Spring

1: Park bench beside new morning glory and moon flower garden

2: Tulip garden-one in bloom

3: Sleeping bird on the water fall--I told you it was relaxing.

$: Garden space-dug and fertilized and ready to be tilled

Anti-virus program that isn't

I just learned about an anti-virus program that really isn't one but it supposedly better. I first heard about this concept from a web designer and he swears by it so I thought I would check it out.

It's called sandboxie and the concept is to allow programs and web sites you click on to run on your computer without actually affecting your computer. The data is isolated in a small area called a sandbox and if an e-mail or other program has spyware or a virus or malware, it is confined to the sandbox and cannot get into your computer.

Places to go/or not

A new place of business opened in Randleman called "Cupcakes to Go" and is located next to Firestone on main Street. No, you don't have to take them with you. There are a few small tables where one can sit and enjoy a cupcake there.

Yes, cupcakes is all they do.

They are delicious.

A trophy shop just opened a few doors down from the cupcake place. It didn't look like they were fully stocked but it did look like they have other things besides trophies. Need a plaque for your desk? Didn't check them out closely so will reserve judgement for later.

The Finish Line. I needed an inspection and didn't have time to drive to Asheboro to Thomas tire and make it to Greensbor for my dental appointment so I took my car to the Finish Line in Randleman.

Is it still legal to smoke in places like that? I think my blood pressure shot up ten points because of the air in that place. I'm serious--it really reeked.

So if you need an oil change, an inspection, or other car repairs and aren't a smoker, steer clear of the Finish line. If you need a trophy or placque, keep the new place in Randleman in mind. If you want something sweet, definetly go to the cupcake place. When I retire, you'll find me there each morning eith my checkerboard. Just kidding about that, but everthing is sweet there, including the cupcake maker.

What did I just eat?

Know before you go. To help in meal planning, dietary concerns and health issues, it might be helpful to know what's in your food before you go out to eat. Check out food facts at http://www.foodfacts.info/ for calorie counts.

Change: believe it

Obama promised us change we can believe in, a new way of transacting business in Washington. I heard a man call in to a talk show the other day and he said "Obama promised us something free (referring to health care) and you white folks just can't stand it."

Nothings free. Someone has to pay. maybe not you. But I will.

vindictive coworker

I have always thought that one of my co-workers did mean things on purpose but was assured by others that it was just a thoughtless act of indifference and not any deliberate act of meanness. I never had any definite proof one way or the other until tonight.

After chiding my co-worker (a cocky faster and better than you attitude type person) about taking too long to do the grind, I had to take over the job after his time was up and he headed home. That's when I discovered he had sabotaged the grinder so as to cause me to have to break it down and clean it before I could finish the job. This had to be a deliberate act on his part.

His plan didn't work as I quickly noticed the problem and fixed it before there was any opportunity for his sabotage to work.

Bad writing

"Anania and other friends of Elizabeth Edwards were reacting to a lengthy interview with Hunter published Monday by GQ. It was the first time Hunter has spoken publicly about the affair that ended John Edwards’ political career and produced a 2-year-old daughter, Frances Quinn. "



Read more: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/35926541/ns/today/#ixzz0ii865lnT


One could easily conclude that the "love child" of Edwards and Hunter was two years old when she was born but you and I both know that isn't true. The writer would have been correct in writing that "the affair that ended John Edwards' political career produced a daughter, Francis Quinn, who is now two years old." Another interesting thing about the paragraph is the use of the word "and" which implicates the possibility of the event happening again. If the union of Hunter/Edwards had in fact produced a two year old named Francis Quinn, I doubt seriously that event could ever be duplicated and if it is, I don't believe the second two year old would be named Fancies Quinn.

I'm sure glad this writer wasn't penning a legal document or a technical piece because it could be confusing. What I think is sad is that such poor writing as this doesn't bother most people. Someone wrote "Whose the father?" and when someone pointed out that whose was incorrect, a third person responded that it doesn't really matter since who's and whose is pronounced the same.

Maybe in a text message using u and r is acceptable to save time and effort, but if one wants to convince me they know what they are writing about, one really needs to know that the u is you and the r is are and that a carrot and a karat, while pronounced the same, aren't interchangeable.

Love children, rape, and basketball

"Love child" is a term used to designate the baby born to a couple as a result of an affair. The most famous "love child" in America at the moment is the baby born of Ms. Hunter and John Edwards. For the life of me, I fail to understand why that couple would make a sex tape when it was in his best interest to keep their relationship private and the sexual part of it non-existent to the outside world.

If a man's wife is suffering because of some life threatening disease and cannot pleasure her husband, I can understand why he might look outside the marriage. I didn't say agree because I don't, especially entering into a love affair. At least Tiger Woods, a cheating creep in his own right, had the good sense to find women willing to have brief affairs. Lordy, how does this mans stupidity shine through from this incident. Falling in love, failing to use any birth control methods, taping the affair, and leaving a cell phone where his wife could find it. One would think he wanted to be caught and if his wife was dumb enough to ask "are you having an affair" he had the tape to prove he was.

I wonder too if Elizabeth had the ability to regulate the state of her cancer--getting sicker when it would give John needed publicity and getting less sick when she needed the strength to fight him in court. Doesn't it seem like someone who was the son of a mill worker would put himself through school to become a lawyer and a successful one at that and a US Senator and a Presidential Candidate would be happy with his life. But you know what they say about power.

Some people can't handle power and some can't handle responsibility. Give a man a little responsibility who can't handle power and bad things are bound to happen. If John Edwards isn't enough to prove that point, just look at the refugee camps in Haiti where the workers handing out food are demanding sex from the women before they can receive rations. It seems rape is a rampant problem too with numerous reports of girls as young as two falling victim to this despicable crime.

One commenter on a story suggested that the US allowed this to happen and we should put a stop to it. Don't I wish we could. I'm sure if the American people made it a priority, much could be done to change the mentality of the Haitian men who engage in this behaviour and the legal system there that does little to discourage the practice, but we have too much other stuff going on and something to focus our attention on that is oh so much more important right now; College basketball and March madness. Come April, we will have the fianl run to the pro baketball championships to draw our attention.

Now, I'm not belittling sports fans or sports or our need to espcape from the pressures of life for awhile. Enjoying ourselves is as important to living as solving problems for if we didn't have pleasure, life woule hardly be worth living but we still need to pay attention to what others are going through. Instead of arguing with other sports fans on why UWV, Sienna, or Wolford will be the surprise team of the NCAA tournament or why Cardinal fans are really idiots, maybe we can just find a little time to enjoy the games and then put the world into perspective.

Maybe we can just show a little love to that yong girl who lost her home,maybe her family, and her virginity, to a sadistic rapist. If we could just show some of the passion for their plight as we do for our favorite basketball team, things like what is going on in Haiti would not happen nearly as often.

Doubts over Prius story

It seems the experts are in agreement with me--they have their doubts about the sudden accelaration of a Prius to 94 mph and the inability of the driver to stop the vehicle. They have their data to support their position--I have my knowledge of phony stories.

pushahead

"pushahead" was used as a word in an article I read today. Could it be that someone forgot the space rather than really thinking this is a word?

I believe it is just poor proofreading as the first paragraph also contains this word: teambefore and in the the full article quotation marks are rendered '' rather than ". Fox News must not be able to afford proofreaders. Slate was once the worst but I am beginning to believe few reporters have a good command of proper English anymnore.

A Good Day

I enjoyed my day off even if it did begin with a 7:30 am dentist appointment. My wife and I went out for lunch together. It is good having her able to get out some now. She still has a long way to go but she is making good progress.

I worked on my water ponds some, cleaning the filters and installing my new pump. It works great but I haven't gotten my fountain pump installed the way I want it yet. Maybe Monday on my next day off.

My doctor's office called with my blood work results. Total cholesterol of 118 and triglycerides of 96. When I started seeing my doctor I weighed 45 pounds more than I do now, I smoked, my cholesterol was almost 400 and my directorates were well over 600
Lots of hard work went into achieving these good results but I still have problems. I'm still considered obese, my blood pressure still runs high sometimes and I am still considered a diabetic even though I take no medicines for that condition.

Now that the weather is warming, maybe I can get out and walk some now. Working out on the Wii has been helpful but I still believe the real thing is better.

I'm still debating on whether it is safe yet to plant my tender young saplings. Any one with ideas?

Feds to probe cause of runaway Prius in California

I think when all is said and done, this incident will prove to have been staged. I believe the man just wants to make money from Toyota, a little fame and fortune so to speak.

Sure his brakes were worn almost to nothing from the attempt to stop the car but what would one expect if the accelarator was pressed to the floor. Why didn't the man cut the engine off when instructed to by the 9-1-1 operator? Not enugh media attention had not been generated by that time. It wasn't until the CHP got involved did the man even attempt the recommended method of stopping a run a way car. If it has no power, it has to stop.

The only excuse for not being able to stop a car with a stuck accelarator is if the engine won't cut off. Even if the brakes fail, without power the car is going to eventually stop.

I'm not implying other incidences are not real and I know people panic and do stupid stuff in a paniced mode but I just don't buy in to this incident.

Sounds like another "baloon boy" incident to me. Check out the driver's history.

Bear eats fingers

A lady fed a bear and it ate her fingers. I don't have any bears to feed but I do have some fish. I fed them today which is the first time they have eaten in over three months. I worked in the yard digging holes in anticipation of next month when I can start planting my seedlings. I did plant some bulbs (only half-I'll plant the other half next month so the flowers won;t all bloom at once) and dug the holes for the rest of them. I also dug twenty-five holes where the hibiscus plants will go olus another five holes for the apple trees.

I cleared the grass from the fence where I will plant my Moon flowers and morning glories. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy so I put some steaks on the grill to go with the salad and potatoe we had for lunch.

After all the work was done, I uncovered my ponds and noticed the bigger fish were active so I gave them a few pellets. At first the fish were preoccupied in exploring the disappearance of their winter hiding place and discovering they could swim around the entire pond now. Then they realized they were hungry so they nibbled at the food. After they consumed the few pellets, I gave them some more and they were more eager that time to eat.

I took some pictures and finally got one in which all five fish can be seen. Shark, the black and orange one, is in the lower right hand side and is only prtly visible. Spot is the white and tan one with the round black spots. Showa is the tri-colored Koi, and Old Yeller is the orange one. Sasha is also a tri-colored fish but isn't a Koi. She is a smaller fish, chunkier with colors that aren't as pure and organized as the Koi has.

The comets were still too shy to eat today although two of them did venture out. It will be warm enough soon.

Tomorrow I'll clean the ponds.

48 hr mystery

Seldom do I get the chance to watch on regular TV. My wife records the show or I watch it on the computer. I just watched the segment about the funereal director's wife who drowned in the pool. The defense claim was that a stranger must have saw the woman by the pool, beat her, robbed her, threw her in the pool and cleaned up the crime scene and did not arouse any neighbor's or the husband or any of the four children. It was around 10:30 pm when the lady drowned.

How convenient for the husband who was having an intense affair and just found out his girlfriend was pregnant.

Snow plow

A lady told me this morning that she had to travel some in Randoph County this morning and none of the area she passed through had been touched by a snow plow. "Don't they have one?," she asked.

"Oh" I replied. "Randolph County uses a Green snow removal method. It is so far advanced it is even solar powered".

"Really?" the lady quizzed. "I certainly didn't see any evidence of anyone using any kind of snow removal system in the area I passed through and it is a busy area. Wonder why they hadn't used it there?'

"The sun hadn't come out yet" I answered.

Congress, health care, compromise

I once had a pick-up truck that I needed to sell. I looked the value up in all the latest "value books" and determined the vehicle was worth $1200.00. I parked it in the front yard with my phone number on it and the next day a man called and wanted to see it.

He asked how much I wanted and I quoted him a price and he made a counter offer of less than that and I accepted. That is compromise. He purchased the truck he wanted for less than the asking price so he felt he did a good job negotiating.

I sold the truck, which was my goal, and I sold it for more than it's book value.

It was a good compromise for us both.

Obama promised Americans change and one of the things he wants to change is the meaning of compromise, or at least the way it is done.

Obama wants the Republicans to accept the premise that compromise is accepting as fact that in the end, he will get what he wants with or without their cooperation so if they will agree to stop fighting him on what he wants, he will tell the American people it was a bipartisan piece of legislation but if they don't agree to just roll over, he is going to get his way one way or the other and he will do his best to make the Republicans look bad in the process.

It's kind of like if the man came to look at my truck and offered me a price way too low and I said no so he told me if I didn't accept his offer he would steal my truck and I would get nothing and I still said no even though I knew he was the local sheriff and if he stole the truck I would never be able to prove it or would I ever get my truck back or any money for it.

Change you can believe in (yea, right)

Rottweiler kills 4 year old

ASTORIA, Ore. (AP) -- Oregon authorities say the 4-year-old daughter of a reality TV show star was mauled to death by the family's Rottweiler.

Clatsop County Sheriff Tom Bergin says Ashlynn Anderson's mother found her badly injured on their lawn in Astoria on Sunday. Ashlynn is the daughter of Jesse Browning, who stars with his father on The History Channel's show about the logging industry called "Ax Men."