WOW

Breaking News: Mumbai Under Attack
Terrorism strikes at the heart of India. Who is this? I don't think
it's the ones we're more familiar with here in the US. It will be
interesting to find out WHO it is and why they're doing this.
Meanwhile, our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims, their
families, and the possible hostages and their families during this
crisis.That is all I can say; words fail me.

Burr...

Hello friends. Freezing yet? I know I am here, but it could be worse. It could be snowing feet of snow, but luckily its not. I'm staying warm - barely. The blankets are piled up on me, but not to the point that I can't move or am uncomfortable. I have yet to start the laundry, but it's not even quite 1030am yet. So I'm not worried too much, I have time. I'll probably start around noon, hoping it'll be at least above freezing outside. I still have to get the quarters to do the laundry, which is why I'm procrastinating so much. Nimbus is doing good, still coughing, hard at times, but sounding better generally. I am still worried though, as it's like a persistent cold he just can't get over. I wish I could afford to take him to the vet to find out definitively what is wrong and get it treated. The twins have been almost permanently attached to me, sleeping or awake. As we speak, I am on the loveseat, with Jadzia on my left on the arm, and Curzon on the other side taking up the rest of the loveseat. Even a BABY would have a hard time finding a spot on the loveseat to rest, that's how little room Curzon has left. He's not one for sharing most of the time, but he will more than his sister will. She shares with no one. But she's getting a wee too offensive with her son, as the last time she hissed at Nimbus, he smacked her on the head THEN walked away. This is how they both are, they take a lot of crap from each other (and Curzon), but when they've had enough, it's ON. I'm watching the History Channel - go figure right? - and an episode of "The Revolution" is on. It's the one that goes from the Stamp Act through the Declaration of Independence. They still haven't mentioned my Revolutionary hero, but Paine doesn't come into play until the war though. So what does everyone have planned for Turkey Day? A big feast with all of the friends and family gathered around or just a quiet dinner with the immediate family? We will see what it turns into here, as it's hard to tell. We still haven't done the grocery shop for the dinner yet - and I can only hope they still have turkeys! Anyways, I am off for now, until I find something else to yap about. The cold is boring enough!

Detroit Truth

This is from Daily Kos. This is the lies they keep spreading. We need
to stop them, pass the bailout, and hold them responsible for how they
spend it. We have to help them but ensure they help themselves right,
not the way that the current bailout idiots have been.

<begin article quote>
The problems aren't just with the US auto companies. The entire
global auto industry is currently a mess because the credit crisis has
caused cars sales to plunge, especially in the US, including imports:
Gleaming new Mercedes cars roll one by one out of a huge container
ship here and onto a pier. Ordinarily the cars would be loaded on
trucks within hours, destined for dealerships around the country. But
these are not ordinary times.
For now, the port itself is the destination. Unwelcome by dealers and
buyers, thousands of cars worth tens of millions of dollars are being
warehoused on increasingly crowded port property.
And for the first time, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, and Nissan have each
asked to lease space from the port for these orphan vehicles. They are
turning dozens of acres of the nation's second-largest container port
into a parking lot, creating a vivid picture of a paralyzed auto
business and an economy in peril.
[...]
Kurt Golledge, 48, was one of just two truckers loading his green,
75-foot-long hauler with cars last week. Mr. Golledge said eight of
his colleagues were laid off this month because Toyota dealers did not
want more deliveries.
"I was dropping cars in Henderson, Nev., about a month ago and the
dealer told me: 'Take 'em somewhere else and dump 'em,' " said Mr.
Golledge, who works for a company called Allied Systems. "All the
dealers are telling us the same thing."
[...]
"The ships keep coming, but there's nowhere for the cars to go," Mr.
Golledge said. He said he believed the vehicles he was loading would
be his last before he was laid off, and he was already considering
where he might find a new job.
As for Schwarzenegger--who claims the problem is that workers get too
generous a benefits package--he may want to ruminate on this fact:
only cars built in the US have built-in health insurance costs,
because other cars are built in places like Japan or Germany that
provide health insurance to all citizens, or they're built in places
like Mexico or Brazil where the workforces are non-union and don't
receive health care.
Which brings us to Kyl's lie. DKos diarist Inky99 was on this bs the
other day, and discovered this debunking of Kyl's $73 per hour claim:
The average GM assembly-line worker makes about $28 per hour in wages,
and I can assure you that GM is not paying $42 an hour in health
insurance and pension plan contributions. Rather, the $70 per hour
figure (or $73 an hour, or whatever) is a ridiculous number obtained
by adding up GM's total labor, health, and pension costs, and then
dividing by the total number of hours worked. In other words, it
includes all the healthcare and retirement costs of retired workers.
The reason the US and Japanese companies have different total costs
for their American workers? The US companies have been employing
American workers for almost a hundred years. They have a lot of
retirees. Most of the Japanese auto plants in the US are less than 20
years old. They have almost no retirees, so their costs are only for
active workers.
So, why is this pernicious falsehood about inflated wages bouncing
around the public discourse on the auto industry? Several reasons.
First, it demonizes unions and their members as greedy and not
interested in the long-term health and profitability of the
corporations with which they sign contracts. It also ignores the fact
that in 2007 the UAW signed a landmark contract in which they assumed
future responsibility for healthcare for their members employed by the
Big Three. The auto companies paid in to a fund, which will be
administered by the UAW. Over the long haul, this is expected to
radically decrease the auto companies' legacy costs (although the best
way to help company and union is to pass national health care).
Making false claims inflating the earnings of unionized workers is
also part of the Republicans' long-held practice of class warfare.
It's intended to gin up envy and disgust at people making a good
hourly wage. Few people would be unsympathetic to an auto worker for
making $58,000 per year. But more would feel unsympathetic if they
thought that same auto worker made $73 per hour, which over the course
of a year is over $150,000.
Finally, harping on imaginary and inflated wages for workers is a way
to distract from one of the big problems with the US auto companies
(and most US corporations in any sector): executive compensation. For
instance, in 2007 General Motors CEO Rick Waggoner made close to $20
million in total compensation.
Are you surprised that conservatives are playing with math to come up
with the false figure of $73 per hour for UAW members working at the
Big Three, while saying nothing about a Big Three CEO making $9,500.00
per hour?
Me neither.

<end article quote>

hiyas

Hello my friends. How is everyone today? It is cold as f*** here,
probably not even 32 (that's freezing for you Celsius-reading backward
folks LOL). I haven't checked the mail in days because it's been a
matter of "quick get inside before I freeze" - or fall over.
Yesterday was even worse, both weather-wise and cold-wise. It snowed
yesterday, and while we've had flurries all week off and on, as well
as another time or two, it was never anything that accumulated at all,
even on the coldest surfaces. Yesterday we ended with probably 2-4
inches of the nasty white s*** on the ground, and it was coming down
HARD yesterday morning too. Luckily I had a ride 'cause it was cold
and windy AND SNOWING, so you know the snow wasn't just falling down.
I put in a long day too, hour early, two late. YUCK. But it had to be
done. There was too much to do.
So today is it, my "Friday" and I intend to enjoy it. Tonight I cannot
do like I did last night, falling asleep with the light and space
heater still on. At least I woke up a little warmer than usual lmao.
Tonight I will crash like I usually do on my Friday and tomorrow I
shall awake (hopefully) in time for lunch LOL. So I am off for now...
To check the mail quickly and then go hang out upstairs. She's cooking
tonight... Yum. Dinner I DIDN'T have to cook - YIPPIE!
footnote - burrrrr.................

It's Final

http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/19/mccain-wins-missouri/

Hello there!

Hello my friends. I hope all of you are well.
The boredom of yesterday is over - I hope. I never did do any of my projects or anything. I do what I always do when I'm bored - EAT. ROFL I know many of you are jealous, but don't be. Yes, I can eat and eat and eat and not gain a pound. But if I get sick, the reverse does not hold true, and at my weight, 5-10lb is dramatic and potentially dangerous. So even when I don't FEEL like eating, I have to force myself to so that I run less of a chance of getting sick. And you gotta admit, I've been doing a pretty good job. I might have a persistent case of the ickies or a mild cold, but I've not yet gotten terribly sick. *knock on wood*
I did manage to get two loads of laundry done today, and frankly I'm amazed I got that much done. I got the dishes done also, and while I normally protest doing housework I didn't contribute to, I did contribute a lot of the dishes that needed to be washed this time, so I didn't mind washing them as much. I should however, trim my nails as they are a nice back-scratching tool but they're about to start wounding me! And for someone not accustomed to having long nails, though they're not long by any standards other than my own, they're only attracting gunk and crap that isn't so easily removed as it is accumulated. But I'll do that later. I'm feeling lazy.
We're having homemade burritos today for dinner, and talk about lazy. When I go to buy the stuff I need, the only things that aren't ready are the tomatoes and beef pretty much lmao. I buy the lettuce already cut up and the onions come diced in a bag. I know, it's a wee more expensive, but that's made up for in time saved! So I'm lazy. Behhh. All I have to do is brown the meat, warm up the beans, and dice the tomatoes. Done. LOL. I don't brown my wraps like my aunt used to growing up, but she had a gas stove, I don't. I probably would if I had gas, but I'm wary of gas as it is. That comes with growing up in apartments with only electric stoves. I learned (and relearned) how to cook on electric. Oh geez, me on gas stoves - that might be disastrous!
So other than cooking tonight, there's not much on the agenda. I do believe my sneakers will have to go into the summer closet. I'm attempting to re-accustom my legs to my (heavy) boots, as I don't think I will be wanting to walk to work in the frigid cold in sneakers, nor will I want to be changing shoes at work. I wore these boots day in and day out for over a year when I was working janitorial and they held up nicely. I could try to take out the insoles and put them in my sneakers but why risk ruining the boots? These boots are nice, and while they're not steel-toed, they do protect my feet from falling objects and my clumsiness. So they do have a place - especially with as much lifting as I do at work. However they will get in the way of some of my (prohibited) short-cuts, but we'll see how that goes. They worry about people falling so much that they got stuff that supposedly makes our job safer. Well, for me it's not. Leave it to a klutz to make safety a dangerous thing! So we will see. The boss was supposed to work with me when I got hired to find out why things happen they way they do with me but he never has. We will see though, as I always make sure no one's around. *grin*
So I am off for now... Soul, glad to hear you're getting better, and Enola, same goes for Baby. I hope all of you find some time in the next couple weeks for Thanksgiving, even if it isn't on Thanksgiving Day. I will be working that morning (voluntarily), but the nice thing about Thanksgiving is that it doesn't always HAVE to be on that day. Christmas can't exactly be postponed, and New Year's surely can't! Find a day to relax, kick back, and take a count of everything you DO have, especially in this troubled economy.
And thank you America for helping me give myself a great birthday present. Inauguration day is right after my birthday! WooHoo! I guess I have a reason to celebrate eh? Darn it, being the grinch is so much FUN!
Laters folks...
*laughs out the door*

Sunday Doldrums

Hello my friends. I have been reading up on the blogs a little and
this time Andrew got me thinking. He has a no-blogging-religion rule
for his blog. Maybe that's a good thing. One can come off the wrong
way and offend others way too easily when it comes to religion. It is
something that is best left to the individual, as not everyone feels
comfortable in such places. Some feed off of the communal experience,
others feed off of the individual experience. So perhaps this is a
good idea to ensure no one's feelings are hurt. But there goes another
blog I was thinking about writing LOL. In all honesty, I couldn't get
it from head to fingers anyways. As with some of my better blogs, they
vanished into oblivion somewhere between the head and the fingertips.
Maybe oblivion has a transporter beam pointed at my elbow and steals
an idea now and then just to keep me guessing whether or not I'm
losing my mind way too young.
So I'm sitting here, staring at my new beading board, and the bag of
beads that still has to be sorted out - MILLIONS of them. I'm not
trying to be picky, just getting out the unique ones, the tube-like
ones, and the clear ones. I'm not so stupid to try to sort them out by
color (though I sure could use that). But that's something I'd much
rather pay some kids to do than do myself lmao. I should get to it
some more, but who would want to dive into such a monumental feat? And
even when I am finished, I still have ANOTHER container to go through!
This time I'm going to try to figure out how to take it one section at
a time, instead of dumping the whole thing in a bag. Any suggestions?
All my cross-stitching stuff is still hanging on my wall, collecting
dust I'm sure. I'm thinking of putting my beads aside and getting back
into the cross-stitching as it too is easy on the fingers, unlike
crocheting and knitting. The main reason I haven't already is the tiny
holes. But I'm starting to try to get into some semblance of a holiday
spirit, but I just can't seem to find it. I've just been hard to
please lately. I accomplished a major feat in my xbox game that I
didn't think I could do, but now I'm bored. I can't find anything to
eat, not because we don't have any food - heck I just spent a BUNCH of
money at the grocery store - but because food seems so boring anymore.
And we both know I can't live off of ham sandwiches. The only things
rescuing me from the bottomless pit of boredom is the sweetest, most
loving man and cats one could ever wish for.
So I guess I'm going to go for now, maybe to try to find my
cross-stitch projects, maybe not. Maybe I should shuffle around the
PDA, and find a book to read or a game to play. I've surfed myself
through the 'net I think!

On Osama

Osama must be captured.
I understand his capture wouldn't end either war.
But his head on the metaphorical American sword would be a HUGE morale
boost - to both the soldiers fighting and dying for their country and
for every one of us back home.
Justice also would be served to all the other victims of his terror.
Us capturing or (preferrably) killing him would help our image in much
of the world. It would surely galvanize the terrorists, but they
already have dozens of reasons to attack us (think of our historical
documents and amended documents).
I personally want to see his head gone from his body. I know, I
shouldn't, it's not proper nor right. I know this. But justice MUST be
served. Thousands of people CANNOT die for nothing and their killer go
free.
So, to ALL of our veterans who gave EVERYTHING for us, from Day 1 to
today and tomorrow, THANK YOU.

Ramblings

Hello my friends. Cold yet? Burr, I know I am! I know, I'm ALWAYS cold, but this weather just has it going right down into my joints and muscles, so much that not even a shower seems to help. I need a deep hot tub, because I think before too long, a soak in the ol' tub won't help either! I have a bad feeling this is going to be a cold, snowy winter, which isn't good for anyone involved, except those who make a killing up in the mountains with the skiers etc. Oh, and the road salt manufacturers.
Work still sucks, as always, but doesn't it always? LOL. But we have a few new people that started the last few days, including on the dreaded second shift. So hopefully they're more responsible. I haven't met but one of the new hires yet, but hey, I gotta give them a chance, right?. I'm up to other things as well, but things I can't and won't publish on a public blog, as it's not a proper place for me to divulge such things. But hey, know I'm enjoying it. And get your filthy minds out of the gutter, it's NOTHING like that. It's just some volunteer stuff that I got going on this week, but nothing special, well except to me.
Politics is still in the front of my mind. I am optimistic about the new year and the new President, but cautious as well. Politicians have a nasty habit of being lying scoundrels, and I trust NONE of them. But, after what we as a country have been through and what we ALMOST ended up with, I HAVE to be optimistic! And then there's the one repug on the tv on one of the pundit shows on MSNBC or something saying that the election was "really" close. Dude, even by the popular vote total, Obama won by, what, 4 percent? Considering the number of people in this country, that's a LOT of people, not exactly a mandate of a close election. Let's not even go into the electoral count. THAT was a blowout. But hey, repugs are just embarrassed that they lost, and a lot of hurt egos are trying to regain some composure thinking of 2012 already. Apparently, even Ms. Idiot herself, AK Gov. Palin. If she even tries a 2012 run, I might just vomit - before I start laughing my rear end off!
Did you all see Glenn Beck's no longer on CNNHN? Maybe he's so upset that Obama won that he can't stand being anywhere BUT with his fellow repugs. Or maybe it's the whole Mormon - anti-gay California Prop 9 thing, and CNN told him he was despicable, in which case, they'd be right. I'm straight as a narrow, don't get me wrong. But I'm not scared of anyone, and what harm does letting a couple people get married who just happen to be of the same gender do to a straight couple? Hey, if they want to get married, fine, let them have the right. Just make sure they have the same legal rules in divorce court too, that's all I ask, and I think even they agree that's only fair. But c'mon folks. Grow up. Let consenting adults be consenting adults and get the big government nose out of it.
They were talking on tv about this British young lady (13 I believe) who won her right to die. She had leukemia, and the medicine she was on put a hole in her heart that they can't fix for whatever reason. She just wants to go peacefully at her home, rather than "buy some time" with a heart transplant, more doctors, more medicines, etc. Isn't that her right? I saw her on tv, she's a very mature young woman for her age. And if someone told YOU that you were dying and no matter what they did, even a transplant, you'd still die an early death, would you much rather spend your final days with your family, tie up loose ends instead of continuing a tiring barrage of doctor visits, tests, treatments, medicines, etc... all the stuff that got you IN the pickle you're in first of all? I only hope she goes peacefully in her sleep instead of painfully and slowly, as a young woman who's already fought the fight of her young life deserves no less. And maybe this'll push the medical community to find better, SAFER treatments for the diseases that are killing our children.
Alright, did I miss something? Is there something any of you want my opinion on? I know none of you are likely to speak up, but hey, I gotta try. I just might give it a pondering, and who knows, you might just be the inspiration for the next blog post!
Peace folks!

New Pics

Mr. Cat and I took these pics and I thought some of you (especially ones like Soul and Enola that are going through a LOT of RL BS lately) could use - a moment of "aw" goes a long way when the soul is tired.


Only Curzon would let me use him in such a way LMAO. I wasn't in the mood for picture-taking obviously. I was tired and cranky as it was... But Curzon, sweet and tolerant cat that he is (for me lol), let me use him as a human shield lol. That gives you an idea though how big he is, that he can completely hide my head if I want him to. Yes, he's THAT big. It's not like I was holding him out either, I wasn't. Look how big he is!! That's my boy!! That's what a 20lb cat looks like, folks ROFL. And no, NO ONE else can hold him like that.

Enough!

Enough is enough. This partisan bickering has to stop. Save the fighting for the big shit we'll disagree on later. Right now we must come together for what we all agree on: a peaceful, respectful end to the Iraqi war; a stabilization and growth of the US and global economy; peace efforts in hot-spots such as North Korea and the Middle East; immigration reform (which surely will have disagreements within, but we all agree we need to fix our current policy); and health care reform so that we can all be healthier, more vibrant and productive Americans. We need to fix our tax code so that the middle class isn't paying for the rich's tax breaks. We NEED change, new ideas, new solutions, new energy, new EVERYTHING. We MUST regain possession of our Constitution.
So let's all start with what we each can do individually to regain control, because a nation who's citizens' finances and lives are out of control will never be in peace. It starts at home. It starts by paying down debt, smarter grocery shopping, and better budgeting. We must become a nation of wise savers AND wise spenders. We can't be hoarders, but we can't spend ourselves into oblivion either. We will have to increase spending a bit to get out of this mess we're in as a nation. But we must also cut wasteful spending and tax breaks that don't benefit the nation.
I, on the other hand, must first regain control of my keyboard from a JadziaCat - and figure out who's got the case of the stinkies, because I can't sleep in the same room as the litterbox if this keeps up!

WE DID IT!

Obama wins - Popular vote AND Electoral!
Via yahoo:
"...the Electoral College was lopsided in Obama's favor over McCain -- 349 to 147 as of early Wednesday, with four states still to be decided."
But as McCain even said, now we gotta put the partisan BS aside and work together to fix all the problems we face. Together we CAN!

Pictures!

Nimbus, Curzon, Curzon, Jadzia, Curzon. The first two pics of Curzon are the ones Mr. Cat took. The Nimbus shot is just a couple minutes old. The last Curzon pic was taken after Nimbus' last trip to the vet - see why I couldn't haul the boys out here in them? They barely fit - especially Curzon! But that's the way he likes it. LOL

Peekaboo Again

Hey gang sorry I've been so quiet lately. I've had a real rough week at work and at home, I'm either eating or sleeping. I've been putting in a lot of overtime, which is exhausting!
Luckily my latest gold-mine find, a $2 foot spa found at the thrift store last Monday, has been helping to relax me. Tomorrow, it's getting a workout. It's time my feet get pampered. Maybe I'll just shut the cats out of the bathroom and hide though.
I got a new bin to hold all my beads, and now I get to sort them all out - millions if not billions lmao - not by color or anything stupid like that, but by characteristics. Wood ones go separate, the bigger ones too, and unique pieces. I made myself a new necklace earlier in the week - all black. I'm thinking of a black and white alternating one now, ying and yang yanno LOL.
Mr. Cat took some GREAT pics of Curzon today while I was at work, so I'll post them soon enough - once I get my arse onto my PC! Maybe I'll be a PC potato this weekend.
I hope all of you are well, and don't worry about me. I am fine. Exhausted physically and mentally, but fine. Walter, I hope you're enjoying your time off. Soul, I hope you get better soon. Enola, get that kid better! Cheryl, give the girl a hug for me and remind her there are a lot of grown women that would LOVE to be in her shoes right now! Oh and Soul - tell that man of yours thanks for keeping us posted. Jeremy, where's my mobile geek? You went all gamer on us! LMAO j/k, hope you are well. Kahless, hope you and yours are doing well, as I know ya'll have had your own batch of troubles lately.
And hey, if anyone wants a job, let me know. It doesn't pay much but it's something. But you gotta move out this way. I'll hook ya up with my manager in a heartbeat! LOL.
Be well my friends and PS...
Mr. Cat - Thanks for everything this week. You have pampered me rotten, making this week and the last few a bit more bearable. You are the reason I keep going, my inspiration to keep working my arse off, and my shield when it seems the world is out to get me. THANK YOU and I LOVE YOU!
Happy belated halloween everyone.