Amar and another interesting Global Post...

As I've written before, I've been following the writings and adventures of Amar C. Bakshi in the PostGlobal series on the Washington Post. Yesterday Amar posted another experience that I recommend as a thought provoking look into how others see the United States this time from Pakistan. It's entitled, American Arrogance -- Or Just Self-Awareness?.

It's a question I have asked myself at times as far as how many US Citizens are more self absorbed with their own self importance rather than taking a larger view. We've discussed here more than once the fact that we place a much higher value on American lives than we do of those of other nations, especially those in the Middle East.

What I found especially interesting was that the knowledge that this self-centered behavior exists in other nations, it just appears that we as Americans seem to get quite a bit more focus on that trait. I think it would be hard to argue it is not in part due to our own behaviors as well as how we are portrayed by the media in other countries.

Writing the Book

It seems if you want to run for president you have to have a book. As I read the Washington Post article, about all of the presidential candidates who have written books recently or dusted off an old one to recycle as new, I wondered...I've written a book, so I wonder if an obscure book on Ohio History and my adventures in trying to find out information on my father's family would count.

I guess in the end for some of these presidential wannabee's if they don't make it as president perhaps their book sale profits have been enhanced...

What is a Thoof?

As I wondered what exactly is a "Thoof" and what could "Thoofing" possibly be, I first thought perhaps it was some type of mythical monster as pictured here. Something that big could call itself whatever it wanted, seriously who's going to complain.

Then I wondered, was some poor soul stuttering trying to sing the chorus of "the roof, the roof, the roof is on fire"? That could sound like a "thoof", but that doesn't explain what "thoofing" might be, unless it was jumping off of a roof...Which I don't think would appeal to many of us except for the few daredevils out there among us.

My flights of fancy ended when I discovered that Thoof is a personalized news service, where you can decide what news you are looking for or even submit stories of your own and Thoof takes care of it for you, yes, that would mean you would be "thoofing" your news. When you visit thoof.com you'll see articles that have been submitted and there is a really nice screencast to watch if you want to learn how to really be a "thoofer".

There is a ranking aspect to Thoof called of course the ThoofRank Badge, but it appears how that happens is at this point a secret locked deep in the heart of Thoofdom...Seriously, it is something that's set to be released soon from what I understand and it could add a whole new aspect to those who love to...Thoof...

John Edwards is not Howard Dean...

I like John Edwards, and I also like Howard Dean, I would have voted for Howard Dean had he not dropped out of the primary before he got to Ohio. That said, I found this description from the debate last night to be one I had mixed emotions on:

Third, John Edwards is fast becoming the Howard Dean of this race. That's been apparent almost from the start of the year, but with each week it is more obvious. He has toughened his rhetoric and has sought to turn himself into the outsider candidate determined not just to battle for the nomination but to make reforming the Democratic Party a part of his message. All were elements of Dean's campaign four years ago.

I don't know where Dan Balz's been since John Edwards announced he was running for President but what he's seeing now has been what Edwards has done for quite some time. I guess the good news is Dan's on board now as far as realizing that most of us realize Edwards' advantage is he is an outsider...

There are also six more points that Dan Balz makes from the debate you might find of interest.

:-)

Talking Teak...

It's really almost too hot to do much of anything today except sit outside and hope for a nice cool breeze or a thunderstorm to pass through. Which leads me to thinking about how nice it would be to add some teak furniture to our back deck area. On days like today with the extra family members staying here in the hot house, it'd be not only nice to have a few more comfortable places to sit, but one of the advantages of teak patio furniture is it's easy to maintain, you don't have to worry about paint or stain or any other refinishing. While our current set was very inexpensive it's not very hardy and some simple child play type antics that is a normal part of this household at times has already taken out one piece of outdoor furniture. For some reason a three legged deck chair just doesn't do the trick...

Realistically with the way they are so hard on furniture in this house, and with as nice as some of the designs are, I should consider teak outdoor furniture for inside my house as well...

Map shows where US is getting bigger...

Not bigger as far as more people but bigger as far as weight, it's an interesting map that changes to show you which parts of the US has residents who have a growing waistline. Obesity Map is worth taking a look at.

Dan Moldea in action again...

I'm not sure if Dan Moldea really does only do this because it's on principle, but regardless of his reasoning, he has made many a politician which that he never existed. The Washington Post has an interesting article about the Morals of a Muckraker

One month after rekindling their partnership, Moldea learned that Sen. David Vitter's number had been found in the phone records of the escort service run by the alleged D.C. Madam, Deborah Jeane Palfrey. This was no coincidence, as Moldea had just agreed to write a book with Palfrey. He promptly leaked the Vitter calls to Time. And when the Louisiana Republican preempted the magazine by apologizing for having sinned, Moldea made sure Flynt got credit by leaking word of his role to ABC News.

While it's said he's not doing it for the money, not many people would refuse a million dollar reward...

This made me wish I lived in the UK...

We are dealing with major home repair issues due to an absent landlord so reading about Anglian Home Improvements and seeing the type of work they can do in creating Conservatories, made me long to be transported to UK with our current house, and then *poof* be transported back.

However, since that's not possible? I recommend those of you who live in an area where you can make use of their services, do so and if you want to gloat you can send me pictures that I can be envious over...Angilian Home Improvements has been a trusted name in the Home improvements business for over thirty-six years, when you visit their website you get a good hint into why...

Bloggers to unionize?

A very good friend sent me the title link that talks about some bloggers of the left, mainly the kos bunch discussing the idea of bloggers unionizing.

After my main, ICK!

The second ICK's came in, but I think some of others quoted in the article say it even better than I could:

"The reason I like blogging is that it's very anarchistic. I can do whatever I want whenever I want, and oh my God, you're not going to tell me what to do," said Curt Hopkins, the founder of the Committee to Protect Bloggers.

Nor am I ever ever ever going to pay union dues to blog...

:-)

Darn lungs get in the way of blogging...

I've been behind once again because of a diagnosis of pleurisy which has me feeling a bit out of it. Okay, a bit out of more than normal (smile). Then the extra issues with the visit from the brother-in-law who left this morning back to Puerto Rico and an additional daughter moving back home.

Then of course politically things here in Toledo have been still crazy, almost a full time job alone on some days.

Hence my update as to why I am a bad blogger....

:-)

eCards and more from BoldLoft...

In addition to some cute products BoldLoft also offers some cute eCard designs that you might want to take a look at the next time you decide to send some email love to friends or family. I really like the one that says "Just wanna say I love you". My youngest daughter is a huge fan of red and black and has the pillow case set with a man and a woman on her wish list since she is planning a room design change having outgrown her princess pink bedroom and wants something more "fun" and "grown up". They also have a nice selection of body pillowcases...

Funky Photo Hunt...

The picture isn't the greatest of quality it was almost dusk, but you can see what a funky car this is that we saw at a party we attended not to long ago. The whole car is covered with flowers, toys, old CD's and much more...Funky...


PhotoHunt




For more photo hunters? visit here

:-)

Have you seen these digital picture frames?

I have to admit until the other day I had no idea what a digital picture frame was, I was happy just to be able to have a new computer that could burn slide shows on a DVD to be able to share with people. Yet with the technology behind the digital photo frame you take the memory card from your camera and insert it into the frame, this creates an instant slide show of photos where ever the frame is.

When you want to change pictures, it's as easy as changing the card, which would mean those walls full of family photos that you have to change every time there is a new picture would be obsolete, with a digital frame, you just change the card. While you could of course save the previous pictures on your computer or print them out later, the possibilities of what can be done with one of these digital picture frames is endless. For me I instantly thought of my brother in law who has been visiting with us but does not have a computer, with one of these frames he'd have all of the pictures taken here to be able to share without having to have everyone gather around the DVD player.

Popular promotional items...

Of all of the things I am given by candidates, causes, companies, I have to say my favorite still is personalized pens. I do have a collection of political stickers that adorn my older computer but I also have been collecting note pads and pens from campaigns. Who knows, maybe some day one of our local candidates will run for some big federal office and they'll be collector's items.

:-)

Oh for a breeze....

While I remind myself that for a good part of our history air conditioning did not exist and that our forefathers did manage to survive without it, living in a house that does not have air nor can have window air conditioning on days like today can be a challenge. It makes it worse if you spend time looking at things like like beaufort nc real estate, where every home seems to have central air...

:-)

Kid Nation...are you kidding me?

I'm a fan of some reality tv shows, like Big Brother and Survivor, but upon learning that CBS was going to have a show called "Kid Nation" where children are supposedly left to fend for themselves in an abandoned town in New Mexico...My first thought was...

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!

What kind of money hungry attention starving ditzy parent would allow their child to live under those kinds of conditions and what hare brained people at CBS actually thought up this one?

These are not exactly almost adults - the children are aged 8 to 15. This should be considered child abuse and I plan to contact every single advertiser for this junk that it's not appropriate to use kids in this way. No, I won't be watching, seeing the preview was more than enough for me to see that even in the reality tv world which is at times of questionable taste, this one takes the cake.

Learning more about colloidal silver

Not to long ago when I was searching for information on how to fight a tooth abscess, I came across a few websites that had information on colloidal metals and the health benefits that some believe products like colloidal silver provide to those who use it. I then started searching a bit more to understand more and I learned that some formations of colloidal silver are better for topical application or if in a product that can be inhaled. Yet other forms of colloidal silver, like Mesosilver are designed to give a higher concentration of smaller silver particles and are said this gives them a higher variation of product use. Mesosilver can be used for the topical application or nebulized for an inhaler but can also be ingested orally and is considered more effective.

I have not tried either form of colloidal silver, so I can not tell you if it worked for me or not, but I do know that many people feel it has benefited them and that there is quite a bit of information and research out there on this topic if you want to learn even more.

Sunni Arabs quit Iraqi government...

Just the other day it was being reported that things were getting better in Iraq, yet today in what should be a larger news story but is buried...Sunni Arab Bloc Quits Iraqi Government:

Rafaa al-Issawi, a leading member of the Front, said at a news conference that the bloc's six Cabinet ministers would submit their resignations later in the day.

Al-Issawi said the decision to pull out from the government followed what he called Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's failure to respond to the Accordance Front. It gave him seven days to meet its demands, and the ultimatum expired Wednesday.

This is of course the same Iraqi government that faced recent criticism for taking the whole month off because it was too hot in Baghdad.

I checked other news sources to see where this was listed...CNN had nothing...Fox had nothing...AP had it as a breaking news which is most likely where the Washington Post got it from.

Print media losing advertising...

Recently there were several media reports on the topic of the print media facing a reduction in profit because it's becoming more common for a real estate broker to advertise on the internet and to promote their websites and weblistings of homes as opposed to running ads in a newspaper. The days of the huge Sunday real estate section could be ending as more home buyers discover their perfect home through the internet.

The joy of plumbing...

Our bathroom is above our kitchen, and thanks to impatient people who felt it necessary to take a shower knowing that the tub was clogged, I now have a wet drywall ceiling mess due to not just the clog but obviously an issue with the bath tub drain leaking. This makes me very thankful that I don't have one of the range hoods that I had wanted since the area the water is leaking from is almost directly under the stove...