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August 31, 2006
Dinner Conversation With Jamison
"That's not me talking...That's the Lemon Drop!"
"I like Lemon Drop Girl!"
Posted by Dianne at 6:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Meatloaf Burgers, Oven "Fries" and Frozen Lemon Drop Martinis
Comfort food at it's finest! The perfect end to a rough day.
Meatloaf Burgers:
1 pound of lowfat grain fed ground beef such as Laura's or Nature's Pride
3/4 cup of chopped red onion
3/4 cup of chopped bell pepper
3/4 cup plain bread crumbs
1/2 cup of organic tomato ketchup
Mix all ingredients like you would meatloaf and form into patties. Cook in a covered skillet until done through. Serve with whole grain buns and ketchup.
Zesty Oven Fries:
2 large Russet baking potatoes, cut into strips
Olive oil
Seasoned salt or Old Bay Seasoning
Preheat oven to 425 F. Cut potatoes into fry like strips and toss with olive oil. Sprinkle with seasoned salt and bake for 25-20 until browned and tender.
Serves 3.
Frozen Lemon Drop Martinis:
1 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup of Smirnoff Lemon Vodka
1 cup of simple syrup
3 cups of crushed ice
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve immediately.
Makes 4 servings.
Posted by Dianne at 6:09 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
It's Official
I'm no longer using Yahoo! as my homepage and search engine for the first time since I first went online back in 1993/1994. They are insisting on going forward with their new "improved" front page tomorrow, which sucks royally, so I'm sticking with my customized Google. They are already forcing you to the new page today when you initiate one of their pages. This is truly a day I never thought I'd see. I'm not completely happy with Google, but it's much better than the new Yahoo! I sent them feedback and told them as much, but I don't kid myself that they really give a rats toe. I guess I'm still with them in a way given they are hosting my shop. Oh well.
Posted by Dianne at 4:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
I Wouldn't Have Pegged These Two As Friends
Gwyneth Paltrow and rocker pal Michael Stipe get in the swing of fall shopping during an excursion to London's trendy Notting Hill neighborhood on Tuesday.
Posted by Dianne at 3:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
It's Hard to Believe It's Been 9 Years!
Diana admirers mark 9 years since deathLONDON (AP) — Ardent admirers of Princess Diana left flowers at the gates of her former home Thursday, the ninth anniversary of her death in a car crash in Paris.
"I loved Diana and I come here every year," said Kathleen Edmonds, 62, one of the first to arrive outside Kensington Palace. "She was a nice person and I think there was a conspiracy because people used her.
"I think more needs to be done to remember her. There needs to be a statue of her or something."
Diana, 36, her boyfriend Dodi Fayed, 42, and their driver Henri Paul, 41, all died when their car crashed at high speed in the Pont d'Alma tunnel in the French capital.
Wow! Nine years...Time truly does fly by!
Found via USAToday.
Posted by Dianne at 2:45 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
gWiki
gWiki (think quickie with a "g") is the Green Wiki. This site is meant to be a source for people well versed in environmental information as well as those beginning to explore this important issue. If you have a particular expertise in an area of environmentalism - be it architecture and design, clean-energy, business, etc. please feel free to create or edit an article.
A green Wiki! I love it! Check it out!
Posted by Dianne at 1:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Ah Finally A Nice Cool Day!
I just LOVE this weather! I mean seriously! The high here today is supposed to be in the low 70's! There is a breeze blowing, it's nice outside, the clouds are gorgeous and more importantly we were outside for more than a hour and there wasn't a single mosquito in sight! Now that's my kind of day!!
Click on the extended entry below to see more of Alexis having a ball outside on this most lovely day!
So what do you do on a lovely, cool, cloudy day?
You mow the grass!
And then you run fast!
And then you run some more!!
And sometimes you just stand around and look really cute, because well you're just good at it! But anyway you slice it, playing outside on a nice, cool cloudy day is fun! ;o)
Posted by Dianne at 12:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Purple Carrot
Posted by Dianne at 11:08 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Forboding
Posted by Dianne at 10:46 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Snake Meet Grass
Frist expected to get medical board fineWASHINGTON - Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist will probably be fined and have to make up for failing to do continuing medical education that Tennessee requires of doctors with active licenses.
Additional disciplinary action, such as suspending his medical license, is unlikely, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Health said Wednesday.
Spokeswoman Andrea Turner said Frist, a prominent heart-lung surgeon before coming to the Senate in 1995, is expected to be fined $40 for every hour of continuing education he did not complete. He also will have to make up the missed hours of continuing education within the next six months and do an extra 10 penalty hours within the year, she said.
How exactly can you not be sure if you did the 40 hours of required continuing medical education? I mean you either did it or you didn't and you know if you completed it ot not, given well you were there...Or you weren't as the case may be and there is no hazy point there. Flat out he lied and he knows he lied. That's Republican "ethics" for you at their finest! I know it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, doesn't it you? The "fine" is not nearly stiff enough if you ask me!
Found via Yahoo! News.
Posted by Dianne at 8:54 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
August 30, 2006
Keith Olbermann Delivers Crushing Blow to GOP's New Talking Point
In an age where politicians lack the ability to speak in defense of our country and our way of life against the wild insane rants of the radical right wing Republicans, Keith Olbermann has taken on the scared duty of the fourth estate to protect the American people. The radical right wing media spews out the hate message of the Republican party with no filter, no consideration, and no check for reality anymore. All hate, all the time is all we get from them. But Keith with very little effort eviscerates their insanity and reminds Americans that we are a great people and not sniveling weaklings like the GOP claims we are. I'm not sure what inspires such cowardice among Republicans, but it appears to be all they are. I for one come from different stock, I come from generations of brave Americans willing to stand up and defend our country from evil, foreign or domestic. Below is the video for Keith's rebuttal to the frankly laughable Republican talking point started by Rumsfield and the rest of the Republican party and now the standard for the radical right wing blogosphere.
I have to quote his closing lines from Edward R. Murrow:
Thus forgive me for reading Murrow in full: "We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty," he said, in 1954. "We must remember always that accusation is not proof, and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. "We will not walk in fear - one, of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of un-reason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men; "Not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate, and to defend causes that were - for the moment - unpopular."
Amen! Only cowards live their lives in fear. Fear is all the Republican party has left. Americans aren't cowards folks and it's time to stand up against evil and send the cowards in Republican party packing.
Read more over at Crooks and Liars.
Posted by Jamison at 10:36 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Blueberry Muffins
There is nothing better than baked goods made with fresh fruit! Unfortunately sometimes when you make muffins with fresh fruit the fruit sinks to the bottom, but you don't have to worry about that with this recipe! The batter holds up the goodies and it's yummy to boot!
3 cups of unbleached flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 1/4 cups of butter, softened at room temperature (Note: You could easily substitute Soy Margarine or unsweetened apple sauce to Veganize this recipe)
1 cup of turbanado sugar or honey (Note: If you use honey then omit the milk. Also obviously honey is not vegan so if you're going that route stick to the sugar or possibly agave nectar.)
1 1/2 cup of plain fat free yogurt (Note: Again if you want to veganize this recipe use soy yogurt instead)
1/3 cup of buttermilk (Note: Or soy or rice milk will work just as well. I used rice milk today because I was out of buttermilk)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
The zest of 1 lemon
2 1/2 cups of fresh blueberries
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and sit aside.
In the bowl of your mixer mix together the butter and the sugar until smooth and creamy. Add yogurt, buttermilk, vanilla and lemon zest and mix well. Slowly add the dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in blueberries carefully by hand and pour into pregreased or lined muffin pans. Batter will be very thick.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until tops are golden.
Let cool in pan for 5-10 minutes before removing.
Serve warm.
Note: You could easily use this batter mix as a basic muffin recipe and add other types of fruit, nuts or seeds. They would be good with bananas, strawberries, dark chocolate chunks or even pumpkin! Add a few walnuts here or there, maybe some cahews or pecans or even some sunflower seeds! The possibilities are endless!
Posted by Dianne at 9:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
11 Days
11 days until we go to the beach. I wish we were there...YESTERDAY!!
Posted by Dianne at 11:30 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
A Link To the Colbert/Stewart Presentation At the 2006 Emmy Awards
Try this one! Still hilarious! :O)
Posted by Dianne at 9:18 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The Simpsons vs Star Trek
Posted by Dianne at 9:12 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 29, 2006
Cuteness
Posted by Dianne at 2:31 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Tropical Storm Ernesto
Well it looks like Ernesto is going to stay in the Tropical Storm realm and become a tropical depression sometime on Friday once it moves on land with just rain and such. We might get a some rain (which we desperately need), but that's about it.
Read more over at the NHC or check out the satellite view here.
Posted by Dianne at 9:30 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
She's Feeling A Lot Better!
The temperature is gone! The sores in her mouth have all but disappeared! She is eating regular food and says her throat doesn't hurt anymore! She is actually playing in a different room than I am currently in and isn't attached to me physcially and has been playing in the living room away from me for more than half an hour! She is still a little grumpy, but over all I think we're at the end of this thing!
Can I get a Woo Hoo!!??!!
Posted by Dianne at 9:12 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Remembering Katrina
One year ago today Katrina tore her way on shore and we all know what happened next. Today let us all remember the pain, suffering and death that occurred right before our eyes as the nation felt helpless to do anything and our government botched the whole thing. Let us also hope that recovery will happen faster and that those who feel abandoned have reason to find hope.
Read more about Katrina here, here and here.
Posted by Dianne at 9:05 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 28, 2006
Alexis Update
As I mentioned earlier today when we got back from the doctor Alexis' fever broke yesterday evening and thankfully it does not appear to be coming back! This evening will be the true test since fever sometimes make a reappearance after dark, but so far things are looking good!
Last night Alexis ended up sleeping with me after all. She slept quite well throughout the night until about 4:45 this morning when she came to find me in the bathroom and tell me that "Sock Puppet was trying to eat my toes and he scared me!" I guess she was having another nightmare! Tonight she's going back to her own room.
This afternoon I saw marked improvement in this child! She went from being permanently barnaclized to me to the point that if I got more than 12 inches away from her she'd meltdown, to actually playing by herself and letting me clean up the kitchen and make dinner! Her throat is still bothering her quite a bit and the way she expresses it is by telling you things are "burning" her mouth and she still has a meltdown of epic proportions when anything goes slightly differently than she thinks it should. She finally relented and ate some ice cream this afternoon when "Miss Ina" was making ice cream on a TiVoed show we were watching. That was the first food she had had since her scant peanut butter licks and few bites of yogurt this morning. She had some plain noodles for dinner which also seemed to go down ok, though she did complain once of the "burning" again when the food passed her throat.
So that's where we stand now. I'm glad the fever is gone and I'm glad she appears to be feeling somewhat better! I hope her throat feels better soon as well! We'll see what tomorrow brings.
Posted by Dianne at 7:39 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
More on Ernesto
It looks like if Ernesto did hit here, if they have their forecasting right, it would be a Category 1 storm:
Of course Isabelle was just a Tropical Storm by the time she reached us back in 2003, but like I said we'll see what this brings.
Check out the actual radar here and check the Trop Fcst Pts box to see the storms expected path and what level of hurricane they think it will be at each stage.
Posted by Dianne at 1:09 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Food Blogs You Should Be Reading
What the Hell Does a Vegan Eat Anyway? - Just as the name suggests!
Bakingsheet - A mix of a little bit of everything
Fat Free Vegan Kitchen - She comes up with some delicious low-fat vegan recipes! I've tried several of them!
Mighty Foods - Organic, natural, whole and more!
Posie's Place - Yummy recipes from the UK!
Rice and Noodles - The pictures alone will make your mouth water!
Shmooed Food and Vegan Lunch Box - Jennifer proves that Vegan doesn't have to be boring!
Too Many Chefs - Can you have too many chefs in the kitchen? If this blog is any indication, then the answer is no! :o)
Vegan Core - I found this one recently and I love her recipes!
Slashfood - This is actually a "professional" site, but it has a lot of good information about food and some recipes too!
Note: No I am not vegan, but I do make a lot of vegan recipes! :o)
I'm always looking for new food blogs so if you know a good one then please leave a comment! :o)
Posted by Dianne at 12:30 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Colbert and Stewart
I didn't watch the Emmy's, but Jamison just sent me a link to this Cobert/Stewart clip from the show and as always they killed! I just love them! Click on the picture above to watch their bit from Crooks and Liars...You know you want to! ;o)
Note: The link on the picture to the video isn't working right now. Take the link on the words "Crooks and Liars" until I can figure out the issue. :o)
Update: 7:30 pm: The link on the picture appears to be working again. I think the problem is fixed. :o)
Posted by Dianne at 11:50 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Coxsackie
It turns out Alexis does not have Strep, but Coxsackie instead. Her fever broke last night, though it's still in the 99-100 range, but that's much better than 102-104 we had yesterday! She has some sores in her mouth and doesn't want to eat much, but she did lick the peanut butter off of her bread and ate some yogurt. She's still drinking lots of ice water too. Hopefully we've seen the worst of this! She's currently lying on the couch and vegging. Hopefully she'll take a nap today, because that would help a lot too!
Posted by Dianne at 11:22 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Ernesto
It looks like we may get a visit from Ernesto toward the weekend:
It looks like it may skim the Outer Banks too! Let's hope it dies down, but you just never know with the water as hot as it is!
Read more over at the NHC.
Posted by Dianne at 11:20 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 27, 2006
Now She's Just Cracking Me Up!
"You stay here."
"Where are you going Alexis?"
"I go downstairs?"
"Why?"
"I eat dinner."
"I thought you didn't want to eat dinner."
"But I hungry!"
"OK, I'll go with you."
"No! You stay here! Watch Blue's Baby Brother! I go downstairs!"
So I called downstairs, "Jamison! Alexis wants to come downstairs and get some food, but I have to stay up here!"
"Why?" he called back.
"Because I have to stay upstairs! She told me so! Offer her a banana or a piece of bread or something soft! She can even have a frozen fruit bar if she wants one!"
"You stay here Mommy! You check e-mail and watch Blue!"
So she ventured downstairs and came back with a piece of bread, which she's sitting next to me eating. It appears to be going down ok with her throat, but then again she's been eating ice out of her ice water so her throat may be a little numb. Who knows, but she cracks me up!
Posted by Dianne at 7:39 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Alexis Update 2
Wow! It's been a long, tiring day! Alexis is currently laying down next to me on my bed watching the new episode of Blue's Room where Blue gets a baby brother while I type this and she is rapidly falling asleep or appears to be!
Late this afternoon Alexis started complaining of a sore throat. Then about 30 minutes ago we ventured out to pick some cucumbers and she grabbed one of her precious peppers, bit into it and immediately started crying because she couldn't swallow it without it hurting her. So I pulled out the handy dandy flashlight and her throat is not pretty! Jamison called the place we went last night and surprisingly they were less then useful and instead directed him to the Nurse line. The nurse asked a few questions, had us have Alexis to try a few things to make sure it wasn't anything too serious, and advised that we'd be better off taking her to her regular doctor in the morning because she most likely has strep and a few hours here or there won't make that big of a difference and she'd be better off with her primary doctor. I have to say I agree with that assessment!
So I'll call first thing in the morning and get her an appointment, hopefully with Dr. West if she's in. I'm hoping she'll fall asleep here in my room and sleep with me tonight because it will make it easier to keep an eye and ear on her. We'll see how it goes.
Update: 7:29 PM: Not so much asleep! She is bouncing to keep herself awake while she watches Blue. I have a feeling she's going to have to sleep in her room.
Posted by Dianne at 7:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Alexis Update
This is one, not feelng well, totally wiped out little girl! About 10 o'clock this morning she climbed up into my lap, snuggled into my neck and WENT TO SLEEP! Anyone that knows Alexis knows that is not her! So I took her upstairs and put her in bed with me and we both took a nap and she slept for almost 3 hours. The fact that she slept, not only with someone lying next to her, but in a bed that was not her own, is also is totally out of character for Alexis!
We just gave her another dose of Motrin and she's lying in the floor at my feet next to my desk saying "Mommy, I cry!" while she whimpers. Her fever came back up a little higher than I would have liked given that we slept through the time when we should have given her the next dose, but it's coming back down. We rubbed her down with a tepid washcloth as advised and she is drinking more ice water. The doctor's office that saw her last night called to check on her again just as Alexis and I were coming downstairs from our nap. I don't usually take naps, but when I tried to leave she would hold on tighter. She needed me and I'm not going to argue with that, even though I feel a little blah as I usually do when I takes naps, but hopefully that will wear off in a bit.
We're going to go watch some "Cooking Shows" and have some cuddles on the couch! We'll give another update later in the day.
Posted by Dianne at 1:35 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Alabama Democratic Party does the right thing.
I've been very busy the last couple of weeks, so I haven't had a chance to comment on the goings on in Alabama. Kathy an occasional commenter on Daffodil Lane and the great blogger from Birmingham Blues has been covering the Patricia Todd case on her blog and she's gotten some big time bloggers linking to her site as she's followed the case.
The simple version of the case is that Patricia Todd an openly gay woman, who ran for a legislative seat and won. Anywhere else in the world that wouldn't have even caused a blip on any one's radar, even the Republican party doesn't blink much at stuff like that anymore, they had a bunch of Gay Republicans that happily cast their votes for W and his anti-gay hate speech at the 2004 convention. But in Alabama, some people went nuts inside the Democratic party. They attempted to find a loophole to try and get the election thrown out on technical grounds. They pinned their hopes on an outdated law in the Democratic party that required that people file financial papers with the party before they could run. Federal campaign reforms changed all the rules about such things, so it was a load of crap no matter how you spun it. But a handful of hateful people led the charge anyway.
This is where the story takes an interesting turn, see since the party rules were deprecated by later a statue to suddenly enforce the party rules would have caused the disqualification of every single candidate for public office in the Democratic party. So the hate filled folks had to make a decision about what was more important...their bigoted agenda or the Democratic party. It appears much to my surprise that they chose the party over bigotry. I have to say I would have never called that one.
Anyway, Kathy has a lot more on the subject and has been on the ground following this one for the blogger world. I want to personally thank her for her hard work and great writing on the subject. While we all can't be everywhere, there are starting to be enough of us everywhere that we can swing the focus onto injustice and help make our country a better place to live.
Read more over on Birmingham Blues.
Posted by Jamison at 10:16 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Cute
"Mommy?"
"Yes?"
"I love you."
"I love you too baby doll!"
"I love you too Mommy doll!"
How cute is that?
Posted by Dianne at 9:19 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
My Viral Little Monkey
For the past couple of days Alexis has been a bit off. I chalked it up to a late night on Tuesday and Wednesday last week, neither of which were her fault, and left it at that, given it sometimes takes kids a few days to get back into the swing of things...Until yesterday afternoon.
Yesterday morning we woke up and ran to the grocery store. Then we came home and got Jamison ready to go out and canvass with Rose yesterday afternoon. About an hour before Jamison had to leave it became apparent to me that Alexis was sick. She wasn't showing any overt symptoms, but a mother's intuition is never wrong and given the way she was acting, I knew she didn't feel well. So I told Jamison that it probably would be best not to let Rose come into the house just in case...No need to make her sick too!
While Jamison was out canvassing Alexis' temperature spiked. She came up to me and laid her head in my lap and the child was burning up! I've literally never felt this child that hot! So I took her temperature and it was 102.1. I immediately gave her some Motrin and encouraged her to drink ice water. When Jamison got home about 20 minutes later we decided we better take her over to the NightTime Pediatric place to make sure it wasn't an ear infection or anything like that. We called and they told us to come in at 7:20 pm last night. Luckily her ears were fine and she didn't appear to have any other issues, other than the fever. He advised us it was viral...Would most likely take 3-5 days to cycle through...Lot's of liquids and Motrin as needed and to follow up with our regular doctor.
Luckily Alexis slept through the night, but she woke up around 6 this morning crying. Her fever was back up. So we brought her into our room, gave her some Motrin and Jamison came downstairs and got her some ice water and a banana. This morning she appears to have some sneezing and some congestion, but she's ok and is playing quietly, though she is a bit whinier than normal.
This morning I started taking Airborne as well, because right now I can't afford to get sick! Jamison's going to start taking some too after he gets back from running some errands for me and he really can't afford to get sick right now either! Overall we're just taking things slow.
Posted by Dianne at 8:54 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Pinwheel Progress
I am working on quilting the pinwheel quilt now. Every time I start out machine quilting it makes me long for one of those quilting machines that take up half a room, but I digress! Alexis is now a bit under the weather so I don't see me getting to work on this that much over the next few days. We shall see, but hopefully I will be able to get it finished in time for her to use it with her air mattress at the beach!
Posted by Dianne at 8:48 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Reading or A Lucky Guess?
Last week I bought Alexis several boxes of flash cards to work with since we're starting out the learning process. One of the boxes was entitled "Colors and Shapes". Alexis has looked through this set many times since we bought them the other day and it has fast becoem her favorite.
Friday she asked me for "colors and shapes" and when she made the request I thought she was talking about the "Colors and Shapes" episode of Blue's Clues and I headed to the TiVo. "No Mommy. I want colors and shapes!" So having no clue what she was asking for I told her to show me. She rolled her eyes at me as if I was the lamest person on earth and took me by the hand to lead me to the place where I had the flash cards up out of her reach so they wouldn't be spread out all over the place and disappear into the vortex that is her toy stash. "Mommy...Dose colors and shapes!"
Now I didn't tell her what this box said and neither did Jamison. Did she figure out it was colors and shapes because well the cards have colors and shapes on them? Or did someone else mention the name of the cards? Or did she "read" the title? Regardless she knows that it's "colors and shapes" and to be quite honest she freaked me out a little bit, but our children are here if nothing not to amaze us! :o)
Posted by Dianne at 8:38 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 26, 2006
Jamaica, Caymans issue hurricane watch for Ernesto
Still not looking good! I checked the water temperatures in the Gulf and they are definitely not reassuring. Last I heard the New Orleans levees could withstand a Category 3 storm in their current state. But I'm not sure about that one at this point.
We've got a Low Front traveling across the Midwest right now, but in a week who knows what we will have. If you live somewhere between Texas and Florida you should check your disaster kits now before the rush. Review you disaster plans and plan your evacuation routes. It's time to start preparing for the worst, remember given the average response time of FEMA, you need to be able to survive on your own for 2 weeks so plan accordingly.
Read more over at CNN.
Posted by Jamison at 11:34 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Fuel-economy concerns focus attention on tires
The engineer in me needs to speak on the subject of tires for the moment. I was reading this interesting article n AutoblogGreen about new tires for long haul trucks that improve their fuel economy by 4%. Off of that entry they linked to an article on Tire Tech about rolling resistance of the tires. In that article they brought up the fact that having a tire at improper air pressure can cancel out the effects of even a good tire on a vehicle. Then I remembered back to WWII and a system used by DUKW that allowed them to alter the tire pressure when they were doing an amphibious assault. Since anyone that knows anything about the military knows that good ideas don't go away, they just get refined by the military, I decided to go looking for the modern version of this technology. Amazingly I found it on the Stryker, the problems with the program aside, it does have something called the central tire-inflation system (CTIS). Basically the modern version of the DUKW's tire pressure control system.
I'm working my way back be patient. Once I had the modern name for the system I started doing a comparison to all military hardware and guess what? They have a similar system on the Hummer, which is also sold to the public if you want to add it on. It's only on the H1, because it is the one that is built straight off of the military design. The upgrade kit was only 600 bucks to add the hardware to the existing systems. So that doesn't seem like it would be too expensive of an enterprise.
So now lets get back to where we started, maybe another improvement to tires on trucks should be this CTIS that will automatically regulate the tire pressure on all trucks at an optimized pressure at all times. And actually it seems like this same system should be worked on for cars as well, then you wouldn't have to worry about checking tire pressure anymore and if you had a tire with a leak, the system would be able to tell you that you'd been losing pressure even as it maintains it.
Read more over at AutoblogGreen, Stryker, and Tire Tech.
Posted by Jamison at 10:40 AM | Comments (3)
August 25, 2006
Tropical Depression Number 5
If you're asking yourself why is oil up a dollar this morning, well you only need to look at the track of Tropical Depression Number 5. If you're the praying type, it's time to start now.
Read more over at the NHC.
Posted by Jamison at 9:59 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
August 24, 2006
Mystic Pizza
I Tivoed Mystic Pizza (though I'm not sure why, given I own the DVD!) the other day and I watched it again tonight! I just love this movie! If you haven't seen it check it out...It's really good! :o)
Update: The more I think about it the more I have to say this...Julia Roberts looks amazing in this movie! This is back when she still had some meat on her bones, her lips weren't as puffed up, she looked natural and she was simply stunning! Now she's looks like an overstretched drum skin! I hate that starlets in Hollywood think they have to mess with their looks/faces to be "beautiful", when they were simply stunning before they started messing with themselves! She's either had plastic surgery or she's starved herself to the point that she's a walking skeleton with her skin stretched too tight...In Hollywood who knows??!??!? But this is not attractive!
Posted by Dianne at 9:14 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Congrats to Jamie Deen and his Wife Brooke
Food Network personality Jamie Deen is a first-time father with his wife, Brooke Terry Deen, PEOPLE has confirmed.Jack Linton Deen was born Monday in the Savannah, Ga., hometown of his paternal grandmother, Food Network star and author Paula Deen. The newest member of the clan weighed in 6 lbs., 9oz. and was 19.5 inches long.
"He's got his mama's lips and beautiful olive skin and his daddy's big head," says Jamie, who costars with his brother Bobby Deen on the Food Network's Road Tasted. "He smiled yesterday and has a face full of dimples like his dad. It might be a birth defect, but when he's 16 years old it will work for him."
One thing's for sure: Grandma Paula is pleased as punch by the arrival of her first grandchild, something she'd been asking for repeatedly since Jamie and Brooke's March 5, 2005 wedding reception. "Mama signed our wedding registry with 'Are you pregnant yet?'" Deen tells PEOPLE.
"We are truly blessed," says Paula. "This baby is exquisite and perfect."
Found via People Magazine online.
Posted by Dianne at 7:33 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Live Blogging the County Executive Debate
My first thought on this debate is why is the President of Comcast allowed to ask questions? He's so not non-partisan. Is he really going to make the first question are you going to support Corporate interests over the interests of the people? Go get them George!
Callahan seems to be the pro-growth candidate, no matter how much it costs the people of the county, business must always be first. Are we sure that this guy isn't a Republican candidate that came in too early?
BRAC discussions are always interesting. 15,000 new jobs should make things interesting.
Environmental questions are good for George. Pro-active, that's the key word. You never hear that from a Republican candidate. They always want to react or stick their heads in the sand. More inspectors good answers.
I forget how poor our waterways have gotten. Scary situations going on.
Callahan just zinged George claiming he wants to raise taxes? That's completely in appropriate.
Arrogance and aggressive, that seems to sum up Callahan. Leopard doesn't change his spots.
George Johnson is almost a polar opposite of Callahan when it comes to leadership. Integrity is the watch word, George has it in spades.
Interesting George says he'll go out to the people to hear their problems. Callahan says his time would be to valuable to waste on individual issues. It's amazing to see the differences between of Populous candidate and a Establishment candidate. People like George because he's one of them.
Awesome George has a plan for helping get workforce housing. Here's a link for it.
Callahan yet again comes out with the Republican talking points on the workforce housing. Government can't do anything, we should all give up and just start eliminating the poor people. What is up with this guy?
Callahan just attacked George again. The lame arrest warrant story. George didn't take the bait for negative campaigning. Infinitely stronger candidate and a better person.
The Republican debate is beginning. Basically an army of George Bush clones, all focused on undermining and destroying the county. I'll try to blog it until the ignorance overwhelms me and I give up. The audience being quiet, yeah right, these are Republicans they have no concept of courtesy.
The Comcast guy has his buddies up, he seems almost giddy to hear their response to support giving him more money.
Nourse steps up with the standard Business above all else answer of the Republican party.
Boschert actually used the term 21st century. Wow, he just lost the race. Republicans only support people that say they want everything to go back to 1950's. Being a Veteran doesn't really doesn't help you run the county BRAC doesn't change.
Angelis used the term failure, that sums up pretty much every Republican plan.
Bisset's microphone isn't working at all. Sounds like he's saying fire all the qualified people in zoning and put in Republican cronies to mismanage things. Great plan!
Leopold claims he sponsored legislation?? Since when?? We need an County Executive that accessible by the growth folks by not controlled by that industry? Dude Republicans have a strick pay to play governing style. Yet again he claims he sponsored legislation. When did this happen? Do we have secret legislation going on that no one knows about?
Boschert says we are doomed!!! Well I feel better.
Bissett wants you to visit his website to see his thoughts on matter, I popped over, standard Republican babble.
Oh the zoning law question, I can't wait to see the responses.
Leopold says enforcement is critical. Ok, Leopold is basically lifting George Johnson's answer to this question, he's just can't say it in a way to make you feel he's honest. Equal under the law?? That's an insane suggestion for a Republicans.
Boschert managed to snag the guy that wrote the Critical Areas legislation. Boschert is doing the same thing that George did the entire debate, he's talking about the office as he has already been elected. No political hacks, this guys
Bissett goes back to the fact all the money is being spent improperly. I think that's code for getting the Republican political hacks.
Nourse thinks that inspectors need a lot more power to do what?
Angelis claims that he's going to make people obey the law and is going to tear down the island house.
Boschert brings up the Comprehensive rezoning. Now the Republican plan starts becoming clear. They are going to use that to push forward their pro-growth agenda.
Leopold claims to have had legislation passed again? Back to all the money that is being misspent, if we just put more into Republican cronies we will all be better off. He's going to "restructure" the entire county government?? Translation cronies all around.
Boschert wonders why the people have lost faith in the governments. Republicans are dishonest that's why people don't trust you.
Angelis is obsessed with the Dobbin's Island issue. I guess that's his only issue.
Bissett is harping again that all government spending is wasteful.
What kind of leader are you going to be.
Angelis finds money on the ground. Gives it all to his church. Not sure how that applies.
Boschert thinks that he's worthy of their trust. Started talking about firing people effectively. I'm sure that county employees feel comfortable with that.
Bissett thinks that the government isn't listening. The county council is controlled by Republicans, I wonder how people got that impression. Oh because Republicans don't listen to anyone but their campaign contributors.
Nourse uses a collaborative management style. You speak and he tells you what you think. Pretty straight forward.
Leopold claims that he has put 45 laws in. I've got to go check that out. He claims to listen to his constituents. Hmmm, I'm a constituent he doesn't listen to me, does that make him a liar or just clueless? Isn't it so easy to be "ethical" when you rich?
Angelis wants to pick up my trash. I don't know if I would trust him with my trash.
Nourse supports the barriers between citizens and there government.
Bissett wants structure communications, translation when he is in office there will be communication only with those that support the Republican party.
Boschert mentioned rule of law. Dude you're a Republican you don't believe in the rule of the law!
Leopold claims that he doesn't take money, evidently he felt that Boschert was talking about him breaking the law. Wants to add 311, basically to allow people to complain rather than follow the standard procedures. This is going to be extremely popular with Republicans, it basically creates two levels of government one for Republicans and then the level for the rest of us.
Public Safety question:
Boschert says we need more cops, bringing back cadet program. The Fire department program is coming back, without him so I'm not sure what's going to happen with that.
Nourse says things are so bad that nothing can be done. Society has allowed kids to turn out bad. Says that we need to start beating kids. Evidently Latinos and Blacks need special education about how bad their kids are.
Leopold says more cops, technology, and community.
Boschert brings back up his Ombusman, a layer of middle management between the people and the county executive.
Bissett says everything can be fixed by giving people jobs.
Angelis says we need to police our own communities.
Transportation Question:
Bissett has a 13 point action plan. He's going to give me an extra hour, I'd have to drive at nearly at the speed of light, but hey. And hybrids won't decrease traffic.
Boschert says we need a shuttle service. Oh the key to his plan requires that business people to approve.
Leopold is complaining that Ehrlich isn't allowing him to keep money from being stolen. Well big surprise. Leopold claims that he supports mass transit.
Nourse brings up the Green line to BWI, I really like that notion.
Angelis is suggesting telecommuting. Wild idea for a Republican. Well it's half hearted it's only satellite offices. Most people don't need to go into an office at all.
Boschert thinks we can get private industry to pay for things. Back to the government can't solve any problem.
Bissett is worshiping Ehrlich again. Will support mass transit allegedly.
Leopold thinks that people's trust can be regained under Republican leadership. Laughable this guy has to be trying to kill me.
Nourse says mass transit should be self sustaining. How dude? Won't work.
Angelis has nothing to say.
Closing Statements:
Nourse says politicians are bad. Well duh!
Leopold says the finances are good in the county in spite of Republican majority county council because we've had Democratic leadership.
Angelis says hi to his mom. Very sweet. He's done a lot of things. He wants you to go to his website.
Boschert was born here, what a qualification? He's done a lot of stuff. He's still pimping that he's going to hire cronies that agree with him.
Bissett claims to have a positive plan. I can't get past the fact that he's an Ehrlich crony, but that's just me.
I'm definitely left more confident of an easy Democratic victory in November. These guys are hacks at best and incompetent at worse. Hopefully folks will get a chance to see these debates, because it clarifies just how bad the Republican candidates are. And I include Callahan in that list.
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Desperate Soundbites
Have I meantioned lately how much I LOVE Jon Stewart??!?!? He sums up Bush's recent press conference in the way only he can! Just go watch...You know you want to! ;o)
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Speaks For Itself
Found via Gallery of the Absurd.
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Astronomers say Pluto is not a planet
PRAGUE, Czech Republic - Leading astronomers declared Thursday that Pluto is no longer a planet under historic new guidelines that downsize the solar system from nine planets to eight.After a tumultuous week of clashing over the essence of the cosmos, the International Astronomical Union stripped Pluto of the planetary status it has held since its discovery in 1930. The new definition of what is — and isn't — a planet fills a centuries-old black hole for scientists who have labored since Copernicus without one.
Although astronomers applauded after the vote, Jocelyn Bell Burnell — a specialist in neutron stars from Northern Ireland who oversaw the proceedings — urged those who might be "quite disappointed" to look on the bright side.
"It could be argued that we are creating an umbrella called 'planet' under which the dwarf planets exist," she said, drawing laughter by waving a stuffed Pluto of Walt Disney fame beneath a real umbrella.
"Many more Plutos wait to be discovered," added Richard Binzel, a professor of planetary science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The decision by the prestigious international group spells out the basic tests that celestial objects will have to meet before they can be considered for admission to the elite cosmic club.
For now, membership will be restricted to the eight "classical" planets in the solar system: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
I've been reading about this for weeks, but I must say them actually downgrading Pluto from planethood is a bit sad. I feel almost as if a part of my childhood has been ripped away. Ah the harsh light of reality!
Found via Yahoo! Science News.
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Cheeky Little Monkeys
What a pair - these funny little creatures are albino Pygmy Marmoset monkeys, born at the Froso Zoo in Ostersund, Sweden this week.The Pygmy Marmoset, the world's smallest monkey which all grown up reaches just 35cm and weighs barely 100 grams, is quite rare, but this albino pair is particularly unusual.
The pair, pictured snuggled into a zookeeper's thumb almost as big as them, are twins, a common occurrence in Pygmy Marmosets, which are more likely to be born in pairs than single births.
The small squirrel-like critters are expert tree-climbers, they have ringed tails that are as long as their bodies and claws specially designed for scaling trees.
They use their tiny teeth to gouge holes in tree bark and also nibble on tree vines and fruit.
The monkeys, which are found in the wild in the upper Amazon basin in South America, are a popular exhibit in zoos and in captivity they can live for up to 11 years.
They communicate with each other through high pitched clicks, squeaks, whistles, and trills.
I hate that they are confined in a zoo, but they are cute little guys!
Read more here.
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Where Bush's Arrogance Has Taken Us
During his gubernatorial days in Texas, George W let slip a one-sentence thought that unintentionally gave us a peek into his political soul. In hindsight, it should've been loudly broadcast all across our land so people could've absorbed it, contemplated its portent?and roundly rejected the guy's bid for the presidency. On May 21, 1999, reacting to some satirical criticism of him, Bush snapped: "There ought to be limits to freedom."
I just love his way of thinking...You say something bad about him and we must limit your freedom, yet he can say and do whatever he wants, with no regard to anyone or anything...Not even the LAW!! I have one word for you...INSANE!!
Now lets look at some disturbing numbers:
- Number of Americans killed in Bush's Iraq war as of August 2006: 2577- What Bush press flack Tony Snow said the day the total number of American dead reached 2,500: "It's a number"
- Number of Americans killed since Bush declared "Mission Accomplished" on May 1, 2003: 2,438
- Number of Americans wounded (a vague term that includes such horrors as brain damage, limb blasted off, eyes blown out, psyche shattered, etc.) in Bush's war: Official count: 18,777, Independent count: up to 48,000
- Estimated number of Iraqi civilians (men, women, and children) killed in Bush's war since Saddam Hussein was ousted: 38,960
- For Iraqis, the bloodiest month of the war so far: June 2006 (more than 100 civilians killed per day)
- Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmit's advice to Iraqis who see TV reports of innocent civilians being killed by occupying troops: "Change the channel."
- Percent of Iraqis who want American troops to leave: 82
- Stockpiles of Weapons of Mass Destruction found in Iraq since Bush committed Americans to war in 2003 on the basis that Saddam had and was about to use WMDs: 0
- Number of nations in the world: 192
- Number that joined Bush's "Coalition of the Willing" (COW) to invade Iraq: 48 (The list includes such military powers as Angola, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Latvia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Romania, Solomon Islands, and Uganda.)
- Number of COW nations that actually sent any troops to Iraq: 39 (Of these, 32 sent fewer than 1,000 troops. Many sent no fighting units, deploying only engineers, trainers, humanitarian units, and other noncombat personnel.)
- Number of the 39 COW nations contributing troops that have since withdrawn them: 17 (An additional 7 have announced plans to withdraw all or part of their contingents this year.)
- Number of COW troops in Iraq: 150,000
- Number of these that are U.S. troops: 139,000
- Number of White House officials and cabinet members who have any of their immediate family in Bush's war: 0
Not serious enough for you yet? Let's look at the money issues:
- The official White House claim before the invasion of what the war and occupation would cost U.S. taxpayers: $50 billion- As of July 2006, the total amount appropriated by Congress for Bush's ongoing war and occupation: $295,634,921,248
- Current Pentagon spending per month in Iraq: $8 billion (or $185,185.19 per minute)
- Assuming all troops return home by 2010, the projected "real costs" for the war: More than $1 trillion (includes veterans' pay and medical costs, interest on the billions Bush has borrowed to pay for his war, etc.)
What about all of the issues we are having in this country where we could use some of this money, like say perhaps in Katrina ravaged areas, social security, healthcare and/or education? Oh wait...I forgot...Those things don't matter!
"I'm the commander -- see, I don't need to explain -- I do not need to explain why I say things. That's the interesting thing about being the president. Maybe somebody needs to explain to me why they say something, but I don't feel like I owe anybody an explanation." George W., August, 2002.
What you are Mr. Bush is completely delusional. Being president your very job is to explain yourself to the American people. You don't get to sit up on your high horse with a free card do whatever the hell you want to do and get away with it. There are laws and procedures that must be followed! And it's high time Congress did their job and bring charges against you and your cronies for your many crimes!
I could go on and on about this article and the many issues that it points out with Mr. Bush, but everytime I think about the whole thing it makes my blood boil! Just go read it for youself over at Alternet.org and be enlightened, not that anyone with half a brain needs to be told any of this stuff, but still.
Thanks to our commenter Gina from last night who pointed me to this article!
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Tea Partay
Um...
Well...
Uh...
This ad...
Just go watch it yourself!
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August 23, 2006
Debby
It looks like Debby is going to turn and go back out to sea and not come visit here in Maryland thank the Heavens! I'm so not in the mood to sit here for 7 days without power again like we did after Isabelle in September of 2003! We'll keep any eye on her, because you never know what a few days may bring, but I most definitely like the new projected path. We're a few years overdue for a storm to blow through though.
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A is for Ant
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August 22, 2006
Tired Beauty
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Mr. Nelson
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Morning Pepper Snack
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Curls
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Sunshine
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Bucket Of Sand
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Hands
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August 21, 2006
Tropical Depression FOUR
And so it begins! Right now it looks like it may be headed toward us, but who knows which way it will end up going.
Find out more at the <