Frogs' Legs Aren't Funny

The download of my daily (almost) thoughts and ruminations.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

So Little Time


Time is a fleeting
I know this is true
Myself I'll be meeting
Before I am through.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Now This Is "Living" Your Dream

Get this. The creator of "Star Trek" and his wife will spend eternity together in space.

Celestis Inc., a company that specializes in "memorial spaceflights," said Monday that it will ship the remains of Gene Roddenberry and Majel Barrett Roddenberry into space next year.

The couple's cremated remains will be sealed into specially made capsules designed to withstand the rigors of space travel. A rocket-launched spacecraft will carry the capsules, along with digitized tributes from fans. The Roddenberrys' remains — and the spacecraft — will travel ever deeper into space and will not return to earth, company spokeswoman Susan Schonfeld said.

After Gene Roddenberry died in 1991, his wife commissioned Celestis to launch a part of his remains into space in 1997. She died Dec. 18, 2008.

I don't think you can make any grander exit than that.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Marley, But Not Me...

I'm only about 80 pages into the book and I can already tell you, I would have had the dog put down. He went far beyond reasonable behavior, the destruction and pain he caused on a daily basis was in my animal-loving opinion, ridiculous. He was a bundle of phobias combined with attention deficit disorder. The aspect of his behavior that put me over the edge was the fact that he actually was so disconnected from reality, he would harm himself and continue to do so without stopping his bad behavior or acting out, whatever you want to call it. I just can't see how or why they continued to support his horrible behavior. He was just too big to allow that kind of craziness to continue.

I guess this isn't the reaction the author or my aunt (who gave me the book to read) was expecting from me so I probably won't share it with her. Never fear, I'll finish the book because I feel obligated. Nevertheless, I'll undoubtedly skip the movie. It would just frustrate me all over again.


The really stupid thing is even as a tiny puppy, he was showing negative signs of taking after his frothing at the mouth father, his owners just refused to face it. When the vet said you have got to neuter him, you can't let his geneology continue, that was yet another clue. I guess what it boils down to is I'm not one of those people to whom any amount of bad pet behavior is okay simply because they're cute or helpless or whatever. Nope, no house-abiding pet is worth it to me. Sorry to disillusion.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

How, When and Who Else?

What is happening here really?



"Brazilian model Mariana Bridi da Costa, whose hands and feet were amputated in a bid to save her from a deadly and little-known illness, died early Saturday."



"It was a nightmare scenario for anyone with an infection: Her body did not react to the latest and most potent drugs while the bacteria in her veins spread from head to toe.



In Bridi's case, the culprit was the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is known to be drug resistant.



According to the January 2008 book "Pseudomonas: Genomics and Molecular Biology," edited by Pierre Cornelis, a researcher at the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology in Brussels, the bacteria has the "worrisome characteristic" of "low antibiotic susceptibility." It also easily mutates to develop resistance to new drugs.



Death from infections caused by the bacteria are relatively rare, but not unheard of: In late 2006, an outbreak of the bacteria at White Memorial Medical Center in Los Angeles sickened five infants — leading to the deaths of two of them.



The bacteria causes about 10 percent of the roughly two million hospital-acquired infections each year in the U.S., according to health officials."

OK, why am I seemingly the only person concerned about this? How can a seemingly low grade, low risk urinary infection kill you in a matter of days? And how did she contract this bacteria? You have to believe it's incredibly contagious so where's the sense of urgency to locate the source and somehow eliminate it?

And, how do I prevent me and my family from contracting something similar? WHY ISN'T ANYONE DEMANDING TO KNOW HOW THIS HAPPENED? I'm feeling especially vulnerable all of a sudden. I will need an answer to this question before I feel better. It will plague me until then.

Long live hand sanitizer only right now I want to put it all over my body.

The Long Road Back

I frequently wonder why people let themselves get into a situation where they have to take some action, usually painful, to get back to where they want to be.

Case in point, someone starts smoking and 10 years later, gee, they don't want to smoke anymore but they can't seem to stop. Question: why did they start in the first place, why not chew gum or even your nails would be a lesser evil although it's disgusting watching someone chew their nails or cuticles?

Another example, someone starts taking pain pills and their reliance on them continues to grow until they can no longer control it to the extent they will lie, cheat or steal to get more and more. They knew when they started they were addictive and they knew every time they added volume they were playing with fire but it didn't stop them. Then they hit bottom and can't dig their way out. If they don't end up dead, they end up in rehab, many times more than once. Question: why not try to find another way out of the pain?

So, when I describe these two situations, mine doesn't seem so bad but I have the same question for myself, why did I let myself gain weight? I know I don't like the way I look, I don't like the way I feel, I don't like my lack of energy or the fact that I can't fit into any of my clothes, so why don't I have enough backbone or general chutzpah to stop my hand from putting weight adding food in my mouth? I especially want to know why I can't keep my hands out of stuff during the holidays. I know I was successful in keeping thin through the holidays at least two years out of my life. One year I was getting over my first love, during the second I was super committed and as a result was thinner at 52 than I had been since college. Why then and not when I was home for two months during my recovery from surgery?

I know myself and my body well enough to know that it isn't just about food, it's equally about exercise. I honestly love how I feel when I exercise but boy, this is the toughest time I've ever had getting back into shape. Again, smack through the holidays and snowed in to boot, I simply wasn't able to get past them. I'm not as bad as I was but I'm not as far along as I was at one point since I started this trek either. I just realized that when I put on today's workout outfit to Nordictrack to "Mama Mia". You know, Mike's right, they way they fit the songs into the storyline of that movie is pretty bizarre but it doesn't matter, I love the music and it gives me energy to move quickly. Anyway, I swear I'm not going to let myself backslide again, it just isn't worth having to kill yourself this way and I REFUSE to buy new clothes in a larger size. In fact, this is the first time I've been able to get into some (not all) of my smaller stuff in over a year.

I wonder if Obama is going to get discouraged or if maybe he is already? I know everything he wants to do is taking him a great deal of time and he strikes me as an action-oriented, results-driven kind of guy. His wife said she and the girls see him more now than they have for the last two years while he was on the campaign trail, so far they've had dinner together every night, unfortunately I don't think that will last long. Just look at Michael Douglas in "The American President" or Jed Bartlett in "West Wing". (I wouldn't know anything, you know, if it weren't for movies and very select few, outstanding programs on television).

I think for my birthday I'm going to ask for a book that explains the origins of words, not just the foreign language derivation if there is one, but sometimes it's how they were mushed together. I look at some words and wonder how they came to mean what they mean, kind of like the discussion about the word "inconceivable" in my favorite movie. My guess is that most words will have derived from the languages of our forefathers but the most colorful will probably be all us. I'll have to share some when I finally have the book.

Time to get ready to go drop off a birthday gift. This will be our 6th and final of the month. And yes, February is just as full. Not only that, we have a new one who is going to join our fam next month. A new little girl and I can't wait to hold her and rock her. Babies are so special!

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

A Rose By Any Other Name Is Not Poetry!

That was no poem, it wasn't even a complete thought. I would have been embarrassed for her but it was her own fault. One of the ministers did a better job of rhyming than she did. I especially liked the, ..."people that are yellow, are mellow" line. If she had simply had to write the poem for someone else to deliver that would have been one thing but she had to attach her face and reputation to it, pretty stupid and pointless. I don't know about you but I don't think she'll be asked back. The only people I can think of who would have liked it would have been the editors of the New Yorker, I never have understood their content. That means it should be right up their alley.

I need to accept the fact that Michele Obama will be wearing Crayola crayons that rarely come out of the box of 64. What was the last time your yellow-green saw the light of day? Those are usually the crayons that remain in pristine shape because they're never touched since they are unnatural colors so kids don't readily use them to complete a coloring book picture or create their own. Does anyone know of any yellow-green colored flowers?

What I do love about her is that she is giving some young, unknown designers a boost in their careers. She will probably be compared to Jackie O throughout her First Ladyship but only the Boomers will even know who the pundits are talking about. I also love the fact that she doesn't care what we think, she dresses based on what pleases her. And she wears her clothes, with confidence and an innate sense of style, hence the comparison to 45 years ago. You go, Girl!

I have a feeling she's probably a strict but very loving and caring mom. I'll bet Malia and Sasha get their homework done and no excuses are tolerated. I'll also bet they tend to tell the truth. They just strike me as that kind of family where those values are inherent and they literally emanate from them.

Tonight Jon Stewart was taking clips of what Obama said in his inaugural speech and snippets of Bush speeches over the years, trying to say he was saying all the same things Bush had said. This, of course, is heresy.

His reporter compared it to cheese melted over Mexican food vs. the same cheese melted over Chinese food. It either works or it doesn't and NO ONE likes cheese melted over Chinese food. The difference being, now the words work. As my mother-in-law said, "Hail to the Chief" (and his lovely, cool family too)!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

The One Constant IS Change

While I am confident of our country's resilience, and I'm confident of the ability of the incoming president and his chosen leadership team, and I'm confident of the ability of our country's population to "ask what they can do for their country"; there are yet numerous unknowns. First of all, inviting Mariah Carey to sing at his Inaugural Ball? Is this a representative example of his presidential thinking? Does she even know how to stay on a single note for more than one beat? Her singing actually makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. (I'm sure part of the intensity of my dislike resides in the fact she reminds me of my ex-sister-in-law). Between this decision and his family's choice of dog, he is shaking my confidence right out of the gate.

So, you say, these are actually unimportant decisions and don't count in the big scheme of things but I'm looking for trends, let's hope he makes no third weird or poor decision in the near-term, which would most certainly take the charm.

What are the other potentially disruptive possibilities that keep me awake at night?
- Any physical harm coming to the president and/or his family (after revisiting scores of times, the view of the rifle fire that hit Kennedy, the potential for this terrifies me)
- Wondering whether US business executives (including the financial services industry) have truly learned crime doesn't pay
- Another US terrorist hit
- Full-scale depression
- Nuclear war (every third world country appears to be in a state of supreme unrest)
- Having the Inaugural Poet(m) fall flat on her (its) face
- Never having sufficient financial income to enable me (us) to retire
- Trying to decide what I can do to to fulfill my support of my country and my president; what about you?

There are terms coming out of the new administration that are actually oxymoron's in the current environment but are generating tremendous excitement and cockeyed optimism amongst the masses:
- transparency
- rigor
- expectations
- accountability
- planning
- sustainability
- fiscal responsibility
- protecting/supporting the middle class
'What does this new president think, he's running a business? FINALLY.

It's another sunny day in the neighborhood, the perfect setting for optimism and hope, two emotions that have been buried deep for the last eight years. I'm anxious to see if Obama can exceed a never before seen level of expectations of him out of the gate. Here's to Tuesday!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Where Did It All Go?

I'm with Brendan, this is a great article about the downfall of Wall Street, the financial services industry and the economy in general. It especially emphasizes how the reporters, the financial experts and the public in general were seeing all the signs for years and simply refused to believe what was happening before their very eyes. Anyway, here is the link: http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/national-news/portfolio/2008/11/11/
The-End-of-Wall-Streets-Boom?print=true

I have to believe the economy will rebuild or I will be totally disheartened. However, I'm not going to think very hard about how long it's going to take or I still may go there. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Obama more than has his hands full and he is going to have an uphill battle, no matter what he tries to do. There are too many people in public life who make it their business to be in the public eye in whatever way they can. Dissension is a great way to get press coverage.

If nothing else, he'll make Portuguese Water Dogs gain popularity. I'll admit I didn't know what they looked like so thought I would educate myself and the rest of you with this Google image. So the black and white version is cute, probably lovable and cuddly and hopefully what they have in mind but I've also run across this poodle wannabe version that is disturbing at best. We'll see what route the Obama family takes; if they choose the wrong one, this may be my first serious disagreement with their choices.

We just got back from a few days in Las Vegas yesterday. There is no place like it even for those of us who are down there technically visiting family. You can never escape the slot machines, the booze, the smoke, the glitziness, the flaunting of money, the high end cars, the seemingly endless availability of pretty much whatever you want. I have to say, it's good to have family there because it's a place where you need to keep yourself grounded. You need to stay focused on real life people and stuff, not all the shams you see. It's all about convincing everyone who flies in they will be rich when they leave then making it extremely easy for them to invest much more than they can afford to prove it...wrong.

The good news was, I found a machine with an "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" theme that was really fun where a video clip of the movie popped up whenever you were awarded a bonus spin. It took pennies so perhaps not quite so painful but an overall loser, regardless. Still, it provided an instance where you had a lot of fun losing.

We witnessed three, important birthdays while we were there, definitely a first for us so I felt it was a rewarding trip, minus any winnings of course.

Monday, January 05, 2009

It's the New Year...So Far So Good!

I know it's only 5 days into the new year but I have to say, so far so good. I don't think you should ever take positive events for granted so I just wanted to acknowledge that. This is especially true when you look at the headlines each day and see many Palestinians, Israelites, actors, parents in general, economists, sports figures, CEO's and others who have not had a "good day" since this year started.

The snow is behind us, the temperature is out of the 30's, we've delivered almost all our Christmas presents, I have baby boy with me for two more days, we're heading to Las Vegas for a short trip, no one is ill, Kara's been approved for a home loan and Mike finally gets his new truck. These are all good things and I choose to believe this means it's going to be a good year. OK, I lost at dominoes Friday night but I can live with that and it's certainly nothing unusual.

I'll just leave work out of this discussion because that's going to be challenging at best. I've already acknowledged I was simply born on the wrong day (I think it was Saturday) so will always have to work for a living (the old poem..."Monday's child is fair of face, Tuesday's child is full of grace..."), which in my mind means nothing will ever come easy.

There are people in my life I'm worried about like my mom and dad, my girlfriend in Cornelius and my sister, but I'm just going to give them as much of my time and love as I can and hope things turn around in each of their cases.

So, on that semi-positive note, I'll sign off for now. Time to attack that mountain of clean laundry that needs folding before baby boy wakes up and commands all of my time yet again. This is the life.

Thursday, January 01, 2009

Life is Nothing But A Smattering of Mere Moments

  1. Witnessing the look on my grandson's face when he realizes his skeleton costume entitles him to "trick or treat" like the rest of the kids.
  2. Being awestruck by the most remarkable presidential election night of all time.
  3. Watching the looks on niece, nephew and the grands' faces as the Disneyland grounds sprawl before them.
  4. Acknowledging that disappointments frequently have silver linings; there is nothing that surpasses the love of your family.
  5. Enjoying random Sunday's at the ballpark watching your son-in-law's team play.
  6. Renewing our love of Shakespeare in Ashland.
  7. Getting appropriately wet on the Rogue River.
  8. Observing and living the effects of a major recession; gas prices over $4.00 a gallon.
  9. After a relatively short thumb surgery, a very painful condition is repaired for life.
  10. Experiencing the sudden struggle of post-stroke recovery with your mom; then realizing you have the gift of more time with her.
  11. Learning of the imminent arrival of the next grandson.
  12. Getting my health back on track by lifting weights in spite of the pain it took to start.
  13. Realizing the significant hours/weeks/months of hard work that went into your kids' home remodel; then marveling at the outstanding results.
  14. Attending the best ever "classical concerts in the parks" during the summer.
  15. Agreeing with your granddaughter when she lets you know she was born on her birthday.
  16. After hours and hours of piano practice, there is actually progress.
  17. Supporting your daughter as she falls out of pseudo love then into the real thing.
  18. Marveling at the miracle of zoo lights through the eyes of a 2 year old.
  19. Learning to be flexible and accepting as the snow just kept piling up.
  20. Continually supporting those less fortunate to constantly remind you of all you have and to treasure it.