The Best Wireless Carrier Shortcuts - Solutions by PC Magazine

Now here is some very useful information. There are other tips in the article like how to send free text messages (free to you, not them) and deleting a voice-mail message while you are listening to it. I hate burning up my minutes and my time listening to someone's voice-mail greeting though.

"Skip over someone's voice-mail greeting. Tired of your aunt's 'Macarena'-backed voice mail greeting? Chances are, when it comes to her and anyone else whose greeting you're sick of, you already know their carriers. Here's how to skip ahead and get right to the important part: leaving a message.

AT&T: press #
Sprint: press 1
T-Mobile: press #
Verizon: press *"

PC World: 4 Ways to Save Money on Software

I didn't know there was an open-source alternative to Quicken and Microsoft Money. I might have to check it out.

I have installed and used the open Office suite before. Another alternative to MS office is Google. I have been using the Google documents for a couple of years now. Perfect for keeping track of stuff at work and at home.

I downloaded the Stanza reader to my iPod touch a couple of weeks ago, and it has quickly become my most used app. I downloaded some of their free books from my iPod touch. I also downloaded the desktop client which I used to add some pdf, text and html files to my iPod.

I will have to check out Gliffy. I used Visio years ago to make flowcharts, but that was before Microsoft bought them out and priced the software out of my range. I could always use MS Word to make flowcharts, but it is very frustrating.

Updates to attachments: multi-select and progress bars

Another reason to love Gmail.

 

 

Sent to you by davidaustex via Google Reader:

 

 

Updates to attachments: multi-select and progress bars

via Gmail Blog by Gmail Blog on 2/25/09

Up until today, it's been a little tedious to send large or multiple attachments with an email. You had to select each attachment individually and you never knew how long it would be before those bigger files were ready to send.

Today, we're making some changes to the way Gmail attachments work. If you want to send a few files from the same folder, simply hold down the Ctrl key (Cmd on OS X) and click on each file you want to attach to your message. You can also hold down the Shift key to select a continuous list of files. A definite time saver.



You'll not only save a few mouse clicks selecting files, but you'll also see progress bars on each file as it uploads.



Posted by Wes Carr, Software Engineer

 

 

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iPods help special-education students excel - MetroWest Daily News

Sent to you via Google Reader

iPods help special-education students excel - MetroWest Daily News

iPods help special-education students excel MetroWest Daily News, MA At first, Smith's iPod lessons consisted of books on tape. But they have expanded, with the use of the iPod Touch, to everything from vocabulary to math facts to telling time to problem solving, writing and reading comprehension. ...

Sent from my iPod

Quote of the Day

"The wages of sin are unreported.
Unknown
Quotations by unknown authors"

Your diet may worsen seasonal allergies - Allergies and asthma

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29036809/

Sent from my iPod

Time marches on

No matter how young you feel,

This one still hurts...

Eddie Haskell, the Beaver & Wally

Quote Details: Dr. Joyce Brothers: Listening, not imitation, may... - The Quotations Page

One for me to remember.

"Listening, not imitation, may be the sincerest form of flattery.
Dr. Joyce Brothers
US psychologist & television personality (1928 - )"

Autism and vaccines | Salon

Granted, it is very difficult for me to be objective about this.

Autism and vaccines | Salon: "That said, we've never been a society with a worldview that holds science in high esteem. Consider the results of a recent Gallup Poll about evolution: On Charles Darwin's 200th birthday, only four in 10 Americans say they believe in the theory of evolution. As a result, from the Scopes Monkey Trial to Kitzmiller et al. v. Dover Area School District, we’ve sent conflicts between faith and science to the courts to arbitrate.

In the case of autism and vaccines, we've made the same decision. The debate has aroused intense feelings: On one side are physicians and medical groups, convinced that vaccines are safe and effective, perhaps the most lifesaving breakthrough in medical history. On the other side are parents, like Estepp, who struggle every day to raise a child with autism. Painfully watching their children become autistic after receiving vaccines is their lasting proof. It's the answer when doctors and medicine can't answer why. For them, the emotion of the issue can't be quieted by science's hypotheses."

ccleaner aka Crap Cleaner

My dad reminded me of another piece of free software that I use a lot. I think they changed the name to ccleaner but you get the idea.... This gets rid of all the temporary stuff on a computer that has been permanent. His remarks follow:

A tool I have used for quite some time is "ccleaner" which is available for
download from www.ccleaner.com

It "unclutters", is a good tool for checking startup programs, and I have
not found any unwanted side effects. It also works on registry

Can't Copy to Half-Full Thumb Drive—Why?

Under the category of the more things change, the more they stay the same.....

Revo Uninstaller Freeware - Uninstall Software, Remove Programs, Solve uninstall problems

We have one of Rachel's old notebooks that was taking forever to boot up. Once you got on, it took forever to get Internet Explorer (IE) up.

I download a copy of Revo Uninstaller and got rid of a bunch of programs that no one was using anymore like a version of Office that had hooks for a defunct product to create webpages. Apparently at bootup, the Office software was looking to connect to the defunct product and kept hanging up windows.

I saw that there were all kind of toolbars for IE, some of which were probably no long supported. That explained why it took so long to get IE going. I used Revo to uninstall the toolbars. One of the nice things about Revo is that you can have it clean out the registry also.

After getting rid of some of the programs, I went to the tools tab and checked to see what was being launched at startup. A lot of the stuff looks like Greek to me, and I am in the computer business. If you right click on the entry, one of the options is to do a Google lookup and find out what it is. One of the first startup items on that notebook was some kind of a trojan. I was able to both delete from the startup list and get rid of it using Revo.

The long and short is that now it boots very quickly and IE fires up instantly.


"Revo Uninstaller helps you to uninstall software and remove unwanted programs installed on your computer even if you have problems uninstalling and cannot uninstall them from 'Windows Add or Remove Programs' control panel applet."

The Easy Way to Unclutter a New PC - Security Fix

I was on the phone with my son James last night and told him about a program with will get rid of all the trial-ware that comes with a computer. I misremembered the name of the program but found the right one. Thank you again, Google.
Just click here.

"Then, just this past week, I spotted the tool I'd been hoping some smart geek would create -- a free trial-ware banishing program called, appropriately enough, the 'PC Decrapifier.'

The list of crapware that this tool obliterates is fairly exhaustive: It nixes some 45 programs most commonly installed as trial-ware on new PCs, including, Sonic Record Now, AOL, several different types of Norton and McAfee and Trend Micro trial anti-virus products, Wild Tangent games, HP Rhapsody and MusicMatch, among others."

Quote Details: Herman Wouk: Income tax returns are... - The Quotations Page

Income tax returns are the most imaginative fiction being written today.
Herman Wouk
US dramatist & historical novelist (1915 - )

Historic Wreck Found, Rewrites History

Bad marriage jokes

When a man steals your wife, there is no better revenge than to let him keep her.

  David Bissonette

After marriage, husband and wife become two sides of a coin; they just can't face each other, but still they stay together.

  Sacha Guitry

By all means marry. If you get a good wife, you'll be happy. If you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher.

Socrates

Woman inspires us to great things, and prevents us from achieving them.

  Anonymous

The great question... which I have not been able to answer... is, 'What does a woman want?

  Dumas

I had some words with my wife, and she had some paragraphs with me.

Sigmund Freud

'Some people ask the secret of our long marriage. We take time to go to a restaurant two times a week. A little candlelight, dinner, soft music and dancing. She goes Tuesdays, I go Fridays.'

  Anonymous

'There's a way of transferring funds that is even faster than electronic banking. It's called marriage.'

Sam Kinison

'I've had bad luck with both my wives. The first one left me, and the second one didn't.'

  James Holt McGavra

Two secrets to keep your marriage brimming

1. Whenever you're wrong, admit it,

2. Whenever you're right, shut up.

  Patrick Murra

The most effective way to remember your wife's birthday is to forget it once....

Nash

You know what I did before I married? Anything I wanted to.

Anonymous

My wife and I were happy for twenty years. Then we met.

  Henny Youngman

A good wife always forgives her husband when she's wrong.

Rodney Dangerfield

A man inserted an 'ad' in the classifieds: 'Wife wanted'. Next day he received a hundred letters. They all said the same thing: 'You can have mine.'

  Anonymous

What's the greenest way to dispose of my dead body? - By Nina Shen Rastogi - Slate Magazine

I would have thought cremation would be the better ecological option by a mile, but I was wrong. There is always some new down the pike though.

"If you can manage to stick around for a while, two new technologies have eco-geeks (not to mention sci-fi fans) excited. The process of alkaline hydrolysis involves liquefying your body in a solution of lye and water, resulting in a pile of bone ash and a bottle of biofluid that you can pour on your houseplants. One of its leading proponents, a Scotland-based company called Resomation Ltd., claims that the procedure has a carbon footprint 18 times smaller than a typical cremator. In the other procedure, called promession, a corpse gets freeze-dried with liquid nitrogen and then shattered into powder, Terminator-style. Neither of these options is commercially available yet, but both the Mayo Clinic and the University of Florida use alkaline hydrolysis to dispose of their teaching cadavers. So, you experimental types—why not turn yourself into the ultimate recycling project and donate your body to science?"

Keith Olbermann explains PDF Files

Quote Details: Marquis de la Grange: When we ask for... - The Quotations Page

Quote Details: Marquis de la Grange: When we ask for... - The Quotations Page: "When we ask for advice, we are usually looking for an accomplice.
Marquis de la Grange
(1639 - 1692)"

Stop Internet Poachers from Stealing Your Wi-Fi

Cool article on how to keep folks off of your wi-fi.

Quote Details: George Bernard Shaw: A government that robs... - The Quotations Page

Quote Details: George Bernard Shaw: A government that robs... - The Quotations Page: "A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.
George Bernard Shaw, Everybody's Political What's What? (1944) ch. 30
Irish dramatist & socialist (1856 - 1950)"

Quote Details: Doug Larson: If the English language... - The Quotations Page

Quote Details: Doug Larson: If the English language... - The Quotations Page: "If the English language made any sense, a catastrophe would be an apostrophe with fur.
Doug Larson"

Court: Vaccines didn't cause autism

This is still not going to change a lot of minds.

 

 

Sent to you by davidaustex via Google Reader:

 

 

Court: Vaccines didn't cause autism

via 5 Things - Salon.com by CNN on 2/12/09

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A special court ruled Thursday that evidence presented in three cases by parents of children with autism did not prove a link between autism and certain early childhood vaccines.

The ruling came from a panel of "special masters" who began hearing three test cases in 2007 involving children with autism -- a disorder that their parents contend was triggered by the vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella combined with vaccines containing thimerosal, a preservative containing mercury.

Three families -- the Cedillos, the Hazlehursts and the Snyders -- sought compensation from the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, but the panel ruled that they had not presented sufficient evidence to prove that the childhood vaccines caused autism in their children.

"I feel deep sympathy and admiration for the Cedillo family," Special Master George L. Hastings Jr. wrote in his ruling in the case involving 14-year-old Michelle Cedillo, who cannot speak, wears a diaper and requires round-the-clock monitoring in case she has a seizure.

"And I have no doubt that the families of countless other autistic children, families that cope every day with the tremendous challenges of caring for autistic children, are similarly deserving of sympathy and admiration. However, I must decide this case not on sentiment, but by analyzing the evidence," Hastings wrote. "In this case the evidence advanced by the petitioners has fallen far short of demonstrating such a link."

 

 

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Doug Larson

 

 

Sent to you by davidaustex via Google Reader:

 

 

Doug Larson

via Quotes of the Day on 2/11/09

"If the English language made any sense, a catastrophe would be an apostrophe with fur."

 

 

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Quote Details: Ellen DeGeneres: In the beginning there... - The Quotations Page

Quote Details: Ellen DeGeneres: In the beginning there... - The Quotations Page: "In the beginning there was nothing. God said, 'Let there be light!' And there was light. There was still nothing, but you could see it a whole lot better.
Ellen DeGeneres, (attributed)
US comedian and actress"

Quote Details: James Thurber: I do not have... - The Quotations Page

Quote Details: James Thurber: I do not have... - The Quotations Page: "I do not have a psychiatrist and I do not want one, for the simple reason that if he listened to me long enough, he might become disturbed.
James Thurber, 'Carpe Noctem, If You Can', in 'Credos and Curios' (1962)
US author, cartoonist, humorist, & satirist (1894 - 1961)"

TGI Monday - Quotes

An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.

Niels Bohr
Danish physicist (1885 - 1962)

---

"Don't be afraid of missing opportunities. Behind every failure is an
opportunity somebody wishes they had missed." -- Lily Tomlin

Fool or Fanatic?

The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.

Bertrand Russell
British author, mathematician, & philosopher (1872 - 1970)

Quote of the day - unpleasant subject

"I asked a man at a dinner table what he thought would happen to him
when he died. The man tried to ignore the question, but, on being
pressed, replied: 'Oh well, I suppose I shall inherit eternal bliss, but
I wish you wouldn't talk about such unpleasant subjects." -- F. W. H. Myers

Having as much fun as you can in physical therapy

I wrote my first review ever for a business here in Austin! As much as I hate going, the pain in my should is starting to go away. I suspect the reason the name of the business is Atlas Physical Therapy is so it will show up first in the yellow pages.

Which makes me wonder, with the internet and Google, does anyone use the yellow pages anymore?

Beehive: The Farewell Performances

My friend Andrew surprised me last Friday evening by taking me to one of the farewell performances of Beehive. It was as much fun as it was the first time I saw it.

Click the link above to see a short clip from the musical at Zachary Scott Theater. For the uninitiated:

BEEHIVE, the original big hair 60’s Girl Group musical is back for its special Farwell Performances at ZACH! Created by Larry Gallagher, Beehive is the rafter-raising tribute to the Girl Groups and individual artists who skyrocketed to fame between the years 1960-69. Directed by ZACH Artistic Director Dave Steakley, BEEHIVE is the winner of six Austin Critics’ Table Awards, including “BEST MUSICAL REVUE!”

BEEHIVE delivers a solid gold song book of hits made famous by The Crystals (“One Fine Day”), The Angels (“My Boyfriend’s Back”), Martha Reeves and the Vandellas (“Heat Wave”), Connie Francis (“Where The Boys Are”), Tina Turner (“Proud Mary”), Aretha Franklin (“Natural Woman”), Diana Ross and the Supremes (“Stop! In The Name of Love”), Janis Joplin (“Try, Just a Little Bit Harder”), just to name a few. Performing over forty-four chart toppers, ZACH’s performers are six women who earn your R.E.S.P.E.C.T.!

I saw it when it first came out at the Paramount Theater here in Austin. It was a lot of fun to see four of the original performers in these roles again. Just like the first time I saw them, I was electrified by some of the performances. So much talent. Through the years I have seen the main four performers in various productions and have gained a greater appreciation for their talents. Last year, Judy Arnold even came to sing at our church.


I saw an interview with one of the performers Rebecca Schoolar in the Austin American Statesman where she talked about getting older and saying goodbye to Beehive.

I relate

Forgetter Be Forgotten

This is really cute


My forgetter's getting better,
But my rememberer is broke
To you that may seem funny
But, to me, that is no joke

For when I'm 'here' I'm wondering
If I really should be 'there'
And, when I try to think it through,
I haven't got a prayer!

Oft times I walk into a room,
Say 'what am I here for?'
I wrack my brain, but all in vain!
A zero, is my score.

At times I put something away
Where it is safe, but, Gee!
The person it is safest from
Is, generally, me!

When shopping I may see someone,
Say 'Hi' and have a chat,
Then, when the person walks away
I ask myself, 'who the heck was that?'

Yes, my forgetter's getting better
While my rememberer is broke,
And it's driving me plumb crazy
And that isn't any joke.

CAN YOU RELATE???
Please send this to everyone you know
because

I DON'T REMEMBER
WHO I SENT THIS TO!

Wednesday quotes - Kathy Najimy & John Maynard Keynes

"When you're not blond and thin, you come up with a personality real
quick." -- Kathy Najimy

"Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men
will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone."
-- John Maynard Keynes

Wait Wait Don't Tell Me - With Carrie Fisher

Another podcast I never miss. This week Carrie Fisher is the celebrity guest. One of the funniest episodes every.

IBM Offers to Move Laid-off Workers to India

 

 

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IBM Offers to Move Laid-off Workers to India

via Crooks and Liars by Susie Madrak on 2/3/09

See, I'm a little confused. Because for years, big companies like IBM have insisted there were so few talented IT workers in the U.S., they had to import them from India. And yet now we have so many, we can send them to India! Isn't that funny?

If I were a suspicious sort (and God knows, I'm not), I'd wonder if this isn't really a way to keep experienced American workers while artificially suppressing their wages. And of course, I'd also have to wonder: If you're offered one of these jobs and you decline, are you then ineligible to collect unemployment compensation? Because that already happens with big companies in the U.S.

Isn't this new personal responsibility thing fun? Who knew we'd get to see the world at company expense?

The climate is warm, there's no shortage of exotic food, and the cost of living is rock bottom. That's IBM (NYSE: IBM)'s pitch to the laid-off American workers it's offering to place in India. The catch: Wages in the country are pennies-on-the-dollar compared to U.S. salaries.

Under a program called Project Match, IBM will help workers laid off from domestic sites obtain travel and visa assistance for countries in which Big Blue has openings. Mostly that's developing markets like India, China, and Brazil.

"IBM has established Project Match to help you locate potential job opportunities in growth markets where your skills are in demand," IBM says in an internal notice on the initiative. "Should you accept a position in one of these countries, IBM offers financial assistance to offset moving costs, provides immigration support, such as visa assistance, and other support to help ease the transition of an international move."

The document states that the program is limited to "satisfactory performers who have been notified of separation from IBM U.S. or Canada and are willing to work on local terms and conditions." The latter indicates that workers will be paid according to prevailing norms in the countries to which they relocate. In many cases, that could be substantially less than what they earned in North America.

IBM has laid off more than 4,000 workers in the United States since the beginning of January, according to an employee group. The company has confirmed layoffs but won't comment on specific numbers.

 

 

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Take Me Back to the Fifties

There is something odd about using Adobe Flash to put together a presentation how good things were back in the 1950s.

Today's quotes

I hope that when I die, people say about me, 'Boy, that guy sure owed me a lot of money.'

Jack Handey, Deep Thoughts
(1949 - )

I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.

Albert Einstein
US (German-born) physicist (1879 - 1955)

Is it worth it to wash out your recyclables?

Sent to you via Google Reader

Is it worth it to wash out your recyclables?

I've always been dedicated to washing the peanut butter, Pepsi, and mayo out of my food containers before tossing them in the recycling bin. My sister, though, recently pointed out that I'm probably wasting gallons upon gallons of precious H20! Is it worth it to soap up my tin cans and soda bottles?

[more ...]

Sent from my iPod

Thanks for shopping at Walmart?

K-B-Toys has gone bankrupt and closed all of their stores. My son Russell told me that at the Round Rock outlet mall, the former K-B-Toy store has a sign on the front window that says 'Thanks for shopping at WalMart.' Ouch.

Beauty of Mathematics !!!!!!!

From Susan

1 x 8 + 1 = 9
12 x 8 + 2 = 98
123 x 8 + 3 = 987
1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876
12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765
123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654
1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543
12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432
123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321

1 x 9 + 2 = 11
12 x 9 + 3 = 111
123 x 9 + 4 = 1111
1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111
12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111
123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111
1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111
12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111
123456789 x 9 +10= 1111111111

9 x 9 + 7 = 88
98 x 9 + 6 = 888
987 x 9 + 5 = 8888
9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888
98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888
987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888
9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888
98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888

Brilliant, isn't it?

And look at this symmetry:

1 x 1 = 1
11 x 11 = 121
111 x 111 = 12321
1111 x 1111 = 1234321
11111 x 11111 = 123454321
111111 x 111111 = 12345654321
1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321
11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321
111111111 x 111111111 = 12345678987654321

Amazing?

Qoute of the day

Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.

George Orwell
English essayist, novelist, & satirist (1903 - 1950)

One of those, pass on to everyone you know emails

Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are almost dead?

---

Why do banks charge a fee on 'insufficient funds' when they already know there is not enough money?

---

Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars; but have to check when you say the paint is still wet?

---

Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?

---

Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?

---

Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

---

Whose idea was it to put an 'S' in the word 'lisp'?

---

Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?

---

Is there ever a day that mattresses
Are not on sale?

---

Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?

---

Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?

---

Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end on your first try?

---

How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures?

---

When we are in the supermarket and someone rams our ankle with a shopping cart then apologizes for doing so, why do we say, 'It's all right?' Well, it isn't all right, so why don't we say, 'That really hurt, why don't you watch where you're going?'

---

Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?

---

In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?

---

How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?

---

And my FAVORITE......
The statistics on sanity is that one out of every four persons is suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best friends -- if they're okay, then it's you.

husband tests bullet proof glass with his wife

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7mr7CK7zEk

Sent from my iPod

Frozen Shoulder

I went back to visit with my ortho-pod today after going through two months of physical therapy. I thought (and still wonder ) I had torn rotator cuff.
After examining me, my doctor decided I have a frozen shoulder. I got a nice big shot of cortisone injected directly into my shoulder joint. I hope that helps, given all the pain of the injection.

I didn't know what a frozen should was either, so I looked it up on the doctor's webpage.

Frozen shoulder is characterized by pain and loss of motion or stiffness in the shoulder. It affects about two percent of the general population. Frozen shoulder most commonly affects patients between the ages of 40 and 60 years, with no clear predisposition based on sex, arm dominance, or occupation.

So anyway, back to the physical therapist to learn different exercises. If that doesn't work, then I will get an MRI and possibly surgery. I will meet my insurance company's deductible in no time this year.

1984 not 1988

That's what happens when you get old. I was a county delegate for Rev. Jackson in 1984, not 1988.

The Inauguration

I took a vacation day today to stay home to watch the Inauguration (I also learned how to spell the word 'Inauguration' thanks to Google).

I have been kind of holding my breath since President Obama was elected wondering if this was really going to happen. I am a child of the 60s. I guess I don't have to say much more than that.

Back in 1988, I was the Democratic precinct chair in Euless Texas. It was the only time in my life that I had my name on an election ballot, but I ran unopposed. There were not a lot of Democrats in my area.

Anyhow, one of my duties as precinct chair was to run the Democratic party primaries. Here in Texas that also included the responsibility of running the caucus after the polls were closed. In order to participate in the caucus, one had to vote earlier that day in the primary election. This was before early voting of course.

The caucus was intimate to say the least, but we did have enough people to select two delegates to the county convention. We decided that we would cast our two votes for the Rev Jessie Jackson. At the time, he actually had some serious traction, though no one thought he would get the nomination though I think he would have made a better candidate than Dukakis. For more information on that primary, check out Wikipedia at this link. Looking at the election map, Jackson actually did much better than I remembered.

Last year I voted for Senator Clinton in the Texas primary (I have a terrible track record) but was very happy to cast my vote for then Senator Obama last November. I am very happy that I lived long enough to see a person of color as president of the United States of America.

I grew up in Utah in the 1950s and most of the 1960s. I don't even think I knew any black people. It has been quite a journey for me and a lot of other people from my generation and the generations before me. I grew up when segregation was a fact of life in many parts of the country, became conscious of race problems in the 196os, and now I have lived long enough to see in inauguration of President Obama.

Joke - DON'T MESS WITH MAMA BEAR

From Kim Komando:

Three men had been fishing in the woods. When they got back to their car, they saw that it was surrounded by three bears. One of the men decided to take charge of the situation. He concluded the best thing to do was anger the bears. That way, they would leave, and the men could get to the car.

"Joe," he said, "You take the little cub on the left with the broken leg. I'll take the other cub with the injured paw and one eye. Bill, you take the one in the middle, the mama bear."

Bill looked at the huge mama bear. "Wait a minute," he said. "That's not fair. You get the little cubs, and I have to deal with a full-grown grizzly bear."

"Now, now, Bill," was the reply. "We all have our bears to cross."

Thought for the day

I got this from one of my dear friends.

Today's reading is about not depending upon other people's approval in order to live a full and rich life....I can act, rather than react....One quote that I love that I try to keep in mind: "Your wishes are not my commands!"

George Bush Top 10 Moments - David Letterman Show

This is just plain mean.

Slate: 2008 in review

I am barely old enough to remember newsreels in movies. Or maybe I just saw movies that had newsreels.

What I am listening to on my iPod - The Capitol Steps Un-Wired

I downloaded their 2008 New Years broadcast at the link above. I thought it was very funny, both political parties get skewered.

What I learned today at church: The Three Wise Women

Actually, there was more to the sermon than this, but I remembered what I remembered. The topic was the Epiphany so that is how it included a discussion of the wise men, even though it is now January.

The Three Wise Women

Do you know what would have happened if it had been three Wise Women instead of three Wise Men?

They would have asked directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole, and brought practical gifts.

San Antonio senator seeks end to straight-ticket voting | Politics | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

I don't usually vote straight ticket, though I can see how it must save time for some folks. This last time, for instance, I did vote for at least one Republican running for state-wide office (an acquaintance from years back). I take a perverse joy in going down the ticket and voting against some individuals, and that would be lost if I just voted a straight ticket.

San Antonio senator seeks end to straight-ticket voting | Politics | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "A San Antonio state senator wants to revive efforts to eliminate the straight-ticket voting option, even after Texans hit a 10-year high in the percentage of ballots sticking entirely with one party."

MIss Manners

Miss Manners gives her idea of the perfect new year's resolution which to live within one's own means.

I guess it is a sign of getting old, but when I read her column I just wanted to jump for joy. I envision going to a wedding (or in the LDS world, a wedding reception) where in the foyer there will be an ATM from Target where all one has to do to is run one's credit card through the reader and select a present for the bride and groom.

From my dad: Robin on Obama

Not for the easily offended. Of course, the Robin is Robin Williams, enough said.

Kwanzaa

Yesterday at church we celebrated Kwanzaa
and I was asked to carry in one of the seven candles at the beginning of the service. John was with me at church yesterday, so I asked a friend if John could sit with him until I finished my part of the program. While I was out in the foyer waiting to go in, I could hear John clearly explaining to my friend about his Winnie the Pooh DVD collection. The nice thing about taking John to church is that we end up talking to a lot more people than when I go with him.

Speaking of Winnie the Pooh, after church we stopped by a video game store, John wanted to see if there was a Winnie the Pooh game for Nintendo Wii. He didn't find one, so he decided to check for Mortal Kombat for Wii (which seems unlikely for some reason). Talk about going from one extreme to another.

Christmas 2008

We had our usual chaotic Christmas celebration today. We were very happy to have Rachel along with Russell and his lovely wife Sarah Jane with us this year, along of course with John. James and his family were celebrating together in Idaho Falls and they were very much missed.

Early in the afternoon Russell, Rachel and Sarah Jane went to the airport, Rachel and Russell to LA to attend a friend's wedding Saturday, and Sarah Jane to Pittsburgh to spend some of the holiday's with her family (I know, we are her family also, her family of origin). From LA, Rachel will go back to Washingington DC. It is always wonderful to have Rachel home for a visit though she may wonder how welcome she is at times with John telling her that she needs to go to the airport. What she doesn't hear of course is John counting down the days until Rachel comes to visit again.

I was happy to attend a candle light Christmas Eve service at my church last night. It was just what I needed to get me centered and focused on Christmas.

If we must have an officiating priest at the inauguration, we can do much better than Rick Warren. - By Christopher Hitchens - Slate Magazine

Interesting editorial by Christopher Hitchens on Slate today. I am bothered by president elect Obama's odd choice of Rick Warren to give in invocation at the inauguration for a lot of reasons. Warren has managed to piss off homosexuals, Mormons, Jews and Muslims all at the same time.

Money quote from article:

"Will the American people be prayed into the next administration, which will be confronted by a possible nuclear Iran and an already nuclear Pakistan, by a half-educated pulpit-pounder raised in the belief that the Armageddon solution is one to be anticipated with positive glee?"

Facebook status

I am now on Facebook, in fact, when I post to this blog it also posts to my Facebook account. How cool is that?

I am probably too old for Facebook, let alone Twitter. The other day I changed my status on Facebook so that it said something like 'David is in Pain.' I got a couple of emails, so I figure I should probably explain.

Several months ago, in an attempt to keep John from smashing his head against a wood chair, I tried pulling him away from the chair. It only took a moment to realize that wasn't a good idea, not that letting John continue banging his head was a good idea, but that pulling him the way I did wasn't a good idea.

I had a instant flash of pain in my left shoulder and upper arm. I figured it would go away in a few days, but as luck would have it, the pain has only got worse as time has gone by. Last month I made a trip to my friendly orthopod and he suggested that I spend some time in physical therapy and see if it would get better or not. So far, it has got a little better but I am afraid I may have to go back and schedule a slice and dice on my shoulder.

Anyway, that explains the pain. It is physical, not emotional. Sorry I wasn't more specific.

Let it snow....

There is just something wrong about having snow in Austin. Last Tuesday we had a high of 81 and then we got hit by a 'blue norther.' The next morning everything was covered by a light dusting of snow. Much to the dismay of school children in the greater Austin area, schools were not closed.

Clean shaven

Where to start. I usually wear a goatee (or more properly, a Van Dyke.) Here at the office a bunch of us started off clean shaven at the beginning of November for a mustache growing contest as part of an effort to raise money to fight prostate cancer. We had the results of the contest on Dec 4th (I did not win). For most of November I grew out a beard, but I was asked to change it into just a mustache. It was for a good cause I suppose, but for the time being I think I will keep my face shaved until I get tired of doing that also.

The contest is over, but it is never too late to donate money.

John Murdock Christmas List

John
Murdock’s Christmas List

1. 

   
   

2. Sonic
   T-Shirt http://www.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=2766915

   
   

3. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Paddington-Bear/dp/B0017SBDYG

   
   

Answered prayers

In the last month or so, John has been waking up in the middle of the night and banging his head against the headboard. This is an old behavior that we hoped was behind us, but it isn't.

A few weeks ago in church I decided to write John's name on a prayer card and then placed it in the offering basket when it was passed around. I figure, the more people praying for John, the better.

That night I woke up just before John started banging his head again.... and then I got a flash of insight that I suppose should have been obvious. That is of course, why was I sleeping in my bed when I should be sleeping with John in his bed.

I haven't had the most restful nights sleep for the last couple of weeks, but I have been able to intercept John before he starts hitting his head. He had a nasty looking wound on his head that is now pretty much healed up. I am not sure how much longer I am going to have to keep doing this, but it is certainly much easier on all of us when John isn't injuring himself.

I was touched when some of the people I know at church came up to me to reassure me that they are remembering John in their prayers.

Saw this today, and it fits

The Zen Buddhists have a pithy saying: “Big expectations lead to big disappointments, little expectations lead to little disappointments, and no expectations lead to no disappointments.”

No on Prop 8: Home Invasion

I guess this could have also been titled Gestapo Mormons.

Happy Movember

Hi All,

During Movember (the month formerly known as November) I'm growing a Moustache. That's right I'm bringing the Mo back because I'm passionate about tackling men's health issues and being proactive in the fight against prostate cancer.

To donate to my Mo you can either:

1.
Click this link and donate online using your credit card or PayPal account, or
2.
Write a check payable to the 'Prostate Cancer Foundation', referencing my Registration Number 1444556 and mailing it to:

Prostate Cancer Foundation
Attn: Movember
1250 Fourth St
Santa Monica, CA, 90401

All donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

The money raised by Movember is donated directly to the Prostate Cancer Foundation which will use the funds for high-impact research to find better treatments and a cure for prostate cancer.

Did you know:

* Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in the US with one in six American men developing the disease and more than 28,000 men dying of the disease every year.
* African American men and those with a family history of prostate cancer are twice as likely to develop the disease and should have regular annual testing starting at 45. All other men should commence testing at 50.
* Prostate cancer is 90% curable if detected and treated early.

For those that have supported Movember in previous years you can be very proud of the impact it has had and can check out the details at:
[ Fundraising Outcomes ].



Thanks for your support,

David.



More information is available at http://www.movember.com/.

Movember is proudly grown by Canadian Club and Philips Norelco.

Movember is proud to support the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

Turtle

While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75-year old rancher whose hand was caught in a gate while working cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man. Eventually the topic got around to Sarah Palin and her bid to be a heartbeat away from being President.

The old rancher said, 'Well, ya know, Sarah Palin is a post turtle.'

Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a post turtle was.

The old rancher said, 'When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top,
that's a post turtle.'


The old rancher saw a puzzled look on the doctor's face, so he continued to explain.

'You know she didn't get up there by herself, she doesn't belong up there, she doesn't know what to do while she is up there, and you just wonder what kind of dumb ass put her up there to begin with.'

Opie Andy Griffith Fonz Endorse Barack Obama!

Very clever and nostalgic.

Dear Abby: Forgiveness

----------------
Now playing: Daniel Rodriguez - How Great Thou Art
via FoxyTunes

I thought about this all day today. My own take is that forgiveness is more for the giver. I used to think that giveing forgiveness was also giving license to someone to do the same thing over again. Of course I have got passed that, I know now that there is nothing wrong with protecting myself.

DEAR ABBY: What is "true forgiveness"? I said some terrible things to a friend in anger and didn't hear from her for a few weeks. Recently, I received an e-mail saying she "forgave" me but no longer wants to keep in touch, adding that it is important for her to know that I am happy.

I wrote back saying I still want to stay in touch and remain friends. I apologized profusely for my lapse in judgment, but she hasn't responded.

Abby, I thought forgiveness meant to absolve, to cease to feel resentment -- to "wipe the slate clean." Am I wrong to feel that? Isn't she still holding a grudge against me? I realize it's up to her to communicate, but I'm confused how she can claim she forgives me while still harboring bad feelings. Can you help? -- PERPLEXED IN SOUTH DAKOTA

DEAR PERPLEXED: To forgive someone does not mean that you develop amnesia. While the woman you hurt may not be holding a grudge, she may consider you too "dangerous" to allow back into her life. May I offer a word of advice to you? Continue moseying on down the road of life, and in the future watch your mouth, or eventually you may find yourself friendless.

Perfect Joke

A cowboy, who is visiting Wyoming from Texas , walks into a bar and orders three mugs of Bud. He sits in the back of the room, drinking a sip out of each one in turn. When he finishes them, he comes back to the bar and orders three more.

The bartender approaches and tells the cowboy, 'You know, a mug goes flat after I draw it. It would taste better if you bought one at a time.'

The cowboy replies, 'Well, you see, I have two brothers. One is in Arizona , the other is in Colorado . When we all left our home in Texas , we promised that we'd drink this way to remember the days when we drank together. So I'm drinking one beer for each of my brothers and one for myself.'

The bartender admits that this is a nice custom, and leaves it there.

The cowboy becomes a regular in the bar, and always drinks the same way. He orders three mugs and drinks them in turn.

One day, he comes in and only orders two mugs. All the regulars take notice and fall silent. When he comes back to the bar for the second round, the bartender says, 'I don't want to intrude on your grief, but I wanted to offer my condolences on your loss.'

The cowboy looks quite puzzled for a moment, then a light dawns in his eyes and he laughs.

'Oh, no, everybody's just fine, ' he explains, 'It's just that my wife and I joined the Mormon Church and I had to quit drinking.'

'Hasn't affected my brothers though.'

The new McCain campaign advisor

The ever funny Betty White.

PC World - The 10 Most Overrated Products

Kind of fun to read. I will have to check out the Photoshop replacement at http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,64533/description.html
PC World - The 10 Most Overrated Products: "Hype springs eternal. Lots of technologies, products, and services don't merit the praise heaped on them. Here are 10 tech items that don't live up to their billing--and 10 that deserve respect that they don't receive."

SNL - The VP debate

Very funny, very brutal, though I do hope that Tina Fey does not have an eight year run on her character.

Slate readers predict McCain's next Hail Mary campaign stunt. - - Slate Magazine

Funny list. Liked the following:

Slate readers predict McCain's next Hail Mary campaign stunt. - - Slate Magazine: "#
Divorces Cindy, marries Palin.
#
Doesn't divorce Cindy, moves to Utah, marries Palin.
#
Divorces Cindy, moves to Massachusetts, marries Joe Lieberman."

Homer Simpson votes

This is not a documentary (I hope).