This is pretty damn cool.
This is really neat to me. I think it's damn spiffy that Mars is going to sell red, white, and blue M&Ms and donate the money from the sales to the disaster relief.
This is what happens when you have to go to class on Friday night...
and it's too late to meet up with your friends.
Awww yeah....
 | If I was a James Bond villain, I would be Pussy Galore. I enjoy flying, a good roll in the hay, and nerve gassing army bases. I am played by Honor Blackman in Goldfinger. Who would you be? James Bond Villain Personality Test |
Damn... I wish I had huge tracks of land like her!
Via Xkot
Lesson of the Day
If you go to someone with a problem, have a solution to that problem. It makes you look like a problem solver instead of a whiner.
Is this thing on?
Sorry about that, it appears that my provider was having some problems. It appears to be fixed at this point, so I'm back up and running.
According to Netdork, the engineers were having a problem. Like I'm surprised. Things should be really interesting tomorrow if Excite closes down the portal to AT&T. This, combined with the fact that bids continue to pour in for AT&T Broadband make sure that I am currently living in interesting times. Who will buy? Somehow, I have a feeling that Microsoft is going to be a huge part of whoever gets AT&T BB. Not that this would surprise me, since MS keeps trying to get into the industry.
We shall wait and see. :)
Boong-Ga Boong-Ga Translation: Awwww yeah!
"This is a fun game of spanking the people who make your life miserable," advertises a badly translated brochure. "When you spank the character that you choose to punish, the face expression of the character will change as they scream and twitch in pain. The funny face expressions will make people laugh and relieve the stress."
The player is not expected to spank the protruding bottom exactly, but to poke it enthusiastically with the attached plastic finger. On the screen, the character's face grimaces and screams with each finger thrust. The harder a player pokes the rear end, the higher his or her virility is rated. At the end of the game, the machine prints out a card explaining the player's "sexual behavior."
Now I have to wonder, what sort of little arcade music do they play while you are poking someone in the butt? Is it the typical porn soundtrack?
Read the full article here.
Via Wired.
Episode 2: As the spam turns
Ok, so everyone gets spam. Usually I just delete it and move on to the mail that means something, but tonight one of them caught my eye. The title says "New Pill Adds 1 to 3 inchs to penis-Guarenteed".
Apparently, the marketing department for this particular company can't figure out how to run a spell checker. Intrigued, I glanced down at the body of the message and it says the following
Former Viagra pharmacist has now created a revolutionary herbal pill that is guaranteed to increase your penis size by 1" ...2" ...3" ... or more in just a few short weeks! This amazing new product works by simply taking 2 pills every day... it will make your penis grow in both length and thickness by a whopping 26%, guaranteed!
All I have to say is, it would need to increase it by at least 5' 7" before I would take any interest in it.
Lesson of the Day
You'll always have someone at home that loves you if you own a dog.
It's a great day
It's a great day to be alive, I know the suns still shinin when I close my eyes. There's some hard times in the neigborhood but why can't every day be just this good?
Been a little bit down of late, but I heard this song by Travis Tritt this morning on the way to work and it made me feel better. Good song.
I learned something today
Yeah yeah yeah, I know, I post the "Lesson of the Day", so I obviously learned something today. However, those are mostly just a one liner of something that has happened today and a lot of times, it's the closest I can get to writing about certain things such as work and classes. This post is a little different.
As a woman, I've always been self conscious about my body. I'm not completely comfortable with the way I look, so my clothing is conservative. When I go out, it's jeans and tshirts, and work appearl is business suits. I've always admired women who feel comfortable enough with their bodies that they can wear whatever they wish.
However, I have seen Muslim women who walk around completely covered, and I've always been somewhat curious as to how they feel about this. I know that this is part of their religion, so I never really felt that it was something that was forced onto them and I definetly never felt a need to tell them that they are oppressed in some way. This article is about some Muslim women who have decided to be covered in public. It's a fascinating article, and I highly recommend that you take some time to read it.
Via Captain Rooba.
Oh damn!
Ok, if you are down and out and need a laugh, you have to read this article that Salon posted about last week's Survivor episode. It's pretty damn funny. Go read it now!
Lesson of the Day
Lack of preparation on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.
You haven't???
It's hard to believe that there are people out there that haven't actually read The Hobbit, let alone The Lord of the Rings. I was at BK with some friends of mine the other day, and one of the ladies I was with hadn't even heard of Tolkien. ::shock:: How can someone not have heard of Tolkien or Lord of the Rings?
People, do yourself a favor. If you haven't read the books, go read at least the Hobbit at a minimum. You need to experience Middle Earth with your imagination prior to actually seeing it on screen. It is such an incredible story that you will miss so much if you watch the movie first, then read the book. If you watch the movie first, you won't get that chance to imagine what Middle Earth, Gandalf or Frodo looks like... you'll be stuck with someone else's interpretation of them.
Now it's really tainted
Now why did they have to go do that? One of my most favorite songs from the 80's... ::sniff:: it's been killed. If you haven't heard already, Marilyn Manson has done a cover of Tainted Love. ::shudder:: Damn it, I liked that song. Anyway, you can take a look at some of the twisted images from the video here.
Lesson of the Day
Horses don't care how tired you are, how much you want to sleep in that morning. They want their breakfast and dinner on time, and you better have it for them. Otherwise, you'll get ugly looks for the rest of the day.
Gone riding
What a day yesterday was, I think we shopped out all the tack and trailer stores in Ocala. Being broke has it's advantages, since you can't spend any money on all the cool things that are available, like saddles, bridles, horse trailers... ya know, the high ticket items. I did manage to spend 50 bucks while I was there because of Stateline Tack . It's located in the Petsmart in Ocala, for those of you that are interested. Anyway, I walked out with a salt block, Cowboy Magic Detangler, and a bag of Calf Manna Apple Wafers. If you haven't tried Cowboy Magic on your horse yet, go get it. It's expensive, but a little bit goes a long way and it removes tangles from mane and tail in a snap. Good stuff!
So yesterday, we hit the trailer dealers as well as the tack stores, and let me tell ya, I got a powerful case of "I want!". My current trailer is a steel Bee Walkthrough trailer, which I bought brandnew back in 99. The truck that I have, a Durango (V8, 5.9 ltr) is more than capable of pulling this little trailer and I could have definetly gotten something larger. However, my mom wanted to be able to haul as well with the POS she was driving at the time, so we had to get something smaller. It's a good little trailer, the only two problems I have had with it are the fact that it's steel, which means that it rusts, and that you have to use hay bags in the manger area or hay will get all over your tack. Also, there isn't a dressing room, although there is enough room for one person to stand in the walkthough and change if need be (I can attest to this since I've been caught out in a rain storm more than once.)
My next trailer is going to be an aluminum trailer, and I can't decide which type I want to get. We saw two used trailers yesterday, one of them a Featherlite and the other one a Four Star, that were really nice. For the most part, they had the same features except for one main difference: The Featherlite was a straight load and the Four Star was a slant load.
So straight load vs slant load, which is better? Hard to say. First, let me explain the difference. In a straight load trailer, the horse walks into the trailer alone and faces straight ahead while traveling. With a slant load, the horse can be led into the trailer and they are tied at a slant to the side of the trailer. I've been doing some research today to see what is out there in regards to which is better, and everyone has come back with the same conclusion: no one is really sure. There have been some studies (and I use that term loosely) that indicate that the slant load is easier on the horse, since if a horse is allowed to haul loose, it will turn around and stand at a slant. It appears that the slant causes less strain on them during cornering and acceleration since they are able to lean on the dividers in a slant load as opposed to the straigh load.
On the same token, my horses have no problems loading into a straight load trailer and they seem perfectly fine being in one. I can remember one time where we took my cousin's horse somewhere in a slant load stock trailer and when we stopped somewhere, the trailer was shaking. We rushed over to check the horses and they were all fine, but my cousin's horse was shaking, either out of nerves or fright, we weren't sure. He was fine, but I think the unusual experience of riding in a slant load stock trailer was a little overwhelming for him, to put it mildly.
I think I'm probably going to go ahead and get an aluminum slant load trailer as my next purchase. Since that pretty much guarantees I will have a dressing room, that will be nice. However, the main reason for it is because of Ms. Glori. Prior to my purchase of her, she was in a trailering accident. Fortunately, she loads very quietly. However, when it comes time for her to be unloaded, she barely waits long enough for me to put the butt bar down before she comes flying out the back. Anyone who has ever unloaded a horse before knows how dangerous this is, you can be trampled by the horse if you trip and fall. We have done everything that we can to try and stop her of this behavior, but it seems like the only thing that really works is if you can lead her out. This is impossible with a straight load trailer, but you can do that with a slant load.
Now if I can just wait long enough to get it. :)
Glitz and Glamor
All right, ladies and gents, if you haven't visited Wil Wheaton's web log, you need to go do so now. Get over the whole "I hated him as Wesley" deal, he was acting, he's not like that in real life. He has a very entertaining web log that I'm sure you will enjoy if you will go read it.
BTW, throw a monkey wrench into the Hollywood works and vote Wil Wheaton as Entertainment Weekly's Entertainer of the Year for 2001.
Via The Netdork.
Deck the walls and all that jazz.
Well, looks like I'm probably the first on my street to get my tree and lights up. No outdoor lights this year, they are too much of a hassle to do when I'm not having a party. I still have a set of lights up on my garage from last year because I was too much of a slacker to take them down. However, they will have to come down now because the wind has made the velcro weak and they are hanging down all over the place. ::sigh::
Not sure why I put up the Christmas stuff today. I think it's because I like sitting in front of the Christmas tree and looking at the lights. It's sorta magical to sit there with the TV off and look at the lights while your mind wanders... especially if you have glasses like I do and you take them off. Makes a nice hazy glow around the tree.
I have a love/hate relationship with the holidays. I love being able to spend time with my family and looking at the lights, but I hate how commercialized and hurried everything is. I'm such a procrastinator that I put off any gift buying to the last minute, then I have to join the mob at the store trying to find something. Last year I shopped by catalog for just about everything and got most of it before Christmas, which worked out pretty well. I don't think I'll have time to do so this year, not that it really matters. Finances are pretty tight this year, so I won't be spending much.
In between working on training material today, I watched the ST:TNG marathon on TNN. They want to make sure that everyone knows that TNG is on TNN since they have run a TNG marathon of some kind for the last month. The one that was on today was pretty interesting because they talked about all the episodes where big named stars made guest appearances of some sort. I didn't know that Ashley Judd had started her acting career on TNG as Ensign Robin Lefler. The interesting things you learn when you work from home.
I'm going to Ocala tomorrow, gonna do the horse tack shopping spree down there with my mom, cousin and my friend Karen. Tack shopping for us is like clothes shopping for some women. It's an art for us... course, there aren't any good tack stores here in Jacksonville, the best ones to go to are in Ocala. So it turns into a day trip for us... we'll go down there, hit the tack stores and look at horse trailers, maybe visit some horse farms. Definetly going to be a fun day.
I got mine!
Well, I made my trip to Burger King today to get my Lord of the Rings glass goblet. It looks like the first one they released is the Gandalf one. They are pretty nifty looking and come with a light in the buttom so that it gives off this red glow. Go buy one!
Lesson of the Day
The best nap ever is the one you take after eating a huge Thanksgiving dinner.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Wow, it's amazing how fast this year has gone by, and yet, I'm glad it's almost over with. Barring the events that happened on 9/11, this year has been one of the most difficult ones for me so far. This year, I've learned that no matter how hard you try or communicate in a relationship, sometimes you just have to let go. I've learned that you can work as hard as you can, put all your faith and loyalty in a company and they will still let you go. I've learned that there is no such thing as staying with a company for 20 years, now you are lucky if it is 5. I've learned that you can save as much as possible, and it's still not enough.
And yet, I've also learned that through it all my family is there to support me and help me through these times. I've learned that my friends will help me out in any way that they can. I've found out who my true friends are because they stand by me, regardless of what happens. I've learned that just when things seem to be the darkest, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it's not a fast approaching train. I've learned that I do need to take the time and live, to value what I do have in my life and not worry about the things that aren't there yet; they will come in time.
I have a lot of things to be thankful for this year. I'm employeed. I have a wonderful family and I'm very lucky to have the friends I have. I'm healthy. I may not have all the money in the world, but I can still get by. I've got my home, my horses, dogs and cats. I live in the USA... yes, we have our problems, but when you strike us, we come together as a family and stand beside and support our own.
When I look at this, how can I not be thankful today?
Ooo La La, look at what Ford is playing with now!
I like it. If I were to get a car, this is what I would get... unless Ford brought back the '69 Mustang fastback body style, then I would have me one of those.
Another blog added to the "Top Shelf"
Found another blog that I like to read, so I thought I would add them to my list. If you get some time, check out Captain Rooba's site. Good stuff.
Well here's the proof
I am 55% ADDICTED TO THE INTERNET.
I so need to get a life.
via Doyce (who is feeling better and is out of the hospital, btw.)
Gobble Gobble
Gives a whole new meaning to pass the turkey.
Via Adam.
Hats off to the pipers
I got home tonight and rushed into the house, thinking that tonight was Survivor night. (Yes, I am pathetic, I freely admit it.) Of course, tonight is Wed so when I put on CBS, Survivor wasn't on. Instead, 60 Minutes II, specifically a moving story about the Emerald Society Pipes and Drums was on, and what was said and shown brought tears to my eyes.
As you can probably imagine, since 9/11 they have been attending funerals constantly, piping in honor of those that have been lost. By the time tomorrow rolls around, they will have played at around 300 services and they expect to continue on past Christmas. Watching them as they slowly marched down the street was such a moving experience for me. It has to be an incredibly hard thing for them to do 3 or 4 times a day, and yet, somehow they continue on, even with the loss of one of their own.
Next time you see (or more likely hear) a piper, buy them a pint of Guiness and let them play for you.
Lesson of the Day
Just when you think that things couldn't get any worse...
oh wait, that's Murphy's Law.
One of two things happens when the boss is off work:
a. A lot more work gets done
b. A lot of goofing off gets done
If I said that a. happened today, does that make me a workaholic?
Hmmm
Take the Affliction Test Today!
Did I mention I'm single?
Via Xkot.
Just a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down
Doyce, who writes bears-cave.com is in the hospital. The two of you that actually read my site, please go by there and wish him a speedy recovery.
Get better soon!
Lesson of the Day
Lunchtime is a time to get away from the building so that you can destress for an hour.
So hear we sit like birds in the wilderness...
I'm sitting in class tonight and they have announced that we will now be going to 10 pm each night for class, and that we will now be going to class on Friday nights as well.
...
Well, if I didn't have a life before, this virtually guarantees that I will not have one now. The strange thing is, I don't get why they suddenly want us to stay this late. If we get done with the labs and there isn't any more lecture, why do we need to stay late? I don't need anymore thumb twiddling exercises, I can do that well enough at work. (If anyone from work sees this, I'm just joking... honest. No really!)
Awww yeah
So according to this article, students at Case Western Reserve University's dental school will now be working on virtual reality dummies that will actually scream "Ow!" if the students mess up while drilling. If I were going through that class, the first time I used that I would have to make it scream... and then keep making it scream... then I would laugh manically and walk out of the room.
Ok, just kidding... I'd stay in the room.
Hell must have frozen over
Extra! Extra! Read all about it!
Microsoft has admitted that it knew about a security hole in Internet Explorer (IE) a full week before it accused a security firm of acting irresponsibly for publicly disclosing details of the exploit.
Now ask me if I'm surprised.
Don't forget to flush!
This article is highly amusing, probably because of the amount of puns the reporter put into it. I guess there is a convention for everything.
Come sail away with me...
People will do anything to break a world record. This would not be worth it to me. Can you imagine getting that high up and having the balloon burst? Yikes.
Curious George turns into a Sock Monkey
This is just not right.
Via Fark.
Movie Reviews
Well, the Movie Reviews for Harry Potter are starting to trickle in, and from the sound of it, I don't think there will be a problem when the Lord of the Rings comes out in a couple of weeks. Adam posted his review of the movie and it sounds like it fell flat. I'm just hoping above all hope that the Lord of the Rings is really spectacular. I would hate to go see it and be let down, like all those people were that saw Episode 1.
Speaking of which, I will be going to Burger King on November 23. Via Tolkien Online
Beginning November 23rd, BURGER KING® customers can be a part of the highly-anticipated New Line release, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, by collecting authentic, glass goblets featuring the movie’s leading characters: Frodo, Arwen, Gandalf and Strider. All four Middle Earth goblets are available while supplies last for $1.99 with the purchase of a WHOPPER® sandwich Value Meal at participating restaurants.
I am so there, dude.
It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood
This was a great weekend. I got to go riding yesterday over at the Ravines with some friends of mine and Glori was in fine spirits. She is such a competitive little horse and she wants to be at the front with everyone else, but the only way that she can do it is if she canters. I know that she has a fast largo, but she has only gone into it a couple of times. Usually, if she gets frustrated enough because I won't allow her to go into the canter, she will largo.
I got her to largo a little bit, but I finally let her out because she loves to canter so much and she is so smooth that I love to let her out. It's like sitting in a rocking chair, she's very comfortable. She got so mad because my mom was ahead of us on her horse that she asked me to let her go, so I let her gallop, which was a blast! If you haven't ridden before, you have no idea of how enjoyable it can be to ride... and not only to ride, but to ride your own horse and not some hack horse.
So anway, had a great ride yesterday. Today, I had to clean the house, hence the lesson of the day. The reason why that was directed at guys is because my ex roommate said that he would clean the bathroom before he left, which didn't happen. Ugh.... what a mess. I did get it cleaned along with rearranging some stuff in my house, so I'm a good step closer to doing some more remodeling on my house.
I think my kitchen is going to be my next project. It's really dark and it's such a focal point of the house that I need to do something different. I have this ugly orange tile on the floor and the walls are a very dark wood (real wood, not some fake paneling). There is some really old wall paper on one wall that needs to GO. I also want to get rid of the flourescent lighting, take out the sliding glass door and replace it with french doors and put in a breakfast nook in the corner. I do have this really neat alcove where an old pot bellied wood stove used to be... I think I'd like to have a pot bellied stove there, but have it be a gas stove. Lots to do, have to figure out a budget for it all. The joys of owning your own home.
I still love living out here.
Getting to know you
I like reading other people's blogs. Especially when they talk about what is going on in their life. Probably goes back to that time when I was a kid and I would read someone else's diary... that whole naughty thrill that comes from reading something personal. Either that or its just that nothing else is going on in my life right now, so I have to live vicariously through someone else.
Anyway, the point of that was to say that Xkot has decided to talk a little more about what's going on with his life instead of just talking about stuff he finds online, which I think is pretty cool. Course, he is already doing that... you should have seen his Nyquil posts.
Lesson of the Day
Guys... cleaning the bathroom means scrubbing the toilet and tub, too. Wiping down the sink so that it's nice and shiny does NOT mean the bathroom is CLEAN.
And on a related article, response times on the web in Ireland shot up today...
After reading this article about how much people in Ireland are paying for access, I will never complain about cable modem prices ever again. However, the idea of all of them logging off for a day as a protest about the prices doesn't really seem that effective to me as a protest. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd go crazy if I had to stay offline for a day.
Hmmm
I think I need to find something else to do on a Saturday night.
Via JillMatrix
Here comes Santa Clause...
I was reading Netdork's blog today and he brought up the subject of how quickly the stores have started preparing for Christmas. It's sickening to think how much this holiday is commercialized. I've been trying to think about when I started seeing "Christmas" stuff in the stores, and I think it was just around Halloween. Each year it seems to be happening earlier and earlier. I went into Walmart last night and they were already completely decked out with Christmas stuff. Lights, trees, ornaments were everywhere! I started sinking into the "must buy new cool light system for house this year" haze and then the fierce pinching of my empty purse reminded me that I don't have the money to spend.
BTW, what the hell is it with Christmas lights? Why is it that we feel the need to have the newest version of light decoration on the block? Every year they come out with a new design for lights and every year, I feel this urge to buy the new light design. Last year's design was pretty neat looking although I don't see them in the stores this year. This must be because they were a PITA to hang, but they still looked cool.
Anyway, I digress. Why is it that we take holidays that are supposed to have a special meaning and turn them into a huge spending spree? How many kids these days even know why we celebrate Christmas, or any other holiday for that matter?
Lesson of the Day
People who advertise by email Spam need to use a better marketing tool. Why anyone would want a pill that would "increase your ejaculation by 581%", I have no idea. Not to mention the fact that why would I need something like that? heheheh... these people kill me.
Iron Chef!
Ok, I'm one of those weird people that likes watching cooking shows. I'm hooked on the Food Network and I really like the show Iron Chef. Tonight, I got to watch the "USA" version of this show and let me say that I was extremely disappointed. The thing I like about Iron Chef is that the chefs have no idea what the "theme" ingredient is going to be, and then they have to come up with dishes using that ingredient. It's interesting to watch them put together things I had never seen or heard of and yet come up with something that sounds absolutely wonderful. Not to mention the fact that they have to do this in an hour. Plus, the commentary on the original show actually talks about the ingredients so that you understand what is going on.
This is not the case with the USA version of the show. I mean, come on already, I know that the Iron Chef is somewhat silly but it's still a pretty good show. The USA version is a joke. The guys that provide the commentary know less about cooking than I do and it sounds like they belong on The Man Show. They would mention an ingredient from time to time, but overall they would just talk about how stressed out the chefs looked or make crude jokes about the ingredients (gonads was a favored word for them, appearently). Not to mention the overuse of graphics for tracking the time. Just about every time they would switch from one chef to another they would use this fire ball explosion thing that got old after the first 15 times it was used.
It's rather obvious that UPN has missed the boat yet again with this show. They don't understand what makes the original show such a hit so they throw William Shatner on there in the hopes that he will be able to bring in the audience. Give me a friggin break. Cut down on the special effects, have some people in there that actually know how to cook as commentators, and tell Shatner to quit overacting and they may actually have a decent show.
Rant off.
Lesson of the Day
All the good men have been taken.
Wind beneath thy wings
As I mentioned early this week, I flew down to Ft. Lauderdale to visit company headquarters and to get some product knowledge training. This was my first time flying since 9/11, so I was curious to see how different things were prior to that date.
Going through security really wasn't that bad. The line was a little long, but you could tell that the staff was trying to be as careful as possible about screening people. If you beeped in any way while walking through the metal detector, not only were you going to get "wanded", you were also going to get frisked. Regardless of this, the lines did move quickly. All in all, I felt pretty good about the process. I can also say that I feel a lot more secure about the screening process as far as theft is concerned, I think a lot less stuff is getting stolen than before (laptops, purses, things of that nature).
It was interesting in that Southwest also checked carry on luggage prior to boarding. They actually had their own wands that they were using at the gate. Yet another reason to fly Southwest, as far as I'm concerned.
It was strange seeing a National Guardsman standing by the entrance fully armed. I've seen them on the news, but to actually see him there in reality was somewhat unsettling to me for some reason. I guess it's like feeling we've lost something as a society. Gone are the times where you get off the plane and a friend or loved one is standing right there at the gate waiting for you. Now you have to walk back to the main concourse before you can see them. On the same token, I can't stand at the big glass window and watch the plane taxi up with a friend or loved one and feel that excitement and impatience that is hightened at that moment.
The airport always was a special place for me, probably because when I was very young I used to be put on a plane to visit family by myself. Not only that, it was often times the first place that I would get to see family that I hadn't seen in a year or more. I remember my excitement as my mom would point out the big shiny jet that my aunt and uncle was on, knowing that at any moment the door would open and out they would come. I remember standing there with a buch of other people, all of us with one intent: finding that person we had been waiting on... straining to see a glimpse of their face as they walk to us. Now, you wait in the main concourse, and it's not quite the same feeling. Can you believe that we are probably the last generation of people that will remember something like that?
For what it's worth, I still want to fly. It's still a magical place for me, maybe because while I'm in the air, the world changes and yet it's almost like time stands still on the plane. It's not like traveling on land or sea where you can really feel that you are moving from one point to another. When you get above the clouds it's like time stands still and yet, you get off the plane and you are in a different place. I guess that's what so magical about flying for me, and nothing can take that away from me.
Lesson of the Day
Be very careful when you try to lay blame at someone else's feet for a problem you are experiencing. There is a good possibility that you put yourself in that situation.
I should really be studying...
but who wants to study when there are blogs to read and mine to post to? I'm entitled to a break, right? (It's so easy to justify not doing something.) It's pretty cool when you start looking around and you find your own blog mentioned on someone else's. My friend Rich mentioned me on his site, which is pretty cool.
It's interesting to see the generation gaps these days. Rich and I (along with Xkot and Ari) were sitting in the movie theater waiting for Monsters, Inc. to start and for some reason the theater was playing parts of Pink Floyd songs. Rich and I were singing along... uh.. rather loudly, and these teenagers kept turning around and looking at us like we were freaks. I guess they would have preferred the sappiness of the back street boys or any other of the boy/girl bands that are out there. Give me Pink Floyd any day, damn it. ::shakes cane at kids::
Who needs trees?
This article annoys me to no end. Now granted, I live in St. Johns county, so this doesn't impact me all that much other than I have to drive through those areas now and look at nothing except road and grass. This is not pleasing to the eye. Florida is already boring enough to drive through without taking away the trees. C'mon, put enough money in the budget to cover the expense, people.
Student Tracking
As I'm studying for my Site Admin test, I have 20/20 on TV (need some background noise, ya see) and they are talking about student visas and how there are many "students" in the US that are here on expired student visas. The woman that was on from the Immigration department says that at this time they really have no way of tracking these people once they are in the US and that they leave that up to the schools.
I have very mixed emotions about this issue. I feel that there definetly needs to be some sort of tracking in place to make sure that there are not people in this country illegally. However, on the same token, how far is too far? Are they entitled to the same rights and freedoms as a citizen of the US? Should they be issued a "Smart" id card that has fingerprint information inside of it that is capable of tracking their activities in the US?
If you think about it, it is very easy to track a person's activities. Think about how many times you have used your Checkcard today. If you want to drive in the US, you must have a driver's license. To enter most businesses these days as an employee, you must have some form of security badge that has to be displayed at all times. Should every US citizen be required to have a social security card that is a Smart card? One that contains your finger prints, your optical information? Should we ask these people that come into the US with visas to carry something that we don't require our own citizens to carry?
Lesson of the Day
Life is full of choices. You can choose to thank me as I'm holding the door open for you, or you can choose not to and therefore suffer my mocking ridicule of you as I follow you out of the building.
Tired + Blog = Very Interesting Spelling Errors
Note to self: When I'm really tired, I need to read and spell check my posts prior to making them. How did I come up with this spelling of opinion? "oppionion" Oh, and not to mention especially: "espeically". I won't even go into the grammer errors.
Ok. I'm babbling now. Time to go to bed. :)
Wow!
Well this is pretty cool, yet another person that I like and value their opinion quite a bit has mentioned me in his blog! I truly appreciate it, Adam... especially since your site is soooo cool! (*damn, I sound like I'm back in HS again. I must be really tired.)
Anyway, check out Adam's site, it rocks.
Over the river and through the woods...
What an awesome weekend I had. The weather was perfect for camping! We ended up staying at the Florida Agricultural Center & Horse Park, which was a pretty nice facility. There are two 20 stall barns there and they are located about a 1/4 of a mile away from each other, which was really nice. There is a beautiful open hay field in front of the barns that provides excellent footing for a good gallop, and it also looks surreal when it is blanketed in fog.
The scenery was very nice, but the footing on the trails wasn't all that great. It would go from deep sand to decent footing to lots of roots, so we had to be very careful with the horses. Glori actually tripped pretty bad and almost went down on her front knees, but I sat still and she managed to regain her balance... she's such a nimble horse! I was able to let her out for a short time, which was just awesome.
There is nothing like the feeling of riding a horse... each of you have to trust the other, and that bond of trust is a unique feeling. She relies on me to not put her in a situation that is unsafe, and I rely on her to do the same. As I start to understand her better, I have come to realize that if I ask her to do things, she will do them as long as she feels safe. If I demand that she do something, it will probably happen, but it won't be with the same enthusiasm that I get from her when I ask her to do something. I think my next step with her will be to start the Pat Parelli program with her. I think it will be a good challenge for both of us and we will both benefit from it.
It was truly incredible waking up on sunday morning and seeing the fog over the field. We took the horses out into it and hand grazed them while drinking our morning coffee. It was a surreal experience and I truly enjoyed it. I feel bad for those of you that don't get out and enjoy nature... you truly don't know what you are missing.
Well, if you can't tell, I had a great time. I'm looking forward to my next camping trip! :)
Isn't it nice...
I've come to expect that I'm going to receive shoddy customer service these days, so when I receive good service, no, let me say Great service, I have to let people know so that they can experience it as well. Tonight was a perfect example of this.
I called Wells Fargo tonight in tears due to some problems with my mortgage payment that were out of my control. The representative that I spoke with sounded like someone who was new, and I felt my heart sink. However, I needed to talk to someone, so I discussed my situation with her. She was very sympathetic and placed me on hold, then came back with the answer that I needed to hear. She then proceded to set up my account so that I would not be charged any late fees for late payment without me asking for her to do so. Which, BTW, was not something I would have thought of asking for, which made it all the better. She was very pleasant and empathetic with me throughout the call, and I really felt like someone cared.
However, with Wells Fargo, this is NOT an unusual experience. Everytime I have called them with questions about my mortgage, I get prompt, friendly, exceptional customer service. They are always willing to work with me and I really feel like they treat me like I am their only customer. It's a pleasure dealing with them, and I'm so glad that First Union sold my mortgage to them.
Ok, commercial break is over. ;)
Lesson of the day
Life is all about challenges. Just when you think that the ride is going great, your horse decides that the bush looks like a horse troll and you find yourself on the ground with the horse running the opposite direction.
No Comment
Hmmm... my comments do not appear to be working. I've tweaked them a little and I still can't get it to work. Guess I'll have to look around for another tool that will allow people to comment. Bummer, this one was very easy to set up.
Update
Woo hoo, I found a new comment system called BlogBack to use that works great. I can also do a little more with it than the other one as far as changing the colors and such, so I'm happy.
Quickie
Quick one tonight, I'm too tired to write much. I will say that I had a great time camping this weekend. I have to go get ready to go to S. Florida in the morning. I'll only be down there for the day, thank goodness. The unfortunate thing is that I won't be getting back till late tomorrow night. Ah well.
Anyway, if I'm up to it, I'll write more tomorrow.
My first link! ::tear::
So as I'm scrolling through my most favorite site in the world, I noticed that he has finally linked to my weblog. Yes, Xkot has linked to my blog. I'm so touched! The sad thing is, he will probably never get anyone coming from my site to his. LOL
Thanks Xkot. Maybe I'll get some traffic now. ;)
Lesson for the day
No matter how difficult it gets, you can always rely on family to put things back in perspective.
Packing!
Woohoo! My camping trip is tomorrow, and I'm very excited. The only down side is that I have to be up at the butt crack of dawn so that I can be over at my mom's by 6:45am. To maximize my sleep potential for tonight, I packed up all of the horse stuff into the trailer. What a job.
So how do you pack for the horse? Good question. Since I'm taking Glori and Reiny will be going to my mom's, I'll have to pack for both of them. This means that I have to pack enough hay and feed for them which won't be too bad, since I'll only be gone overnight. I'll need to pack more hay for Glori so that she will have enough for the return trip. Basically, what it sums up to is the following list:
4 Flakes Coastal hay for Reiny.
6 Flakes Coastal hay for Glori.
2 Feedings each of Seminole Pellets
Glori's Coggins
Grooming Box
Saddle and pad
Bridle
Girth
Halter and lead rope
And all of that is just for my horses! Now I've got to pack for me. The funny thing is that it will probably take me less time to pack for me than for them. Ah well, it's worth the effort. Hope to get lots of pictures so that I can get them up on the site.
Very interesting...
Hmm, what does it say when the only major network to show the President's speech is ABC? All the cable news channels have the speech on now. Must be sweeps week or something.
He's a what?
Had my farrier out to work on my horses tonight. This is a good thing, since I'm going to be riding Ms. Glori pretty hard this weekend. Right now, I've got shoes on the front feet of both horses. Reiny is so tender footed that I have to keep shoes on his front feet. I have them on Glori because she has a crack in the front of both her front hooves, and we are also trying to encourage heel growth. It also looks like she has foundered at one time in her life, probably before I got her. She was really overweight when I got her and had been on pasture with no exercise for about 6 months. She didn't pass the vet check with flying colors because she was off after the flexion test. Other than that she appeared to be sound. My vet cautioned me about buying her, but I didn't care. I got her anyway, and she has been sound since I have owned her.
I'm very happy that I made that decision, since she is the smoother of my two horses. She also doesn't seem to stumble as much as Reiny. Plus, my personality and hers match up very well, and it makes our rides very interesting. However, when I don't want to "argue", I'll take along Reiny. He's definetly what I would call a push button horse. He'll do anything you ask him to.
Back to the farrier, I was shocked when he pulled a nail out of Reiny's foot. Luckily, it was lodged sideways by the frog instead of stuck in his foot. There is a place behind one of my storage sheds that had a bunch of old building supplies that just got cleared out, and I think that's where he picked it up. Thank goodness it didn't go into his foot!
All in all, the visit was positive. We've made some progress on getting the heels of Glori's feet to spread out and Reiny's heels aren't as bad as they used to be. It's funny how much money I spend on my horses to get their "nails" done and spend so little on my own. ;)
Lesson for the Day
Things are not always what they seem to be.
"Can we do this?"
I watched Enterprise tonight after not watching it for a couple of episodes, and something finally clicked that made me decide that I will continue to watch the show. It wasn't T'Pol's opening up a little more, although that was interesting to watch. It was Captain Archer's wonder at finding the comet. It reminded me of the series From Earth to the Moon. During "Can we do this?", there is a scene where Ed White has stepped out of the space capsule for the first American space walk. The look on his face, the excitement that he was feeling about what he was doing... I was reminded of that tonight while watching Enterprise. To me, that's what this show needs to be more focused on... the wonder, the excitement of exploration of space.
It tames the savage beast.
Isn't it amazing how much of an impact music has on our lives? I can't even imagine a world without music, I think I would go insane.
I have this routine that I go through as soon as I walk out the office door. I allow myself to think about what I'm going to accomplish the following day, and then as soon as I get into my truck, I put work behind me. I'll put on a country music station and just sing along with whoever is on the radio and force myself not to think about work. I refuse to think about work all the way home from there... what's the point? It's going to be there tomorrow anyway.
The problem is, the last couple of days my routine hasn't been working and I've been coming home stressed out about work. However, that wasn't the case tonight. I think that someone was thinking of me, because as I was getting onto the highway, Pink Floyd's "Wish you were here" came on. That is my FAVORITE Floyd song, and I just turned up the radio, played some air guitar (at which I am incredible at) and mellowed out. It amazes me how quickly my mood changed from tense and worried to relaxed.
I started thinking about this on the way home tonight, and it seems like so much can be triggered by one song. I went to the Paso Fino Nationals this year, and part of the ceremonies was that the National Anthem would be sung while a rider rode around the arena with the flag. This was about a month after September 11, and as I sang along I started to cry. I had gotten to the point where I could cope as far as the day to day without the overwhelming sadness, but hearing the song and seeing the flag just reaffirmed to me how much this country means to me and how devastated I was at what happened.
As I was flipping through the radio stations tonight, I stopped on an oldies station. This brought the memory of me driving my mom, aunt, and cousin home from my other aunt's beach condo. I can remember it being late on these trips, and having on the oldies to help us stay awake during that drive. My mom and aunt would pick at each other about the songs and sing really loud and talk about growing up while my cousin and I made fun of them. Definetly good memories.
I've also found that I listen to different types of music depending on my mood. If I'm happy, then I'll listen to country. If I'm angry, I listen to metal. If I'm sad, I'll listen to either country or classical. If I'm in "the mood"... well, you'll have to get to know me a lot more before I share that with you. ;)
I wonder... what would the world be like without music?
Lesson for the Day
Don't let someone close to you push your buttons to get you to do something.
You're a reader!
Am I the only one who thinks that the current Hooked On Phonics commercial where the woman says "Austin, you're a reader! You're a reader!" is creepy?
Just curious.
So if it were made of cheese, what kind would it be if it were red?
The moon rise the last couple of nights has been incredible. The moon has been very bright and the sky has been crystal clear. Tonight, the moon came up and it was red in color, which was really beautiful. I love clear nights like this... have I mentioned how much I love living in the country?
Guess I'm going to be an old spinster...
I have decided that I love living alone. I actually don't think that I'm capable of having a roommate anymore, unless it is someone that I am "romantically involved" with. I just recently had a roommate for about 3 months after living alone for 5 years, and it was one of the most difficult 3 months of my life. I got downright mean, and I'm not really sure why. I suppose it has to be that my home is my sanctuary, and after spending all day being nice to people and putting up with a lot of things, I want to be able to come home and kick back and be ALONE. However, with a roommate, it doesn't work that way. It's not the roommate's fault, and unfortunately I ended up not being the (insert sarcasm tag here) nice, loving person that I normally am .
As a side note, I LOVE the movie Erin Brokovich. I just thought I would mention that, since it's on TV right now.
Killer lines from the movie:
Erin Brockovich: Oh bite my ass, Krispy Kreme!
-
Ed Masry: So what makes you think you can just walk in there and take whatever you want?
Erin Brockovich: They're called boobs, Ed.
-
Ed Masry: In a law firm you may want to re-think your wardrobe a little.
Erin Brockovich: Well as long as I have one ass instead of two I'll wear what I like if that's alright with you?
-
Kurt Potter: Wha... how did you do this?
Erin Brockovich: Well, um, seeing as how I have no brains or legal expertise, and Ed here was losing all faith in the system, am I right?
Ed Masry: Oh, yeah, completely. No faith, no faith...
Erin Brockovich: I just went out there and performed sexual favors. Six hundred and thirty-four blow jobs in five days... I'm really quite tired.
What a great movie. Brings a smile to my face every time.
Is it really camping if there is electricity and showers?
I'm going camping this weekend, and I can't wait! This will be the first horse camping trip of the cool season for us. Normally we go to a place called Oleno. Oleno is great because there is a 20 stall barn there and the stalls are pretty roomy (10x10). Camping is primative, but they do have shower facilities there. The trailes are well maintained and marked and are quite beautiful. Don't be surprised if you see a deer or 12 out on the trail!
Home, home on the range...
It's so weird coming home when it's completely dark outside. I don't like it all that much, since I don't get to see my horses when I get home from work. I always feel a little guilty, since the dark makes me feel like I've been making then wait forever to get fed. It really doesn't matter, ultimately, since they are grouchy even when I feed them on time.
Speaking of my horses, I've been thinking about getting a Bitless Bridle for Reiny. It's a bridle that was developed by a vet and he claims that it is more humane to use than a bit. It's also supposedly more humane than a hackamore or a bosal. It uses pressure on the poll of the horse to provide response as opposed to using a bit in the mouth.
There are quite a few testimonals on the site, and the one that I found interesting was from a Paso Fino owner who had one that didn't gait. As soon as she started using the bitless bridle on her horse, he started gaiting immediately. I have the same problem with Reiny in that he doesn't gait. He paces, trots, skips... whatever, and I have had a hard time getting him to gait. My friend had gotten one of the bitless bridles, so I tried it out on him. To my surprise, he went into his gait. My friend has offered to let me use it the next time we go trail riding so that I can see if it was just a fluke or if it really works. If it really works, I will be sold.
Lesson for the Day
If someone asks your advice on something, don't expect them to actually take the advice.
Woohoo!
Well THAT was a lot of work. Glad this is finally up.