Routine....

There is something to be said for routine. I admit it, I'm very attached to my morning routine. I realize that I need to break out of it because some parts of it are not healthy, aka the diet red bull and zone bar for breakfast..... But on the bright side, I'm starting to implement a new part to my routine - making my lunch. We'll see how that goes.

Part of my morning routine just appeared one morning about a year ago. That was the addition of Leonardo the Standard Parking night shift guy. I get to work just before 7 am and each day there is Leonardo to greet me with a big smile and a buenos dios seniorita. He tries (and doesn't always succeed) to teach me a couple Spanish words but always with a smile. I used to bring him the paper every morning way back when we actually received one.

Back in July I was surprised one morning to see that he was gone. There was another fellow there and I didn't even receive a look let alone a smile. I was sad. A couple days later I finally asked the surly fellow where Leonardo was. He was on vacation. I was happy that he was coming back. Two weeks later he is back and all is right with my routine again. He brings a smile to my face and will often wash away any crankiness that LA morning traffic may have brought on.

When I came back from my vacation he welcomed me and said he missed me. We chatted as there was no one behind me on the ramp and it turns out that we both had taken our vacations in Edmonton. What a small world we live in. Try to remember today that random acts of kindness to strangers can develop into an important part of their day. A smile can change the world for someone. Smile.....come on, you know you want to.

Dawn and the Girls....

Off to Canada - Packing Hell

So I'm trying to get out of the house and off to the airport. Dena is staying home to mind the farm whilst I head up for a family visit. This is what our world has come to. In my "packing" world this morning it has involved:

1. Charging the laptop
2. Fixing the Ipod Touch which is stuck on the Apple Logo
3. Clearing out videos off the HDD movie camera so there's room for more
4. Finding and cleaning out the USB HD sticks for transferring pix while up there
5. Finding my headphones
6. Getting all the cables packed for transferring the camera, HDD Movies, ipod, etc, etc
7. Finding the Ipod charger
8. Cleaning out my laptop bag and making it a travel "purse" and not a work bag.
9. Packing allergy medication
10. Inhalers

Oh and then there are things like clothes...

Sungevity Solar - The Deal is Done

We've signed the contracts, solar here we come. You'll all be amused to learn that our solar panels are, you guessed it, Canadian.

Here is what we get...

10 - Canadian CS5A-185M, 185W Monocrystalline Module

1 - Kaco 1502xi (240V), 1.5 kW, 240 Vac, 125-500Vdc Utility Interactive Inverter

Seems minuscule but apparently it does the job.

I've figured out how they do it. My main question was "how do you sell all this solar for $ 1,500?" They do it because they are "leasing" it to us. They own it therefore they claim all the tax benefits, rebates, utility incentives, etc. They also own the electricity it generates. While I get to hopefully have a zero dollar Department of Water and Power bill (minus the water of course) any money earned by my meter spinning backwards is Sungevity's. A smart idea on their part. Kind of a win win situation I suppose. One must ask oneself if going solar is good enough or do you want to own it too?

Solar Panels on our Roof?

In our never ending quest to save money Dena discovered solar power. I had always thought that it was too expensive to have any kind of good ROI (return on investment). When I say good ROI, to me that means that I'll make my investment back in less than 2 years

So Dena got a quote for adding solar panels to our house. Apparently there are a tremendous amount of tax incentives both federally, through the state and through the power companies that we essentially would pay $1,500 and would have a 1.85Kw system. The company name is http://www.sungevity.com/ and I have done some research on why it's so cheap and read a lot of reviews. It's really all about the government subsidies so the time is now....

This is a grainy photo of our house with solar panels on the roof. I'm looking forward to some $0 bills....

Suze Orman and Bugsy - Update

If you're not familiar with the story, scroll down to last weeks posts for the whole story.

Monday Dena was practicing her script for the Suze Orman show, making changes and generally getting completely excited. Tuesday rolled around and the phone interview with Suze herfself began. Dena got about one sentence into her spiel when Suze rudely cut her off and peppered her with a few questions. None of them good. Suze Orman has a typical deny scenario for people - if you don't have 8 months in an emergency fund (aka liquid assets, either cash or easily liquidated stocks) you are automatically denied. Despite our emergency fund Dena (aka we) were quickly denied because she is unemployed. Dena was upset all day because Suze didn't let her speak, was rude and abrupt and hung up on her at the end.

Suze Orman said that we shouldn't be spending any money, period. Are we going to get Bugsy and rescue him from certain death at the bird sanctuary? I don't know. We are generally avoiding the question around our house. Why? I don't know. Maybe we're both hoping she gets a job soon and won't have time to deal with another bird, especially a special needs bird. Maybe we don't want to go against the Orman curse. Maybe we're just not committed enough?

So as of today, we have one bird and Dena is pissed at Suze Orman for being so rude and she'll never watch the show again.

IRS (Internal Revenue Service) Adopts Rules for Domestic Partners

Well praise the Lord and pass the ammunition! Yesterday I spoke with our CPA about tax planning for 2010 and she said a cryptic phrase of "well the IRS has recently adopted new Domestic Partner rules so this could be interesting." Not wanting to appear stupid and out of touch with the news and especially our community news, I kept my mouth shut and resolved to investigate it on the Internet this morning. Apparently, this new ruling (June 12, 2010) reverses a position the IRS took in 2006, when it said California's registered domestic partners should each report on their own federal tax return only the income they personally earned, not one-half of their community income.

For those of you unaware of my previous blog posts this is it in a nutshell quoted from Box Turtle Bulletin:

For several years, California law has treated couples in domestic partnerships exactly the same as marriages, including in how income tax returns were filed. But the federal government’s DOMA has banned any recognition of same-sex couples as married and the Internal Revenue Service has treated them as though they were two unrelated individuals. This has resulted in the peculiar situation in which a couple files as married for state tax purposes, and then files separate federal returns in which each reports their own individual incomes and deductions.
While it is not true in all cases, quite often this results in same-sex couples paying much higher rates of federal income taxes than they would if they could file jointly, especially when one spouse earns significantly more than the other. It has also resulted in increased time and expense in complying with income tax return preparation.


I'll let you know if we actually get a financial benefit from it, however, it cannot be any worse than the financial hit we took being RDP's last year. I was appalled that as a RDP we would have the benefit of paying more than you average couple federally. I am all about fairness and equality and this didn't sit well with me. Now if we could just get rid of the imputed income bullshit for the health insurance benefit I'd really be happy. Maybe for once in my life I'll look forward to the April 15th filing deadline.

Bugsy and Suze Orman -- Part 2

If you haven't read Part 1 - please scroll down and read part 1 of this blog post.

So Dena's bright idea was to have Suze Orman tell us if we could afford buying Bugsy. Suze Orman does this segment on her money show called Can I Afford It? I figured, what the heck, so we filled in the form Sunday night. Monday morning they had already called Dena and emailed her. They were very interested. They never had a request like this before about a pet rescue and the financial ramifications of such a thing. Forms were emailed back and forth and a Dena and I did a deep dive into our finances. After all, the show is a money show and it is called "Can I Afford it?" so some true financial soul searching was required to fill all these forms in. At one point in the process Dena was sure we'd be denied. They have since called Dena every day and she has an official interview on August 10th. This could be interesting.....

Today Dena went to the bird store (For Birds Only ) to take a picture of Bugsy for the show. What happened though was that Dena was feeling bad for Frieda.... Frieda's cage is right beside Bugsy and they are buddies. As you can see, Frieda is a lilac crowned amazon and is beautiful. She is also a 2nd chance bird and is quite the flirt. She's about twice the size of Picasso. Frieda, Picasso and Bugsy get along quite well.

Whatever shall we do if we are denied? What shall we do if we're approved?

Bugsy and Suze Orman -- Part 1

Sunday we took Picasso (our white fronted amazon parrot for those of you that don't know us) to the bird place for a manny/pedi (talon & wing clipping). We go every 4-5 months or so. For the past 18 months there's been a bird there by the name of Bugsy (see picture). Bugsy is a 2nd chance bird. He was rescued from a fire where the house was burned down by the boyfriend of the owner and the birds were left to fend for themselves. Bugsy was and is, needless to say, traumatized. The store staff have been working with Bugsy ever since to calm him down and re-train him.

Each time we're at the store Dena talks calmly to Bugsy and they seem to bond a little and Picasso and Bugsy love to chat. They are quite closely related with Picasso being a white fronted amazon and Bugsy being an orange cheeked Amazon. This visit we received disturbing news. Due to the economy Bugsy was slated to be shipped of to a bird sanctuary by the end of the year. All the staff at the store think Bugsy is a sweetheart underneath that scared exterior and that he wouldn't do well at a sanctuary.

We left the store quite sad and then Dena got a bright idea. See Part 2 of this blog tomorrow for the rest of the story.

Android vs. Apple....

Everyone loves a winner until the winner gets a little too big. You can take your pick between Apple's fluctuating stock price, antenna gate on the new Apple iPhone 4G or the bitching and moaning about iTunes being too restrictive and totalitarian but the result is the same; let's pick on Apple.

People whine that they "have" to download their apps from iTunes and developers whine that all the apps are subjected to a rigorous certification test from Apple. The blogosphere is whining because Apple's new iPhone 4G can get poor antenna reception if you death grip the phone. Bag on Apple because they have become the new Microsoft of the 80's. They are the innovators where Microsoft once was, they are becoming the behemoth that everyone hates just like Microsoft has become. I suppose there is one difference, Apple customers are rabid. So rabid in fact that they can be referred to as fanboys.

So where does that leave us? It left an opening for Google to come in and introduce the open source free for all called the Android platform. In the Android's case applications are distributed either through the Android Marketplace (an icon on the phone's home page) or through the developer's website (scary). This link is from Phone scoop and it talks about a Chinese owned domain stealing personal information from people downloading their wallpaper Android app. Imagine that....No controls on the apps at all, unlike iTunes, so thieves go about unchecked. Give me Apple and it's controls anytime!

Here is a poignant snapshot of the Android Marketplace article:

In June 2010, a study performed on 48,000 Android market applications by SMobile Systems Inc., revealed that 20 percent of applications asked users permission for access to private or sensitive information that an attacker could use for malicious purposes, such as identity theft or mobile banking fraud. 5 percent of applications have the ability to place a call to any number, without requiring user intervention.[15][16][17]
However, while installing applications, Android displays all required permissions, so the user can decide whether to install an application whose permission requirements seem excessive or unnecessary (e.g. a game is likely to enable vibration, but unlikely to read messages or phonebook). This effectively makes the process more secure than other systems that do not ask for any permissions and instead receive full complete access.

Which phone will you buy? Who do you trust? Only you can decide but you shouldn't decide based on the phone's good looks. You should decide on many factors and being well informed is vital!

Hornworm

Oh how I hate these. Look at this huge bugger I found gobbling down one of my baby tomatoes. I put it on the garden clippers for size context. I suppose sacrifices of some must be made for the good of the whole but my goodness he's a fatty. I hope there aren't little hornworms running around that I haven't caught yet. These buggers are the ones that put the little and sometimes BIG holes in your tomatoes. If you listen closely in the quiet of the night you can actually hear them crunching. Then take your flashlight and go a picking....

These caterpillars are so big (three inches long or more) that it would seem to be easy to control them just by picking them off. And so it is, sometimes. The problem is that their pale green color provides excellent camouflage, and the nymph and larval stages are far smaller and less obvious. If there are only a few, picking them off works well. If there are more than a few, other measures may be called for. One of these is Bt, Bacillus thuringiensis, an organic treatment that can control numerous other problems as well.

Tomato Harvest #1

The first tomato harvest happened so suddenly I almost missed it. We had weeks during June and early July of marine layer cloudiness and cool temperatures. I enjoyed it but the plants weren't all that fond of it. A couple of my tomatoes even developed a case of "cat facing" which is an appropriate name for what they look like. See picture. I only have a couple like that fortunately. Catfacing is an abnormality that develops on the blossom end of susceptible tomato varieties. It results from cool weather at blossom time and causes the fruit to pucker and have deep crevices.

Here I am all proud with the days harvest. As you can see it was bountiful and there are plenty more where that came from. Dena is in the kitchen right now making some sort of tomato soup.

cite Colorado Extension

Anonymity

There's something to be said for Anonymity. Only last year if you googled my name you got millions of hits with none of them pointing to me. You see Dawn Armstrong is a fairly common name. There are literally 1000's of us out there. Today after reading an article regarding Social networking personal brand suicide I figured I'd better google myself again. I was shocked that this blog is the #2 hit. I didn't realize how much I missed that anonymity....

For awhile I was thrilled that when you googled "direct buy scam" my blog was the first hit. I was proud that I had become searchable. I've had this blog for about 6 or 7 years now and it had never been searchable until that fateful blog post in late 2008. It took about 4 months for it to climb to the top of the page rankings but it did. Today using that search term gets me at 3rd place. I'm happy now to have dropped. I don't want to be first and I don't want to be so out there on the internet.

Over the past two years I've become very cognizant of the fact that what I post will be read by too many people and some day it may be used against me. It enters my mind each time I write a blog. I have to temper feelings, delete blog posts and be careful what I write so as not to offend anyone too much or damage any career opportunities.

Have you googled yourself lately?

Today's Harvest

Spaghetti squash, red cabbage, and a few tomatoes. Soon I will be up to my ears in tomatoes just like today I'm up to my ears in squash. Spaghetti squash is different from other squashes when it grows in that once the vine bears fruit it dies, other squashes will continue to produce. I've planted peas and cucumbers in the spaghetti squash's place to see if I can get another crop of veggies. I'm sure I will as it is only July.

Red Neck Trellis

This Better Best Boy tomato plant, yes there's only one there, is so out of control I had to use a 6' ladder to prop up this side. There's another trellis on the back side to the left of the main plant because there are some 8' off shoots there bearing fruit and they are sagging from the weight. The same thing was happening on this side so what's a girl to do? Why spend money on another trellis when you have a ladder around?

Unemployment and the Federal Extension Bill

There seems to be a tremendous amount of confusion out there of what this bill in the Senate and Congress actually accomplishes. It is called the Federal Unemployment Extension Bill. To me that means that they are considering extending unemployment benefits past what is already allowed or been voted on previously. That's what I always assumed because they use the word "extension". That is not the case.

In all actuality it is really an unemployment funding bill. The unemployed people currently collecting or moving toward any form of federal extension of benefits can no longer collect anything until they pass this. If someone has remained unemployed for more than six months, typically they have moved into one of four tiers of federal extension benefits that have been available since July 2008. Without further Congressional action, unless these unemployed workers are currently collecting on the separate FED-ED extension, they can continue to collect the balance of benefits available on their current extension tier but nothing further after that.

Some of the "tiers" of extensions are only 6 weeks long. So if you happened to be in that tier while they dick around and argue about funding what they already granted then you already ran out and you haven't gotten any checks for a few weeks. People and the media often talk about the 99 weekers. These people are supposedly eligible to collect unemployment for 99 weeks. Often right wingers and people frustrated about the deficit are against unemployed people because they figure they can collect for almost 2 years so why would they go back to work? What they don't realize is that there are about 6 different applications to apply for each extension that you have to deal with and that every time congress delays on funding the extensions these people get no checks. And when/if any of the unemployed do get a job they are more than likely getting it for 25 - 50% less of a salary than they were making before.

What would you rather have? Millions of people without benefits moving to welfare, food stamps and without health insurance or fund the federal unemployment package? Which do you think would cost more in the long run? Definitely welfare.

The middle class are disappearing, write your congress person and your senator!

Information on the tiers of unemployment click me

Senator addresses click here

Congress person addresses click here

Tips on what to write and how to write a letter to a government official

Old Age - The Eyesight

I am constantly reminded of my age lately. It's getting quite annoying. Over the past 18 months or so my close eyesight has been failing me. It started with the directions on the back of pill bottles, progressed to menus in dark restaurants and has recently hit a new low with any form of reading in almost any light. I'm thinking of having Dena make me a cool chain to hang my glasses around my neck. Can glasses chains even be cool?

I've been in restaurants with my mom and she'll ask me what looks good and then says that she'll have that. I eventually figured out that she had forgotten her glasses and couldn't read the menu but now I have a new understanding and empathy. It's depressing and debilitating. Am I going to have to start carrying a purse or something? Maybe I could get away with a small messenger bag? I seem to have lots to carry the older I get. Reading glasses, Carmex, eye drops, cell phone, keys..... I only have so many pockets and the older I get the less I can do without any of these things.

Mom, I love you but bilberry isn't going to bring my eyesight back. I know you think it does but it doesn't. Maybe it helps eye fatigue, I'll give you that. Oh and mom, I appreciate all you've given me, my young looking skin, my small bladder, my thin esophagus, but you could have left off the poor eyesight gene.

First Harvest of the Summer of 2010

New Notebook Feature - SplashTop

SplashTop is a new "feature" or program that is starting to appear on some laptops and noteboooks. It appears as a Web button on the computer that you would press instead of the power button. Pushing this Web button tells the computer to boot this new special program or OS instead of going to Windows.

The benefits according to the SplashTop website are as follows:

Fast - Be online seconds after you turn on your PC. Why wait for Windows to load when you could be surfing the web right away! (True, pretty fast boot)
Safe - Surf the Web safely, immune from the malware that targets Windows. (True)
Eco-Friendly - Give your PC a rest when you do not use it. Splashtop boots quickly so there is no reason to leave your PC on all the time. (This is a load of hooey)

What are the problems? Some people have complained about YouTube issues and it seems easily corruptible. The major issue is if your computer is no longer bootable it is not supported directly from the SplashTop website but only from the OEM vendor. In the example I'm referring to, Sony Vaio uses it under the OEM name of Quick Web Access. There is little to any help available from Sony if you are having issues and SplashTop itself won't help you because they are selling the program to Sony, so you are not the customer, Sony is.

Do the benefits outweigh the pains? I believe so. If it stops working and it's beyond you or your poor computer geek friend who you rely on and abuse and don't pay, then you can just not use that button/feature anymore.

HP TechForum 2010

Well it's actually Day 2, I'm exhausted already. Last night I didn't get back to the room until 9pm, and no, it wasn't because I was gambling or at a strip club. I have to admit that HP really knows how to do it up and I know from other attendees that this is scaled back affair. Yesterday evening was the opening of the Expo and the reception. I learned so much in just that short period of time and I did it all with a glass of wine in my hand and prime rib in my belly, all courtesy of HP.

What I've learned thus far:

1. There are waaaaayyyy more geeky people than me.
2. The $20 "sandwich" is a valuable tool in Vegas where money talks.
3. 4G is not fully in Las Vegas, that's just bull$hit
4. The Luxor really does suck, just like people have told me.

For those of you not in the know, a 20 dollar sandwich is where when you have some cheap a$$ hotel in Vegas and you are checking in, you slip a $20 in between your credit card and your ID. Then you innocently ask if you could possibly get an upgraded room. Sadly, I found this trick out after I checked in. The fellow I met has a beautiful suite in a tower including dining and living rooms, me - a crappy room on the 3rd floor of the pyramid with a view of the Starbucks on the first floor and all the noise that goes with being in a major traffic area, all night long.

Tonight, I finally got dinner during this blog post. It's been a long day. I had to eat my lunch in 15 minutes between sessions. Perhaps I've just overbooked myself. Me? Do too much? Never....

The Irony of it All

The other day one of my many bosses walks into my office with his wife's new Costco laptop and a bag full of software. He says, "Dawn, can you load this up and make sure it all works". "Sure" I said, I mean, what else was I to say?

Normally any computer geek is happy as a clam to fiddle with something shiny and new. I fired up the Sony Vaio and went through the typical Windows 7 setup screen. I typed in the password that his wife wanted, very simple, Password123. I let Micro$shaft load its millions of megabytes of critical updates and then the computer was ready to reboot. Yes, please reboot yourself. Back at the log in screen I type Password123. Invalid password. What? Password123. Invalid password. I typed if very carefully - P a s s w o r d 1 2 3 ---- Invalid password. OH MY GOD! As I stared open mouthed at the laptop I felt my heart drop into my stomach and the bile rising into my mouth.

How did this happen? Wait, maybe because the keyboard is strangely skewed to the left on this model and I didn't have my fingers on the home row? I would have had to type the password in wrong twice though, as a confirmation. How could that be? One long sheet of paper and about 100 iterations of Password123 later, still no go. He's been in my office now about 10 times looking at his laptop and seeing how it is coming. I feign casual indifference but inside I'm freaking out.

Four hours later thanks to the hacker community, bit torrent and my helpdesk guy we've procured a hack to wipe the password from the laptop. I'm back in! Whew. Then I start with an older Adobe CS3 package which is not Windows 7 compatible. 8 hours later and with the help of the Experts Exchange (which I contribute to and have achieved Master status on ) I've finally beat that program into submission.

Total cost = 12 hours of labor,
25 new grey hairs,
1 sleepless night
and happy Senior VP
- Priceless.

Afghanistan Is Rich!

In report released just last week mineral reserves of copper, gold, oil and most importantly lithium have been discovered under the ground in various regions of Afghanistan. China has already won a major contract for mining copper in one of the regions. That just pisses me off. The United States goes over there and fights for over a decade trying to bring peace and democracy to the region costing untold billions of dollars and 1000's of US soldiers lives and China gets a contract. That's just horseshit. By default, a US company should get that contract and the lion's share of the others.

I'm sorry if you don't agree with my opinion but there should be no bidding it should be awarded to the US. We will share but we should be making some of the billions back we pissed away in the bloody sand in Afghanistan. It's only fair. If you're going to be the world's policeman and the world's target all at the same time I would think that you should get at least some quid pro quo. And who exactly discovered all these riches? Well, it was a Pentagon geological team. Frankly, I'm so ticked off right now that I think the USA should just kick the government out of Kabul and take over. Make Afghanistan a US territory and take over. Why pussy foot around anymore. It's obvious that it's a corrupt terrorist country that will never be able to manage this kind of wealth except to use it against the US who has saved their ass.

Two excerpts from the article:

At the same time, American officials fear resource-hungry China will try to dominate the development of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth, which could upset the United States, given its heavy investment in the region. After winning the bid for its Aynak copper mine in Logar Province, China clearly wants more, American officials said.

The corruption that is already rampant in the Karzai government could also be amplified by the new wealth, particularly if a handful of well-connected oligarchs, some with personal ties to the president, gain control of the resources. Just last year, Afghanistan’s minister of mines was accused by American officials of accepting a $30 million bribe to award China the rights to develop its copper mine. The minister has since been replaced.

More on Mitel Stock and IPO's

I love that even on a stock market up day my shitty a$$ Mitel stock drops. Down to $ 9.60 and dropping a whopping 32% since it's IPO less than 6 weeks ago. This article says it'll be bullish in about 12 months if their first Quarter public financials show profit. Mitel hasn't shown a profit for years on its quarterlies, why should this quarter be any different? The article continues to state that a long position will be beneficial to the investor with the stock price estimate at approximately $14 by year end. That's what the stock IPO's at so woohoo! I could break even after 8 months if I'm lucky. On the flip side, why sell it, I have 85% less shares that I had before they went public due to their reverse stock split.

So that's my little rant. It's highly disappointing to be sure. People talk about the hey day of the dot com boom and how so many people got rich on stock options. I think that number is probably significantly less than we like to believe.

A Little Capitalism is Good for the Soul

As some of you may know over the past 18 months or so Dena and I have been cutting back just like most Americans are doing. Only really buying the necessities, cutting where we can, not really buying any new clothes or electronic goodies (my weak spot) and generally watching what we spend. Over the past month I've just felt the urge to spend. It's been so long and I'm tired of being frugal and careful. I WANT SOMETHING NEW! Preferably shiny and bright but hey, at this point I'll take anything.

I was in Costco the other day and couldn't pull myself away from the new generation of flat screen TV's. I was mesmerized by the new LED LCD Side lit technology and the thinness of the new models. I was dazzled by the new feature of web surfing as a PIP feature. Matter of fact, I was so lost in it all that Dena and I were supposed to meet at a certain spot in the store and I forgot. She was very ticked off at me.

So this weekend after hearing some great things about these "Fit Flops" and the Reebok Easy Tone runners (Tennis shoes for you yanks) I just had to go check them out. With all my foot issues I thought these may be the ticket for me and with summer approaching who doesn't need a new pair of sandals? After trying these shoes and the fit flops on I was sold. Certainly not for the magic toning I was going to get but for the comfort. The fit flops especially were so squishy that my feet feel like they are walking on air. They also come in lovely styles that are "in" like the new roman look made popular by Sex in the City 2. I bought 3 pairs. And you know what? It felt good. It felt GREAT to spend money. I was happy for hours and even wore my new sandals home. Of course the guilt set in the next day when I realized how much my June credit card bill was going to be. I guess retail therapy is good but only in small doses.

Side note: The difference between side lit LCD TV's and Back lit LCD is size and quality. Side lit makes the panel extremely thin however, you lose the deep blacks and depth of color. Here is a great article explaining the differences in local dimming, side lit, back lit, etc. It's short and easy to understand as well as a valuable tool if purchasing a new TV.

Another Doctor's Trip

For the 3rd time in 4 weeks I went to the doctor. I had already self-diagnosed and determined that my problem was a sinus infection (from the 1st doctor's visit) that wasn't quite wiped out by the first course of antibiotics. This is because it was so severe. The 2nd doctor's visit was not with my regular doctor and it turns out her colleague is so against antibiotics that he will not prescribe them no matter what. Nice.

Dr. Vasquez confirmed my self diagnosis today with the caveats that if I'm not 100% feeling awesome after a 3 week battery of Augmentin starting today that I would be off for a CAT scan on my sinuses and probably at least another 6 weeks of antibiotics depending on the results. Since I've never had a sinus infection before and NEVER want to have one again after that incredible pain I am adhering to every letter of the law. I'm on such an extensive battery of drugs that I'm thankful for every pharmacy visit for insurance.

Advair, Augmentin, Nasonex, nasal lavage, prednisone and singulair. Impressive and a little bit scary. I look forward to 3 weeks from now when these can all go into the trash can or drawer never to be seen again. I'm am hopeful.

Frustrated

I'm very frustrated with my body today. As some of you know I had just gotten over a serious sinus and lung infection. I was on a 2 week course of antibiotics and Tuesday was my last day. Also had a doctors appointment Tuesday and received a clean bill of health. Yesterday (Wednesday) I was exhausted, so tired I could have put my head down on my desk and fell fast asleep. All night I was up repeatedly with coughing and a very sore throat (and yes mom, I gargled with melalucea).

This morning I feel like crap. I'm hacking and coughing up lovely things and I have that sick taste in my mouth. Off to the doctor I go. I will beg for another course of antibiotics because I think it wasn't quite done. I do not want to be sick anymore. I would really like to get back to the vibrant, happy, energy filled me. Is that too much to ask? Come on body. Buck up! Kick that immune system into overdrive and beat this thing.

Greece is Really Going to the Well....Frogs

Those poor people in Greece cannot get a break. First their country announces it's going broke. Riots in the streets, consumer confidence drops in the EU followed by the rest of the globe. A ripple effect to be sure. Today, frogs. The little amphibians closed a major Northern highway today as they hopped across the road. Perhaps they were in search of food, perhaps a better lifestyle (aren't we all nowadays?), we'll probably never know.

Check out the story here

Mitel Goes Public

I worked for Mitel for over 12 years. Over those 12 years there were good times but mostly bad times. There were pay cuts, many years with no raises and stock options in lieu of bonuses. Then there was the company stock purchase program. Yes, for only $1.50 and later $3.50 you could buy a Common share of Mitel stock in this privately held company to be redeemable when it goes public. We were told what a good deal this was, we would be investing in the company's financial future and subsequently ours, we could cash it all in when they went public and they would make it really convenient and do a paycheck debit for us.

Sounds like a good deal doesn't it? Well, it turns out that the rich get richer and the middle class get nothing. Mitel went public (Ticker symbol: MITL) on April 22nd, 2010. They hoped for $18 to $20 a share, it started at $14 and today, less than a month later it's hovering around $ 11.50, probably the reasonable value.

One week before they went public I received in the mail notice of a 15 to 1 Reverse split of my common shares. Basically, if you purchased 1000 common shares through the employee stock purchase program you now have 66 shares. If you bought them for $3500 they are now worth based on today's stock price, $770.22. Yes, every Mitel employee got this "deal". I'm sure not about the big wigs, they probably had something other than "common" shares (I believe they are called Preferred Shares) and probably didn't have to trade those in so I'm sure they made out like bandits.

Welcome to the middle class. Bend over.

My Garden

Spaghetti squash, oh so big, red cabbage, blackberries....yummy, yummy.....

The Next Medical Problem

Jeesh, you'd think I was a sickly kid. Oh, OK, I was. But I had hoped it wouldn't carry into adulthood. It has. I've been fighting off what I thought was just a general cold that always moves into my chest due to either weak lungs and/or the asthma. Yesterday and somewhat the day before my eyeballs have felt like someone is pushing them out of my head from the inside. Squeezing them... My face is puffy, my cheek bones are tender and my teeth hurt like hell. I cannot chew anything because my teeth hurt so bad. It turns out that all of this is sinuses, a severe sinus infection it appears.

My doctor gave me an antibiotic, Nasonex to treat the polyp in my left nostril, Advair for my lungs, cough medicine with codeine and a nasal rinse to relieve the pressure. I'm a regular drug store and thank G-D for insurance. Hey, all you people who think that there isn't a problem with America's medical system and are so against health care reform, how much do you think all those prescriptions would have cost you? Over $400. Cough that up. What about my doctor's visit? $150. Swallow that.

Back to that nasal rinse. That stuff is awesome! Gross, but awesome. It's not the nedi pot because I'm so plugged up that won't work but it relieved the pressure in my head quite a bit and cleaned some of the mucus out. I'll spare you the disgusting details.....

The Foot Pain Aftermath

Dr. Portillo (Italian not Spanish) had asked me to try and keep my feet dry in the shower for a couple days if possible so that taping would stay. So this morning I had everything all ready - scissors, waterproof medical tape and a couple of Ziploc one gallon baggies. I guess the problem with using zip lock is that it is too bulky. I tried my best zipping it up half way, then folding it over on my ankle and quickly trying to put the tape around before it bowed out again. I wrapped that tape around and around and around and finally just hoped for the best.

In the shower I realized about half way through that the left foot was completely soaking wet, this was the first foot I did so obviously I got better when I moved to the right side. By the end though my too zip lock baggies were completely full of water and I sloshed out of the shower and pulled the soaking wet tape and padding off. A great day had begun....

Why can someone not invent and sell to orthopedic docs and podiatrists a cheap, foot shaped plastic wrap with some sort of adhesive at the top for waterproofing.

My Poor Aching Footsies

I have been having a devil of a time with my feet. I've kind of always had foot issues especially when I worked at K-Mart in my late teens. All that standing on concrete was so painful. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. Each morning I'd slide out of bed and I could hardly stand let alone walk the pain in my heels was so bad, more so on my right. So limping I would go to the bathroom.

I broke down and went to a Podiatrist to see what the matter was. First however, I had to search the internet to self-diagnose. This is the way of our modern society now and I'm a firm believer in knowledge = power. I had diagnosed myself with plantar fasciitis and my podiatrist concurred on his own, no lead in by me whatsoever. Plantar fasciitis is quite common and is also known as heel spurs. It's common symptom is severe heel pain upon rising, lessening as the day progresses then coming back as a dull ache and often recurring louder as you relax on your couch at night.

My treatment? 5 days of Celebrex, taped up feet for 2 or 3 days, and about 500 cortisone shots in my poor heels. Using his sonogram machine he sprayed my heel with something so cold that it burned. This was apparently to numb my heel although I was and still am suspect of the point of that. At this point he had leaned me way back in the chair so I couldn't see and like any good, compassionate doctor nattered away to me about mindless topics keeping me engaged and asking me questions. A little prick at first (the needle, not the doctor) and then the pain. The searing, propelling me off the table pain as he jabbed the needle into me repeatedly. At least it felt like it, I'm not really too sure. I guess the lidocaine goes in (which burns severely) and that is supposed to numb you so you don't feel the cortisone although I don't really get the logic there.

After he was finished the right heel I had to muster all my guts and glory to let him do the left. He told me sometimes 3 treatments are required although I doubt I'll ever allow that to happen again. I walked out of the doctors office blissfully numb in my heels and hoped for the best. That was short lived because by about 9pm I laid in bed trying not to cry myself to sleep. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

Backyard Update

I've spent a considerable amount of time in our backyard over the past month. Transplanting, cleaning up, roto-tilling, planting a new garden, mitigating various plant diseases and pests and my favorite thing - experiencing it all. Often I'll stop for a moment to stretch my back or admire my work and a view of the backyard drama will present itself.

Since it's spring I began my time watching the courting of various birds and listened for days of a poor crow in heat crying for a mate. That crow whined for 3 days straight until it finally shut up. Lately I've been watching the scrub jays defend their nest in the tree behind our neighbors house. I've seen them chase a squirrel right down the fence top pecking at him as they went. My mom told me that squirrels are egg suckers and crows are baby bird stealers. The scrub jays are often screaming at one crow or another, dive bombing it to keep it away from their territory and nest.

Yesterday morning I came across a terrible discovery. There was carnage in our bird bath. It appeared that a crow had been successful and was eating his breakfast on the edge of our bird bath until I startled him. There were lots of feathers, a small wing, blood and bone. I was very sad and could not bring myself to clean it out. I noticed later that the crow must have returned as the wing and bones were gone. I'm still a little sad.

Life goes on around us no matter how small or large, from the caterpillar crawling across the driveway this morning to the night blooms of the cactus - try to stop and experience the little things today. You'll be glad you did.

Planting for a bountiful harvest, hopefully

Biggest Loser Campus

My mom and I went bird watching at a National Park in Las Virgenes called King Gillette Ranch. Named such because it used to be the home of King Gillette (yes, King was his real first name) the inventor of the Gillette disposable razor and perhaps the founder of our disposable society. During our 3 hour walk we stumbled upon the Biggest Loser Campus, complete with gym, boxing ring, pool, dorms (where of course, I went to the bathroom), and the infamous arch where they come thru. The place is in quite the disrepair, obviously out of the filming season, windows swinging open in the gym, equipment still in there and gopher holes everywhere. I don't imagine the Biggest Loser contestants go running on the grass as they'd surely break an ankle.

The Harvest is Just Beginning....

Dawn and Oscar

Another Star Sighting....

Yesterday during lunch in downtown Los Angeles another star was sighted - the California Cheese cows. Yes, they were filming in the 80 degree weather with a back drop of the downtown LA Library and (not in the picture) the tallest building in Los Angeles, the Library tower (aka First Interstate Bank tower). I can see the tag line now, "real California cheese comes from happy cows", for the summer two of California's cheese cows went on a vacation to Los Angeles. They are probably filming in Hollywood too.

More Touring...the Hollywood Sign

This is the best view yet with little effort of the sign.

Tour Guide Dawn Pulls it off Again!

I pulled it off again.....my cousin Patti was in town from Edmonton and of course, Rodeo drive was on the tour itinerary. While walking down Rodeo in Beverly Hills, we were wondering what all these camera people were doing. We hung around for a bit and out pops Joan Rivers doing an interview of some weird looking interior designer who has made it big and cannot drive this beautiful car. The scene was him pulling up and Joan meeting him at the driver's side door. He scraped the crap out of the front of the Austin Martin because he hit the curb. The show is called "How did you get so rich" or some such nonsense.

Next victim......April Fools

Are those packing peanuts???? LOL

April Fools - Paybacks are a Bitch

I've been a busy little Canadian beaver this morning, playing small, geeky tricks on my collegues. The office has been so dry, I wanted to inject a little levity into it. One of things I was doing was flipping the screen on their computers upside down (in software) so that the task bar was on top. Then they'd call me and I'd laugh at them, ask them what they did to the computer, tell them to reboot (which of course they couldn't do because the mouse would go backwards) and generally make fun of them. Then I'd go over and fix it with 2 keystrokes. And no, I won't tell you what they are....

Then I went out, I admit, to get some items I need for another practical joke I'm going to play later when one of our VPs goes to lunch and this is what I was greeted by...

I've Been Here Before

6am - the pain throbbing at my temples, radiating down the back of my neck. Oh, it's late this morning, normally it happens around 3 or 4 am. The headache has returned. I drag myself out of bed and stumble in a pain filled haze to the bathroom and grab my pills. Swallow a couple and jump up and down hoping that they clear my esophagus before I lay down again.

Once, I woke up in Seattle with a blistering headache and took two Aleve and laid right back down. They apparently didn't make it all the way down to my stomach and I woke up an hour later with what felt like a hole burning through my chest. It turns out that is what was really happening. A trip to the emergency room and lesson learned, you must let any pill or food clear into your stomach, it's not instantaneous and gravity plays a role. Aleve is nasty stuff, I try to avoid it now. Tylenol with Codeine is much better.

8am - Frustration - just get up and do something, there is so much to do.

10am - Oh goodie, I can take another pill. The headache continues to throb and I'm driven back to bed. Dena gives my neck a little massage and tells me to stay put. I lay in bed for about 3 minutes my mind whirling with things I have to do and want to do. Paint my table, clean the garage, plant tomatoes, buy Vitamin B for root growth and on and on the list goes. I'm practically vibrating in the bed my mind is whirling so fast. I've almost leaped out of bed 3 times before it hits me.....I've been here before, many times. I'm not sure I could ever relax even in pain. It's a tension headache says the doctor and my chiropractor, yoga, relaxing would all help. I just can't help it and out of bed I go....

US Citizenship Update #2

Well, I believe the last time I spoke about this I had decided to go ahead with the whole US Citizenship thing. I've filed my request with the FOIA people (Freedom of Information Act) which is really just the USCIS (Immigration), so it makes no sense, but, hey, it's government. At first my request was 10,000 out of 12,763 on Track 2, which basically means, it will never happen. Since then two letters have arrived, the first requesting an affidavit of my signature and that the request was really mine, which I had provided via email and a notarized signature, but alas, it wasn't real paper.... The second letter was to inform me of the receipt of the notarized affidavit and they moved my Track to track 2. This is much speedier and as of yesterday I am 1157 out of 2211. There appears to be hope.

I think they just put you in track 1 until you provide all the paperwork they want. Once I get this all squared away I can move on to step one in the US Citizenship naturalization process. I've looked online and it appears that the wait period (aka back log) in Los Angeles right now is five months. Maybe this long term goal will be accomplished by Christmas 2010?

I Feel So Sorry for This Book

I admit it, I'm a book lover. I'm sure that it was my Mom that instilled this love of books, not sure how, maybe because she bought almost every Little Golden children's book out there or maybe because she read to me all the time. It could have been because I was an only child for 10 years so an escape into make believe was a good way to keep the loneliness at bay. One of my favorite things to do is wander around Barnes & Noble or Borders books and browse, imagine, touch and ultimately buy something new.

When I first started working at my new job I realized I was right across from the LA Central Public Library. I was very excited. An entire building full of books, the ultimate collection. The 2nd day I went over and signed up for a library card. I'd never had one in Los Angeles before. Hope sprang eternal of all the possibilities. These were soon dashed as I made several forays into the depths looking for this specific book or that. Being a geek, one has needs, very specific and timely needs for research and constant learning. I prefer getting that from an actual book rather than an e-book or PDF.

Each time I went to the library they were out of the book I wanted and the books they did have were very out of date. At one point I even donated some of my older technical books to augment their collection. Today I tried again and was thrilled they had the specific book I was looking for. I practically ran down 2 flights of stairs afraid someone would beat me to it. There it was, sitting on the shelf, the dirty old book in the picture. Dare I touch it? It was filthy and looked as if it was left in the rain for a week the pages were so curled. I did check it out but only after I made the librarian make a note of its condition. After reaching my office I clorox wiped the hard cover, twice and washed my hands several times. Black, each time. It's sad that a book be treated so unfairly but I suppose its nice that it has a home rather than being burned in some Fahrenheit 401 reincarnation.

The Republican View of the Unemployed

Here is an excerpt from a CNN news article regarding unemployment and why or why shouldn't this new jobless benefit bill be signed into law, taken from Matt Smith, CNN reporter's article listed below:

And former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, another Republican, said on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday that keeping benefits coming "keeps people from going and finding jobs."
"There's some studies that have been done that shows that people stay on unemployment compensation and they don't look for a job until two or three weeks before they know the benefits are going to run out," said DeLay, who resigned from Congress in 2006 and is awaiting trial on a money-laundering charge in his home state of Texas.

That just pisses me off. For those of you that don't remember, Tom Delay is the Indicted ex-House Majority Leader (R), indicted for campaign finance fraud he was also accused of ethics violations in 2005. He solved that problem pretty quickly by making it the first order of business for the 109th Congress to gut the House Ethics Committee.

Again, I am amazed that politicians and Washington are so out of state with the actual public. yes, those of us who are middle class and losing ground on a constant basis. Are they not aware that unemployment is at an all time high in many states and frankly, under reported. When they say unemployment is at 12% that just means those that are still collecting. That doesn't mean the 1000's that have gone back to school, thus losing their benefits, or the 10's of 1,000's that can no longer collect because they were laid off at the beginning of this free fall. Some say it could and probably is double 12%. When companies pull an ad off the web after only 24 hours because they got 1000 resumes what does that tell you? When a company interviews candidates, even has second interviews, then decides that they are not going to fill that job after all, what does that tell you?

Do they really actually think that the unemployed are sitting around happy as clams for collecting a maximum of $475 a week? I got news for you, $475 a week in Los Angeles gets you NO WHERE. When car insurance is usually $2000 a year, plus food, mortgage or rent and you must have internet now or you can't shop for a job, that leaves you with nothing except to reach for your 401k provider phone # and cash in. I urge you to write your elected official, send them an email and set them on the right path. Tell them your story and tell them to get their heads out of their private jets, first class seats, limos and tuxedos and get down in the mud like the rest of us.

http://www.wibw.com/nationalnews/headlines/87466337.html

Life Just Gets So Busy

Sometimes I just get so focused on all my tasks that I don't even think beyond the daily and nightly list. This means there is no free thinking which means nothing to blog about. With Dena being out of work and the financial and emotional pressures that unemployment brings I've developed a new mantra. I say it every morning, "just keep moving". I know that if I just keep moving that eventually it will get better, right? Keep doing the list, keep brainstorming ideas, keep learning, keep moving forward, no matter how slowly and something will pop.

This reminds me of when I had finally had enough of the uncertainty at Mitel that I started my tree mantra. You start slowly by shaking trees, keep shaking and eventually the fruit will fall out in abundance. This bore out quite true with my landing at my current job. Shaking trees to me means touching base with all your contacts, researching and searching ideas, jobs and companies on the internet, developing new business ideas and basically just shaking trees.

So, for the past few months I've been living the "just keep moving" life.
Let's just keep moving and hope we move along to something better!

Left Brain vs Right Brain

I'm definitely a left brain and Dena is a right brain.

I thought you'd get a kick out a few interesting traits about left brained people:
Left brains are seen as "smarter" and tend to be:
- analytical,
- logical,
- sequential
They do things in the "proper" order and feel there is a proper order.
They tend to do well in reading, writing, speech and math. These subject areas have "sequential rules" and they respond to this. Lefts also naturally evaluate what's wrong and why it won't work. They are sensitive to flaws of self and others almost to the point of not being able to accept a person because of their flaws. They tend to not see the whole person but the flaw(s). The world is linear to them. The left-brained person doesn't see the end result and needs to go through the steps, one-by-one and sees the big picture when all the little steps are completed.

Right Brain Traits
Right brains are honored in eastern cultures more than western. They are seen as less smart because of the manner in which they process information. Rights don't go from Point A to Point B. Right brains don't like to listen to directions and don't like to read them. They scan quickly and figure out what to do without reading details. Reading directions carefully is a detailed activity for the left-brain.

How Rights Learn
Rights think and learn in visual, kinesthetic and audio images. They don't memorize well and need to visualize a picture so they can recall the facts. Abstract math is often not brain compatible. Their thoughts are frequently in code and they may have bizarre images in night dreams leaving them confused as to what they mean. When right brains talk to you, they look at you while listening and look away to the left when answering a question. This is a brain shift from one side to another. This is not a sign of fabrication. They are listening with one side and now switch over for the response. They are not creating an answer in an attempt to deceive.

Word Association
On a spelling test, a right brain hears the word "dog." Their mind wanders to the thought of the neighbor's dog which barked most of the night, that reminds them of the fact that the neighbors are in the Bahamas, which takes them to an island with palm trees and sandy beaches, which reminds them that they need a bathing suit for this weekend, which reminds them that they will need to take spending money... Teacher says, "Word #7 is house." Student raises hand and asks what word #6 was. They've checked out for a while.

Which brain are you?

To My Sister

We have something special
that belongs to you and me--
A deeper understanding
that we share instinctively,
A trusting kind of friendship
other people rarely share,
A way of always knowing
when the other needs us there...

We have something special,
and no matter what we do,
whether talking, lunching, shopping,
something wonderful shines through--
It's a special kind of love
on which the two of us depend,
It's the love between two sisters
who've become the best of friends.

Happy Birthday Sis

The Senate

Yesterday I was off my nut. I was listening to the 11 second sound bite about how Senator Jim Bunning from Kentucky was able to successfully hold off the 30 day extension of the Stimulus bill that extends unemployment benefits to Americans out of work as well as a few other programs. I had never emailed a Senator before but I did yesterday. Matter of fact, I emailed a bunch of them, every one I could think of. It was actually quite simple, you type into Google the Senators name and email, for example, Jim Bunning email address and pretty much the top hit is the .gov contact page for that person. You then fill in the email form and Bam, the email is done.

I told them to get off their collective asses and do something. I also told them that they are completely out of touch with the American people. Senator Bunning is a hall of fame MLB player and then was elected to the Senate. So, let me get this straight, he collects a pension and medical from the MLB Players Association, has his investments from his MLB career days, gets lifetime medical and a government pension forever as a senator, it seems to me that health care, retirement, and a steady income are not things that Senator Bunning has ever been concerned with. This is certainly true of all our elected Washington officials. Do you wonder why they are out of touch with our needs?

Did you know that a letter written to your govenor or other elected official represents 10,000 people aka opinions aka votes. An email represents 5,000. Be heard! And be heard loudly. How will they know what you want and how you feel about what they are doing if you don't tell them? You are a vote and let's face it, that's the most important thing to them. Just remember, there is a large percentage of Senators up for re-election in 2011 and they care about all those perks, limo to work, free lodging, food, money, power......all those things we don't have.

Here are some valuable links:
Contacting Congress, what is there name and what's their address? --> http://www.contactingthecongress.org/
Senators and an interesting look at Classes --> http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
How to Email your Governor --> http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Governors.shtml
How much does your senator make not including perks?
Members of the U.S. Senate in 2009 receive a salary of $174,000 per year. Those who are leaders in the Senate (majority and minority leaders, and the president pro tempore) earn more; in 2009 they earn $193,400. For an official document on senators' salaries since the beginning of Congress, follow this link:
http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/senate_salaries.htm

What other perks do they get after they leave? Here is an interesting article about a former Republican Speaker of the House.
http://coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=LatestNews.NewsStories&ContentRecord_id=fd2b3d27-802a-23ad-4f15-0bc3d6299d6c

Canadian Rapper Classified Does O Canada

Makes Me So Proud

I've Decided to Do It

Despite the economy or because of it, I've finally decided to move forward and file for my American Citizenship, I've been eligible for years but have dragged my feet for a variety of reasons, one of them being jury duty. Who wants to do that? The second reason was the $795 filing fee but the main reason was this section on the form that I couldn't imagine how I could get right.

The section of the citizenship form I'm referring to is where you have to fill in the # of days you have been out of the US of A since you received your green card and what day you exited and re-entered. Well, for somebody who stays home and watches soap operas all day this is very simple, but for a world traveller like me, it's rather challenging, especially considering those bastards at United Mileage Plus do not offer records past one year old online. I called them today asking for the last 10 years. I got some chick in India who told me to send a letter to Rapid City Iowa. I'm sure that letter would be filed in the trash.

In steps Google. You gotta love the internet and Google. Up popped a helpful little government website with information regarding the FOIA (Freedom of Information Act). I filled in a form (G-639 ) that allows you to request this of the USCIS (basically Homeland Security aka US Citizenship and Immigration Services). Sort of ironic don't you think? That I have to request my exit and entry dates from the same agency that needs them to process my citizenship papers.

So, I just emailed them a notarized G-639 form. Can you imagine, you can email the US government? I'll keep you posted on how this moves along. I cannot file my N400 form (Application for Naturalization) until I get this form back but at least I've made a step. I'm excited now actually, because rumor on the forums is that the current wait time for citizenship is down to 3 months. This is an incredibly short period in the history of the process so the time is now. Rumor has it that applications are down because the economy sucks and the filing fee is so high, no one can afford it.

Happy Anniversary

Five continents and 19 years of adventure mark this day, February 16th, Dena and I's anniversary. As my mind cruises over the memories I cannot help but smile. We've journeyed across oceans and continents, through hardship and joy and with family and friends while our love has continued to grow. Sure there have been tough times, one of those times being now, but these blips in our history only serve to strengthen our love and commitment to each other.

I knew when I first saw you standing on the stairway landing in Mammoth Lakes that you were the one. I was excited, nervous and terrified. It's surreal to think that we've moved through our thirties and forties together. What will our remaining decades hold? Truth be told it doesn't really matter as there is no one I'd rather live life with except you my love.

Ode to our Lovebird

Coming into our lives in 1992, Ginghi was just a fledgling from her parents, Herbie and Vanna. Dena named her Ginghi as it means red head in Hebrew. She was our first bird and we were probably bad parents, feeding her only seed her entire life. That never stopped her however, and Avian vets, bird stores, the birdie hotel and other birders always remarked that she was the oldest lovebird they had ever seen.

Ginghi was full of piss and vinegar right from the beginning and her first adventure was while her mom's were away vacationing in Hawaii. She was entrusted to the care of a dear friend and Ginghi bit her. Our friend freaked out, screamed and her big rottweiler picked Ginghi right out of mid air. Fortunately, the rottweiler was trained and a quick drop command and Ginghi was summarily spit out. Ginghi never missed a beat recovering quickly and none the worse for wear.

Several years ago she started to grow a tumor near her groin area. The tumor quickly got larger and grew to the size of a golf ball. Off to the Avian vet we went and the first vet said that since she was 16 years old she probably wouldn't live too much longer and we should put her down. Undaunted and unconvinced we got a second opinion and soon we were examining her x-rays. There is nothing funnier than seeing your little bird splayed out on film as the Avian vet says it took 4 vet techs to hold her down. The tumor was surgically removed and she didn't even need a cone. I was sort of looking forward to photographing my little cone head but the vet said she wasn't picking at it and was up and running around biting the vet tech minutes after the anesthesia wore off. Powerful females run in our family.

Ginghi had the personality the size of a Macaw, greeting us every morning with her whistles, guarding the house at night being a good watch birdie, she missed absolutely nothing. She enjoyed swinging in the sunlight during the warm summer days and the joy she brought to us will be sorely missed. She went out in a big way giving her mom Dena a last good hard love bite to remember her by.

Garbage Disposals

I have a real problem with garbage disposals. We've had nothing but issues with our garbage disposal and pipes in the kitchen since we moved in 16 years ago to our house. Before that, I seem to remember issues with the condo surrounding the garbage disposal. I hate them.

Where I grew up in Canada we never had a garbage disposal. We put the egg shells and coffee grounds in the vegetable garden, left over meat products went to the fox, veggie waste to the raccoons and bears and fat was either saved for frying later or put out for the chickadees in winter. They need fat to keep warm in those 40 below temperatures.

Why would I write to you now about garbage disposals? Dena loves garbage disposals. She seems to believe that everything should go down them. One time she put about 2 pounds of left over cooked halibut down our disposal. Sure, it ground it up fine but it glued itself to the pipes requiring an emergency plumbing call. You have never smelt anything so nasty as halibut that's been sitting in the pipes for over 30 hours. It came out looking like a granite mining core but smelling much worse.

I discovered our latest incident when the washer drain started overflowing onto our new kitchen floor. Since we recently had our kitchen redone all the old corroded galvanized pipes were replaced with nice new wide PVC with our contractor routing them for optimum slideage of sludge. I thought our (aka my) problems were over. Being that we're saving every penny I bought a drain router kit in lieu of calling a plumber. What a filthy job that was. After much rootering I pulled out about two cups of....wait for it.......................................brussel sprouts.

My dear readers, do not put lettuce, onions, or any skins down your garbage disposal because all these leafy type things do is stick to the side of your pipes like the cholesterol in your arteries clogging and narrowing the flow. Just don't do it.

Below are a couple websites to encourage you to find other ways of disposing of waste:
Being green
proper care and feeding

My Eyeballs....

Back in 2001 when I had my laser eye surgery I was 20/2000. Basically, I couldn't see shit, near or far. It was a problem and an inconvenience in so many ways and having the surgery changed my life. As I left the doctor's office that fateful day I was told that this is not a cure for what surely will come in your 40's, reading glasses. I put that out of my mind and revelled in my new freedom.

The inevitable has been approaching faster than I'd like to admit. I don't know if it's constantly staring at the computer, just age or if it's hereditary but it's here. I cannot see anything up close without reading glasses. In 2009 I tried "cheaters". 3 for $20 at Costco. But alas they just gave me a headache. A trip to the eye doctor and two pairs of reading glasses later I suppose I'm better off. But to what end?

This morning as I stared at my face wondering what facial creme would stop the progress of wrinkles I realized that I couldn't read the ingredients and instructions on the lotion bottle. I grabbed a bottle of advil in desperation, I couldn't read that either. Flashes of having to wear my reading glasses on a string around my neck went through my brain. Then more flashes of having to put reading glasses in every room.

This all came on the heels of going out for dinner last Saturday night and having to put the menu down and saying, "you order". My mom does that. Now I know why. It's because she cannot read the damn menu! I'm depressed....