I don’t know what it is about Dave Barry’s writing style, but I love it. I have read a lot of his books, I try to keep up on his columns and now I am reading his blog. He is rarely serious (which I can appreciate), so maybe that is why I like him so much.
Dave Barry’s blog has a lot of funny and random links, photos etc. that others write in to him to include. He rarely does commentary on each entry, but he does from time to time. He discusses things we can all relate to so his subject matter is never over my head. A lot of his blog posts are about people who have me asking, “how stupid are you?” Lots of weird and funny news about people doing the dumbest things-something I always enjoy reading about. :)
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Therapeutic driving
To escape all the recent stress my husband and I have been going through lately, we decided to visit my family who lives 100 miles away. What I didn’t know was this trip would temporarily alter my stress level.
My stress level has not only been through the roof, but it has been higher than the part on a mountain where the trees don’t grow anymore. Wait wait, I think that’s too low. I think my stress has been right about where O’Ryan’s belt constellation is located. That sounds about right.
Moving on….
My husband and I decided I would drive to our destination and he would drive us home. As soon as we were about 10 miles outside of Kearney, I rolled down all the windows in the car (granted we are on the highway and it was a chilly 40 degrees and my husband had a terrible cold so he was none too happy). As far as I could see there were corn fields and cows and your occasional horse chopping on frozen grass. Talk about stress relief! I never knew these familiar sights of my past would grant me so much relief.
As we headed closer to our destination my stress level was about as high as my knee. It was like my stress was just floating out of the car windows and filling up the beautiful sandhill valleys of Nebraska.
We enjoyed our day trip immensely, never once mentioning the words ‘lay off’ or ‘Baldwin Filters.’ I had to laugh because as we were getting closer and closer to Kearney, my stress level started getting higher again. But this time, it only rose as high as the roof over my head.
I’m sure in the next couple of days my stress will be back to where it was originally, in O’Ryan’s belt constellation. However, had we not taken that day trip I’m pretty sure I would have had to be put in a mental institution.
So the next time YOUR stress accumulates so much you think you are going to explode, go somewhere. Get out of town; get away from the situation that is stressing you. I assure you, it will work and you will be good as new (or at least slightly new with a few dents).
My stress level has not only been through the roof, but it has been higher than the part on a mountain where the trees don’t grow anymore. Wait wait, I think that’s too low. I think my stress has been right about where O’Ryan’s belt constellation is located. That sounds about right.
Moving on….
My husband and I decided I would drive to our destination and he would drive us home. As soon as we were about 10 miles outside of Kearney, I rolled down all the windows in the car (granted we are on the highway and it was a chilly 40 degrees and my husband had a terrible cold so he was none too happy). As far as I could see there were corn fields and cows and your occasional horse chopping on frozen grass. Talk about stress relief! I never knew these familiar sights of my past would grant me so much relief.
As we headed closer to our destination my stress level was about as high as my knee. It was like my stress was just floating out of the car windows and filling up the beautiful sandhill valleys of Nebraska.
We enjoyed our day trip immensely, never once mentioning the words ‘lay off’ or ‘Baldwin Filters.’ I had to laugh because as we were getting closer and closer to Kearney, my stress level started getting higher again. But this time, it only rose as high as the roof over my head.
I’m sure in the next couple of days my stress will be back to where it was originally, in O’Ryan’s belt constellation. However, had we not taken that day trip I’m pretty sure I would have had to be put in a mental institution.
So the next time YOUR stress accumulates so much you think you are going to explode, go somewhere. Get out of town; get away from the situation that is stressing you. I assure you, it will work and you will be good as new (or at least slightly new with a few dents).
Monday, February 23, 2009
I don't want to brace myself!
The first sentence of a recent article on CNBC says, ‘brace yourself: the recession is projected to worsen this year.’
Awesome, I can’t wait.
Yep, I’ve got a bad attitude about the economy. I didn’t know it could get any worse than this.
The article said the recent lay offs across the country are only ‘feeding the vicious downward cycle of the economy.’ The lay offs may be helping a company to succeed in this weak economy, but in the end, the lay offs aren’t going to help the country. The lay offs, therefore, are only making the country weaker and more vulnerable.
Some of you may be saying, ‘well duh, I knew that.’ But really, think about it. Is it better for a company to cut a couple hours here and there or to have a handful of employees laid off? In the long run, it’s better for an employee to work only 32 hours a week than it is for them to work 0 hours a week.
The lay offs may be a short term fix for a company, but a long term problem for the country. Obviously, the unemployment rate will only get worse if companies continue to do what they have been doing.
I don’t want to brace myself for the hard times like the article said. I’m ready for better times, as is everyone else I’m sure.
Awesome, I can’t wait.
Yep, I’ve got a bad attitude about the economy. I didn’t know it could get any worse than this.
The article said the recent lay offs across the country are only ‘feeding the vicious downward cycle of the economy.’ The lay offs may be helping a company to succeed in this weak economy, but in the end, the lay offs aren’t going to help the country. The lay offs, therefore, are only making the country weaker and more vulnerable.
Some of you may be saying, ‘well duh, I knew that.’ But really, think about it. Is it better for a company to cut a couple hours here and there or to have a handful of employees laid off? In the long run, it’s better for an employee to work only 32 hours a week than it is for them to work 0 hours a week.
The lay offs may be a short term fix for a company, but a long term problem for the country. Obviously, the unemployment rate will only get worse if companies continue to do what they have been doing.
I don’t want to brace myself for the hard times like the article said. I’m ready for better times, as is everyone else I’m sure.
Issues
Maybe it’s my attitude the last couple of days, but I had no problem finding problems in the UNK and Kearney communities. Here are a few issues I would be interested in writing about for our third editorial:
1. Student fees at UNK are something that has interested me since I enrolled three years ago. I like to know what I am getting when I pay for something. It came to no surprise to me when I would go over my tuition bills with a fine tooth comb to see exactly what I was paying for and why. I came across numerous fees that I found a little outrageous and ridiculous. For example, I am taking 12 credit hours this semester and I paid $468.25 in fees alone. I’m sorry; I don’t have almost $500 a semester to give to the weight room or to campus events. When I took 19 credit hours one semester my fees were through the roof! I couldn’t believe my weight room fee was almost $40 that semester because I was taking so many credit hours. Again, I’m sorry; if I’m taking 19 credit hours do you honestly think I spent time in the weight room? No. A complete list of fees can be found here. Something needs to be done to combat these high fees. I really don’t think the fees should increase with the amount of credit hours you take. They should be a set amount.
2. If you’ve picked up a Kearney Hub in the last, oh month, you’ve heard about the battle with the FirsTier Event Center. The city of Kearney is willing to offer $2-$3 million for the arena with a 1 percent restaurant tax increase. Many are fighting this, but many are supporting the city in this possible purchase. The lead sentence of a story printed in the Kearney Hub on Feb. 20 reads, ‘Kearney’s spending priorities should not be leisure and recreation.’ I totally disagree with this statement in this economy. Yes, some of us may be economically disadvantaged. However, we need a place to escape and have fun and let loose. The city of Kearney can’t afford to lose the FirsTier Event Center.
3. Surprise surprise…I would like to write about the layoffs at Baldwin Filters and other companies in Kearney. I think everyone understands the severity of the current economy (or at least I hope they do). Therefore, I think people would rather have their hours or pay cut before their job is cut. Did Baldwin and Eaton really exhume all available resources to avoid lay offs?
1. Student fees at UNK are something that has interested me since I enrolled three years ago. I like to know what I am getting when I pay for something. It came to no surprise to me when I would go over my tuition bills with a fine tooth comb to see exactly what I was paying for and why. I came across numerous fees that I found a little outrageous and ridiculous. For example, I am taking 12 credit hours this semester and I paid $468.25 in fees alone. I’m sorry; I don’t have almost $500 a semester to give to the weight room or to campus events. When I took 19 credit hours one semester my fees were through the roof! I couldn’t believe my weight room fee was almost $40 that semester because I was taking so many credit hours. Again, I’m sorry; if I’m taking 19 credit hours do you honestly think I spent time in the weight room? No. A complete list of fees can be found here. Something needs to be done to combat these high fees. I really don’t think the fees should increase with the amount of credit hours you take. They should be a set amount.
2. If you’ve picked up a Kearney Hub in the last, oh month, you’ve heard about the battle with the FirsTier Event Center. The city of Kearney is willing to offer $2-$3 million for the arena with a 1 percent restaurant tax increase. Many are fighting this, but many are supporting the city in this possible purchase. The lead sentence of a story printed in the Kearney Hub on Feb. 20 reads, ‘Kearney’s spending priorities should not be leisure and recreation.’ I totally disagree with this statement in this economy. Yes, some of us may be economically disadvantaged. However, we need a place to escape and have fun and let loose. The city of Kearney can’t afford to lose the FirsTier Event Center.
3. Surprise surprise…I would like to write about the layoffs at Baldwin Filters and other companies in Kearney. I think everyone understands the severity of the current economy (or at least I hope they do). Therefore, I think people would rather have their hours or pay cut before their job is cut. Did Baldwin and Eaton really exhume all available resources to avoid lay offs?
Friday, February 20, 2009
Could lay offs be avoided?
So I am still fuming about the recent events surrounding Baldwin Filters. After talking with a handful of those employees laid off, there is no hope of those laid off ever returning to Baldwin. I don’t blame them. Why would you go back to work somewhere that just laid you off? You would have to start at the bottom of the totem pole all over again. Not worth it.
I do give Baldwin kudos when it comes to avoiding lay offs though. They have tried the past four months or so to avoid laying off anyone. Some employees of the Kearney Baldwin Filters experienced a lovely pay raise, only to have it be taken away about two weeks later. Many employees also had the opportunity to work overtime on the weekends for extra money. That was also taken away. Instead, employees were put ‘on call’ in case they were needed. Everyone could see that these were steps to avoid actually laying someone off.
I give them kudos, but as a wife of someone who just lost their job, I have the right to complain and fume. And complain and fume I will. I never thought my husband and I would attend an ‘unemployment’ meeting where we would learn how to receive our unemployment checks. I never thought it would be us.
It upset me to the core to talk with other employees who were also laid off. One was a single mother of two; another was a college student who was working at Baldwin to support himself; another was an older woman who had worked for Baldwin for over 30 years; another was a husband and a father of three; another had just bought a house and thanks to the lay off, he lost his brand new home. It broke my heart to hear those stories. These were good people and now their lives were upside down. I walked out of the unemployment meeting with tears behind my eyes.
Talking with my husband and others that were laid off we realized something. The lay offs had to rhyme or reason to them. They weren’t by seniority. They weren’t by the people who had gotten written up. We couldn’t find a pattern to those who were laid off. Apparently, my husband’s co-workers, who were on his shift, had confronted the boss after he escorted my husband out. They asked him why he was laying him off and not someone else. The boss just walked away.
Now, bosses don’t have hearts of steel so I know it pained them to walk their employees out the door yesterday. My husband’s co-workers confronted the boss by saying, ‘we would have gladly all worked 32 hours a week so he could have stayed.’
Wow. If only all employees, everywhere had this thought. Would there be lay offs? Would there be an unemployment rate? Could these lay offs be avoided by doing what my husband’s co-workers were willing to do for him? Who knows? I’m not going to make that judgment call. What is done is done and we move on. There is nothing we can do now so we move on.
I do give Baldwin kudos when it comes to avoiding lay offs though. They have tried the past four months or so to avoid laying off anyone. Some employees of the Kearney Baldwin Filters experienced a lovely pay raise, only to have it be taken away about two weeks later. Many employees also had the opportunity to work overtime on the weekends for extra money. That was also taken away. Instead, employees were put ‘on call’ in case they were needed. Everyone could see that these were steps to avoid actually laying someone off.
I give them kudos, but as a wife of someone who just lost their job, I have the right to complain and fume. And complain and fume I will. I never thought my husband and I would attend an ‘unemployment’ meeting where we would learn how to receive our unemployment checks. I never thought it would be us.
It upset me to the core to talk with other employees who were also laid off. One was a single mother of two; another was a college student who was working at Baldwin to support himself; another was an older woman who had worked for Baldwin for over 30 years; another was a husband and a father of three; another had just bought a house and thanks to the lay off, he lost his brand new home. It broke my heart to hear those stories. These were good people and now their lives were upside down. I walked out of the unemployment meeting with tears behind my eyes.
Talking with my husband and others that were laid off we realized something. The lay offs had to rhyme or reason to them. They weren’t by seniority. They weren’t by the people who had gotten written up. We couldn’t find a pattern to those who were laid off. Apparently, my husband’s co-workers, who were on his shift, had confronted the boss after he escorted my husband out. They asked him why he was laying him off and not someone else. The boss just walked away.
Now, bosses don’t have hearts of steel so I know it pained them to walk their employees out the door yesterday. My husband’s co-workers confronted the boss by saying, ‘we would have gladly all worked 32 hours a week so he could have stayed.’
Wow. If only all employees, everywhere had this thought. Would there be lay offs? Would there be an unemployment rate? Could these lay offs be avoided by doing what my husband’s co-workers were willing to do for him? Who knows? I’m not going to make that judgment call. What is done is done and we move on. There is nothing we can do now so we move on.
The faces of unemployment
A man with 30 years of experience, a man with 18 years experience and a man with a year and a half experience. Fifty employees all together were escorted off the premises, all laid off by a company in Kearney as of midnight, Feb. 20, 2009.
The man with a year and a half experience was my husband. With no warning, he was laid off.
I usually don’t rant and rave about my problems in this blog. I usually rant and rave about other people’s problems. This is one exception.
Some people think the bad economy of the U.S. isn’t affecting Kearney. Think again. Fifty unemployed persons will be collecting unemployment and looking for new jobs in the following days and weeks.
These fifty persons are not the ones affected by the economy in Kearney. A handful of other companies in and around Kearney have laid off some or all of their employees.
For those of you that don’t believe the bad economy is affecting Kearney, tell that to my husband. Tell that to the other 50 people laid off last night. Tell that to the other hundreds of people laid off in and around Kearney. They are the faces of unemployment and they will prove to you the bad economy is affecting Kearney.
The man with a year and a half experience was my husband. With no warning, he was laid off.
I usually don’t rant and rave about my problems in this blog. I usually rant and rave about other people’s problems. This is one exception.
Some people think the bad economy of the U.S. isn’t affecting Kearney. Think again. Fifty unemployed persons will be collecting unemployment and looking for new jobs in the following days and weeks.
These fifty persons are not the ones affected by the economy in Kearney. A handful of other companies in and around Kearney have laid off some or all of their employees.
For those of you that don’t believe the bad economy is affecting Kearney, tell that to my husband. Tell that to the other 50 people laid off last night. Tell that to the other hundreds of people laid off in and around Kearney. They are the faces of unemployment and they will prove to you the bad economy is affecting Kearney.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Users and abusers
Nothing ticks me off more than people who use and abuse the system. By system, I mean the government aid that is passed out to those under a certain income. I don’t mean to get on my high horse here, but this is a serious issue.
Now I have no problem with people using welfare, food stamps etc. if they are actually using it for it’s intended purpose. If someone is using their welfare money to buy a Wii we have a problem. The government can’t keep handing out aid like this to people who may abuse the system.
I don’t know what a viable solution would be to this problem, but something has to be done to stop the abuse.
One user and abuser situation that has come about in the past month is that of….you guessed, it Nadya Suleman. I have said from the get-go that I would never write about her in this blog. I think she is getting a lot of unwanted media attention. However, she is a prime user and abuser of the system.
Nadya is using her student loan money to raise her now 14 children. I will be the first one to admit, I like getting refund checks from the Fin Aid office. However, I’m not depending on them for my financial well being. I’m not depending on my refund check to buy groceries, make a doctors payment etc. It’s just nice to deposit that in the bank. :)
So I would like to say something to Nadya. I know you’re getting a really bad reputation for having 14 kids, no husband, no job and no car. I love kids just as much as you do. Thanks for taking your student loan refund (or all of your student loan…who knows) and turning that into income for your family. I really hope the student loan system stays afloat and doesn’t bounce because of moochers like you. I would like to pay for my school with my student loan, not raise my family. Don’t use and abuse.
Now I have no problem with people using welfare, food stamps etc. if they are actually using it for it’s intended purpose. If someone is using their welfare money to buy a Wii we have a problem. The government can’t keep handing out aid like this to people who may abuse the system.
I don’t know what a viable solution would be to this problem, but something has to be done to stop the abuse.
One user and abuser situation that has come about in the past month is that of….you guessed, it Nadya Suleman. I have said from the get-go that I would never write about her in this blog. I think she is getting a lot of unwanted media attention. However, she is a prime user and abuser of the system.
Nadya is using her student loan money to raise her now 14 children. I will be the first one to admit, I like getting refund checks from the Fin Aid office. However, I’m not depending on them for my financial well being. I’m not depending on my refund check to buy groceries, make a doctors payment etc. It’s just nice to deposit that in the bank. :)
So I would like to say something to Nadya. I know you’re getting a really bad reputation for having 14 kids, no husband, no job and no car. I love kids just as much as you do. Thanks for taking your student loan refund (or all of your student loan…who knows) and turning that into income for your family. I really hope the student loan system stays afloat and doesn’t bounce because of moochers like you. I would like to pay for my school with my student loan, not raise my family. Don’t use and abuse.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Too much of a good thing is a bad thing
Too much of a good thing is a bad thing; Too many ethanol plants equals big trouble for Nebraskans
For Steve Flaming, 48, of Grant, Neb., it’s the beginning of his 12-hour shift. Flaming scoops gravel, cleans pits of ethanol waste and fixes elevators for 12 hours. He’s not alone in his 12-hour, hard-labor work shift. Over 1,000 ethanol plant workers are scattered throughout Nebraska in ethanol plants from Bridgeport to Jackson to Trenton.
Fellow Nebraskans, when it comes to allocating one of our best resources, corn, we are all in agreement over ethanol. We actually agreed so much that in the last decade or so, we opened over 20 plants to produce the demand for renewable fuels. Now this abundance of plants is coming back to haunt Nebraskans. Ethanol is a good thing for Nebraska, but now it is too much of a good thing.
Layoffs, pay cuts and plants closing are all too common news in the last couple of months. Plant owners are blaming the economic down turn; but before plant owners start pointing fingers, let’s look at the bare bones of the ethanol industry in Nebraska.
According to the Nebraska Corn Board, the first ethanol plant was built in 1985, and from there multiplied into 21 plants with a handful still under construction. All of these plants combined could hold 1.3 billion gallons of ethanol. These billions of gallons of ethanol have literally transformed the lives of rural Nebraskans. It has given many Nebraskans jobs and provided farmers a market to sell their corn.
The ethanol industry has also transformed the lives of rural Nebraskans in a negative way. Many ethanol plant workers have been laid off or experienced pay cuts in recent months. Although the economy may be a factor, it is not the only factor. In fact, the main contributing factor may be the plants themselves.
In less than 25 years, over 20 ethanol plants were opened. That’s about one plant per year. Multiply each plant by 50, for the amount of jobs each plant provides and there is an employee count of 1,050 statewide. These 1,050 employees of ethanol plants started their jobs thinking it would be guaranteed for the future because of the demand for renewable fuels. Unfortunately, these employees were wrong.
When these plants were built, the demand for ethanol was high. The demand is still high, but the supply of ethanol has now grown. This leaves many plants deserted.
Many plants that are under construction have come to a screeching halt. Instead of building more plants, just to eventually close them, we need to stop building and concentrate on the ones that are still thriving. If we continue to build more and more ethanol plants, we will only have more unemployed Nebraskans.
We need to concentrate on plants, such as the one in Madrid or Lexington, that are thriving. We need to move the plant workers from a closed plant, such as the one in Wood River, to plants that are succeeding. How can we get people to uproot their lives to work at another plant? Offer relocation bonuses and a guaranteed job. It’s time to get back to basics. We need to focus on a few plants, instead of trying to stretch our resources to over twenty plants.
It is vital to keep rural Nebraskans working during our economic recession. We need to keep people like Steve Flaming working in well paying job. We cannot let the high unemployment rate of the United States affect Nebraskans.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Too many ethanol plants equals big trouble for Nebraskans
Rough draft of Editorial #2
It’s 4:30 a.m. in the tiny town of Madrid, Neb. Most people are tucked away warm in their beds for at least another two or three hours. For Steve Flaming, 48, of Grant, Neb., it’s the beginning of his 12-hour shift.
Flaming scrapes the ice off his 1976 Ford Pickup and drives the ten miles on a deserted gravel road to work. He tosses a lunch, snacks and drinks into the company fridge and clocks in. For the next 12 hours, Flaming scoops gravel, cleans pits of ethanol waste and fixes elevators.
Flaming is not alone in his 12-hour, hard-labor work shift. Over 1,000 ethanol plant workers are scattered throughout Nebraska in plants from Bridgeport to Jackson to Trenton.
Fellow Nebraskans, when it comes to allocating one of our best resources, corn, we are all in agreement over ethanol. We actually agreed so much that in the last decade or so, we opened over 20 plants to produce the demand for renewable fuels. Now this abundance of plants is coming back to haunt Nebraskans.
Layoffs, pay cuts and plants closing are all too common news in the last couple of months. Plant owners are blaming the economic down turn; but before plant owners start pointing fingers, let’s look at the bare bones of the ethanol industry in Nebraska.
According to the Nebraska Corn Board, the first ethanol plant was built in the 1985, and from there multiplied into 21 plants with a handful still under construction. All of these plants combined could hold 1.3 billion gallons of ethanol. These billions of gallons of ethanol have literally transformed the lives of rural Nebraskans. It has given many Nebraskans jobs and provided farmers a market to sell their corn.
The ethanol industry has also transformed the lives of rural Nebraskans in a not so positive way. Many have been laid off or experienced pay cuts in the recent months. Although the economy may be a factor, it is not the only factor. In fact, the main contributing factor may be the plants themselves.
In less than 25 years, over 20 ethanol plants were opened. That’s about one plant per year. Multiply each plant by 50, for the amount of jobs each plant provides and you have an employee count of 1050 statewide. These 1050 employees of ethanol plants started their jobs thinking it would be guaranteed for the future because of the demand for renewable fuels. Unfortunately, these employees were wrong.
When these plants were built, the demand for ethanol was high. The demand is still high, but the supply of ethanol has now grown. This leaves many plants deserted.
Many plants that are under construction have come to a screeching halt. Instead of building more, just to eventually close them, let’s stop building and concentrate on the ones that are still thriving. If we continue to build more and more ethanol plants, we will only have more unemployed Nebraskans.
We need to concentrate on plants, such as the one in Madrid or Lexington, that are thriving. Let’s move the plant workers from Wood River, for example, to plants that are succeeding. How can we get people to uproot their lives to work at another plant? Offer relocation bonuses and a guaranteed job. Let’s get back to basics. Let’s focus on a few plants, instead of trying to stretch our resources to over twenty plants. Let’s not let the high unemployment rate of the United States affect Nebraskans.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Three state issues
1. A state issue that I have been interested in that gets a lot of publicity is the amount of ethanol plants in Nebraska. The plants have transformed rural Nebraska, giving farmers a new outlet and giving many people a good-paying job. However, many of these plants are now closing down completely or laying off employees. One factor for these closings is the bankruptcy of Vera Sun, a large ethanol producer. Vera Sun managed plants in Central City, Albion and Ord. Many other plants have closed in Nebraska and many are blaming it on the economic downturn. Is it really the economy’s fault, or is it the fault of the ethanol plants themselves? Did they build too many too fast?
2. An article published in the North Platte Bulletin reported that Nebraska scored very low on the Brady Campaign, an evaluation of gun laws in a particular state. The article reported that gun laws did not strengthen in Nebraska after the Omaha mall shooting. The results of the evaluation showed, “Nebraska has weak gun laws that help feed the illegal gun market, allow the sale of guns without background checks and put children at risk.”
3. The statewide smoking ban, which goes into effect on June 1, is a highly debated issue in the state. Many business owners are asking for an exemption for this smoking ban because it will eventually drive their customers away. Is it fair for some businesses to comply with the ban and some to ask for exemptions?
2. An article published in the North Platte Bulletin reported that Nebraska scored very low on the Brady Campaign, an evaluation of gun laws in a particular state. The article reported that gun laws did not strengthen in Nebraska after the Omaha mall shooting. The results of the evaluation showed, “Nebraska has weak gun laws that help feed the illegal gun market, allow the sale of guns without background checks and put children at risk.”
3. The statewide smoking ban, which goes into effect on June 1, is a highly debated issue in the state. Many business owners are asking for an exemption for this smoking ban because it will eventually drive their customers away. Is it fair for some businesses to comply with the ban and some to ask for exemptions?
Monday, February 9, 2009
The station wagon blues
Growing up, we had a blue station wagon. Granted we had this station wagon when I was still in a car seat, but it’s still a big family joke talking about the ‘family truckster.’
On CBS news, a woman decided to jam herself and her 22 dogs into her ‘family truckster.’ The dogs and the woman were found among pots of water and waste.
Remembering what our station wagon looked like in home videos and trying to picture 22 dogs and a human in there is kind of comical. The size of our station wagon looked like it could barely hold my parents, my three sisters and myself, let alone a pet, or two or 20.
So in short, this woman was arrested and faces no charges. Excuse me, what? Isn’t there some kind of animal abuse law she violated? If not, there should be one written that prohibits cramming too many pets into one vehicle because that is just plain sick.
On CBS news, a woman decided to jam herself and her 22 dogs into her ‘family truckster.’ The dogs and the woman were found among pots of water and waste.
Remembering what our station wagon looked like in home videos and trying to picture 22 dogs and a human in there is kind of comical. The size of our station wagon looked like it could barely hold my parents, my three sisters and myself, let alone a pet, or two or 20.
So in short, this woman was arrested and faces no charges. Excuse me, what? Isn’t there some kind of animal abuse law she violated? If not, there should be one written that prohibits cramming too many pets into one vehicle because that is just plain sick.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Am I missing something?
I will be the first one to admit I truly dislike watching anything on E!. It’s all very sensational, ‘he slept with her!?!?’ ‘isn’t she married, oh wait who cares in Hollywood’ type of news. However, E did catch my attention this morning. On a show called ‘The Soup,’ the host, Joel McHale, was sharing his thoughts on the tv show ‘Jon and Kate plus 8.’
‘The Soup’ dishes out opinions on the latest Hollywood buzz and creates spoofs of tv clips. This morning, ‘The Soup’ showed a clip from the latest episode of ‘Jon and Kate plus 8.’ For those of you who don’t know, ‘Jon and Kate plus 8’ is a reality tv show on TLC about a couple (Jon and Kate) in their mid-thirties who are raising 8-year-old twins and 4-year-old sextuplets. Jon is very laid back while Kate tends to micro-manage every aspect of their family.
The clip of ‘Jon and Kate plus 8’ shown by the ‘The Soup’ was from their latest episode of the family moving into a new house. Jon left the house to purchase some home repair items while Kate and the kids unpacked. To make a long story short, Jon returned with a receipt proving he had not taken a coupon with him to purchase said home repair items. Kate then became upset because she had a coupon and Jon didn’t take it with him. Kate asked him to find the receipt which he retrieved minutes later. That was that.
Now, here’s what ‘The Soup’ did:
Jon left the house to purchase some home repair items while Kate and the kids unpacked. Jon returned with a receipt proving he had not taken a coupon. Kate is shown waiting at the bottom of the stairs for Jon and the receipt. ‘The Soup’ then pans to a mans hand loading a handgun. As soon as Kate is done talking to Jon up the stairs, you hear the gun fire. The spoof implied that Jon shot himself because of Kate being upset over a non-coupon purchase.
(I tried to find the video on the Internet but it has not been posted yet.)
While watching this spoof from ‘The Soup’ I could hardly believe what I was seeing. My favorite show was now a suicide spoof! Are you kidding me? I watched the rest of ‘The Soup’ and some of the spoofs were just as bad.
My question is, who thinks a suicide spoof is funny? Am I missing something here? I think I have a pretty good sense of humor but this just crossed the line. I was appalled that E would go this far. I know E has rights to comment and criticize any way they please but you have to admit, too far is too far. You can only go so far before you start offending people and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one offended here. This just proves to me once again that E is nothing more than sensational news and absurd spoofs. The little respect I had for E has now plummeted into the negative numbers.
‘The Soup’ dishes out opinions on the latest Hollywood buzz and creates spoofs of tv clips. This morning, ‘The Soup’ showed a clip from the latest episode of ‘Jon and Kate plus 8.’ For those of you who don’t know, ‘Jon and Kate plus 8’ is a reality tv show on TLC about a couple (Jon and Kate) in their mid-thirties who are raising 8-year-old twins and 4-year-old sextuplets. Jon is very laid back while Kate tends to micro-manage every aspect of their family.
The clip of ‘Jon and Kate plus 8’ shown by the ‘The Soup’ was from their latest episode of the family moving into a new house. Jon left the house to purchase some home repair items while Kate and the kids unpacked. To make a long story short, Jon returned with a receipt proving he had not taken a coupon with him to purchase said home repair items. Kate then became upset because she had a coupon and Jon didn’t take it with him. Kate asked him to find the receipt which he retrieved minutes later. That was that.
Now, here’s what ‘The Soup’ did:
Jon left the house to purchase some home repair items while Kate and the kids unpacked. Jon returned with a receipt proving he had not taken a coupon. Kate is shown waiting at the bottom of the stairs for Jon and the receipt. ‘The Soup’ then pans to a mans hand loading a handgun. As soon as Kate is done talking to Jon up the stairs, you hear the gun fire. The spoof implied that Jon shot himself because of Kate being upset over a non-coupon purchase.
(I tried to find the video on the Internet but it has not been posted yet.)
While watching this spoof from ‘The Soup’ I could hardly believe what I was seeing. My favorite show was now a suicide spoof! Are you kidding me? I watched the rest of ‘The Soup’ and some of the spoofs were just as bad.
My question is, who thinks a suicide spoof is funny? Am I missing something here? I think I have a pretty good sense of humor but this just crossed the line. I was appalled that E would go this far. I know E has rights to comment and criticize any way they please but you have to admit, too far is too far. You can only go so far before you start offending people and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one offended here. This just proves to me once again that E is nothing more than sensational news and absurd spoofs. The little respect I had for E has now plummeted into the negative numbers.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Windows are meant to go down
It was almost 60 degrees today, absolutely gorgeous weather. I decided I would take a drive north of town to avoid homework. I rolled down all my windows and opened the moon roof in my car. I turned on the country music and hit the road, Jack.
As I was heading through Kearney I noticed something. It was 60 degrees and every car but about three had their windows rolled up. I couldn’t believe it. I had my arm hanging out the window like the nice weather only came once a year! I was like an overly excited dog in the bed of a pickup who hangs his tongue out and who runs from side to side, all the while his ears flying back like Superdog.
It makes me wonder how hot or cold people are if they do not roll their windows down on a 60 degree day. Do they turn on the AC or do they unconsciously turn on the heat? Either way, they are not making good use of our unseasonably warm weather!
These warm days aren’t a dime a dozen in Nebraska, so why not enjoy them? If you ever see me driving around on a day like today, I will be the one with my tongue hanging out and my ears flying back. You better hope I don’t see you with your windows up. Windows are meant to go down.
As I was heading through Kearney I noticed something. It was 60 degrees and every car but about three had their windows rolled up. I couldn’t believe it. I had my arm hanging out the window like the nice weather only came once a year! I was like an overly excited dog in the bed of a pickup who hangs his tongue out and who runs from side to side, all the while his ears flying back like Superdog.
It makes me wonder how hot or cold people are if they do not roll their windows down on a 60 degree day. Do they turn on the AC or do they unconsciously turn on the heat? Either way, they are not making good use of our unseasonably warm weather!
These warm days aren’t a dime a dozen in Nebraska, so why not enjoy them? If you ever see me driving around on a day like today, I will be the one with my tongue hanging out and my ears flying back. You better hope I don’t see you with your windows up. Windows are meant to go down.
He's one smart cookie!
I’ve been begging my husband for weeks (although he would say I’ve been begging for months) to get a cat. I didn’t want a kitty who would have to be house trained, ‘fixed,’ and have a ton of shots. I wanted a cat that was just a little older than that. So, on a whim this weekend we headed down to the Humane Society to just ‘look around.’
Looking playful and weighing in at 8.8 pounds was Benson. Every time we walked by his cage he would sniff the plexi-glass as if he was trying to smell us. We laughed at his stupidity and brought him home.
Benson, now named Ammo, lived at the Human Society for about three months. As soon as we let him in our apartment he went crazy. He ran from one end of the apartment to the other on a high speed chase, sniffing his new home on the way.
We spent the weekend getting to know Ammo and we realized just how smart he really is. Here are a couple of examples:
1) Ammo found his food and water bowls within about two hours of being in our apartment. He then continued to eat all the food and drink all the water in his bowl in about an hour.
2) Ammo found his litter box shortly after he ate all the food, and used it. We praised him over and over for this.
3) Ammo found a new hiding spot in our box spring. He ripped a corner of the material off the bottom of the box spring and climbed in. We ripped the bottom material off the box spring so he could get out. Why is this smart? Well, when he sat under the bed he had to hunch over. Now, with no material on the bottom of the box spring, he can sit up straight, his head and neck in the box spring.
4) Ammo used his litter box…only missed. How is this smart? He knew we would be made if we saw his um, fecal matter on the floor. So he buried it in on the floor with the litter that he pawed out of his box.
5) Ammo did laundry. He got a kitchen towel from the hamper and dragged it through a hole the size of about a dime. He then continued to drag the towel, hamper and all, into the hallway where the rest of the laundry was.
6) Ammo knows how to sleep like a human. He curls up on a pillow and meows until someone throws a blanket over him.
7) Ammo knows what time it is. At precisely 6:30 a.m. every morning, he will walk around on my pillow and meow until I wake up. He also knows when my husband goes to work and will wait by the door for him to leave.
It has almost been a week since we got Ammo from the Human Society. In the short time we have had him, he has brought us so much joy and laughter. I am so excited to see what else he has in store for us in the years to come.
Looking playful and weighing in at 8.8 pounds was Benson. Every time we walked by his cage he would sniff the plexi-glass as if he was trying to smell us. We laughed at his stupidity and brought him home.
Benson, now named Ammo, lived at the Human Society for about three months. As soon as we let him in our apartment he went crazy. He ran from one end of the apartment to the other on a high speed chase, sniffing his new home on the way.
We spent the weekend getting to know Ammo and we realized just how smart he really is. Here are a couple of examples:
1) Ammo found his food and water bowls within about two hours of being in our apartment. He then continued to eat all the food and drink all the water in his bowl in about an hour.
2) Ammo found his litter box shortly after he ate all the food, and used it. We praised him over and over for this.
3) Ammo found a new hiding spot in our box spring. He ripped a corner of the material off the bottom of the box spring and climbed in. We ripped the bottom material off the box spring so he could get out. Why is this smart? Well, when he sat under the bed he had to hunch over. Now, with no material on the bottom of the box spring, he can sit up straight, his head and neck in the box spring.
4) Ammo used his litter box…only missed. How is this smart? He knew we would be made if we saw his um, fecal matter on the floor. So he buried it in on the floor with the litter that he pawed out of his box.
5) Ammo did laundry. He got a kitchen towel from the hamper and dragged it through a hole the size of about a dime. He then continued to drag the towel, hamper and all, into the hallway where the rest of the laundry was.
6) Ammo knows how to sleep like a human. He curls up on a pillow and meows until someone throws a blanket over him.
7) Ammo knows what time it is. At precisely 6:30 a.m. every morning, he will walk around on my pillow and meow until I wake up. He also knows when my husband goes to work and will wait by the door for him to leave.
It has almost been a week since we got Ammo from the Human Society. In the short time we have had him, he has brought us so much joy and laughter. I am so excited to see what else he has in store for us in the years to come.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Parenting 18 kids could be a breeze....
Cooking supper, giving young kids a bath and cleaning the house. Sounds like the typical tasks of your everyday parents. Think again. These are the duties of the oldest daughters of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar of Arkansas.
Jim Bob and Michelle are parents to 18 children, all 21-years-old and younger. They depend on their oldest daughters, Jana, Jill, Jessa and Jinger to help them with their younger children (yes, they are all J names).
The Duggars have a ‘buddy system’ that pairs an older daughter with a younger child. The older daughter is expected to dress the younger child, make sure the child is clean, and help the child with any homework. Wait, aren’t these duties of a parent?
Although Jim Bob and Michelle cherish ‘every child as a gift from God,’ are they really appreciating every child, or are they taking advantage of their large numbers? With the oldest four daughters taking care of the majority of the younger children, they are learning responsibility; but at what cost to their own childhood?
The oldest members of the Duggar family may or may not get to experience the fun and exciting times of just being a kid because they have to be worried about their ‘buddy.’ This leads me to believe one thing. If Jim Bob and Michelle are passing off their parental duties to their oldest children, what are they going to do when their children grow up and move out? I sense total chaos.
I don’t think it’s fair that the oldest Duggar daughters are expected to take care of a younger brother or sister. They need a childhood just as much as the younger children. Isn’t there a better way to handle a busy household of 18 kids? I think Jim Bob and Michelle should take more responsibility for every child in their house instead of passing off some of their duties.
The Duggar family has opened their doors to the public eye with their TLC reality show ‘17 Kids and Counting.’ Although I think it’s wonderful that a couple can have this many kids, this is one bone I want to pick with them. If you are going to be a parent, be a parent. Don’t pass your parenting off to your kids.
Jim Bob and Michelle are parents to 18 children, all 21-years-old and younger. They depend on their oldest daughters, Jana, Jill, Jessa and Jinger to help them with their younger children (yes, they are all J names).
The Duggars have a ‘buddy system’ that pairs an older daughter with a younger child. The older daughter is expected to dress the younger child, make sure the child is clean, and help the child with any homework. Wait, aren’t these duties of a parent?
Although Jim Bob and Michelle cherish ‘every child as a gift from God,’ are they really appreciating every child, or are they taking advantage of their large numbers? With the oldest four daughters taking care of the majority of the younger children, they are learning responsibility; but at what cost to their own childhood?
The oldest members of the Duggar family may or may not get to experience the fun and exciting times of just being a kid because they have to be worried about their ‘buddy.’ This leads me to believe one thing. If Jim Bob and Michelle are passing off their parental duties to their oldest children, what are they going to do when their children grow up and move out? I sense total chaos.
I don’t think it’s fair that the oldest Duggar daughters are expected to take care of a younger brother or sister. They need a childhood just as much as the younger children. Isn’t there a better way to handle a busy household of 18 kids? I think Jim Bob and Michelle should take more responsibility for every child in their house instead of passing off some of their duties.
The Duggar family has opened their doors to the public eye with their TLC reality show ‘17 Kids and Counting.’ Although I think it’s wonderful that a couple can have this many kids, this is one bone I want to pick with them. If you are going to be a parent, be a parent. Don’t pass your parenting off to your kids.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
