

spam

Most of the spam I get is for replica Rolexes, so if you need a watch, let me know....

BUT the subject line from an undisclosed party tells me that "{He is} a sexy beast and {he HAS} no limits!!!"

sounds intriguing....lol

mmmmm dinner.....

I must admit, I am just a country girl at heart. I grew up in a town that had less than 100 people, graduated from a class with 15, and yes, give directions by landmarks because we don't have street signs.



I am not the gun totin' kind, but neither am I the sugar poured in the gas tank kind of enviromentalist either (a middle of the road approach that is often tested in my current line of work). I am not, nor have I been, nor could I be a vegetarian--don't get me wrong, I love animals, have fed cows by hand, collected eggs, and remember the bristley hairs from petting our pigs (the best ones name was Rosie)...it is just some times I prefer them medium rare, served with eggs and hashbrowns or baked up with some mashed potatoes.



Born and raised in cattle country, I have always loved the commercials for beef. From "Where's the Beef" to "Beef: It's what's for dinner." I remember in college, one of my professors was listening to Aaron Copeland in his office, and I said something to the effect of "oh, that's the Beef song." HOWEVER....Beef commercials just recently gained a whole new perspective...for me and almost every other female between the age of 10 and 100---and maybe a few on either end, and perhaps a few guys too....We loved Sam Elliot's voice, toting the benifits of beef to us. Dark, smokey, what an aging cowboy should sound like. But there is a new Beef Boy in town. Matthew McConaughey's soft sweet drawl has a nice thick sirloin sounding better than ever. And I am not alone. I first heard the commercials this past week---I kept thinking, I know that voice...I know that voice...then it dawned on me. A Google search later and sure enough! So what are others saying?



"I was just sitting here, doing vital research for a piece I’m writing, and I heard this ad from the 'Beef, it’s what’s for dinner' people. But this was different. I’m already one of those people whose desert island food is a cow, but this ad, it got to me. The announcer was friendly, warm, seductive. This was not my mother’s beef commercial...I couldn’t place the voice, but I wanted him to come over for beers and burgers. So I Googled, and I found out why I was suddenly consumed with a desire for a breakfast of steak and steak, with a side of steak. Matthew McConnaughey (sic) is the new voice for the beef council, replacing Sam Elliott. Now, I think Mr. Elliott is a fine actor, but Matthew? ... {Beefcake. It’s who’s what’s for dinner.}" http://bipolarlawyercook.wordpress.com/2008/01/22/mmmm-beef/



"Well a commercial came on for 'Beef — it’s what’s for dinner' — I could not concentrate on my book. I was in heaven… sexy voice talking to me about lean beef and how good and juicy it is for you.


The voice belonged to my Barbie-Dream-Date… Matthew McConaughey"

www.mayasmom.com/talk/a127277/beef_and_the_power_of_advertising...



google search results so far yield....

McConaughey Beef commercial=10,900

McConaughey Beef=30,300

Matthew McConaughey Beef=21,500

Matthew McConaughey Beef Commercial=18,800

Matthew McConaughey Beef ad=108,000



Yeah, I think it will catch on...
Now if you'll excuse me, it is time to find a T-Bone. Dinner never looked/sounded so good.

More Lessons Learned

Another office lesson to note should not be attempted...


The shredder has a limit. No, really...after approximately 12 hours, several cuts, a few more blood blisters, even more bruises, and possibly a broken something...it is still stuck, will not shred, even though most of the jammed paper is free. And it doesn't look promising by the end of work either.

Know when to say when--don't overload the shredder.

oh joy

So got a flyer in the office mailbox today. A former employee is coming back through this way and is stopping, and we get to have a potluck for him...joy of joys.

Yeah, he's an X
Yeah, he's the 3rd part of the triangle
Yeah, he's still talking to her after he broke it off with her
Yeah, "she's" Lady Plait

Sports___ship

Not being a huge fan of sports, I have never found myself falling under the mass fandom that seems to revolve around players or teams. (That said, I do tend to like a few sports, including softball....) So clearly, I happened just by chance to come across this story. But it is one that speaks a lot about what people can do if they see a greater appreciation for other people, an understanding of a common goal. I don't care for the term "sportsmanship" and "sportswomanship" just sounds funny, but this story definitely qualifies as having a true love of the game and an appreciation for your opponents. Way to be ladies, way to be.

Sara Tucholsky, Mallory Holtman, Liz Wallace showin' love for the game.

lessons learned

Every once and a while, I use this space to share an important lesson that I have learned.

Yesterday's Lesson:

Trying to put a correction tape dispenser back together after you have taken it apart, because the tape broke, sounds like a good idea at first. I mean you don't want to waste the footage of tape there is left. But it's not. Unless you are terribly bored, patient or under the age of 10---just toss it and get a new one.


Thank you. This has been a Lessons Learned moment brought to you by TJOM

Yea me!

So, went over to Lady Plait's last night...spent the night on the couch. Tis perchance a start.

Nothing else going on in this little world at the top of the world. Nothing.

This weekend

So this weekend, as in Saturday and Sunday, being the last official "weekend" I will have off for the rest of the summer--hopefully....I will attempt to make some progress with the summer thing (Lady Plait). There is a get together on Friday, at which time I will attempt to convince Lady Plait to participate in drunken revelry!

And on another note, the newest employee in the office (Office Boy) is kinda cute!

prettys for Earth Day

So, I'm sure you all have seen how various sites will make homepages appropriate for current holidays---I have seen a few for Earth Day and Google's has to be the "prettiest"

Happy Earth Day!

working on it....

Don't know the path the summer thing will take just yet.

Thursday will be the second "group" excursion --not really a date, but dinner and a lecture---it's a quiet life on the mesa :)

funny

So I was just looking at an online article about regarding the fact that filing taxes actually costs quite a bit of time and money ...right next to the text, there was an advertisement for beer. Nice...

Making April 15th a little more bearable, beerable, blurable, blogable....

More today...

So, just as I was set and prepared to be good this season....

one person in particular has come back this year....

oh, I sense the potential for drama.....

or at least, a good time....

Customer Service Test

Recently I have become more and more strongly convinced that if a person wants to work in ANY kind of job where customer service makes up more than 80% of their duties--they should be REQUIRED to have customer service training, before they can even step foot up to the counter/answer the phone/etc. Perhaps someone knows someone who knows someone that can make this happen...?

"Mary Ann" caught with Mary Jane

K, I know someone else has likely posted it, but couldn't let it pass by....

Mary Ann caught with Mary Jane---Yep, Apparently Dawn Wells (Mary Ann on Giligan's Island) was charged with possession of marijuana...

tv

Apparently Britney is going to be on an episode of "How I met your Mother." Don't know if it is going to be about rehab or jail yet....

a couple of rants

I hate daylight saving time.... let me just get that out there.  Since this year it has been changed to "save more energy," let me just point out that getting up at 6:30 it was still dark outside.  Yesterday at 6:30--daylight.  So now people are getting ready for work in the dark, some are going to work in the dark---ie have to turn on the lights to get ready for work.  And yes when we get home it will be daylight longer in the evening, but people will be going to bed and it will still be fairly light, more so by the summer.  So more coffee and other caffeine products will be needed (more electricity).  So how and where exactly are we saving energy?

On the "search engine" for idiots who can't figure out how to use real search engines, "reporting" of topics promoting illegal actions is encouraged... but apparently illegal drug use doesn't fall under this framework.

And now get to go sit in a cold building for 8 hours OH the excitement, can't hardly wait!

Doomsday

Here's just one of what looks like many reasons to see Doomsday...

It must be spring...

Yesterday it was nice and warm, well about 60 degrees, I actually walked around outside without a jacket on, and in sandals even.

Today it is like 30 maybe... it has been snowing all afternoon, the road is covered in ice, and the wind is really blowing.

SOOOOOO ready for summer time!

The Newton Boys

So finally getting around to watching some movies I have had all winter--good thing there are no late fees... One of which was The Newton Boys.

"Four Texas-born brothers (Vincent D'Onofrio, Ethan Hawke, Matthew McConaughey and Skeet Ulrich ) ignite a crime spree in the 1920's robbing more than 200 banks across the nation.  In a career highlight, the unexpectedly compassionate team racks up a $3 million dollar prize and pulls of f the largest train robbery in U.S. history.  Based on actual events, the film contains a "Tonight Show" interview from 1980 that features two of the original Newtons."

(Netflix synopsis)

Rated PG-13.

Enjoyable film.  It has Matthew McConaughey in it--'nuff said!  Costuming was nice, props were appropriate, and the atmosphere conveyed the '20s nicely--it did feel somewhat authentic.  The cars were awesome...I love old cars.  Nice bit of adventure to it.  The interviews are at the end of the film, mixed in with the credits.

Thumbs up, 1 H, and 8.75 / 10 stars.

 

don't like it

Totally dislike waiting for the you did or didn't get the job phone call, so I called--and still know nothing more now than what I did then...ARG!

another bright idea

Wow, when it comes to space apparently we haven't learned our lesson with this planet, we gotta see how we can "tear up" everything else that is out there too.

"Scientists are priming two spacecraft to slam into the moon's South Pole to see if the lunar double whammy reveals hidden water ice."

"LCROSS researchers anticipate a more than a 90 percent chance that the impactors will find some form of hydrogen at the poles.  The off-chance exists that the impactors will hit a newer crater that lacks water-yet scientists can learn about the distribution of hydrogen either way."

" ' We take [what we learn] to the next step, whether it's rovers or more impactors,' Colaprete said."

LCROSS stands for Lunar Crater and Observation Sensing Satellite and Tony Colaprete is "the principal investigator for the mission at NASA's  Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif{ornia.}"

Source:  Yahoo News

research

Yeah, so there is some rental car company that has a commercial where supposedly the person is going to Santa Fe.  It even shows us the brochure sitting on the passenger seat.  A lovely southwest sunset behind a saguaro....Um, Santa Fe doesn't have saguaros...a little research would be nice.

Lunar Eclipse

Yeah, so tonight was a lunar eclipse--I was pumped.  They are always really cool to see....and wouldn't you know it...cloudy.  But we did get to see it a little, and as I type now, the moon is completely covered and the darkest part of the shadow is starting to move across now.... Yea!  Very cool!

New commercial

So I have a new favorite commercial...

It is for Life "water"---lizards dancing to "Thriller"---very funny!

February 26

UNRATED Beowulf out February 26....very intriguing.

Angelina deserves 5 H's all on her own --as the boys from Gone in 60 Seconds said "SEX-Y!"

They're gonna do what?

Apparently the the Pentagon is going to shoot down a disabled spy satellite because it has toxic fuel on board, which could potentially harm anyone it comes into contact with on the ground.  So, we are going to shoot it down from a Navy ship---in the middle of an ocean---isn't that kinda where water/ food/ etc comes from???  Oh, but if the first shot fails, they should have time for a second shot...

Bright Idea #1 Putting it up there in the first place

Bright Idea #2 Announcing to the world that it is there, what it is, and that it needs to come down

Bright Idea #3  Shooting it down over an ocean

Source: New York Times : "U.S. Officials Say Broken Satellite Will be Shot Down."

computers

Apparently both the laptop and the PC have decided that it would be fun to join forces---neither one wants to cooperate with me.  Programs either will not open, or will not close, internet crashes, etc.  Ahhh, the joys of technology!

What?

There was a commercial that just came on asking "how many calories are in your water?"

UM, ...  ....  WHAT?

Water doesn't have calories.  If your "water" has calories... it ain't water....

Laptop

Okay, so it has been close to a month now since I got a laptop.  Which should be cause for celebration, excitement, etc....but as of yet, it has not been so.

I had heard how easy Macs were to deal with, use them right out of the box, etc, etc, comes with everything you need, etc, etc.  I thought, why not...what the heck, I am tired of dealing with Microsoft at the moment, let's give it a shot...If I had known then what I know now, I would have kept with Microsoft....(it may be screwed up, but at least I know how to use it and what it can and can't do).

The service person asked what I planned to with my computer...that is when I could finally get one to help me.  Perhaps that is the problem, I didn't go directly to an Apple Store...probably not. I told him that I wanted to create word documents, use it for photo storage, get on to the internet, and I guess to be honest, that is about what I can do with it...So, I being near sighted, and wanting to use this for my main computer, at least at times, went with a professional edition, mainly for the fact that it had a bigger screen.  Not going to go into how much that set me back to begin with...So I asked, can I use a flash drive and have the text program be compatible with Microsoft Word, so that I could edit and print...he said no.  So I got a printer, which is actually really small, very portable, and I really like, providing I can actually find the right size cartridges for it...And I knew what laptop mice were like, so I got an external mouse...so between those two, an extra $300 dollars, pretty much....

I had also heard OH, Mac's don't get viruses.  I am not stupid, eventually somehow, somewhere, someone will figure out at way....so, got antivirus software, and of course the one company that I was tired of for antivirus software seemed to be the only one that made it for Macs.....+about $80.

So got it home, opened up the box, turned it on--no problem, got to looking at stuff, some of it looks pretty cool, was able to just plug the internet in okay... Then started looking to see what else it had to offer, looking for manuals to tell me what the stuff was... and no, there are none.... but I can go online and get tutorials... which I would have to watch like 10 times to remember the stuff they are showing me.  And it is a good thing that here at home I have DSL because I would need an additional external modem to get online if it were dial up, which I will probably have to do when I go back to work.... 

Speaking of which, used it to type up the application for a different position in the same job...  Can't even use headers and footers...why?....because there are none, what is up with that? But there is trial of this cute little program called IWork and for only $80 MORE, you can buy a serial number, a serial number, that's all--just a number, for EIGHTY DOLLARS, so that you can use a word document creator that actually does everything that you would want it, nay, expect it to do.  You can keep it at just the trial level, but once that expires, you can't print or save, so what exactly would be the point...?.  And to top it all off, I can't even play solitaire....OH THE INHUMANITY!!!!  So apparently I am either not smart enough to use this or it is not as good as I had heard or.....?  I do know that I will likely not get another one, and I don't know that I could honestly recommend anyone getting one, especially if they are not familiar with the system.

Knew it wouldn't last "forever"

Apparently the cost of US postage is going UP...AGAIN!

will post a link when I get to my real computer, promise

I sense that there is a joke here, just haven't found it yet.

One hit wonders

Watching a show on "one hit wonders" I am wondering if it is bad that I don't know very many of the songs... lol

And another one...

So, couldn't just let this one pass. Was checking out the 25 new releases on a certain website... and was amused by the names of not only the music, but also some of the artists... not endorsing them/advertising them/ or any other such thing, but here they are in no particular order...

Rhythm & Romance (appropriate so close to V-Day)

Kiss Kiss Kill Kill (again, appropriate so close to V-Day)

HorrorPops (Lawrence Welk never saw it coming)

Bob Mould (there's pills for that I think)

Ivoryline (sounds like a habit to me)

Passion *Satisfied*Sexual Eruption*Detours*Lucky (is that the order that is supposed to go?)

Sleep through the Static (is it that or is it is just white noise?)

Scream Aim Fire (lol---she caught him cheating?)

Bullet for My Valentine (yep, she caught him cheating)

Can't wait to see it...

"Step Up 2" will be out soon... hot dancing, hot actresses, hot actors... sounds like a good time. Without even seeing it, I am giving it a high Hotness rating--of course reserving 1 H for Tatum (oh so enchanting) Channing.

Speaking of movies..."Fool's Gold" will also be out soon. Looks like it will be a 1 H rating for sure, but should be high on the Adventureness rating scale. Why the 1 H? No it is not H for Hudson, but for Matthew Mc(Hotty)Conaughey.

"Stardust" (truly disappointed I didn't get to see it on a big screen) is out on DVD, with the always beautiful Michelle Pfeiffer. Again, looking at at least a 1 H and high on the Adventureness scale.

OH By the way

By the way, Happy Fat Tuesday !!

It's still winter and....

I am sick of snow...not that we are getting any, perhaps it is the sick of not having snow if it is going to be this bloomin' cold.

I am counting down the days until I go back to work...not knowing which job I am going to go to, it is somewhere between like 38 and 52.

I am tired of being at home...see the first two, and in addition to that add no social activities here in Podunk, nothing to do period, nowhere to go to do it, and no one to do it with.

From the "No Shit Sherlock" category

"Britney Spears has 'mental issues,' manager says"...

Does this really come to as a surprise to anyone?