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February 28, 2006
What's Your Pizza Personality?
| Cheese Pizza |
 You focus on living a quality life. You're not easily impressed with novelty. Yet, you easily impress others. |
Posted by Daffodil at 6:55 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Grapefruit Toss
Alexis and I made up a new little game today. Earlier when we went to the grocery store I got some grapefruit and she thought they were yellow balls so a few minutes ago when she pulled her stool over the counter as I was cutting potatoes for dinner she found them on the counter and started rolling them around on the counter. I showed her that she could roll them down the hallway and fun ensued, but then again Alexis and I always have fun! And of course I took some pictures (even though they aren't the best pictures ever). Oh and her face is orange because she's been eating carrots! Enjoy!
Click on the extended entry to see more grapefruit fun!
Mommy...Grapefruit can fly!
Toss!
The kid's got an arm on her!
Catch Mom!Posted by Daffodil at 4:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Oh My Dear God!!
It's no secret I've questioned Britney's sanity for marrying dirt nugget Kevin Federline, but after seeing this I have changed my mind...she's not crazy, she's effing stoned out of her mind! Seriously! They must be administering the crack intravenously straight into her blood stream! This guy is greasy, he needs to shave, he needs a hair cut, he's way too into himself and his new song S-U-C-K-S! Don't believe me? Watch him jamming out to his "music". This video proves he's completely nuts, if not an alien from another planet, and it showcases just how bad his "music" is!!! Oh and be careful because his dumb little ditty might get stuck in your head, and not in a "good I like this song" kind of way...in an "oh my God I can't tear my ears off fast enough" kind of way!! Yuck!!
Posted by Daffodil at 2:34 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Venezuela expands controversial US fuel sales
Controversial?? These right wing media outlets really need to stop parroting the radical right talking points. There is no controversy, the Republicans in Washington have failed to step up and make sure poor Americans aren't freezing to death in their homes. Venezuela has decided that it's a shameful state of affairs and has decided to step in and help those Americans out. The Republicans hate the poor so nothing would make them happier than to kill off as many as they can. It's just one of those things that Republicans, no matter what their socioeconomic class, seem to believe. People are bad off because they "want" to be. I've disproved this Republican thinking point a million times, so I'm not going to bother to point out how stupid it is again. I wrote up a decent post on the subject months ago, so go read that. Anyway, for all the heartburn it gives the America hating right wingers it's nothing more than a shrewd business move by Citgo. This is the kind of thing you do to win customers. Right wingers hate the notion of personal responsibility for anything, but the notion of corporate responsibility makes them violently ill. Citgo knows that decent blue state people will support companies that do their part to keep poor people from freezing to death. This is a brilliant business move in blue states. Now in the red states where they work night and day to kill off poor people, it wouldn't play well and you see that kind of response from Republicans in Congress who are screaming and yelling about helping the poor and helpless being a bad idea. That's it's better for them to freeze to death rather than help them out.
Read more over at Yahoo News.
Posted by ManDrake at 10:50 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Lottery winners' good luck can go bad fast
This is exactly the reason why people shouldn't let anyone know when they've won the lottery. States should allow it to happen in complete anonymity if the participant desires it, but states are greedy and want to make sure that they keep the human face on the winners in hopes attracting more players to the games. And what you end up with is people who don't have the infrastructure in place to deal with instant wealth getting overwhelmed by the masses trying to take advantage of them. If the states were smart they would help these people get all their money hidden away and secured first. Then "officially" give them their prizes after they've been properly advised on what the best choices are to make with the money. I mean most people can comprehend the notion that if they put it into an investment vehicle that they can draw a salary of 500k a year. That's not hard for them to grasp. You can live a good life with that kind of money, without even trying that hard, but instead they throw people to the wolves without the knowledge and experience to deal with it. Of course 250k a year is plenty if you don't have any other bills and would double your portfolio's actual value in 33 years with very little in the way of risk. Most people seem to forget that rich people built their money up over generations and have the connections to make massive amounts of money that normal people just don't get access too. Translation...if your car was fine yesterday, it's fine today. Pay your bills off and be careful with your money until the money loop starts working for you. And nobody is your friend when it comes to money, it's called the root of all evil for a reason! Budget everything and keep track of every dime.
Read more over at Yahoo News.
Posted by ManDrake at 10:46 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
At Least I Know Where To Find Two Of My Favorite West Wingers Next Season
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "The West Wing" co-star Bradley Whitford has reunited with the show's creator for the NBC drama pilot "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip." The project, which also stars Matthew Perry and Amanda Peet, is set behind the scenes of a fictional broadcasting network's flagship late-night sketch comedy show.Whitford will play a producer-director and recovering cocaine addict who has come back to run the sketch show he used to work for. Also joining the cast is Sarah Paulson, who plays a Christian fundamentalist, and Timothy Busfield as the control-room director.
Whitford won an Emmy in 2001 for his role as deputy chief of staff Josh on "West Wing." Paulson most recently appeared in the feature "Serenity" and on HBO's drama "Deadwood."
Busfield, who also enjoys a successful career as a TV director, also will serve as a producing director on "Studio 60." He often has collaborated with Sorkin. He starred in the Broadway run of Sorkin's "A Few Good Men"; was a director on the writer-producer's comedy for ABC, "Sports Night"; and had a recurring role on "West Wing."
On top of Busfield and Whitford, who in and of themselves make the show worth watching, Matthew Perry is going to be in this show too and I adore him! It looks like it could be a good show, but then again Aaron Sorkin is a genius (even though I hated Sports Night with a passion I can't even begin to explain to you) so it's all good!
Found via Yahoo! News.
Posted by Daffodil at 8:30 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Bush approval at all-time low 34%, Cheney at 18%
I have to say this one stuns me! The radical right wing America hating Republicans finally have decided that they should reconsider the destruction of America??? What's going through their heads? This is what they and their buddies in the ruling elite have been working night and day on all along. I mean unless you fools actually believed that the Republicans were working to make the country "better". The notion of it is so laughable that it's not believable. No one would be so dim witted as to believe that the Republicans had any other agenda than the total destruction of the country and replacing it with a radical violent third world theocracy. I'm not sure what the hell is going on, but when Republicans brain-dead drones start agreeing with me I get very nervous. Then again it could all be part of sinister plot, the Republicans are willing to sell out one of their own without even a moment hesitation. They are evil monsters like hyenas vile and violent turning on one another without a second of consideration. Maybe they are reading the hand writing on the wall, so they are going to do a quickie impeachment and replace Bush sort of like they did with DeLay...replace the criminal and not change the crime. Republican voters don't want people up in Washington that don't represent their core values of hate, fear and greed. They will push their buddies in the radical right wing media to parrot their talking point that a new set of criminals will make the crimes disappear. Bush and Cheney will get pardoned. And the Republicans will claim they have "reformed" everything in time for the 2006 election cycle. Republicans don't change, yet the conservative leaning public seems to lack the ability to comprehend that.
Read more at CBS News.
Posted by ManDrake at 7:25 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 27, 2006
"Stupid Girls"
I kept hearing buzz about the new P!nk song entitled "Stupid Girls" and I wanted to see the video. Let me tell you I LIKE this song! (I bought the "clean" version.) It has a very good message. Basically it tells young girls there are better things in this world than having big boobs and acting dumb! Check it out. It's an amazing song and the video is good too! It's nice to see a song that tells young girls you don't have to be stupid to get somewhere in the world! Trust me...if that's what the guy you like wants then you're better off kicking his butt to the curb!
Posted by Daffodil at 6:44 PM | Comments (1)
Alexis "Cooks" Dinner
I like to let Alexis get involved in the kitchen. I think cooking skills are very important and are sadly overlooked in many households because people think it is too messy or it takes too much time. It amazes me how many people reach adulthood with no cooking skills! I don't ever remember NOT cooking! So Alexis "helps" me cook. I let her do little things like stir batter or help add ingredients or on nights like tonight where everything is done on the stove top I give her a bowl, a spoon and her own "ingredients" (in this case mushrooms I needed put in the bowl to put back in the fridge anyway) and let her "cook" her own dish.
Click on the extended entry below to see more of Miss Chef.
First you add some non stick spray...
Then you add some olive oil...
And you can't forget the coarse ground pepper!
What the mushrooms were actually for (my topping...Alexis and Jamison had regular spaghetti sauce).
The only way to eat spaghetti!
Here's hoping you all had a yummy dinner too! :o)
Posted by Daffodil at 6:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Guess What My 2 Month Old Nephew Is Doing?
He's cutting a tooth! I found it earlier when he nawed on my finger. And I thought Alexis cut her first tooth early (3 1/2 months)! This kid is doing everything early! Slow down little man...life will pass you by soon enough! :o)
Posted by Daffodil at 4:28 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Aunt Dianne...You're So Funny!
Posted by Daffodil at 4:25 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
How Evil Are You?
| You Are 10% Evil |
 Just remember, you may need to turn to the dark side to get what you want! |
Per Dianne's Request, my entry.
| You Are 60% Evil |
 Fear not though - you are on your way to world domination. |
After a second review of my answers and for the reasons given in the comments my new measure of how evil I really am.
You Are 68% Evil |
 You are very evil. And you're too evil to care. Those who love you probably also fear you. A lot. |
Posted by Daffodil at 4:20 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Mommy Knows All
"Alexis sit down! You are going to flip out of the stroller and land on your head!"
*THUMP*
"Mommy you were right!" she told me with wide eyes as she lay on her back on the floor at Burlington Coat Factory and then she started to cry.
"Are you ok?" I asked her as I picked her up totally freaked out.
"My feelings...they hurt!"
She was fine...just a little shaken up. Guess she'll learn to listen to me now won't she...Mommy knows all! ;o)
Posted by Daffodil at 12:41 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
February 26, 2006
Who Is Jennifer Nettles?
I had been looking at Bon Jovi's new album Have A Nice Day on iTunes for quite a while (I actually bought it yesterday) and I couldn't figure out who the heck Jennifer Nettles was on the song "Who Says You Can't Go Home?"! Then yesterday we saw the video on TV and I immediately recognized her...she's the lead singer from Sugarland. So why didn't they say that already? They should have just said Bon Jovi featuring the Chick From Sugarland and it would have been a whole lot easier! ;o)
Posted by Daffodil at 4:38 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Thank God!!
Apparently the Olympics are FINALLY over! Thank God! Now the TV schedule can get back to normal on NBC!! I missed Scrubs and The West Wing!
Posted by Daffodil at 4:33 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Wearing Mommy's "Glass Slippers"
Posted by Daffodil at 4:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Kick...Kick...Kick!
Apparently the universe is taking great joy in kicking the living daylights out of me lately and trust me I'm not impressed and it's getting O-L-D and fast!
Last night our date night, while fun in that we were able to get out and be together, was a prime example of the universe messing with me! It's been a long time since Jamison and I went out on a weekend night. We usually go out during the week because there aren't as many people and in fact before Alexis was born when we'd go out on a weekend we'd go out during the day...we'd catch a matinee movie, then grab an early dinner and beat the crowds. Jamison and I neither one are crowd people and in fact if it's night time we'd rather be cozy at home. I HATE being a room with a ton of people with the noise roughly the decibel level of irritating confusion...you know the level where there is just a din of noise and you can't distinguish one voice from another because it is that freaking loud! That's why I hate crowded restaurants, but I can tolerate them from time to time if I make a conscious effort to do so. Anyway, the point being that we drove to Annapolis and I didn't even think about calling ahead to see if they did reservations or call ahead seating because it was early, but even at 6:15 Red Lobster was a zoo! People were EVERYWHERE!! They were even spilling out onto the sidewalk to wait and usually the riff raff outside are the ones that can't go 2 seconds without a cigarette so you have to walk through their toxic death cloud to get into the building, but that's a rant for another time.
I'm not a person that waits hours for a table...I never have been. I don't see the point. It's a different story all together if you can just go in and sit down, then the hassle of having to deal with the people and the noise level isn't so bad, but if you have to sit forever to even get a table then the whole thing just isn't worth it for me. So since Red Lobster was out of the question we decided to walk across the parking lot to Copeland's to see what their wait was like since no one was outside smoking, it was a pleasant evening and they didn't look as crowded. Their wait was 1 hour so we decided to get back in the car and go somewhere else.
Once in the car we decided we'd just drive over to Columbia and hoped that in the drive over the crowds would die down a little bit, but again no luck. We first checked out the Red Lobster and it was not as crowded as the one in Annapolis, but it was still packed. Then we decided to go over and check out Don Pablo's and see what they looked like...again packed. So we decided to run by Krispy Kreme (for the record Jamison hates Krispy Kreme, but the hot donut light was on and I love those things!) and then ran into CompUSA and killed a little time and thought we'd eat late, which we usually don't do because eating late is never a good idea because it's not good for you and it always ends up making you feel like crap, but again a rant for another time.
At CompUSA they had all their XBox games on clearance since the new XBox 360 is out so we spent a little time looking through the games to see what they had left. We ended up getting Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and an Atari compilation of 85 of their old time games (sadly no Pac Man). When we entered CompUSA I remember what a pain the butt heels are. My feet were screaming by this point so I took my shoes off and carried them until we got ready to check out, where we were waited on by a dude who was in the worst mood I've ever seen in my life! Either that or he had an enormous chip on his shoulder, but he had serious issues!
Sadly our trip to Kripsy Kreme and into CompUSA didn't do much for us as far as thinning the crowds. Don Pablos was still a madhouse so we went back and checked out Red Lobster again and it too was packed. We decided to go check out Bennigan's since it hadn't looked too bad earlier, but by this time it had gotten crowded as well so we ended up driving back toward home and stopped off at the Chick-Fil-A at Arundel Mills around 9. So all that to say, there were no lobsters and there were no Bahama Mamas and quite frankly Christian Chicken (thus named by Jamison because they aren't open on Sundays) didn't hold a candle! But being alone with Jamison was nice.
We got home around 10:15, had a couple of wine coolers (or I did anyway, Jamison only drinks Pile Drivers and he didn't make any) and took a look at the Atari XBox compilation. Around 11 we went upstairs and watched this week's episode of Twins and then Jamison went to sleep. I decided to stay up and get a few of my shows of of TiVo since we were running out of room up there. Around 1:20 I finished up the shows I wanted to watch and deleted them off the TiVo box. I laid down and was completely exhausted. I don't usually stay up that late, but every once in a while (usually when I'm writing) time will slip away from me. At 1:23 I had the first indication that it was going to be a long freaking night when Alexis started whining.
I went to check on Alexis and it turned out her diaper had leaked, which in and of itself was completely weird because I have seen diapers a lot more soaked than the one she was wearing hold a lot more liquid than that! But luckily only her pjs were wet and a towel that she insists on sleeping with also was damp, but nothing else was so I didn't have to change her sheets. I changed her pjs and got her another towel and put her back in bed and thought that would be the end of that...boy was I wrong! Alexis proceeded to whine and whine and whine...and did I mention she whined?? At 2:15 I went back in and asked her what was wrong and of course it was nothing so I told her to be quiet and go to sleep! I went back in at 3:00 and was a little less charitable and told her to shut up and go to sleep!
When I got back to our room I was livid with the universe in general. I told Jamison I was sick of the universe kicking me when I was down! I was tired, I was grumpy and by God I wanted to go to sleep! Of course he wasn't sleeping either, but he was nice enough to pretend it was all about me and at that hour of the morning that was exactly what I needed. At 4 I went back into Alexis room and again told her to be quiet. When I returned to our bedroom I realized that if she kept it up and 7 rolled around I would have been up for 24 hours! She finally fell asleep around 4:30. She slept until 8 and unfortunately although Jamison got up and brought her downstairs I couldn't go back to sleep. And now today she didn't take a nap! I'M OVER THE NO NAPPING THING!!
So when Miss Grumpy Pants goes to bed, most likely around 5:30 because she is rapidly descending into screechydom I'm going to bed too. I'm going to watch a few episodes of Sex and the City Season 6, Disc 1 and then call it a day no later than 7:30. Jamison says he's going to stay up until 9 so he won't wake up too early in the morning. I told him he was on baby duty until he decides to come to bed. I'm literally about to fall over sitting up!
So universe listen to me and listen to me well...It's time for you to go pick on someone else! Pick on someone that deserves to be picked on...I'm a good person, I'm good to other people and by God I'm not going to take it anymore! Do you hear that...I'M NOT LETTING YOU KICK ME ANYMORE!!! Go find another whipping boy...this one is out of business!!
Posted by Daffodil at 3:42 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
February 25, 2006
Date Night
Aw...aren't we cute?? And note Jamison is standing in Alexis' time out chair. Apparently he thought I was too tall in my heels or as Alexis called them my "glass slippers"! ;o)
Posted by Daffodil at 10:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Cheese!
Posted by Daffodil at 10:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
China Space Walk, Docking Planned
The Chinese are making very good progress with their space program. I don't know a polite way to put this, but has anyone else noticed the fact that their plans have them landing on the Moon a year before our brain-dead CEV project does? I bring this up because of the fact that the Chinese are taking baby steps in their space program, while we have decades of experience with our space program, but to see how the Republicans are screwing up our progress you'd never know it. I mean do the Republicans really plan on outsourcing the Mars mission to China, because they seem to be more serious about exploring the Universe than we do. It's literally a disgrace that the nation that finally won the space race is being shown up by the newbie on the street. Von Braun is probably spinning in his grave because of how badly the Republicans have screwed up his dreams for the Space program.
Read more over at Space.com and Wikipedia for the moronic CEV program.
Posted by ManDrake at 1:16 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Pet Peeve #25: Jury Duty
Yesterday when I went out to my mailbox, among the metric ton of junk mail I received I also got a letter of jury summons. Dear God!! Really? Why??!!??! Please explain to me how I'm supposed to serve on a jury at this point in my life? What exactly am I supposed to do with my child while I sit in a court room all day? It's not like they would appreciate me bringing her along to sit at my feet and she's certinaly not old enough to be home alone. Why in the world couldn't they have sent a summons to Jamison? He would have loved to have been called....I on the other hand would rather have my teeth pulled out through my nose with a fork lift!! I've written a letter to be excused and sent it back this morning so we'll see how that goes. Jamison pointed out it would be a day away from Alexis, but I informed him if I wanted a day away from Alexis I certainly didn't want to spend it sitting on my tuckus in a stuffy court room all day! Their "random" selection process sucks!
Posted by Daffodil at 12:30 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Conversations On Daffodil Lane
"We need to see if Amber can baby-sit tonight?"
"Why?"
"Because we're going to go out to dinner. A real date...I'm going to wear hose, heels and a DRESS! And you're going to wear a tie. There will be cheer and libations involved...lots of them!"
"Oh God!"
"You're going! Smile!"
"But Red Lobster doesn't have drinks I like..."
"It doesn't matter...you're going to be designated driver!"
Not to mention he hates Red Lobster too, but this is about ME...I've had a rough week damn it and I have some Bahama Mamas and Lobsters with my name written all over them! ;o)
Posted by Daffodil at 12:25 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Justin Timberlake Do You Have An Alibi?
You look an awful look like the composite sketch of the London Hiest person...I'm just saying.
Read more at Sky News.
Posted by Daffodil at 10:19 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Compassionate Conservative Charities - An Oxymoron?
I'm not sure why something like this surprises anyone in America these days. The Republicans have followed the Muslim terrorists model of setting up fake charities to fund their nefarious political operations. Compassion and Conservatives are the definition of an Oxymoron. Compassion requires the ability of empathy, Conservatives lack this ability at any level. These have been nothing more than political funding channels all along. And I don't think many of the people donating to them have any misconception about this fact. For those of you that haven't seen the vision yet, this allows them to fund the radical right wing and get a tax break at the same time. That's right...this is nothing more than a way to make all your political donations tax deductible. It's exactly what we would expect from Republicans. Stealing from America at the same time that they are trying to destroy it politically through their political operations. If they accidentally helped someone most of them could live with that for as long as the long term Conservative goal of destroying America was met.
Read more over at Dem Bloggers.
Posted by ManDrake at 8:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
UAE terminal takeover extends to 21 ports
That's right folks! As if 6 ports didn't make me mad enough, it turns out today we find out the Republicans were hiding more information from the American public about their turning over port security to a foreign power with links to terrorism. It's hilarious to me actually that we invaded Iraq, which had fewer 9/11 links on the excuse of the fact that we were attacking a "terrorist" stronghold, and yet by some magic we have a nation with legitimate links to terrorists, hiding terrorist bank accounts from us and helping get nuclear secrets to the Middle East, and the Republican party response is they are an "ally" in the war on terror and if we question the Republicans we are letting the terrorists "win". Folks the terrorists wanted us to live in fear and sacrifice our way of life to destroy us. They have already won for as long as the Republican mindset is allowed to be the only voice heard in this country. To add insult to injury on an additional front, guess what port terminal operators get access to so they can work "better" with HomeLand Security...come on folks guess! They get access to the Coast Guards emergency terrorism response plans for the ports that they are running. That's right...they get to know where our emergency response folks are going to gather to deal with a terrorist attack. Communications frequencies and the like are probably included. I don't know how big the Republican kickback is for selling out our country so they can get more control over our country, but they are selling us down the river without even a second thought. And I know Tom will tell me that all Republicans aren't for this in Congress. They just haven't gotten their kickback yet is the only reason they aren't happy about it. Soon as their buddy Dole shows up handing out checks they will be all sorts of "convinced" that it's great idea to sell out America. I went on to the P&O site and checked it out...sure enough they have 21 ports listed and Norfolk sticks out immediately as a matter of the gravest concern, but that's just me because one of our major Navy shipyards is there and they may not be running it but that's way too close for comfort.
Read more over at Daily Kos.
Posted by ManDrake at 7:05 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 24, 2006
Grin
Posted by Daffodil at 10:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Flower Child
Posted by Daffodil at 9:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Talking
Posted by Daffodil at 9:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Smiles
Posted by Daffodil at 4:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Parade
Alexis currently literally has my mom following her around the house,while they bang napkins rings together and have a parade. "Come on Bunge!" Alexis calls and my Mom follows her...I've decided my Mom needs to move into my house...she keeps Alexis occupied! ;o)
Oh and if my Dad tries to join in on the parade she'll point to him and say, "Pop! You sit the rocking chair!" I guess they need an audience for their parade!
She's a bossy little thing! ;o)
Posted by Daffodil at 4:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Majikthise on FOX News Radio
Lindsay is a special kind of brave. Off her trip to Amsterdam she decides to go on FOX News radio for their Blue Blogapalooza? I think she's going into it with the right mindset. They are crazed Neo-cons and nothing you say will ever change the way they think. Just go in to have fun and spin them for a loop and call it a day. Since I'd rather die than give FOX news a listen, I'll be checking out the MP3 of the event afterwards, but if you have a more flexible moral framework to work within give her a listen at 8pm tonight and if you feel really inclined maybe give them a call at 1-888-788-9910 and see if you can get your question on the air.
I'm wishing Lindsay all the luck in the world and hopefully she can hammer home some good points against those godless fools over on the radical right. I'll be thinking good thoughts her way at 8 tonight.
Read more over at Majikthise.
Posted by ManDrake at 4:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Planet's Population to Hit 6.5 Billion Saturday
Yikes!!! Seems like just yesterday that we crossed 6 billion (June 1999). I remember studying this looming disaster in school, it's so surreal to look at it unfolding right before my eyes. The sad part is that we've actually made a great deal of progress in slowing the rampant growth, the problem is that the technology to make it happen didn't come about fast enough and there are so many billions now even at restricted rates of growth we aren't able to slow effectively enough. This all goes back to the never ending argument of whether we have a responsibility to watch out for the future of the planet or not. The radical right says absolutely not, that we have no personal responsibility for anything that happens on Earth. By my calculations the consumptions of resources will start making this an issue in the next couple of decades. In 2012 we reach 7 billion people and at some point we are going to have to start making decisions about feeding all those people. Of course by then Corporate Agriculture will control all the arable land and dictate terms to us. You think people get grumpy when you take away their ability drive around freely, just wait until you tell them they aren't going to be able to eat at all. I'm sure the same Republicans that shriek that there is no place for personal responsibility in our country will suddenly decide it was the personal responsibility of the poor minorities and decide to starve them to death first. It's so predictable that it's sickening.
Read more over at Live Science.
Posted by ManDrake at 3:57 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Ehrlich got his cut, now he's quiet
As predictable as the sunrise and sunset. Ehrlich had a talk with national Republican party and viola...no longer has any concerns about the port deal. What did I tell you? Republicans are all talk about national security. They could care less how many American's die in their mismanaged foolishness. It doesn't take much to convince a Republican to sell out his constituents. I'll be it was less than a couple of million. Probably threw in a couple of personal appearances to sweeten the deal. Good luck with that helping Ehrlich in Maryland. We need a governor in Maryland that actually represents Marylanders and not the whims of the major campaign contributors of the national GOP. I don't care who wins the Democratic primary because they are both great men and a hundred times the leader of what the worthless Republicans have to offer.
Read more over at Fired Up! Maryland.
Posted by ManDrake at 3:52 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Your Tax Dollars at War
Jon Stewart was evidently on fire again last night! He did a review of the war spending by the Republicans, including unfortunately for them the amusing lie that the war was only going to cost America 1.8 billion dollars. We are rapidly heading towards 400 billion at this point, so it's really not funny in the long run. Basically it breaks down to 2083 dollars a citizen that the Republicans have committed our grandkids to owe. It's sickening when you think about it. Republicans are too lazy and mentally deficient to live within our means, instead they throw our children's futures to serve their personal greedy desires for world conquest.
Check out the video over on Crooks and Liars.
Posted by ManDrake at 3:49 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
My Mom Brought Me Daffodils
Posted by Daffodil at 2:26 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
February 23, 2006
Now That Everyone Should Have Gotten Their Valentines
Alexis and I made Valentine's card this year for all of her Valentines. I didn't post a picture sooner because I wanted them all to get to their destinations and not ruin the surprise. Now that everyone should have received them we'll share a picture.
I didn't get a picture of her with the paint because it's kind of hard to keep her from painting everything in sight and take pictures at the same time. ;o)
Posted by Daffodil at 5:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
I Love This Child
How could you not love this child? Seriously...he's the cutest little boy I've ever seen! And those cheeks! He's just too cute! :o)
I can't wait to see you tomorrow my little squishy butt! :o)
Posted by Daffodil at 5:21 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Aeroscraft
I've often asked the question if it were possible to lower the weight of a craft enough to justify the effort of filling them up with helium? It always seemed to me double hull designed ships leant themselves to this kind of thing. The magic total of course is 1.02 kg/m3 (0.0640 lb/ft3) of helium. Hydrogen of course is more effective closer the 1.1 kg/m3 of lift, but people are so worried about blowing up...what a bunch of squares!
Anyway where was I, oh yes...evidently this company Worldwide Aeros Corporation has decided to start working on making a craft that is not lighter than air, but lightened enough to gain significant fuel savings and duration to make it worth the effort. Basically they are talking about offering coast to coast travel in 18 hours at about 8,000 feet so you can see the sights. It would be about the same accommodations as you would get on a luxury cruise ship and would accommodate something like 200 people. I'm not exactly sure that you'd need that level of accommodations if you were going to get off the ship before you needed to sleep, but hey whatever makes them happy.
The cargo version, which I'm willing to bet would actually get some real use out of can hold 1.6 million pounds of cargo delivered anywhere you want to on land or water. This could have some interesting applications to replace something like ferries from my point of view. That would be quite a few cars and there are plenty of room for them. I can see the applications of these to replace anything you send slow cargo boats across the sea to do. Because of the speed increase you could actually move a lot more cargo for the same costs.
Of course, all this got me thinking about the ideal gas law. I know, I know it was the first thing you thought of too, but doesn't it seem interesting that by using the lifting body design that they have combined with some composite materials, that you could heat the helium slightly and increase the lifting capacity of it. I'll have to run it by the engineer types I know. I think that it's true, I'm just not sure how much heat you need to be significant and it may not be worth the effort.
Read more over at CNN and Popular Science.
Posted by ManDrake at 5:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
OK, Now She's Just Being Cute
I decided I was over the TV so when Alexis got up from her "nap" I was listening to music and just haven't turned the TV on for her this afternoon. One of the songs on my iTunes playlist is Jesus Take the Wheel by Carrie Underwood and Alexis is currently standing in the trash can (I'd post a picture, but she's running around in a diaper and socks because she took her clothes off while she was "napping) and singing the song at the top of her lungs with hand motions and the whole nine yards. I really need a video camera! Sometimes she's just too cute, even if she has been a little fart blossom all day! :o)
Posted by Daffodil at 4:13 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Bush: No need to worry about port security
I love it when a criminal Republican says with a straight face that we just need to "trust" them. Excuse me??? You guys allowed 9/11 to happen, Katrina, and on and on. The Republican party is the party of broken promises and abject failure in leadership. The notion that any American would take anything spoken by a Republican seriously is a travesty of justice, but you can already see the Republicans suddenly having a softening of their opposition. Just as I predicted...as the money flows into their accounts this will stop being a concern for them. This is nothing but an opportunity to fill their coffers while supporting the Republican plan for destroying America. Trust me in the next couple of days the Republicans will start talking about "new" information that they've received from the White House that quells their concerns. The new information is nothing more than checks arriving in their bank accounts, but the Republican masses will be reassured and drop the issue. Meanwhile America will be opened up to all sorts of new dangers and threats.
Read more over at CNN.
Posted by ManDrake at 3:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Bikers roll to military funerals to oppose anti-gay protests
I'm so happy to see this kind of thing happening to the Republican scum that have been protesting at the funerals of soldiers. It's sad really that they would have to do something like that, but I'm proud to see them do it. If you get a chance drop by the Patriot Guard Riders site and thank them for the work they are doing to protect the honor of our country against the rants and protests of an insane Republican hate group. This kind of disgraceful behavior is a direct result of the radical hate ideology of the Republican party. Luckily we live in a country where everyone has the freedom of speech, but there is no requirement that their hate speech has to be heard. I can not say enough how much I appresiate the work of the Patriot Guard Riders. Keep up the good work folks.
Read more over at CNN.
Posted by ManDrake at 2:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Lottery Winnings decisions
Every time there is a massive pay out, my wife and I have the discussion about which is better...to take the yearly installments or the one time pay out? I've told her it's better to do the one time pay out because of inflation, but no matter how much I talk I can sell her on the idea. Below the fold I've done the math assuming a $250,000 a year salary for each scenario. Because once you've paid off all your bills what do you really need money for exactly? Anyway can anyone make a logical case for why you would want to do the yearly payout?
Initial prize: 203 million taken in 29 equal installments per year. (7 million a year, 1/2 to taxes = 3.5 million all going into the bank) Also assumes you put a million in the bank immediately to offset the lack of interest the first couple of years. It also assumes a standard rate of inflation of 3% on the payout from the state, but no inflation on earnings since they will grow at the rate of inflation.
Year: 01 Total saved: 4,385,000 Interest made: -115,000 Salary: 250,000
Year: 02 Total saved: 7,763,400 Interest made: -16,600 Salary: 250,000
Year: 03 Total saved: 11,138,246 Interest made: 81,696 Salary: 250,000
Year: 04 Total saved: 14,512,580 Interest made: 179,978 Salary: 250,000
Year: 05 Total saved: 17,889,438 Interest made: 278,332 Salary: 250,000
Year: 06 Total saved: 21,271,859 Interest made: 376,850 Salary: 250,000
Year: 07 Total saved: 24,662,879 Interest made: 475,616 Salary: 250,000
Year: 08 Total saved: 28,065,545 Interest made: 574,724 Salary: 250,000
Year: 09 Total saved: 31,482,907 Interest made: 674,258 Salary: 250,000
Year: 10 Total saved: 34,918,028 Interest made: 774,310 Salary: 250,000
Year: 11 Total saved: 38,373,985 Interest made: 874,970 Salary: 250,000
Year: 12 Total saved: 41,853,869 Interest made: 976,326 Salary: 250,000
Year: 13 Total saved: 45,360,789 Interest made: 1,078,468 Salary: 250,000
Year: 14 Total saved: 48,897,878 Interest made: 1,181,490 Salary: 250,000
Year: 15 Total saved: 52,468,294 Interest made: 1,285,484 Salary: 250,000
Year: 16 Total saved: 56,075,219 Interest made: 1,390,540 Salary: 250,000
Year: 17 Total saved: 59,721,865 Interest made: 1,496,752 Salary: 250,000
Year: 18 Total saved: 63,411,479 Interest made: 1,604,216 Salary: 250,000
Year: 19 Total saved: 67,147,344 Interest made: 1,713,028 Salary: 250,000
Year: 20 Total saved: 70,932,780 Interest made: 1,823,284 Salary: 250,000
Year: 21 Total saved: 74,771,150 Interest made: 1,935,082 Salary: 250,000
Year: 22 Total saved: 78,665,860 Interest made: 2,048,520 Salary: 250,000
Year: 23 Total saved: 82,620,363 Interest made: 2,163,698 Salary: 250,000
Year: 24 Total saved: 86,638,166 Interest made: 2,280,722 Salary: 250,000
Year: 25 Total saved: 90,722,829 Interest made: 2,399,694 Salary: 250,000
Year: 26 Total saved: 94,877,965 Interest made: 2,520,716 Salary: 250,000
Year: 27 Total saved: 99,107,253 Interest made: 2,643,900 Salary: 250,000
Year: 28 Total saved:103,414,432 Interest made: 2,769,352 Salary: 250,000
Total Income over 29 years: $7,000,000 At Interest rate of %6.00.
Initial Prize: $51,000,000 (203 million grand prize, 1/2 lost from one time pay out, 1/2 lost in taxes) Assumes a salary of $250,000 a year and you are able to survive the first year without drawing from your original total. Also assumes that money will grow at the rate of inflation.
Year: 01 Total saved: 52,280,000 Interest made: 1,280,000 Salary: 250,000
Year: 02 Total saved: 53,598,400 Interest made: 1,318,400 Salary: 250,000
Year: 03 Total saved: 54,956,352 Interest made: 1,357,952 Salary: 250,000
Year: 04 Total saved: 56,355,042 Interest made: 1,398,690 Salary: 250,000
Year: 05 Total saved: 57,795,692 Interest made: 1,440,650 Salary: 250,000
Year: 06 Total saved: 59,279,562 Interest made: 1,483,870 Salary: 250,000
Year: 07 Total saved: 60,807,948 Interest made: 1,528,386 Salary: 250,000
Year: 08 Total saved: 62,382,186 Interest made: 1,574,238 Salary: 250,000
Year: 09 Total saved: 64,003,650 Interest made: 1,621,464 Salary: 250,000
Year: 10 Total saved: 65,673,758 Interest made: 1,670,108 Salary: 250,000
Year: 11 Total saved: 67,393,970 Interest made: 1,720,212 Salary: 250,000
Year: 12 Total saved: 69,165,788 Interest made: 1,771,818 Salary: 250,000
Year: 13 Total saved: 70,990,760 Interest made: 1,824,972 Salary: 250,000
Year: 14 Total saved: 72,870,482 Interest made: 1,879,722 Salary: 250,000
Year: 15 Total saved: 74,806,596 Interest made: 1,936,114 Salary: 250,000
Year: 16 Total saved: 76,800,792 Interest made: 1,994,196 Salary: 250,000
Year: 17 Total saved: 78,854,814 Interest made: 2,054,022 Salary: 250,000
Year: 18 Total saved: 80,970,458 Interest made: 2,115,644 Salary: 250,000
Year: 19 Total saved: 83,149,570 Interest made: 2,179,112 Salary: 250,000
Year: 20 Total saved: 85,394,056 Interest made: 2,244,486 Salary: 250,000
Year: 21 Total saved: 87,705,876 Interest made: 2,311,820 Salary: 250,000
Year: 22 Total saved: 90,087,052 Interest made: 2,381,176 Salary: 250,000
Year: 23 Total saved: 92,539,662 Interest made: 2,452,610 Salary: 250,000
Year: 24 Total saved: 95,065,850 Interest made: 2,526,188 Salary: 250,000
Year: 25 Total saved: 97,667,824 Interest made: 2,601,974 Salary: 250,000
Year: 26 Total saved:100,347,858 Interest made: 2,680,034 Salary: 250,000
Year: 27 Total saved:103,108,292 Interest made: 2,760,434 Salary: 250,000
Year: 28 Total saved:105,951,540 Interest made: 2,843,248 Salary: 250,000
Total Income over 29 years: $7,000,000 At Interest rate of %6.00.
Posted by ManDrake at 2:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Yesterday Was Hell...
And today isn't shaping up to be much better...so before anyone gets all "Mom's aren't entitled to have bad days" on me you can kindly stop reading right here and everything will be ok, because I'm certainly not in the mood for ignorant people today!
OK, it's a crappy picture, but it will illustrate a point in a minute, so bear with me.
For the past few days as the antibiotic has started working Alexis had felt a lot better, which is a good thing...a very good thing. Unfortunately the weather hasn't exactly been cooperative in terms of giving us a dry opportunity to get outside in the back yard and run off some energy. I don't mind the cold...you can bundle up your child and easily play outside even when it's Artic outside, but the rain is hard to work around I haven't wanted to take her into public until I was completely sure she was not contagious. Too many people take sick little carrier monkeys out in public when they should in fact be at home not exposing all of creation to whatever sickness they happen to be carrying, but that's a rant for another time. As I said yesterday Alexis is ready to go, which is ironic because if we got in the car to go anywhere and were in said car for more than 20 minutes she'd be unpleased with the entire situation and most likely she would be quite vocal about her displeasure as well, but that's how irony works.
Anyway, as you can see above today she is more than ready to go again and if she could figure out how to get the door open she'd probably go without me! I think I may throw her a bone and let her ride in the car for a few minutes as we go pick up some lunch. I want a salad and Alexis wants some "rice and beans", so that will at least get her out of the house for a few minutes and perhaps it will sidetrack her long enough until tomorrow when I plan to take her out for a little bit to run to her heart's content and hopefully wear her little ornery self out so she'll take a freaking nap!! Who knows...we might even get her a "Barbucks" if she's good and I'm in a charitable mood, which I have to admit I am not at the moment!
Although it isn't really clear in the picture above, but more so in the picture below, Alexis' face isn't simply dirty, we do hose her down once in a while believe it or not! That's chocolate...dark chocolate in fact. Why in the world did you give her chocolate at 10 o'clock in the morning? I'm glad you asked, because I didn't and wouldn't! Chocolate is not a morning food! (No Jamison it's not!) I keep a bar of dark chocolate in my sewing box because I adore dark chocolate and Alexis and I have a little bite from time to time. One regular sized bar will last Alexis and I 6 months or so...we just have a bite or two here and there. It's our little treat that we enjoy together. Up until this point Alexis has never gone into the sewing box on her own because to be honest I don't think she had ever really paid attention to where the chocolate was stashed. She just thought Mommy pulled it out of thin air because I'm magic like that, but apparently the other day when we had a bite she must have seen where I put it and stored that tidbit of information away for future use. So a little while ago as I was putting laundry in the machine she went in and helped herself to most of the 3/4 of the bar that was left. A few minutes later she came over to give me a hug (she's nothing if not affectionate, which probably keeps me from selling her to the circus, because I love hugs) and I noticed she had chocolate all over her face.
"Alexis, did you eat chocolate!??!?"
"Yes Mommy...It's so yummy!"
"Did you have a piece hidden in the living room?" (Lord knows what that child has hidden within her toys...the living room is a disaster area that I plan on tackling when she takes a nap!)
"No Mommy. You hide it."
"Mommy hid it?"
"Yes. You hide it!"
I sat there trying to figure out where I had ever hidden chocolate, because I don't do that and then it dawned on me...she found our dark chocolate stash.
"Did you get the chocolate out of Mommy's sewing box?"
"Yes Momma!"
"Alexis that chocolate is for special treats. It's not there for you to eat all of it anytime you want."
"Oh...I sorry!"
And that dear cyberland is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of dealing with my precious toddler the past day and a half. She told me she didn't have to listen to me yesterday and I thought I was going to snap. Then she proceeded to tell me her Daddy would let her do something I told her no about (that's what you think kiddo...Daddy is on my side!!), although she did quit and do what I told her to do. I'm not kidding you folks...she's becoming a miniature teenager right before my eyes! And people have the audacity tell me daily I need another one! Are you people freaking smoking crack? Seriously...you have to be kidding, because it isn't happening!! There isn't enough money on the planet, or the universe for that matter, to make me do this again! I love Alexis...I adore her...I can't imagine life without her, although some days I question my sanity at choosing this path, and I wouldn't trade her for anything, but she's it! That's all she wrote!
And to add insult to injury the universe is still kicking me. I was shredding junk mail earlier and some of it I don't even bother to open because you can tell from the outside of the envelope it's nothing but junk. So I was happily shredding away trying to get things somewhat straightened up since my parents, Ben, Katherine and Nelson will be here tomorrow night for dinner (well Nelson won't be here for dinner...he'll just be here to look cute and get Aunt Dianne kisses ;o)) and my house looks like a filth bomb exploded within it's walls, when all of a sudden the shredder literally jumps off the floor making a horrible grinding, then snapping noise. I quickly reversed it and shut it off, but it was too late...one of the offending junk mail pieces had a nickel in it and well you can imagine what solid metal did to the blades of the shredder and it completely snapped the plastic feed dog in two. Whoever thought it was a good idea to start that stupidness (coins in mail from charities or for surveys or whatever) should be flogged!! Luckily my wonderful husband is going to pick up a new one one the way home, but it doesn't help my cleaning efforts any. It's amazing how much junk mail piles up in a week and a half!
And now as I finish typing this I find Alexis here:
"Why are you in the trash can?"
"I'm stuck!"
I need a drink.
Posted by Daffodil at 10:20 AM | Comments (11) | TrackBack
February 22, 2006
Christian movement moving to South Carolina?
The Neo-Christian movement is among the most violent and hateful I've ever come across. So when I was reading over on Shakespeare's Sister that what they "...are doing is reacting to the extreme marginalization of Christianity in America" I almost lost my lunch. Excuse me? Trying to turn America into a second rate third world theocracy isn't bad. It's trying to keep the rights and freedoms that we've all come to take for granted that's bad. The notion is laughable, but given all the radical America hating Neo-Christians I know, none of it really surprises me anymore.
Basically one of these America haters has decided to concentrate the Neo-Christian hate groups together in one state in hopes of flipping it totally to the Neo-Christian way of thinking. Mind you if you think the Republicans are already so crazy you can't stand them, these guys think your average Republican like Santorum is a flaming liberal. Yeah, just to give you some perspective where your average Neo-Christian stands on the issues. So they've decided to start all moving to the same state and turning the tide against the Republicans and Democrats, moving to a totally radicalized religious theocracy inside the United State and then use that power to continue the Republican quest to destroy the country. Once again nothing surprising here, these people are the Republican base, the Republican hate for this country comes from them.
I'm just not sure what to do with this...crazy doesn't even begin to describe it! My bigger fear of course is if you put that many morally bankrupt people in the same place, you're going to see massive spikes in crime and criminality of all sorts. I'm not sure it would be safe for the normal citizens of the state of South Carolina. If you live there, I'd recommend you start making plans to leave because these people are violent animals with no regard for human life.
Read more over at Shakespeare's Sister and Yahoo News.
Posted by ManDrake at 4:56 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Not 100% Accurate, But Pretty Close
 | Dianne took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test! "Needs release from stress. Longs for peace, tranqu..."
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Given I've already found my perfect mate, I'm not searching for him anymore, but a lot of the other stuff is dead on. :o)
Posted by Daffodil at 4:43 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
UAE Blackmail may explain Republican port position
Digby has a very interesting write up over on Hullabaloo today. As more information is pulled out of the turnover of American ports to the control of an Arab country with terrorist ties by the Republicans. It would appear the that we have a long history of hands off policy with UAE, ignoring Bin Laden visits to their country. To complicate matters it would appear that the real motivation that we have going on here is the fact that we have a deal with them for docking our Navy ships in their deep water ports. The Republicans fear with their plans of ever expanding wars in the Middle East as a part of their crusade to destroy Islam that they might lose access to these ports. For Republicans this long term goals are much more critical to their long term agenda. Mind you it's not in the best interests of America, but Republicans have never concerned themselves with such things.
I love the quote from the campaign from Bush on the subject:
"I will never hand over America's security decisions to foreign leaders and international bodies that do not have America's interests at heart."
I guess all you Republicans who are concerned missed the implied "unless it serves the long term interests of the Republican party to continue it's religious war against Islam". I can see how you got confused, because I missed that too. I imagine it's going to go down like this...we are going to see a bunch of bluster from Republicans, especially those that are doomed on the Political front like Santorum, then they will move toward a vote, like with domestic spying and then they will all get "new" information and vote the President to do whatever he wants with the security of America. All the "concerned" Republicans on the ground will get their new download of talking points from Fox News and happily embrace this new reality. And that will be that folks. Which is why this up coming election is so important. For as long as these brain-dead drones are allowed to run the country it's only a matter of a time before they allow us to be destroyed.
Read more over at Hullabaloo.
Posted by ManDrake at 3:09 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Ehrlich Seeks To Undermine Confidence In Electoral System
I wondered what the godless Republicans were up to in their abrupt about face on the electronic voting machines. Turns out Ehrlich is laying the groundwork to hold the Governor's office by legal means. Of course given the rampant dishonesty that defines the Republican party there is nothing surprising there. The fact that Ehrlich can't get anywhere close to a majority even within the margin of error pretty much says it all. Of course, his participation in the Scaffer event has made me so mad that I'm going to get involved in State politics for the first time in my life. The notion that any man, Republican or Democrat, would not stand up for a woman being harassed right in front of them is beyond the realm for me. Let alone someone they hired to work for them. I'm sorry, but the Governor doesn't deserve the position if he can't even stand up for one of his employees in a situation like that.
Read more over at Fired Up! Maryland.
Posted by ManDrake at 2:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
TX-28: Early voting begins
It's amazing that there are already opportunities to defeat Republicans all over the country right now. I've been following the TX-28 Democratic Primary between the Democrat Ciro and the faux Democrat Cuellar. Evidently Texas allows early voting in their Primaries, which is a great idea...all elections should be run like that, we should have election weeks, not days. That would drive the 24/7 traditional media nuts!
Anyway, early voting has begun. Remember the last contest was decided by a mere 203 votes, but the Republicans don't plan on losing their puppet in the Democratic side of the house so easily. They've poured another 150k into the failing Cuellar campaign in a desperate attempt to turn the tide against him. Unfortunately for them, pretty much everyone is aware of the fact that he is nothing but a Republican plant and it's a Democratic primary. Democrats don't have much stomach for spies and turncoats, those are Republican traits not shared by Democrats. The Unions have begun a massive GOTV (Get Out The Vote) campaign for Ciro and the good folks over at The League of Conservation Voters has decided to run a 50k television buy covering Cuellar's Republican anti-environment voting record.
Read more over at Daily Kos.
Posted by ManDrake at 2:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack