Water feature

Just experimenting

Growing Older, Pt. 2

A BEAUTIFUL MESSAGE ABOUT GROWING OLD:

Well, crap...
Now I forgot what it was.

Wild cats!

Noooooooo!! We found another CATerpillar on our tomato plants! But we didn't find it before it chewed through ten or so fruits. Wifey found it. She seems to have a real talent for spotting worms. She married me, after all.


It looks like a "yellow-striped Army worm." Hmm. He looks big and scary, but for some perspective, compare it to a human finger.


Talk about a voracious appetite! This is actually the second one of these mo-fo worms we've found. Not sure if the Bt is working or not. Saw somewhere that, if you don't catch the worms in the first half of their lifespan, the Bt won't affect them. What an intelligent design that is!

So much for transparency

During the recent Presidential campaign, Obama went on and on about the need for transparent government and how, if elected, he'd make that happen. Was it just a pack of lies? Did we just fall all over ourselves in awe of an eloquent politician after the bumbling Bush?

From TPM: (psst! it's a link)
It's looking more and more like Barack Obama's pledge to usher in a new era of openness in government may well go unfulfilled.

Domestic Terrorism

It's time we called it what it is: domestic terrorism. But since they're AMERICANS, they won't be thrown into a hole and tortured. At least not in this country. Apparently.

First the murder of Dr. George Tiller by an anti-choice extremist. Now the murder of a security guard at the Holocaust Museum by a white supremacist.

These are two horrifying acts of right wing domestic terrorism in as many weeks. No wonder the Department of Homeland Security issued a report last month labeling "rightwing extremism" the "most dangerous domestic terrorism threat in the United States."

And, as we all know, these acts of terrorism were carried out with guns. Scott Roeder, who's being held for the murder of Dr. Tiller, has a history of mental illness and threatened violence against abortion providers a week before he allegedly shot Dr. Tiller. James W. von Brunn, who allegedly killed a security guard at the Holocaust Museum, has his own white supremacy website and is a convicted felon (he stormed the Federal Reserve Bank in 1981).

Why is it so easy for domestic terrorists to get hold of guns?

Here's one way to make it harder. The Brady Bill requires criminal background checks before the purchasing of guns. But there's a tremendous loophole for gun shows and similar events — a loophole that criminals know only too well how to exploit.

Currently, there's a bill in Congress to close this loophole — H.R. 2234, "To require criminal background checks on all firearms transactions occurring at gun shows." We need this law to reduce future attacks like those on Dr. Tiller and at the Holocaust Museum, but it won't go anywhere without significant support in Congress — and right now it has only seven sponsors.

Click here to tell your representative to co-sponsor H.R. 2234. We need swift action to keep criminals from getting more guns.

Thank you for working to build a safer world.

Kate Stayman-London, Campaign Manager
CREDO Action from Working Assets

I wonder if we should put Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and FOX News, etc. into this category of domestic terrorists? They may not commit the acts, but they are inciting people to violence.

Celebrate growing older

Time for another one of those somewhat sappy, somewhat poignant, funny, sad, but mostly true lists of thoughts to live by. This one was sent to me by my father, and I must say, I prefer to get these kinds of emails from him over the hard-rightwingnut bullshit that he usually send.

Often, the authenticity of these things is questionable, but it really doesn't matter that much. Are the sentiments "true" for you or not? There have been many times when I am reminded of that comment often attibuted to Bette Davis that I used to laugh at, but no longer: "Growing old is not for sissies." In many ways, it's a real pain.

While I am usually agnostic but occasionally atheist, I won't censor the "God" comments. To each their own...

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written."My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12 It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40 If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift