I have been getting so much grief from people concerning the fact that I have not signed up and participated with the well known Face Book community. Face Book seems to be every where you turn these days. So this week end I’ll take a look around and see if it is anything that I can get a handle one.
My in-laws came over to visit last weekend and they brought with them an article that they had printed out from an email that a friend had sent them. The article said that aspartame in soft drinks was linked to an increase in Multiple Sclerosis. According to the article, it was claiming that when aspartame is heated abouve ninety degrees that it turns ino formaldehyde, and consumption of that can cause Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms.
To be perfectly honest, I was very surprised about that, so I got online to see what I could find out about that claim. According to snopes, it is not true, it is a rumor that has been circulating for a long time now. I guess the enemies of the aspartame industry are responsible for that! But while looking it up, I did find an interesting website that dealt with different aspects of Multiple Sclerosis. It had current Multiple Sclerosis News and tips on Multiple Sclerosis Exercise and diet. I don’t know anyone personally who has Multiple Sclerosis, but I’m hopeful that more medical advances can be made to treat and cure this terrible disease. No one should have to suffer like that.
I can remember when I was a teenager, it was so easy to go to a party where there were drugs and/or alcohol being served to anyone who asked for it.
Even the parents of the teenagers often looked the other way when their kids were partying, saying that they’d rather have them doing it at home where they are safe. Because of that, I have had a difficult time letting my own kids go out to parties; I can remember how wild and crazy they can get!
Teenage drinking is no joke; teen addiction statistics are very scary. They seem to be getting worse than ever. In many ways we think that teens have a better life than we do, and maybe that is part of the problem. Maybe they have too much leisure time!
Fortunately, teen rehab info is an up and coming service that can help address the special needs of a teenager who is addicted to drugs or alcohol. But it truly is a sad statement of the times that we even have a need for teen rehab in the first place!
I really like the local Barnes & Noble bookstore. That is one of my favorite places to shop for presents for my family. My mother, brother, and sister are all avid readers, and we always give books to each other for Christmas and birthdays. So I’m always pleased when I come across a great source for Barnes Noble coupons.
When my wife and I go to Barnes & Noble, we can easily kill several hours there, browsing all of the great bargain bin books. My wife is always on the look-out for new books on crafts and new cookbooks. Often she’ll take a few books over to one of the easy chairs and look through them to see if there are any good projects or recipes that she thinks she’ll actually use.
We’ve spent plenty of time looking through the CDs and tapes in the music section, too. Their children’s reading section is designed to appeal to children, to encourage them to stay and read. It reminds me more of a library than a bookstore. I wouldn’t expect a bookstore to encourage people to stay and read and relax, but the atmosphere there really does exactly that!
And I always love the smell of the coffee brewing in the coffee shop!
It really does pay to know some one who can help with your PC issues. I have become spoiled by our ITs at work that are at our beck and call when ever a computer problem rears its ugly head. They aren’t always as quick about it as I’d like but at least they do what they can, with what they have. Budget cutbacks have made their department a nightmare to work for, so I have to cut them some slack in that area.
I enjoy picking their brains when I have the chance to. They know all about dedicated server issues, the best managed hosting information and colocation particulars that most people, like me, know little or nothing about. We have a few people in our family that are pretty good with computers but they are always busy or have an attitude (this family is always having an attitude with somebody) and can’t always be counted on.
I wish that I had had the insight, back in the days of choosing a profession/occupation to have gone to computer school. There will always be a need for computer help, just like there will always be a need for an Undertaker, depressing but so true.
I come from a long long line of addictive personalities. I can’t think of anyone in my family that isn’t addicted to something! Of course, some addictions are more socially unacceptable than others. Most addictions have some kind of support group that can help people to overcome that particular addiction. Unfortunately, for those with addictive personalities, the addict needs to be addicted to SOMETHING, so it is a matter of re-directing that addiction.
I’m not really sure if society is creating more addicts, or if people are simply becoming more aware of the addictions and doing something about it. I would feel very safe in saying that everyone that I know has at least one person in their family with addiction problems. Unfortunately, most of them don’t admit themselves into any kind of drug rehab or alcohol rehab programs. I was talking to a friend last night about told me that he was going to check into joining a drug treatment program. He says that he’s addicted to pain medications and wants to get off of them and needs help with that. It takes a lot of soul-searching to come to that decision. I wish him the best of luck!
Thanks for the guest post by Kristofer Bartlett
The American tradition began after World War II and the building of the transcontinental highway system in the United States- the day trip. The time when the family gets together and drives off to some exciting destination for a day of fun, thrills, and relaxation. We live in a nation where work is the mainstay of life and we are expected to keep our noses to the grindstone five days a week anxious for Friday when the whistle blows at five o’clock signaling that work is done.
The family prepares for the Saturday day trip or maybe it is the Sunday day trip. Regardless, the day trip is as American as apple pie. Packing the car with food and water, extra clothes, perhaps a first-aid kit, and the absolutely necessary sunscreen. The last thing to do is to set the home alarm system before leaving the house. It’s a good thing we found such an inexpensive home security system.
I remember growing up in Southern California the wonderful day trips my dad would take us on. One of the more memorable was the time we went to Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake nestled in the mountains above the Los Angeles basin away from the smog and endless traffic jams. The clear mountain pine air filled my nostrils and the sun glistening across the lake gave it a surreal look. The two lakes sit side-by-side and are as different as night and day. Arrowhead is more untouched and beautiful than Big Bear Lake. But both lakes have appeal in their own right. I remember seeing a wild wolf for the first time crossing the road in front of us and realized how natural and unspoiled nature is amidst the sprawling mecca of modern society.
Last year I noticed that the bees were building their nests really high up in the trees. My father had taught me that meant that a winter was coming that would have a ton of snow. And boy, last year we really DID have a ton of snow!
This year the nests are very low to the ground. I’m going to predict that we will have a winter with much less snow than last year. It will be interesting to see if that is the case. Right now, with the temperatures in the triple digits, I’m trying to stay cool by thinking about snow! How crazy is that?!
My father tells me that Myrtle Beach is a golfer’s paradise. There are hundreds of golf courses there, and a lot of other entertaining things to do; shows, amusement parks, and the lure of the clean ocean beaches. He’s suggested that we join him and my mother for a long weekend there in November.
My wife and I were looking at the http://www.horizonmyrtlebeach.com web page to get a better idea of what are the Myrtle Beach best hotels for being able to spend some time at the beach, but also be close to the shows and amusement parks. I’d like to have a Myrtle Beach hotel that is set up like a condo – with several bedrooms and a kitchen and living room. We could share that with Mom & Dad to split the expense, but also have room to spread out and relax.
I had to feel bad for poor Sandra today. She had been so happy to score some cheap tickets to fly to Orlando for a week’s vacation, and she was supposed to fly back home today. Her flight was supposed to leave Orlando at 1:00pm. The flight was delayed six times before they finally took off at 5pm. When she arrived at the destination airport she wasn’t able to find her car for over an hour. She’d forgotten which level of the parking garage she had parked!
When she finally found her car, and was ready to leave, would you believe her battery was dead? Yes, it really was. She said that she got the garage attendents to give her car a jump start. She got home a full eight hours later than she was planning to get home. So she missed the high school reunion party that she had been planning to attend. She was unhappy about that; she had been planning for months to go! No, it was not a good travel day for Sandra today.
My wife’s car is driving me crazy! The brake lights are intermittently not working. Sometimes they are fine, sometimes they don’t work. I’ve taken the car to the shop three times now and asked them to fix it, and they keep telling me that they are working fine when they check it. They even gave me an inspection sticker for the car! I think that they were just being lazy and didn’t want to troubleshoot the wiring. I really can’t blame them for not wanting to do that, it will be a pain in the neck to do it. But I guess I’m going to have to break down and do it myself, it needs to be done!
A couple of buddies of mine are planning a trip to New York City and have asked me if I would like to come along. They are thinking that the end of September would be a good time to hit “The Big Apple” it sounds good to me. The holidays are the best time to go to the big city, but the crowds are a pain, so September might just turn out to be a good choice for us.
There are so many things to see and do in New York. Of course we will make sure and see some good shows while we are there. I have been asked to check out some of the venues online, since I am pretty good on the computer, so I have taken some time to see what type of shows are going to be running them. The Internet makes this task a much easier one to take on. I’ve checked into some IZOD CENTER TICKETS as well as some JONES BEACH THEATRE TICKETS and they are much more affordable then I first thought, which is a pleasant surprise. New York isn’t known for being cheap what-so-ever, if you know what I mean!
It will be too late in the year to utilize any of the Central Park Summerstage TICKETS that are being heavily advertised, but that is all right, there is a huge variety of events to pick from and I have my work cut out for me trying to please every one’s taste, wants and needs, but I’m up for it and look forward to the challenge.
Myrtle Beach has always been a great place to get-a-way to. It was one of our favorites back in the day for the whole family to take our vacation to, something for everybody could be found at Myrtle Beach. I haven’t been able to visit Myrtle Beach in several years and I look forward to seeing the changes that have taken place since I’ve been there last.
I reserved a bit of my tax refund money for a nice summer vacation this year, it has been a long year and a vacation is way over due. I found a great Myrtle Beach hotel online at http://avistaresort.com. The Avista Resort is one of the many oceanfront resorts located in the North Myrtle Beach area and it has been designated as America’s “Number One Family Beach” I like that it is only two walkable blocks away from the famous Main Street that has such a wide variety of things to see and to do.
There are tons of resorts in Myrtle Beach that can be checked out on the Internet, what a great way to find the best one to suite my needs and wants. I look forward to playing a few rounds of golf while I’m there. I come from a family of golfers and we used to always make time to play a game or two during the family vacations back in the 70′s, it’s a good sport for the whole family to enjoy all year round.
I’ll make sure and take plenty of pictures and will post a few here shortly after my return.
The annual Lobster boat races are supposed to be held tomorrow in Boothbay Harbor Maine. I’ve never gone to see one of those races, but my wife suggested that we might enjoy a day trip to Boothbay Harbor this summer, and I think going to the races would be a good time to go.
I always enjoy browsing through the shops for a few hours, and then having a lobster dinner at a Boothbay Harbor Restaurant. There is nothing quite as good as having lobster on the coast after a day of watching the many yachts and boats in the marina. I like to fantasize about being as wealthy as the folks who own some of those magnificent yachts. I know it will never happen, but a guy can dream, can’t he?
Have you ever been asked by a friend or relative to lend/give them money to help them pay a bill? I think that most of us have had that experience, haven’t we? I always have mixed feelings about lending money; I remember some advice my father gave me a long time ago about lending money. He said “never lend any money that you can’t afford to lose.” I think that is good advice.
There have been a few times when I lent money to someone to help them out of a jam and then found them squandering money on something totally unnecessary. That has always bugged me to no end. If they have enough money to squander money on something totally unnecessary, then why haven’t they paid me back the money they owe me? When I ask them what’s going on, why are they throwing money away on “stuff” when they owe me money, I get the “gee you’re a big jerk” reaction. I think Ben Franklin gave some really good advice back in his time “Neither a lender, nor a borrower be.”
This post is by Todd Berring
Baseball season is in full swing now and some teams are beginning to separate themselves from the rest of the pack. Whether or not these teams can maintain the leads they have remains to be seen, and it is not out of the question that lower ranked teams can still put together some winning streaks and climb out of the cellar. In either case, I know that Major League Baseball will be one of the most watched sporting events on my satallite tv this spring and into the summer.
The team I follow is the Milwaukee Brewers and currently the Brewers are in a bit of a slump. The Brewers’ offensive capabilities remain solid as ever with incredible hitters such as Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, and Casey McGehee leading the way for the crew. The pitching is the Brewers’ main weakness and has been for the last few years. The starting rotation more often than not can make it the six or seven innings they need to go, so manager Ken Macha almost always has to dip into the bullpen sooner than he would like. The only problem there is that the bullpen has been prone to give up big innings just like the starting rotation, which doesn’t lead to very good results. In addition, the all time saves leader Trevor Hoffman who is usually a rock solid closer for the crew has already blown more saves this year than he did all of last year. If the pitching doesn’t get better, it may be a long summer for the Brewers.
Now that the weather is getting warmer, I notice a lot more young mothers out with their babies in tow. I have to say that it really bothers me how many of them are using strollers to walk with their infants on country roads that are don’t have sidewalks.
What bothers me about it is that most of them are walking on the wrong side of the road. If a passing car or truck kicks up some gravel as they pass, the poor infant is going to get a face full of gravel. That is asking for trouble!
I understand the desire to get some fresh air and enjoy the all-too brief warm summer weather, but if these folks can’t learn to walk on the correct side of the road (facing traffic) then I think that they should just stay in their yards and let the babies play with some baby toys to enjoy the fresh air. They’d be much safer that way.
Last night as we were watching television, we heard a loud crash outside our house. I ran to the front door and opened it to see what in the world was going on. Wouldn’t you know it, a car accident right in front of our house! It was a single vehicle, – it had run off the road in an attempt to avoid hitting a moose! I ran outside to see if anyone was hurt.
The car was firmly stuck in a ditch, and it was obvious that we needed to pull it out with my truck. The driver was a young woman, and she was quite shaken up. She had a few kids in the car with her, and they were screaming and crying. After verifying that no one was hurt, I brought them all into our house and my wife kept them company, fixing tea for the woman and letting the girls play girl games on her laptop while I got out my chains and truck and pulled the car out of the ditch.
I got the car out of the ditch after a short while, and checked the car out to make sure it was safe to drive. After about an hour the woman was calmed down enough to go on her way. She offered to pay me for my help, but I declined. After all, I was just being neighborly!
I’m always amazed when I hear about a friend of mine that passed away. I’m not that old, yet it seems that every few months someone else that I know has passed away. Some from illness, some from accidents. Fortunately for their families, most of them have good life insurance policies to help their loved ones to keep their lives intact.
My wife and I have been reviewing our coverage and have been thinking about getting some term life insurance quotes. The economic times are still too shaky for either one of us to feel comfortable without that safety net. In addidition to funeral insurance I want to get mortgage insurance. If something happens to either one of us, I don’t want the other one to lose the house. That would truly be devestating!
I understand why kids want to learn how to ride a skateboard, I really do. When I was a kid I wanted a skateboard as a gift and my parents insisted that I couldn’t have one (as a gift) so I raided my piggy bank and bought one with my own money. Boy were my parents angry! The told me that I couldn’t ride it in the street or on the sidewalks. Well, we had a nice long paved driveway so it really didn’t bother me much. Back then, though, helmets weren’t even available to buy for someone riding a bike or a skateboard!
I never even saw anyone doing any kinds of tricks on television, so I never had any inspiration or guidance on how to ride one. Obviously, I never developed any real skill, I just enjoyed it. And although my parents were so worried that I’d fall and skin my knee, or crack my head, they preferred that I ride my bike in the street (again with no helmet or padding) than skateboard anywhere. Where’s the sense in that? I think riding a bike is just as risky! Oh well……