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May 30, 2007
I made one for John of Arrgghhh!
You would have to know John to see how silly this is - John does not dance . . . at all.
Create Your Own PaloozaHead - Visit Lollapalooza.com
Posted by Beth at 9:09 PM | Comments (10)
Silly thing to play with
Pamibe is where I found this fun toy.
Create Your Own PaloozaHead - Visit Lollapalooza.com
Posted by Beth at 7:59 PM | Comments (3)
OhOde to the Sink
I started out the year doing a great job with keeping my sink shiny. However, between John's mom passing away and traveling again and everything else, the sink stinks.
I plan to start the process again - from sink to shining sink - today.
Posted by Beth at 9:02 AM | Comments (5)
I have found the downside to exploring farms
Over the weekend we visited three different acreages. One that we checked out ended up having a chunk of land in a flood plain, and as a result, there were a lot more bugs than normal.
Somehow, I picked up a couple of ticks - not tics (winking my eye) - ticks. I found one yesterday morning when I was shaving my legs - it was behind my knee. I got it off, and figured I'd just watch the spot.
Then . . . this morning, I found a second tick - on the back of my arm. I got this guy off and saved him in alcohol so I can show it to the doctor when I go in to have these bites checked out this morning. They can prescribe a prophylactic antibiotic to hopefully stop Lyme disease and other tick-borne infections, so I am going to suggest that, even though my stomach will *not* like it. Ugh. But that is better than Lyme Disease.
Next time, Backwoods Off will be applied before I explore fields and woods!!
Posted by Beth at 8:55 AM | Comments (3)
May 29, 2007
My guess is that the Democrats are very relieved at this news
Cindy Sheehan quits the Democratic Party.
I can't imagine anyone other than the denizens of Democratic Underground and Daily KOS are unhappy about Cindy's leaving the Democrats.
Call me silly, but this statement of the SheHag almost looks like she would like to get rid of the two party system - I'm curious as to what this woman would replace it with!
The Camp Casey Peace Institute is calling all citizens who are as disgusted as we are with you all to join us in Philadelphia on July 4th to try and figure a way out of this "two" party system that is bought and paid for by the war machine which has a stranglehold on every aspect of our lives.
Posted by Beth at 6:58 AM | Comments (4)
May 28, 2007
Memorial Day
My handsome husband, John, pretty much says it all for me today in his Memorial Day post
I will add one more to his list of people to remember.
William J. Healy, my dad, who served in World War II.
Not a day goes by when I don't think of my dad. I miss him.
Posted by Beth at 8:57 AM | Comments (1)
May 25, 2007
I've been kinda busy with work
So I'm just now try to catch up on important things like reading my favorite blogs, petting kitties and dogs and wishing today was Saturday so I would not have to go to work!
Anyway, my dear friend, RG of Girl on the Right, is getting concerned about the fact that she is not contributing in a meaningful way to saving Western Culture. This is a must read. You will laugh, you will cry, you will wonder why. . .
Sorry, I'm in a rhyming mood this morning, I might get silly, so I better get dressed and go to work before I decide I'm in need of a mental health day!
Posted by Beth at 5:59 AM | Comments (1)
May 15, 2007
So, I'm here in Phoenix this week
And what a surprise - it's hot.
I flew in yesterday, and a very nice woman sat next to me on the plane, and we chatted quite a bit. I did happen to mention that I'm rather conservative, and her eyes narrowed just a bit, but she gamely continued our conversation. She didn't get terribly upset when I mentioned that gun ownership was an important right - I know she disagrees, but just because you might disagree with someone doesn't mean you can't talk to them.
We talked about all kinds of things - Valour IT, cats, horses, Army stuff, and how many great restaurants there are in Phoenix. I seldom sit next to people so much fun to talk to.
In the final moments of our flight, she told me her name, Marli Murphy.
Now, for those of you who don't live in the KC area, you are thinking - Marli who ??!! But I have been reading Marli's columns for years. I gushed over her, I'm afraid, as much as if she was a huge movie star. I have always enjoyed her writing - she has a great sense of humor and she is a great story teller. I told her she should get a blog.
I'm not holding my breath - Marli is very busy with her regular job and her freelance writing job - but if she does decide to blog, I'll link her!
Posted by Beth at 7:13 AM | Comments (3)
May 13, 2007
Something important that Ms. Boyda and I do NOT agree on!
Unfortunately, Ms. Boyda appears to have been convinced by the Lefties that we need to get out of Iraq and admit defeat. I disagree. Many other people also disagree. However, I don't like the way the war has been fought - we should be going all out to get rid of the terrorists in both Afghanistan and Iraq, not pussyfooting around because of fears of being politically incorrect.
And, according to some knowledgeable people, the Surge is working.
Posted by Beth at 11:33 AM
May 12, 2007
Nancy Boyda, our Congressional Representative
John and I are in the 2nd Congressional District of Kansas. For some years, Jim Ryun (yes, the runner) had held that seat. Ryun is a Republican and Boyda is a Democrat.
Seeing as I am somewhat on the conservative side of Attila the Hun, I was quite concerned when Ryun lost to Boyda last November. I was more concerned because Republican losses like that are what caused *spit* Nancy Pelosi *spit* to be the Speaker of the House.
Jim Ryun was not a great representative. I tend to email my elected officials, or send letters, and Ryun had a staff who apparently just stuck my address on to the same basic reply each time. Nine times out of ten, Ryun's reply had absolutely nothing to do with my question or comment. So he deserved to lose. I hope he does not get the Republican nomination, because he just doesn't do anything that makes me want to vote for him.
Okay, back to Nancy Boyda. Both John and I have emailed her on several occasions, and Ms. Boyda's staff apparently read what we wrote because her replies actually made sense and related to what I had written - even if I didn't necessarily agree with her opinions.
When I was in St. Louis for a class a few weeks ago, John went to the Dole Institute for a dinner followed by a program, and Ms. Boyda was in attendance, also. John talked to her afterwards, in the parking lot, for quite some time about different subjects.
Anyway, since we were going to DC for a long weekend, we decided to see if we could meet Mrs. Boyda at her office. One of her staffers emailed and confirmed the appointment - 3:00 pm on a Thursday for 30 minutes.
I could not have been more surprised. Nancy Boyda is a lovely, gracious woman with a good sense of humor and some definite political skills. Our 30 minutes with her turned into a couple of hours, and we had a great discussion.
One of my biggest concerns is the whole abortion on demand, no matter how late in the pregnancy for any reason demands that extreme leftists claim is a woman's right to choose.
Personally, I don't like abortion at all for any reason, but I realize that stopping late term abortions will save thousands of children who lose their lives even if they are viable. I asked Ms. Boyda what her thoughts were on abortion.
I was amazed - even though Emily's List had given her campaign money her first go-around a few years ago, Nancy is not for abortion on demand at any time. Nancy would like to eliminate all abortions after 90 days except to save the life of the mother (not the so-called 'mental health', but the life). She also told me that the parents of minor girls should be notified and that minor girls should not be taken across state lines for abortions. I really should not be all that surprised, there used to be a lot of Democrats in Kansas who were pro-life. Joan Finney, our first woman governor in Kansas, was pro-life and a Democrat. She was, unfortunately, not a very good governor, but that's neither here nor there.
Since the left has pretty much taken over control of the Democrats, any pro-life or even semi-pro-life voices in that party have been stamped out. It was nice to see that in this day of Michael Moore, George Soros and Moveon.org, there can be a reasonable Democrat who is not shrilly demanding that the entire country take a very sharp left turn.
Now, we have our differences. But, I believe that all of you should make a point of contacting your legislators. Let them know what you think - because believe me, all the lobbyists and people with crazy causes are contacting them on a daily basis. It a good thing to remind Congress that they are there to serve us, not the other way around.
By the way, Nancy is extremely supportive of Valour IT and Soldier's Angels, and she and John had a long discussion about that and other ways of assisting our veterans.
Posted by Beth at 7:14 PM | Comments (2)
May 10, 2007
Well, this certainly sucks!
Oral sex may increase risk of throat cancer -- studySource
Agence France-Presse
Last updated 07:23am (Mla time) 05/10/2007CHICAGO -- A common virus, believed to be transmitted during oral sex, is the cause of a rare throat cancer in both men and women, US researchers said Wednesday.
The study is the first to prove the link between the human papillomavirus or HPV -- the leading cause of cervical cancer -- and oropharyngeal cancer, according to the paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, who studied 100 men and women newly diagnosed with the rare malignancy and 200 healthy people found that a common strain of HPV -- HPV 16 -- was present in 72 percent of tumors.
Patients whose blood or saliva samples indicated that they had prior HPV infection were 32 times more likely to develop oropharnygeal cancer, which affects the throat, tonsils and back of the tongue.
And those people who had had more than six oral sex partners were 8.6 times more likely to develop the HPV-linked cancer.
You probably ought to read the whole thing.
LindaSoG gets a hat tip for this article! She finds the most *interesting* facts!
Posted by Beth at 6:42 AM | Comments (7)
May 9, 2007
I'm a bit worried about the rain . . .
This weather pattern is really reminding me of the storms that caused the massive flooding across the middle of the country in 1993. There is some significant flooding here in Leavenworth County. Most of the flooding is to the west of us - in Easton. (Yes, I know, that sounds weird)
When I drove to work yesterday morning, I drove by some serious flooding in Parkville, Missouri - the water was up to the railroad tracks and half the town was closed off. And then, on my way home from work, an old bridge over the Platte River had sandbags all around it. I looked down and the water was only a couple of feet from the bottom of the bridge.
And naturally, rain is forecast for the next few days.
John and I are lucky. Our house is high enough that it would have to be a flood of Biblical proportions to come anywhere close to us.
I'm going to try to get some pictures this morning on my way to work, so you can see how high the water is.
Posted by Beth at 6:25 AM | Comments (1)
May 8, 2007
And now, a musical interlude
Posted by Beth at 9:17 PM | Comments (2)
May 7, 2007
Wow, what a weekend!
John and I went to the 2nd annual Milblog Conference this past weekend. We flew to DC on Thursday, met with our Congressional Representative, Nancy Boyda, checked into our hotel, had dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Greyhawk and FBL and Andi and Marianne and Sherri and Karla and Smash and Blackfive and many more.
Friday, we went to the National Arboretum Conservatory - beautiful, just beautiful.
Friday evening, we attended the cocktail party for the 2nd Annual Milblog Conference. We met so many people, among them, Hooah Wife, Girl on the Right and her handsome hubby, Holly Aho and her perfect little girl, Vivian, and Boston Maggie, and many, many more.
Saturday - the Milblog Conference. It was well-attended and very well managed. I am going to have to wait a couple of days to publish my pictures because we left our camera at Carrie's house on Sunday night, when I got to meet Cassandra and Carrie and her sister-in-law, Lisa.
If I didn't mention your name, I will, it's just that I wanted to put something up before I get ready for work and my hour drive into the office. This weekend was fantastic.
I want to talk about misconceptions and politics and stuff in a different post. I want to write about Soldiers Angels and Valour IT in another post, too.
It's going to be so hard to get back into the swing of things, but you gotta do what you gotta do!!!
Posted by Beth at 7:03 PM | Comments (8)
May 5, 2007
Millblog Conference of 2007
Here I am, sitting next to SeeJaneMom, Right Girl and her handsome husband and a whole bunch of other bloggers.
I am very hung over this morning. Much drinking and carousing occurred last night. Blech.
President Bush addressed us via video first thing this morning. Right now we are having a video conference with Admiral Mark Fox in Iraq. Other bloggers will give you the details, but he is a very impressive guy. He says "It's hard, but that doesn't mean it's hopeless".
Posted by Beth at 7:27 AM | Comments (4)
May 2, 2007
A few well-deserved days off
Every year or so, I get really sick of work. Maybe more often. I work with smart people who have no social skills. I go to work in the morning, attempt to greet my cubicle farm mates with a happy and friendly "good morning!" and some apples and pears, and I get maybe one, "Oh, hi, Beth" from my new boss - who is pregnant with her first baby, and rightly has her mind more on being a mom than anything else. But don't tell her that!
The system architect in our group and I never really hit it off well. When I came to this group at the end of February, I dug right in and started making corrections on our documentation as I went through the supposed step-by-step instructions for installing IBM WebSphere, etc.
Boy, did he get pissed. I was 'new' (though I've worked for the company for nearly 6 years) and I couldn't possibly understand the nuances of writing good documentation.
WTF? This guy has no knowledge of my background - so, anyway, I said, so sorry. And I quit trying to improve the documentation.
There are two more guys and one more girl in the group. The girl is very nice - I went to Dallas with her to shadow and learn.
The other two guys are your typical computer geniuses. Totally unsocial. Today, one of them, an extremely bright and talented young man, spent one hour with me to see how much I had learned about setting up handheld mobile computers for our clients.
Well, I had gone thru the documents until I couldn't stand it anymore, but I was not prepared to show him how to do the set up and stuff like he was a client.
The guy has never smiled once at me. He has never greeted me in the morning. He never says my name. And I guess he will be my substitute boss when my boss is on maternity leave.
He was not happy with me. I apologized, then I said, no, I'm not sorry, our boss told me yesterday afternoon that you would be doing this to me today, and I was miffed that she had never, ever mentioned it before then - and I had a client who had a troublesome install I was working with, so I didn't 'study'. His contempt was palpable. ArgghhhH!!
Anyway, I don't have to return to the cubicle farm from hell until next Tuesday. Very early tomorrow morning, John and I will be taking off to Washington DC for the 2nd Annual Milblogger Conference.
Not only that, but we will be meeting with our Congresswoman, Nancy Boyda, tomorrow afternoon for a full 30 minutes - I'm not sure why a Democrat would give a couple of conservatives that much time, but I think we will have a useful conversation. I just want to remind her that we Kansans did not vote for a Nancy Pelosi to represent us, and to please don't be turned to the dark side of ultra-liberalism.
And then, even better, I will get to see Hooah Wife, Right Girl, and more wondrous members of the Cotillion.
Yeha!
F*ck work.
Posted by Beth at 7:28 PM | Comments (5)