My New Motto

I've been exercising a lot and finding out I had muscles where I never thought any existed. As a result of that, I've also found the need for joint and muscle pain relief that I never had before. For awhile I would stop exercising when the pain was really bad, but I realized soon after that the best way to deal with it was to work through the pain, at least to some extent. Of course, serious injury needs to be dealt with, but the typical aches and pains will just come back worse if you stop and then start again. It's like it needs to hurt a little to go further, and if you let it relax before starting again, you're right back at the beginning... so, keep working, and build up that medicine chest right along with the muscles. I guess that's my new motto.

Getting Help, One Way Or The Other

Well my son went for his second court date yesterday for his DUI. It is his second DUI in a year and I thought it would have been settled yesterday, but they continued it again. Sometimes I lose faith in the justice system. It's so wrought in red-tape. I've been unsuccessful in convincing him he needs drug rehab in spite of having found several that would suit his needs. I keep hoping that when they finally come to some judgement part of it will be mandatory rehab. I'm not too sure that's successful. It would be much better if he realized his problem and went on his own, but if it won't be that, then at least he'd end up having to talk to counselers and doing the rehab, maybe it would sink in more for him in that situation. In spite of the way the law reads, it seems like the courts have minds of their own and aren't really all that interested in persuing jail time (not that I really want him to go to jail, but I want him to realize the seriousness of what he's doing, and if that's what it takes, then so be it), or enforcing rehab. They're only interested in the fines it seems. Perhaps that saddest part of all.

Fashion's Trendy Comeback

They say if you keep something in your closet long enough, eventually it will come back in style. That saying is never truer than in the case of one very ancient, yet trendy fashion accessories. They are an ancient instrument of fashion torture that towards the end of the last century and now into the new one, has become quite the staples of glamor. They are corsets. I guess you could say Madonna made them popular in the 1980's when she decided to wear one outside her clothes on stage, and in videos. Really, as lingerie they have been popular for longer than that. How exactly do we as women come up with these things? Or maybe it's the men that do it. Either way, corsets are now a fun item to have in your fashion arsenal rather than torturous devices that keep women from breathing. Whether you prefer leather, or lace, they come in all kinds of designs, fabrics and styles. Some of them actually even do what their original inventor designed them for, and keep everything in its place where it belongs... breathing optional.

Walking Fit

When I started my new weight-loss exercise regime at the beginning of August, walking (road walking) was tops on my list of aerobic exercises. Three times a week I'd hit the road walking 3 to 5 miles. It's a great form of exercise... until the temperatures drop below the freeze line. Then, for me anyway, outdoor walking is no longer an option. Not too mention that out here in the country, their are no sidewalks and walking on the streets can be dangerous at any time of the year, but more so in the winter with icy roads making cars passing by even more dangerous than they can be at other times.

I am really looking for a good treadmills. I've wanted one since I started but put it off because well, the poor man's treadmill is blacktop, lol, but with winter here, poor (wo)man, or not, I don't do frozen blacktop. Besides, with a treadmill here in the house I wouldn't have to worry about being caught in a storm like I did in September, or care if it's too early, or too late, or if, in the summer, it's the hottest part of the day and can't go because I'd have a heat stroke. I can exercise anytime I like, whenever its convienient for me. Plus, I won't have to worry if I fall, sprain an ankle (happened once) and have to hobble home the remainder of the miles. My Christmas wish list is getting pretty long though.

Being Thankful For The Peace

Between finding good local drug rehabs
in the area for my son who just had his third DUI in less than 2 years, and dealing with my daughter's constant barage of drama, this holiday season is pretty much a goner for my husband and I. Still, I'm looking forward to a nice quiet turkey dinner with him tomorrow. We didn't have the strength for the big family thing this year, and the kids have their issues at the moment. I think in spite of all the headaches of what's going on here, I'm going to enjoy not having to drive for hours to his mother's house, or having them all converge upon us here. Sometimes the holidays are so much work it's not even fun, not too mention the family clashes that often occur. Yep, tomorrow is going to be a nice quiet turkey day... maybe between us we can even come up with something to be thankful for... peace.

Miles Of Cable

Every time I rearrange my living room I end up having to buy miles of fiber cable to move my satellite box to its new location. Then I have to spend hours tucking the heavy black cable into the baseboards so it doesn't stand out like a sore thumb. I didn't even realize just how much cable I have stuffed inside my baseboards until this last time I moved my entertainment center. I had to go back to the origin of the incoming cable at the family room far wall where our television set used to be (years ago) and traced the wires to the current location so I could splice in the new wire, and oh my goodness it was everywhere. I've moved my TV so much and instead of pulling up the old wire and putting in fresh from the origin in a direct route to the new location, I just went from where the TV had been to it's new location over and over again until there was a virtual maze of cable in the baseboards between the family room and the living room and back again.

I'm beginning to miss the old rabbit ears.

Get The Show On The Road

I have a desktop computer. I've almost always had a desktop. Once in the distant past I had a laptop along with my desktop, but that was back in the mid-eighties, when laptops were a new item. It didn't last long. The hinges on the flip tops of those early laptops... well they sucked. So I've stuck with desktops. My husband, on the other hand, has stuck with the notebook computer prefering their ease of transportation, and the ability to take it with him to work, on the road, or wherever. He had a desktop way back in the early 80's, actually before I even got my first computer and was still typing away on my dearly beloved Selectric (can you remember THOSE?). Once he had his taste of freedom with the laptop, that was it for him, and it was bye-bye desktop. I think for me, it's the keypads on the laptops that kill the experience for me. I know that it would just be a matter of getting used to it. It's about time to think about a new computer, mine being close to three now, and unlike a human toddler at that age, three is ancient in computer terms... perhaps it's time to join the world of flexible movement, and get myself a laptop, and get the show on the road.

Conventional Wisdom

Besides the usual standard checking account I have the customary savings account, and several CD's, and I also have online payment accounts. This morning was one of those mornings from hell that make you truly appreciate the tried and true old-fashioned way of doing business, and taking care of your finances. I had to spend nearly two hours on the phone dealing with the online financial institution that is a behmouth in the world of online payments and income resources to straighten out an error on their part. Two hours, and 90% of that time was spent on hold. It really made me appreciate my regular checking account. It's not that errors never occur with that type of thing, but they sure aren't as convoluted as the less traditional ways of managing income and money are. There is a definate wisdom in the old-fashioned conventions.

Old Dog, New Tricks

The only trouble with technology is there is a learning curve. Sometimes a steep one. Now I know my grandkids who are just starting school now will grow up knowing all about Cat5E cables for better ethernet, routers, and all kinds of things that just confuse the heck out of me. Why can't it be simple? Computers themselves used to be so complicated, and you had to know DOS just to operate them (I did manage, barely), now it's easy. Plug N' Play makes setting up new computers a breeze, and you don't have to know html, DOS, or anything else to get started, get on-line, etc... but for every new advance, like wireless internet, or even most high-speed connections there are new things to learn before you can use them. Hopefully that will change in the not too distant future. I almost got high-speed until I found out that while I could get it, it would only be hooked up to one computer, and to get both of our computers working we'd have to install a router. Sounds simple until you go to the store, and there are like a billion choices to make based on the types of computers etc...

EEK. I love technology, but teaching this old dog new tricks is a difficult job.

Digging Up Trouble

This sucks. Now they are saying that germ-killing soaps may have negative effects. I like those soaps, especially the liquid ones. I keep one in the kitchen, and one on the bathroom sinks. So much less messy, and more convienient than bars. Figures it would turn out they'd be bad for us. There are regular liquid soaps. I guess I'll have to go with those, but the whole 'germ-killing' idea was such a good one. I'm not sure how reputable the 'Washington Post' is. It may be one of those tabloid type newspapers. I hope so, they're all ways trying to dig up trouble. Somehow I don't think so though.

3-2-1 Contact

I just love finding informative websites where I can not only get great current information, but also interact with it as well. Icontact is just that sort of website. You can find articles on all sorts of areas of interest such as a current one entitled: "Universal Sells Songs Without DRM" for music enthusiasts, and anyone who is interested in knowing about recordings being sold with, or without the infamous copyright protection included on them. There are also numerous articles on finance, and real estate, and a great page of articles on health with topics ranging from contact lenses to pregnancy.

What's great about Icontact is that viewers can register for an account and not only create their own blog posts on current events, or items of interest to themselves, but they can respond to other articles, as well as receive responses from readers on theirs.

That type of interaction makes Icontact tops in my book.

Top Of The List

People magazine just came out with their 'sexiest man alive' list for the year. Matt Damon was the winner. Well, hey, I give props to the guy, he's cute, and seems nice, and even humble, but he's not my idea of the 'sexiest' anything. That's why all these lists are kind of fun to look at (which is why they exist in the first place, everyone wants to see it just to see if they agree), but they really don't represent anything at all. Just one person's, or poll's opinion. That kind of thing is just pulp fodder for money, like most tabloidish magazines, they thrive on the horrendous, or scandalous, and if it's not horrendous or scandalous enough, find a way to MAKE it so... or just give the population something to drool over. News that's true may be important, but it doesn't make MONEY.

Quality Grows While The Equipment Shrinks

I have to admit I've become quite hooked on things like the Bose home theater for rich music that completely envelopes you, to surround sound theater systems on the television. The days of the little tape deck have long since gone beyond even the powerful hi-fi stereos we used to think were so superb. I remember how I loved the nearly room-sized stereo system I owned as a teen. It took up as much room in my little bedroom as my dresser and was shaped in an alluring wedge design that made it look so ultra-tech and cool. Now these mega power systems are about as big as an average clock radio and have more quality than those big boxes could ever have hoped to produce. It's really amazing how as technology advances the power, speed, and abilities of these gadgets increases while their size shrinks. Someday you won't even be able to see your cellphone.

The World's Game of Crime

An article on yahoo this morning claims the FBI made a 'deal with the devil' in regards to a mafia investigation. Does this surprise anyone? I mean if the devil can't make a deal with himself, then who can he make a deal with? This sort of thing has been going on for as long as organized crime has existed, which is approximately as long as the United States government has breathed new life into the world of crime and punishment, and how to control the masses through fear and debauchery. Okay, that may be playing rough, and certainly other countries have mafia type organizations (ie: the Russian mob, Chinese mafia, etc...) but where did they learn from? The masters of course. They're governments pretty much play the same game as well, having learned that there's no better way to take the people's attention off the crimes they themselves commit than to give them something more horrifying to look at.