February 2009 Archives

Today we began a heat wave. I know it's still February but topping eighty degrees is entering heat wave territory, in my opinion. As the temperature increased, so did my grumpiness. This is when I had a stroke of genius. Most of the political "hot-spots" are very hot, year-round. I think the cause of much of the unrest in those places is the heat. Therefore, this is my contribution to foreign policy: we need to send them more air conditioners. Can we send a lot to the Middle East? Perhaps we can do something about all that sand there, too. It's hard to be polite when you are so hot and have sand on you, you know? Hillary, heed my advice: air conditioners. You'll get the Nobel Peace Prize for sure.

If you use Twitter, be sure to look for your Congressmen, local government, and favorite news channel. Twitter is a great way to get news quickly. I get tweets from @MelMartinez, @FoxNews, my county government, and my local new stations.

Sarah Palin and my governor, however, are poor tweeters.

Since Inauguration Day, I have not received any tweets from the White House. Under George W. Bush, the White House tweeted several times a day.

15,000* year old cave paintings ruined by humans after only 23 years.

More Lascaux links bookmarked here.

*Give or take a few thousand years.

My husband has a dish of seed on the front porch to feed the local squirrels, but look who showed up yesterday.

Isn't...

he...

cute?

I was hiding behind the curtains while he enjoyed our sunflower seeds.

Now, I thought he was a Black-capped Chickadee because I read that they have a longer black bib than the Carolina Chickadee; however, after listening to audio of the two birds' songs, I believe he was a Carolina Chickadee. He hung out for a while snatching sunflowers seeds, so I really got a good chance to hear his song. Also, the Carolina's range includes Florida. Therefore, I'm going with Carolina. Regardless, he was an adorable thing. I hope he comes back.

Movie lovers (like Laura) should recognize the post title.

I just recently posted about Vitals.com, the doctor grading website I'm using, and today I read a related article on Foxnews. It seems many doctors are refusing care to patients unless a waiver is signed. The waiver denies the patient the right to critique the doctor on Vitals and related doctor grading websites.

According to the article, around 300 doctors in my state already require the waiver which affirms that the patient "'will not denigrate, defame, disparage or cast aspersions upon' their doctors or post comments to any Web pages by name or anonymously".

Best quote:

"'I think the real problem is that the info may not be all that useful,' said Dr. Wendy Mariner, a law professor and director of the Patients' Rights Program at Boston University. 'Patients may be able to evaluate whether a physician is responsive, courteous, on time, provides useful info to the patient,' she said, but they cannot judge the most important issues concerning medical care."

Ha, ha, ha.

I can't judge the most important issues concerning medical care?!

Au contraire, Dr. Mariner, the patient is the best judge of medical care. We are on the receiving end of medical "care" which is often demeaning, chauvinistic, mediocre, or downright reprehensible. Most patients know that a good doctor is worth his or her weight in gold and any means that allows us to separate the chaff from the grain is a blessing indeed.

As all eyes keenly followed the crafting and passing of the Stimulus Bill, few Americans noticed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) go into effect on February 10, 2009. The CPSIA, passed last year following several well-publicized children's product recalls, requires third-party laboratory testing of everything intended for children. All products, from jewelry to books, must contain suitable levels of lead and phthalates. Unfortunately, the CPSIA applies to all children's products and therein lies the rub.

The CPSIA's greatest flaw is its hindrance of two major instrustries: resale and cottage. Resale stores (consignment shops and thrift stores) cannot afford to pay for third-party testing on all the children's products they sell. Many resale stores specializing in toys and baby products have already shuttered their doors. Also affected by the CPSIA is the cottage industry of home crafters and small businesses devoted to producing handmade children's items. Many of these businesses can be found on Etsy.com and other websites. Both of these industries are much needed in these poor economic times. Their loss impacts many consumers and impedes economic growth.

There is, unfortunately, another victim of the CPSIA. All children's books published prior to 1985 (when lead levels were applied to the book publishing industry) cannot be sold. Many libraries and resale stores have already begun to toss pre-1985 books in their dumpsters. The inability to resell pre-1985 books also strikes online sellers, most of whom are mom-and-pop businesses. For booklovers, it all seems too much like Fahrenheit 451.

It is a shame, in this age of the internet when knowledge is so available, that American citizens are routinely unable or uninterested in reading congressional bills before they are passed. It is possible, however, to make our voices heard when we are subjected to overreaching laws, such as the CPSIA. We can now email our Senators and Representatives quite easily; I have done so and I hope you will too. It may be too late for many businesses and books, but there is hope if we all respond to this poorly written act quickly.

Miep is the last of the helpers who hid Anne Frank and seven other Jews from the Nazis. 

Thanks to Laura for posting this information.

You would think people would be more careful than this.

It's just the sort of thing that scares my daughter.

The newly-found tomb in Saqqara has been unveiled. As usual, Zahi Hawass and his hat were on the scene. (I mean no offence towards Dr. Hawass; the children and I watch many documentaries on Ancient Egypt and see his hat often.)

Below is a short and funny video on Canadian health care. If any Canadian visitors disagree with the video, please let me know. I'd love to hear from more people with first-hand knowledge.

Today, we learned about Robert Rogers and his Rangers during the French and Indian War. The children were interested to read Rogers' rules which he wrote as a guide for his Rangers. For the benefit of other children, here is the link to Rogers' Standing Orders.

I was looking for a new doctor today and came across a website where you can rate doctors: Vitals. You can bet I graded a doctor I recently visited who spent most of the appointment disparaging America instead of treating my ailment. Take that, you Socialist Quack. Ahem. Yes, I think you will find the Vitals website quite useful.

The directions (courtesy of How About Orange) for fabric bookmarks are easy-peasy. I think this would be a quick gift craft for children to do.

I can often be found on many other sites and thought I'd let ya'll know so that we might meet up elsewhere on the Net as well.

Almost daily, I am at Twitter.

Many photos I take never make it to this website, but can be found on Flickr.

I have saved thousands of bookmarks on Delicious.

Recently I began using Goodreads to record my books and reading progress.

Lastly, I have started an account with Facebook.

I'd love it if ya'll contact me through any of these other sites, especially Twitter because I enjoy it so much and "Tweet" frequently.

See you later.

La Shawn Barber introduces readers to Ken Rance, a screenwriter who happens to be black.

Ken Rance explains how his story of a black woman in Minnesota became "New in Town", starring Renee Zellweger.

The Alaska Volcano Observatory has tons of info on Mt. Redoubt, which is contemplating an eruption.

And webcams.

Remember this when Israel gets tired of being shot at and decides to defend herself.

This is the city hit: Ashkelon.

Texas has an Official State Dinosaur??

I've disliked Paleontologists ever since they changed my Brontosaurus. And don't get me started on the IAU.

Visit Ancient Rome

See the Defence of Wartime Britain

Travel with the Portuguese Explorers

Sail with Magellan

Live with Phillis Wheatley

Follow JMW Turner

See works in Spain's Prado Museum

About Google Earth 5.0

Download Google Earth 5.0

"In an unprecedented step, Mexico's President Felipe Calderón deployed his country's military to the region's hardest hit areas, including the northern drug-trafficking corridors from Chihuahua to Baja California. Up to 45,000 military personnel have been called in to stem the violence that has sent cities like Tijuana spiraling out of control."