My cat's breath smells like cat food.

News!

2004-12-04T08:43:00.000+10:30

This can't be good for people on a diet, but why didn't I think of this?? An All-Cereal Restaurant Opens in Philly, and it is called Cereality. It is brilliant! I wish I had thought of it myself.

And who knew that Splenda would be doing so well that now they are experiencing a shortage for new products? I love the stuff myself. I've baked with it a few times, and I use it when I make french toast, but I still use equal in my coffee. Splenda is a little too expensive for the everyday use at ms ralph's house.

Voter fraud

2004-11-30T09:15:00.000+10:30

Still thinking about the election and the fraud that could have happened? Here is a comprehensive list of links and things to read regarding Evidence of Electoral Fraud.

Pain

2004-11-30T09:07:00.000+10:30

The pain is horrible. The chest pain returned with a vengeance last night and it almost kept me awake and crying until I remembered I had 2 endone tablets left. I took one last night and that helped me get to sleep.

Today it just feels sore, like a muscles does the day after you have a charlie horse, but this is in my CHEST muscles.

I really need to get a professional opinion about why I am experiencing this pain, although I think I can attribute it to the added water aerobics in my week last week. I remember Dr. Chung telling me that with this kind of injury pain that is triggered quite often is not immediate, but is delayed.

God I hate my life.

We Do Not Concede

2004-11-30T08:53:00.000+10:30

Want to be Foxless in America? This site, We Do Not Concede has a great idea on how to send Fox a message and rid yourself of them.

ARTHUR'S ACTION: FOXLESS IN AMERICA

Friends: This is such simple, brilliant, potenetially effective idea, I wish I could say I thought of it. It was actually sent to me by a friend who is impatient for grassroots action against the right wing to begin. I'm doing this at once. I hope you'll decide to do the same and circulate the idea to at least a hundred million of your closest friends. LET'S SEE THE STOCKS PLUMMET- FEED YOUR STRENGTH. If you, too, have had enough with the FOX news channel, please read below. This action will make your voice heard while simply choosing not to watch the station can not. (Coalition Member)

I have decided to make a political statement. I called my Satellite TV provider and asked them to remove Fox News from my television. Since the election I have wanted to stick my head out of a window of a tall building and shout I can't take it anymore, but I soon came to realize that there is a better and easier way to send a message to Rupert Murdoch and his blathering bunch at Fox News and that was to simply make them disappear from my life.

I called my cable TV provider and had Fox News deleted from my television. It was simple I called the Repair Department at Comcast and said I wanted to be Foxless in America. I then wrote an email to the following: Reed Nolte VP Investor Relations for News Corporation (the parent company of Fox News) at rnolte@newscorp.com and Brian Lewis, Senior VP Corporate Communications for Fox News at brian.lewis@foxnews.com and to top it off I copied rmurdoch@newscorp.com.

I told them that I cannot take the Fox distortion and biased presentation of the news any longer and that they ought to inform their sponsors that there are millions like me. I can't tell you the immense satisfaction I gained from becoming Foxless in America. I am asking you to follow me in this protest and let it be heard by all that want to control what we all see and hear. This could be a way to have your voice heard-Become Foxless in America. We can start a movement if each of you send this email to all the others you know who are fed up with Fox News.

Regards, Arthur

Good for him, and if I lived in America I would do it. You should!

Happy Turkey Day

2004-11-26T07:19:00.000+10:30

Ahh. Thanksgiving.

What I miss:

Mom's Cornbread Dressing with the Gibblet Gravy
Turkey, Turkey, Turkey
Sweet Potatoe Casserole or pie
Green Bean Casserole and All Its Artery Clogging Glory
Football Games
Afternoon Naps
Cold Weather
Hot Drinks with Cinnamon Sticks
Left Over Cornbread Dressing
My Family

What I am thankful for:

I won't be gaining the 5 to 10 pounds I always do this season

Hope you have a happy one.

Still here

2004-11-25T06:47:00.000+10:30

I'm still here, although it does feel like I've abandoned this blog for the other one.

I think mainly it is because all of the things I want or need to write about are diet and weight related at the moment. This is probably because I am not working and I have all this time to obsess about it.

But I can tell you that I've started doing aqua-robics and it is fun. I didn't know I'd like it so much, and you really do get out of it what you put into it. Of course it would be easy to slack off because most of the movements are underwater and no one is going to call you on it, but I really worked my butt off and I have the sore muscles to show for it.

I know this is Thanksgiving eve in America. It is actually Thursday here and I had my Thanksgiving dinner yesterday with my mum-in-law because it was her anniversary and we reallly didn't want her eating alone. It was a successful meal, although nothing like my mom's. I miss home so much and it is a lot harder around holidays.

If only I were filthy rich.

Anyway, what do you think of the Christmas Buckley? I know, too cute for words. He is driving me crazy at the moment wanting to play with the Christmas tree. I have to keep the spray bottle (water) right next to it so I can spray him whenever he is around it. It doesn't work on its own because he is pretty immune to water although he doesn't like it in his face. He starts squinting before I even spray! It is funny. But I have to physically remove him sometimes. Of cours mr ralph thinks it is cute when he whacks at the ornaments with his paw. It is not cute when you have to pick it up and redecorate it.

There is not much else going on with me except I am dying to get back to work. I went to my team's Christmas dinner last weekend and saw everyone. Going without the brace part of the time is not so bad, although I had some burning below my left shoulder blade yesterday. That sort of thing scares me because I has a lot of that burning just before the surgery. I just hope to God it is only due to the added pressure on my neck because of the exercise I've added recently and nothing else to worry about.

Going to plan

2004-11-18T13:38:00.000+10:30

According to my surgeon, and the x-rays I had done yesterday everything is going ok. My neck looks to be healing fine, and now I no longer have to wear the hard collar. We can heave a huge sigh of relief on that one. I do have to wear the soft collar for a short period, while alternating not wearing it and doing neck exercises until my neck is strong enough to go without it altogether.

The pain he didn't have much to say about, except that in moving the bones in my neck apart and stretching them to fit the new disc in, this could cause some of it. I think that most of it has been me overdoing it, which I plan to take his advice and do my best at not overstraining my neck as it continues to heal.

Now, I didn't hear what I wanted to regarding work, but I do get to go back in three weeks. On December 13th I will be allowed to work 3 days a week for a maximum of 6 hours a shift. Doesn't sound like much, but it is going to be so good.

As for exercise he said I could continue walking as much as I want, and do any low-impact exercise as well as strength training. I am going to get some hand weights and hopefully get a bench with more for Christmas. I plan to go to the gym and use their pool once or twice a week (they allow you to pay by the visit) and alternatively use the outdoor pool when it opens. I am thinking of getting a membership since I hope to incorporate swimming a lot more. It makes sense because it is low-impact, but one of the best cardiovascular exercises there is.

And other than that, I am just happy someone is doing something about the election of 2004, I just wish Bev Harris wasn't so alone in the matter.

Unbelievable

2004-11-17T09:54:00.000+10:30

So I wake up this morning and pull out the referral form for the x-ray I am meant to be having today and discover that the appointment is for yesterday.

Christ.

I called and rescheduled the x-ray for today and had a message from the surgeon's office (oh they actually do care!) on my phone. I rang them and rescheduled the appointment with that dickwad for tomorrow morning because he is innerstate today. Probably making big bucks off of someone else's misfortune.

Can you tell I don't like him much? It is hard to believe a few months ago I was actually telling people that I thought he was a good guy. But that was before he treated me like dogshit after I asked him about the pain I was having post-op.

I am making mr ralph go with me to the appointment because I don't want to be with him by myself. I only hope that everything is ok.

Apparently I am not having an MRI but a regular x-ray because "he can see what he needs to from it." Okay. Whatever. I just hope that the news is good. I can't handle much more of this stay at home shit.

I am sick to death of my own company and the TV. I actually find myself watching soaps, although I don't know anyone's name. It is usually own for background noise, but I occasional am watching and wondering who really follows this crap on a day to day basis?

It's going to be hot today. Prediction is for 37. I am not ready for the hot weather. I wish it could just stay 25 everyday with blue skies.

I read these two books I bought for cheap at the local kmart. They kept me busy for 3 days anyway, but both of them had the same central theme, adultery. I found myself thinking a lot about my marriage and questioning how things are going with us. It is not because we are having problems. All relationships are hit with bumps from outside influence. My recovery from this surgery has been the main focus and there is nothing I can do about that. I really hate being like this.

I don't think I've ever loved him more than I do him. I have been uneasy, but I know I've been consumed with worry about this stupid neck. I can't believe that all along the appointment was yesterday. Go on, laugh. I know you want to.

Be careful what you blog

2004-11-15T11:19:00.000+10:30

Feeling good about living in a "free world"? Well, before you get too comfy thinking that you have "freedom of speech", you should really read this. The Patriot Act has been extended to blogs that are critical of Government.

"The provision we challenged [that the judge struck down]," says Jaffer, "allows the FBI to issue NSLs against 'wire or electronic service communication providers.' Telephone companies and Internet service providers [are included.]" As Judge Marrero noted, the FBI could also use an NSL "to discern the identity of someone whose anonymous web log, or 'blog,' is critical of the Government."

And if that isn't scary enough, Bush has ordered the CIA to purge all officials unloyal to him from the agency.

WASHINGTON -- The White House has ordered the new CIA director, Porter Goss, to purge the agency of officers believed to have been disloyal to President George W. Bush or of leaking damaging information to the media about the conduct of the Iraq war and the hunt for Osama bin Laden, according to knowledgeable sources.

Surprised yet?

"The agency is being purged on instructions from the White House," said a former senior CIA official who maintains close ties to both the agency and to the White House. "Goss was given instructions ... to get rid of those soft leakers and liberal Democrats. The CIA is looked on by the White House as a hotbed of liberals and people who have been obstructing the president's agenda."

I don't even know what to say, except that this is scary shit and it is only the beginning.

In the news

2004-11-12T10:10:00.000+10:30

Renee Zellweger has been in Australia for a whirl-wind tour and promoting The Edge of Reason, and all I kept thinking about during the film-clips is that they make her get so much bigger this time, or is it just me? She looks much frumpier than in the original. I actually thought she looked normal in the first one. Seems that the movie isn't doing so good with the reviewers either. A pity, because I quite enjoyed the first one, and I also read the book.

Not only is Liza Minnelli accused of beating her former husband, now a body guard of hers has accussed her of forcing him to have sex with her, as well as repeatedly assualting him during violent outbursts. Ouch.

Michael Scheuer, who wrote the book, "Imperial Hubris: Why the West Is Losing the War on Terror" will resign after 22 years of service at the CIA.

In a statement, Scheuer said the CIA had not forced him to resign, "but I have concluded that there has not been adequate national debate over the nature of the threat posed by Osama bin Laden and the forces he leads and inspires, and the nature and dimensions of intelligence reform needed to address that threat."

Scheuer, also said that he thinks it will be best for the country and the intelligence community if he resign and he plans to continue speaking publicly regarding Osama Bin Laden, al Qaeda, and the 9-11 Commission Report.

George Bush does an interview with ediets on the Shape of the Nation.

Bush calls Robertson a skanky liar, and then after getting the flu blames John Kerry, Terrorists, and his mom!

Michael Jackson's fans in NYC are protesting Eminem's video of his song "Just Lose It."

In the video, "Just Lose It," Detroit rapper Eminem impersonates Jackson, appearing with a group of boys in the background. "Come here, little kiddie, on my lap. Guess who's back with a brand new rap," he sings.

"It's demeaning and disrespectful," Jackson said. "And I also want to make it clear that it's not just about Michael Jackson but about a pattern of disrespect that he has shown to our community. He needs to stop it, and he needs to stop it now."

Time Wasters 11/11/04

2004-11-11T17:44:00.000+10:30

Paul Deleplane designed his wedding cake out of hostess snacks. Talk about being obsessed with twinkies! I can't even imagine how much fat this cake packed. And he is not the only one! [ via ]

It only took Phil one hour to complete his wedding cake. After building the tiers with layers of Styrofoam disks, the only complication was figuring out how to piece the snacks together. Finally, after several design changes, Phil came up with this idea of using a variety of Hostess snack cakes such as Twinkies, Cup Cakes, Ding Dongs, Ho Hos, Suzy Q's, Sno Balls and Mini Muffins.

Check out this picture of Dick Cheney made up of SUV's and oil wells. [ via ]

Play feed the model, on AdiosBarbie.com, a body image website.

Check out suicide bomber barbie.

For the truly cat obsessed.

Winners of the political advertising contest.

Please sign

2004-11-11T16:47:00.000+10:30

This petition to Congress is available to sign for those of us that want the election of 2004, especially regarding the use of voting machine manipulation or purposeful malfunction, especially electronic voting machines manufactured and supplied by Diebold, Inc.; Electronic Systems & Software (ES & S); Sequoia Voting Systems, and others investigated for any potential wrongdoing.

Please sign it.

Bored? Check out this very interesting site called sorryeverybody.com [ via ], where you can find a huge gallery of pictures of people who want to apologize to the world about Bush being re-elected:

What is the site about?

Most people who think carefully understand that Americans are not really any more jingoistic or xenophobic than people in other countries, but it never hurts to reinforce, especially considering what happened on November 2nd, 2004. What must it have looked like to the world outside our borders? America proudly re-appointed her reckless, incompetent and corrupt government. How much of America? Fifty-two percent. The rest of us are aghast and dismayed.

Lots of fuss is made about the "global village." The Internet was supposed to make communication between cultures, countries and peoples painless and easy. It was supposed to build bridges. But it doesn't do this automatically; somebody has to reach out. The Internet was supposed to lead to education and understanding. It doesn't. Rarely do people on the internet apologize. I thought it was high time. The world needs to understand that there are people in America who don't like what our government is doing. And from the mail we're receiving, there are people in the international community who appreciate this.
Also, come on, it's kind of amusing.

I'm not sure if I should find this funny, but fuckthesouth.com[ via ] really did make me laugh.

Now even cleaner!

2004-11-11T09:04:00.000+10:30

The busy-ness of that last background was holding me back, and keeping me from doing new things, like my nifty blockqoute quotation mark. I know blogger created their own, but I made one for myself!

Do you think Ashcroft really resigned because of his illness, or because he knew he was about to be fired?

Seems Bush was quick to replace him, but that may be how things run around here. It is possible he wasn't really wanted around much anymore since it seems he served his purpose.

Ashcroft, 62, has been one of the most controversial and influential figures of Bush's first term. Ashcroft provided reliable fodder for Democrats on the campaign trail and served as a visible representative of the evangelical Christians who played a crucial role in reelecting the president.[ via ]

But enough about that. It is hard to say I care really, because I don't. The country is going to hell in a handbasket anyway. What the fuck can we really do about it? We had our chance, and we blew it.

Sex saves rainforest?

A couple who sparked outrage by having sex on stage in front of thousands of stunned rock concert goers in Norway shocked again on Tuesday when the man pulled down his trousers in court.

The two, who are members of an environmental group, said their sex stunt was meant to draw attention to a campaign to save the rain forest. Their attorney argued that they were protected under freedom of expression law.

On a liquid diet? Want to drink your Turkey day meal? Now thanks to a Seattle soda company you can! What is in the water over there in Seattle??

Last year, the response to our Turkey and Gravy Soda was overwhelming, but we really didn't have side dishes to go with it," Peter van Stolk, chief executive of specialty soda maker Jones Soda Co., said on Monday.

Yuck. Yick. Glah.

For the conspiracy theorist in you

2004-11-08T14:45:00.000+10:30

A few more things to read when deciding if BUSH&Co. really won this election:

Evidence Mounts That The Vote May Have Been Hacked [via]

Electronic Voting: The Stolen Election of 2004 [via]

Could the Associated Press rig the election?

Guest entry -- written by ralph brother

2004-11-08T10:24:00.000+10:30

I must take the time to write when compelled to do so. I value my opinion, I also value the opinion of others, in the aspect that their opinion belongs to them and is generated from within their soul. I must also say that I love politics. Some say that they won't talk politics because it is the source of hostile arguments. I say disagreement is healthy. I've learned a heck of a lot by disagreeing with people. Some have changed my opinion from time to time by simply disagreeing with me then explaining their reason. This is where respect comes in to play.

Talking politics can be like talking religion. We are all aware that you must have great respect for someone's faith if you are to discuss it with them. You don't have to blindly agree but you must have a healthy respect for their belief because it is generated from within their soul.

Over the past few years I've seen a trend in mainly National level politics that really troubles me, especially in the 04 Presidential election. Candidates bring issues to the campaign forefront that are really just cultural issues that can be decided on an individual basis (meaning this is either right for me so I will take part in it or this is wrong for my conscience and therefore I won't do it). Then, the concept of religion is somehow attached to the cultural issue and many people feel obligated,one way or the other, to vote for or against certain candidates because of their opinions on these few issues. I am not at all saying this is right or wrong but what I'm saying is that when we begin to legislate laws based on the belief of a few facets of religion I smell trouble.

The question I have is, where does it go from here? Are we really the moral Country that we let on to be when we decide on these few cultural issues that rub most of us the wrong way? Do we as a Nation have a form of godliness and deny what God's power really is? Who ever you are and where ever you live you must take the time to think, what really goes on in my community and how will my opinions on homosexual relationships or stemcell research change the things that are killing my community.

Then take a step further and ask yourself, what goes on in my life when no one is around but myself? When all the Dust has settled, we as a Nation, are about gratification. We want to have a standard of morals for everyone else, but our own private lives are off limits. We tolerate things that are somewhat acceptable. The things that aren't acceptable we label as Immoral. In America 80 percent of the citizens claim to be Christians and I would be willing to bet that 50 percent of them have never read the whole Bible.

Lastly we must all ask ourselves do we really want a government that has laws mandated by certain religious groups or do we want the freedom to make decisions based on our consciences. I for one don't want to see history repeat itself.

Not spoilage - Go see The Forgotten

2004-11-08T10:15:00.000+10:30

I love mystery thrillers and I'd have to put The Forgotten in the top 5 that I have seen. Let's not forget that Julianne Moore is highly rated by me as an actresses after her unforgetable performance in my favorite movie Magnolia.

The first 30 minutes is an incredible lead into a film full of twists and turns.

I would have preferred to not have seen any trailers. The unknown would be harder to figure out if it had not been practically given away beforehand. They give too much away when trying to entice the viewer to go see it.

The movie is clever in orchestrating shock moments expertly; they're woven in to come at you quite unexpectantly. Before you realise it, you are jumping out of your seat, or as in my case almost breaking your partner's hand as you squeeze it too tightly.

As with all good mysteries all is not completely revealed and you are left at the end to piece together what you think may have happened. I do not like to spoil movies so I won't do it this time either, but it is definately one of the best attention holder's of the year.

In a way it is this year's Matrix because it introduces ideas things that could make you question your own reality and what you know to be true.

If you haven't already seen it, go -- and take a friend to hold your hand.

Creepy Republicans

2004-11-08T09:54:00.000+10:30

My brother showed me something very interesting yesterday. The link should open in a new window.

It is an opinion article he wrote to his local paper about 2 months ago. I've erased his details at the bottom. The paper prints his name and address as it is mandatory for writing opinion pieces to this paticular paper.

On Friday he had an envelope without a return address and a stamp that had not been stamped by the post office (leading one to think it didn't go through the mail) and simply his name and address written acrossed it.

I think it is a little psycho to save a clipped article until after the election and then hand deliver it to the guy's house.

Creepy.

Take America Back

2004-11-07T10:41:00.000+10:30

Why did I not know about how serious this all really was?

I have already said, mainly from gut instinct that this election was probably rigged by the Republicans, but I just spent the better of 3 hours in shock and horror reading noteworthy news articles and diaries pointing to undeniable facts that there is something fishy going on, and it is bigger than I ever dreamed.

I had to sleep on it and after I woke up I still had to take a walk to think more about it before writing simply because my brain was too tired, and my mind couldn't then and still cannot deal with the implications of all of this being true.

It all started when mr ralph pointed me to an article coming out of Columbus Ohio which states that a computer error with a voting machine cartridge gave President Bush 3,893 votes extra in a Gahanna precinct.

Another news article was quick to point out:

Deducting the erroneous Bush votes from his total could not change the election's outcome, and there were no signs of other errors in Ohio's electronic machines, said Carlo LoParo, spokesman for Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell.

Of course we should take everything Blackwell says as the gospel right? Somehow I find it hard to believe that the machine in error was the only one that used that kind of cartridge yet,

Other electronic machines used in Ohio do not use the type of computer cartridge involved in the error, state officials say.

There ya go. All nice and tidy isn't it? A few extra votes were recorded. We're meant to simply forget about it. But I couldn't, and I can't. So I kept reading and so should you.

I then found a very indepth piece from Hunter who has a diary over at daily kos.

I couldn't do a better job at presenting all the information, so I give him all the credit for bringing it to light. I will just quote him to further prove my point. Please read his entire entry and see if you aren't a believer too.

According to Hunter, there are two states in which "fraud" has been raised, Ohio and Florida.

The Ohio numbers are regarded by many with great suspicion because the GOP launched, in the weeks before the election, an organized effort to intimidate minority voters, fund push-polls and other robocalls, and generally depress turnout in Democratic precincts. Anecdotal evidence is that it did not work -- turnout was high, and there were very few reports on election day of Republican intimidation at the polls. [and]

The possibility of fraud has been raised primarily because the results from Ohio are not what people were expecting to see. Republican turnout was very large, and Democrats seemed to vote for Bush in surprising numbers. That is indeed curious, and needs to be analyzed.

And it doesn't just stop there, because these unusual numbers doesn't necessarily mean any intentional fraud took place...BUT

it is also possible to explain the discrepancies from fraud or error. Intentional fraud, or unintentional error, would in this case consist of misreporting of the numbers from each precinct. Note that few of these Ohio precincts use anything other than the punch-card systems; fraud would be present in the central machines that sum the votes, not from in-precinct shenanigans. Nationwide, these machines are manufactured by Diebold and other vendors; longtime readers will remember Diebold as the heavily-Republican-leaning company (Diebold executives are heavy Bush contributers) whose chief officer announced in a Republican fund-raising letter that the company was "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year."

If that doesn't get your blood going, nothing will.

So you may be asking yourself now, who is going to do something about this?? Well, for one we know that all the votes in Ohio are being counted, even as I write this. Ohio has to count all provisional ballots whether Kerry asks them to or not, they are legally required to.

You may be saying about now, "But Kerry already conceded." Kerry's concession is not legally binding. The "concession" is a political concept and therefore if during the counting of provisional ballots -- or any recount that may be needed of all the votes were to show Kerry the actual victor, he will definately step up and be our President.

I was surprised to see a very indepth article about voting fraud resulting from electronic machines was in print from March 2004. It goes into great detail about how e-voting threatens democracy.

Bev Harris is a voting activist who through her site, Black Box Voting .org is conducting the largest Freedom of Information action in history.

At 8:30 p.m. Election Night, Black Box Voting blanketed the U.S. with the first in a series of public records requests, to obtain internal computer logs and other documents from 3,000 individual counties and townships. Networks called the election before anyone bothered to perform even the most rudimentary audit.

Black Box Voting is a nonpartisan, nonprofit consumer protection group for elections and you can donate to their effort as the FOIA's are not free. You can also join their campaign and volunteer for their organization called Help America Audit through the site.

Bev has spent a lot of time compiling evidence of voter fraud. Her work is detailed in the wired magazine article I mentioned above. Just one of the many things I found hard to digest is

In 2002, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act, or HAVA, which allocated $3.9 billion in matching federal funds to help states upgrade to new e-voting systems. Touted as the answer to the hanging chads in Florida that marred the 2000 presidential election, e-voting machines have been lauded by their makers as faster, more accurate and easier to use than punch-card and lever machines. But election glitches involving the systems paint a different picture, depicting machines that sometimes fail to boot up, fail to record votes or even record them for the wrong candidates. Computer scientists say the machines are also easy to hack.

In addition to glitches, there are concerns about the people behind the machines. A few voting company employees have been implicated in bribery or kickback schemes involving election officials. And there are concerns about the partisan loyalties of voting executives -- Diebold's chief executive, for example, is a top fund-raiser for President Bush.

Now if you've read all the articles and followed all my links you are now in the same position I am in. I keep asking myself two things: What exactly is going on here, and do I really want to know?

You may also find the following from metafilter interesting as well since it also points out the mysterious links between Diebold and ES&S that Bev Harris discovered as well as Howard Ahmanson (the original funder of ES&S) a Christian Recostructionist who has talked about imposing Biblical law on the US. It is indeed another hefty chunk to swallow, and another reason why I couldn't ignore what I was reading.

How is all of this not making bigger news than it has? I think the people who want to keep it all quiet are more important and bigger than those of us that are wanting it to go public.

Of course I hate George W Bush. I am probably the last person you would want to be impartial when it comes to this sort of thing, but what I hate even more than W is the idea that our freedom could be slipping out from under our noses and we are not paying attention. We are just letting it go. Something must be done.

Woman spots rapist on reality tv show

2004-11-06T14:10:00.000+10:30

Unbelievable. Rape Victim Spots Alleged Attacker On TV Show [via]

Makes you wonder what the person set up with the guy has to be thinking.

Majority Win Could Make Second Term More Partisan

2004-11-05T10:01:00.000+10:30

Could I just say duh ? Now that is on the record,

"People say, 'The country's divided; shouldn't he be less ambitious?' " said Grover Norquist, president of the conservative Americans for Tax Reform. "No. This is a Republican-majority country. He will govern as aggressively as in the first term."

Double Duh!!

But others are skeptical that after a bitter campaign, Bush will succeed in attracting significant support from Democrats. "Is it realistic to think that, after this nasty election, he's going to get everyone in the room and say let's hold hands and reform Social Security?" a Republican lobbyist asked. "I don't see it."

And neither do I. Look out seniors, you could be saying bye-bye to your social security.

In foreign policy, Bush's first term was dominated by the war against terrorism and the decision to invade Iraq. His second-term agenda, one official said, could be described as "pretty much the same - only more so."

Anyone want to play a game of who will we invade next? Maybe the Democrats really did need this lose in order to let America learn her lessons the bitter hard way.

Bush told at least one of them, Sen.-elect James DeMint (R-S.C.), that he was impatient to turn his agenda into policies and laws.
"Now is the time to get it done," Bush said, according to his spokesman.

What happens when you give a man like Bush unlimited power at his disposal? We shall see won't we? In the end, I don't think it will be a pretty picture.

"What the president is doing in fiscal policy is weakening the country, making us more vulnerable. It's so strange," said Sen. Kent Conrad (news, bio, voting record) of North Dakota, top Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee. "There's no free lunch, and at the end of the day our country will have a tremendous price to pay for this profligacy." Taken from this article.

Again you have to ask, how did this guy get re-elected? And will there be lots of finger pointing when it is all over with. You better believe it. I see lots of t-shirts saying, "Don't blame me I voted for Kerry." Start the screen printing people. We are stuck now. It makes me sick to my stomach.

Rednecks for Bush

2004-11-04T11:25:00.000+10:30

My brother told me he wants to get involved in politics but that it will be difficult because he lives in a predominately Republican place. A place full of "Nascar watchin squrill huntin cheap beer drinkin wife beatin rednecks."

Just had to share that with you. We all need to laugh sometimes.

Also, I didn't get to watch Kerry's speech but I heard he choked up. I probably would have cried if I had seen it.

In 4 years time the country may be ready to admitt that they made a huge mistake in putting W back in office, and hopefully the American people will see the light, literally. I just don't know if we are ready to put a woman in office. It would be incredible if we did it though.

Today is a black day

2004-11-04T10:09:00.000+10:30

We watched CNN and briefly checked out what the Republican spinners were reporting on FOX all day yesterday. Around 4pm our time when FOX called Ohio and therefore the election to Bush I had fallen asleep and mr ralph woke me with these words, "He's lost it."

I couldn't digest it. It had to be FOX miscalling again. Besides, they aren't a real news station. We looked on to what CNN would do. For the following 3 to 4 hours that we watched CNN continued to call Ohio 'too close to call.' But somehow deep down I knew the Republicans had pulled it off again.

Whatever it was nobody knows it but those that helped them. I know that Kerry did the right thing in conceding. What point would it be to have a full repeat like 2000? I have lost faith in the voting system of America, and I don't think I am alone.

I have lost faith that every vote counts. I don't believe this election nor the last election was won fairly. I just cannot swallow that the American people would have voted in such big turnouts for that fuc$face. I cannot be a minority, I know that I am not.

Good, strong Democrats all over are trying to band together and say we will be able to take back the country in 2008, but will we really? Will we ever be able to win an election in a place where democracy is just a word in textbooks?? What about those people who stood in lines for 10 hours?? And for what? The day should be a public holiday and all votes should be cast with pen and paper like the Australians do it.

I mean give me a break, in the place where we've sent people to the moon we can't make an electronic voting machine that works? The whole idea of electronic voting machines was dumb from the beginning. Everyone knows that they can be hacked and rigged and God knows what.

As you can tell I'm not exactly in a good frame of mind. I stand by what I believe. Kerry should be President today yet we still have a chimp in the Whitehouse.

Out of my way jerkass!

2004-11-02T11:38:00.000+10:30

I went to the movies last Wednesday night with mr ralph and his mum because they had free tickets to the Australian screening of last year's American release of Bad Santa. For several reasons I don't recall, the film couldn't be released here until now.

Because mr ralph was at work right up until the time of the film I had to ride the bus into the city.

I spent the start of the ride wrapped up in personal thought but was jolted from it as the bus came to a stop and I could hear several teen-aged boys laughing and yelling at the bus driver from the curb. I noticed we were not on the correct route and that the bus driver was looking at the map that is inside the bus schedule. This was not comforting. Apparantly he took a wrong turn. I had to stop zoning out and actually pay attention until we were again on the right path into the city. This was a first-time experience for me. This must have been this guy's very first route to drive. I hope the rest of his night went ok.

On my way to the theater I stopped and bought mr ralph a diet coke because I knew he wouldn't have time to get one himself and I'm so very thoughtful like that.

When I was crossing the busy intersection a guy almost ran into me. Just as he stopped and moved to the left, he noticed my brace and said, "What the!!?!?" then stumbled as he said, "sorry," then as he walked away he turned and yelled,
"CRIPPLE!" My response was pretty child-like, but effective. I never stoped walking forward and I never looked at the guy's face because the brace keeps my neck straight and I couldn't be bothered to stop so I just raised my arm giving him a rude gesture with my middle finger. As I walked away I heard his friend laughing as I did it.

I couldn't believe this happened. Did that guy actually almost run into me and then yell at me calling me a cripple? I know, you think I am making this up, but I'm not.

What if I really was cripple? It is just unbelievable that anyone would yell at someone calling them a cripple like it was some kind of clever insult. Then again I shouldn't be surprised because the Australian people seem to have a problem with people wearing braces. They openly stare, make gasping faces, and sometimes even point and laugh. Gah! The gall I have going about my life as normal when clearly I am some kind of freak.

People can be such morons.

Bush Asked to Stop Using 'Still the One'

2004-11-02T11:37:00.000+10:30

In this story, Bush never was the one. The songwriter John Hall who co-wrote the song says that the Republican party never got permission to use the song.

"Out of deference to Mr. Hall's views, the song will no longer be played," Bush campaign spokeswoman Nicolle Devenish said. She said the song had been included in a catalog of music that the campaign's licensing company used to provide music for events.

Hours after she spoke, however, the song popped up again on the sound system in Columbus, Ohio, as Bush rally organizers tried to warm up a crowd of thousands. A campaign spokesman said the song was piped inadvertently into the arena as part of a video montage.

Stick to using country songs Dubya.

Misleading phone calls?

2004-11-02T10:06:00.000+10:30

How stupid do they think voters are? I personally hope they're smart enough to see through this shit.

Call me partisan and burn an "I love Kerry" slogan on my chest, but I think these calls could have all easily been made by Republicans.

I of course have no proof, but making calls that appear to be in favour of both sides (a classic "they're doing it too!!"), no matter how ridiculous the pro-Kerry ones are (as if Schwarzkoph would ever endorse Kerry, a child could see through that one) is a very clever ruse -- just enough to make people believe that the calls are not more of the same Republican shenanigans we've all grown used to.

Of course these could just be college kids making prank calls on grand scale. My personal favorite is the one where they claim to be a George Bush supporter and then let out a string of swear words. Very funny.

A pandemic flu strain likely?

2004-11-02T09:59:00.000+10:30

Scientists are saying that we could be seeing a new strain of flu that could spark a pandemic, an epidemic that could spread across the world.

Since December, a strain of bird flu has spread through poultry flocks from Japan to Thailand, despite efforts to contain it by mass killing of chickens. The virus also has infected and killed humans, though it doesn't appear to spread easily to people.

Experts claim this could easily change.

Only 43% of people at highest risk of serious illness from flu get vaccinated most years, she said. "Flu is a serious disease, and we have not taken it seriously."

To read the full story Yahoo! News - Vaccine shortage points to global risk, experts say

Bush team happy we are afraid

2004-11-01T13:07:00.000+10:30

Does America really want to re-elect a President whose senior strategist thinks that the tape of Osama Bin Laden was a "little gift" and that it is good for Bush that America feel afraid?

The quotes in the following article, show how the GOP unabashedley feel encouraged after seeing the man responsible for killing thousands of Americans alive and well. He is undoubtably planning a future attack as he deems the last unsuccessful in getting his message across.

"We want people to think 'terrorism' for the last four days," said a Bush-Cheney campaign official. "And anything that raises the issue in people's minds is good for us."

A senior GOP strategist added, "anything that makes people nervous about their personal safety helps Bush."

I don't think they realise how bad it looks that they are actually coming out and saying explicitly that this tape is good for them.

Sucking It In

2004-11-01T10:36:00.000+10:30

I designed a new sister blog (if you will) to this one called Sucking It In. I decided to have it along side this one because I don't think everyone is all that interested in every little complaint I have about food, diet and exercise. I bore myself even.

Yes, I am a bit overly obsessed with this. I know it is not very healthy to let it rule my mind for as much of the day as it does, but I am stuck at home and not allowed to be as active as I'd like -- and I am so close, so freaking close to my goal.

Anyway, if you want to know the deepest recesses of a semi-obsessed dieter's mind, then you can read it.

I have a cool design for it anyway, and the picture changes when you reload.

Time Wasters

2004-10-26T14:32:00.000+09:30

Watch Ann Coulter Pelted with Pies

Be inspired to diet by this 8500 calorie sandwich.

Feeling hungover today?

Need to convince your mom not to vote for George again this election?

Eh wha???

2004-10-26T13:29:00.000+09:30

As I have little else to do I was surfing and found a very interesting story. What would you do if you went on a 2 1/2 week vacation and came home to find a total stranger living in your home? This Georgia woman actually ripped up the carpet, replaced the pictures on the walls, moved in her own washer and dryer, and changed the utilities to her name.

Maybe she was just sick of being homeless? Maybe she thought she finally hit the jackpot and this person wouldn't come back? Or maybe she thought the cops would believe her when she told them she was renting the place.

Weirdness.

Chest pain returns

2004-10-26T07:56:00.000+09:30

Although the pain wasn't that bad last night, on Sunday in the wee hours of morning I was awakened by what could only be described as an incredibly painful tight squeezing in my chest. This pain is familiar to me since I had it a lot before we finally found out what was wrong with my neck.

During the unknown phase I often worried I had something wrong with my heart. When I was rushed to the emergency room it was the first thing they ruled out. Much later I was told by the specialist that the chest pain is caused by muscles that are affected when the spine becomes compromised.

I quite possibly over-did it on the weekend as I reorganized my closet and started cleaning for our inspection that is tomorrow. I just hope that there is no real lasting damage to the new disc that was put in my neck. I didn't experience any pain while I was doing the work, which made me think it was ok. But, now I have to tell you I'm very scared.

I wanted to call the surgeon but I'm afraid of him too. I will just wait it out and if it gets really bad I will go back to the hospital.

I hope this is nothing because I hate staying home and I only want to be fully recovered so I can go back to a normal life. Last night I had a slight tightness and an equally small pain in my chest, but nothing woke me up in the middle of the night thankfully. It is hard to take it easy. All I want to do is find things to occupy me while I am stuck here.

We have a professional gardener coming today to do our front garden because I didn't think it fair to make mr. ralph do all the work on his own. He hates working in the garden more than anything else, and it shows. I think the plants will take over if we don't do something to stop it now. I have no idea how much this guy is going to charge, but if he can get it respectable looking now maybe we can keep up with it without feeling so overwhelmed when we look at it.

mr. ralph is also shampooing the carpet. Nothing short of a miracle could make this carpet look good because it was probably 20 years old when we moved in, but after the first once-over, it actually looks decent. When he wakes up today he is going to go over it again. Should be tip-top for the inspection.

The_Cat has to go to the mum-in-law's tomorrow night and stay until after the inspection on Wednesday. I don't think he is going to like it much since he gets locked into her laundry room. It may have been ok when he was a little tike, but now he is so big (almost 6 kilos) and I think he is going to go batty in there without any place to run around. Oh well, it is only for one night.

Design Flaws

2004-10-26T07:53:00.000+09:30

I had so much trouble when creating this new design. After spending all afternoon yesterday, and on into the night trying to figure out how I buggered the code, I couldn't give up on it. I finally fixed it this morning and now that it is done I dare say I don't plan on changing it again in the near future. But since the time did seem to go by faster since I had something to do, who knows.

The cat is my very own Buckley if you were wondering. He is soooooo cute.

Worthiness

2004-10-21T09:35:00.000+09:30

I'll be worthy right . . . only when you realize the gem I am. -Alanis Morissette

I have too much time on my hands.

I hate my situation and I feel as though I am watching every minute that passes. How I will manage to endure this for another 3 weeks is beyond me.

I have come to realize that although I like the occasional night in alone with a book and the chance to go to sleep early, I really do not like sitting at home all day with no one around and nothing to do to keep my mind busy.

Aloneness is not my forte.

I'm not sure I really want to journey into the recesses of my mind, which is probably why I have yet to open myself up in this new blog. It is easier to spend time searching the web for political related stories to get passionate about than it is to face my own demons.

Yesterday I ventured out for a walk by myself after I spoke to a moo buddy who sarcastically remarked that he wouldn't leave his house either if he had to wear a brace because his fragile ego and his vanity wouldn't let him. A stab in my direction, regardless of the intention.

I found the day very warm and my mouth very parched after only 3 laps around the park so I came back home and searched the web for pictures to use in creating a blog template I want to give my brother.

It was during that walk though that I thought much about regret and my life. I had hoped that in packing up things and storing them far out of reach that they would in fact one day disappear.

An asshole friend of mr ralph's found it necessary to point out to me that he doesn't like me because he doesn't think I am good enough for his friend. He brought up a dirty deed of my past to use as an example of how I have mistreated mr ralph and how he deserves better than me.

I was rather drunk during this conversation, but unlike other drunken conversations this one did not disappear in the morning to be replaced with a mind-numbing headache. It has lingered at the forefront.

I don't think much of the guy in question, in fact I don't know if I've ever met a more despicable person, so it would seem that I could dismiss his judgements and forget it.

I cannot.

Guilt is an ugly, vile thing. Living a life motivated by a sense of inadequacy is not fun.

I relate so much to the quote by Alanis as I feel I've lived my entire life based on judgments of other people. If you think I'm pretty, then I am. If you think I am not worthy, then I am not.

It is an energy sapping, futile existence. I will never live up to other people's expectations, and I cannot let my self-worth be dictated by everyone around me. It is not only bad for me, it gets me into trouble.

I only have control over the present. The past shall never be erased.

I have failed miserably at being the perfect partner. I will probably fail again in the future because I have still not reached perfection, but my devotion to him shall never waiver. This is what I know to be true. The intensity of my love has only grown, and for that I deem myself worthy.

More evidence

2004-10-19T14:42:00.000+09:30

I found another Bush quote saying he is going to privatize social security in his next term that is even more damning than the last!

This is from a very enlightening NYtimes article, Without a Doubt, much needed reading for the concerned voter. (link: registration needed)

''I'm going to come out strong after my swearing in,'' Bush said, ''with fundamental tax reform, tort reform, privatizing of Social Security.'' The victories he expects in November, he said, will give us ''two years, at least, until the next midterm. We have to move quickly, because after that I'll be quacking like a duck.''

Sinclair update

2004-10-19T09:07:00.000+09:30

Thanks to Kos for putting this package together, you can now see an up to date review of the Sinclair saga.

"News" frustrates me

2004-10-19T08:11:00.000+09:30

Having studied journalism myself, I was under the impression that when writing a story you are meant to present not only both sides, but also use supporting evidence when you clearly have it.

Consider this quote taken verbatim from the 3rd presidential debate:

Bush: I believe that younger workers ought to be allowed to take some of their own money and put it in a personal savings account, because I understand that they need to get better rates of return than the rates of return being given in the current Social Security trust.

To me that says that W clearly supports the privitization of Social Security, and then Kerry clearly points out the hole in this logic.

Kerry: You just heard he president say that young people ought to be able to take money out of Social Security and put it in their own accounts.
Now, my fellow Americans, that's an invitation to disaster.
The CBO said very clearly that if you were to adopt the president's plan, there would be a $2 trillion hole in Social Security, because today's workers pay in to the system for today's retirees. And the CBO said -- that's the Congressional Budget Office; it's bipartisan -- they said that there would have to be a cut in benefits of 25 percent to 40 percent.
Now, the president has never explained to America, ever, hasn't done it tonight, where does the transitional money, that $2 trillion, come from?

Now that the two are on the campaign trail, and Kerry is again pointing out what the president already said, journalists are not even quoting the material from the debate! This is what was printed in an article by David Espo for the AP

Along the way, he [Kerry] accused his rival of "shameless scare tactics." In an Associated Press interview aboard Air Force One, Bush said Kerry is "trying to scare our seniors" with false charges of a secret Republican plan to privatize Social Security.

I know my hatred for Bush doesn't make me very impartial, but come on! No mention at all about his remarks from the debate! This causes me major frustration. Although the president doesn't clearly say he will put his "belief" into policy, his track record and the things he has said regarding social security are cause for concern. Someone needs to at least point it out for crying out loud!

Sick Kitty

2004-10-17T10:09:00.000+09:30

I had a miserable day yesterday because my kitty is sick. I couldn't stand seeing him so sad knowing he was hurting. He hadn't eaten anything at all in 2 days, and the amount he did eat the previous 2 days was barely a handful of food.

We took him to the vet twice, once after hours and have spent over $200 dollars on him this weekend because he has some kind of gastro-intestinal infection. In our minds, the money was well spent. You have no idea how much we love this little guy.

This morning he seems to be doing better, and is eating (although not much) and drinking. He likes roast chicken better than plain old chicken breast though. The vet told us to feed him chicken because it is mild on the tummy. I did not know that, but he kept turning his nose up at the plain chicken mr. ralph previously cooked up for him. He did however eat the roast chicken we had left over from dinner last night. I'm thinking it has something to do with flavour. This cat is not stupid, he holds out for the good stuff. He has expensive taste.

I'm just so happy he ate something, and he went out back for a while and rolled around basking in some sun. This is very good news since over the past three days he has preferred to hole up under our bed and sit like a rabbit (to protect his tummy we think), or curl up on the bean bag.

More ways to stop Sinclair Group

2004-10-17T09:51:00.000+09:30

You can help stop The Sinclair Group by signing this online petition, and also email the link to all of your friends.

Also Grassroots Nation has put up a resource for sending an email to all advertisers in the Sinclair database at once.

Bulge returned

2004-10-15T09:35:00.000+09:30

If you thought that with all the media attention the bulge in the President's back has recieved that this would deter them from using it again, you would be wrong.

I might add that I mentioned to mr. ralph before watching the debate that Bush had no reason to discontinue using it since all they really have to do is deny it and call it a wrinkle in his shirt. Someone should have frisked the guy before going on air, instead of letting him get away with this again.

Cheap and tawdry

2004-10-15T08:15:00.000+09:30

Does it really take a lot to anger the Cheneys?

I happen to agree that this very misplaced anger shows that the Chenys could just be ashamed about their lesbian daughter.

"We're all God's children," he said. "And I think if you were to talk to Dick Cheney's daughter, who is a lesbian, she would tell you that she's being who she was. She's being who she was born as. I think if you talk to anybody, it's not a choice."

It is very evident to me that Kerry was using her as an example to say she didn't choose to be gay. Maybe her mom and dad disagree? Bush never answered the question. In fact he said, "I don't know." That makes me think he does think it is a choice and just didn't want to say it.

I can't believe Mrs. Cheny had the nerve to claim that Senator Kerry "is not a good man." And she should know because she is a mom. Was it a "cheap and tawdry political trick?" I think not. How embarrassing for them that they want to spin it that way, calling even more attention to their apparent shame.

In other news, the FCC Chief said that they will not block the anti-Kerry show that the Sinclair Group will be airing.

A note on the Sinclair Group

2004-10-14T18:47:00.000+09:30

I know I'm not really good at the politics blogging thing, but it seems to be the only thing on my mind. And things keep happening that really piss me off.

Living in Australia puts me a little behind in the news and since mr. ralph reads news on the web a little more often than I do, he happened to know about the Sinclair Group shenanigans before I did. The only US news program we get on a regular basis, News Hour with Jim Lahrer on PBS gets shown here a day later.

Yes I know we really should get cable tv, but we had some problems due to the fact that we live in a block of flats where no one else has cable and in order to get it everyone would have to get it also. But basically what I'm getting at is that I only heard the scandalous news last night about how they plan on forcing all their sindicates to show a 90 minute long political commercial and pass it off as news in prime-time, commercial free television just two weeks from a very critical election in which the candidate they support is not doing so well.

Although the major news networks have already turned down the vets proposal to show the documentary, the Sinclair group said the program is a "newsworthy event."

As quoted from this Washington Post article, Vice president Mark Hyman said, "This is a powerful story, the networks are acting like Holocaust deniers and pretending [the POWs] don't exist. It would be irresponsible to ignore them."

In order to try to give equal partisan time they've invited Kerry to sit on a panel where so far he is the only one invited to discuss the allegations made in the film. I've read articles that say Kerry denies ever being told about the film, or being invited, and others that say he has refused the invite. I personally don't think he should attend since the showing is illegal and it would be basically like walking into the lion's den.

How can a group that is so obviously in full support of president Bush claim that they are only reporting this because they feel it is newsworthy? Campaign finance records show that company's executives have donated thousands of dollars to Bush's campaign. In April, the company was in the news for refusing to run a "Nightline" show in which hundreds of names of American troops killed in Iraq were read by ABC anchor Ted Koppel.

Republicans argue that Michael Moore used his documentary Farenheit 9/11 to drum up support for John Kerry. The real difference between Michael Moore's documentary and this one is choice. I saw the Michael Moore documentary but I also paid for it. This thing is being passed off as news, which it is not.

On the Sinclair groups website they offer an email address for anyone who wants to comment on their decision. But if you are really outraged, why not make some phone calls to the local station owned by the Sinclair group. I think it is too easy to delete emails. Here is a link that shows information on how you can boycott.

Hair balls and more political crap

2004-10-13T09:08:00.000+09:30

I decided to give Buckley a bath yesterday, half out of boredom and half out of curiosity to see how it would go.

Isn't he cute?

The bath itself wasn't so bad. He really only fought to get away with minimal effort. I only had to push him down with one hand. He is not exactly afraid of water, when we spray him with it he just looks at us in confusion and then licks it off while going back to doing whatever annoying behaviour he was doing beforehand. The hard part was trying to dry him off.

He didn't want any of that and hid under the bed licking it off himself. This morning in the wee hours I heard him dry heaving. The poor thing had licked way too much hair and had a hair ball. I felt so bad since it was my fault. The only thing I could remember to do was put butter on his paw. My mother would do that to my cats when I was growing up, but I don't remember if it ever actually helped. If I have any readers that might know any home remedies for hair balls, please leave some advice. Thanks.

And finally it is a campaign reduced to taunts, if you don't feel like reading it all, just read my interesting snippets:

But Cheney, campaigning in Iowa, said that under Saddam Hussein the country probably would have served as a source of weapons for terrorists.

Did we send troops to war based on probably?

"The situation we faced was Saddam Hussein and Iraq presented the most likely place where there could be a nexus between the terrorists on the one hand and weapons of mass destruction," Cheney said.

That makes me feel much better! Oh that's right, I forgot, we went to war based on "most likely".

I laughed out loud after readying the following joke from Senator Kerry:

The North Carolina Democrat contended that Bush was out of touch with important issues including health care and the economy, including jobs lost to other nations. "I'll tell you what would be good for the economy, would be to outsource George Bush he said.

I've got a question for the President, "What exactly are you afraid of?"

Bush's rally was invitation-only. About 100 demonstrators gathered outside, many carrying signs protesting the Iraq war. "Fear more years," read one sign. "Bush's war: how many lives per gallon?" said another.

The truth hurts eh?

Pointless television and a kind way to say F*%k you

2004-10-11T23:17:00.000+09:30

I stayed up later than mr. ralph tonight to watch the end of an imported American mini-series called The 4400. I honestly feel like 6 hours were stolen from me since I still don't understand the first thing about it. The end was very odd, almost like the network cut it off before it was finished.

I think this is the first time in ages that he has gone to sleep before me. I am usually the first to pass out on the couch while watching TV. He looks so peaceful when he sleeps. Aww.

The laptop's d key is sticking.

Also, it is already getting warmer here and I sense that this summer is going to be a hot miserable one.

Buckley bugs me all day with his insistent clawing at the door if I don't let him outside. Then when I let him out I have to watch him so he doesn't go into the neighbor's yard and wander too far from home. He has discovered that the fence is not too tall for him to jump over, and the birds that fly too and fro really entice him. I know he would eventually come back, but I don't really want him spending time at the old ladies house. I know she has a cat (although we haven't seen him in a while) and he could end up in a fight. Since he hasn't been around other cats since he left his siblings as a kitten, I just don't want to chance it.

Just in case you aren't aware, I am one of those sick pet owners that talks non-stop about her pet. You will eventually want to kill me. Plus if you were to turn on our digital camera this very moment all you will find is pictures of him. It isn't just me either, we are equally twisted. We love him and he loves us.

I rang my insurance company today because I wanted to be assured that they have forwarded all documents necessary to ensure my employer will pay me on schedule. I wanted to be on top of it even though my case manager promised me she would be timely.

According to the guy who answered her line, she is on leave and nothing has been done so far. They have received the medical certificates from my surgeon, but that is it. I am not very pleased with this chick, and if I have to go without pay due to her incompetence I will complain to her boss.

I probably should go to sleep now, but what reason do I really have to get to bed? I haven't even been off work for more than two weeks, including the days in hospital, and I am sick of it. I hate being at home all day. I've never been a home-body. I have redesigned this site and thought I would feel inspired to write, but I haven't really felt like writing much either. The year off may have made me rusty.

This seems to be the week of famous people dying. I was sad to hear of Christopher Reeve, and also Rodney Dangerfield earlier this week. It is especially sad about Superman, a real hero of my age group.

Now I am totally changing gears because the weirdest thing just happened to me. As I have been at home and decided to log on to MSN Messenger (which I probably haven't used in well over a year), I saw an ex love-interest of mine online and thought I would say hi. I got a very weird response via email and feel a bit taken back by it.

Hi Ms. Ralph,
I'm sorry, but I don't want to catch up. Things have changed and I don't feel like it's really appropriate to chat with you any more. I'd rather keep what we had in the past. Hope you're happy in whatever you are doing.
Take care,
-ex love interest

Upon reading it a second time I begin to wonder what he meant by "things have changed." At first I assumed he was jumping to conclusions thinking I still harbor an interest in him, which would be pretty damn presumptuous since we haven't spoken in almost 2 years and I am happily married. But I am not sure if that is what he means. In any case it is quite a stake in the heart to be told by someone you once cared for that they have no interest in catching up with you.

Maybe he has issues that he has not resolved. I don't really know. I told him that of course he can choose who he speaks to and who he doesn't. I think I may have preferred him to just simply ignore me and block me from seeing him online than tell me so very bluntly to piss off.

Jesus the English have some nerve. They even say F*%k You in the most polite way possible. Sting any less? Ah well, it is really no big deal. I simply deleted him and that is that.

This guy has got balls of steel though. Seriously.

Clever carvings

2004-10-11T11:10:00.000+09:30

Yet again Bush feels the need to twist the truth in order to discredit John Kerry. He is a sad desperate man and I hope the American people will not be fooled at this latest attempt to undermine Kerry.

I worry a lot about the problems that the Bush campaign are planning to unleash on Election Day. A back up system is being put in place that could cause confusion.

"Rules for who casts provisional ballots and how they are counted probably will vary even within states, especially if there are long lines, confusion and hot tempers at the polls, election experts said.
Some of the states where the race is tightest, such as Florida and Ohio, also have the strictest rules for provisional ballots. "

Of course there will be hot tempers and long lines!

My mother told me that in 2000, New Orleans which is an area full of predominate Democratic voters had their polling locations changed and everyone showed up to vote in the wrong place. Of course they claim notification was sent, but how could thousands of people be lying when they say they were never notified of the change?

One just has to wonder what tactics Bush will employ in this election to ensure his victory. I put nothing past him.

As a lover of all things related to Halloween I think this picture of Bush and Kerry carved on pumpkins is rather charming. Pumpkin carver Hugh McMahon of New York City carved the lanterns.

Who is Kerry Edwards?

2004-10-09T16:35:00.000+09:30

I have to say that I am increasingly appalled by the lack of political knowlege (international or otherwise) that people around me have. I wore a Kerry/Edwards pen on my bluejean jacket and was asked by two different women, one who is 20 and the other who is 28, "Who is Kerry Edwards?"

I couldn't believe it. I of course scoffed at them both, although it happened on two separate occasions. I informed them that John Kerry, and John Edwards were the Democratic Party's canidates for President and Vice President of the U.S.

What did they have to say for themselves? They don't follow politics, especially in America. Turn on the television, the radio, or read a newspaper people!

What they do not realise is that the president of the United States, more than ever now has a major impact on the world.

I come from a very non-political background. Although my parents always vote in presidential elections, politics wasn't a topic of major discourse in our family. I have always been a little indifferent about the political outcome of every presidential election I have been alive for--that is, until now.

I know that politics is a sticky subject and more often than not can become ugly when discussed with the wrong crowd. I have been in several pointless arguments with mr ralph's so-called friend who is a full-fledged Bush supporter. We won't go down that path right now, but I do understand why some people my age choose to ignore political debates and decide to ignore altogether the politics of America.

I hope against all hope that the young people in America know who John Kerry and John Edwards are. I hope they will no longer sit back and let the old ruin the country, and that they will vote in this election. I admittedly have up until this point in my life been against voting. I have issues with the electoral college and the whole election process in America and have come to the conclusion that my single vote really doesn't do much, if anything at all in deciding the outcome of the election. The 2000 election couldn't have proved my point more after Bush stole the election and cheated his way into the whitehouse.

Maybe it is my relationship with mr ralph that has helped bring about this political change in me, although we disagree completely about several issues, mainly the war in Iraq. But what I have begun to do is open my eyes to the world and have begun to see how bad things are in America and how bad things could get globally if he is not taken out of office. I don't know very much about Johh Kerry. I would be the first to admit that he is not so much the right canidate as Bush is the wrong one. We cannot allow Bush four more years to ruin healthcare, destroy our environment by appointing lobbyists, and sit back and reap all the benefits of his huge tax cuts for the wealthy.

During our trip to America recently I spent a lot of time in museums as you can imagine since mr ralph is getting a PhD in history. At the D Day museum in New Orleans you can see posters from WWII when Americans were asked to conserve spending so the government had enough money to fund the war. What is Bush doing? Conserving or spending us deeper and deeper into debt that we may never see the end of? While the poor are getting poorer the fat are getting fatter. The super rich love Bush and that is why he has all the funds he needs to continually smear Kerry, or anyone for that matter that jeopardizes his hold over the country.

One of the things I despise most about Bush is how he tries so hard to be every man's man yet he has always been a man of leisure. How can he afford to live on permanent holiday and go fishing and hunting all the time? Because he is a rich, greedy man who has no qualms about persuing his main interest, himself. At one time I was at an odds about his intellegence. I still am not convinced he is running the show.
I truly believe that it will be a very dark day if he is re-elected.

I have to say I have been pleased with the debates so far. In this second one Bush looked even more like a raving lunatic than in the first. I thought it very disrespectful the way he stood up and pounced on the mic before Senator Kerry even finished answering a question, and I thought it a HUGE error to not answer the question where he was asked to give 3 mistakes he has made in office. He leaped to his defence and started babbling about how he did not make a mistake in invaiding Iraq. If he is not willing to admit mistakes, he is not capable of fixing them.

Back from the dead

2004-10-06T08:34:00.000+09:30

Hello everyone.

I am back, from what literally feels like the dead.

It has been quite a while since the death of my old web site, and if you are hailing this as one of my long time readers, please do not mention the website by name in any comments visible to the public. I'd rather not have someone type it into a websearch and find me here. I don't want to die again, at least not anytime soon.

I didn't feel like writing for a longtime. I don't even remember how many months it has been since the eulogy was published and the archives deleted. Even though I shed real tears that day (again with the dramatics) I actually heaved a huge sigh of relief as well. There is only so much bleeding, gut wrenching, brutal honesty one can stand. I think I had my fill.

As we all know, and some actually said -- I cannot stay away. Inside me lives a need to write, a need that has resurfaced.

I want to catch everyone up to speed, but then I keep remembering that I have probably lost the majority of my readers because only a select few were a part of the notification list. I will link to it again for those of you that want to be told when I write. For the moment it may be everyday since the business that was once my life has now dwindled to halt.

Around 9 months ago I woke up to an all-consuming, unrelenting pain in my right shoulder/arm that went on for around 3 days as I was taken to and from the doctor's office and the emergency room (twice) to try to figure out what the hell was wrong with me and for them to finally give me the strong stuff (oxycodone) because none of that codeine crap was working. In the end we figured out that 1. The pain had begun at work and was a cause of the repetitive incorrect use of the mouse and the alignment desk/height ratio and 2. It was not going away. After work-cover approved my claim and I had an MRI done I was told that the problem was being caused by a disc in my neck that through wear and strain was bulging outside of my spine. I began taking pain pills and anti-inflammatory drugs on a daily basis and was off work for rather short time considering the damage that was done. In retrospect I should have taken off a much longer time. I went back to work and was referred to a spinal surgeon who had a waiting list for the appointment. Work was ok as I was assessed and given the right workstation height and began using my left hand for the mouse. My work actually got better and the speed at which I perform my job increased because I no longer wrote anything down but incorporated notified (I work on the phone constantly in a financial service).

To make this rather long story shorter, the bulge did not heal on its own and go back inside like a good little disc. No it did not. I spent the last 6 months in vain hope that it would. The surgeon I began to see was not pro-surgery in my case at first. Because I was working and otherwise performing my daily functions with a minimum amount of pain he thought we would give it a chance to heal itself because apparently it does happen. I even went on a holiday to America (which was brilliant) and spent the better of 4 weeks jaunting around in various transportation devices which in effect caused me a great deal of new pain.

I returned a little worse for wear and had a new MRI scan done to see if I had indeed improved or worsened. Because I had an appointment the same day as the scan (god forbid I miss too much work and get paid for not being there!) it was necessary for me to wait for the scan to take with me. I was told this would take approximately 1 hour. We were waiting for nearly 3. You can imagine my total dismay as I was told that the scan had to be re-viewed and various other excuses as to why they couldn't produce them into my hot little hands. It was getting very close to my appointment and mr. ralph and I were meant to walk there. We were inpatient to say the least. Finally after being told that the tech actually had spoken to my doctor (which lit up all kinds of red lights in my head) we were given the scan and we were off. We walked very fast and were only a few minutes late in the end but I had to wait another 45 minutes to see my doctor.

You see he was in anguish about what to do, I could see the look of concern on his face before he began to speak. He told me that my symptoms alone did not warrant the need for surgery, but the compression on my spine was very worrying. His words were exactly this, "If you were my daughter or my wife I would tell you to have this surgery." He basically sold me on it with that. I have to tell you that surgery was not what I wanted to hear. The first guy I saw recommended straight off the bat. He was practically waving a knife at my neck and it frightened me. Then he referred me to this new guy. And I liked him. He was nice and calm and told me he didn't think I required surgery. He gave me hope. My hope failed me, my neck failed me, I was distraught.
I left the office with tears welling up in my eyes and was given hospital admission forms to fill out in the event that I choose to have the surgery. I walked in a daze out to the car to meet mr. ralph and told him the bad news. We decided later that night that I would do it. The doctor practically told me I was a walking time-bomb that could be paralyzed any day just from a bump or a jolt. The increased pain brought on by my holiday also gave me some incentive.

So I had the surgery. I have been home for almost 6 days. The surgery was on the 27th and the doctor said it went well. Although I do not regret doing it, I have to say that the pain was more than I expected. I would have been happy had I been more prepared for the pain. I may sound like a baby but it hurt so damn bad. I am still recovering, the first phase of recovery is 6 weeks and I still have lingering nerve pain and a lot of pain in the head/neck/back area. I have to wear a god-awful brace when I walk or leave the house. People stare. There is nothing worse than walking around and seeing people stare at you and forget that you can see them staring, laughing, pointing. I mean come on people! I actually miss work now because I have friends there. Yes, I actually made friends! I know!

I think I have written enough. I have a tendency to go on and on and I need to rest these arms now. I know I will write more soon. I don't have a lot to do.

First entry

2004-10-06T04:47:00.000+09:30

I like Ralph; As if you couldn't tell this is a work in progress.