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justxploring's Blog

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Credit Card Security

If you've used a debit or credit card lately, you've probably noticed that you are never asked for any identification and, in many cases, don't even need to sign for your purchase.  When I bought some items in Walgreen's recently, I just swiped my card and she handed me a receipt. 

I realize this is so you never show your card to a cashier or clerk.  That was always the last thing I ever worried about because, after all, most of them do not have photographic memories and, even if they did, are simply trying to make a living like the rest of us!  IMHO ID theft is mostly committed by hackers and thieves, not people who checkout your groceries, at least in my experience. 

For about 40 years people have willingly handed servers at restaurants their credit cards.  Then he/she takes it from you, leaves the room for a few minutes, and comes back 5 minutes later with your slip to sign.  It only takes a minute to order lots of stuff online!  LOL   Yet suddenly, the same people who dine out all the time are afraid to hand a salesperson or cashier a credit card?  Doesn't make sense to me. When you reserve a hotel room or a car, you always give a credit card number to a stranger on the other end of the phone.  Then why would that person go to Walmart and worry that someone working her third job might remember your name and credit card number? 

It might take an extra 20 seconds, but I really don't mind if someone asks for ID or check my signature.  I want someone to wonder why a man who is 25 years old with red hair is using a credit card with a picture of a blonde woman in her 50s.  Yet, when I was at Target, I could have been any gender, race or age since I swiped my own card and she never saw it.

Don't get me wrong, because I definitely believe ID theft is on the rise.  I mean, recently over 40 million credit/debit card numbers were stolen by a group of hackers.  If you haven't read about this, here's one article from the New York times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/business/06theft.html?em However, the hackers weren't the cashiers who are busily scanning your items as people wait anxiously in line.

Well, this was just a subject I thought about today after making a purchase.  So it's our responsibility to keep an eye on our credit/debit card balances for fraudulent actitivity.  Frankly, I won't use my debit card any more except at the bank ATM, since it's too risky.  If you use one at the pump, did you know you might temporarily be charged for more than you paid, creating an overdraft?   See this article which explains it better than I can.  http://edition.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/07/21/debit.card.holds.gas.ap/index.html

You might also fall victim to a scam where a thief installs a skimmer that stores the number of every credit card that is swiped at that pump.  That's been a problem in Florida for years, but I'm not sure it's nationwide.  Well, since I'm on the subject, I just googled a few words and guess what?  They're everywhere!  http://wtopnews.com/?nid=104&sid=1453928    If you're not paying cash, it's probably safer to ask the cashier inside the store to run your card.  Although I confess.  I pay at the pump with a credit card all the time. 

So while we're all swiping our little hearts out, nobody is watching ...  only the bad guys!  I'm not sure if all this "convenience" and extra "security" is safe for consumers! 

"And hey, let's be careful out there!"  Sergeant Phil Esterhaus, Hill Street Blues

Entry #161

Blog and Thread Typos

Just curious.  How do you feel after you've posted and notice you've made a typo or used incorrect grammar?  For example, I know the difference between your and you're or its and it's and I realize that the word meaning also is spelled too, not to. 

However, I still make lots of errors when posting, especially when I make blog comments, since I can't edit them.  Even on threads, if someone posts a few days later, I might reread my comment and I notice I typed their instead of there.  I usually just shrug it off and think of Joe E. Brown at the end of Some Like It Hot.  Great scene!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLW5jzHsW7c&feature=related

This blog entry was prompted when I just typed "Sorry about you hours" and didn't notice until after I posted. 

Guess this should be a poll.

(a)  I don't care, it doesn't matter.

(b)  I bang my head against the wall.

(c)  It's the internet, we're expected to all sound like that

(d)  whadya talkin bout hear Dood?

Entry #160

Fatal Stabbing of American in China

Father of former Olympian killed in Beijing

By BETH DUFF-BROWN, Associated Press Writer

The fatal stabbing of the father of a former Olympian at a Beijing landmark cast a sad shadow over the first full day of Olympic competition Saturday, just hours after China's jubilant opening of the Summer Games.

Todd and Barbara Bachman of Lakeville, Minn. — parents of 2004 volleyball Olympian Elisabeth "Wiz" Bachman and in-laws of U.S. men's volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon — were attacked by a Chinese man while visiting the 13th-century Drum Tower.

The U.S. Olympic Committee confirmed Bachman died from knife wounds and that Barbara Bachman suffered life-threatening injuries. She and their Chinese tour guide, who was also injured in the attack, were being treated in a Beijing hospital.

Elisabeth Bachman was with them at the time of the attack, but uninjured. Her father was chief executive officer for Bachman's, Inc., a home-and-garden center based in Minneapolis.

The assailant, Tang Yongming, 47, leapt to his death from a 130-foot (40-meter) -high balcony on the Drum Tower, just five miles (eight kilometers) from the main Olympics site, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

The midday attack sent shock waves through the games precinct after the Olympics' spectacular opening ceremony had set an ebullient tone. President George W. Bush, in the Chinese capital for the games, expressed sadness while American athletes and Olympics officials reacted with disbelief.

There was no indication that the assailant knew that his victims had any connection to the games. "For all intents, it appears to be a random attack by a deranged man," an American member of the International Olympic Committee, Jim Easton, told The Associated Press. "The only thing we've heard is they were not identifiable except for a small volleyball pin which would probably be invisible to a guy."

Easton said the attack has stunned the Olympic community.

"It's certainly a down day, certainly for the U.S. people," he said. "Here it is supposed to be a great time of happiness and peace and all that. That's what we work hard for, then for one person to be able to put a dark cloud on that."

The U.S. women's indoor volleyball team heard about the killing of their former teammate's father before they took on Japan in a match Saturday. After their victory, player Logan Tom was obviously shaken.

"God, we all love Wiz," she said. "It's hard to put it in words. That's not something that's supposed to happen."

Tom then turned away, crying.

"It's just tragic," said U.S. woman's basketball coach Anne Donovan. "I don't know if there's another word for it. We said a prayer for them in the locker room. I get goosebumps talking about it. It's something obviously that just changes the events right now for the Olympic Games."

Violent crime against foreigners is rare in tightly controlled China, and the assault at the Drum Tower, five miles from the main Olympics site, occurred despite major security measures that have blanketed the capital city during the Olympics: A 100,000-strong security force plus countless volunteer guards have been deployed to protect against any trouble.

Beijing's Communist leaders are hypersensitive about anything that could take the shine off the games. China's Foreign Ministry said it had no immediate comment on the attack. It was not mentioned in the main evening news bulletin on state-controlled television, though it was reported by the official Xinhua News Agency and other Chinese-language media.

Interpol said initial investigations found nothing indicating the murder was linked to terrorism or organized crime.

"So far, our database check and preliminary analysis suggest that today's murder-suicide was an isolated, though brutal, murder of one person and assault on two others," said Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble.

Tang's name was run through computers containing more than 178,000 individuals, including 12,000 suspected terrorists, and came up blank. But Noble noted that the investigation was not complete.

Interpol said Tang had apparently recently divorced and had not been seen by relatives for two months.

U.S. Ambassador Clark T. Randt visited the victims in hospital, and the embassy issued a statement later that said the attack "appears to be a senseless act of violence."

"We don't believe this was targeted at American citizens, and we don't believe this has anything to do with the Olympics," embassy spokeswoman Susan Stevenson said.

Jennie Finch, a member of the U.S. softball team, said her heart skipped a beat when she heard about the attack, but was undaunted.

"I'm here with my husband and son, so it's not easy but we're living our dreams and we're not going to live in fear," she said. "We're going to go out there every day and enjoy every day and celebrate it."

Attacks on foreigners in China are extremely rare. A Canadian model was murdered last month in Shanghai — police said she stumbled onto a burglary. In March, a screaming, bomb-strapped hostage-taker who commandeered a bus with 10 Australians aboard in the popular tourist city of Xi'an was shot dead by a police sniper.

Shanghai and Beijing are still safer than most cities of their size. Punishments for crimes against foreigners are heavier than for crimes against Chinese, and police-linked neighborhood watch groups are highly vigilant. Chinese are not allowed to own guns. Still, the U.S. government has warned Americans against muggings, beatings and even carjackings, especially in the nightlife and shopping districts of large cities.

The Drum Tower is one of few ancient structures still in fast-developing Beijing. Long ago, drummers pounded their massive instruments on the hour to let people in the imperial city know the time. It is located on an important central axis of the city, to the north of the Forbidden City, which was home to the emperor.

___

Steve Wilson in Beijing contributed to this report.

Entry #159

What! No Luggage Rack?

Grandma arrested for driving with child on roof

Associated Press

Thu Aug 7, 7:54 PM ET

Authorities say a grandmother was arrested for driving around the parking lot of a Marathon grocery store with her 3-year-old child sitting on the roof of the car.

Monroe County Sheriff's Office deputies were called to the Publix store Tuesday and arrested a 54-year-old woman after she was driving around with her three-year-old granddaughter on the roof of her car.

The grandmother was released from jail 15 hours later.

The woman said Thursday she would never let anything hurt her granddaughter. She says she was driving at "snail-speed" and holding the child's leg.

Authorities say the woman told police she was giving the child some air and letting her have fun.

She faces charges of child abuse. The child is back with her mother.

Entry #158

Food in Prison Must be Mighty Tasty

Ohio inmate says he's too fat for execution

ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS, Associated Press Writer

A death row inmate scheduled for execution says he's too fat to be put to death, claiming executioners would have trouble finding his veins and that his weight could diminish the effectiveness of one of the lethal injection drugs.

Lawyers for Richard Cooey argue in a federal lawsuit that Cooey — 5-feet-7 and 267 pounds — had poor veins when he faced execution five years ago and the problem has been worsened by weight gain.

The lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court, also says prison officials have had difficulty drawing blood from Cooey for medical procedures.

Cooey, 41, is sentenced to die for raping and murdering two young women in 1986. His execution is scheduled for Oct. 14.

His attorneys say a drug he is taking for migraine headaches could affect the execution process. The drug Topamax, a type of seizure medication, may have created a resistance to thiopental, the drug used to put inmates to sleep before two other lethal drugs are administered, Dr. Mark Heath, a physician hired by the Ohio Public Defender's Office, said in documents filed with the court.

Heath says Cooey's weight, combined with the potential drug resistance, increases the risk he would not be properly anesthetized.

"All of the experts agree if the first drug doesn't work, the execution is going to be excruciating," Cooey's public defender, Kelly Culshaw Schneider, said Monday.

Prison system spokeswoman Andrea Carson and Jim Gravelle, a spokesman for the Ohio Attorney General's Office, both said Monday they hadn't seen the lawsuit and couldn't comment.

Last year, Carson cited the obesity of condemned inmate Christopher Newton as one of the reasons prison officials had difficulty accessing his veins before his execution. Newton was 6 feet tall and weighed 265 pounds.

Two years ago, convicted killer Jeffrey Lundgren was put to death after a federal appeals court rejected his claim that he was at greater risk of experiencing pain and suffering because he was overweight and diabetic.

Entry #157

This is one of the saddest stories I've ever read

Starved, disabled girl was failed at every turn

By KATHY MATHESON, Associated Press Writer  Fri Aug 1, 9:27 PM ET

For days before Danieal Kelly died in a fetid, airless room — made stifling hot by a midsummer heat wave — the bedridden teenager begged for something to drink until she could muster only one word: water.

Unable to help herself because of her cerebral palsy, she wasted away from malnutrition and maggot-infested bedsores that ate her flesh. She died alone on a putrid mattress in her mother's home, the floor covered in feces. She was 14 but weighed just 42 pounds.

The nightmare of forced starvation and infection that killed Danieal while she was under the protection of the city's human services agency is documented in a 258-page grand jury report released this week that charges nine people — her parents, four social workers and three family friends — in her ghastly death.

The report describes a mother, Andrea Kelly, who was embarrassed by her disabled daughter and didn't want to touch her, take her out in public, change her diapers or make sure she had enough fluids. It portrays Daniel Kelly, the father who once had custody of Danieal, as having no interest in raising her.

And it accuses the city Department of Human Services of being "uncaring and incompetent."

"It was this indifference that helped kill Danieal Kelly," an angry District Attorney Lynne Abraham said. "How is it possible for this to have happened?"

The report should "outrage the entire Philadelphia community" and bring about "earth-shattering, cataclysmic changes" at the Department of Human Services, Abraham said.

Andrea Kelly, 39, the only defendant charged with murder, was ordered held Friday without bail. The social workers — suspected of falsifying home visits and progress reports in the case — face charges ranging from child endangerment to involuntary manslaughter. The family friends are accused of lying to the grand jury about the girl's condition before her death.

None of the lawyers for any of the defendants had any immediate comment.

Human Services Commissioner Anne Marie Ambrose, in office only a month, said Thursday that she is intent on improving child safety and worker accountability in an agency that has repeatedly been accused of failing to protect children.

Late Friday, the city announced the resignation of Assistant Health Commissioner Carmen Paris. The grand jury had accused Paris of interfering in the investigation of the girl's death while she was acting health commissioner, but found insufficient evidence to charge her with obstruction of justice.

The report on Danieal's death in August 2006 documents a downward spiral from the early years that she spent in Arizona with her father and his girlfriend.

Though Danieal attended special-needs classes only sporadically, a school report described her as an active learner and "one of the sweetest students ever enrolled in this program." But allegations of parental neglect soon surfaced, and following Daniel Kelly's breakup with his girlfriend in 2001, Danieal never again attended school.

Daniel Kelly and his children moved to Philadelphia in 2003. He eventually asked his estranged wife to move in, even though she had several other children and he knew she was incapable of caring for Danieal, authorities say. He then moved out.

"Daniel Kelly was well aware what deserting his daughter meant to her safety and welfare," the grand jury report said. "He just did not care."

The Department of Human Services received at least five reports of Danieal being mistreated between 2003 and 2005. All described a "helpless child sitting unattended, unkempt and unwashed, in a small stroller in her own urine and feces," her screams ignored by her mother, the grand jury report said. The stroller, which served as a wheelchair, apparently never left the house.

Agency employee Dana Poindexter, assigned to investigate, also ignored Danieal, authorities say. Already having been suspended after a 3-week-old baby died on his watch in 2002, Poindexter continued his "slovenly, neglectful and dangerously reckless work habits" after being assigned the Kelly case, the grand jury said. He did not file a single report, authorities said.

The Kellys finally were assigned help from a private agency in 2005. Employee Julius Murray was required to visit the family twice a week, but authorities believe he may have come to the house only once — to have Andrea Kelly sign predated forms attesting to future visits.

The grand jury report said Laura Sommerer, a city social worker, failed to hold the now-defunct company accountable when, months later, Danieal still was not enrolled in school or receiving medical care.

And after Danieal died, authorities say, company director Mickal Kamuvaka held a "forgery fest" in her office where she had employees "concoct almost a year's worth of false progress reports."

But authorities say Andrea Kelly, whose other children are now in foster care, is primarily responsible for her daughter's death.

The report said she was confronted repeatedly by her own mother, uncle, friends and even two of her sons about Danieal's deteriorating health. She would lie or put them off by saying she would seek help, or banish them from the house, authorities say.

In the meantime, the report said, she entertained friends, attended classes and fed her other children.

"This behavior indicates that Andrea Kelly did not merely allow Danieal to die," the report said. "She may have even wanted her disabled daughter to die."

When an ambulance responded to a 911 call for Danieal on Aug. 4, 2006, the girl had been dead for several hours. Authorities said she was so emaciated she looked like the victim of a concentration camp.

She had been lying on the filthy mattress for so long that her body outline was imprinted on it.

Entry #156

Free House plus $250,000 & broke in 2 years!

'Extreme Makeover' house faces foreclosure

Mon Jul 28, 11:32 AM PDT

More than 1,800 people showed up to help ABC's "Extreme Makeover" team demolish a family's decrepit home and replace it with a sparkling, four-bedroom mini-mansion in 2005.

Three years later, the reality TV show's most ambitious project at the time has become the latest victim of the foreclosure crisis.

After the Harper family used the two-story home as collateral for a $450,000 loan, it's set to go to auction on the steps of the Clayton County Courthouse Aug. 5. The couple did not return phone calls Monday, but told WSB-TV they received the loan for a construction business that failed.

The house was built in January 2005, after Atlanta-based Beazer Homes USA and ABC's "Extreme Makeover" demolished their old home and its faulty septic system. Within six days, construction crews and hoards of volunteers had completed work on the largest home that the television program had yet built.

The finished product was a four-bedroom house with decorative rock walls and a three-car garage that towered over ranch and split-level homes in their Clayton County neighborhood. The home's door opened into a lobby that featured four fireplaces, a solarium, a music room and a plush new office.

Materials and labor were donated for the home, which would have cost about $450,000 to build. Beazer Homes' employees and company partners also raised $250,000 in contributions for the family, including scholarships for the couple's three children and a home maintenance fund.

ABC said in a statement that it advises each family to consult a financial planner after they get their new home. "Ultimately, financial matters are personal, and we work to respect the privacy of the families," the network said.

Some of the volunteers who helped build the home were less than thrilled about the family's financial decisions.

"It's aggravating. It just makes you mad. You do that much work, and they just squander it," Lake City Mayor Willie Oswalt, who helped vault a massive beam into place in the Harper's living room, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

From the Associated Press

Entry #155

Kitty Dilemma

There are many cats roaming around my neighborhood.  Some are feral, some are just strays people lost or abandoned and others are pets that are left outside.  I recognize one or two cats that are the neighborhood scroungers, but it's hard to tell which ones are pets.

This is my question.  How can I tell?  What if the dinner I serve is a lot tastier than what they get at home or they're just coming by for an extra meal?  I used to put food outside all the time, but I never knew if a raccoon was getting to it first.  Then I figured raccoons need to eat too, right?  Later I stopped, because my new neighbor doesn't want them hanging around.  He said they carry disease, but these cats are so skittish that it's very unlikely he or his child will ever have any direct contact with them.  I can't even get the cats to come near me with a plate of 9 Lives Seafood Platter.  (Boy, does that stuff stink!)   

Also, it's just an uneducated guess, but isn't a well fed animal less of a nuisance?  (not talking about alligators or other wildlife of course.)   I mean, they won't be searching through your garbage cans or chasing after birds if they're full & lounging around after a good meal.

After a week or 2 with no cats, a beautiful black one wandered into my yard and was still under a tree at night, so I offered her a treat. She wouldn't come close to me, but she ate as soon as I went inside.  The next evening she was there looking up at my kitchen window.  I tried to ignore her, but just before dusk I peeked outside and 2 shiny marbles were staring at me.  I couldn't stand it, so I drove to the store and bought more food.  The next day she was gone, but after dark she came back with 3 friends, possibly a mate and 2 kittens.  So then I had 4.  Still, I'm pretty sure they're not all feral cats, even though they run away together.   In fact, the black cat seems to be the leader.  It's as if she told the other cats where they could find some mighty tasty fixins, and she circles them while they eat.

There is one cat that doesn't eat with the group.  He/she is frightened of me, stays under a tree, but doesn't dash away like the others.  She looks scrawny to me, unlike the others.  When the other cats are eating around the plate of food, this one cat sits & watches from a distance, often hiding under a bush.  She'll then run over to lick it, although there's nothing left.  So last night I went out with a little more food and shooed the others away.  She was able to get several bites before they came back.  Is this normal behavior?  If the more aggressive cats are getting all the food, I'm really not helping the hungry cat that seems to need some nourishment.  Having said that, many household pets are naturally skinny.  I can't get close enough to make any sort of evaluation.

I went out back to get my plate about an hour ago and I noticed the 3 gray cats & the black one together on the back screened porch of the house next to me.  The owner isn't living there now, but she takes care of it.  There was a small screen missing, as if someone purposely made a cat door.  Trust me, the owner definitely doesn't have any pets.  I've known her for many years.   So maybe that's where they've found refuge from the heat and the rain and are camping out temporarily.  When they saw me approaching, they ran out of the porch and disappeared through the trees.

I really don't know much about cats and, in fact, I'm really a dog person at heart.  I just don't like to see anything go hungry.  However, these cats do not look sick or dirty and, except for the one that keeps its distance from the "pack" that eats together (possible a family) I wouldn't be surprised if they're getting fed by others.

Okay - now I've written too much, but I didn't know where to begin or stop!  I've read it's probably not a good idea to feed strays unless you plan to adopt them, but I have no intention of taking in these animals.  I'm also hoping to move by the end of the year.  Maybe I won't see those eyes staring up at my window tonight.  It's already 7:30 and there are no kitties in sight!

Entry #154

30 Year Old Police Officer Gunned Down By Career Criminal

After being charged with 20 felonies and 2 misdemeanors since 1991, Abel Arrango of Naples, FL gunned down a 30 year old father of 3 young children.  Arrango, who left Cuba and entered the United States through Miami, was granted refugee status.  Like so many other pieces of human garbage who turned Miami into a war zone, he headed across the state to our peaceful community.  According to the 11:00 news this evening, local authorities report that every time they tried to send him back to Cuba, the Federal government released him.  Apparently Cuba said "We don't want him back." 

So this violent piece of dirt was put back on the streets to endanger the public because nobody knew what to do with him? 

What?

Here is an article on some of this career criminal's offenses.   

http://www.winknews.com/news/local/25649779.html

Andrew Widman, the young man Arrango murdered, was a police officer called to the scene when a dispute broke out between Arrango and his girlfriend at a Fort Myers bar.  When the officer tried to break up the fight, Arrango pulled out a gun and shot him in the face.

After earning his Masters in Theology, Officer Widman became a minister and served as a missionary with his wife, Susanna.  Here is a photo of them with their newborn son before they went to Thailand to carry on their missionary work. 

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080719/NEWS03/807190397

Officer Widman joined the police force last year.  I didn't know him or his family, but this is a terrible tragedy and a shock to all of us in Southwest Florida. 

http://www.nbc-2.com/articles/readarticle.asp?articleid=20481&z=14

I wasn't prepared to write anything tonight, but I'm just so enraged that someone with so many felonies was walking freely on our streets.  There isn't any safe place to live any more.

Entry #153

Happy Bastille Day, July 14

One of my favorite books in grammar school was A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens.  It begins:

"IT WAS the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way...."

France had been a powerful, wealthy country that became bankrupt after years of war.  The ruling aristocracy was corrupt and had acquired land, political status and social privilege based on birthright. They spent money frivolously while the poor starved and the middleclass became more and more frustrated. 

History repeats itself once again. 

    "Those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them."  ---  George Santayana

Entry #152

I'm a Mosquito Magnet

According to this video, I'm doomed since, although I perspire, I try to smell good.  (she writes as she vigorously scratches her swollen ankles)  I also wear dark, solid colors most of the time.  A positive thing is my blonde hair, but the local mosquitos don't seem to mind.  (Wonder if they're kosher?)  One solution seems to be hanging around much larger people with dark hair or to stop showering & ditch the deodorant.

http://gmy.news.yahoo.com/v/8606579

I thought eating bananas attracts mosquitos to bite.  However, one thing he didn't suggest is MOVE OUT OF FLORIDA!   Time to go out and buy one of those tacky Hawaiian shirts & a pair of plaid pants.

Entry #151

More Government Waste

Based on my social security number, I was supposed to receive my stimulus check last week.  Instead I got a letter from the IRS telling me that I am entitled to an economic stimulus check and the amount.  "You can expect your payment by..  Well, I am still waiting.  The notice says to contact the IRS if you don't get your check within 6 weeks of the notice. Sounds like one of those rebate deals when you buy a new printer! 

Even if this letter was computer generated, someone had to send it to me and I assume millions were mailed.  Isn't this a waste of paper, manpower and postage?  I'm still trying to figure out why they didn't just let qualified recipients deduct the amount from their tax returns in the first place.

Please, no comments like "you should have used Direct Deposit."  I owed a small amount in April and mailed the IRS a check.   Anyway, that's not my point.  I don't expect to receive much, but it's the whole process that is irritating me since I'm pretty good with budgeting and, even using my primitive balancing methods, sending this notice is a total waste of my tax dollars.   But what do I know?  I'm only a Plebeian waiting for my crust of bread from the Patrician Council.

Entry #150

Produce or Real Estate?

It's the middle of the night and I'm not posting anything you don't already know.  I was just thinking about my trip to the supermarket.  A couple of days ago I decided to eat a little better and add more healthful items to my diet, especially some with high fiber.  Pectin always seems to help my digestive tract, and fruit makes a nice snack, so I picked up 2 peaches, 2 plums & 2 apples.  Yes, I saw the price, but why weigh just 2 items?  When I got to the checkout, I felt as if I was taking out a mortgage on an orchard!

I usually don't eat beef, but on Monday I bought one of those 59 ct cheeseburgers at McDonald's. (yuck)  So I just started to think about a world where a peach costs more than a cheeseburger.  No wonder so many people are constipated.

That's it.  Nothing exciting to write about.  No epiphany tonight.

Entry #149

George Carlin Dies at 71

I won't use words like "expires" or "passes away" since those are 2 euphemisms he joked about in one of his routines. 

To me he was one of the most prolific comedians of all time. 

 

Bye, bye Hippy Dippy Weatherman!  It will be dark tonight.

Entry #148

Yikes! What did she eat for 9 months?

Congratulations to the lucky couple.  She's earned the right to say "not tonight Honey, I have a headache" for at least the next 2 years.  LOL 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080620/ap_on_fe_st/odd_big_twins

NC 'Big twins' tip scales at a combined 23 pounds

Fri Jun 20, 7:00 PM ET

They aren't America's heaviest newborn twins on record, but they certainly tip the scales: Sean William Maynard and Abigail Rose Maynard weighed in at a combined 23 pounds and 1 ounce at birth this week, a North Carolina hospital announced Friday.

Freda Springs, spokeswoman for Forsyth Medical Center, said the twins were delivered two minutes apart by Caesarean section on Tuesday at the center's Sara Lee Center for Women's Health in Winston-Salem.

The boy weighed 10 pounds, 14 ounces; the girl, 12 pounds, 3 ounces. Springs said both babies are in excellent condition after their birth to parents Joey and Erin Maynard of Winston-Salem.

The combined weight of the twins is about four pounds shy of the combined weight of twins born in Arkansas in 1927, the hospital said. Those twins weighed a total of 27 pounds, 12 ounces, hospital researchers said, adding they could find no public record of any heavier twins than the Arkansas pair born since 1900.

They said the Maynard twins topped a 1997 delivery in North Carolina of big twins weighing a total of 18 pounds, 10 ounces.

Sean, tucked in a blue blanket, was held by his mother and his sister, swaddled in pink, was cradled by her father at a hospital news conference Friday. The infants slept quietly through their first public appearance.

 

Entry #147
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