Category: General

General

In Case You Missed It…

Karen

I confess, I have a “thing” for Factcheck.org. I love reading/hearing about all the truncated quotes and misleading claims, from both sides, because let’s face it, politics are fascinating, in a morbid kind of way. The trick is to weed through the rhetoric and ignore *media bias and find the truth – and then make your decision based on that truth.

Don’t base your political opinions on what your neighbor is doing. Don’t base them on what is popular. Base them for what is right. For what is right for this country. We don’t need any more spending. We don’t need our government to hold our hands but to guide us down a successful and prosperous road (if we choose to go that route).

We need to hold our politicians accountable for the funding they’ve received, not give them more money to squander away. We need to make sure they spend OUR money wisely. We need them to do some internal butt-kicking and make sure Washington is doing what WE are paying them to do FOR US.

Here’s a wrap-up video from Factcheck.org. Again, don’t be sucked into the emotions – the media is playing you like a well-tuned instrument.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

*One media bias example, Sarah Palin’s photo on the cover of Newsweek: The media manipulation to subliminally impact the populace to vote for the party of the media’s choice by keeping Palin’s photo intact, untouched, when, in comparison, the Newsweek cover with Obama…at more of a distance without one obvious facial flaw and a light diffusing from the top of his head, which made him look like a moment in the movie The Ten Commandments — the halo effect told a lot about the “messiah-like” impression that this publication was attempting to create to influence the readership.

I personally think the whole controversy is ridiculous and in fact, only showcases how beautiful Palin is without the fancy touch-ups; it makes her appear more “real.”

Why is it so hard to treat candidates, from both sides of the fence, equally?

And may I just ask, what was the deal with the byline on the Palin cover?

“She’s One of the Folks.”

Is this implying that being regular “folks” is a bad thing?

Because I like being a regular folk. In fact, I prefer it.

General

Compared to a … Tree?

Karen

Find your birthday – note the type of tree – scroll to bottom and read description. Do you agree?

Dec 23 to Jan 01 – Apple Tree

Jan 01 to Jan 11 – Fir Tree

Jan 12 to Jan 24 – Elm Tree

Jan 25 to Feb 03 – Cypress Tree

Feb 04 to Feb 08 – Poplar Tree

Feb 09 to Feb 18 – Cedar Tree

Feb 19 to Feb 28 – Pine Tree

Mar 01 to Mar 10 – Weeping Willow Tree

Mar 11 to Mar 20 – Lime Tree

Mar 21 (only) – Oak Tree

Mar 22 to Mar 31 – Hazelnut Tree

Apr 01 to Apr 10 – Rowan Tree

Apr 11 to Apr 20 -Maple Tree

Apr 21 to Apr 30 – Walnut Tree

May 01 to May 14 – Poplar Tree

May 15 to May 24 – Chestnut Tree

May 25 to Jun 03 – Ash Tree

Jun 04 to Jun 13 – Hornbeam Tree

Jun 14 to Jun 23 – Fig Tree

Jun 24 (only) – Birch Tree

Jun 25 to Jul 04 – Apple Tree

Jul 05 to Jul 14 – Fir Tree

Jul 15 to Jul 25 – Elm Tree

Jul 26 to Aug 04 – Cypress Tree

Aug 05 to Aug 13 – Poplar Tree

Aug 14 to Aug 23 – Cedar Tree

Aug 24 to Sep 02 – Pine Tree

Sep 03 to Sep 12 – Weeping Willow Tree

Sep 13 to Sep 22 – Lime Tree

Sep 23 (only) – Olive Tree

Sep 24 to Oct 03 – Hazelnut Tree

Oct 04 to Oct 13 – Rowan Tree

Oct 14 to Oct 23 – Maple Tree

Oct 24 to Nov 11 – Walnut Tree <—- ME

Nov 12 to Nov 21 – Chestnut Tree

Nov 22 to Dec 01 – Ash Tree

Dec 02 to Dec 11 – Hornbeam Tree

Dec 12 to Dec 21 – Fig Tree

Dec 22 (only) – Beech Tree

TREES (in alphabetical order)

Continue reading “Compared to a … Tree?” →

General

The Keys to My Heart

Karen

Absolutely true, all of it.

The Keys to Your Heart
You are attracted to good manners and elegance.
In love, you feel the most alive when your partner is patient and never willing to give up on you.
You’d like your lover to think you are stylish and alluring.
You would be forced to break up with someone who was emotional, moody, and difficult to please.
Your ideal relationship is open. Both of you can talk about everything… no secrets.
Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment.
You think of marriage as something precious. You’ll treasure marriage and treat it as sacred.
In this moment, you think of love as something you can get or discard anytime. You’re feeling self centered.
General

Hurricane Patterns are Cyclical in Nature

Karen

Our forecasters have been predicting rain since last Thursday. In fact, we should be getting rain right this minute, but it’s calm and dry – cloudy, but not raining.

I just checked radar:

Rain from Ike Heading Our Way

See that front that is just north of Springfield Missouri? Yeah, that’s the front that was supposed to dump a bunch of rain on us. We got lucky and it has curved around us and drenched our neighbors to the north.

And now it looks like Ike might be heading our way. Only, when you put this map into motion, it looks like it MIGHT curve just north of us, too.

We’ll see. We’ve certainly had our fair share of rain this season. In fact, I think the last time I heard, we were about 14 inches above average for the year.

My thoughts and prayers are with the folks in Texas. I really feel for the people who will be going back soon to discover their homes are under water. I can’t imagine what that must be like.

I’ve been fixated on watching weather.com videos of Ike. Can you imagine having a job like that? Reporting from the eye of a hurricane? In fact, that would make a good story … *grin*

I’ve been reading about Texas Hurricane History, mainly because I think hurricanes are a fascinating (and terrifying) aspect of nature and also because I sort of a have a morbid fascination with natural disasters in general.

Here are a few that caught my “eye” (get it? Sorry, hurricane humor is probably not appropriate at this time).

November 1527: There is record of a hurricane destroying a merchant fleet on Galveston Island. Up to 200 lives were taken by the storm. This is the first record known of a hurricane along the Texas coastline and also one of the most unusual…it struck during the month of November; only one other hurricane has ever struck during November (1839).

September 4th, 1766: Hurricane hits Galveston. A mission named San Augustine de Ahumado, located in what is now considered Chambers County, was destroyed. Storm surges of 7 feet flooded the area. A richly-laden treasure fleet of 5 galleons en route from Vera Cruz to Havana was driven ashore and had to wait many weeks for assistance to come. Fortunately, much of the treasure and people aboard were saved.

September 12-14, 1818: Among the earliest accounts of a direct hurricane strike on the Texas coast was this storm which passed by the Cayman Islands, before moving westward into the Bay of Campeche, then northwest to hit Galveston on September 12th. It was described as a storm of extraordinary violence. War ships from Vera Cruz who encountered this storm were put out of commission for months.

October 2nd-6th, 1837: Racer’s Storm The first recorded storm to rake the entire coast was Racer’s Storm on October 5th, named for a British sloop of war which encountered the storm in the extreme Northwest Caribbean on September 28th. It is remembered as one of the most destructive storms of the 19th century due to its extreme duration and 2000 mile long path of destruction. Then it was Galveston’s turn. The storm surge of 6 to 7 feet higher in Galveston inundated the coast. The scene on the island was one of utter desolation.

November 5th, 1839: Hurricane struck Galveston unusually late in the season.

September 17-18th, 1842: A strong tropical storm hit Galveston. They were on the west side of the system, as waters invaded the Island from the Bay to the north. About 4 feet of water swept over the island destroying smaller buildings and houses. Forty cattle were crushed under a house that was blown down. Damages totaled $10,000.

October 5th, 1842: A storm brushed by Galveston, flooding the town.

June 9th, 1871: This hurricane moved through East Texas. In Galveston, it wrecked many ships and leveled St. Patrick church.

On July 5th, 1888, a second hurricane hits Galveston, making 8 hurricane landfalls in 3 seasons for the battered Texas coast. Corpus Christi saw 2″ of rain.

September 14th, 1961 (Carla): No list of Texas hurricanes would be complete without the mention of Carla, which made landfall near Port Lavaca. Carla was among the largest hurricanes of historical record (number 2 behind the Great New England Hurricane of 1938). The storm produced many tornadoes, gusts estimated to 175 m.p.h., torrential rains, and a 22 foot storm surge at Port O’Connor. Hurricane force gusts were seen along almost the entire Texas Coast.

And there are many, many, MANY more accounts of hurricanes slamming into the Texas coast.

But I’m sure Ike is the direct result of global warming. *wink*

Seriously, take care folks. I pray life gets back to normal for you soon.