Miss Manners on 'Happy Holidays'

I am in total agreement with Miss Manners on this!  As usual I may add.

Sunday Picture

John and myself at my work place, BMC Software, after church.  


John had a perfect Sunday so far, breakfast at IHOP, church, 7-11 and now time with me at the office.

Dear Abby: Word Is Out: Rudolph's Red Nose May Just Be Makeup

More than you ever wanted to know about reindeer.

DEAR ABBY: With the holidays here, songs about Santa and his reindeer are filling the air. I'm writing to talk about reindeer antlers. Reindeer are unique because they are the only members of the deer family in which both genders have antlers, which are made of bone and grown annually.
In the summer and fall, you cannot identify a reindeer as a "he" or a "she" without further investigation. In late December, however, only the females still have their antlers.
During the summer months, the males use their antlers to attract females and defend their harem (anywhere from five to 15 females) from other males. When they are no longer "looking for love," the males lose their antlers. The females, on the other hand, keep theirs through the winter and into the spring, and use them to compete for food and to protect their young.
The only reindeer with antlers at Christmastime are the GIRLS, Abby. So Rudolph would have been appropriately named "Rudolphia," and the other reindeer would have been laughing and calling HER names until the glow from HER nose guided Santa's sleigh that foggy Christmas eve. -- JOYCE CAMPBELL, PH.D.

DEAR DR. CAMPBELL: Fascinating. This clearly explains why Santa doesn't get lost at Christmas. Females are never reluctant to ask for directions ... ho, ho, ho.

What we want versus what we need

A good friend and a fellow 12-step traveler sends out a daily thought which often gives me something to think about. The thought for today is:

"We frequently aren't given what we want--But we are always given exactly what we need at the moment"

I probably get more out of the thoughts that I don't readily agree with than the ones that I do, and this thought certainly fits in that category.  I have no idea why my son James needs to have cancer right now, though I am sure there are lessons for James and his extended family to learn from the experience.  The price seems excessively high.  I will have to think about this for awhile.

Ice Fishing

Way too funny, way too cold.


EMBED-Insane Canadian Fisherman - Watch more free videos

Scrooged: 12 Xmas-themed Scams

Makes me wonder why I even bother to sign on sometimes.  Here is one that I am guilty of.  

Friend "requests"

If you are one of those people who will accept any friend request you get on Facebook, this is a particularly dangerous time of the year to be too friendly. Because of the information you disclose on social networking sites, they can be a goldmine for identity thieves.

"It's surprising to me how many people on Facebook put their birthday," said Cohn. "Not just the date, but the year."

According to GetSafeOnline, one in four people using social networking sites have posted confidential or personal information such as phone number, address or email on their online profile. To avoid identity theft, never offer personal information to anyone over a social networking site, even if the request is from a friend or relative. Do not offer your birth date, birth town and home address on your user profile, and always make sure you apply the right privacy settings to protect yourself. Avoid posting photos of expensive belongings or dates when you are away from home over the holidays.

Spirit of Hope

The sermon yesterday at church was about hope, which came at a great time for me.  I am of course very concerned about the health of my son James.  He continues to point out that his prognosis is excellent once he gets past the chemo therapy, and I of course continue to worry.  Part of being a parent I suppose.  We chatted on the phone about how he feels bad for some of the other people who are receiving treatment the same time that he is because, in his words, they have real cancer.  He means of course that their chances are not as good as his, but again, as a parent, his form of cancer is all too real.

Today I took my youngest son John to the dentist for his usual six month cleaning and checkup.  He was very cooperative, and we were in and out in less than 30 minutes.  I wish that my checkups went so quickly and smoothly.  The first time I remember taking John to the dentist, I held him on my lap while he screamed.  He was so agitated that the dentist was able to look in his mouth and determine that John needed some work.  In order to do that, we had to take him to a surgical center so he could be put under general anesthetic.  It was my hope that someday John would cooperate at the dentists, but I had a hard time believing it would really happen.  But it has.

Senator Orrin Hatch, Chanukah and Barbra Streisand, by Margo Howard | wowOwow

I stand all amazed.

"You should know that Senator Hatch wears a golden mezuzah on a neck chain every day. This is interesting because the senator is not a house, or even a doorway, which is where mezuzahs are meant to be placed. He also keeps a fake Torah in his Senate office. (It can’t be a real one because he’s not a Temple, either.) I think the guy secretly wants to be Jewish"

This Christmas give the Holy Spirit everything that would hurt you.

I am a big fan of author Carol Lynn Pearson, and I am on her email announcement list.  She said in part:

That statement from A Course in Miracles.  "This Christmas give the Holy Spirit everything that would hurt you."  I can do that, and I've been making my list.  To the Holy Spirit I will give: 

            *this old resentment that I wrap around me out of habit

            *that ragged worry I still clutch in the middle of the night

            *the judgment I made just this morning with my quick, creative skills

            *the fear that really doesn't go with the outfit of hope I look best in

I'll make the list as long as I can.  All the things that hurt me--how great that the Holy Spirit can use them.  And without them--miraculously I become more.

Don't give DVD box sets as gifts

Great piece in Slate today.  Money quote:

Television should be a glorious time waster, but being given three seasons of Lost on DVD is like being given a prison sentence. You slog through the first season, and not only is the hefty second season waiting around the corner, but it has brought its friends: Seasons 3, 4, and 5. Boxed sets have transformed television from light entertainment into homework.

Of course, with the help of Netflix and Hulu, I have been watching episodes of Perry Mason that were broadcast when I was but a tyke.