CatHouse Chat

"Night of the Living Dead (Shamnesty Edition)" ends happily

... or does it?

Here's my (limited) understanding of this whole moronic process: First, they killed this bill last month (wasn't it?), except they didn't really 'cause it was more like it turned into this vampire/ghoul thing-y since it revived on Tuesday and the Senate was like the clueless people in Sunnydale (if you don't know the reference, don't worry about it) and helped it out of the grave, but then today they decided they didn't want a zombie cluttering up the senate floor with all its stinkiness and rot, so they buried it again.

However, according to a friend of mine, when Feinstein (D- CA) made her remarks after the vote today, she implied that this might come up again, although not before 2009.

Night of the Living Dead (Shamnesty Edition), 3.0!!!!

Is all of this as confusing to you as it is to me? I would think that our Founding Fathers didn't intend for their posterity to have such a hard time knowing and understanding what their elected officials were up to!

And, I note that Warner (RINO - VA) and Webb (DemoRAT - VA) both voted to "kill" this monster... after voting to revive it, of course.

They're good friends with John "Flip-Flop" Kerry, right?

You know, senators, that a nice wooden stake, some silver bullets and perhaps some garlic might be of use...

Technorati Tags: shamnesty, s 1639, amnesty, illegal immigration

(Crossposted to the Cotillion)

Kudos where due on the Shamnesty Bill

Have you looked at the votes on the Shamnesty Bill? Did you notice one name - one name on the Democratic side of the aisle - which was prominently voting "Nay"?

Some of my friends are well acquainted with Sen. Robert Byrd, and since I really like and respect these people (although we do get into political disputes, LOL) I wanted to make sure I gave the Senator due thanks for voting against cloture on S 1639.

Secondly, thanks to Riley at Virginia Virtucon, I must also give congratulations to CNN and Lou Dobbs for this report on the glaring faults in this bill:

It's good to know that I can find common ground even with people/corporations with whom I disagree... although I might have to look pretty hard!

Technorati Tags: Shamnesty, illegal immigration, cloture, S 1639

You know it HAD to happen one day

... and of course it's the wonderfully sick and twisted crew over at IMAO who brings it to us. Beth sent me this link, and now I pass it along, but be sure to swing by her place and laugh some more!

Ladies and gentlemen:

lolterrorists!

Harvey, one of IMAO's demented contributors (gosh, I love that in a man!) gets the ball rolling:

Heh. Make sure you check out lolterrorists.com ("i can has country?" C'mon, that's hilarious!), too - and no, I don't know WHO came first (IMAO or lolterrorists) but

itz teh funny - you go see laugh rite now - kthxbai

Technorati Tags: lolterrorist

Warner and Webb both vote "Yea" on cloture

... not that I'm surprised.

Well, guys, I warned Warner (RINO that he is) and was never a fan of Webb (considering that he's a DemoRAT)... But my vote in '08 will be, essentially a vote against Warner - and I'll pray to God that the Republicans can field a true conservative to go up against Webb in '10.

Nitwits.

Technorati Tags: John Warner, Jim Webb, senate, illegal immigration, cloture

UPDATE: Oh, and Doug at Below the Beltway points me over to Dan Riehl's comment:

Democrats aren't an option for me, neither is Bloomberg, but I sense a serious protest vote, or lack of any vote in my future. At the risk of being politically incorrect, is it really worth voting in an election when D stands for Dumb-ass and R stands for retarded?

Heh. Indeed!

The ONLY way to enjoy coconut!

(Oops, I forgot to post this! However, it's never too late to publish something from my "drafts" folder...)

Well, all right, I'll make the exceptions for Thai cuisine... but don't make me eat coconut cream pie, or sugary coconut fluff-balls or whatever, OK?

But coconut fresh from the shell?

Bring. It. ON!!!!

NUMMY!

Technorati Tags: food, coconut, fresh

The Republican National Committee called...

... yesterday, and oooooo! they got an earful from me!

"You want my money?" I asked. "Well, you're not getting one bloody red cent from me until y'all stop ignoring your base!"

The poor guy who called sputtered and tried to regain control, but I wasn't going to listen to him.

Look, guys - the Republican National Committee has this story on its front page today:

Border Security and Interior Enforcement Accomplishments

Accomplishments? I don't think so - especially when the splash picture on the front page is captioned "President Bush Leads Efforts to Strengthen Borders."

Or, how about another headliner there today? "Only Enforcing Our Ineffective Current Law Leaves the Nation Vulnerable"? Oh, really? Well, you know, if you're not even bothering to enforce the current law, of COURSE it's going to be "ineffective," you nitwits!

Those 12 million illegals wouldn't be here, breaking our laws, if a) businesses who hired illegals were prosecuted, b) illegals were denied benefits reserved for the citizens who pay for them, and c) if local law enforcement was permitted to have an active hand in getting these lawbreakers deported!

But, no, Bush is going to try to ramrod this amnesty through - with the cooperation of RINOs in Congress - against the vehement protests of his base.

Until the Republicans go back to their foundational principles of limited government, balanced budgets with restrained spending, upholding the law of the land, and protecting our borders... Baby, like I said:

Not. One. Red. Cent.

I may support individual candidates, but the RNC can go blow. Heck, when they've got an idiot like Mel Martinez (RINO - Fl.) heading the RNC, yet hobnobbing joyously with DemoRATS (see Gateway Pundit's post- I see they asked him for money, too)...

Hey, RNC! Take a look at this post after reading this, and consider yourselves the recipients of a very VERY rude gesture (link NSFW) tossed to you by yours truly. Wankers.

Technorati Tags: Republican National Committee, fund raising, idiots, losing your base

Aw, what a shame...

Via a tip from my blog sister and fellow Lady of the Cotillion, Linda SoG, it appears that  Roy L. Pearson's $54 million dollar suit against his dry cleaner has failed:

A judge ruled Monday in favor of a dry cleaner that was sued for $54 million over a missing pair of pants.

The owners of Custom Cleaners did not violate the city's consumer protection law by failing to live up to Roy L. Pearson's expectations of the "Satisfaction Guaranteed" sign once displayed in the store window, District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff ruled.

"A reasonable consumer would not interpret 'Satisfaction Guaranteed' to mean that a merchant is required to satisfy a customer's unreasonable demands" or to agree to demands that the merchant would have reasonable grounds for disputing, the judge wrote.

You know, it's been said before, but it needs to be hammered in soundly each and every day: America has gotten far to enamored with frivolous lawsuits.

If Pearson had kept this to small claims court and wanted a thousand dollars or so, I could have seen a small bit (a very small bit) of "logic" to his actions, but the outrageous and mercenary grab at several millions of dollars for a **blinkin'** set of pants??!! The fact that he hadn't been laughed out of the courthouse before it came to trial is frankly astonishing.

The court costs amount to just over $1,000 for photocopying, filing and similar expenses, according to the Chungs' attorney. A motion to recover the Chungs' tens of thousands of dollars in attorney fees will be considered later.

I hope that Pearson is served with a court order to pay ALL of the expenses of the Chungs, who are the owners of Custom Cleaners.

Pearson has been deservedly excoriated throughout the blogs, and deservedly so. This administrative law judge ("administrative law"? One would have thought he had a healthy distaste for idiotic bureaucracy!) should have known better than to pursue such a stupid action.

*sigh* Perhaps it's a chilling indication of the declining state of our legal system... as if we need any more examples!

Technorati Tags: Roy L Pearson, frivolous lawsuit, cleaners, pants

Rated PG

Sounds about right...

I'm no angel, certainly, but I'm definitely not "G" rated!

(And I guess I'm getting back into the swing of things - I'm almost back from vacation, and my post rate is going back up!)

The Last Supper - Hawaiian style

All y'all know that the Beloved Husband indulges me outrageously, right? Well, tonight is our last night in Hawaii, the last night of our vacation. Most likely, it will be another year [sob, sob] before we can escape out here again...

But the Husband knows what a "foodie" I am, and knows that our small town and it's close neighbors can't satisfy (generally) my love of really good food, prepared extremely well and served with style and awesome service... So, even after we'd gone to Roy's Waikoloa last Saturday with the Munchkin's godparents, he allowed me (*wink, wink*) to go there again tonight...

Roy's gave us an opener of some edamame (soy beans), which were tossed in some sort of a lightly spicy toasted sesame seed oil.

Of course, I had a glass of wine (um, er... several...! LOL) - a lovely, crisp Sauvignon Blanc, which went well with every course I ordered (well... maybe not the chocolate soufflé...)

The Munchkin ordered from the kids' menu, and therefore got a couple of slices of a cheese quesadilla, and then some apples and carrots with a ranch dressing dip.

Then the main dishes started arriving...

I started with the seared ahi (tuna), which is a Roy's signature dish. It's something I always enjoy, and if there's nothing on the appetizer menu which is completely novel and intriguing, it's my standard pick. The Beloved Husband chose it as one of three appetizers he had for his dinner.

There's a mustard sauce (the darker brown), which is fairly spicy, and a lighter sauce which is very flavorful as well.

Roy's is very accommodating - when I go to their location in Orlando with my parents, Mom wants the ahi without the searing spices, and with just wasabi and soy sauce. The staff has never failed to prepare the fish as she's asked, and always with a cheerful, "can do!" attitude.

Our other appetizers were the Szechwan Pot-Stickers (oh, yeah, THEY went quick!)  

and the spring rolls:

I didn't taste the spring rolls, but the Husband devoured them and I LOVED the taste he gave me from the potstickers... Nummy!

While the Husband had the same ahi appetizer for his "main course," the Munchkin had a lovely pasta with tomato sauce for her dinner... and she left very little behind when she was done!

She's been quite shy recently about having good photos taken of her, so this is the best I could manage for dinner.

Me, I had the Lemongrass Scallops in a coconut sauce, and it was DE.LISCIOUS! I've got the last third of my serving in the 'fridge for tomorrow's breakfast. It was very hard to leave some on the plate so that I had room for another Roy's standard I always order:

The chocolate soufflé!!!

*sigh* *satisfied groan* *sigh*

*ahem* Excuse me while I loosen my belt...

So, now we're at our time-share condo, packing up the last bits of stuff in preparation for our departure tomorrow... And I'm still drifting along on a very happy chocolate high, thanks to Roy's!!!

If you're in a location which has a Roy's, I would encourage you to try them out. *PLEASE* do NOT expect a quiet, candle-lit and romantic atmosphere: Roy's is a very boisterous and active venue. The service and the food, however, have always given a wonderful bang for the buck. I always love to go to a Roy's, because I know I'll have good food, prepared beautifully, with cheerful and enthusiastic service.

Technorati Tags: Roy's restaurants, cuisine, pacific rim, chocolate souffle

A guest for dinner - well, for "tapas," anyway

The Beloved Husband and I went over to Merriman's Waikoloa Beach location the other night to enjoy some tapas and wine, and we had an unexpected visitor:

This little guy - and his comrades - were quite persistent, until we finally gave in and let them have what they wanted.

But, then, we were protecting our tapas....

From the top, that's a raw fish carpaccio (did I get that right? well, it's a Mediterranean version of sashimi), then a roasted red onion with pine nuts and blue cheese, and finally a warm onion flatbread with tsatsiki sauce on top. We had a yummy Pinot Blanc to drink, and generally had a lovely time!

Dolphins!

Yes! Finally I'm getting the pictures up!

So, on Tuesday, while all y'all were snarking and fisking all the idiots who are screwing up our country, the Darling Munchkin and I got up close and personal with some of God's most glorious creatures: dolphins.

Dolphin Quest has a facility inside the Hilton Waikoloa Village, and we made reservations ahead of time - I think they allow up to 60 or 90 days in advance (check out their website).

These are Atlantic Bottlenose dolphins, not the Pacific Spinner dolphins, which are a deep water creature, and therefore unsuitable for this environment. All of these dolphins were born in captivity, so this life is all they know.

They are beautiful, BEAUTIFUL animals, and if I believed in reincarnation, I would like to either come back as one of my own (terribly spoiled) cats, or as a dolphin

The Dolphin Quest staff are obviously devoted to their charges, and full of information as to their habits, needs and behaviors. One thing which the Beloved Husband learned was that the staff actually feeds the dolphins water. In the wild, dolphins get all the water they need from their prey, but that's not the case in captivity. So, the trainers deliver water via a sort of gastro-IV line which they snake down the dolphin's throat. Also, each dolphin has its own dental cleaning kit(yep - it's a toothbrush!), because they aren't using their teeth to catch their prey as they would in the wild.

This guy's name is Lono, and he's the only mature male in the Hawaii pod. He's a real sweetie and very patient will all these strange people making a fuss over him. Here he is, waiting for the Munchkin to give him a kiss:

We also got to meet one of the ladies, who is pregnant and due in September... I want to say that her name is Kona, but I might be mistaken.

Their skin feels like a very, very smooth cool rubber - actually, Madeleine L'Engle put it better in A Ring of Endless Light: she describes a dolphin's skin as "resilient pewter.

Anyway, it was wonderful, and if there's a Dolphin Quest near where you take your next vacation, I highly recommend that you try to participate in one of their "encounters."

Technorati Tags: dolphins, Dolphin Quest

F*ck you very much...

Yeah, that's exactly how I feel when I see this sort of thing (HT Hyscience)

When we have legal firms actively looking for a way AROUND our employment laws so they don't have to hire qualified US citizens, something is very screwed up:

"Our goal here is to meet the requirements. But also to do so as inexpensively as possible. Keeping in mind our goal. Our goal is clearly NOT to find a qualified and interested US worker." - Lawrence M. Lebowitz, Vice President of Marketing, Cohen & Grigsby.

This sort of thing is natural when you take into account the wink-wink-nudge-nudge attitude our President and Congress are taking with illegal immigration and other immigration issues.

Watch that video! As Richard at Hyscience describes it,

...immigration attorneys from Cohen & Grigsby explain how they assist employers in running classified ads with the goal of NOT finding any qualified applicants, and the steps they go through to disqualify even the most qualified Americans in order to secure green cards for H-1b workers. You can see what Bush and Congress really mean by a "shortage of skilled U.S. workers," and that Microsoft, Oracle, Hewlett-Packard, and thousands of other companies are running fake ads in Sunday newspapers across the country each week for the purpose of screwing American workers out of jobs.

Blatant. Crass. OUTRAGEOUS!

This. Makes. Me. SICK!

As my dread Emperor might say, "Rope. Tree. Lawyers. Some assembly required."

Technorati Tags: employment, green cards, legal, workers

*sigh* And I go home tomorrow from our lovely vacation, knowing I'm going to see this sort of crap.... GAH! Makes me want to pull the covers over my head and let the rest of the world go to hell in a handbasket....

Playing peek-a-boo

Finally I'm getting around to posting the pictures of the little mongoose I saw down at South Point last week. He was so cute!

I was carefully making my way over some lava boulders to get a little closer to the surf, when I head a squeak and caught sight of a little tan tail disappearing into a crack in the lava.

After waiting quietly for a couple of minutes, I was treated to a glimpse of a button nose and bright black eyes peeking out at me -

Oh, wait, he's not in that one... Can you find him in this one?

There he is! Wait a minute, he disappeared again... Where did he go?

Peek-a-boo!

Mongeese are an introduced species to Hawaii - I believe they were brought in to eradicate the rat population (and it didn't work, apparently). So, they're not really welcome, but they are still very cute...

First dive in TWELVE years!

We're going on a 2 tank boat dive tomorrow, and when I let the shop know I hadn't been diving in a fair while, they weren't terribly concerned. That's probably because a) we're going out with people on intro-dives and qualification dives, and b) I was very up front with them and let them know my normal dive style (very laid back, slow paced and mellow).

So, the Beloved Husband (brilliant and wonderful guy that he is) suggested that we do a shore/boat dive together this morning before the Munchkin and I went to swim with the dolphins at Hilton Waikoloa Village.

May I present: 

ME!!!!

On my first dive in twelve years!

I also got to admire my favorite fish, the domino damsel -

I've always loved these little guys. When the Husband and I were here from 1987 through 1995, I remember one dive where I spent a half hour watching and playing with a little, teeny-tiny damsel fish guarding his wee coral castle from the monster (me) who was thousands of times his size. It was adorable!

At any rate, the dive this morning was GREAT! I was a bit unbalanced with the weights, and had to cut the dive short because I started to get a little cols (yeah, even in Hawaii you need a basic wetsuit), but otherwise it was like I'd never stopped. I was using air at a nice, easy rate (I was also using a 63 cu. ft. tank, versus the typical 80 - I like them better anyway, since they're smaller and better suited to my size), I had no trouble with buoyancy control and felt relaxed and comfortable from the start.

Hooray for me! Tomorrow's boat dives ought to be a breeze!

Anyway, we're off to the Hilton Village now, and I'll post more later. After all, I still owe you some pictures of the mongoose I played with last Monday down at South Point.

So, "see" y'all later, and hopefully with lots of dolphin pics!

Remember me?

Ah. I had never seen this video before, so I am grateful to the Blog Father for noting it, and to Real Clear Politics for bringing it to his attention.

Thank you, Lizzie. I do remember. I will always remember.

God bless these men and women who sacrifice so much out of love for their families, their neighbors, and their country.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Fathers' Day to the wonderful Dads who love their kids, their families and their countries.

Thanks to each one of you for each and every day you get up and live a life of honor, courage, duty, and love.

My prayers go out to each man who is not yet a Dad, that God will strengthen and prepare you for this wonderful vocation, and to those men who will never have children of their bodies, but who still serve and lead lives that shine with integrity and care.

God bless the wonderful blessed men in all our lives, and thank you so much for standing firm on our walls to love and protect our culture.

Happy Fathers' Day to my Most Beloved Daddy, who has loved me without reservation all of my life.  My father has always stood beside me, ready to cheer me on when I succeed and comfort me when I fail. He has always been there to tease me and make me laugh, to make me stop and think.

He is a great Daddy!

Happy Fathers' Day to my Most Beloved Husband, who loves our daughter with all his heart. My husband guards our Munchkin with loving devotion, disciplining with care and offering encouragement and praise with lavish abundance. He teaches her and plays with her, tickles her and snuggles her. My husband lets our daughter know that she is his beloved treasure each and every day.

He, too, is a great Daddy!

So thank You, Lord, for the double blessing You have given me. I promise that I will do my part to honor and cherish these two men who are the Best Dads in the World!

Technorati Tags: Fathers Day

Oh DARN!!

... now we have to suffer the decadent pool at the Hilton Waikoloa Village?! Oh, the angst and agony!

Even at the beach...

... I'm doing some piecing for a quilt.

What?!

I LIKE this type of sewing - it's relaxing!

Mellow day

Just a relaxed beach day at the Old Kona Airport. The surf was a bit high for a novice diver like the Munchkin, but she's quite happy to make new friends and explore the beach.

Ruth Graham on her way Home?

It may be that God is calling another of His saints Home.

Billy and Ruth Graham have given America and the world an incredible blessing with their ministries and their example. When Ruth goes Home, I will grieve with the Grahams, but I will also celebrate a life full of gentle and dedicated godliness.

My prayers are with the Graham family.

Technorati Tags: Ruth Graham, Billy Graham

We're in Ur NCC-1701 Charmin' Ur Wimmen

It's Ith's fault again... but this time it's not a smackdown of Islam - THIS time it's

LOLTREK!

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Go read and see....

Technorati Tags: lolcats, loltrek

Another thing I love about Hawaii

 Mochi Ice Cream! I particularly love Mikawaya's Kona Coffee Mochi Ice Cream, and it looks like I now have a way of ordering it online! Woot!

The trouble with Islam

This Brit gets it right:

(Tip of my tiara to Ith)

All I ever seem to chase is me...

Ah, Lord God, my Father and Lover of my soul...

I can't chase You as You desire - so, please chase ME!

Andrew Peterson The Chasing Song Lyrics

Now and then these feet just take to wandering
Now and then I prop them up at home
Sometimes I think about the consequences
Sometimes I don't

Well, I realize that falling down ain't graceful
But I thank the Lord that falling's full of grace
Sometimes I take my eyes off Jesus
And you know that's all it takes

Well I wish that I could say that at the close of every day
I was happy with the way that I'm behaving

'Cause Job, he chased and answer
The wise men chased the Child
Jacob chased her 14 years and he
Captured Rachel's smile
Moses chased the Promised Land
Joseph chased a dream
David, he chased God's own heart
All I ever seem to chase is me

Well, they say a race can only have one winner
And you know you've got to pull out front to win

God knows the only time I'm winning
Is when I'm chasing Him

Well I wish that I could say that at the close of every day
I was happy with the way that I'm behaving

'Cause Samson chased a woman
and he chased the Philistines
I'm not quite sure what Jonah chased
But I know he caught the sea
Cain, he chased the harvest
While Abel chased the beasts
David, he chased God's own heart
All I ever seem to chase is me
And Jesus chased the money men
And he chased his Father's will
He chased my sin to Calvary
And he caught it on that hill
Saul, he chased the Christians
Till his blindness made him see
David, he chased God's own heart
All I ever seem to chase is me

But the Hound of Heaven pursues me with His love, even though I flee down all the corridors of my corral...

I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter.
Up vistaed hopes I sped;
And shot, precipitated,
Adown Titanic glooms of chasmed fears,
From those strong Feet that followed, followed after.
But with unhurrying chase,
And unperturbèd pace,
Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,
They beat - and a Voice beat
More instant than the Feet -
"All things betray thee, who betrayest Me."

The grace of God is beyond understanding, and a wonder to behold. The magnitude of His love towards me is something I can only worship, because it surpasses all explanation and comprehension.

Thank You, Father... I can only live a life of praise to You through eternity - and even that could never begin to repay my debt to You!

Technorati Tags: God, gratitude, praise, hymns

Announcing the location of Dub-ya's Presidential Library

Ward has the scoop!

Heh.

Yeah, that seems pretty appropriate....

Technorati Tags: Bush, amnesty, spineless, deaf

What's Sen. Warner up to?

I got a heads-up warning from my blog-brother, Kender, saying that Sen. John Warner, senior senator from Virginia and RINO, is going to support a revival of the amnesty bill.

I believe I've already made my feelings on this matter abundantly clear.

However, I haven't seen anything on the news yet to confirm this - and please keep in mind that I'm on vacation, thousands of miles away... Anyone in the Virginia blogosphere have any info on this?

Technorati Tags: Sen. John Warner, amnesty, illegal immigration

Dennis Miller goes nuclear

And I love it!

"TEAR DOWN THIS WALL!!"

Twenty years ago today, President Ronald Reagan laid the challenge before the Soviet Union in stirring words which still resonate with us today.

"The importance of freedom."

"We believe that freedom and security go together."

"The advance of human liberty can only strengthen the cause of world peace."

"Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

The wall finally came down, and the joy of a reunited country was displayed throughout the world:

God bless you, President Reagan.

(Tip of the Tiara to Virginia Virtucon for pointing out the videos)

Technorati Tags: Ronald Reagan, tear down this wall, communism

As promised...

... here are more photos of our trip today. Actually, this is kinda cool: I'm posting this at about 9pm (local) and it's zero-dark-early for the east coast, so all my buddies will have a whole bunch of pretty pictures to wake up to! Of course, by the time the post is done, it will probably be an hour later

Anyway, I'm going to put them below the fold, so make sure you CLICK on the "read more" link!

How the Beloved Husband spends his vacation

Well, our first non-traveling day in Hawaii, and we decided to go from Waikoloa

 all the way down to South Point,

which is the southernmost point in the United States. It's a bit over two hours to drive, according to Google Maps, and a very beautiful drive, especially once you get to the southern part of the town of Kona.

We took lots of pictures (next post, I promise), but I took several that I think will round up what this vacation is going to be like for the Beloved Husband - when he's not SCUBA diving or reading or relaxing at the pool/beach, that is...

And then there's this one...

Or how about this one...?

Of course, when he has this Darling Munchkin as a subject to be framed by all the gorgeous background, who can blame him?

The coconut has landed!

We have arrived at our timeshare after a 12 hour delay in one of our flights. All is well, 'though I am NOT impressed with Delta's customer service in Honolulu. But we are safely here, thank God, and minor inconveniences cannot spoil the great time ahead of us. Tomorrow, I think we'll drive down to South Point, and then meander back in a leisurely way. Coffee plantations, local fruit stands, snorkling bays - the possibilities are endless!

UPDATE: Of course, we're in Hawaii... Perhaps I ought to have titled this post "The nene has landed"... (The nene is the Hawaiian State Bird.)

Anticipation...

Anticipay-ay-shun... Is making me late... Is keeping me way-ay-ay-ay-ayting...

 

Yeah, I know, I've got to stop channeling Carly Simon...

Suck it up, honey..

This is why we train the Darling Munchkin: "You can choose your actions, but you can't choose the consequences."

So Paris Hilton is apparently heading back to jail.

Parents, we can ALL spare our children this sort of infantile heartbreak by bringing them up with loving and realistic discipline. Paris is an adult, but she's got no concept of necessary consequences.

I feel a bit sorry for her... But not much, because she's been acting like a spoiled and whiney brat.

I hope and pray that this will be the turning point for good in her life...

Technorati Tags: Paris Hilton, consequences, jail

FRIED PICKLES?!

Good Lord Almighty, what is this world coming to?!

I'd never heard of fried pickles before... But then, Rachel Lucas is a brilliant and delightfully snarky lady, so I might even try a recipe (any of my readers have a better one?).

Besides, you really need to go over and read her opinion about Michael Moron and Rosie O'Dunderhead.

Be prepared though, you might need to wash your brain with bleach...

Technorati Tags: Rachel Lucas, Michael Moore, Rosie O'Donnell, fried pickles

(Oh, and gotta LOVE that tag-set! *snicker*)

Lt. Gov. Bolling to speak at Blogs United Dinner

Oh, how wonderful!

We get to enjoy his presence again! I very much appreciated - both last year in Martinsville, and earlier this year in Richmond - the grace and eloquence of Virginia's Lieutenant Governor, Bill Bolling.

I'm looking forward to seeing him again, and perhaps if I'm lucky, I'll be able to have another fluff interview with him. After all, I do need to ask him if he's enjoying his quilt!

This is the Jamestown 2007 Block of the Month Quilt, based on a design by Judy Martin, with fabrics selected by Quilted Expressions in Lynchburg.

So, Virginia bloggers, have you signed up yet?

Technorati Tags: Blogs United, Hampton Roads, Virginia blogs, Lt Gov Bolling, conferences

Introducing a little levity...

Of course, I blame the Llama Butchers, 'cause they put the idea in my brain... It's all their fault!

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!!!

Technorati Tags: Monty Python, humor, video

Want some cheese with that whine?

"Medical reasons."

Yeah, right. That girl would'a benefited from a few spankings and a LOT of consequences as she was growing up.

Now, it seems that everyone has decided to be an enabler.

And we wonder where we've gone wrong...

 

Technorati Tags: Paris Hilton

Bored.

Bored, bored, BORED! And impatient! Grrr....

(Yeah, this is one of those cryptic posts which only my buddies will understand. Life is like that.)

But I LIKE it when my husband leers at me!

UPDATE: *sigh* again... Dang, I MUST remember to let the coffee percolate thru my brain before I start posting. Typo in the headline fixed. Grr. [/update]

*sigh*

And the libs frequently call conservatives "prudes."

Dr. Helen calls a liberal to task for her double standard. To which I add, "Babydoll, we ain't prudes, we just know when it's appropriate to keep our pants zipped!"

Fading away

I saw an interesting article in the New York Times yesterday (and I think it was the Blogfather who linked it, but I'm not sure) which discussed how long inkjet printers' output might last.

Anyone whose family used the Anscochrome or early versions of Kodak’s Ektachrome slide films for their photographic record of the 1960s will attest that conventional color photography has not always been a model of image longevity either. By the time digital photography began dominating, however, film and photographic paper makers had solved most preservation issues.

Traditional color prints have an advantage over inkjet prints. Dyes that make up images in traditional prints are suspended in three layers of gelatin, well below the surface.

Photo inkjet paper is generally coated to prevent the printer ink from soaking into its base, which would create a blurry and discolored photo. But that coating usually leaves the ink sprayed by the printer directly on top of the print, where it is vulnerable to light, humidity, pollution and scratches.

(Conventional black-and-white prints, which are made up of tiny grains of silver, remain the undisputed longevity champions.)

The life of color inkjet prints has also been hindered by the origins of the technology, which was mainly intended for printing things like pie charts, said Nils Miller, a scientist at Hewlett-Packard. “The initial emphasis was, how do we get bright colors on plain paper,” Dr. Miller said. “Permanence was not really on the radar screen yet.”

It's an informative article, and will provide some serious concerns for dedicated scrapbookers - although these days I assume you're as likely to create a completely digital scrapbook as the more "traditional" kind. I know that Photoshop Elements has a wide range of capabilities and many sites offering digital scrapbooking products.

At any rate, for those of us who enjoy printing out our digital images, this article is a good read, and give a lot of food for thought.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, printing, archiving, PhotoShop Elements

You weren't REALLY surprised... were you?

NATO officials say they have caught Iran red-handed, shipping heavy arms, C4 explosives and advanced roadside bombs to the Taliban for use against NATO forces, in what the officials say is a dramatic escalation of Iran's proxy war against the United States and Great Britain. [The Blotter ]

Oh, please.

If you were, I bet your picture is in the dictionary right next to naïve, right?

I am teh lapkitteh...

Well, after discovering I CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER the other day, I just really thought that Pixel needed to become a lolcat. So I went over to the LolCat Builder and made a photo of her...

What do you think?

Is it possible that teh lapkitteh will be posted on ICHC and become famous? Perhaps she will make huge chunks of money so that we may keep her in catnip and kibble for the rest of her life?

Technorati Tags: ICHC, cats, kitteh, I CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER, humor, photos

Playing with Google Docs and blogging

I wonder if I can post to my blog from Google Documents...?

UPDATE: OK, I can - but I don't know how to set a title... Hm, perhaps if I "Save as" and re-name the document? (I really like all the functionality and gadgets Google has in its suite of applications...)

UPDATE 2.0: Well, that didn't work, so I'm trying with the (I think) Header tag while in the "edit HTML" mode...Ah! And I see that removing the double "br" and adding the paragraph tags smooshes paragraphs together... Let's see what it looks like online...

Lawn Chair Drill Team

It's BSC Beth's fault...

Totally.

I am not taking ANY responsibility for liquid spewed upon your monitor or keyboard.

Nope. Not. My. Fault!

Technorati Tags: drill team, comedy

lolfrienz ar 2 funnee

I CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER? oh, iz too funnee an oddly amuzing! adventures of teh lolrus and lolcatz ar too silli!

Mus' go zee and lolololol wit lolfrienz and lolcatz - am putting on mi rss jus 2 keep up wit bukkit! Mak shur u chek out da beginin an' aboutz us...

Go lol and giggle!

Manolo and the Bumblebees

Ah, the Manolo! I have great fondness for the blog of the superfantastic Manolo, and today he brings several of the YouTube gems to his ShoeBlog...

I adore the "Flight of the Bumblebee", and the Manolo serves up SIX versions!

This one is my favorite:

I mean, really - a Goth (or is it "punk"?) classical pianist? How wonderfully bizarre is that?!

Testing Windows Live Writer again...

Well,so far it seems that LWriter is pretty good -I found the picture editing controls I hadn't seen before, and now I'm going to experiment a bit with the plugins I added for Flickr, video, emoticons...

I'm also interested in that "Insert map" function...

OK, that's good...  I had hoped to insert a map for the Log Cabin Resort on Lake Crescent in Washington State, but it wasn't working quite the way I wanted... That's all right, Hilton Grand Vacations Resort Waikoloa is a good alternate *snicker*

All right, let's try Flickr...

Oh, very good! This is a picture taken in Chatham earlier this spring. My car was getting cleaned and the oil changed, so I took a walk around town and snapped some pictures of the beautiful sights.

Ah, and the video embed works nicely,too, although I have to go get the URL manually, and there isn't a way to "auto login" to my own videos...

  And the emoticons seem to be working, too! Yay! Y'all know that I enjoy being, erm, expressive. It's nice to have more tools to show you what I'm thinking. You know, though... They need a Spock emoticon - one with a raised eyebrow and a "Humans are confusing" look.

Hm.... Good stuff - I may have found my new blog editor!

School's.Out.For.SUMMER!

Oh, yeah, I remember what that felt like! But today was the Darling Munchkin's last day of school, and she's now enjoying the pool with a friend...

I'm wondering, will she succeed in her mission to completely saturate herself with chlorine before the summer is over?

... I bet she can...!

What Laura said...!

Yeah, Bush - after all the work and support your base gave you, after all the times we've stood up for you, and after all the times we've gone to bat for you... You screw us.

Honey, I've got a husband, and he's the only person I care to allow into my bed in any way, shape or form.

No, Bush, I'm not "fearful," I'm not being "unkind" or "uncharitable" when I am 100% against rewarding illegal immigrants for their lawless behavior.

You. Are. WRONG.

Go listen to what Laura Ingrahm has to say. She's right.

It makes me wish Bush were up for re-election, just so I could now give him the finger, just like he's given it to us.

*sigh* No matter what party is in power, people -

BEND OVER, HERE IT COMES AGAIN.