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.

 

Gearing up for the holidays

I need to start thinking about Christmas shopping.   I stumbled across this when I should have been working.

Faced with facts like this, one cannot help but recall the economic discipline's most famous "Bah, humbug!" result: Joel Waldfogel's discovery, in 1993, that the typical $50 Christmas gift is valued by the recipient at between $35 and $43. It is this sort of finding, presumably, that accounts for the popularity of gift cards, which, according to Offenberg, are now the most popular gift in America.

Personally, I like photographs of my kids and grandkids.  They are priceless.

No One is What They Look Like

The other day I posted a picture on Facebook that showed me when I was 19 years old, probably December 1970.  I was a new missionary in Japan at the time, and still had most of my hair.  One of my friends seemed totally astounded that was really me.  At age 58, I look a lot different than I was 39 years ago.

Which got me thinking of a Barry Manilow song from his album Here At the Mayflower called Not What You See.  (You can here a part of the song by clicking on the link above.)  I wonder who the person in the mirror is somedays.....

Here is a link to the lyrics http://www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/barry_manilow/not_what_you_see-lyrics-42314.html

Sonny, no one is what
they look like
everyone's so much more
Sonny, no one is what
they look like
and we're not what you see
that's for sure 

Cheney to hit the campaign trail

Kind of like havingDarth Vader's endorsement.

Cheney to hit the campaign trail: "

There aren't all that many races where having former Vice President Dick Cheney on your side would give you a boost politically. But in a Republican primary in Texas? Well, that's a different story.

"

I Wish you Enough!

From a super friend.  


I wish you Enough !

Recently  I overheard a Father and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had  announced the departure.

Standing  near the security gate, they hugged and the  Father said, 'I love you, and I wish you  enough.'

The daughter replied,  'Dad, our life together has been more than  enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish  you enough, too, Dad.'

They  kissed and the daughter left.  The Father walked  over to the window where I was seated. Standing  there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I  tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he  welcomed me in by asking, 'Did you ever say  good-bye to someone knowing it would be  forever?'

'Yes, I have,' I replied.  'Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?'.

'I am old, and she  lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and  the reality is - the next trip back will be for my funeral,' he said.

'When you  were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I wish  you enough.' May I ask what that  means?'

He began to smile. 'That's a wish  that has been handed down from other  generations. My parents used to say it to  everyone..' He paused a moment and looked up as  if trying to remember it in detail, and he  smiled even more. 'When we said, 'I wish you  enough,' we were wanting the other person to  have a life filled with just enough good things  to sustain them.' Then turning toward me, he  shared the following as if he were reciting it  from memory.

I wish you enough sun  to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray  the day may appear.

I  wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even  more.

I wish you enough happiness  to keep your spirit alive and  everlasting.

I wish you enough pain  so that even the smallest of joys in life may  appear bigger.

I wish you enough  gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish  you enough loss to appreciate all that you  possess.

I wish you enough hellos  to get you through the final good-  bye.

He  then began to cry and walked  away.

They say it takes a minute to  find a special person, an hour to appreciate  them, a day to love them; but then an entire  life to forget them.

*Only if you wish send  this to the people you will never forget and  remember to send it back to the person who sent  it to you. If you don't send it to anyone it may  mean that you are in such a hurry that you have  forgotten your friends.

Take Time To Live..

To  all my friends and loved  ones, I wish you Enough !

Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate - Thomas Jones

Dear Prudence Video: Picky About Garbage

How did the Red Cross deliver messages to Taliban hostage David Rohde?

Something that I didn't even know enough about to wonder about. Good work Red Cross!

How did the Red Cross deliver messages to Taliban hostage David Rohde?: "New York Times reporter David Rohde has written a five-part account of his seven-month ordeal as a prisoner of the Taliban. In the third installment, published Monday, Rohde mentions that he and his fellow hostages received letters from their families through the International Red Cross. How does the Red Cross deliver letters to hostages?

[more ...]

Man pleads guilty to DWI in motorized La-Z-Boy

Man pleads guilty to DWI in motorized La-Z-Boy: "DULUTH, Minn. (AP) -- A Minnesota man has pleaded guilty to driving his motorized La-Z-Boy chair while drunk...."

Actually, when a motorized La-Z-Boy chair is mentioned in the article, the drunk part can just be assumed.

Great Service - "I am not God"

Probably all the services I go to are great, but sometimes I am more open than other days.  I suppose that this was one of the open days.

John went to church with me today, but our friend Andrew decided to keep his germs at home and get some rest, so we were on our own.  We were also on time this morning, so John and I got to meet and greet other people from the congregation before the services began.  I got plenty of hugs from some great people and John was greeted and he managed to shake hands.

In our congregation, we have what is known as community prayer.  Typically people stand and join hands during the prayer, but John and I have our own little variation, I put one arm around his should and the other hand close to his mouth in case he decides he wants to participate an in inappropriate moment during the prayer.  He will say 'Amen' if he thinks that the prayer is dragging.

We were alone on our row, but shortly before the prayer started, our pastor came back to stand on the other side of John, and she returned to her seat after the prayer.  It was one of those moments that I remembered that there are all kinds of angels watching over John, some on this side of mortality, and some on the other side.  Rev. Karen of course did not speak to us during the prayer, but it was nice to have her standing with us, reminding me that I am not alone. 

Years ago I was in a group with my youngest brother Joe when the discussion turned to the old saying that God never gives us more than we can handle.  Joe said he disagrees, things do happen to us which are too much for us sometimes, but that God also sends help.

The sermon was titled 'I am not God.'  I had to smile, it reminded me a lot of the discussions I used to hear when I was attending Al-anon. It was nice to have them reinforced with scripture.  I heard more than I had time to digest, so I will have to download the sermon again this week and listen to it again, when I don't have to worry about keeping John under control :)

Vidéo

Vidéo: "The first internet videos of Baby Victoria.

She of course is just totally adorable. Click the link to see the videos!

"