Trixie of Deadwood

I really miss Deadwood. It was one of the best shows on television. I have no idea why such good shows are created only to be taken off after a couple of seasons while the silliest shows on TV seem to stay on for. ev. er. Oh well. I guess people like the simpler shows.

One of the best characters was Trixie. She was played by Paula Malcomson. She was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland on November 30, 1999. She seems older than that to me for some reason.

I don't want what I can't have.
Trixie

Cool New MySpace Service

If you are into MySpace (and most people are!) there's a really cool new service you can use to personalize your MySpace page. Peerspin is a great free service that makes it very simple to spice up your MySpace with gadgets and themes.

They have over fifty applications and games ready to be put on your page. They also have over fifty home page themes. You can use Peerspin applications to replace the video ads on your home page. You can build a music playlist. The playlist is as easy as clicking an 'add' button when you visit other people's profiles.

Among other things you can send glitter text and create custom cards to send to your friends without having to do a lot of cutting and pasting. You can use the same program to customize your messages in email or comments.

There are so many really awesome applications that you need to go over to their website and check it out for yourself. Fix up your MySpace page like no one else. Find out how at Peerspin!

John McCain Does Barbra Streisand

Hey - at least we know we aren't electing an 'Entertainer and Chief'!

"I've been in politics for over 20 years. And for over 20 years, I've had Barbra Streisand trying to do my job; so I decided to try my hand at HER job."

You have to love a man who can laugh at himself. I don't think anyone will be paying to see John McCain singing any time soon, anymore than anyone will be wanting to hear any more of BaBa Streisand's political views. Hopefully he'll quit singing and she'll quit pontificating on issues she is ill-informed about. BTW, I've heard that Streisand demands to have rose petals in her toilet bowl. Its hard to take someone seriously who requires 'her people' to keep fresh rose petals in her toilet bowl.

Slinglings Baby Slings

Slinglings has the cutest baby slings!! Slinglings is a Seattle home-based business that specializes in baby slings and carriers.

They offer a large variety of fabrics so you can pick something that is right for you. Aside from the stylish fabrics, these baby slings are padded for comfort and are easy to slip on and off. You don't have to worry about Velcro, ties or buckles. You can even get a matching one for dolls. If you have a little one, he or she can carry her doll around while mommy carries the baby.

I really wish they had these when my babies were little!

Parenting Job Description!

PARENT

POSITION: Mom, Mommy, Mama, Ma Dad, Daddy, Dada, Pa, Pop

JOB DESCRIPTION:

Long term, team players needed, for challenging Permanent work in an often chaotic environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call. Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities! Travel expenses not reimbursed. Extensive courier duties also required.

EXPECTATIONS/RESPONSIBILITIES:

The rest of your life. Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs $5. Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf. Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets, stuck zippers, And third grade math. Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects. Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks. Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next. Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product. Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT; PROMOTION:

None. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE:

None required unfortunately. On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis..

WAGES AND COMPENSATION:

Get this! You pay them! Offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent. When you die, you give them whatever is left. The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

BENEFITS:

While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered; this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth, unconditional love, and free hugs and kisses for life if you play your cards right..

Forward this on to all the PARENTS you know, in appreciation for everything they do on a daily basis, letting them know t hey are appreciated for the fabulous job they do ... o r forward with love to anyone thinking of applying for the job.

** AND A FOOTNOTE?

THERE IS NO RETIREMENT -- EVER!!! **

If you are fortunate enough you will become grandparents

There Are Uses for Dogs in the House

Dogs serve many purposes. They protect us, love us unconditionally and do stupid things that make us laugh.

They have a lot of faults. They stink things up, rub up against the wall and leave marks that have to be scrubbed off, drool on the carpet, nudge the back of the newspaper when you are trying to read it and much, much more.

Tonight I found another good reason to put up with all the aggravation they cause though.

If you drop a raw egg on the floor and have to go across the kitchen to get some paper towels, wet them and come back to clean it up. By the time you get back to the refrigerator to clean up the egg, the dogs have already cleaned it up for you. Shell and all.

They'll stand there licking their lips with innocent looks on their faces and believe they have tricked you into believing they didn't lick up the egg. You will semi-scold them but secretly be happy they licked it all up.

They do have their uses.

A Better Way to Find a Date

I know a lot of people who are turning to the internet to find companionships and dates. I think more and more people are doing that because of the difficulty in finding the 'right' person while working and/or going to school full time. There are a lot of dating sites out there, so how do you know which is the best for you?

Primedatingsites.com is a great site for sorting out where to go on the internet to find the right guy (or girl) for you. It is a singles dating site that reviews other dating sites on the web. That way you just have to go to one place to get a good idea of what the other sites have to offer you. They have reviews of sites like eHarmony, Perfect Match and Chemistry.com

If you are looking for a prime date, you might want to start at Primedatingsites.com.

A Marine and His Iraqi Dog

Major Brian Dennis was serving in Iraq when a local dog took up with him. The dog's ears had been cut off when it was a pup so Major Dennis named him Nub. Nub came around for months and obviously liked hanging out with the Marines. One day Major Dennis found a deep puncture wound on Nub. It had been inflicted on Nub with a screwdriver. Dennis and the other Marines nursed Nub back to health. No wonder Nubs loves his Marines and was willing to do whatever he had to do to find them when their unit was relocated .....

Major Brian Dennis, while serving in Iraq, found a dog who had his ears cut off as a pup and named the little guy nubs.

Over a period of months, the animal came around, befriending Dennis and his fellow Marines. During one visit, Dennis found Nubs with a deep puncture wound on his left side. He later learned the injury was inflicted by a screwdriver. He helped nurse the dog back to health.

The time came, however, for Dennis' unit to relocate 70 miles from Nubs' home fort. Keeping nubs was against the rules so he had to leave the dog behind. As always, Nubs sprinted alongside the Hummers as they pulled away for what Dennis assumed was the last time he would see the dog.

Two days later, Nubs wandered inexplicably in below-freezing conditions into Dennis' new camp, shocking the Marine unit. "I won't even address the gauntlet he had to run of dog packs, wolves, and God knows what else to get here," Dennis wrote. "When he arrived he looked like he'd just been through a war zone."

Nubs' miraculous journey forced the Marine's hand, and Dennis and his fellow Marines unanimously decided to keep the animal, building a doghouse at the camp. When two military police officers told Dennis the dog could not stay at the camp, he decided the only way to properly keep the animal was to get it to the United States.

After raising money and setting up a home with a friend back in the states, Nubs will arrive in the US this weekend.

Read the rest of the story here.

BUPA Health Portal and Product Site

Blogging is great in so many ways, but it hasn't done my figure a bit of good. I'm sitting too much so I'm having to take control of the situation and set aside time every day to work out so that I can stay in shape. I'm also studying up on health related issues at the BUPA website.

I like the BUPA site because it has a wealth of information about health related issues. There are literally hundreds of articles covering every imaginable illness or health issue that you might be interested in learning more about.

They also offer a wide range of health care products that can be bought on line. They offer every thing from vitamins to Blood Pressure Monitors to TENS Machines and every thing in between. I'm interested in their exercise aids, such as exercise balls and exercise mats.

Children See, Children Do

This powerful and thought provoking video was produced by an Australian children’s rights organization to bring attention to the role modeling adults provide for children. It really does make you stop and think about your behavior. Its certainly something to think about.

Worrying About Identity Theft

There's been a lot of talk lately about identity theft. Sometimes I worry that I take my security about that too much for granted. I have never had a problem with it personally, so I don't think about it unless something is brought to my attention.

Recently, we have been getting bills for someone who doesn't live here. There are enough of them that I finally understood that someone was using our address to get credit cards and then spending to the limits on the cards. I sat down one afternoon and called all of the companies involved to let them know that they were being scammed and this person didn't live here. The bills stopped for a while. What has been interesting to me is now I'm getting credit offers in the same name as that person. In other words, the computers are spitting out credit offers for this person that had reneged on the bills she had run up a couple of years ago.

That whole situation got me to thinking about how easy someone can use someone else's name, address and identifying information to get credit. It would be a real problem if this person had actually used more than just our address. I went looking on the internet for information about identity theft and found some really good and informative articles at CreditLoan.

CreditLoan has a ton of information on a wide variety of financial issues. They cover issues on getting credit, fixing bad credit, mortgages, debt consolidation, bankruptcy, personal loans and much more.

I found their information on mortgages informative. I like to keep up with whether or not its a good time to refinance my mortgage, whether or not the costs of refinancing are worth the lower interest rate and the like.

That is only one small part of the information that is available at the website. They have articles, information and resources about Bankruptcy, bad credit loans, auto loans, debt consolidation and just about every other type loan you can think of.

CreditLoan offers information on loan calculations and how to get a free credit report.

Its always good to stay informed and this website certainly helps you find the resources you need to stay informed regarding your finances.

A Certain Level of Insanitiy Can be a Good Thing

20 Ways to Maintain A Healthy Level Of Insanity

1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.

2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't Disguise Your Voice.

3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, ask If They Want Fries with that.

4. Put Your Garbage Can On Your Desk And Label it 'In'.

5. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks Once Everyone has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso.

6. In The Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write ' For Smuggling Diamonds'.

7. Finish All Your sentences with 'In Accordance With The Prophecy'.

8. Don't use any punctuation.

9. As Often As Possible, Skip Rather Than Walk.

10. Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.

11. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is 'To Go'

12. Sing Along At The Opera.

13. Go To A Poetry Recital. And Ask Why The Poems Don't Rhyme?

14. Put Mosquito Netting Around Your Work Area and Play tropical Sounds All Day.

15. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their Party Because You're Not In the Mood.

16. Have Your Co-workers Address You By Your Wrestling Name, Rock Bottom.

17. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream 'I Won! I Won!'

18. When Leaving The Zoo, Start Running Towards The Parking lot, Yelling 'Run For Your Lives! They're Loose!'

19. Tell Your Children Over Dinner, 'Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go.'

20. And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity ... pass this along ...

Ever Wonder What the Big Blogs Make Blogging?

BusinessWeek exposes some of the blogging success stories out there. It is proof positive that our mutual obsession with blogging can actually turn into decent income if we are so inclined.

Eric Nakagawa, a software developer in Hawaii, posted a single photo of a fat, smiling cat he found on the Internet, with the caption, "I can has cheezburger?" in January, 2007, at a Web site he created. It was supposed to be a joke. Soon after he posted a few more images in the same vein: cute cats with funny captions written in a silly, invented hybrid of Internet shorthand and baby-talk. Then he turned the site into a blog, so that visitors could comment on the postings. What happened after that would have been hard for anyone to predict.

"We just thought, O.K., they're funny,"Nakagawa says. "Suddenly we started getting hits. I was like, where are these coming from?"

I had no idea that blog just started in January! Their hits doubled each month and at this point is getting 500,000 hits per day! Those hits translate into income, if from nothing else than the ads on the site.

Like pretty much the rest of us, the 'big money blogs' started their blogs as a hobby and saw them grow into big income. BusinessWeek refers to them as accidental entrepreneurs. Here are some examples of what the 'big money blogs' are making ...

BoingBoing is the big boy of blogs (no surprise there), with 22 million page views from 2.6 million unique visitors PER DAY! (I have a way to go to reach those numbers! LOL) Income is estimated at over $1 million per year.

I Can Has Cheezburger? (mentioned above) averages $5,600 in monthly income.

ShoeMoney can buy a lot of shoes with the money he's making on his blog. Actually, ShoeMoney is the brainchild of Jeremy Schoemaker and brings in 20,000 unique visitors per day translating into a $12,000 per month income. Schoemaker has other internet businesses such as auctionads. He says he works online about 30 minutes a day. I want me one of those checks he's holding up!!

Overheard in New York has 6 million page views per month and an estimated $8,100 monthly revenue.

Kottke.org limits ads on his site intentionally preferring to focus on good service to a smaller group of readers. He earns $5,300 per month with one ad on his site.

TalkingPointsMemo gets $45,000 per month.

Perez Hilton gets $110,000 per month.

Gothamist generates about 7 million page views per month with an income of between $50,000 and $60,000 per month.

TechCrunch earns $200,000 per month.

Go Fug Yourself was a site started by two friends for the sole purpose of mocking celebrity fashion. They are now mocking the celebs full time with $6,420 in monthly income.

Mashable has 4 million page views per month and generates $116,000 per month.

Problogger doesn't disclose details of his income, but claims over 6 figures per year. So we know its over $100,000 per year. I'm betting that's an extremely low estimate.

Michelle Malkin and Hot Air has over 220,000 hits per day. She claims her blog and vblog (Hot Air) operate at a slight loss due to the necessity for high end servers to handle traffic surges. She says her income is primarily through her print media articles. Hmmm ...... Okay. Although, I admit I've only recently been seeing more ads on her blog.

Well, if that doesn't give you some encouragement to keep doing what your doing, I don't know what will. I do believe that the main factor in having a successful blog (however you define success) is that you enjoy it and you write about what you are interested in and know.

Happy blogging!

Joan Van Ark’s HOLY COW Plastic Surgery

Joan Van Ark of Knots Landing fame has made a mess of trying to look 20 when she is, in fact, 64 years old. This is proof positive that any benefits from cosmetic surgery can be taken too far. Aside from the fact she looks like a skeleton, she also looks like a cadaver. Her painted on eyebrows, too heavy eye make-up and caked-on make-up is off-set by a complete lack of lipstick. Did they bring her to this event straight from the morgue?

Hey, none of us LIKE getting older, but we do. Having some wrinkles and sagging can't look any worse than THIS!

Elvis Quote

How Was Your Cereal This Morning?

Enjoy :)

How to Make a Celebrity

Created by Aviary. I don't think she's that gorgeous - but its cool to watch it being done .....

Doll Face

Videos by Andrew Huang | More VMIX videos
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Doll Face by Andrew Huang.

I Got Some More Pictures From My Son's Wedding

I've managed to get my hands on a few more pictures from my son's wedding last December. The pictures I posted before are here. The photographer is my daughter-in-law's sister's boyfriend (there has to be an easier way of saying that!). His website is CB_PIC_ART. I think he did a fantastic job with the photos. He took over 400 (if I didn't misunderstood them since they were talking in German combined with broken English). I want to see them all, but I'm so far away I'm having to take them as I can get them!

They were married at the Schloss Thiergarten. It was built in 1725 as the hunting lodge for Margrave Friedrich. When we took a tour of the Plassenburg castle, which was built in 1135 for Bishop Otto of Bamberg, we learned that at some point the line of the Hohenzollern family that had inhabited the castle for generations ended. Therefore, another branch of the family that had control the area around Berlin sent a cousin down to take control of Plassenburg castle and all the surrounding fiefdom. That was Margrave Friedrich and his wife Wilhelmine who was a sister of Frederick the Great of Prussia.

Well, Friedrich and Wilhelmine thought they'd come to the end of the earth in this, what was then, remote 'country' place. Even though its one of the largest, if not the largest, castles in Germany (I can't remember), they didn't like staying there. They were city people after all. To make matters worse, they didn't particularly like each other. So Wilhelmine spent a lot of time in nearby Bayreuth and spent an enormous amount of money building some of the most ornate and beautiful buildings in the Franconia (now Bavaria). She had the Bayreuth Opera House built. We were allowed to spend about $20 per person to spend about five minutes in the opera house while we were there. It is spectacular, even though very expensive for a walk through. Wagner played there but thought it was too small for his music.

Another of the properties Wilhelmine built was the Schloss Thiergarten (Schloss is German for Castle. I *think* Thiergarten is 'the garden' - so that would be the Castle of the Garden (or since they word things backward from us it would be 'The Garden Castle') - if you speak German please don't make fun of me!). We were told in our tour of Schloss Plassenburg that Schloss Thiergarten was built as a hunting lodge for Wilhelmine's husband, the Margrave Friedrich. I imagine she liked having him busy doing his thing there so she could do her thing in some of the residences she had built in Bayreuth.

Now. That HAS to be more than you wanted to know about that little hunting lodge castle. So on with the pictures ....

Michi was having a good time .....

Fingerpaint

How cool is this photo? I have a whole set of finger painting art similar to this. I'll upload them from time to time just because they are cool.