LinkLand

Here's some links I like and why...

RottenNeighbor.com

Who doesn't have a few bad neighbors in their hood? This is a cool place to check out and see if maybe YOU are the bad neighbor in YOUR hood! (Originally seen on Houston Consumer Blog).


The Bargainist!

Who doesn't like to shop AND save a buck in the process? This is one of my favorites to keep an eye on for window shopping if nothing else.


TdashDub

Who doesn't like young, cute, funny menfolk with tight tushes? This one could be one of my grandkids if I had any grandkids! He likes to make videos and it's just a matter of time before he is discovered. He's got LOTS of fans, but he needs to be noticed by someone with some pull. (Warning: explicit language - So, Betty, don't click on this link! It's not something you'd like, trust me on this one!)


Simply Audiobooks

Who doesn't like FREE stuff? This place has free book downloads! Alas, they also sell books, but that's another story entirely. Another free books place is LibriVox.


15 Web Addresses for Wasting Time …

Who doesn't like to waste time? Just stare off into space and comtemplate nothing! Here then are 15 links that are just for fun.


Free Annual Credit Report

Who doesn't like getting a free annual credit report to make sure your identity hasn't been compromised? Or just because it's FREE!


Refrigerator Words

Who doesn't like rearranging words on the refrigerator? Especially when other people you can't see are also making sentences and silly sayings! What fun!


Woot

Everybody already knows about Woot. Sigh. But who didn't know that if you click on the "Woot" in the upper left hand corner you are taken to Shirt.woot for T-shirt deals? Or that then if you click on Woot Shirt you're taken to Wine.Woot or as I like to think of it WootWine? Me! That's who didn't know! But thanks to Gowan, now I do!


Flaming Text

And finally, who among us doesn't like to set their name on fire? I bet I nearly filled up a harddrive with flaming text!


Enjoy the links!

Please Help An Injured HCSO Deputy!

How can you help Deputy Cupial?

If you're in the area, you can attend the BBQ! Tickets will be available at the door.

If you can't physically attend, you can send MONEY!

Send your donation to:

Deputy Pete Cupial
c/o Harris County Federal Credit Union
1400 Franklin Street
Houston, Texas 77002

Thanks in advance for helping one of Harris County's finest!

Diabetes Type III?!

My gosh, check this out...

Insulin, it turns out, may be as important for the mind as it is for the body. Research in the last few years has raised the possibility that Alzheimer's memory loss could be due to a novel third form of diabetes.

Now scientists at Northwestern University have discovered why brain insulin signaling -- crucial for memory formation -- would stop working in Alzheimer's disease. They have shown that a toxic protein found in the brains of individuals with Alzheimer's removes insulin receptors from nerve cells, rendering those neurons insulin resistant. (The protein, known to attack memory-forming synapses, is called an ADDL for "amyloid ß-derived diffusible ligand.")

With other research showing that levels of brain insulin and its related receptors are lower in individuals with Alzheimer's disease, the Northwestern study sheds light on the emerging idea of Alzheimer's being a "type 3" diabetes.

Wow.

I'd love to know if my brain insulin has improved along with my body's insulin use!

I wonder how they test for brain insulin?

That would surely take a glucose monitor like nothing I've ever seen!

I'm not even going to think about the size of the test strip or where to prick for the blood sample!


-----------

Theory That Alzheimer's Disease Is A Third Form Of Diabetes Supported By Discovery

UPDATE on Dallas State Fair's New CHL Policy

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Apparantly, including the media in our last email was a good idea! I just received a call from a reporter at the Fox Affiliate in Dallas, KDFW, who had just gotten off of the phone with officials at the State Fair. According to the reporter, the State Fair has NOT changed their policy regarding patrons who have a Concealed Handgun License and are entering legally armed.

To recap what to expect, you need to notify the person with the wand (all incoming patrons are wanded) that you are armed and have a concealed handgun license. You will probably be escorted to a point just inside the fence, where you will be asked to wait for a supervisor. Depending on how crowded the park is, you will wait for anywhere from a few minutes on up (I have heard of one member who left after waiting in vain for 45 minutes, but this seems to be an extreme example). The supervisor will verify that your license is valid, and on my only visit to the park armed, the number of my CHL and name were recorded on a notepad. In my case, on a weekday afternoon, the whole process took about 5-10 minutes.

Going through this process, while certainly annoying, will at least allow you to be able to defend yourself during your time of greatest vulnerability, which is the walk to and from the parking areas, since Dallas Fair Park is in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the city.

If anyone does encounter any difficulty in carrying a handgun legally at the State Fair of Texas, please contact our office immediately at 972-889-8772, and we will take whatever actions necessary to see that this important right does not get interrupted.



I am writing to you today to let you know of a possible change in policy by the State Fair Foundation, regarding CHL Carry at the State Fair of Texas. In years past, CHL holders were allowed to carry after displaying their CHL to a supervisor brought to the front gate for that purpose. We have reason to believe that policy may be undergoing revision, but cannot yet confirm it. We also have no confidence whatsoever of getting a straight answer out of State Fair officials.

Our source of information is the following message posted to the Texas CHL Forum:

We just attended our orientation meeting for all the officers that will be working the State Fair this year. One important change to this year's event is that CHL holders will not be allowed to carry firearms while in the Fair this year. This is a big change from previous years that you will need to prepare for. This is not a DPD rule or policy - this comes from the State Fair management.

We were told that if someone comes into the fair with a gun and they have a CHL that there will be no LE action taken against them as they have not broken any state laws. However, a representative of the State Fair will be contacted and the violator will be detained until they arrive. Once the State Fair representative arrives the violator will be informed once again of this new policy and asked to remove their gun from the premises. If they refuse to do so then they will be given a Criminal Trespass warning and if they refuse at that time to leave, or return back to the fair grounds this year they will be arrested. I can also pretty well assure that their weapon will be seized and a report made to DPS.

Anyway, I wanted to let as many of you know as soon as I found out since the Fair opens tomorrow. I can just imagine that there will be quite a few people parking some distance from the fair grounds and being stopped at the gate regarding this new policy. They will be faced with a long trek back to their vehicle, or if they took DART to the fair they will have to spend money and time to return to some location where they can safely store their gun.

Also, be prepared for longer lines at the entrances due to the extra security of wanding every person and searching all of their belongings. If you do decide to come and visit have a great time as there are a lot of new attractions, rides and food vendors this year.

We are presenting this information to you as quickly as possible as a warning, so that you will not find yourself in a predicament. If you do wish to attend the State Fair with your legally carried firearm, be prepared for this new policy to be enacted. If you are ordered to leave, do not risk your CHL by refusing to do so. But we are sharing this information, so that you can prepare yourself for the eventuality of having to walk back to your car to store your firearm, or leave entirely if you utilize DART transportation (since you will have no place to store your firearm).

Remember, if given instructions or a trespass warning by the State Fair officials, please follow them. If the Fair personnel insist on attempting to change their long-standing CHL policy, which has not resulted in a single incident or injury, then we will take this issue up with the State Legislature in 2009.

Questions regarding this message can be directed to the Texas State Rifle Association at 972-889-8772.

James Dark

Executive Director

Texas State Rifle Association

Six Catholic Nuns Excommunicated For Heresy

Wow.

On first glance at this article from the Houston Chronicle my mind started racing about jokes dealing with Arkansas and nuns in the punch line, but the more I read the more I wanted to know.

So I Googled and came up with this article Mary, Quite Contrary that is a bio of Marie-Paule Giguère. Now I'm not about to say she is or isn't the Virgin Mary incarnate, but one has to admit that she must have something going for her.

Considering her history and the fact that she reinvented herself... here's her timeline:

1) Born 1921

2) 1933 at age 12, she has heard "an interior voice" that her followers believe is God channeling the spirit of the Virgin Mary through her

3) Married in 1944, had five children

4) Separated from her allegedly abusive husband in 1957

5) Placed her children in an orphanage OR perhaps in a "boarding school" as one source suggests

6) THEN (drum roll) thanks to another edict from God - became the Virgin Mary incarnate circa 1958

7) August 28, 1971 - formed the Army of Mary in Quebec

8) In 1975, Cardinal Maurice Roy, Archbishop of Quebec and Primate of the Church in Canada, issued a decree recognizing it as a "Pious Association"

8) In March 25,1987 all hell done broke loose! She got a proper smack down from Cardinal Vachon, the Archbishop of Quebec because two books being circulated by the Army of Mary contained "gravely erroneous doctrines". They took back her piousness, big time!

9) In 1997,her husband, Georges Cliche, died. This freed her to become a religious. She was unanimously elected Superior General of the Daughters of Mary -- one of the five organizations that she herself had founded.

10) March 25, 2000 - the 40,000 square foot Spiri-Maria opens and it looks quite spiffy! This isn't a cheap joint! As usual, there's a lot of money in religion. Call it a cult, call it a sect, call it anything you like, just make sure you keep the green flowing!

They have thousands of followers too. I've never heard of them until today, but then I make it a point to shun that sort of thing whenever possible. I just naturally distrust anything that man says God told him to do that leads to a profit and loss statement.

That's What I Like To Hear!

I recently contacted my US Senators concerning H.R. 2640 and this is the response I got back from JOHN CORNYN ....

Thank you for contacting me about federal firearms laws. I appreciate having the benefit of your comments on this matter.

It is essential to safeguard the law-abiding citizen's right to own and use firearms designed for legitimate purposes such as hunting, target shooting, collecting, and self protection. Restricting this right runs counter to the intent of our Founding Fathers, who expressly guaranteed that citizens would retain the right to keep and bear arms.

As a former Texas Supreme Court Justice and Attorney General, I have firsthand knowledge of crime-fighting policies that work, and I believe that citizens' Second Amendment rights should not be restricted because of the actions of criminals. Rather, we must respect the rights of law-abiding citizens and focus our attention on the source of violent crime: criminals who use firearms to commit crimes. I believe that strictly enforcing the law and meting out longer sentences for career criminals and those who use firearms when committing crimes will reduce crime much more effectively than gun or equipment bans.

I appreciate the opportunity to represent Texans in the United States Senate, and you may be certain that I will continue working with my colleagues to uphold our Second Amendment rights. Thank you for taking the time to contact me.

Sincerely,

JOHN CORNYN
United States Senator

I know. It's a form reply. But it's still exactly what I wanted to hear/read! Heck, I'd send out form replies too if I got the volume of mail that those folks do.

The BEST part about it is living in Texas, as a rule, you don't have to worry about how the Senators are going to vote on gun issues. They KNOW how the majority of Texans feel about our privileges to own and bear arms. I still write though just to let them know I'm still alive, kicking, waving my flag and voting!

What I Hate About Minute Maid Park!

Thanks to my best friend Paula and her lovely husband Larry, I get to go to Minute Maid Park a LOT and if you are around something long enough it starts to bug you. Or at least it starts to bug ME, so in an effort to soothe myself I'll list the gripes....to wit....

1) The beer sellers and other peddlers are just too much. I think it might be just isle 113, but I'm not sure. I do KNOW they come down that isle in droves. About 4 or 5 DIFFERENT beer sellers come one right after the other and they don't just scream BEER/WATER at the top of their lungs, they stand in the isle and block the view(s). Naturally they spot the ones drinking beer and that is like chum to a shark. They KNOW if you drink ONE you're going to just keep on buying until Last Call so they just keep circlin'.

So how would *I* fix it?

I'd do like they do to wrecker drivers. Give them a chip and then let the folks in the red shirts pick ONE and that ONE would be allowed to peddle on THAT isle or maybe that isle and a couple on either side of it. Better yet would be that one isle and assign them another isle clear across the stadium so it'd take them some time to get there and back. Brilliant!

See it's not just the beers sellers. They also have the frozen lemonade (Minute Maid, of course!) sellers, the Peanut Man (who's pretty cool and really more fun than irritating, so, okay, he can stay), the giant 'Rita with the little-or-no-alcohol so-why-would-anyone-buy-one? sellers, the cotton candy and assorted memorabilia pushers and I'm probably forgetting one or more of them. Ever so often you get the hot dog sellers, but not that much 'cause most folks go get their own which is a good idea for ALL that stuff except maybe the beer 'cause then they buy it in open cups and spill half of it before they get seated again.

Oh and the really, really irritating part is that they hold up these little stop signs to keep the fans from running down the isles while folks are batting and yet they don't stop the peddlers from doing the same thing!

2) My 2nd biggest gripe is the give-aways. Now they have done a tremendous job this year of HOW they give stuff out, but why oh why do the sponsors give out 10,000 of something knowing that 20k plus are going to be upset THEY didn't get one? We'd get there way early and always got whatever it was being given away, but that's not the point. It's like if you bought one super good toy at Christmas and had 3 or 4 kids and the first one in the den got it. Well you can imagine the angst that would ensue!

3) My final gripe (at this time!) is about sound. They like to play stuff on the big screen and some of it like the 1 minute player to player interviews are cool except that you can't hear what's being said....probably because some half dozen beer sellers are screaming all around you! Turn up the volume on the teevee and shut the sellers up!

I've also got a similar gripe with FSN when they have the after game autopsy questions and answers by the team manager and you can only hear HIM and not the questions and he's not about to respond by repeating the question so it's like...

Manager: Yes, I do.

blah, blah, blah

Manager: That's not a bad idea. We might implement that some time in the future.

You get the drift. Can't blame THAT one on the beer peddlers.

See if Drayton sat in the real seats he'd know this stuff. He sits in his ultra cool, got their own wait staff assigned, no peddlers yelling in HIS ear or blocking HIS view seats and could care less what the rest of the fans are going through.

Online Intrusion Or How To Keep On Your Toes

I buy a LOT online. I belong to MyPoints.com (ask ME how YOU can join and *I* can benefit!) and I'm saving up the points for my trips to "the islands" next year.

When you go to order something you have to stay alert! I reckon you should stay alert everywhere online, but it's crucial in the order blank filling out game!

They like to run these checked boxes in on you and hope you won't notice that you've just given them permission to make your inbox a living hell.

They ALL want to send you exciting offers.

I get so excited.

It's not just when you buy something, of course.

Take MLB.com for instance. They like to get you to vote for this and that and they are notorious for their checked boxes and once they get you on their mailing list they don't EVER let you off. I vote for the All Stars candidates and they LET you vote a gazillion times before they say "enuff" and it's so darn easy...all you have to do is fill in the info once and then just keep hitting 'vote again' or some such. The rub comes in, again, with those dadgum filled in boxes. You uncheck and if you don't remember to uncheck each and every time, they get you!

Now I know that built into the software and it's as automatic as looking at chocolate and wishing it was in your mouth and starting to slobber (in a nice, ladylike way, of course). You can't help the chocolate thing and they can't help the checked box thing. But they could if they wanted to. They could just as easily write something into the code that said you had to check it for it to stick, but noooooo that would defeat the whole purpose of tricking you.

Phooey. Makes me irritated.

I think I need some chocolate.

Google Docs Rock!

Nothing makes a mother more proud than to sit back and see their child sore high in the sky of their own accomplishments.

It's a living, breathing testament to validate all the right things we ever instilled in our kiddos.

By the same token, we feel it acutely when our kids mess up. We feel as if we should of anticipated it and somehow we ourselves messed up by NOT giving the kiddo what they needed to make a difference in the outcome. The plus side of the mess up is usually they learn a valuable lesson, but Lord how painful it is to watch them grow that way!

But I digress, this is a post about Google Docs and how much "they" rock!

The way my daughter got into this was that she told me about Google Docs as the site applies to her own computing life. She's sent me to so many great online places and the pride kicks in because I gave birth to her and by watching me struggle to learn how to use a computer she got the desire to learn about them herself. I get to live vicariously through HER growth and what mom doesn't eat THAT up with a spoon!

So, bottom line, check out the site and when you speak kindly of it, and you will, think of my kid and what a great job me and her dad did raising her!

(I'm almost sure I have to add a disclaimer that this post is meant to be full of sh*t. I do love the site. I did learn about it from my child and I am proud of her. All the rest is just me being way over the top of the manure pile! One of my favorite places to be I might add....)

How Perfect Is My Life?

When I get bored I like to take online "personality" polls! This is one I just took....

Your Life is 73% Perfect

Your life is pretty darn perfect. You don't have much to complain about. Of course, your life is occasionally less than perfect. But you're usually too happy to notice.

How Perfect is Your Life?

I thought it would be higher than 73%.

I think they lost me on the "job" and "body" questions. Plus I don't have a "significant other". All in all though I'm thinking I didn't do to badly rate-wise even if I stink date-wise.

Most of the fun things at Blogthings are for the very young anyway. It probably reflects on me in a negative light that I LIKE taking kiddie polls!

But, all things considered....I make a great peanutbutter sandwich!

What Your Peanut Butter And Jelly Sandwich Means

Your eating style is reserved. You are a bit of a fussy eater, and you have very specific ways you like your food prepared. You have an average sweet tooth. While you enjoy desserts, they aren't exactly your downfall. Your taste in food tends to be conservative and traditional. It's likely that you prefer "All American" favorites like mac and cheese or hamburgers. You are probably a fairly normal, upper middle class person. You don't rock the boat too often. You are a tough person who isn't afraid to live life fully. There isn't a lot that scares you. Precise and controlled, you can be a bit anal retentive when it comes to how you like things. You're definitely a perfectionist.

What Does Your Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Say About You?

Otay, OJ.

I swore I wasn't going to touch O. J. with a ten foot battle lance, but this is just too good not to flaunt....

One man's take on the whole thing....

On September 17th, 2007 at 11:47 am, RevJim said:

C’mon, now. Granted, Orenthal James is hardly our nation’s finest intellect, and it’s quite possible that — given his moronically evil outlook, history of mayhem and murder, and total absence of remorse — he qualifies for Worst Human Outside the Clinton Circle.

But as a reflection of American culture — our legal system, our conflicting notions of what matters in life, our collective worship of celebrity (at what cost?), our susceptibility to viewing even matters of life and death through the lens of race and idiotic PC — O.J. Simpson and the stench swirling around him have no equal.

I, for one, continue to be interested, and still pray — for all our sakes — that this saga ends with the door of a prison cell clanking shut behind him with all the force of a 6′6″ defensive tackle clotheslining the man. And I want to see it happen.

If he carried a gun,
He ain’t gonna run.

Amen, bro! Amen!

So Close!

...but still not there!

Poll: I'm Reading This Blog Because?

I'm Reading This Blog Because?
	I Know You and Like What I Read Here
	I Googled Something Hot and Got YOU instead!
	Force of Habit
	Bored - Nothing Better To Do
	You Read MY Blog!
	We're Related! I have to read it!
	None Of The Above
	All Of The Above
	Ask Me Again When I'm Sober!
pollcode.com free polls

Thanks for taking the poll! You rock!

I'm Just A Gal That Can't Say "NO"!

I've been up to my pits in volunteer options. It's difficult for me to turn down ANY opportunity to hang with the fuzz! (Good Lord I am old! No one says 'fuzz' anymore!).

Two weeks or so ago I was "helping" with a RAD class. Mostly I stood around and kept an eye on some gals even older than me hoping to catch them if they toppled over. They did let me film the final exam phase and that was cool.

RAD is one of Sheriff Thomas' pet projects and a wonderful program for women only. It's all very hush-hush with lots of female only high signs and special handshakes so I can't get into specifics, but the gist of it is to teach women to be more aware of their surroundings and watchful for imminent threats to their person. The ladies in the class just lap it all up like it was melted ice cream. They LOVE learning how to NOT be a victim.

I'm going to help with RAD again in a couple of weeks.

Last night I begged a ride to Kingwood to help with the current Harris County Citizen Police Academy class. I can't even say what number that class is because I flat out didn't think to find out. I graduated from Class 10 and they are probably up to 23 or 24 now.

They asked for a bunch of volunteers to help with "scenarios" and I got to be a "happy drunk" in the passenger seat with the male "happy drunk" driver. Then inside the building he and I were paired as a sister who called the police and her crazy brother. He had a plastic gun hidden and "killed" all but one of the deputies that responded. The only one that survived was the one that hustled ME out in the hallway to get me out of their way!

I had a ball! I was worn out by the time I got home last night and my forearms are covered with "bruises". I guess they are called bruises. The older I get the thinner my skin is and all you have to do is stare at it hard and it colors up! I also had a small skin tear that had to have a band-aid to stop the bleeding. I didn't want to show the brass in charge for fear they'd get all weirded out about the potential for liability, but thought it was probably better to ask for first aid than to bleed on the students!

I'll probably volunteer again for scenarios as it was fun! I'm quite the ham it seems! There were 16 or so of us that showed up to help and that was good because we saved the department a LOT of money as they usually used deputies for the role playing. There were scads and scads of deputies there as it was. I'm sure people driving by wondered what in the heck was going on with all the cruisers with flashing lights on and the staging of the 8 to 10 or so scenarios much less all the people in the parking lot of the 2nd Baptist Church!

The finale outside is the felony stop complete with sirens and a loud speaker. That involved 3 of the volunteers in one car being stopped by a half dozen or so patrol cars. The deputies all had to lock their real weapons up and use the red plastic handguns. One of the students wondered if the deputies felt silly advancing with their red guns outstretched. I was told later that they really felt silly before the use of the plastic guns when they just held their hands together and simulated the use of a weapon. The students were all abuzz with excitement watching the drama unfold.

You know...the more I know about Harris County's public service activities the more proud I am to be a resident of Harris County!


Previous post on CPA classes

Welcome aboard. Here's Your Blanket.

This young lady was asked to change her clothes before she could fly on Southwest to Tuscon. She didn't have any other clothes with her as she was only intending to stay a few hours. So she got to wear a blanket in her lap instead.

Here's the whole story.

Humph. It's my experience that they usually make you take things off...such as your shoes! I didn't realize the fashion police also had power over passengers these days! Wow!

Now my own personal gripe is gals that wear stuff like that, but not from the hubba-hubba aspect....hell, sugar, if you got it, flaunt it!....but from the safety standpoint. We have to watch the what-to-do-if videos on every flight and I sit there and think can that gal effect her own rescue with THOSE shoes on? 'Course THAT gal would have men lying down so she could walk on 'em or they'd tenderly carry her out by her....hooters, for sure, but I see women and children wearing inappropriate clothes and shoes all the time and just shake my head. I guess it's just part and parcel when you get old to sit around going tsk-tsk.

BTW this little gal works for Hooters and I'm predicting that this little episode will probably get her enough ink to be in Playboy and then who knows. She might end up having her own plane and then she could fly butt nekkid if she wanted to! Ain't 'Merica great, tho!

We'll Never Forget Nine Eleven 2001

A list by name of those killed by the cowards.