Such neglect of my poor little blog these days. I'm sorry but it's the same theme I've been harping on now these past few months. My school schedule is grueling, especially in light of past schedules I've endured for more challenging coursework, but here I am- thankful for the light at the end of the tunnel in a few months but until then hanging in for a wild ride. Blog-wise,hopefully I can work a rhythm to where I can post some things that interest me and anyone stopping by. Since I started doing this I've enjoyed it and am sad that I don't always have the time to devote to it that I'd like.

Dreaming

I had a dream of riding my bicycle down a country road, heavily treed and came upon a spot where there were apple trees. I began to fill a basket with them, red and yellow. I realized the people who were growing the apples were named "Danter". I hoped they didn't mind me picking their apples. Very vivid dream. Have you dreamed of anything lately?When I googled "dreams of apples" this was an image that came up. I didn't even see the BVM in the image until I posted it here. Hmmm...

Canadians go Conservative

but Aaron from Waterloo isn't too thrilled- he sees it as a Suburb of Buffalo

futuristic pizza ordering?

...balmy, breezy, wonderful. Will there be a payback from Mother Nature of some sort? A lifetime in Buffalo has conditioned me for such contemplation.

very neat...

Peter Huston is a local sailor with a blog called Buffalo Niagara Sailing

The Fed and Local Government has been paying health care employees to do this for years to the tune of hefty $, so it's not surprising to read that neighbors may now be paid to assist senior citizens with tasks of daily living.

Funny stuff from JibJab

Welcome aboard

it's nice to have folks like you on the look-out in Buffalo, NY: "It goes to the national perception that Buffalo is a hack town with a process so crooked we don't even try to hide it. (And when I say national perception, I'm not talking about the NBC Nightly News, but the development community -- site selectors, investors, etc. -- and, yes, they are watching) Until we break this cycle of political favoritism, there will be no outside money brought into this city, and, as it stands, too much money has been bled from this communtiy in the past 50 years for us to turn it around by ourselves."

All this and 60 degree temps! How I love a January thaw in Buffalo.

The U.S. isn't alone in the trends toward Conservative politics. The folks up North are following suit as well. They're also enjoying this unseasonal weather.

Along with the weather the view in the sky is just gorgeous.Full Wolf Moon.Enjoy it while it's there. The phases of Venus: NASA picture of the day January 10,2006.

Jim Ostrowski of FreeBuffalo.org attended an Erie County Water Authority Meeting for the first time. Click here to read his comments.

too much Colombian

A group of people dressed as sperm cross a main avenue during a campaign promoting use of condoms in Bogota, Colombia.Roman Catholic priests in a Colombian town are furious over a councilman's proposal that people 14 and older must carry a condom at all times to reduce unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.AP

Tagged- gasp!

I've been tagged to name 5 weird things about me (thanks Jen) ~ naming 5 normal things would be harder so here goes: 1.) I've never broken a bone (knock on wood). 2.) I've never seen a Star Wars movie (knock again). 3.) I say a prayer every morning no matter what, usually on my way to work. Mostly thank yous but sometimes special requests. 4.) I eat PB&J sandwiches more now than when I was a kid- almost daily. 5.) I saw Elvis Presley at the Niagara Falls Convention Center when I was 12. and if they haven't been tagged already~Kevin and LC Scotty you're it!

The last couple of days in Erie County have given us alot of hoopla about a guy named Ray who used to be a legislator but decided against running for another term and attempted to pad his pension by doing clerical/odd/ duties-as-assigned jobs in an official capacity for the incoming guy who replaced him. There is no doubt in my mind that Ray would have gone right ahead and done just that had the whole mess not been discovered and exposed in the local media. What really pissed me off was listening to a guy named Len being phone-interviewed by WBEN radio while on my way to work. Len must really think we're stupid, insisting that "the fact of the matter is there WAS no position for Ray to fill" yadda yadda, as if "positions" aren't created on a more or less regular basis in Erie County government for various buddies and kinfolk of those already within it's walls. As if it's just unthinkable that such an event would take place. Len then had the nerve to say reporters hadn't "done their homework" and that it was blown out of proportion. Alot of homework is being done these days Len and it is the only reason that Ray is now heading for happy trails elsewhere. It's not just about one guy's few grand a year. Sure he's a nice guy and loves his mom but it's the compounded effects of him and everyone else that pads their salary in the last 3 years of employment. This has been reported on over the years too, it's not the first time we've heard it. It doesn't matter if it's police, department directors or clerical staff, it all adds up to the same thing.

It's the time of year when the instinct and tighter-than-usual pants tells you that the holidays are OVER. My holiday season starts in October, from my birthday through Halloween and on until the year's end. My usual strategy for loosening up the clothing (MY clothing) is to simply cut way back on the breads, starches and sweets that I indulge myself with wild abandon for the last quarter of the year and upping the fiber/protein intake. It usually works like a charm but it is not without some initial pain. First, the headaches. My body has gotten so acclimated to the increased level of sugars in my bloodstream that my pancreata are crying out at the decreased work available to them. That weak-in-the-knees feeling comes on for a couple of days as well, another reminder of the drop in blood glucose . This is all a necessary evil however, because I refuse to buy any clothing which is larger than my usual size and if I refrain from my daily chocolate habit I'll start seeing results within a week. And it's really not a good idea to have your pancreas working that hard anyway. The holidays are officially over. Now to get the ornaments off the tree...

The annual Wacky Warning Labels contest is hosted by the Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch group which highlights frivolous lawsuits and the need to create warning labels for products in which common sense among consumers is evidently absent. This year's winning label is to warn users of a heat gun that is that is used to remove paint with temperatures reaching 1000 degrees not to use it as a hairdryer. Some past winners: ~A label on a baby stroller warns: “Remove child before folding" ~The label on an electric hand blender promoted for use in "blending, whipping, chopping and dicing," warns: "Never remove food or other items from the blades while the product is operating." ~A household iron warns users: “Never iron clothes while they are being worn” ~A cardboard car sunshield that keeps sun off the dashboard warns, “Do not drive with sunshield in place” ~A cartridge for a laser printer warns, “Do not eat toner” ~A box of birthday cake candles says: “DO NOT use soft wax as ear plugs or for any other function that involves insertion into a body cavity.”

BBC withdrawal

seeing the Chronicles reminded me of the BBC series of the same name from the 1980s that aired here on PBS on Saturdays in the early 90s or so. These were also well done, although not on the Disney scale... which led me to recall the superbly done Robin of Sherwood series from around the same time which was a never-miss also on PBS Saturdays... Michael Praed was the hottest of the Robins and Judi Trott a stunning Marion and then I got to seriously missing Midsomer Murders, still being shot and aired in Britain but which A&E decided to drop .I love old Columbo re-runs but would it kill them to show MM once in a while? ... other than making fans spring for the DVDs what's the matter with re-running quality programs instead of some of the rather stale stuff they choose?

Caught the Chronicles of Narnia yesterday-best movie I've seen in a while. Never having read the Chronicles, I appreciated the symbolism in the movie's adaptation, both Christian and Pagan. My daughter who has read a couple of the books, just loved it for the story and special effects which I did as well. The 'sacrifice' of Aslan and the battle scene toward the end might be a bit too intense for the under 8 crowd especially on the big screen. See it without reserve and appreciate it for what it is- a great flick.

Ron Franscell posts about the miners who left notes to loved ones and asks readers to think about what their last words might be to those they leave behind.

In the year 2006 I resolve to: Find big foot. Get your resolution here

lifted from GooberQueen

The young'n is feeling better.Thankfully just the usual host of respiratory stuff, mostly brought on by not taking the Claritin before visiting relatives with cats and dogs, but I digress~ back to the Strep-test, the kits that should be available to us~ the Doc's office charged $17 for the test. When this finally becomes available to the screed of we eejits, it will cost considerably less. Count on it.

I stumbled upon a blog called I Like Monkeys and found this map with the comment "Someone should tell the Department of Homeland Security that renaming New York City to Buffalo fools no one." I can't find the image from ABC nor Homeland Security's website so I'm in the dark. Has anyone seen this story?

Ahem..

Dark chocolate improves endothelial and platelet function

knew it

See the solar system in 2006

Could be a keeper-- And now, for Google's next trick ...

Perfect winter day- if it never got any colder than this I'd be thrilled. A little dusting of snow would be OK, but this is perfect winter weather. The young'n has been complaining of Strep-like symptoms and since there has been ALOT of Strep going around these parts, off to the Doc's we went. Culture came back negative, so it looks like your basic miserable cold. Question: when will home-strep testing kits become available to the public? It's as simple as a home pregnancy test now (simpler even- no peepee),and takes 5 minutes so I wonder how long they'll keep us in the dark.

If you want to check out the traffic before you leave the house and don't want to rely on sporadic radio reporting MSN has the real time traffic report for Buffalo Metro area.

I look forward to the end-of-the-year lists, what's "in" and "out", who died last year etc. Phrases I want to see go away and never return include "not a problem" ("no problem" suffices) and "off the hook". I'll add more as I think of them. Here's the LSSU list of overused phrases for the last 30 years:

Lake Superior State University 2006 List of Banished Words

SURREAL – One part opiate of the masses, 13 parts overuse. Oddly, news anchor and television small talk is becoming more surreal. “Dreams are surreal, not daily adjectives.” – Tracy from Murray, Ky.

HUNKER DOWN – To brace oneself, in anticipation of media onslaught. Trotted out in reports about everything from politics to hurricanes. “I have a hankering to ban all of this hunkering.” – Kate Rabe Forgach, Fort Collins, Colo.

PERSON OF INTEREST – Found within the context of legal commentary, but seldom encountered at cocktail parties. “People with guns want to talk with you.” – Melissa Carroll from Greensboro, NC. “Does this mean the rest of us are too boring to deal with?” – Patricia Johnson from Mechanicsville, Va.

COMMUNITY OF LEARNERS – A five-dollar phrase on a nickel-errand. Value-added into many higher education mission statements. “Not to be confused with ‘school.'” – Jim Howard from Mishawa, Ind.

UP OR DOWN VOTE – A casualty of today's partisanship. No discussion on this one; the committee just tossed a coin. “I see a bright future for ex-senators as elevator operators.” — Allan Dregseth, Fargo, ND.

BREAKING NEWS – Once it stopped presses. Now it's a lower-intestinal condition brought about by eating dinner during newscasts. “Now they have to interrupt my supper to tell me that Katie Holmes is pregnant.” — Michael Raczko, Swanton, Ohio.

DESIGNER BREED – Many nominators consider this a bastardization of dog breeding. It may be a good line to use on angry neighbors when an un-neutered dog escapes. “When you mate a miniature schnauzer to a toy poodle, it's not a ‘Schnoodle,' it's a mongrel.” – George Bullerjahn, Bowling Green, Ohio.

FEMA – Dedicated to the memory of a great federal agency consigned to the ash heap of parody. “If they don't do anything, we don't need their acronym.” – Josh Hamilton, Tucson, Ariz.

FIRST-TIME CALLER – Preamble often heard on talk radio. “I am serious in asking: who in any universe gives a care?” – Miguel McCormick, Orlando, Fla.

PASS THE SAVINGS ON TO YOU! – Marketing catch phrase that became a lost-leader long ago. “Read: Pass the markup along to you.” – C. W. Estes, Roanoke, Tex.

97% FAT FREE – Adventures in delusion. “Still has 3% fat . . . accept it.” – Andrew Clucas, Canberra, Australia.

AN ACCIDENT THAT DIDN'T HAVE TO HAPPEN – Best-laid mayhem. “This means some accidents need to happen, for whatever reason, I can't figure.” — Thomas Price, Orlando, Fla.

JUNK SCIENCE – Banished from the Marketplace of Ideas. “It's not scientists who are using this phrase so much as the people who practice junk politics.” – Ron LaLonde, Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada.

GIT-ER-DONE – (Any of its variations) It's overdone. “There's no escaping it. It's everywhere, from TV to T-shirts,” says Amanda Tikkanen of LaGrange, Ind. “Please tell me when we're done with this one.”

DAWG – No designer breed here. Someone should wash out this Spot. “Even parents are starting to use it!” – complains Mrs. Swartz's Fifth Grade Class in Church Road, Va. “This is species confusion.” – Rob Bowers, Santa Clara, Calif. “Don't call me ‘dawg'! I'm not your pet!” – Michael Swartz, Albuquerque, NM.

TALKING POINTS – Cover your ears! “Topics which will please those you want to impress.” – Michele Mooney, Van Nuys, Calif. Joe Wonsetler of Swanton, Ohio, believes the phrase was created after PR staffers stopped attending seminars on how to put a positive ‘spin' on their press releases.

HOLIDAY TREE – Many salvoes were fired during this past season's “war on Christmas.” At the risk of jumping into the breach, the committee feels that “Holiday tree” is a silly name for what most folks hold as a Christmas tree, no matter your preference of religion. Thank goodness we all agree on the first day of winter.

LSSU accepts nominations for the List of Banished Words throughout the year.To submit your nomination for the 2007 list, go to www.lssu.edu/banished.