well, it's this way. well, no, this way. well,

so how do you feel about bp? my thoughts can't be put out there, but i do want to share the tidbit i found this morning. pretty clever! and mst 3000 is right in there!

let's move

where should you raise your kids? there are always a number of factors to consider, but if health and well-being are number one with you, move to new hampshire.

yep, new hampshire is first, minnesota second and vermont third. nebraska is 9th, washington state 11th, south dakota 26th, okahoma 44th, and new mexico 46th.

how can kansas be 13th, texas be 34th, and oklahoma be 44th?

doesn't necessarily make sense, but interesting anyhow. and i always thought new hampshire looked like it'd be a neat place to live.

old world beauty

i love looking at this website at pictures of scotland. some of them are curious, some are artistic, some are beautiful (well, not the fly), and some are intriguing, but they almost always make me very very happy.

oh good grief

it's a beautiful day outside, the temps are in the low 70s, there's a 2 mph whisper of air drifting by.

in spite of all that goodness, i'm dismayed/disgusted/perturbed to read about the bad guys who lurk/pounce/attack any way they can. to wit:
1) be alert to older friends who seem to become dependent on someone they met online.
2) don't pay for charges on your credit card that you didn't make, even if it's only 20 cents, because someone somewhere is living high.
3) be careful about work-at-home online jobs.
4) pay your credit card bill completely every month and keep the late fees to yourself.
5) be careful about unsolicited phone calls.
6) know that revenge against you may be ignored.

bastards. all of them.

don't let the bed bugs b-.... ouch!

bed bugs, known to us all by the good-night ditty, apparently exist and are becoming more common. who thinks about bed bugs? i haven't ever thought about them and have never known anyone who's been bothered by them.

but they're becoming a real problem in this country, it seems. ohio and new york city sound like places to stay away from, as well as expensive hotels. if we didn't already have our plane tickets, i would be sorely tempted to stay home. no ... we're not staying in an expensive hotel, but still ...

bugs. yuck!

up, up, and away .... or down.

i've always been interested in airplanes, leading me to believe i must have been an angel in my former life.

or not.

at any rate, i usually like reading about airplanes. and since our upcoming trip is going to be the first time we've ever flown first class, i'm almost excited about the flight.

then i read this article. hmmmm, just about everyone in first class was killed.

it will be just my luck .....

and this article is actually pretty good at telling you how to be the best prepared you can be on a flight. for example, don't cross your ankles.

oh, look -- a wha ....

no, this picture isn't photoshopped. the whale took out the mast and swam away. the two boaters somehow limped back to shore and they were unharmed, but could have been killed if they'd been closer to the wrecked part of the boat. a near-by tourist took the pix. pretty amazing all around!

get out the ark

this is an interesting map -- it shows, or purports to show, the extent of rising water the world over. and it's curious how some places would get soaked and others wouldn't be much bothered. check out sacramento, for example. and at 14m, the olympics are on their way to becoming their own island. intriguing.

how many?

this is interesting, and i got the right answer, but i knew what was going to happen. is it realistic to think people are always going to notice everything?

commercials

funny

thoughtful

beautiful

best expression

light-hearted

silly

cool

dramatic

interesting

one of my all-time favs

Ph.D. time!

MYS has finally gotten a date to defend his thesis: august 10. i'm not real clear on the difference between a thesis and dissertation in his field; maybe it doesn't matter. regardless, he's nearing the end of the tunnel.

we'll be attending his defense and i'm excited to see if i can understand anything he says. i've been able to follow along, over the years, as he has explained things to me, but still, since neither physics nor astronomy were ever a big part of my education, it could be a little foggy.

regardless, one huge CONGRATULATIONS to him on seeing a payoff for all his hard work -- may i present the-soon-to-be Dr. Yirak!

crooks

remember -- if you get an urgent e-mail from a friend who says they need an immediate infusion of cash, talk with them and get the real story. i mean, after all, what friend is going to be asking you for money anyway?!

death

and now i understand that cremation has disadvantages. i suppose it's only a matter of time before any good concept falls into dispute. at least, that's how it seems to go.

at any rate, there are apparently alternatives to cremation, assuming you don't want the traditional burial. something called resomation is available in minnesota and florida, and maybe california before long.

and then there's cryogenic cremation -- which a company in england is trying to perfect.

seems like there's always something you need to think about ....

tough!

did you see the article about having some extra weight probably isn't a bad thing? and it reiterated what i've always known -- if i diet, my body thinks i'm dying and does everything it can to save me. and genetics plays a part -- i look like my grandmother and my aunts .... big-hipped women who lived well into their 80s and my grandmother (still living in her own home and taking care of herself) died when she was 92. i've finally decided as long as i make a reason attempt to eat the right foods (vegetables/fruit/cheese, grains with some meat) and get a reasonable amount of exercise, the industries who want to give me advice can go to hell.

status quo

our weather has been interesting the last 7 or 8 months. it's been mainly 57* that whole time. sure, there has been variation -- down to 31*, up to 72* -- but it's been surprising how much the temperature has stayed the same. i haven't minded it, although i like to have a couple of really cold days. the heat though, meh ... not so much.

if global warming is influencing our weather, does that mean it's going to get hotter farther north? or that it's going to start making everything cooler. i'm confused about that making-things-colder part.

waiting list

richard clarke is worried that this country isn't taking potential Cyber War seriously. it wouldn't surprise me if that were true; some of our leaders are beyond out of touch with reality. at any rate, i put myself on the list for his book at our local library. i'm number 13.

oh, the memories...

remember fireflies? i haven't seen fireflies in decades. i don't know if it's living in a certain part of the country, or not spending much time outside in the dark, or what.

so i am interested in this company called humble earth. they make fireflies. once we get our yard (or garden) landscaped, i might invest in some of these little things.

our landscaper calls her projects 'gardens'. i like her and i think she has wonderful ideas and lots of knowledge. but a really complete garden takes a lot of money. our budget is pretty small, so we have kind of a skeletal thing starting to happen, but i'm going to see what i can do to fill things out a bit.

regardless, once the garden is put in place, we may be spending a lot more time outside, hence the fireflies. we'll see.

how much is the bed?

did you read about hotels that are starting to nickle-and-dime you to pieces? apparently they're taking a page from the airline book.

a european hotel chain has started charging for maid service, a fresh towel, a tv. and american hotels are watching the situation to see if anyone blinks an eye.

i don't think i have a problem with charging a reasonable amount for goods and services, but if you just want to increase prices because you can, and it gives the ceo a 7-figure salary, screw you.

we can stay home. we can use a camp ground. we can sleep in the car. back in the 40s it wasn't unusual for traveling people to sleep on benches in the city parks.

read the article so you are at least aware you might be charged for something.

security?

back in the cold-war era it wasn't unusual for families to stock their basements with provisions or even dig a well-insulated bunker in case the bomb got dropped.

i just saw where a company in california is promising a place in a nuke-proof bunker in the mojave desert -- for a price. you better hurry if you want in, though. there are 132 spaces and half are already gone.

apparently $50,000 will get you a bunk in a 4-person room. whoa. pricey. but the company hasn't started getting the place ready yet. sounds almost like a shyster deal.

religion

i read a recent article about muslim culture which led to several thoughts. first i should say that i know very little about muslims and, with my very full life, don't have much time to devote to or interest in increasing my knowledge of them. i should also say i was brought up to be accepting of differences in cultures and religions.

that said, my first thought in reading the article was if france wants to ban the burqa and that bothers you, maybe you should live somewhere else.

my second thought was disgust about this statement, "when the taliban ruled in afghanistan, women were not allowed to wear high-heeled shoes since 'the sound of women's footsteps could excite men.'" ANY group that contrives rules because something a woman does might make men lose control is a very sick group lacking in responsibility and maturity.

it's like the whole adam and eve thing, where everything you can think of is all eve's fault. just grow up for pete's sake. honestly, there are so many problems with and because of religions.