Please don't bother

I love getting feedback for my blog. I also love getting feedback for my Miss Mom column over at the Spartanburg Spark. Those comments help me know if I am being relevant or just spouting off nonsense. Of course they do help my ego just a bit. We creative types can be a bit under confident about the quality of our work, so reassurance that we don't suck does help, a lot.

One of the things that I do on this blog is discuss products that I've been given to try, websites I've visited and would think it worthy sharing, and my thoughts on occasion on news and politics. I also go back to the blog roots now and then, and share some things about my life, but that is found more at Miss Mom then anywhere these days I am always happy to tell my thoughts on a product, welcome any who would like to send me something to try...hint hint. In fact I have one that I will be writing about in the next few days, with a little bonus.

I learned early on to moderate comments. Why? Because spammers abound on the world wide web. I have received more then one comment that is nothing but a flagrant attempt to get me to advertise someone's product by posting nothing more then a link to a site that advertises the usual spam type selling gimmicks. You will not be seeing those comments as I will not be approving them. Yes I do have advertising on my blog, which is google based, and I may get a few dollars in income from that ad space. A girl does have to pay her internet bill you know. But I will not let my blog be used so that others can just do hit and run style marketing. I consider such tactics lazy, and rude. If you want me to talk about a product, then ask. Even better send me a sample to try out and then share. Just a warning, if I don't like it, I will be completely honest as to my assessment. Check out my WooNo blog entry for proof.

So spam minded advertisers, if you think you can sneak in a spam ad themed comment hawking viagra or some other junk, please don't bother.

Politics...Meh

I try to stay away from the fray that is national politics, honestly I do, but it is like watching an episode of Springer. You know its a train wreck, you know people are acting like fools on national TV, and you are just waiting for someone to throw a punch, or a chair. Sometimes I believe that following national politics is better then any quasi-reality TV ever conceived. No one can make that stuff up.

Why is it so entertaining? Because common sense, taking care to be up front and honest, and respectful dialogue has flown right out of the window. We have republicans refusing to vote for something democrats propose, without bothering to read the proposal to see if it has any merit. We have democrats calling republicans names,and not even trying to work with republicans, we have both trying to second guess the voters, so they can get another term. In fact election campaigns start earlier and earlier every season. And no one is addressing the problems we face.

Then we have voters,who for some really bizarre reason I can't quite pin down, who have decided to be angry, and would prefer to let other people sway their mindsets on all things political.  These are people who got cushy jobs doing nothing but talk about how right their opinion is, and downright make stuff up on the spot, or in other words, the facts are how that person views them. That is what they do, and people take what they say as the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Blows my mind. It is almost like these guys are the televangelists of the political spectrum.

In all this, one doesn't see much in the way of getting down to the whys, and hows. The whys are how do we fix our health care system, including Medicare which is the biggest money sucking vortex we have right now? How do we fix our financial house, including our banks,large and small? How do we encourage jobs in our own borders and stop the exit of job opportunities to places far off our shores? How do we actually rework our energy needs that are long term, renewable, safe, affordable and green? There are some wonderful solutions out there. Sadly many of them are not popular, because it passes some of the responsibility back on to us, the voter. Apparently the American voter doesn't want that responsibility, because it may mean higher taxes, higher prices on commodities like gasoline, and getting used to a different health care format. Those may be only short term fixes until things get straightened out, but no one, not even our government wants to propose these things. While cutting costs on  certain programs can help, it still isn't addressing the core issues. I don't know why people aren't saying that, or doing something about it.

 It also means that we need to get our facts straight on issues, which is easy. Just go to any congressional website and one can read pending bills from the comfort of your own home. Don't like what you read? Email your congress person and let them know. Don't like how they vote, then vote yourselves come election day, or run for their seat.

New Look

Yes I have made a few minor changes to the look of my blog page. I never was quite happy with the old template. And now that video content is making appearances, I knew that I needed to widen the content segment. Of course I lack the skills to make the changes myself so I had to pick a new template. It's fairly simple in appearance, but I can live with it. I am not a fan of sites that have too much flash and dance anyway.

Let me know what you think, and any suggestions you may think of that would help things look even better.

Meet the toy strewing toddler

Thoughts on a small island nation

I know I am not the only one out there who is talking about the tragedy in Haiti. The enormity of what has happened in the capital of that little country will likely takes weeks or months to add up. While I am heartened by the rush to help by nations all over the globe, the logistics caused by earthquake damage is going to make getting help in time for people hanging on to life by a thread quite difficult. It will likely get worse there before it gets better, and there is no one to blame.

People as the same questions every time there is a tragedy like this. Questions like "Where was God in this?", "Why didn't he stop this from happening", "Does He even care?" Those are tough questions with no easy answer. These kinds of events have been happening for countless centuries, the only difference today is we find out about it almost immediately, thanks to modern technology, and we can often bring assistance to areas and people in peril much quicker. Both are wonderful things, but both also have a downside.

The downside is we make the assumption that because we have faster transportation, better medical technology, improved methods of moving and implementing goods and services then in years past then the scope of the aftermath can be minimalized. It is quite frustrating to see images of collapsed buildings and bodies lying in the streets and wonder why it is taking so long to do something. The reality is, just because we can see news feeds within minutes of a tragedy, it doesn't mean we can get people in to fix things within a few hours. Especially when the infrastructure of a city was essentially turned into rubble.

What I find even sadder is a small group of people who use the media for political, or personal agendas. These people, who for some reason have been given microphones and free reign to airways, have said some things that demonstrate no compassion, or suggestions on how to help. Instead they have chosen to make political or religious hay. That "hay" has no relevance or use in the situation of Haiti, and only serves to bring attention to themselves.

Former president Bill Clinton said the following in partial response to one of the political hay makers. Clinton said a disaster like the earthquake in Haiti "reminds us of our common humanity. It reminds us of needs that go beyond fleeting disagreements." He said political debate is healthy in normal times, but it would be perverse in a time of disaster to let politics get in the way of helping. (Washington Post)


I completely agree with Mr. Clinton. Now is the time to set aside foolish things and deal with the task at hand, helping our neighbor. I don't know the reason why this tragedy happened. I can't imagine the suffering the residents of Port-Au-Prince are enduring, and I mourn for their losses and the fact that the end is not yet in sight for them. I will not be the only one who wishes they could be there physically to shelter and give a home to a child who has lost their parents, or to hand out food or water, or even to remove rubble from a street. God speed to those who are given that privilege. I can do something else. Give to the relief agencies focusing on Haiti, and pray for things to improve sooner then expected.

 I think that dwelling on the why this happened is moot, and a waste of effort for now. Instead the questions should be along the lines of "how" and "what". "How can we help and what do you need to make that  help happen." should be the questions of the day. We can debate the why's later.

A "lazy" Sunday afternoon.

I discovered when I returned home from church that I was going to have the house to myself. Well if you don't count, Chernobyll, "the always underfoot", and Lunatic, "Miss, Do I want inside or outside?". My son who is visiting from Houston, wanted to go spend the day with friends, so he borrowed my car. Being without transportation and a whole afternoon free,I was faced with a what to do dilemma.

Granted I have plenty to do around here. There is the inevitable laundry, the fact that even though we just cleaned the living room, you can't tell. Between visitors, a toy strewing toddler, and the need for extra jackets and blankets these days, the living area is a bit less neat. There is the refrigerator that is in dire need of a hosing down, and I do need to foray under the stove and the fridge on a magnet hunt. Chernobyll considers it her mission in life to play magnet hockey with those to locations as goal. I could try to up my bowling and tennis skills on the Wii. I am the token loser in the family. Everyone can beat me easily. There was the fact that I could take the entire afternoon and curl up with a library book. The girls and I are reading through the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. Hilarious books by the way.

What I decided to do was to give my desk area a serious purge. I sorted last years receipts in preparation for adding the tax deductions. I tossed out cancelled checks and registers from 2005. I also tossed old computer software disks that are designed for windows 98. Yes I still had some. I hung a couple of pictures of the grand and her parents by the desk. And then I hosed the whole thing down, making my glass top surface look nearly fingerprint and kitty paw print free. I should have taken a picture. My desk doesn't look that good for long.

After that was done, I moved on to my broken, sad looking jewelry box. I bought that stupid thing last year and it fell apart within a few months. What I get for buying it on clearance at Ross. I don't have that much in the way of jewelry but I still needed to go through the thing and weed out broken chains, unmatched earrings, and toss the box. I stuffed what was left into two smaller boxes until I find something better. I then dusted the shelf it had once sat on, plus the rest of the room. Then I gave the master bath a wash down, and ran the vacuum.

That all took me a total of four hours. It is amazing what amount of time sorting, purging and reorganizing takes. It is one of those tasks that needs to be done, but is best done with no interruptions. The laundry, the dishes, the Mr. Potato head parts will be there awaiting attention later. I still think I had a well spent afternoon. Now where is that novel?

My first video!!!

">