water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink

it was so pretty yesterday. a friend from work and i took a walk along the spit. the tide must have turned just after we got there, because we walked quite a ways, and talked, and when we turned around, there was a sand bar visible and a little island. it was cool!

and i slept better last night than i have in weeks! i may have to make this a regular thing!

the 5th dimension sings...

wow! is that a cool picture or what?!

pixar's new movie, Up, tells about a house which gets lifted into the air by a huge bunch of balloons and the adventure takes off.

this article analyzes whether it would truly be possible to do that. it's an interesting concept but they don't touch on what kind of/how strong the strings would have to be. to me that is just as interesting. i mean, with that many balloons would ordinary string work? would it have to be as strong as spider web string? does altitude make a difference?

fairy tales are so much simpler than science.

true crime -- small town beat

May 21: A prior deportee from the U.S. re-entered the country illegally again along the railroad tracks. He was immediately intercepted by U.S. Border Patrol agents who were assisted by police officers. He was arrested and transported to Border Patrol for processing.

May 21: A long-term care facility called police when an elderly resident attempted to flee from her caregivers. The lady was ignoring the pleas and instructions of the caregivers around her. She only gave up her escape attempt when she was unable to push the wheels of her walker over the tops of the arriving police officer’s uniform shoes out on the sidewalk. Facility staff coordinated with the hospital’s mental health unit to have the lady admitted to the hospital for her own safety. Officers gave her a courtesy ride to the hospital, and into the hands of caregivers there.

May 21: A resident called police to report that her car had been vandalized. Officers responded and investigated. They discovered that what looked like scratches on the car’s hood were actually the collision skid marks from high velocity bees slip-sliding through the pollen dust on the car’s finish. The pollen was removed, and with it the offending skid marks.

god's country

what a beautiful day! there's a soft breeze, the curtains are gently flared away from the windows, the sun is coming up in a cloud-less sky, there's a hush except for a couple of happy birds.

this is a day to go for a walk on the spit. and i should probably go right now before it gets hot or peopled except that i'm going to enjoy this loveliness reading a book and having a quiet breakfast.

one with nature for sure.

joe friday

well, this is curious. i just found out the feds are watching my blog. i'm not sure why they are, but have i been out-of-line here? i don't recall ever saying anything against the government or giving away any secrets. i don't even know any secrets.

and i doubt anyone would get the idea i'm sleeping with the canadians or asians or bad guys. i mean, i rarely have a nice word to say about anyone but americans.

most of the people i interact with at work don't blog or spend much time on the computer, maybe because they're older. i know a couple of the younger people have blogs although i haven't looked at them.

and i have wondered why i've NEVER seen anything in any of the training we've had that says to watch your step if you have a blog. it's made me wonder if the higher-ups are even aware that blogs could potentially be a bad thing.

and now they're looking at me. *sigh*

behave yourself

WOW! that was an interesting 25 minutes!!

i was sitting here doing the mahjong thing and kept hearing these insistent voices. i mean, this is a quiet neighborhood. so i finally got up and looked outside to the house next door where some new people just moved in -- nothing.

so i turned my head and BAM! sitting next to my curb were three police cars complete with armed policemen one of whom was carrying a rifle with scope, two border patrol cars with agents armed and kevlared, a k-9 unit with beautiful dog, an unmarked car with serious-looking coordinator, our street blocked off with yellow tape, and in just a little bit a firetruck and a rescue unit. whoa!!

there was a 30-ish blond buxom female being hysterical in the backseat of the police car and the rescue unit was headed for her.

i couldn't tell what was going on and may not ever hear what the deal was, but several policeman were walking to a house just around the corner which i understand has been the source of husband-beating-the-wife in the past x-months. my speculation is maybe she killed him. would serve the bastard right.

some of the vehicles have gone, but some are still waiting. between the excitement and the scary factor, whoa again!

fairy tales

well, billy goat gruff is officially retired from work. and he's taking his sweetie of a wife and moving to the south side of a local island where he can put his boat in the water and sail off into the sunset. they got a great deal on a house in that small town and i'm sure they're going to love their new digs, albeit with making changes to said house, left and right.

he had a great smile and good sense of humor even though he could get riled up about stuff in no time at all. he could hold a grudge and get back at people with the best of them. but he was really smart and i enjoyed bantering with him.

all the best billy!

nefarious people

my ex-boss is at it again! what a brat! she retired in january and thinks now she can just do as she pleases!

she came out to work yesterday wearing cropped pants! and you remember the last time she showed up she was wearing jeans! blue jeans!

honestly, the woman has no shame, flaunting her independence and showing she's bound by no rules! but hey -- it doesn't bother us. we don't talk about it more than 6 or 7 times exclaiming that she's a rascal with her machiavellian ways. i mean, really ... it's no big deal.

where's my kleenex?

the white rabbit

my time is not my own anymore! i mean, that happens when you get married and start a family, but at my age? when i really ought to have stayed retired? (except that i like exercising my brain at work.)

but there you have it. there's just no time to play on the computer, or do a crossword puzzle with the husband, or sew the grandaughter a dress, or do my blog. but what can i change? dah-dum, dee-dum .... get rid of the husband? quit my job? stop reading my books? well, those ideas are simply anathema to me so i'll carry on. maybe if i throw away this clock....

all the news...

wow -- there's so much to get caught up on ....

one of our little group went to the hospital two weeks ago doubled over in pain. they thought it was appendicitis, then something else, then decided at last that it was diverticulitis. and they operated.

he finally got to come back to work for three hours today. he lost 25 pounds and wasn't overweight to begin with. it was good to see him back and hopefully he will progress just as quickly as he expects to. then in about a month, if he's in good shape, they have to operate again!! that surgery will allow them to dispense with the bag he has to wear now. we're all hoping that it proceeds as a textbook case and that he's back to normal in no time!

in the meantime, for the rest of us, a high fiber diet is the key to staying away from that condition.

in other news my recently-retired big boss came by the other day. she looked great!! but -- the rascal was wearing blue jeans!! sure, rub our noses in it, missy ....

and, to my surprise, i worked 25 hours overtime last payperiod (80 hrs + 25). i was so busy i didn't even realize it was that much. it has been just grueling lately, trying to complete deadlines, attending to insistent visitors, trying to accommodate the new big boss, and keeping up with my changing duties. it's been exhausting. and even though a new break-in period like this comes with confusion and change, all too often the big guys forget how much they depend on the little guys, thus they can easily over-look that the little guys are being worn down to the nubbins. hey, pay attention....

one final note -- we got to see the grandaughter and her parents last weekend!! it was an especially nice treat because our son announced they're expecting another baby! joy abounds!!

lighten up!

a good friend sent me this link to a very very fun happening!

i remembered it was probably the improv everywhere group and went to their website to see what they've been up to lately. (after looking through their site, i think it must not have been them. or at least not that branch.)

check this out -- it's pretty neat!

and this is hilarious (reach out and touch someone...)

(the one with no pants is pretty funny, too!)

there are lots more on http://improveverywhere.com -- i just wish they'd come close to us. i want to play!!!

H5N1? No ... H1N1

first the avian flu, now swine flu.

they are discouraging people from going to mexico because swine flu is killing people there, but it is spreading beyond that country. there are two cases just across the border in british columbia, 28 cases in new york city, 7 in california, and so on.

those of us who don't travel should be okay, except those who do travel bring it back with them. hopefully i and mine will be able to avoid the outbreak, but it may take some smart thinking.

for now, be sure to wash your hands a lot, and keep your hands away from your eyes, nose, and mouth. partake in a little exercise, a little laughter, adequate sleep, and a balanced diet with lots of fiber. if you decide to stay inside and read a book, rather than go to the mall or another crowded location, so be it.

(numbers)
(map -- purple:confirmed, pink:suspect, no dot:death, yellow:negative)

welcome!

i am delighted to share that one of our computer gurus had a baby! well, his wife did, actually. little andrew raymond b. joined us last tuesday weighing 7 lbs 3 oz. i thought he wasn't going to show up until early may, but here he is!

congrats all the way around!!!

doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo ...

well, now -- this is interesting! i particularly liked the third set of photographs, about the moving rocks. cool!

you heepum big chief, me heepum little guy

our new big boss is supposed to arrive next week. the interim boss has been making enemies left and right with wild abandon, so it will be interesting to see what the new guy is like. everyone is expecting to like him. in the meantime, lots and lots of drama continues. i've managed to stay out of the line of fire, especially since i'm on the bottom of the totem pole, but whoa .... lots of things going on up above. i never thought i'd be so glad to just be a little guy!

i want to be there

i was on this busy downtown street and decided to go down a side street. it was a lot less populated. then i saw angelina jolie and brad pitt playing with their kids in front of a multi-story building while various neighborhood people did their own thing, not bothering the famous people. it was a nice typical small-town scene and i liked it. then somehow the dream changed and there were two babies and two mommas inside a house and i was helping with the babies (everything was serious and dark and one of the babies cried a lot), but then i went outside and was looking at flowers along the front sidewalk with my husband and couple of other people when five serious-looking men walked up. they said they wanted to see the house and i said just a minute and poked my nose in the front door (of a completely different house from the one i’d walked out of) asking our friend the owner if he knew about people wanting to see the house. he said, “see if the agents will stay out while the buyers come in” and i thought ‘huh???’, then he and his wife started madly gathering up toys and stuff, grabbing two of the three dogs and making their way toward the back of the house, gathering as they went. i turned to the people and said, “do you agents want to wait here while the others go on inside?” and the agents looked at me like ‘don’t be a total stupid idiot.’ so then, followed by everyone, i turned and went inside, grabbing the collar of the great dane and two of his huge play toys and made my way to the back of the house where everyone else was just heading out the back door. i went out the door and .... wow! it was a gorgeous winter day with about three feet of snow on everything and tons of people outside merrily enjoying the snow and sun. there was park land on both sides of the street and many people were skiing down the sloped street to the bottom, so i went into the street and started skate-skiing with only my boots. it worked perfectly!! i gently skied down the street, totally enjoying the freedom, totally relaxed, and totally marveling that i’d never done this before. people were talking on the sidewalks, and gathered on decks and porches -- there was a lovely gather-the-humanity-and-let’s-party feeling to the day. when i got to the bottom, i walked back up the sidewalk, noticing one fellow and his friends on a second-story deck just after they had hit a golf ball and were watching it soar, and i was wondering how they were going to be able to see it unless it was painted one of those phosphorescent colors. then i went out in the street to continue walking back up the hill along with everyone else. some young guy and his girlfriend said “where are your skis” and i said “i used my boots but i need to get a pair of those things (his poles).” they smiled and went on, but i turned around to ski again, suddenly realizing i had walked too far. it was a very steep slope at that point, so i walked back down to a more appropriate level and started to ski again when some wicked voice in my head said, “picture this: you’re skiing along and hit pavement or a rough spot and then go flying end-over-end. you’d get hurt.” at that point i woke up, but what a shame to have that lovely experience left on a stern note of joy-kill.

yumyumyummy

the husband sent me an article talking about corned beef (which we had the other night) and something got a little mixed up in the transfer. here is part of the article:

"Corned beef, also called corned beef brisket, is a popular meat item which hearkens back to the days before refrigeration. Faced with the challenge of preserving fresh meat for the winter season, butchers would routinely pack beefbeefbeef or pork products in salt to prevent the formation of bacteria and mold. Meats like beefbeefbeef brisket could also be pickled in a spicy, salty brine. At one time, the word corn referred to a number of kernels or seeds, including the coarse salt granules packed around the brisket. Thus the meat was called 'cornedcornedcorned' beefbeefbeef in reference to the corns of salt. Even after modern refrigeration and preservation methods rendered brining and pickling obsolete, cornedcornedcorned beefbeefbeef continued to grow in popularity among the Jewish and Irish immigrants moving into New York City during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Specialized stores and restaurants called delicatessens served hot cornedcornedcorned beefbeefbeef sandwiches to a wide variety of customers."

i guess maybe they shortened the term to make room on their billboards! ha!

don't get sick ....

oh good grief -- they're at it again.

the latest computer problem is a malware called Mebroot. it messes with the boot record and you get it by going to a perfectly legitimate site which has been infected. once it's on your computer, it can access anything on your computer. oopsie. a really big no-no. make sure your security stuff is up-to-date.

and remember the conficker worm? here is a simple test you can do to see if you've been infected. go to http://www.confickerworkinggroup.org/infection_test/cfeyechart.html and see if you can see 6 little pictures. if not, read the legend below the pictures. i'm good. thank goodness!

one for the little guy

i just had a nice surprise. one of my favorite e-mail-pals sent me this. i enjoyed watching it, especially since it happened 4 days ago, and because the gal is scottish!!

at any rate, she's had a fairly sheltered life, and to see her step right up and belt away was neat. i found this comment on one blog. and this on another. but i particularly like this one.

way to go, susan!!

oh, don't pay any attention to me

do you use a pin and make withdrawals at an atm machine? be afraid -- be very afraid.

hackers have finally found a way to successfully breach the up-til-now fairly secure world of atm security. this article gives the details, which i encourage you to read. but this paragraph really caught my eye:

"PIN hacks hit consumers particularly hard, because they allow thieves to withdraw cash directly from the consumer's checking, savings or brokerage account, Sartin says. Unlike fraudulent credit card charges, which generally carry zero liability for the consumer, fraudulent cash withdrawals that involve a customer's PIN can be more difficult to resolve since, in the absence of evidence of a breach, the burden is placed on the customer to prove that he or she didn't make the withdrawal."

for some reason, each time we tried to start using a pin, we were unsuccessful (for whatever reason) and finally quit trying. yeah, i know -- hard to believe, isn't it. we actually can get along without atm withdrawals!!

at any rate, i'm glad we were never successful. that's one less scam we have to worry about. and considering the quote above, that could be a pretty big worry! be careful, everyone!