January 2015

Still spending the majority of my Internet time on Facebook since I've joined several groups. Also, I did open a Gmail account and Blogger won't allow you to use Gmail so I have to quit it, clear my computer and then re-sign in with my Yahoo e-mail. Mucho PITA.

This Pretty Much Sums It Up

To Honor Our Veterans

Turkey Talk

I am finding that I can either keep up with Facebook posts or people's blogs. I may have to make a choice...

As God Is My Witness

I am going to close down my Yahoo e-mail account in January. Yahoo is continually erasing messages as I'm in the midst of composing them (the draft feature doesn't work properly) The past few days I've had trouble signing in and get some little "Oops, our technicians are working on this problem" message. Today I can't open my e-mails and am getting another message that for some reason it is taking too long to open and to try again (with no luck, I might add)

It is a daunting task to notify my friends and businesses of an e-mail change, even worse than changing credit card information, but this is a resolution that I must keep.

(I almost got sidetracked from my little rant here as I had a spam comment on my last entry. Yay!)

The Eternal Optimist

Personally, I'm still waiting...

Ralph

Interesting Point

Lewiston Idaho Veternarian's Letter to the Editor re: Ebola, Nails it!
The present Ebola crisis in the world is frightening. I have submitted the following letter to the editor of the Lewiston Morning Tribune:

Editor, Lewiston Morning Tribune:

If I wish to import a horse into the United States from Liberia or any African country other than Morocco, the horse needs to undergo a 60 day quarantine period at a USDA approved quarantine facility prior to mingling with the general population of horses in this country. Africa has a disease called African Horse Sickness that does not exist in the US; this is the way we have kept it out of this country. African Horse Sickness does not cause disease in people, only horses; our government has determined that it would be devastating to the US horse industry if it were to come here.

The United States (and virtually all other countries) require a myriad of tests and often quarantine prior to bringing in a foreign animal.

I can’t legally cross state lines in the United States with a horse or cow without a health certificate signed by a USDA accredited veterinarian stating that the animal has been inspected and found free of infectious disease. In most cases blood tests are also required. In fact I can’t legally cross the Snake River and ride my horse in Idaho without a health certificate and a negative blood test for Equine Infectious Anemia.

I’m not complaining; the United States of America, the States of Idaho and Washington as well as the other 48 states take the health of our livestock very seriously, and we have a very good record at keeping foreign animal diseases out of our country. I am happy to do my part to maintain biosecurity in our animal population.

If I am a resident of Liberia incubating Ebola, to enter the United States all I need to do is present a valid visa, and lie when asked if I have been exposed to Ebola. Within hours (no quarantine required) I can be walking the streets of any city in the United States.

I feel very fortunate to live in a country that values our animals so highly.

David A. Rustebakke, DVM

How I Spent My Summer by Ms Martyr

Unpacking boxes. Donating stuff. Barely riding. Going to physical therapy. Trying acupuncture. Having outpatient surgery on my back (ongoing/more this week) Dealing with more deaths and bad news about other's illnesses than anyone should have to.

My back has been causing so much pain that I've given up riding for the time being. Doctor seems to think my facet joints may be causing nerve pain. Insurance company requires two diagnostic tests where they numb the joints temporarily to see if that helps. If it does, then they can laser the little suckers to death for permanent relief. I had a steroid injection a while back that didn't seem to make any kind of difference.

Sister's moving in with me is having its ups and downs. I think it will all work out once everything is unpacked and put in its proper place. Right now the house is pretty much in chaos which irritates me no end, to the point that I snap over the slightest little thing. There have been so many changes that some days I don't even feel like it's my home any more. I'm just set in my ways and have to adjust. Probably living alone for almost a year didn't help my adaptability. I'm a minimalist. The only time I decorate is at Christmas. My sister, on the other hand, loves "stuff." Right now I'm looking at five Hummel figurines on the fireplace mantel. There are others scattered throughout the house - one has even made it into my bedroom. We could open up a video rental store with all the VHS and DVDs she has. I intend to alphabetize them and then discard any duplicates that we may have between us. Right now I don't have enough storage for all of them.

I could go on and on with my bitchiness about changes but I'm just going to put on my big girl panties and deal with it.

One of my very good girlfriends has been diagnosed with stage four non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Reading about it on the Net makes my breast cancer look like a walk in the park.

There have been two deaths recently of family members. I think the count is up to five now for October which qualifies it as the suckiest month of the year.

Let's see if I can be positive for a moment. I've set up a couple of aquariums which are kind of fun. My sister's dog integrated with my two without a hitch so now I have a pack of three running amuck. I've been forced to de-clutter, something I've been putting off since I moved here two years ago. The house should look really nice once everything is put in order. Attended a lot of horse shows this summer and went to the State Fair three times.

So, nothing too thrilling but just keeping busy which does not make for good blog fodder. I'm going to try to catch up with some of my favorites; even my reading time has been lessened.

Happy fall y'all!

PSA

Stop organized crime.
Re-elect no one.

My Reality

And for a different outlook...

The Beatles Were Wrong

WTF?

I bought an aquarium and stand off of Craigslist for $40.00 (you might say I stole it)

The seller is now advertising the same items (exact same picture) for $150.00. It's probably worth that but it's in my possession, not hers.

I'm confused...

Did I Flunk Geography?

I ordered some items the other day and today, for grins, I checked the tracking. USPS is notorious in this household for not posting tracking information until after you've received your package. UPS is generally better at keeping you informed. Here is what I saw this morning:

Louisville, KY, United States 07/10/2014 12:13 P.M. Arrival Scan
Ontario, CA, United States 07/10/2014 5:32 A.M. Departure Scan
Ontario, CA, United States 07/08/2014 11:46 P.M. Arrival Scan
Cerritos, CA, United States 07/08/2014 10:53 P.M. Departure Scan
07/08/2014 2:47 P.M. Arrival Scan
Phoenix, AZ, United States 07/08/2014 5:15 A.M. Departure Scan
07/08/2014 12:24 A.M. Origin Scan
United States 07/07/2014 9:23 A.M. Order Processed: Ready for UPS

Isn't California closer to Alaska than Kentucky? Why would they send my package there? Is it the same thing as those stupid hubs the airlines have? It seems like you have to "touch" the hub for your flight to count or something.

I'm not in a hurry for this stuff but just find it curious.

Wish me luck. I'm seeing an acupuncturist for the first time today. I am expecting miracles.

Reality Check

Only in America

Number 10) Only in America... could politicians talk about the greed of the rich at a $35,000.00 per plate campaign fund-raising event.

Number 9) Only in America... could people claim that the government still discriminates against black Americans when they have a black President, a black Attorney General and roughly 20% of the federal workforce is black while only 14% of the population is black 40+% of all federal entitlements goes to black Americans - 3X the rate that go to whites, 5X the rate that go to Hispanics!

Number 8) Only in America... could they have had the two people most responsible for our tax code, Timothy Geithner (the head of the Treasury Department) and Charles Rangel (who once ran the Ways and Means Committee), BOTH turn out to be tax cheatswho are in favor of higher taxes.

Number 7) Only in America... can they have terrorists kill people in the name of Allah and have the media primarily react by fretting that Muslims might be harmed by the backlash.

Number 6) Only in America... would they make people who want to legally become American citizens wait for years in their home countries and pay thousands of dollars for the privilege, while they discuss letting anyone who sneaks into the country illegally just 'magically' become American citizens (probably should be number one).

Number 5) Only in America... could the people who believe in balancing the budget and sticking by the country's Constitution be thought of as "extremists."

Number 4) Only in America... could you need to present a driver's license to cash a check or buy alcohol, but not to vote!

Number 3) Only in America... could people demand the government investigate whether oil companies are gouging the public because the price of gas went up when the return on equity invested in a major U.S. Oil company(Marathon Oil) is less than half of a company making tennis shoes (Nike).

Number 2) Only in America... could the government collect more tax dollars from the people than any nation in recorded history, still spend a Trillion dollars more than it has per year - for total spending of $7-Million PER MINUTE, and complain that it doesn't have nearly enough money.

And Number 1) Only in America... could the rich people - who pay 86% of all income taxes - be accused of not paying their "fair share" by people who don't pay any income taxes at all.

The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those who speak it. (George Orwell)

Words To Live By

Truism?

Glad I'm Not the Only One