Saturday, September 29, 2007

Hummingbirds

In central Texas, where I live, we're blessed with ruby throated hummingbirds during the summer. I put my feeders up in March. I usually see the first hummer before the end of the month. This year we had a very unusual snow fall on April 9, and I had a LOT of hummers at my feeder. I spent my lunch hour at home putting up two more feeders. I've had a little more activity this summer than normal. I suppose that means that fewer people in my immediate area are hanging out feeders.

The southern migration started not long ago, and my regulars have gone. I think I saw the last hummer about three or four days ago. I leave the feeders up for those who are passing through until at least the end of October. That's probably too long, but I want to make sure that the migrating hummingbirds find the nectar. I'm going to miss them, as I always do during the fall and winter.

If you're interested in learning about hummingbirds, start here: http://www.hummingbirds.net/ .

Friday, September 28, 2007

PC is Missing



One of my cats has gone missing. PC came into my life nine years ago when his stray mama decided to raise him on my front porch. I lived in North Carolina at the time. He grew to be a beautiful and extremely loving cat. He loved to be held, and I loved holding him. He's a beautiful gray (I like to say silver) long haired cat. Until recently he was an indoor-only cat, which is what I prefer, and how I believe all cats should be raised, for their own safety. But I installed a doggie door so that my dogs could go outside to relieve themselves while I was at work. Of course, this meant that the cats could go out, too. Most of them stay pretty close to home. But even though PC has been neutered, he would stray farther than the others. I live in a fairly rural area. My house is on a "dead end," so there isn't a lot of traffic. That's why I didn't worry too much about my cats being outside. I wanted to build an enclosure for them so they couldn't leave the yard, but I couldn't afford it. Now he's gone. He's been gone for 34 days. I dream about him coming home every night. I've put up signs, called the local vets, notified animal control. He has been microchipped, so he can be identified if he's found. He's not wearing a collar. Too dangerous for a cat.

I know that I am completely responsible for whatever has happened to him. After all, if I hadn't let him out, he'd be home now. I hope he's not alone, scared, hungry, thirsty. Maybe someone has decided to adopt him and is taking good care of him. Eventually that kind person will take him to the vet, who will hopefully scan him and discover his microchip, whereupon he'll be returned to me. I hope so. I hope. I pray.

Graphically Speaking

Dexter

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

More about Dexter

I've decided that I'm now addicted to Dexter. I've watched eight episodes, so far, and can hardly wait until the next disk arrives, tomorrow. What's really nice is that the second season starts on Sunday, so I'll be able to go straight from the end of season one to the beginning of season two. I've subscribed to Showtime and I have my TiVo set, so I'm ready! And if there's a power failure, for some reason, or the satellite goes out, as it often does in extremely hard rain, I'll be able to watch episodes on iTunes. I love technology!

One thing that I've found very refreshing about Dexter is that all the women have small breasts. Why is that refreshing? Because it means the boobs are real and that the producers aren't hung up with huge and/or fake breasts. Of course, now that the series is a success, and the actresses have a little bit of money, maybe they'll come back in season two with boob jobs. I hope not. I like to think that some women with smallish breasts are happy with what they have.

On the down side, the women with the small breasts are all exceedingly thin. This could mean eating disorders. I surely hope not. They could stand to gain a few pounds. It would make them look healthier. And it would make their breasts larger, too.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Happy Birthday, Dad!


Today would have been my dad's 84th birthday. Dad was depressed and he was an alcoholic. He took his own life on April 9, 1979. He thought you had to be very strong to commit suicide. So he said in a note he left. But he was wrong. You have to be strong to stay and face whatever it is that's causing you such despair. Ending your life to end the pain is the coward's way out. My dad was a coward. But I always loved him, and I always will. And I forgive him. I just wish we'd had a little more time to talk. Happy Birthday, Dad.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Dexter

I subscribe to Netflix.com, which allows me to see a lot of TV shows that I didn't see on TV, once they come out on video. My curiosity led me to rent the first season of "Dexter." I just finished watching the first four episodes and I have to say that I really like this show. I think I'm going to subscribe to Showtime just so that I can keep up with season two, which starts in a few days.

Dexter is a serial killer who works for the police as a forensic blood spatter specialist. I'm not sure what I expected. I didn't know much more than that when I started watching. I guess I expected more violence and blood, but there wasn't much. That's good. It means they're not counting on graphic violence to sell the show. They're using the characters and plot lines to sell it. So far, imho, it's working. I'm looking forward to receiving the next disk with the next four episodes.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Bad Religion (cont.)

I got one of those messages today, like the ones I blogged about a few days ago. Here it is:

--quote--
Hey, its almost 11:00 a.m. and I'm needing some good news, not to
mention, it does well to pray for your friends.

Meeting @ 11:00
This morning when the Lord opened a window to Heaven, He saw me, and
asked:
"My child, what is your greatest wish for today?"
I responded:
"Lord please, take care of the person who is reading this message,
their family and their special friends they deserve it and I love them very
much." The love of God is like the ocean, you can see its beginning, but not
its end. This message works on the day you receive it. Let us see if it is
true. Pass this on to your true friends. Something good will happen to
you at 11:00 in the morning; something that you have been waiting to hear.
This is not a joke; someone will call you by phone or will speak to
you about something that you were waiting to hear.
Do not break this prayer; send it to a minimum of 5 people.
--end quote--

I honestly believe that the prayer is nice, the sentiment is nice, but the
end of the message is definitely not what Jesus would do.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

So Tired

I want to post, but I'm so tired. Been up since about 4:30 this morning. Running errands all day, driving a lot. Seems like I'm tired most of the time. Hopefully I'll find out why on Friday, when I go see the doctor. I'll post tomorrow.

Monday, September 17, 2007

Uncle Jay

For a good laugh, check out Uncle Jay Explains (the news) at unclejayexplains.com. He's hilarious! The down side is he only publishes a new "report" each Monday.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Bad Religion

Like most people, I get a lot of forwarded e-mail. A lot about it annoys me, but I tolerate it, even if it contains headers from a dozen other versions that were forwarded before I got my copy. What I won't tolerate is the type of message I've been getting recently. It's a religious "blessing" that the sender insists you must forward or there's something spiritually wrong with you. (I don't have an example right now. When I get one, I'll post it.)

This sort of e-mail is just mean. Are they trying to tell me that God won't love me if I don't forward this "blessing" to a hundred other people? I don't think so. I don't recall anything in the Bible that says so.

First of all, the only one who can bless me is God. Not you, not the priest or minister, not an e-mail. God. You can ask God to be blessed. You can ask God to bless someone else. You can not bless me. I can not bless you.

To try to make anyone feel guilty or not spiritual for not forwarding an e-mail is just mean. And it goes against God, not for him.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

9/11

September 11, 2001. I was at home. I woke up earlier than usual (I worked second shift) and turned on the TV. That's about the time the first plane went into the first tower. I watched live as the second plane went into the second tower. I watched live as the first tower collapsed. I watched live as the second tower collapsed. I watched live as nearly three thousand people died - innocents and rescuers. Nothing has affected me as much as the events that unfolded that day. I was in shock. I don't cry much, but I cry every time I see those images. I don't know anyone personally who died that day, or anyone related to anyone who died that day. But I do know that those events would change the world, and our way of life. I suspect that a lot of my feelings came from my having served in the Army for 22 years. And for realizing the fear and despair of the people stuck in the towers knowing they would probably die. And for thinking of the families left behind. May God bless and be with all of those who were affected on 9/11, both directly and indirectly. Amen.

Getting Clean

Does anyone else out there hate taking a shower? I like to be clean, and I know I need to be clean, so I do shower before I go out in public. But I hate the process. I'm not sure why. I think I just want a faster way to get clean. I mean, if I'm only going out to pick up a few things, it seems like taking a shower is a lot of bother for a short "mission." Every time I shower I wash my hair, which adds time and effort. But my hair will smell bad just like my body would if I didn't wash it. I want one of those sonic showers like they had on Star Trek: The Next Generation. I don't know how they worked, but I think they were faster! I think that, getting ready for an event should take less time than the actual event, even just going out to pick up a few things.

Monday, September 10, 2007

Addicted to Lost

I'm a huge fan of the TV show "Lost." It's in hiatus right now, and I miss it a lot. Still, I check into the newsgroups and websites from time to time to see if there's any news about the new season (starts in February on ABC). While checking the Usenet group (alt.tv.lost), I saw a post that said that Jorge Garcia (Hurley/Hugo) had started a blog. I'm now checking that blog daily to see what Jorge has to say about Lost and about life. Check out his blog. It's at http://dispatchesfromtheisland.blogspot.com/.

Lots of free time. No money.

I quit my job at Wal-Mart. You know how they tell you to end unhealthy relationships? Well, that was definitely an unhealthy relationship. Mentally and physically. Now that I'm an ex-associate, I can tell you that there are a LOT of things wrong with Wal-Mart. And there are a lot of things wrong with "my" Wal-Mart. Maybe I'll go into specifics one day. Right now they're too depressing!

Last night I had a dream that I got up, got dressed, and went to work at Wal-Mart. After I got there I realized that I'd quit several days before. I wondered what the store manger would do when she saw me there. I had to change clothes when I got there, and the clothes I was putting on looked like my old Army NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) suit. It was green, heavy, and zipped at the ankles and wrists. I guess my military and wal-mart dreams are starting to combine.