Yesterday was my Birthday.  My husband usually doesn't buy me much for my Birthday.  However, I have a feeling that he sensed my annoyance with him not getting me anything (even a card) for Valentine's day (he was snowmobiling that day) or our Anniversary.  And by "sense", what I really mean is the things I say or email him (I'm a bit of a "speak your mind" kind of person, lol). Anyway, men are men.  They don't always think about their wife the same way they did before the...

Through an odd series of events, I was led to a listing of a local Dachshund Rescue.  What was the listing for?  Two puppies!  Their Mom was rescued from a Puppy Mill, and she was pregnant when she was rescued.  So, I was able to adopt two perfect little weiner dog puppies.  The tan one is named Chester, and he is a boy.  The other is a girl, and her name is Autumn.  Yes, they were born at the same time even though they look nothing alike. ...

OK, so this is a rant.  It won't be written well, and it might not even make sense.  It may also have swear words and objectionable text.  So, if you are sensitive, quit reading and go about your happy little fluffy day. Today, Draginol posted about a Mom who chose to put her family's life at risk (ultimately killing two of them) rather than wait for a train to go by: http://draginol.joeuser.com/index.asp?AID=162120 That was the last straw for my current mood. People suck....

Luciano Pavarotti was a beloved and celebrated tenor.  He was one of the few opera singers that reached such high fame and notoriety. Pavarotti battled pancreatic cancer, which he was diagnosed with last year.  He died in his home in Italy.  Reports say that he was optimistic until the end. "Nessun Dorma" was Pavarotti's last performance, which he sung at at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in 2006.  He had not had a full concert since 2005. His ...

So many times I catch myself saying things like: "when I was a kid, we didn't wear bike helmets, and somehow we lived", or "we only had like 3 channels, and I can remember how our first remote was on a cord" or "It used to be that only the kids who were good made the team and played, not everyone who showed up" and things like that. Well, I was listening to the country station today (all my regular stations had commercials playing or were in 'talk morning' mode..and I was too lazy to dig out ...

I had a Birthday party for my husband over the weekend, and there was a discussion about how everything is made in China nowadays. It started by him opening a gift from me.  It was a pair of shoes.  The company used to make the shoes in the US, now they are made in China.  "Isn't everything?" I said.  Everyone started talking about this, that and everything else that was made over there.  Then we started talking about food.  As we know, the pet food recalls we...

I was meditating on the concept of "peace" during my morning commute.  It's a great idea, isn't it?  The world living in harmony.  Mankind being civil.  People existing without fear.  Families building a home and feeling safe...living a life without violence or senseless loss. Peace It'll never happen. There are signs up all over the place saying "Peace- No War!"  What war are the referring to?  One would argue that they are referring to the war in Ira...

Being that I manage HR where I work, I get to see all the "news" about minimum wages (both in the state and federal).  Our State's minimum wage has always freaked me out at how high it has gotten, but the current changes in FEDERAL minimum wage has me down right fearful. Why?  Because it is now becoming a living wage.  Either companies will quit hiring non-skilled workers (where will they work?) or they will start using their non-us factories more. If you don't know the amou...

I recently (as in yesterday) had my gallbladder removed. This surgery is so common, that it is now out patient.  It's done laprascopically, and leaves you with 4 small incisions and a swollen belly.  It is also only about an hour long surgery.  My surgery started at 12:30pm and I left the hospital at 3pm.  How fast was that???? I know many people who have had the same surgery previously, however, I am the first that did not have to stay at least one night.  I am *t...

I have seen this weird bird by the pond by our office a couple mornings.  This morning, I took a couple pictures of it (through my office window).  It looks like some sort of a Loon, but I've never seen a bird like this before.  Anyone know what it is? Here it is with its neck down: Here it is with its neck extended: And here it is once it flew up into a tree:

I have always been interested in cars.  Up until about 7 or 8 years ago, I could tell you what any car was that I saw. Unfortunately, too many cars look the same now, and that has made it a lot harder to tell what they really are. Lately I have been thinking about what my "perfect" car would be if I could just make one myself.  This is what I have decided so far: 1) It would have the body of a 1970 convertible VW Karmann Ghia, only a bit bigger so that it could have a real back sea...

I started this as a comment on KFC's article "Santa vs Satan" found at: https://forums.joeuser.com/?forumid=39&aid=139116#1082282 However, it got really long and looked like an article, so I decided to move it out of there.  Please read her article first, so that you understand this...or just throw caution to the wind and read this first This is what was going to be the comment from me: I haven't read all the comments, so please forgive any statements that I make that have ...

This article is being written in support of my sister's best friend who is undergoing treatment for cancer.  Since I have intimate experience with hair loss due to auto-immune diseases, I figured that I could at least help her with the hair loss issue that she'll run into with chemo. Most people think that hair loss is the least of their worries, and it should be.  But, unfortunately, it becomes an outward sign of disease.  If you are like me, you don't want people to look at y...

OK...well, let me start this off by letting everyone know that I am a geek.  I'm not a natural born geek.  I've simply become one over the years of working with geeks...I guess it kind of rubbed off on me. I've always been fascinated by LEDs.  Up until recently, you mainly saw them in computer boxes and other tech hardware.  But not anymore, my friends!  They are going mainstream. Now, LED lighting is more than just a geeks fascination, it's also a dream come true ...

There is an exciting opportunity open for the right person at Stardock.  We are in search of a talented person to do QA and testing of our products.  This would include everything from Object Desktop to Games to Stardock Design projects. This position is physically at Stardock, so please don't apply unless you are willing to work at the Stardock building, which is in Plymouth, Michigan. The candidate should be somebody who uses our products, understands a wide range of technology...