My Soap Box!!

Happy New Year!!

2007-01-02T10:50:00.000-06:00

This has been taking all of my time lately, it is called Second Life (SL) and it is a reality based game. Basically it is an animated chat room. The figure in the foreground is my avatar, cant see me very well. I don't always have wings, it was a special event, but I am always a white tiger hottie.
There are lots of things to do and tons of great people to interact with. If you would like to give it a try be fair warned it is addictive!
There is money to be made and things to buy it is just like the real world in the fact that you can get a job, rent an apartment, or buy a house.
I will be going on vacation this month, not really going anywhere, just not going to work!

On to other bad adventures. I took my car in to get new tires and a four wheel alignment last week, they only did a front end alignment and it ticked me off. So I take it back to get them to finish the job, and when they put it on the rack my front struts collapsed and locked in place. So now I have no front suspension, UGH. This is going to cost me 350 to fix, but at least they refunded the cost of the alignment. It wasn't their fault, the car has 96000 miles and they are original struts, so it is way past time to have it done, just bad timing.
Hope everyone had a good new years. I will try to post more often in 2007, if I can get away from SL, LOL.
Love ya all.
Later

I have been so....

2006-12-05T04:22:00.000-06:00

uninspired lately. I think my whole problem is to many people I know personally know about this site and I don't feel as though I can write about what I want to. Well fuck them, they will just have to get over it because I am tired of not being able to bitch at will.
I have had a couple of busy weeks since I last posted. One of my cats had to take an emergency trip to the vet. He got into a scrap and got a very large abscess on his face. I have almost always been able to care for these kinds of injuries myself, but Lancelot had to be different. He did not scratch an opening low enough on his cheek for proper drainage, so he had to get a drain tube put in. Sounds and looks worse than it is. He is fine now, I hope. Then I had to take the youngest in to get his shots and the famous snip/clip. He still hates me.
I have found the best Vet! She is the most down to earth person I have met, with her level of education. She laughs and jokes with me, as though we are best friends, and still remains professional at the same time. She even gave both of the cats she has seen nick names that fit. Lance is Mr. Grumpy, and Fearless is Wild Child.
It was hysterical when I took Fearless in the day before his surgery, she was going to treat him just like any other cat and reached into the carrier and pulled him out, she only had to take him about 25 feet to put him into a cage, but at the last second he managed to bolt. It was like watching a greased pig contest with her trying to catch him and get him caged. The next day when I went to pick him up all of the techs had stories to tell me about how he would jump out of the cage like superman every time the door was opened. Still when it came time to go get him so he could go home the tech refused to take my carrier to the back with her. So me being me, I yelled at her past the Vet that the Dr. thought she could get him from the front to the back last night also, and the Vet pipped up and told her to take the carrier with her. He gave me the dirtiest look possible when they brought him up. I can't wait till Dec. 20th when he has to go back to get the rest of his shots, it should be sooo much fun.
Work has been the same old shit, just different days. I am going, later today and fill out an application for a company that does special events in the area, for a second job. They don't pay a whole lot, but the perks are good. Get to see all kinds of concerts and sporting events free of charge and get shit like concert t-shirts free. The main reason I am doing this is this week I am getting a brand new Washer and Dryer!! I am going through one of those rent to own places, but the first 90 days is interest free so I want to pay as much as possible to get the principle down. After the 90 days half of my payment will go to interest, and it won't matter how much I pay a month, half will still go to interest, but I can save my money from the second job and pay it off early without penalties. I am very excited, I have never owned a brand new W & D in my life, and these are not your run of the mill ones either. They are Maytag Neptune front loaders. The washer alone is almost a thousand dollars, so not something I could just run out and buy.
Other than that work is still pissing me off. My supervisor is still a jackass. He finds out a week before we have to have something done and doesn't bother to tell us until the day before. Then he expects us to rearrange our schedule to accommodate him. That always backfires on him. Example, he knew a week ago that all of the armed officers where going to have to requalify this Wednesday, but he did not tell us about it until today, I have plans for Wed that can't be changed, so he will just have to find a different day for me to go, or I will just leave my gun at home until they get another day. No big deal to me, but it will send him over the deep end, to not have two armed officers at night. Can you say tough shit?
Well I am tired of typing now, so have a great day.

Long time no hear.

2006-11-13T20:47:00.001-06:00

Remember this photo? It has been accepted into an amateur photo contest and I should know in a couple of months if it wins anything.
I know it has been a while since I last posted, but I was busy with political stuff. We won, but now the real work begins. Everyone make sure you sign the impeachment petitions so we can be rid of this whole damn administration.

Now for a little not so funny joke. It sickens me that these people can actually get money out of a court.

Time once again to review the winners of the Annual "Stella Awards." The Stella Awards are named after 81 year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued McDonald's (in NM). That case inspired the Stella Awards for the most frivolous, ridiculous, successful lawsuits in the United States

Here are this year's winners:

5th Place (tie):
Kathleen Robertson of Austin, Texas, was awarded $80,000. by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store. The owners of the store were understandably surprised at the verdict, considering the misbehaving little toddler was Ms. Robertson's son .

5th Place (tie):
19-year-old Carl Truman of Los Angeles won $74,000 and medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Mr. Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when he was trying to steal his neighbor's hubcaps .

5th Place (tie):
Terrence Dickson of Bristol, Pennsylvania, was leaving a house he had just finished robbing by way of the garage. He was not able to get the garage door to go up since the automatic door opener was malfunctioning. He couldn't re-enter the house because the door connecting the house and garage locked when he pulled it shut. The family was on vacation, and Mr. Dickson found himself locked in the garage for eight days. He subsisted on a case of Pepsi he found, and a large bag of dry dog food. He sued the homeowner's insurance claiming the situation caused him undue mental anguish . The jury agreed, to the tune of $500,000.

4th Place:
Jerry Williams of Little Rock, Arkansas, was awarded $14,500. and medical expenses after being bitten on the buttocks by his next door neighbor's beagle. The beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced yard. The award was less than sought because the jury felt the dog might have been just a little provoked at the time by Mr. Williams who had climbed over the fence into the yard and was shooting it repeatedly with a pellet gun.

3rd Place:
A Philadelphia restaurant was ordered to pay Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, $113,500. after she slipped on a soft drink and broke her coccyx (tailbone). The beverage was on the floor because Ms. Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument.

2ndPlace:
Kara Walton of Claymont, Delaware, successfully sued the owner of a night club in a neighboring city when she fell from the bathroom window to the floor and knocked out her two front teeth. This occurred while Ms. Walton was trying to sneak through the window in the ladies room to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge . She was awarded $12,000 and dental expenses

1st Place:
This year's runaway winner was Mrs. Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Mrs. Grazinski purchased a brand new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On her first trip home, (from an OU football game), having driven onto the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the driver's seat to go into the back & make herself a sandwich. Not surprisingly, the RV left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Mrs.Grazinski sued Winnebago for not advising her in the owner's manual that she couldn't actually do this. The jury awarded her $1,750,000. plus a new motor home. The company actually changed their manuals on the basis of this suit, just in case there were any other complete morons around.

Can You Say Fuck-Off America!!

2006-10-26T09:30:00.000-05:00

Exxon makes $10.5B, a near-record quarter

Soundly beats Wall Street estimates and posts the second highest quarterly profit ever for a U.S. company.

By Steve Hargreaves, CNNMoney.com staff writer

October 26 2006: 9:26 AM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- ExxonMobil, the world's largest publicly traded oil company and its biggest corporation by revenue, reported the second largest profit ever Thursday.

Exxon said it made $10.5 billion in the third quarter, or $1.77 per share on revenue of $99.6 billion. It was a 26 percent increase in earnings for the company.

Analysts were looking for Exxon to make $9.68 billion in the quarter, or $1.59 per share, according to First Call.

I don't know about you, but I think ExxonMobil should give every driver in America a big jar of water-base lube to go with this fucking.

Just not with it right now

2006-10-21T08:31:00.000-05:00

I have been making my rounds reading everybody's site and just have not felt like posting anything. I have no excuse, other than the lazies, so please just bear with me.
In the mean time here is a nice funny to go with the pretty sky.

A woman meets a man in a bar. They talk; they connect; they end up
leaving together. They get back to his place, and as he shows her around his apartment, she notices that one wall of his bedroom is completely filled with soft, sweet, cuddly teddy bears. There are three shelves in the bedroom, with hundreds and hundreds of cute, cuddly teddy bears, carefully placed in rows covering the entire wall!

It was obvious that he had taken quite some time to lovingly arrange them and she was immediately touched by the amount of thought he had put into organizing the display. There were small bears all along the bottomshelf, medium-sized bears covering the length of the middle shelf, and huge, enormous bears running all the way along the top shelf. She found it strange for an obviously masculine guy to have such a large collection of Teddy Bears, but doesn't mention this to him, and actually is quite impressed by his sensitive side.

They share a bottle of wine and continue talking and, after a while, she finds herself thinking, "Oh my God! Maybe, this guy could be the one! Maybe he could be the future father my children?"

She turns to him and kisses him lightly on the lips. He responds warmly. They continue to kiss, the passion builds, and he romantically lifts her in his arms and carries her into his bedroom where they rip off each other's clothes and make hot, steamy love. She is so overwhelmed that she responds with more passion, more creativity, more heat than she has ever known.

After an intense, explosive night of raw passion with this sensitive guy, they are lying there together in the afterglow. The woman rolls over, gently strokes his chest and asks coyly, "Well, how was it?"

The guy gently smiles at her, strokes her cheek, looks deeply into her
eyes, and says:

''Help yourself to any prize from the middle shelf."

Just a little sunrise

2006-10-04T07:50:00.000-05:00

Not much to say this morning, but I could not let this sunrise get away. So enjoy your day and here's a cute joke to go with it.

THE BLONDE JOKE TO END ALL BLONDE JOKES

A blonde calls her boyfriend and says, "Please come over here and help me.
I have a killer jigsaw puzzle, and I can't figure out how to get it started."

Her boyfriend asks, "What is it supposed to be when it's finished?"

The blonde says, "According to the picture on the box, it's a tiger."

Her boyfriend decides to go over and help with the puzzle.
She lets him in and shows him where she has the puzzle spread all over the table. He studies the pieces for a moment, then looks at the box,
then turns to her and says,

"First of all, no matter what we do, we're not going to be able to assemble these pieces into anything resembling a tiger."

He takes her hand and says, "Second, I want you to relax. Let's have a nice cup of tea, and then ..."

"Let's put all the Frosted Flakes back in the box......."

I know not all blondes are like this, but damn some of them are too.

A little humor

2006-10-01T09:45:00.000-05:00

I am sure everyone has seen this email.
I felt it was a better subject than talking about the loss of our civil liberties and the new legal torture.

True Friendship
(With none of that Sissy Crap!!!!)
Are you tired of those sissy "friendship" poems that always sound good,

but never actually come close to reality?

Well, here is a series of promises that actually speak of true friendship.

You will see no cutesy little smiley faces on this card-

just the stone cold truth of our friendship.

1 When you are sad -- I will help you get drunk and plot revenge against the sorry bastard who made you that way.
2. When you are blue -- I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you.
3. When you smile -- I will know you finally got laid.
4. When you are scared -- I will rag on you about it every chance I get.
5. When you are worried -- I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be until you quit whining.
6. When you are confused -- I will use little words.
7. When you are sick -- Stay the hell away from me until you are well again. I don't want to catch whatever you have.
8. When you fall -- I will point and laugh at your clumsy ass.
9. This is my oath..... I pledge it to the end. "Why?" you may askÂ."because you are my friend"

Send this to "all 10" of your friends, then get depressed because you can only think of four!!! (don't send it back to me....I don't want to hear it!!!)
And remember....when life hands you Lemons, ask for tequila and salt and call me over !!!!!

Just a little bee morning

2006-09-15T08:43:00.000-05:00

You know me I can't pass up a good honey bee when I see one. I had to go pay the landlord for mowing the lawn this morning and all of his Moon flowers were still blooming and the honey bees were thick. Naturally I had to run back to my car and grab my camera.
Mother always freaks out when I come home with a bunch of pictures of bees, she is scared I am going to get stung, but then again she is deathly allergic to bees.
Not much going on right now, I have put a bike in lay-a-way for me and one for mom as well, so hopefully by the middle of October we will be riding around getting some really good exercise. Maybe I will also be able to get some better pictures. It is a pain in the ass to stop the car every time I see something that would be a great picture, but it won't be that big of deal to stop a bike and grab a shot or two.
I've got plans to go to the State Fair this next week and should be able to get some really fun pictures there. I have been to the State Fair of Texas about a dozen times (having lived in Dallas, where it is held), but this will be the first occasion to see the Oklahoma fair. It should be fun to compare and contrast the two states. I already know it will be smaller, the grounds are about one square mile smaller than the grounds in Texas, but they have better horse shows scheduled.

Have a good Friday, later.

Early morning

2006-09-10T08:51:00.000-05:00

Nothing like catching the early morning dew. It is supposed to be rainy today, so I thought I would get a few pictures in while it was overcast and still dry.

Hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday.
Later

Just a little beauty this morning

2006-09-07T07:49:00.000-05:00

I just happened to have my camera with me this morning on the way home from work, and the sunrise was so nice I had to pull over and get a few pictures of it. Then when I got home I thought I would grab a few shots of my mini roses in the early morning light with all the dew still on the petals. This is one of only two or three that turned out half way decent.
What'cha think? Should I keep doing photography?

I am in a really good mood today, I will only have to put up with one of my co-workers for the next two weeks! The other one is going on vacation. Is it wrong of me to hope that he doesn't come back? I have never told you about my work mates, but I have one that I can get along with as long as he is at least six feet away from me (R), and one that just bothers me that he is in security (M).
R is not so bad but he has one small problem, he doesn't know what soap and water is. This man reeks!! Not only does he not bathe, but he refuses to brush his teeth, and they are green and rotten. Yes I am telling the truth, GREEN!! The worst part is he always has bugs crawling out of his clothes, bag and jacket. Now I could probably handle one bug, but the other day he set his backpack down and 6 roaches crawled out. It just grosses me out. He has a good sense of humor and as long as he is at the required distance we get along okay. I tell him to his face that he is disgusting, and he laughs thinking I am being funny.
M just has no sense of humor and has a major anger issue. I can't say anything to this man without him getting all bent out of shape. By far though, his worst trait is the fact that he dips 24-7 and refuses to use a cup. He will step outside the smoke door and spit right in the walkway. Now I don't care if the man wants to dip, but I don't want to wear that smell on the bottom of my shoe all night, and then get it in my car.
M is the one going on vacation, so send me your energy and lets hope I can get a better job before he returns.

Later, and sorry if I grossed you out so early in the morning.

Go Figure

2006-09-03T18:33:00.000-05:00

Never fails, I went to all the expense of replacing the central air unit with window units after I got hit with a 400 dollar electric bill, and ever since we put them in it has not gotten over 91 degrees. Oh well, at least we will be ready for next summer.

It has been a quiet week, just work and nothing. I am very much needing some friends that I can get out of the house with. I have this one friend that I made during one of my training classes but we haven't done anything but chat on the phone. She works nights also, and we keep saying that we need to go do something but have yet to make any plans. I haven't even gotten out to take any pictures, I may be going through withdrawal.

I put a bike on lay-a-way for mom and found the one I want on-line, should have both of them by the first of next month. I have decided that it is time to really work at getting back into some shape other than round. Biking has always been my thing and the one I am getting is a 21 speed, so all the hills around here won't be that big of a deal.

Boring post today I know, but I am trying to stay away from politics. Not many of you agree with my viewpoint and I don't want to bore the rest of you.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend, later.

Where to begin?

2006-08-28T09:48:00.000-05:00

This is Fearless I got him two days ago and he is already settling in to be a little shit. Mom named him, and he seems to be willing to live up to his name.

Beezlebub disappeared five days ago and we think that a local coyote made off with him. We are very sad. Fearless is not a replacement, because I don't believe in such things. He is actually what I have been looking for for many years. I got the paper and started calling all the places that had kittens and had actually put in a call to a couple of people that advertised Manyx's. Then I called this woman that had only advertised two kittens, I asked her if she had any short hair males. She told me that she had two, one solid grey and the other kind of an orange tiger. She then says in a disappointed way that he didn't have a tail.
Well needless to say I was overjoyed and told her to save him I was on the way. She had no idea that these cats are worth money, and I got him free of charge. Well I did have to spend the money on the gas to go get him and had to give him two flea baths the first day.
This poor little thing had so many fleas that I lost count at 40 on his face alone.
Isn't he just the cutest little thing.

Well on to other news, I have been avidly seeking another job, and found out Sat. That I did not get the first one that I applied to, but I will not let that get me down. I have a line on another one, and if I get it it will be almost a dollar raise with better benefits.

Sorry I haven't been posting or commenting lately, but I have been reading. We are in the middle of ripping out all the carpets and laying tile, so I haven't had a lot of free time. I think the landlord made the wrong decision to put real ceramic tile in this old trailer without allowing me to replace the entire sub floor. We are already getting lose tiles in the living room and he only finished laying it three days ago. My friend and I tried to shore up all the weak spots but some of them that he thought was strong enough don't seem to be holding the tile in place. Oh well, at least the smelly damn carpet is gone.
My buddy is supposed to come back over today and help rip the carpet out of mothers room and the kitchen. Once we patch the subfloor we are going to throw down several layers of kiltz paint to seal out the smell. The people that were in here over the years had lots of pets and let them use the whole floor as the toilet, so that is what we are trying to get rid of. Plus the carpets are full of mildew and it is killing mother. She has had two bouts of full pneumonia since we moved in here in Febuary. She has also had many rounds of antibiotics to fight off more lung infections. I am hoping without the carpet she will begin to improve.

Well that's all I've got. Post more when I have the time.

I have a new pet!

2006-08-13T10:49:00.000-05:00

I actually have two of them, but the other one is to small and young to get clear pictures of. This one is Gertrude, and she is about the size of a dime right now. When she is full grown she will be about the size of a half dollar.
Everyone go EEEEWWWWW! Now take a good look at the pretty spider.

She is such a pretty girl.
I found her at work, under the seat of the outside pic-nic tables in the smoking area. I didn't bother to tell anyone she and her little sister were there. I don't think they would have understood.
Just a little FYI about Black Widows. They never leave their webs unless they are disturbed, they wait until a meal finds them. The only time one will bite a human is if and when we envade their webs, and they can't get away. Like all spiders they will try to run away first.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.
Later

AAGGGHHHH!!!

2006-08-05T22:21:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note to let everyone know that I am still here. I have been battling computer problems for the past week or so. It seems that my lovely DVD drive does not want to play regular movies. It will play any dvd that I have burned but it will not play just old fashioned DVD movies.
Needless to say I have tried every version of windows xp and none of them will allow the movies to work. So it looks like I will try one last thing, I am going to spend the money on an external DVD player and see if that works.

Sometimes I hate knowing so much about computers. If anyone has a better idea than an external drive, please let me know.

Later

What'cha think?

2006-07-20T07:24:00.000-05:00

I was shut down for a few days while Blogger decided if I was a spam account. What a hassle!
Not that it really matters, it has been so hot around here that just the thought of doing anything is trying. It's supposed to be 108 today and 110 tomorrow, then we are supposed to get some relief all the way down to 92 on Saturday. If it wasn't for the fact that it actually drops down into the 70's at night, I would swear I never left Padre.

Not much to say, I took my state tests for my Cleet license and I will get the results by tomorrow. I am rather positive I passed both of them though. I am thinking about signing on with a company that can send me to either Iraq or Afghanistan for a year. It sounds more dangerous than it is. I would never leave base and be surrounded by soldiers, but I can make an average of 35 an hour. This company pays by the hour, plus overtime, plus hazard pay, plus holidays and benefits. I figure if I can do this for a year I will be very close to being out of debt. It would also allow me to get back in shape so I could go on to do some really dangerous work. Like being a private body guard over there. I know of several companies that are screaming for female guards, but they all have very strict physical agility tests, and there is no way I can pass them right now.

So what do you think, besides I am crazy. I already know that, but bear in mind in a six month time frame as a bodyguard I can easily make 60,000 or more. Yes money is a huge motivator to me right now. I need to pay off 37,000 in school loans, and I would like to buy a house one day soon.

Later.

Happy Day!!

2006-07-13T07:15:00.000-05:00

Finally all my training is done for now. There are still some classes I will be taking but all the important ones are now out of the way. So yes that means I am now carrying a gun at work. Now you may be afraid!!
Just kidding, I hope to never have to use it.

Tuesday I will go take the state test and as soon as I get one more piece of mail I will submit my application to Cleet. I don't have to have the license to carry where I work, but I am still getting it.

Hope everyone has a great day.

Progression

2006-06-26T15:46:00.000-05:00

These are some of my roses. These seem to be growing in little clusters. I have never had mini roses grow this way before, but I like it.
After about a zillion phone calls and three migraines I finally got all my legal stuff out of the way so when I apply to Cleet I will be able to give them a complete application. I am getting excited about finishing all of my classes and getting my license. I think I might try to get on as security out at the Air Force base. I have heard that they pay regular guards 15 an hour and supervisors 20. I could live on that.

Hope all is going good over the world. Later

Cheating today

2006-06-25T07:03:00.000-05:00

Obviously this is not my picture today, but it was to funny not to share. This is a female run office men's room. The owner of the office gave the designer free reign to do anything they wanted, and I love what they did.

That's it just a short note today, it is Sunday after all.
Later

As Promised

2006-06-24T06:48:00.000-05:00

Well I was thinking of being mean and forgetting to post today, but since some of you are waiting for the answers to yesterdays quiz I guess I will go ahead and give them to you.
I will also tell you which ones I got wrong, so you can compare.

ANSWERS

1. On a standard traffic light, is the green on the top or bottom?

BOTTOM

2. How many states are there in the USA? (Don't laugh, some people

don't know)  50

3. In which hand is the Statue of Liberty's torch?     RIGHT

4. What six colors are on the classic Campbell's soup label?    BLUE,

RED, WHITE, YELLOW, BLACK & GOLD

5. What two numbers on the telephone dial don't have letters by them?

1, 0

6. When you walk does your left arm swing with your right or left leg?

RIGHT

7. How many matches are in a standard pack?    20

8. On the United States flag is the top stripe red or white?    RED

9. What is the lowest number on the FM dial?    88

I got this wrong

10. Which way does water go down the drain, counter or  clockwise?

   CLOCKWISE (NORTH OF THE EQUATOR)

11. Which way does a "no smoking" signs slash run?

   TOWARDS BOTTOM RIGHT

I got this wrong

12. How many channels on a VHF TV dial?    12 (no #1)

I got this wrong

13 On which side of a women's blouse are the buttons?    LEFT

14. Which way do fans rotate?    CLOCKWISE AS YOU LOOK AT IT

15 How many sides does a stop sign have?    8

16. Do books have even-numbered pages on the right or left side?

LEFT

17 How many lug nuts are on a standard car wheel?    5

18. How many sides are there on a standard pencil?    6

I got this wrong

19. Sleepy, Happy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey, Doc. Who's missing?

BASHFUL

20. How many hot dog buns are in a standard package?    8

21 On which playing card is the card makers trademark?  ACE OF SPADES

I got this wrong

22 On which side of a Venetian blind is the cord that adjusts the

Opening between the slats?    LEFT

23. There are 12 buttons on a touch tone phone.  What 2 symbols bear no

digits?    *, #

24. How many curves are there in the standard paper clip?    3

25. Does a merry-go-round turn counter or clockwise?    COUNTER


I did not cheat, and I thought I did pretty good. Especially the question on the Campbell's soup label.
Let me know what your score was.

Have a good Saturday!!!

Four Days in a Row...I must be sick.

2006-06-23T08:03:00.000-05:00

No actually I am trying to get back into the swing of things. I was gone so long and then so sporadic that it is just taking me a long time to get it together. Plus I am also giving you a stock pile, because come the end of the month and the second week in July you will get nada, zip, and zilch. I can not be expected to go to class from 8-5 and work from 11p-6a AND still blog, so get used to it now.

So on to a little funny. This is a little test that has been emailed to me. Without using Google or any other reference material see what answers you can give. I will post the answers tomorrow along with the way to score it.

The average person only gets 7 correct.

This is based on U.S. info, so use all lobes of your brain.  This can be
more difficult than it looks - it just shows how little most of us really see!

There are 25 questions about things we see every day or have known about all
our lives.  How many can you get right?  These little simple questions are
harder than you think-- it just shows you how little we pay attention to the
commonplace things of life.

Put your thinking caps on.  No cheating!  No looking around!  No getting out
of your chair!  No using anything on or in your desk or computer!

Can you beat 23?? (The average is 7) Write down your answers as you go.

REMEMBER - NO CHEATING!!! BE HONEST!!! That means no looking at your phone
or anything on your desk...

LET'S JUST SEE HOW OBSERVANT YOU REALLY ARE.

Here we go!

1. On a standard traffic light, is the green on the top or bottom?2. How many states are there in the USA?

3. In which hand is the Statue of Liberty's torch?

4. What six colors are on the classic Campbell's soup label?
5. What two numbers on the telephone dial don't have letters by them?

6. When you walk does your left arm swing with your right or left leg?

(Don't you dare get up to see!)

7. How many matches are in a standard pack?

8. On the United States flag is the top stripe red or white?

9. What is the lowest number on the FM dial?
10. Which way does water go down the drain, counter or  clockwise?

11. Which way does a "no smoking" signs slash run?
12. How many channels on a VHF TV dial?

13 On which side of a women's blouse are the buttons?

14. Which way do fans rotate?

15 How many sides does a stop sign have?

16. Do books have even-numbered pages on the right or left side?

17 How many lug nuts are on a standard car wheel?

18. How many sides are there on a standard pencil?

19. Sleepy, Happy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey, Doc. Who's missing?

20. How many hot dog buns are in a standard package?

21. On which playing card is the card makers trademark?

22. On which side of a Venetian blind is the cord that adjusts the opening
between the slats?

23. There are 12 buttons on a touch tone phone.  What 2 symbols bear no digits?

24. How many curves are there in the standard paper clip?

25. Does a merry-go-round turn counter or clockwise?

Now like I said I will post the answers tomorrow.

Later All, and Have fun.

All set

2006-06-22T18:33:00.000-05:00

Well I went down this morning and put my money down to reserve my seat in the Phase I & II, as well as the Use of Force classes. June 28-30 will be the UOF and July 7-12 will be I & II, so by July 13 I will be completed with all of my classes and can apply to the state for the license. I will be taking one more class but it will be a freebie. One day next month a bunch of us will be going out to the outdoor range and helping do some work to clean it up and get it ready for classes. Payment for this work will be free enrollment in Tactical Firearms class, now if I chose to go back for the second day of work I would also get Tactical Shotgun, but I have no desire to play with shotguns.
Personally I can't wait till the TF class because it sounds like it will be a great class. It is a one day class that will last from 8 am till 10 pm. During the class we will learn target recognition, shooting from all angles; knees, stomach, feet. The target we will be aiming for is only 6 in. in diameter so it will be difficult. There will also be a night shoot, hence the long day. Should be a lot of hard work but fun and it will only look good on the resume.

The picture I got this morning on the way home, a neighbor down the way has a really nice display at their drive entrance that they rotate around regularly, and this is one of the new additions. I think it is some kind of lily, but if its not a rose I can't really tell you.

Hope everyone is having a good week so far, and look this is three days in a row!!

Bad news

2006-06-21T07:28:00.000-05:00

As promised, this is one of my roses.

The bad news is I had to close my photo gallery. I could not afford the hosting for another year. I do plan to keep my domain name though, so at some time in the future I can re-host the site. When I do get a new host I will make sure the site works for all browsers instead of only for Internet Explorer. I was looking into having the page redesigned so it would work for all users, but the time expired on me.

If any of you know of anyplace that is hosting for a huge discount then let me know. It will be a while before I can get my buddy to build me a page, but the new one will give me more control over updating the pictures and contact info.

Now for a little fun:

This is a true story about a recent wedding that took place at Clemson University.

It was in the local newspaper and even Jay Leno mentioned it.

It was a huge wedding with about 300 guests. After the wedding, at the reception,

the groom got up on stage with a microphone to talk to the crowd.

He said he wanted to thank everyone for coming, many from long distances, to support

them at their wedding. He especially wanted to thank the bride's and his family and to

thank his new father-in-law for providing such a lavish reception. As a token of his deep

appreciation he said he wanted to give everyone a special gift just from him. So taped

to the bottom of everyone's chair, including the wedding party was an envelope. He

said this was his gift to everyone, and asked them to open their envelope.

Inside each manila envelope was an 8x10 glossy of his bride having sex with the best

man. The groom had gotten suspicious of them weeks earlier and had hired a private

detective to tail them. After just standing there, just watching the guests' reactions

for a couple of minutes, he turned to the best man and said, "Fuck you!" Then he

turned to his bride and said, "Fuck you!" Then he turned to the dumbfounded crowd

and said, "I'm outta here."

He had the marriage annulled first thing in the morning. While most people would have

canceled the wedding immediately after finding out about the affair, this guy goes

through with the charade, as if nothing were wrong.

His revenge--making the bride's parents pay over $32,000 for a 300 guest wedding

and reception, and best of all, trashing the bride's and best man's reputations in

front of 300 friends and family members. This guy has balls the size of church bells

Do you think we might get a MasterCard "priceless" commercial out of this?

Elegant wedding reception for 300 family members and friends: $32,000.

Wedding photographs commemorating the Occasion: $3,000

Deluxe two week honeymoon accommodations in Maui: $8,500.

The look on everyone's face when they see the 8x10 glossy of the bride humping the

best man: Priceless.

Full circle

2006-06-20T00:10:00.000-05:00

Well I did not get fired, or even reprimanded, but I did get lied to, again. There is one psych test that all security personnel have to take to work for this casino, and if we do not pass it we are asked to either quit or transfer into a different area. Well my friend that was fired had taken this test and passed it. According to our supervisor he was going to have to take another one because the scores can be no older than six months in order to go through the weapons training to get your state license. Our company does not require us to go through the weapons training, and we know it, so the jackass was doing nothing more than lying to him so he could have a reason to fire him. He has not rolled over and given up though, he has put into a call to the corporate office and there is now an investigation into his case. If he is found to have been unjustly terminated then they will give him his job back, of course transferring him to a different casino so he doesn't have to work under this asshole.
The full circle part is the fact that the supervisor is going to pass me over for the remainder of my training for a third time. Well, I am not standing for it, and have already paid to take the course on my own time. I can't wait to see his face when I hand him a copy of my certificate and tell him not to bother scheduling me for the class. It will piss him off to no end and he will then be trying to find a reason to fire me. What I won't tell him is that by the time he gets copies of my training I will already be looking elsewhere for a better job. I won't be able to take the state test until the 18th of July, and then it will be about another week before I can send my application to the state for my license; however once I have that piece of paper I can go anywhere I want to get another job.
I am thinking of being really shitty, and waiting until I have another job and going in on a night that I am scheduled to work alone and five minutes before my shift just show up and turn in my uniforms. If I do this then the asshole will have to come work the shift himself. Shitty I know, but well deserved.

Anyway enough of work. The rest of my life is going well. My brother does not read my site but his wife does and I need to say that I am sorry, I meant to call last week and wish him a happy birthday, but you know me I procrastinate. So tell him I said happy late birthday, and I hope you two had fun.

The picture is a wounded tree in our yard. At some point in time someone had a clothes line tied to the tree and never took it down, so the hardware has been grown around by. Plus it was the only thing worth interest to photograph the other day, most of our flowers are gone already. It has been in the 90's for about 2 weeks solid now, so the only flowers still blooming are my roses. Later I will post some pictures of them.

Later all.

Training over for now.

2006-06-12T16:59:00.000-05:00

I am now officially qualified to carry a weapon. I am very proud of myself, the class gives you five attempts to qualify and all four people in my relay qualified all five rounds! Having not really had any target practice in about 20 years, being able to make the cut on the first round made me feel really good. There were 18 people in my class and everyone made it, it may have taken a few more rounds with some but we did not have anyone not pass.

I did get some bad news on my last day, my favorite co-worker got fired. On last Sunday night when we worked we had an incident and he cuffed a guy. We called the police and our supervisor, the police took about six minutes to arrive, but the supervisor took over an hour to get there. When he finally got there he cut the kid loose with a stern warning. Then all of us got to sit around all night filling out paperwork. Supervisor SAID he wanted to back his officers, then on this Sunday night when my friend went in to work he was fired for making an illegal arrest. The arrest would not have been illegal if the supervisor had truly backed him up and sent the kid to jail, but he did not want to have to do more paperwork so he cut the guy loose, making it an illegal detention. Catch 22, that's why my friend is now looking for a job, and I may have to also, since I was there when it all happened. Guilt by association and all.
Granted I thought the situation was handled all wrong from the beginning. I would have questioned the kid and sent him on his way with a warning not to come back unless he wanted to go to jail, but it was not my deal.
I wont find out if I am to be fired over this until tomorrow night, but at least I already have my Armed permit and it will be easier for me to get another job.

Oh well, enough serious stuff, how is everyone else out there? I have been reading most of your sites, I just haven't had the time to make very many comments, but until the first of next month all my training is done, so I should have more time to stop in and say hi more often.

Hope everyone has had a good day. By the way, what do you think of the Hornet? Pretty cool angle huh?
Later

Look familiar?

2006-05-25T21:06:00.000-05:00

No this is not a left over shot from Padre, this little weed flower grows in Oklahoma also. Actually it grows in long stringing clusters here. I still have no idea what it is but I do love the purple.

Today was one of my sisters' birthday, I was unable to wish her a happy one though because I can't get through to her phone number. All I get is some really strange message.

I also wanted to let everyone know that one of our fellow bloggers is going on a volunteer trip to Africa later this year and she needs our help. She has to raise a lot of money to get there, live on and get back. If you have a dollar or two to spare, this is for a wonderful cause and I know she would love the visit. Go see Miss World at her site and give her your support. Even if you are like me and so broke you can't see daylight, at least give her a plug on your site and maybe we can all together help her make her goal.

Later.

Gripes, complaints and solutions

2006-05-25T01:54:00.000-05:00

Well, I have no idea what to say, so I guess I will tell you about work.
I finally had enough and had a chat with my supervisor. There are only two of you that read my site that I know personally, but I don't think even they understand what it means when I say 'had a chat'. Basically what it boils down to is I had a fit.
I finally accused him of playing favorites, and asked why I was getting passed over for training classes. He tried to convince me that it was just an oversight on his part. I don't believe him, but I did let him talk me into allowing him to put me in training to get the first part of my Cleet done.
He also had to agree to let me take another MMPI, on the company.
An MMPI is the psych test that one has to take to be eligible to carry a weapon. It has over 500 questions on it, and asks stupid things like, Were you ever beaten as a child? Having taken a lot of psychology classes in college the damn thing is just hysterical to me, I can go through the test and identify every mental disorder they are looking for in each question. Nothing more than two wasted hours for me, but I have to have one that is no older than six months to put in my Cleet application, and at least I won't have to pay for it out of my own pocket.
The other good thing is if he does not screw me again, I will save another 100 bucks by letting the company pay for Phase I & II.
This does not change the fact that early next month I have already enrolled to take Phase IV of the training on my own. All I have to do is put in more practice time with my weapon and get more comfortable with the sights. The first time I took it out to the range I really surprised myself, after 20 years of doing no target practice, all but three of the 30 rounds I shot were killing shots. The only draw back was I was a little to erratic with my aim. I will be going back out today and working on grouping so I can put the slug where I want it instead of where it falls.

Even if my supervisor screws me I will still have plenty of time to get my own Phase I & II done. But hopefully by mid August I will have my Cleet card. The only reason it is going to take that long is I have to wait for the state to offer the testing and the next one after June is August 1.

Well wish me luck on my practice. Later.

Oh, Joy.

2006-05-18T06:47:00.000-05:00

I have been so busy this past week. First off I had to put mother in hospital for a bout of pneumonia compounded with atrial fibulation. She is out now and doing better.
I got signed up to take the Cleet training, so if all goes well then by June 14 I will be a fully armed officer. Don't worry, I have no intention of shooting anyone!

I am really pissed off at my supervisor at work though. I was passed over, for part of the Cleet training that work provides, last month and he promised me that I would be in the very next class. Well go figure, he lied to me, and I got passed over again, so now I will just pay for it myself. That way I won't have to be obligated for a year to this company, and if I find a better paying job I can just go.

Well, that's about it. The first two weeks of June I will not be able to blog or visit blogs, since I will be working and going to classes full time. Hopefully I won't have a mental blow out trying to survive on 4 hours of sleep a day. Wish me luck.

Strange news out of London.

2006-05-08T08:52:00.000-05:00

Anybody got a clue what kind of bug this is?

Still a lazy blogger I know, but the tigers are coming along nicely.

Here's a wonderful idea. Maybe some of you old married people can get your ministers to come over and spice up your love lives.

LONDON (Reuters) - British homeowners wanting to liven up their sex lives, ward off bathroom germs or calm kitchen rows can now call on God -- or at least his ministers -- for help.

A new service is being offered by vicars in the north of England who give blessings to people moving to a new home.

They will say prayers for each room, calling on divine assistance to protect the home and the health of those in it.

Rev Chris Painter, a vicar in the diocese of Manchester, told Reuters the initiative was designed to tempt new people into the church.

"For a large part of the church's history, people have come into the church building," he said. "Nowadays people tend not to come into church so we need to find new ways to meet people."

"This is exactly what Jesus did in his ministry -- he went out to where the people were and he met them there."

Painter said invitation cards would be left in the offices of real-estate agents around the diocese to inform new residents of the free home blessing service.

Individual prayers can be said for every room in the house: For the bedroom, clergy will lay hands on the bed and pray its occupants have a healthy sex life. In the bathroom, they will pray for good health and "give thanks for sanitation."

In the kitchen, the prayer will ask: "O Lord, to all who shall work in this room that, in serving others, they may serve you and share in your perfect service and that in the noise and the clutter of the kitchen they may possess you in tranquility, through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Damn, you would think that in the kitchen they would just ask for the food not to be burned, or at least come out eatable. What a crock!

I suck at keeping up with my blog right now.

2006-05-01T03:33:00.000-05:00

In case you were wondering I have been spending a lot of my free time cross stitching right now. I am working on a tiger and cub design and I can't wait to see it finished.
I have also been doing a lot of political reading. I am trying to get familiar with the Oklahoma representatives, so come November I can be an informed voter. So far I have found that there is only one that needs to stay in office, the rest can be booted and it won't hurt my feelings at all.
Well back to the tiggers.

Just a few changes

2006-04-25T01:34:00.000-05:00

I've been getting a little spam lately so I have made a few changes. Only registered bloggers will be able to comment now and since I have heard that one of my regulars loves the pop up comment box, I thought I would give it a shot.
Don't get a big head Chicky:)
I will continue to avoid the word verifier, mainly because I hate the damn thing. Nothing worse than making the perfect snarky comment just to lose it because I forgot to type the word verifier.

It has been long enough that I can now tell everyone what was wrong with my car. Nothing mechanical, I was buying the car from an asshole and he would never tell me how much I owed him for it. He never got me a leaner title and this made for a nightmare every year when it needed to be registered, so I made an executive decision and filed what is called a Title 42. Basically what this does is notify the registered owner that I will be selling the car for whatever amount of money I had put into it for repairs and storage fees. Now if the owner shows up with cash money for this amount then they can claim the car, if not then I get to sell it, or whatever.
Really what it did was give me a free and clear title to the car, so I can now have it registered in Oklahoma and not have to worry about the jackass getting a wild hair up his ass and calling the cops for unauthorized use of the car.
This process is now done, and I have a clear title to the car. Now I can look into trading it in for a better car. I am still debating on what to buy. I want a Kia Sportage, but I also think with the way gas prices are going I should consider a hybrid. Toyota and Honda both have a hybrid that gets over 50 mpg. Any thoughts on this are greatly appreciated, I am still in the just looking stage. I don't want to actually buy anything until Oct. or Nov. since that is when I will get the best deal.

Suprise, Suprise!!

2006-04-21T07:13:00.000-05:00

This shouldn't be a shock to anyone:

You scored as Democrat. <'Imunimaginative's Deviantart Page'>

Democrat

92%

Anarchism

83%

Communism

75%

Green

75%

Socialist

67%

Nazi

42%

Fascism

Republican

What Political Party Do Your Beliefs Put You In?
created with QuizFarm.com

I got this from Nick, and I am glad I tried it, its kind of cute.

Finally!!

2006-04-19T18:46:00.000-05:00

I finally got out of the house for something other than work. I only have one wildflower in my yard so far, so I went and bought a couple of flowers to plant. This is an African daisy hybrid of some kind. I just liked the color combination, and they did not have my mini roses. I got three, this one a yellow one and an orange one, but I killed the orange one when I potted it. I am still watering it so maybe it will grow back from the root stalk.
I still feel bummed without my car, but I should have it fully up and running by the end of the month. Then I will be able to go get some really great pics, I have been seeing the wildflowers but it depresses me to look at them since I can't stop and snap a few pictures. Hopefully they will still be going strong at the end of the month.
Oh well, in the mean time you get trapped flowers and such.

Just a little tilted

2006-04-18T05:16:00.000-05:00

I have just not felt like doing much the past few days. I don't know if it is the heat or the lack of something to do. I am carless for another two weeks and I hate it. The only thing I have done is work, sleep and work on my cross stitch.
This picture was taken in my front yard, in case you want to know that is a left over milk weed pod from last year, with a pony in the background. I like the angle, it almost makes you sick to look at it.
I will try to find the energy to get back on track this week, but no promises.

Compliments of SandeGaye

2006-04-09T23:50:00.000-05:00

The George Bush Loyalty Quiz

This is brought to us by the wonderful SandeGaye.

Sheri these are for you :)

2006-04-09T09:54:00.000-05:00

Yes I know this is very mean, but I could not resist. I had to get you into spring.

Now for a good funny for the rest of you.

A rugged cowboy from Brokeback Mountain, Wyoming, goes into the doctor's office and has some tests run.

The doctor comes back and says, "I am not going to beat around the bush, You have AIDS."

The cowboy tugs at his Stetson and sets his jaw and says, "Doc, what can I do?"

The doctor says, "I want you to go home and eat 5 pounds of spicy sausage, a head of cabbage, 20 un-peeled carrots drenched in hot sauce, 10 Jalapeno peppers, 40 walnuts and 40 peanuts, 1/2 box of Grape nuts cereal, and top it off with a gallon of prune juice."

The cowboy squares his rugged shoulders and asks, "Will that cure me,>Doc?"

No, but it should leave you with a better understanding of what your ass is for."

I know this is off color to gays, but I am gay and it was to funny not to pass on.

Have a great day.

Jokes, and car shopping.

2006-04-04T07:47:00.000-05:00

Crawford, Texas-- A tragic flood this morning destroyed the personal library of George W. Bush. The flood began in the bathroom where both books were kept. Both of the books are now lost.
A White House spokesman said the President was devastated as he had almost finished coloring the second one. The White House tried to call FEMA but there was no answer.

Just a little humor to start off with. I am in the need for some advice, I am looking at buying a new car and wondered if any of you know anything about the Kia Sportage or the Hyundai Santa Fe. I have narrowed the search down to these two. All of the consumer reports I find are encouraging, but I would like some first hand opinions.

Another snow day pic

2006-03-26T07:18:00.000-06:00

The snow actually only lasted about four hours, so it was a good thing I got a few shots. I have been doing some research and looking for nature trails in the area. I have found that Oklahoma has over 400 species of wild flowers, so maybe in a month or so I will be able to get a ton of wild flower shots. That is something I missed living in Padre, the only wild flower they had was cactus, and I was unable to get any good shots of them in bloom.

Now all I have to do is hope we get enough rain for the flowers to bloom. From what I understand it is way dry here. All of the lakes are down about 15-20 feet. Most of the small ponds have completely dried up. I also don't feel like running into a pit of rattle snakes, that would really put a damper on my picture taking.

Well anyway enjoy the look of winter/spring. Most of the trees weathered the snow well, none of them were stunted. They are already starting to open their buds.

Have a great day everyone.

Just because I had to

2006-03-23T08:19:00.000-06:00

I had to finally get out and take a few pictures, and what better than probably what will be the last snow fall of the season.

I know some of you will not care to see more snow, but remember I spent the last few years in a snow free zone. Plus there are a few that read my site that will just be getting a taste of what is to come, very shortly.

Hope everyone has a warm and safe day.

Just an update and a rant.

2006-03-21T06:30:00.000-06:00

I have been trying to come up with a post that was not political. Yeah I know what a shock. The best I can do is tell everyone all about the last week. I got a phone call out of the blue from one of my sisters that I had not heard from in SEVEN YEARS!
Yeah that just about gave me a heart attack, but it was great to hear from her. She filled me in on her life; she got married, had several miscarriages and is living not that far from me in Illinois. Well, not that far now that we have moved to Oklahoma anyway.
She and her husband are making plans to come see Mother and me; hopefully it will be before Christmas 2010. :)

Work is great; I have no complaints since I transferred to the training center. I no longer have to deal with the politics of the Casino. Or the bitchy customers either.

Okay, I just can't do it; I can't go a whole post without mentioning the stupid shit with South Park and the Scientology nuts. What is with these people? It's okay to bash every religion but theirs? Not that I call their crazy shit a religion, I mean come on, waiting for the Aliens to come and take them away. Wasn't there a cult several years ago that committed mass suicide because the Aliens never showed up? I just wish we could smack the shit out of these people and send them all too deprogramming classes, but hey that's what I want to do to all the members of the Christian Coalition also. :)

I just had to get that out of my system.

It is still cold and rainy here so I have not been able to get out and take any pictures, but I hope that this late winter will end soon.

Well I guess that is enough for now, since I can't think of anything else to write. Man, I suck at just writing don't I?

And these people help set the national policies?

2006-03-12T19:12:00.000-06:00

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A former adviser to President Bush was arrested this week in Maryland and charged with swindling two department stores out of more than $5,000 in a refund scam.

Montgomery County police said Claude Allen, 45, was arrested Thursday and charged with carrying out a felony theft scheme at Target and Hecht's stores. He was released on his own recognizance.

Conviction on the charges can result in a 15-year prison sentence.

Authorities accuse Allen of going to stores on more than 25 occasions and buying items, taking them to his car and then returning to the store with his receipt where he would carry out the alleged scam.

"He would select the same items he had just purchased, and then return them for a refund. Allen is known to have conducted approximately 25 of these types of refunds, having the money credited to his credit cards," a statement from Montgomery County police said.

The items ranged from a Bose theater system to a photo printer to clothing to small items valued at $2.50, police said.

Allen resigned without explanation in early February as Bush's top domestic political adviser. Allen had long been a darling among the conservative right -- and Bush had even nominated him to be a federal appeals court judge in 2003, but Democrats blocked the move.

In announcing Allen's resignation, Bush called him a "trusted adviser" who helped "develop policies that will strengthen our nation's families, schools and communities."

"Claude is a good and compassionate man, and he has my deep respect and my gratitude. I thank him for his many years of principled and dedicated service to our country," Bush said in a statement issued on February 9.

According to police, on January 2, a Target manager at a store in Gaithersburg observed Allen in the store with an empty Target bag in a shopping cart.

"The man was then seen selecting merchandise throughout the store and placing items in the Target bag. He put additional items in his cart. The man then went to guest services where he produced a receipt and received a refund for the items he had just selected from the store shelves. After receiving the refund, he left the store without paying for the additional merchandise in the shopping cart," the police statement said.

He was apprehended by the store employee, and police were contacted.

"Through the police investigation it was learned that Allen had been receiving refunds in an amount exceeding $5,000 during last year," the statement said.

Allen made $161,000 in his role as Bush's top domestic policy adviser, according to government records.

Here's a little something from the Associated Press that will break your hearts.

2006-03-10T12:18:00.000-06:00

WASHINGTON - More and more people, particularly Republicans, disapprove of President Bush's performance, question his character and no longer consider him a strong leader against terrorism, according to an AP-Ipsos poll documenting one of the bleakest points of his presidency.
Nearly four out of five Americans, including 70 percent of Republicans, believe civil war will break out in Iraq — the bloody hot spot upon which Bush has staked his presidency. Nearly 70 percent of people say the U.S. is on the wrong track, a 6-point jump since February.

"Obviously, it's the winter of our discontent," said Rep. Tom Cole (news, bio, voting record), R-Okla.

Republican Party leaders said the survey explains why GOP lawmakers are rushing to distance themselves from Bush on a range of issues — port security, immigration, spending, warrantless eavesdropping and trade, for example.

The positioning is most intense among Republicans facing election in November and those considering 2008 presidential campaigns.

"You're in the position of this cycle now that is difficult anyway. In second term off-year elections, there gets to be a familiarity factor," said Sen. Sam Brownback (news, bio, voting record), R-Kan., a potential presidential candidate.

"People have seen and heard (Bush's) ideas long enough and that enters into their thinking. People are kind of, `Well, I wonder what other people can do,'" he said.

The poll suggests that most Americans wonder whether Bush is up to the job. The survey, conducted Monday through Wednesday of 1,000 people, found that just 37 percent approve of his overall performance. That is the lowest of his presidency.

Bush's job approval among Republicans plummeted from 82 percent in February to 74 percent, a dangerous sign in a midterm election year when parties rely on enthusiasm from their most loyal voters. The biggest losses were among white males.

On issues, Bush's approval rating declined from 39 percent to 36 percent for his handling of domestic affairs and from 47 percent to 43 percent on foreign policy and terrorism. His approval ratings for dealing with the economy and Iraq held steady, but still hovered around 40 percent.

Personally, far fewer Americans consider Bush likable, honest, strong and dependable than they did just after his re-election campaign.

By comparison, Presidents Clinton and Reagan had public approval in the mid 60s at this stage of their second terms in office, while Eisenhower was close to 60 percent, according to Gallup polls. Nixon, who was increasingly tangled up in the Watergate scandal, was in the high 20s in early 1974.

The AP-Ipsos poll, which has a margin of error of 3 percentage points, gives Republicans reason to worry that they may inherit Bush's political woes. Two-thirds of the public disapproves of how the GOP-led Congress is handling its job and a surprising 53 percent of Republicans give Congress poor marks.

By a 47-36 margin, people favor Democrats over Republicans when they are asked who should control Congress.

While the gap worries Republicans, it does not automatically translate into GOP defeats in November, when voters will face a choice between local candidates rather than considering Congress as a whole.

In addition, strategists in both parties agree that a divided and undisciplined Democratic Party has failed to seize full advantage of Republican troubles.

"While I don't dispute the fact that we have challenges in the current environment politically, I also believe 2006 as a choice election offers Republicans an opportunity if we make sure the election is framed in a way that will keep our majorities in the House and the Senate," said Ken Mehlman, chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Stung by criticism, senior officials at the White House and the RNC are reminding GOP members of Congress that Bush's approval ratings may be low, but theirs is lower and have declined at the same pace as Bush's. The message to GOP lawmakers is that criticizing the president weakens him — and them — politically.

"When issue like the internal Republican debate over the ports dominates the news it puts us another day away from all of us figuring out what policies we need to win," said Terry Nelson, a Republican consultant and political director for Bush's re-election campaign in 2004.

Bowing to ferocious opposition in Congress, a Dubai-owned company on Thursday abandoned its quest to take over operations at several U.S. ports. Bush had pledged to veto any attempt to block the transaction, pitting him against Republicans in Congress and most voters.

All this has Republican voters like Walter Wright of Fairfax Station, Va., worried for their party.

"We've gotten so carried away I wouldn't be surprised to see the Democrats take it because of discontent," he said. "People vote for change and hope for the best."

Just so you know I did not forget my political views

2006-03-10T02:12:00.000-06:00

The terror of President Bush

The terror of President Bush

How one word granted one man so much power and control

By Mike Adams

02/08/06 "Counter Think" -- -- Following accelerating criticism that the Bush Administration's domestic spying program violated every possible U.S. law and Constitutional amendment, the Bush Administration has now renamed its blatantly illegal domestic spying program the "terrorist surveillance program." Fox News has already adopted the moniker, resorting to classic Orwellian Newsspeak to convince viewers that since this illegal government operation contains the word "terrorist," it must be okay.

Where would George Bush be today without the word "terror," by the way? That single word, it seems, is solely responsible for Bush's continued popularity among simple-minded Americans. Without the word "terror," Bush would have no war, no foreign policy, no justification for decimating the Constitution, and nothing to talk about in his speeches. His entire presidency since 9/11, a few observant people are realizing, is really based on just two things: terror and tyranny. And he's using the former to achieve the latter.

One word can do a lot for a politician, especially if it is repeated like a political mantra. I'm not exactly sure how many times Bush has used the word "terror" or its derivations, because that would require actually listening to all the Bush speeches -- an act that would almost certainly cause the permanent IQ reduction of anyone foolish enough to engage in such activities.

Without question, Bush has invoked the "terror" word with near religious zealotry in his campaigns to simultaneously overthrow foreign nations and domestic civil liberties. Never before has so much evil sprung from the repeated invocation of a single word.

The Terror of the Masses

The outright evil of one man is not nearly as surprising (nor frightening) as the collective evil of the people who go along with him. Dumbfounded Conservatives all across the country blindly stroll into history along the same well-trodden path followed by Hitler's fascist supporters.
It's a well-worn path: First you create an imaginary enemy to justify war. Then you strip away the civil liberties of your own citizens and launch domestic spying programs to keep everyone in a constant state of fear. Next you manipulate the propaganda to tell everyone what to think. The torturing of "enemy combatants" is already underway, and it won't be long before the clockwork arrest of "dissenting" Americans begins.

None of this talk is even in the realm of conspiracy theories anymore. It's practically a play-by-play account of exactly what the Bush Administration is doing. Under the Clinton Administration, a secret domestic spying program being discovered would have been Conservatives' call to hang the poor man from a tree, but under Bush, Conservatives go right along with any liberty-destroying action, no matter how ludicrous or illegal.

That all this is happening right before our eyes, with such obvious historical parallels to the rise of Hitler, is practically unbelievable. The rhetoric is almost exactly the same, except it's in eighth-grade English rather than German. But warmongering and global imperialism need no language translations, because the message communicated by an imperial soldier shoving a rifle in your face is pretty much universal. Both Hitler and Bush call it "freedom," and both explained their invasions of foreign nations as "liberating their people," but students of history know better. (Does anyone read history anymore?)

Like nearly every empire in the history of human civilization, the Bush empire will eventually fall. And in its wake will be left the horrors of American imperialism. One day the mass hallucinations of the Bush supporters will disappear, and they will wake up and ask themselves, "What have we done?" It will be like the citizens of Germany seeing the Nazi concentration camps for the first time following Hitler's suicide. They could not believe what they had supported. They could not imagine what evils they had tolerated, if not downright participated in.
And after the fall of the Bush empire, the American people will have to get down to the business of repairing what's left of the Constitution. They will have to roll back government powers, pursue criminal prosecutions of the active war criminals currently operating throughout the Bush Administration, and reestablish the rule of law.

The King of Terror

It is precisely the rule of law, by the way, that Bush now imagines does not exist. In an astounding act of tyrannical defiance, Bush actually admitted he not only supported the high crimes of secret domestic spying on American citizens, but he actually intended to EXPAND such actions in direct violation of every law upon which this nation was founded. On that day, King George declared his kingship of the land, and effectively announced that he was now above all laws.
Astoundingly, there was no marching in the streets. Members of Congress did not call an emergency session and impeach the President. Even the press hardly mentioned the unprecedented transition that had just taken place, because of course they were too busy high-fiving each other with the word "terror" to actually say anything useful.

The people, the lawmakers and practically the whole country just went along with King George! Consider the irony. The United States of America, a nation that was founded by revolutionaries who insisted on self-rule and freedom from the tyranny of kings, had just crowned its own new king, with hardly a whimper from the masses. It's as if Americans have no knowledge whatsoever of their own history.
Even now, no one seems to notice. We are marching full-force into history's Hall of Shame, with our new king, our new media, and our new imperial wars. Never has so much been evil achieved by the invocation of a single word: TERROR.

And the terror is by no means over. Americans will be kept in a constant state of fear (by chance or by design) for as long as the Bush family can get away with it. Because terror, after all, is very, very profitable for certain industries and power brokers, most of which happen to be strong supporters of the Bush Administration.

Remember, Americans. Remain afraid. Imagine Islamic enemies in your head when you go to sleep at night. Support your new King and his troops. And tune in to Fox News to be told what to do next.

-- A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.

No I did not need the test to tell me this!

2006-03-10T01:06:00.000-06:00

You Are 96% Evil

You're the most evil person you know. The devil is even a little scared of you!

How Evil Are You?

I got this over at Goober Queens' and had to share. It is one of the best I have seen in a while.

Just a quick note....

2006-03-08T12:42:00.000-06:00

I have to get in the shower for work, but I wanted to show everyone the newest demon in the house. This is Bezzlebub, should have been spelled Beelzebub. He is a tiny Satan right out of Hell. But, we love him, and more importantly Lancelot loves him.

More later.

The long awaited return post.

2006-03-06T17:58:00.000-06:00

Where to begin? Well as you all know we moved to Oklahoma and have been staying with a friend of mine. I got a job as a security officer in one of the casinos here. That has been a very strange experience, more about that later. After several false starts we finally found a place to live. Actually one of the women I work with moved out of her house so we could move in, nice right?

We live in a two bedroom two bath trailer on three and a half acres out in the middle of nowhere. We have plenty of neighbors though, actually mom calls it the most spread out trailer park she has ever seen. LOL Everyone out here lives in a trailer but they are on three to five acre lots. The people right across the road has horses so that has been fun to watch them play.

The only bad thing about moving out here is that one of my cats died just a couple of weeks after moving out here, the one pictured above. That has really upset me, mainly because he was my youngest and I felt in the best of health. He had no marks on him so I know that a wild animal did not molest him, I have no clue why he died. Mothers cat Lancelot was so upset about it that we had to go to the animal shelter and get him a playmate. Mother named the new one and the name she chose is just strange, cute, and fitting all in one. She named him Bezzlebub! His eyes glow RED even in the daylight. He is definitely a little Satan.

It took us so long to get the internet back because way out here there is no DSL, or cable. What we finally got was Satellite internet, and talk about fast. This connection is three or four times faster than cable. It is so SWEET!!

Now about my job, I work nights still. I no longer work in the casino proper, but I still work for the same company. We are opening a training center, and that is where I will be. I won’t have to deal with customers arguing over machines, or with casino management trying to tell us what to do. You see security is supposed to be completely autonomous from the casino, however in the one I was working in the casino management just didn’t understand that. I will be going through my training this month so I can carry a gun. Don’t worry I have no intentions of shooting anybody. My goal with the gun is to never have to pull it, however I would not hesitate should the situation call for it.

That’s all I can think of for now, ask me questions and I will try to answer them. We have no television so the internet is our only form of entertainment, so I have no excuse not to reply back.

It’s good to be back. Later all.

I AM BACK!!!!

2006-03-05T03:31:00.000-06:00

I only have a moment to let you all know that I am back. I promise within the next couple of days I will post again letting you all know what I have been up to. Right now I just wanted to say that I am back for good, with my own connection.

To everyone still checking my site; Thank You, and I will be posting pictures again soon.

Damn its good to be back!!!

Not dead yet.

2005-12-19T09:33:00.000-06:00

I am not dead just very limited on time and especially computer access time.
I am going through all of the training classes it takes to do this job, and will be soon starting the CLEET training, which are the classes to be able to carry a gun.

Be afraid, be very afraid. LOL

I am putting in 12 to 14 hour days and all I do is work and sleep, and on my days off Mom and I are avidly seeking our own place.

The kids are still driving me crazy, but I have found a way to make it tolerable, I just ignore them and pretend they are not present. So far it mostly seems to be working.

Sorry I am so lax in reading and answering all the comments, but work first and play later.

I promise once we get our own place and get internet service it will be back to normal.
One of the other reasons I am going crazy is I have not had any time to take any pictures, so I am going into major creative withdrawals.

HELP, I FEEL I AM LOSING IT!!
Not really, I just had to get that out of my system.

Later, all, and thanks for continuing to drop by.

Sorry so sporatic...

2005-11-26T20:12:00.000-06:00

but I have a job and very little time right now to access the computer. I got a security job at a casino, and the good news is they are going to pay for me to get my permit to carry a weapon!
That's right, I will be armed. Scary uh?

Now that I am working I hope within the next month Mom and I will be able to get out of this house and get our own place. The kids are still driving me crazy, but since I work nights its not so bad.

I swear as soon as we can get our own place I will be back on line regular again. I miss not being able to read everyones site. Oh, and don't worry, my idea of carrying a gun is never being forced to draw it, plus all they issue at work is rubber bullets, so its not like I could kill anyone anyway.

Later, I hope to be able to get access of a morning when I get home and their is no kids around.

I must vent!!

2005-11-13T11:15:00.000-06:00

For all the parents that read my site I am sorry if I offend you, but it is my site so piss off.

I love my friend with whom I am staying, but I hate the way she 'tries' to parent. Two of her children are 10 and 12, and she treats them like her house slaves. Don't get me wrong I think children need to have chores, if for no other reason than to learn how to take care of themselves, but my friend goes about it different. (I wanted to say wrong, but then that would be too harsh of a judgment.) The girls are responsible for washing dishes, their laundry, vacuuming and taking the trash out. Now these are fair chores, but the parents do not supervise, and if the girls just act like kids and take all night to do one chore then they get in trouble.

I know children procrastinate, I did, you did, our parents did; however, most parents understand that sometimes you just need to stand over them to make sure it gets done.

Its not like they are doing the chores properly anyway. Most of the dishes they do have to be rewashed before they are used, and laundry is a three day affair every three weeks. No I do not want children!!

Okay, done with that. Still looking for a job, but I do have a line on one at a mattress factory. That would be sweet. It is one of the top name brands, and I would get huge discounts. I need a new bed and so does mom, so keep your fingers crossed for me.

Have a happy Sunday.

Life is good.

2005-11-10T09:27:00.000-06:00

Three Doctors were playing golf together and discussing surgeries they had performed.

The first one said, "I'm the best surgeon in Texas. A concert pianist lost 7 fingers in an accident, I reattached them, and 8 months later he performed a private concert for the Queen of England."

The second doctor said, "That's nothing. A young man lost both arms and legs in an accident, I reattached them, and 2 years later he won a gold medal in field events in the Olympics."

The third surgeon said, "You guys are amateurs. Several years ago a cowboy who was high on cocaine and alcohol rode a horse head-on into a train that was traveling 80 miles an hour. All I had left to work with was the horse's ass and a cowboy hat. Now he's president of the United States."

Well, I made it to Oklahoma, all the kitties made it, oh and so did the spider. I know most of you don't care about my spider, but she is doing fine. Looking for a job now, shouldn't be to long. I am thinking of taking some classes to become a welder, did you know that a welder makes anywhere from 12-18.00 an hour!! Damn, but I need a trade.
While I am at my friends house there will be no pictures, I don't have my system set up and hers is to old and slow to put my camera software on, so suffer. LOL

Thanks everyone for being so nice and waiting around. Later.

Time to say goodbye for now.

2005-10-24T23:46:00.000-05:00

This is one of the many pictures I got last night at a photo shoot I did for a musician friend of mine. This is J. Micheal Laferty and he does country/folk/light rock music and was the entertainment at the hotel that I work for. The hotel is currently going through a dark age and they decided to cancel Micheal's contract, the dumbasses. So if anyone knows a bar owner that is looking for a great musician, let me know I can forward a small sound bite. Later I hope to get a copy of his demo so I can help where I can.

Now on to the bad news. It is computer packing day, so as of today I will be unable to post for maybe a month or more. I will still be able to check my email, so I will keep in touch, and I will be able to check in on your blogs from time to time. As my mother loves to say about everything in life 'this to shall pass.'

When I come back I will be resubmitting better pictures to B & B, as well as any other magazine that may use nature photography. I will also be exploring other ways to get my name out there, so to speak. So never fear, I will not allow one rejection to keep me from succeeding.

Later all.

The long awaited word from the editor...

2005-10-21T18:16:00.000-05:00

Sandi: Thanks for sending them. We get thousands of pics from our readers, you've seen some in the mag. That probably represents less than 1% of what we receive. We just can't use them all even though many are excellent. I wish we could.
Thanks again.
Cliff M
Sign up for our free newsletter at:http://www.birdsandblooms.com/Birds & Blooms

You would think after two and a half months they could at least send a personal response. Oh well, good thing rejection is my middle name.

Too depressed to write any more today. Later.

I'm not dead, I just wish I were...

2005-10-20T02:16:00.000-05:00

I just pulled twelve days in a row at work, and I am tired. Don't get me wrong, I asked for extra shifts so I could increase the moving fund, but I did not expect them to come through so well.

We are virtually packed and feeling very antsy. If it was up to us we would have left last month. Oh, well, two weeks from today we load the truck up and head north.

I just had to drop everyone a line and let you know that I am still here. I try to read one or two of my blogs a day, so I won't have so much catch up to do when I get back on line regular. Sorry if I don't always have time to leave comments, but I am reading.

Have a great week and I will post again when I get the chance.

Busy!!

2005-10-05T17:26:00.000-05:00

Sorry about the lack of posting, but I have been very busy packing. I am trying to get everything packed and ready to go two weeks before departure. Why, you ask, because I want to be able to devote two weeks of off days to taking pictures. The butterfly season is in the beginning stages and I want to get as many shots as I can.
Don't get me wrong, I am looking forward to having a winter again, but I will also miss the three months of butterfly saturation.

Anyway, hope everyone is doing well, and thanks for all the comments, sorry I haven't replied, but ya know packing, packing, packing.

Later

Just a few jokes.

2005-09-27T14:20:00.000-05:00

A blonde, out of money and down on her luck after buying air at a real bargain, needed money desperately. To raise cash, she decided to kidnap a child and hold him for ransom.She went to the local playground, grabbed a kid randomly, took her behind a building, and told her, "I've kidnapped you."She then wrote a big note saying, "I've kidnapped your kid. Tomorrow morning, put $10,000 in a paper bag and leave it under the apple tree next to the slides on the south side of the playground. Signed, A blonde." The blonde then pinned the note to the kid's shirt and sent him home to show it to his parents. The next morning the blonde checked, and sure enough, a paper bag was sitting beneath the apple tree. The blonde looked in the bag and found the $10,000 with a note that said, "How could you do this to a fellow blonde?"

A blonde quickly went out to her mail box, looked in it, closed the door of the box, and went back in the house. A few minutes later she repeated this process by checking her mail again.She did this five more times, and her neighbor that was watching her commented: "You must be expecting a very important letter today the way you keep looking into that mail box."The blonde answered, "No, I am working on my computer, and it keeps telling me that I have mail."

A blonde decides to learn and try horse back riding unassisted without prior experience or lessons. She mounts the horse with great effort, and the tall, shiny horse springs into motion.It gallops along at a steady and rhythmic pace, but the blonde begins to slip from the saddle. Out of shear terror, she grabs for the horse's mane but cannot seem to get a firm grip. She tries to throw her arms around the horse's neck, but she slides down the side of the horse anyway. The horse gallops along, seemingly oblivious to its slipping rider.Finally, giving up her frail grip, she leaps away from the horse to try and throw herself to safety.Unfortunately, her foot has become entangled in the stirrup. She is now at the mercy of the horse's pounding hooves as her head is struck against the ground again and again. As her head is battered against the ground, she is mere moments away from unconsciousness or even death when Frank, the Wal-Mart manager runs out to shut the horse off.

Just a few blonde jokes to lighten the mood. Well, just so you don't think I am being cruel I will tell you my big news. Unfortunately it is not about my photography. We will be moving out of Texas at the first of November and we will be off line for about a month. I will be able to check email and maybe post once in a while, but for the first month we will be living with some of my friends and will have to sneak in on her computer.

Now cause I know you are curious, I will tell you, that we are moving to Oklahoma. Yep, that's right, back to four seasons. No more nine months of blistering heat, red tides, or hurricane preparedness, now all we have to worry about is tornados; those I have lots of experience with.

Starting to feel better.

2005-09-25T18:11:00.000-05:00

100_5864
Originally uploaded by (gaidion69!!!!.

While I was sitting on my patio this afternoon I was watching these three hummingbirds fight over our feeder. It was amazing to watch. I had no idea these little birds were so possessive. One of these has decided that this feeder is theirs only, and will sit and guard against the other two.
I had to use my flickr uploader for the picture that is why it is so small, for whatever reason I haven't been able to get bloggers photo uploader to work this weekend. Just click the picture and it will give you a larger image. I have a couple of others that I will try to show later when blogger gets their shit together.

ATTENTION: COMING SOON A MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT, STAY TUNED!!

Almost back to the living

2005-09-24T11:32:00.000-05:00

I have been batteling a major kidney infection, if you were wondering where I had gotten to. The antibiotics are almost worst than the infection, but after three days of 103 temp I finally broke down and put myself in debt and went to the doctor. I can't believe that these idiots can get away with charging 80.00 just to write an antibiotic script. Then they write you for the most expensive antibiotic on the fricken market. I go to fill my script, 110.00! Now next month I will be virtually penniless, cause once those charges hit my bank there is going to be severe overdraft charges. Isn't life just grand sometimes.

Well, I hope everyone else is doing well, I have to go lay down again. I promise as soon as I can I will get caught up on everyone.

What a gas...

2005-09-20T11:24:00.000-05:00

This is a little long but I got it via email and thought it to tragically funny not to post here.
Liar, Liar

By Jason Miller

09/18/05 "ICH" -- -- If George Bush had encountered the same fate as Jim Carrey's character in the movie Liar Liar, and had been rendered incapable of lying, America would not have been subjected to thirty minutes of manipulative propaganda on 9/15. Compelled to tell the truth, Bush's oration would have captured the reality of the situation in New Orleans , and of life for the poor and working class in an America dominated by a wealthy aristocracy:

8:02 P.M. CDT

THE PRESIDENT: Good evening. It is a very good evening for me. I am still an obscenely wealthy and powerful autocratic leader of a nation of sheeple who falsely believe they are free. While I am surrounded by misery and suffering, I make this presentation of shameless propaganda from a comfortable, beautiful stage set while surrounded by an entourage of thugs who assure my safety. I am speaking to you from what is left of the city of New Orleans , a gem of an American city which was gutted by a powerful force of nature, and by the insidious social experiment undertaken by my malevolent administration. Millions of lives were destroyed by a cruel and wasteful storm, and by a cruel and wasteful federal government over which I zealously preside.

In the aftermath of Katrina, the haves of this nation have gleefully watched the have-nots dispersed to the four corners of this great nation. As the victims search for loved ones and grieve for the dead, America 's attention is diverted from my nomination of a Supreme Court Justice who will strengthen the tyranny I have created, Karl Rove's criminal behavior, and my administration's numerous war crimes related to Iraq . The lies and exaggerations of my media lap-dogs have persuaded many Americans that blacks are undisciplined animals who live off of government hand-outs, feeding my agenda to end social welfare programs and perpetuating the lucrative prison-industrial complex. With their persistent cries for civil rights, blacks have been a thorn in the side of the American aristocracy long enough.

These days of joy and elation for me and my base have been marred by acts of courage and kindness by members of the Coast Guard, who rescued tens of thousands of the undesirables in New Orleans . Rest assured that my administration will deal with them accordingly.

I have met first responders who performed their duties in spite of their own suffering. Steve Scott of the Biloxi Fire Department aided in rescue efforts despite having lost his house and car. For his obstruction of the purge of undesirables, I will see to it that he loses more than just his physical possessions.

Across the Gulf Coast , the people whose suffering I facilitated are showing a spirit and a faith in God which not even I could crush. However, there is a powerful determination amongst corporations, contractors, and entrepreneurs to take what is left of these battered areas and utilize them for personal financial gain. Like me, they have no compassion or humility. Our relentless bid for wealth and power will eventually break the backs of the downtrodden.

To the victims of the hurricane dispelled far and wide, I send you this message. Many soft, weak people I call "liberals" care about you. In contrast, my base of the obscenely wealthy and I are relishing your misery. We are salivating at the opportunities to expand our wealth by rebuilding your city with you out of our way. The Crescent City will rise again, and as it does, so will the balances in our bank accounts.

The National Guard and our hired thugs from Blackwater have nearly completed the task of quelling the New Orleans insurgency. Those thugs who were stealing food to survive or staying in their homes to protect their meager possessions have nearly been suppressed. Let the scenes of armed militia battering down doors of private homes be a lesson to you other potential dissidents across this great nation.

As we have restored "law and order" to New Orleans and have scattered the "evacuees" to the wind, we have taken care of the truly important business. With that mass of worthless humanity out of our way, we have resumed trade in the Port of New Orleans , restored the flow of precious gasoline that ensures profits for me and my cronies in the oil industry, and have repaired the levees to prepare for the impending land grab by wealthy business owners.

What I want you to believe is that our first commitment is to meet the immediate needs of the refugees. To help convince you of my concern for them, I have even started calling them evacuees rather than refugees. However, the reality is that the aid the federal government is offering to the evacuees is window dressing to maintain the facade that we still live in a democracy that is "of the people, by the people, and for the people". After days of inaction on my part, Karl Rove reminded me that if we didn't throw the poor some scraps, we could be looking at civil unrest and rioting across the nation. For assistance, please call this number: 1-877-EAT CAKE.

To ensure that Americans believe we are helping the evacuees, but more importantly to start the rebuilding efforts, I have ordered $60 billion in aid. My friends in Congress gave me their usual rubber stamp. Know that this administration has been so generous with your tax dollars because the money will be flowing into the pockets of our friends at Shaw Contracting, Halliburton, and Bechtel National. I have ensured that their profits will be further enhanced by suspending that vexatious Davis-Bacon Act. Forget the damage caused by Katrina. The real tragedy would be if my friends were obligated to pay America 's working people reasonable wages, thereby cutting into their disaster profiteering.

Our second commitment, and our true agenda, is to rebuild the Gulf Coast . We will not rest until Trent Lott and I are able to share a drink on the front porch of his newly rebuilt home. Many of the 250,000 uninhabitable homes in New Orleans will be bull-dozed to make way for developments to benefit corporations and the wealthy. While we are orchestrating the theft of their homes, we will implement programs to ensure that the poor, black former denizens of New Orleans are permanently relocated to slums and decaying urban cores of other major cities in the US .

The federal government will be heavily involved in the rebuilding process. I want my people to have ultimate authority to guarantee that my people prosper from this calamity. Many of the same contractors who were awarded large sums to rebuild the infrastructure in Iraq , and have bilked America 's taxpayers of billions of dollars, will get the same opportunity here in New Orleans . We will see to it that the city of New Orleans changes its zoning laws, to prevent the re-emergence of the disgusting "jungles" populated by poor black "animals" which existed before Katrina.

I pledge a third commitment: The communities that we rebuild will be better than those before the disaster. We have already eliminated the persistent poverty and racial discrimination prevalent in this region by evacuating the residents to various cities across the nation. Once this region is rebuilt, there will be a multitude of new businesses, including some token minority-owned businesses to pacify the black community. When houses are rebuilt, most of the residents will be white so they can own and not rent.

In keeping with our emphasis on businesses and profit over humanity, I am proposing a Gulf Opportunity Zone in areas touched by the disaster. This program will further the interests of entrepreneurs and business people, and move our nation closer to the raw capitalism that is so near and dear to my heart. The Zone will grant loans and tax incentives to business people so they can begin prospering again while the poor continue to suffer. I want you to believe that entrepreneurship breaks the cycle of poverty, but the reality is that without a reasonable degree of government regulation, it perpetuates impoverishment by keeping money in the hands of entrepreneurs who pay meager wages and offer limited benefits to their employees.

I am also proposing Worker Recovery Accounts to help evacuees find work. This will provide accounts of up to $5000.00 from which evacuees can draw for education, job training and child care as they search for work. I want assurances that the poor who are receiving federal assistance are not using the money to buy crack, and this program will weed out the "trash" of our society.

The Urban Homesteading Act, another of my programs I will submit for automatic endorsement by a Congress which is dominated by members of my wealthy base will take the property in the region which the federal government will appropriate from its rightful owners and create a lottery for low-income individuals. Lottery winners will receive a plot of land on which they will be required to build a home. My friends in the mortgage industry will reap the windfalls of providing the financing. Those lottery winners whose credit is too weak to qualify for a loan from my friends will have to rely on Habitat for Humanity to build their homes. If that does not work out, Wal-Mart sells some very affordable tents.

New Orleans presents a unique challenge. It is a city built below sea level. Now that we have expelled the scourges of humanity, my Army Corps of Engineers will make the levees bigger and better. I will spare no expense ensuring that my friends' investments are protected from future Katrinas.

We have witnessed armies of compassion as Americans have given generously to mitigate the plight of the suffering in New Orleans and throughout the Gulf Region. Because I remained on vacation and FEMA acted with gross ineptitude, the burden to aid the storm victims initially fell upon private charities, organizations like the Red Cross, individual Americans, and religious organizations. This is "compassionate conservatism" in action, and I am delighted to see it working so well.

I want you to know that my administration will capitalize upon this disaster, much like we did with the 9/11 tragedy. I have already apprised you of the $60 billion which will flow into the coffers of companies with ties to members of my administration and their friends. The financial windfall will be wonderful, but the true benefit lies in the opportunity to expand our power. I realize that like the WTC catastrophe, the cataclysm in New Orleans has left Americans feeling fearful and insecure. We will prey on this trepidation to broaden executive powers and sweep away the remaining semblance of a republic in America .

America , Big Brother is there for you. Above all, remember:

It is now clear that a challenge on this scale requires greater federal authority and a broader role for the armed forces---the institution of our government most capable of massive logistical operations on a moment's notice.

While I realize that Americans expect a more effective response from the federal government when a disaster of this magnitude happens, they need to realize that under my New American Century, domestic programs like FEMA have been rendered impotent. The military is the essence of our government. The US military budget, including money for its ancillary departments, is over $600 billion per year. This siphons money away from domestic, humanitarian programs like emergency response, education, and health care. But the good news is that the rich who have high stakes in entities like the Carlyle Group get richer as a result. Besides, my delayed and feeble response in New Orleans enabled the Gulf Region to rid itself of many of its criminal, useless inhabitants.

Congress is preparing an investigation of the situation in New Orleans . However, the results will be similar to the probes into 9/11 and Abu Gharib. My administration will see to it that no evidence of our culpability comes to light, and if perpetrators are punished, they will be lower echelon scapegoats.

The trials in the Gulf Coast remind Americans of their strength, as they struggle against the forces of nature, and against the corruption and criminal acts of my administration. These challenges also remind them that the poor and working class are bound together, and that despair touches all of them. Meanwhile my rich friends and I raise glasses of outrageously expensive champagne to toast the new opportunities for enrichment and empowerment.

Because my rich, sheltered existence makes it impossible to empathize, I cannot tell you that I understand what you are feeling while you are sitting on the porch where your home once stood or lying on a cot in an over-crowded government internment center. I can say that I doubt that you can imagine a bright future, but rest assured it will come for some of us. My friends and I will prosper at your expense.

Before Katrina and I joined forces to destroy it, New Orleans had a custom for funerals for jazz musicians. Following the funeral procession, a band would play a sorrowful dirge. After the coffin was laid to rest, the band would break into a joyful tune to celebrate the soul's victory over death. No such joyous music will emerge from our new New Orleans . My friends and I will erect a hollow, soulless shrine to the avarice and excesses of capitalism. This I promise you.

Thank you, and may God continue to bless the wealthy of America .

Tagged again!!

2005-09-17T16:09:00.000-05:00

This came to me by way of Blondie, wasn't she sweet!(sarcasm) I'm pretty sure I deserved it though, I did tag her a while back. :) We've all seen this one before, and just so ya know I will not do the last section, I won't be tagging anyone, but if you haven't done it and want to feel free.

7 things I plan to do before I die
1) Visit Australia.
2) Move to the mountains.
3) Make a living from my artwork.
4) Own my own house.
5) Find my sisters.
6) Travel.
7) Go skydiving.

7 things I can do
1) Argue.
2) Draw blood.
3) Paint.
4) Push people's buttons.
5) Float on my back for hours in a pool.
6) Catch spiders.
7) Cook, thanks to mom.

7 things I cannot do
1) Watch baseball--boring.
2) Run a marathon.
3) Deal with snakes.
4) Lie. I am a horrible liar. People always know...
5) Eat sushi.
6) Climb a mountain.
7) Fly a plane.

7 things that attract me to the same sex--had to change this one
1) Intelligence
2) Eyes
3) Lips
4) Smell
5) Hair color
6) Sense of Humor
7) T & A--what did you expect, I am a dog.

7 things I say most often
1) Fuck
2) Fuck.
3) Piss off
4) Fuck you!!
5) Shit for brains
6) Fuck
7) Do you mind?--not really a question though

7 celebrity crushes
1) Sandra Bullock
2) Jodie Foster
3) Cameron Diaz
4) Halle Berry
5) Claudia Black
6) Peta Wilson
7) Drawing a blank--this was a tough section.

Anyway there you have it, enjoy.

BUZZZZZ!!!

2005-09-15T21:39:00.000-05:00

The latest buzz is so stupid, it made me more ashamed of our government officials. Pres. Shrub has to ask permission to use the bathroom. Yep, that's right, he can't figure out how to do it alone. On top of that of all the people he has to choose from, he chose Condi, isn't it sweet.
The token black gets to tell the white man when to pee. I don't know about you, but I can visualize Condi in a tight black leather Dominatrix outfit with Shrub on his knees begging for more.

Maybe it's just the jobs I've had, but I seem to think that Shrub would look good in a ball-gag.

With that, have a great Friday.

Still no news...

2005-09-13T10:30:00.000-05:00

I am going crazy over the wait. I have even sent a follow up email, that got no response.
I need suggestions here people, where else should I try to submit photos? Do you think I should try to go with regular publishers and try to get one of those coffee table books done? How can I get more traffic to my gallery site?

Any and all help will be accepted:)

I Got Nothing! So Learn About Me!

2005-09-10T07:44:00.000-05:00

This was to good, to not try. I got this in an email yesterday and thought it sounded fun. This is not really a MEME, I will not pass it on and you are not obligated to answer the questions. Besides the stories I have behind some of my choices are odd.
Anyway he it is, put an X beside everything you have done in your life.

(X ) smoked a cigarette
( ) crashed a friend's car
( ) stolen a car
(X) been in love
(X) been dumped
(X) shoplifted
(X ) been fired
( x ) been in a fist fight
(X) snuck out of your parent's house
( x ) had feelings for someone who didn't have them back.
(X ) been arrested
(X ) gone on a blind date
() lied to a friend
(X) skipped school
(X) seen someone die
(X ) been to Canada
(X) been to Mexico
(X) been on a plane
( ) purposely set a part of yourself on fire
( ) eaten Sushi.EEWWWWW
() been skiing (water skiing)
( ) met someone in person from the internet
() been moshing at a concert
(X) taken pain-killers
(X) love someone or miss someone right now
(X) laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by
(X) made a snow angel
() had a tea party
(X) flown a kite
(X) built a sand castle
(X) gone puddle jumping
(X) played dress up
(X) cheated while playing a game (who me??)
(X) been lonely
(X) fallen asleep at work/school
(X ) used a fake id
(X) watched the sun set
() felt an earthquake
(X) touched a snake--Here again EEWWWWW
(X) slept beneath the stars
(X) been tickled
(X) been robbed
(X) been misunderstood-CONSTANTLY
(X) petted a reindeer/goat
(X) won a contest
(X) ran a red light
() been suspended from school
( ) dropped out of school
(X) been in a car accident
() had braces
(X) eaten a whole pint of ice cream in one night -just a pint?
(X) had deja vu
(X) danced in the moonlight
(X) like the way you look (sometimes)
(X ) witnessed a crime
(X) questioned your heart
(X ) been obsessed with post-it notes
(X) squished barefoot through the mud - and hot wet sand
(X) been lost (not completely)
( X) been to the opposite side of the country-north and south and east, but not west
(X) swam in the ocean
(X) felt like dying
(X) cried yourself to sleep
(X) played cops and robbers (and cowboys and Indians)
( ) recently colored with crayons
( x ) sung karaoke--VERY BADLY
() paid for a meal with only coins
(X) done something you told yourself you wouldn't--EVERY DAY
() laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(X) caught a snowflake on your tongue
(X) danced in the rain
() written a letter to Santa Claus
() been kissed under a mistletoe
(x) watched the sun rise with someone you care about?
(X) blown bubbles
(X) made a bonfire on the beach
(X) crashed a party-Not willingly, my friend dragged me into it.
(X) gone roller-skating--on real four wheel skates and everything.
(X) had a wish come true
() worn pearls
( ) jumped off a bridge
(X) ate dog/cat food -when I was a little kid........
(x) told a complete stranger you loved them--yeah, that's a funny story.
(x) kissed a mirror
(X) sang in the shower
() had a dream that you married someone
(X) glued your hand to something - I have super glued my fingers together
() got your tongue stuck to a flag pole
( ) kissed a fish
(X) sat on a roof top
(X) screamed at the top of your lungs
( ) done a one-handed cartwheel.
(X) talked on the phone for more than 6 hours
(X) stayed up all night
( ) didn't take a shower for a week -oh my, would someone even actually check this one?
(X) pick and ate an apple right off the tree
(X) climbed a tree
(X) had a tree house
() had a complete stranger tell you, You are Hot.
(x) met someone you swear you have met in another life

Well that's the end of that. Its been raining here for a week straight so I have no new pictures, so I will just pull one out of my portfolio.

For everyone helping in New Orleans.

2005-09-06T13:30:00.000-05:00

Sheri, Nick and others have brought up a really good point. Some of us are getting so caught up in trying to pin the blame that we are forgetting the people that are there. So today I would like to send a heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who is helping now, has been helping since day one, and who helped people two days before the storm as well. These people have worked night and day to help save people. In some cases they even had to give their lives to try to help.

So sometime today, while you are going about your day, stop for a moment and be thankful there are people like this in the world. Those of us that love to find and bitch about the blame, well, maybe we can do that tomorrow.

Hope everyone has had a good day.

WHERE IS THE SECRETARY OF STATE IN ALL THIS?

2005-09-04T18:26:00.000-05:00

All I want to know is where is our esteemed Secretary of State? Isn't it her JOB to respond and ask for assistance from all of these countries? Why hasn't she been on the phone?
Everyone out there who believes that our government is doing a good job, please tell me, what job are they doing? They can't even get rescue workers to the area. We should have burned all of our old crosses and accepted Cubas help, why, because they are the nearest one to us. Their helicopters may be Communist, but I bet they still hold people.

In my opinion every elected official, and Shrub appointed official, can go straight to hell. Everyone of them needs to be FIRED and replaced. The government is supposed to be in place to protect the people of the United States, not to stand around and watch us die. Do any of you honestly believe that if this had been another terrorist attack that the response would have been any better? The only thing Shrub has done since he took office is make corporations rich, and shit on every common person in this country.

Now we have all the FundaMENTALists bitching that we should not rebuild New Orleans, why, because it was a city of SIN!! Sin I tell you!! Hey listen up dumbasses, EVERY CITY IS A CITY OF SIN!!!! HUMANS ARE SINFUL, get over it shit for brains. While your at it, pull that Bible out of your ass and maybe you will feel better.

This concludes today's rant, now back to your regularly scheduled bullshit.

Don't take my word for it, this list came off the Cnn website.

(CNN) -- The U.S. government has received offers of aid from dozens of nations across the globe in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the State Department said.
Neither the White House nor the State Department has said whether these offers have been accepted.
However, Reuters reported Sunday that the United States has asked for assistance from the European Union and NATO.
The EU Executive Commission said the United States has asked for first aid kits, blankets, water trucks and 500,000 prepared meals, Reuters reported.
NATO said the United States had asked it for food supplies, Reuters reported. "NATO stands ready to continue to support the United States as it recovers from this natural disaster," the alliance reportedly said in a statement.
Among those offering assistance are India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia, the four countries hardest-hit by the December 26 tsunami.
Other international organizations also offered help, ranging from medical teams to tents to cash donations. They include the Organization of American States, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and World Health Organization.
The United Nations has offered to help coordinate international relief.
Following is a list of some of countries offering aid:

Africa

Nigeria has pledged $1 million to hurricane disaster relief, government officials told CNN. "Nigeria will be happy to pledge $1 million to the hurricane disaster fund in the spirit of brotherhood," Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said.

Asia

China offered $5 million in aid for victims of Hurricane Katrina. If needed, the Chinese government also is prepared to send rescue workers, including medical experts, officials said.

Japan has offered to provide $200,000 to the American Red Cross, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said. Japan also will provide up to $300,000 in emergency supplies such as tents, blankets and power generators if it receives requests, the ministry said.

India is making a $5 million donation to the American Red Cross, Ronen Sen, Indian ambassador to the United States, said Saturday. In addition, Sen said India was willing to donate essential medicines to the relief effort.

The Singapore armed forces, responding to requests by the Texas Army National Guard, has sent three Chinook helicopters to Fort Polk, Louisiana, to help in relief efforts.

South Korea awaits a U.S. response after pledging aid, a government official said.

Afghanistan pledged $100,000 to help provide aid to the hurricane victims, according to a statement issued by the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.

Sri Lanka will donate $25,000 to the American Red Cross.

Taiwan has pledged more than $3 million to the relief effort.

Americas

Canada has offered to help in any way it can, and its navy is preparing a ship full of emergency disaster relief supplies to be sent when a request comes.

Cuban President Fidel Castro offered to fly 1,100 doctors to Houston, Texas, with 26 tons of medicine to treat disaster victims.

Mexico has offered $1 million and is sending 15 truckloads of water, food and medical supplies via Texas. The Mexican navy has offered to send two ships, two helicopters and 15 amphibious vehicles.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a vocal critic of the United States, offered to send cheap fuel, humanitarian aid and relief workers to the disaster area.

Australia

Australia is giving $10 million, most of it to the American Red Cross, according to the Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer.

Europe

France has offered mobile help from rescue teams in the French Antilles in the Caribbean, including a civil defense detachment of 35 people, tents, camp beds, generators, motor pumps, water treatment units and emergency kits, two CASA cargo aircraft, a ship (Batral Francis Garnier) and the frigate Ventose with its Panther helicopter, and a hurricane disaster unit. France also has offered assistance from the French mainland, including several aircraft. In addition, the NGO Telecoms Sans Frontieres, which specializes in restoring phone lines and Internet service in disasters, is ready to send a team of experts and equipment. Veolia Environment, which has facilities in Louisiana, has offered to make its local water management resources available.

Germany has offered a range of assistance, including medical and transportation services, water treatment capabilities and aid in searching for victims and supplies. Germany also has said it is ready and willing to "dip into its own emergency oil reserves" to release some 2 million barrels a day for 30 days.

Italy has offered to send aid and evacuation specialists immediately, Italy's civil protection unit said. Authorities have prepared two military transport planes to fly amphibious vessels, pumps, generators, tents and personnel to New Orleans, Louisiana, and other areas. They were awaiting word from U.S. officials, the unit said.

The Netherlands will provide teams for inspecting dikes and for identifying victims if there is a formal request from the United States. It also will send a frigate from Curacao in the Netherlands Antilles to New Orleans shortly to provide emergency assistance, the Dutch government said.

Russia has offered to help with rescue efforts but is awaiting a reply from Washington.

Spain expects to receive a formal request to release gasoline stocks to the United States and is prepared to grant it, an Industry Ministry spokesman said.

Sweden's Rescue Authority said it was on standby to supply water purifying equipment, health care supplies and emergency shelters if needed.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has said his country stands ready to help the United States in whatever way it can.

Middle East

Qatar has offered the United States $100 million to assist in the humanitarian crisis triggered by Hurricane Katrina.

Saudi Refining, a Houston-based subsidiary of state oil firm Saudi Aramco, will donate $5 million to the American Red Cross to support relief efforts for hurricane victims.

Iran has offered to send humanitarian aid to hurricane victims, Reuters reported. "We are prepared to send our contributions to the people through the Red Crescent," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told Reuters.

There will be no pictures for today.

2005-09-02T08:16:00.000-05:00

This is an open letter from Michael Moore to President Shrub, I took this off of SandeGaye's site, hope she doesn't mind, but it seemed appropriate right now. Please people do the country a favor and write to your state representatives and SCREAM, YELL, CUSS, for impeachment of this disgusting administration, after all we were willing to impeach a man for a lie about a BLOW JOB, now we can get a different man for lying about the death of thousands of innocent people and thousands of our brave armed forces. For what? Why did these people die? I forgot in all the back tracking and double talk what it was all about.

Plus donate whatever you can to help the people of New Orleans. I choose the American Red Cross, you don't have to but please donate something, even if it is a .99 cent bottle of water.

Friday, September 2nd, 2005

Dear Mr. Bush: Any idea where all our helicopters are? It's Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag. Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national disasters. How come they weren't there to begin with?

Last Thursday I was in south Florida and sat outside while the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over my head. It was only a Category 1 then but it was pretty nasty. Eleven people died and, as of today, there were still homes without power. That night the weatherman said this storm was on its way to New Orleans. That was Thursday! Did anybody tell you? I know you didn't want to interrupt your vacation and I know how you don't like to get bad news. Plus, you had fundraisers to go to and mothers of dead soldiers to ignore and smear. You sure showed her!

I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying to Louisiana, you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. Don't let people criticize you for this -- after all, the hurricane was over and what the heck could you do, put your finger in the dike? And don't listen to those who, in the coming days, will reveal how you specifically reduced the Army Corps of Engineers' budget for New Orleans this summer for the third year in a row. You just tell them that even if you hadn't cut the money to fix those levees, there weren't going to be any Army engineers to fix them anyway because you had a much more important construction job for them -- BUILDING DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ!

On Day 3, when you finally left your vacation home, I have to say I was moved by how you had your Air Force One pilot descend from the clouds as you flew over New Orleans so you could catch a quick look of the disaster. Hey, I know you couldn't stop and grab a bullhorn and stand on some rubble and act like a commander in chief. Been there done that.

There will be those who will try to politicize this tragedy and try to use it against you. Just have your people keep pointing that out. Respond to nothing. Even those pesky scientists who predicted this would happen because the water in the Gulf of Mexico is getting hotter and hotter making a storm like this inevitable. Ignore them and all their global warming Chicken Littles. There is nothing unusual about a hurricane that was so wide it would be like having one F-4 tornado that stretched from New York to Cleveland.

No, Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It's not your fault that 30 percent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out of town. C'mon, they're black! I mean, it's not like this happened to Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don't make me laugh! Race has nothing -- NOTHING -- to do with this! You hang in there, Mr. Bush. Just try to find a few of our Army helicopters and send them there. Pretend the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are near Tikrit.

Yours, Michael MooreMMFlint@aol.comwww.MichaelMoore.com

P.S. That annoying mother, Cindy Sheehan, is no longer at your ranch. She and dozens of other relatives of the Iraqi War dead are now driving across the country, stopping in many cities along the way. Maybe you can catch up with them before they get to DC on September 21st.

Just for you SandeGaye

2005-08-31T12:01:00.000-05:00

I have done a lot of searches and I have found out what species of tarantula Samantha is. Yes she is female, and she is what is called a Mexican Golden Redrump. She is actually rare as pet spiders go. I have found that for her size she would be sold for anywhere from 90.00-125.00, no I am not going to sell her, but it is nice to know what she is and how much she is worth.
The other small one I have is a common Texas Brown, they are found all over the southern U.S. and Northern Mexico. Worth about 5.00, but priceless to me.
Samantha can live as long as 25 years in captivity, and she will not sexually mature until she is 10-11 years old. The small Texas Brown will live about 15-16 years and will sexually mature in 6-7 years, if it is female, if it is male it will live about 10 years and sexually mature in 4-5. If it turns out a male I will have to return it to the wild, because males will wear themselves out trying to escape to find a female. Just like a man, can't live without sex. :)

Still no word from the magazine, but I am trying to stay positive about it.

Yes in this picture Samantha is eating a cricket:)

Still crazy.

2005-08-30T03:52:00.000-05:00

Yup, I'm still crazy. At least that is what the people in this little town think. This is another shot from the grocery store. Once again they had just put out fresh flowers and I just could not resist the urge to get a few shots of nice blooms.

The tide this morning was about 8 ft above normal, thanks to the storm in the Gulf. Sorry no pictures of that, I drive a small car and I don't even want to think about where the surf line was. If I had a tall 4x4 I would gladly drive out and see the surf, but alas, I can't afford the gas.

I got some really great pictures of Sam enjoying a cricket this morning, but I will be nice and not share them with you:) Unless of course you want to see them.

Well, not much coming to mind right now, so have a good Tuesday.

Waiting, not one of my stronger suites.

2005-08-29T10:53:00.000-05:00

I am still awaiting an email back from Birds and Blooms, I am not very good at waiting. Actually, I am really bad at it. The longer it takes to hear from them, the more I convince myself that my pictures suck.
Well, the only way to counter this is to email more magazines:)

Cross your fingers for me.

2005-08-25T13:42:00.000-05:00

I have taken the advise of a commenter. I have contacted Birds and Blooms and submitted a sample of my work in hopes that they will purchase the use of some of my pictures.
This is terrifying for me. What if they don't like what I do? I know I am not a professional but maybe one or two of them will be good enough.

My gallery is getting a little traffic but no one is emailing me, so obviously no sales yet. I am starting to get apprehensive about even trying to sell. Maybe if a magazine publishes a picture or two it will help promote the web site.

Sorry about the disjointedness of this post, but I had to put my fears in writing to make them go away.

There is some good news on the day though, I got my first donation for my camera fund today!!
It is $2.00, not a lot but much better than nothing. :) All of the donations I get I am going to leave in Paypal until there is enough to buy the camera, that way I am not tempted to spend it elsewhere.

Sunrise

2005-08-25T05:06:00.000-05:00

I just love sunrise:)

My wish.

2005-08-23T21:35:00.000-05:00

I have added a new button to the site. If you choose to help by donating, this is what you would be helping me purchase. This is the Canon Rebel XT with Macro package, it sells for 1195.00 with free shipping. (After spending twelve hundred dollar the shipping better be free!!)
I am not asking or begging, but if you donate you will get a giant hug from me. :)

I will own one, but it may take me a year to save the money for it.

Thanks everyone for reading this sales pitch.

How hot does it have to be for a wasp to go swimming?

2005-08-23T01:59:00.000-05:00

Answer, about 110 in the shade, or so it felt that day.

Well this is going to make a lot of you shiver, but I got another tarantula. This one came to me by way of a neighbor, he found it in his house and brought it to me. It is only about 1 1/2 inches, so it is really young. Yes he has a second escape proof cage. If I put him in with Sam, Sam would just eat him. That's spiders for ya, no love loss between cousins. LOL

Call me sadistic but I love a good feeding show. Our youngest cat is two going on three, and he still loves to catch things and bring them into the house. Oh, what fun, NOT!! His favorite thing to nab is grass snakes!! I HATE SNAKES!!! However; tonight it was not such a bad thing. He brought in a small grass snake, I did my usual thing, jumped on a piece of furniture and screamed for mother to come get it.LOL
Now here is where the fun comes in, I had her drop it into Sam's case with him. He is now happily munching on a grass snake. Yay finally a use for Ceasar's toys. HAHAHAHAHAHA

Yes I am strange. At least I know this.

I've been lazy...

2005-08-21T07:56:00.000-05:00

and haven't gone out picture taking for a couple of days, so you will just have to make do with a shot I got several days ago.
Hey, at least it's not another spider!!
Have a great Sunday.

Hi I'm Sam, HI SAM!

2005-08-18T02:55:00.000-05:00

I have been vindicated!! This is Sam, I caught him tonight. Right now he is a little pissy, but he will settle down. My friend that swore he saw a spider last night has redeemed himself also. He helped me snag Sam.

I know a lot of you are afraid of spiders, and I am sorry that you have to look at all of these pictures of arachnids, but I LOVE THEM!

Where I live there are spiders everywhere, so yesterday when I did not bag one I was rather upset. So I went over to my friends house early, and we got the lights, sticks, bucket of water, and his nerve. :) Then I took him spider hunting.

This little guy was just poking his head out of his hole when we spotted him. Naturally he did not want to come out to an audience, so we got the stick and poked at him. He would come part way out and slide back in, so I got the bucket of water and started pouring it down the hole. Now I know this sounds cruel but it is how you get them to come out. While I was flooding his home Robert was digging him out.

Finally we got him to abandon his house and were able to get him into a container. Then I brought him home and put him in the habitat I have built for him.

What a lovely Thursday!!

I AM A DUMBASS!!

2005-08-17T02:39:00.000-05:00

Just let me say it first. I went over to a friends house tonight and as I was pulling in I saw a baby tarantula. Aha, I said, here is my chance. I have been wanting to capture one for quite some time now. I rummaged around in my car and came up with a 32 oz cup with lid. I ran over to the spider put the cup down in front of him and waited.
He came up and put his front legs in the cup, and I pushed on the back with the lid. Viola, spider caught, right?

No, I don't know how; other than the fact that it was pitch black, all I heard was a thud and I scooped, I mean what could go wrong there? Went into my friends house bragged about the capture, opened the lid and showed him the spider!! He said he saw it!!

I ran home put the cup on the counter, ran to wally world and got a 3.00 clear storage container and some dirt. Came home put the dirt in, poked holes in the snap tight lid and dropped a piece of meat in there. Got the cup, and carefully pried the lid off and poured the spider into the case.

Wait something is missing, oh yeah, THE SPIDER!! Obviously he did not jump into the cup but away from the cup, and the whole time I was bragging about an empty cup! I don't know who is dumber, me or my friend?

Feel free to laugh at me now.

My new pet!! :)

2005-08-15T22:16:00.000-05:00

I haven't gotten a good clear picture of her yet, but I just had to show off my new pet. Isn't she a beauty?
Don't worry I am very careful and I think it might be a male anyway. To soon to tell, it's still too young.
Yes it is of the widow species.

Another quiz thing, but in reverse...

2005-08-15T10:37:00.000-05:00

I got this over at Nick's, and since I am trying to get better about answering my comments here instead of private email and going to your site. I thought what a good way to start. The rules are, you comment on this post, and I will answer the following about each person:

1. I'll respond with a random thought I have about you.
2. I'll tell you what song/movie reminds me of you.
3. I'll pick a flavor of jello to wrestle with you in.
4. I'll say something that only makes sense to you and me (or so we think).
5. I'll tell you my first memory of you.
6. I'll tell you what intoxicant you remind me of.
7. I'll ask you something that I've always wondered about you.
8. If I do this for you; you must post this on your blog.

Also since you came by I thought I would give you a nice pair of whatever's. They fluttered like butterflies, but I am not really sure what they are. What do you think they are?

Obviously I have also been playing with my blog, what do you think of the colors?

Thank you all for your support!!

2005-08-12T01:54:00.000-05:00

I would like to say it is all due to the support that I have found here on the internet, and the wonderful work of LuAnn that my Gallery site is now up and running!!

If I haven't told you or you just didn't pay attention, my address is sandisphotogallery.com. Go check it out and tell me what you think. Also if you see something that you really love shoot me an email, let me know what size you are interested in and I will let you know if it is available in that size.

I would also like to ask everyone that has a web site, that if you like what you see, then give me a link. Thanks everyone.

CAUTION ARACHNIDS AHEAD!!!

2005-08-11T01:35:00.000-05:00

I need an honest opinion here, which one is better. I know it is a spider, but I like them, and all you have to see is a picture. My mother is the one who has to live with the knowledge that I let this one live, she wanted me to take my pictures then SMASH the poor little thing. How cruel!!

Anyway do you like the first or second macro better?

I like them both. The first one is cool because he is looking at me, actually he was challenging me, it was so cute. I digress, sorry. Any way in the second one I got a better view of the mandibles, so they both work.

Hey wake up!!!

2005-08-10T19:22:00.000-05:00

Am I boring you? Do you find my pictures to be routine? I find that I am not getting a lot of comments right now, is this because it is vacation time out there, or are you just tired of looking?

My ego is very fragile here people, I need comments, good, bad, or indifferent.

Just so you know the latest on the Gallery is that the pictures are being loaded, it should be really soon. In the mean time here is a seagull that I got several weeks ago when I went to the beach with a friend and her kids. Yes, I have one or two friends;)

Any way I am going to have a huge grand opening when the site is up and running. Come by and check it out.

Here's another tease...

2005-08-10T02:09:00.000-05:00

This is still not the best one I got. But it will make your mouth water for the good one.

What a great morning for pictures...

2005-08-08T16:46:00.000-05:00

Just like the bees, this is not the best shot I got of this butterfly, but it is one of the cooler ones. I was able to catch it licking the dew off of the leaf. I got some really good shots this morning. Just wait till you see them.

Another shot of dawn

2005-08-07T09:18:00.000-05:00

Which one do you think is better, this one or the one from yesterday? Both were shot yesterday, just different angles.

By dawns early light.

2005-08-06T08:46:00.000-05:00

Just a little sunrise shot. I had to lighten this one just a little, so I could get the hint of green on the stem.
What do ya think?

Just a little humor today.

2005-08-04T04:27:00.000-05:00

Medical Problem

Darrell went to the doctor and said, "Doctor, I've got a problem, but if you're going to treat it, first you've got to promise not to laugh."

"Of course I won't laugh," the doctor said. "I'm a professional. In over twenty years I've never laughed at a patient."

"Okay then," Darrell said, and proceeded to drop his trousers, revealing the tiniest penis the doctor has ever seen. It couldn't have been the size of a peanut.

Unable to control himself, the doctor started giggling, then fell laughing to the floor. Ten minutes later he was able to struggle to his feet and regain his composure.

"I'm so sorry Darrell," said the doctor. "I really am....I don't know what came over me. On my honor as a doctor and a gentleman, I promise it won't happen again.. Now what seems to be the problem?"

"It's swollen." Darrell replied.

What do you think of the new digital signature?

2005-08-01T15:56:00.000-05:00

My new site will be up soon and I want to advertise it, what do you think, should I just keep it simple or should I play with it? I'm not sure if I really like this option, but it gave me something to play with.

My birthday was ok, went to a different wildlife refuge at sunrise. I didn't get very many pictures because the mosquito's were so thick they easily could have carried even my big fat ass off. I had spray and wipes on and could not get out from under a cloud. Every time I stopped I had to close my eyes and mouth. I only stayed out there about an hour and a half, being careful to keep moving at all times, good exercise.

Later I went over to a friends house for brisket, not for my birthday, just happened that way. She did bake me a chocolate cake with chocolate icing though, no not from scratch. She is a box cook, but it was good anyway. All in all it was not to bad a day, I did have to leave my friends early though, since the husband and wife started bitching at each other. I have a golden rule when it comes to being friends with both people in a marriage. When the arguing starts, I leave so no one can try to drag me into the middle. I will sit and listen to each one of them bitch, but I will say nothing, or if I do say something it is to play advocate for the other party.
Much easier to leave and stay in a good mood.

Well, any who, hope everyone is having a good Monday, and thanks again for the birthday wishes.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

2005-07-31T05:25:00.000-05:00

More dead mosquito's hanging in mid air...

2005-07-30T10:22:00.000-05:00

I truly am a firm believer that the only good mosquito is a dead one, and there can be nothing better than knowing that the little sucker died feeding a spider. Of course with this shot you would be hard pressed to see the web.
Happy Saturday, don't let anyone bug you today.

Time for another spotlight...

2005-07-29T15:10:00.000-05:00

I feel as though I have been neglecting to introduce my readers to more of my links. So today I am going to spotlight someone who is very dear to me. Not only is she my sister-in-law, but in the last year we have gotten to know each other tons better. Anyone that has been able to put up with my brother for 20+ years deserves a giant hug. So without further ado I would like everyone to go over to Sheri's site and say a big ol hello.
I use the actual term of what her relationship is to me all the time ie: sis-in-law, but in reality she has become more like a real sister. I have two sisters, but we were never close, and right now I don't even know where they are. I don't tell people often enough what it is they mean to me, and this is something I am trying to change in myself.

So Sheri, from my heart, thank you very much for being you, and thank you for being such a welcoming person. I wouldn't want anyone else to be a part of the family.
LOVE YA!!!!

A Giant Heartfelt Thanks To Everyone!!

2005-07-27T12:17:00.000-05:00

The only way I have of showing how much I appreciate all of the great comments yesterday, is a really good picture. Well here it is. This is the bee shot that I mentioned a week ago. I was going to come up with some kind of contest for you guys in order to see it, but all the wonderful comments yesterday must have gone to my head.

Have a wonderful day, and enjoy the bee.

Diets...

2005-07-26T12:36:00.000-05:00

I have been heavy most of my life, and there have been times I have worked really hard and gotten in good shape. The last time was four years ago, I was a size 8, rode my bike 30+ miles every other day, and ate almost right. Then life happened, I got depressed, and now I am in a size 24.

Well, I have decided that this is no longer acceptable for me! I have gone cold turkey on sodas, even though I never drink real sodas, only diet. I figured all those man made chemicals can't be good for the system. I have increased my exercise just by carrying my camera everywhere I go, and now I am making a conscious decision to cut back on my food intake. I am not going to run out and find a fad diet, but I am going old school, and counting calories. This is the method that has years of proof behind it to help people actually make LIFE changes, and that is what I want, a LIFE change, not a DIET.

Wish me luck!

Morning dew and insects.

2005-07-25T11:38:00.000-05:00

I was going for the dew and wound up with the ant. I guess thats not to bad since I didn't know it was there.

What a weekend, all work and no play. I didn't even get any good pictures until this morning. Most of the good shots I got are of spider webs, full of mosquitos. You know the only good mosquito is a dead one, so these shots were great, lots and lots of dead ones.

Anyway don't work to hard and I won't sleep to hard.

DAMN YOU NICK!!!

2005-07-24T19:32:00.000-05:00

One of my daily reads Nick has decided to be reallllllly mean to me and tag me with this damn MEME. Please bear with me and just play along. Thanks, and for the horror of having to read this have a lovely flower.

First the four before and me:
1.) Salt Liks and Beatniks
2.) Six Shooter Ranch
3.) The Megan
4.) I think washing your hands is stupid
5.) My Soap Box!!

Now the Question:

What 5 things do you miss about your childhood?

1. The freedom! To just say mom I'm going here, and get on your bike and go. Kids today just don't have that, and adults definitely don't have that.
2. Nothing
3. Nothing
4. Nothing
5. NOTHING!!!

I know I suck, but I had a bad childhood, followed by a horrid adolescence, so I have always really loved being an adult and in control. If I can ever get it worked out that I can make a living with my passion then all will be splendid, and maybe I can recover some of the freedom.

So that's that, and I guess I have to pass this on to 5 other people:
1) Blondie
2) Kat
3) Mary Pat
4) Chris
5) Goober Queen

Feel free to just answer them in the comment section. I SWEAR THIS WILL BE THE ONLY ONE.
I tried not to name anyone I have seen do this one recently, if I just had not seen yours and you have done this, then just skip it.
Later

Help, before I pull my hair out!!!!!!!!!!!!

2005-07-23T13:54:00.000-05:00

I have nothing to say, but HELP!! I am trying to teach myself html so I can build a site just for my photos, and I am giving myself a migraine.

I want a simple page that has my contact info, thumbnails of my photos with the various sizes and prices. After I get this page up and running I will change my digital signature to reflect this pages address, and at that time will be asking everyone to help promote said page. However, I have to get the fucking page built first.

I have found many html tutorials on the web, but most of them don't make any sense. Could someone please point me in the direction of a good tutorial. I also want to add code that will not allow people to capture my pictures off of this new page, but I have not found that code yet, any ideas on where to look?

Thanks for any advise you can give.

2005-07-22T03:36:00.000-05:00

I don't have anything meaningful to say today. It is Friday and I have come to dread this day. Why, you ask? Mainly because you all take the weekend off, and I get nothing new to read until Monday. Oh, well, I will get over it.

This picture is pretty much like most of the ones I took of these flowers, but the one difference to me is the rocks. I really like the texture that wound up in this shot. I continue to love the color of this zinnia, I just adore the gradation on the petals.

Have a good day and think about me, stuck at work, actually working.

STORM DAMAGE!!!

2005-07-21T11:40:00.000-05:00

This is what used to be part of one of our carports. I almost parked under the port thinking that it would give a small measure of protection. Thankfully a neighbor pointed out that the port was very old and not anchored properly, so I moved my car.

This is the most damage I have seen, in the entire area. As tropical storms go this one was very mild.

Yes, for those of you wondering, that car port is sitting on top of that truck. Bet they did not wake up in a good mood.

Just a little wet...

2005-07-20T10:15:00.000-05:00

Nothing more than a long rain storm. We haven't even lost power, once. I am very disappointed.

I was actually hoping I could get a couple of extra days off out of this. Oh, well, shit happens to the worst of us.

There is a good side, Emily probably did not blow all of the flowers away. It will be several days though before I can go find out for sure. I am also glad we are getting a lot of rain out of this. We were starting to get grass fires, it was so dry. Plus as a bonus, it has been coming down in spurts, so most of the areas have been able to drain, so very little flooding.

All of those observations are over here on the mainland, the story may change once I can get onto the island.

Anyway thanks everyone for your well wishes, have a great day.

Here she comes....

2005-07-19T13:31:00.000-05:00

Sheri was kind enough to send this to me, just in case I needed to know who to survive.

Hurricane preparedness=20
We're about to enter the peak of the hurricane season. Any day now, =you're going to turn on the TV and see a weather person pointing to some =radar blob out in the Atlantic Ocean and making two basic meteorological =points:1) There is no need to panic.2) We could all be killed.
Hurricane season is an exciting time to be in Florida. If you're new to =the area, you're probably wondering what you need to do to prepare for =the possibility that we'll get hit by "the big one."

Based on our =experiences, we recommend that you follow this simple three-step =hurricane preparedness plan:STEP 1: Buy enough food and bottled water to last your family for at =least three days.STEP 2: Put these supplies into your car.STEP 3: Drive to Nebraska and remain there until Halloween.
Unfortunately, statistics show that most people will not follow this =sensible plan. We'll start with one of the most important hurricane =preparedness items:HOMEOWNERS' INSURANCE: If you own a home, you must have hurricane =insurance.
Fortunately, this insurance is cheap and easy to get, as =long as your home meets two basic requirements:1) It is reasonably well-built, and2) It is located in Nebraska.
Unfortunately, if your home is located in Florida, or any other area =that might actually be hit by a hurricane, most insurance companies =would prefer not to sell you hurricane insurance, because then they =might be required to pay YOU money, and that is certainly not why they =got into the insurance business in the first place.
So you'll have to =scrounge around for an insurance company, which will charge you an =annual premium roughly equal to the replacement value of your house. At =any moment, this company can drop you like used dental floss.
Since =Hurricane George, I have had an estimated 27 different home-insurance =companies. This week, I'm covered by the Bob and Big Stan Insurance Co., =under a policy which states that, in addition to my premium, Bob and Big =Stan are entitled, on demand, to my kidneys.
SHUTTERS: Your house should have hurricane shutters on all the windows, =all the doors, and if it's a major hurricane all the toilets.
There are =several types of shutters with advantages and disadvantages:Plywood shutters: The advantage is that, because you make them yourself, =they're cheap. The disadvantage is that, because you make them yourself, =they will fall off.
Sheet-metal shutters: The advantage is that these work well, once you =get them all up. The disadvantage is that once you get them all up, your =hands will be useless bleeding stumps, and it will be December.
Roll-down shutters: The advantages are that they're easy to use, and =will definitely protect your house. The disadvantage is that you will =have to sell your house to pay for them.
Hurricane-proof windows: These are the newest wrinkle in hurricane =protection. They look like ordinary windows, but they can withstand =hurricane winds! You can be sure of this, because the salesman says so. =He lives in Nebraska.
Hurricane Proofing your property: As the hurricane approaches, check =your yard for movable objects like barbecue grills, planters, patio =furniture, visiting relatives, etc. You should, as a precaution, throw =these items into your swimming pool (if you don't have a swimming pool, =you should have one built immediately). Otherwise, the hurricane winds =will turn these objects into deadly missiles.
EVACUATION ROUTE: If you live in a low-lying area, you should have an =evacuation route planned out. (To determine whether you live in a =low-lying area, look at your driver's license; if it says "Florida," you =live in a low-lying area.) The purpose of having an evacuation route is =to avoid being trapped in your home when a major storm hits. Instead, =you will be trapped in a gigantic traffic jam several miles from your =home, along with two hundred thousand other evacuees. So, as a bonus, =you will not be lonely.
HURRICANE SUPPLIES: If you don't evacuate, you will need a mess of =supplies. Do not buy them now! Florida tradition requires that you wait =until the last possible minute, then go to the supermarket and get into =vicious fights with strangers over who gets the last can of SPAM. In =addition to food and water, you will need the following supplies:1. 23 flashlights and at least $167 worth of batteries that turn out, =when the power goes off, to be the wrong size for the flashlights.2. Bleach. (NOBODY knows what the bleach is for, but it's traditional, =so get some!)3. 55 gallon drum of underarm deodorant.4. Big knife that you can strap to your leg. (This will be useless in a =hurricane, but it looks cool.)5. A large quantity of raw chicken, to placate the alligators. (Ask =anybody who went through Andrew; after the hurricane, there WILL be =irate alligators.)6. $35,000 in cash or diamonds so that, after the hurricane passes, you =can buy a generator from a man with no discernible teeth.
Of course these are just basic precautions. As the hurricane draws near, =it is vitally important that you keep abreast of the situation by =turning on your television and watching TV reporters in rain slickers =stand right next to the ocean and tell you over and over how vitally =important it is for everybody to stay away from the ocean.
Good luck and remember:It's great living in Paradise.

I don't know who was more interested me or him?

2005-07-19T04:27:00.000-05:00

Right after I snapped this pic, he jumped up and circled the camera then went on about his way.

Well it looks like we will be getting nothing more than a tropical storm, and just my luck the damn thing will be landing at night. So not many pictures to be had, but I am going out to get some shots of the sunrise this morning. With the storm this close I should get some nice colors this morning.

Wish me luck.

More chiggers, but I think it was worth it!!

2005-07-17T21:50:00.000-05:00

I got a ton of chigger, and mosquito bites, but I think it was worth it. What do you think?

This is not the best shot, but I will just make you beg to see the best. Maybe I can think up a small contest, and the winner will get a copy of the best bee shot I have. Let me think about that.

In the mean time, I think it is time that I introduce everyone to some of my daily reads. The first person I will highlight is Toad734, he is not only a great writer, but he is also one of the best educated people I have had the pleasure of meeting on the net.

Toad always comes up with thought provoking topics, as well as controversial in nature. He goes by the philosophy of Free Speech, so if you make a comment on his site, it will stay there.

Right now Toad has a really informative post on ending socialism in the United States, if it sounds deep that is because it is; however, you may be pleasantly surprised in what way the U.S. is socialistic. Be sure to read the comments, because that is where the rest of the discussions take place.

Happy reading.