More Snibbits, because I can't think of a clever title

A blog I read from time-to-time, "The Sneeze" has prompted me to have a gigglefit, thanks to the following quote: "Okay, look. There might be a day when I need a little chemical enhancement to get my soul set on fire, but I’m sure not going to hit a dusty roadhouse, pop Viagra with my old gang and lay down tunes until we all pop trouser tents." If you've never visited The Sneeze before, you might want to take a gander at his
Steve, Don't Eat It posts. I suggest doing so outside the normal mealtime window.

In the interst of maintaining a "FAIR AND BALANCED" news view - Here's some proof even the Democrats can have their "Wide-Stance" moments. Apparently an Ohio state representative decided to download some pr0n on his way to giving a Power-Point presentation to a group of highschool kids. Bet those nude models had some "POWER POINTS" of their own?

Back to work.
Smile! People will wonder what you are up to.

472 days

Snibbits

Larry "Wide Stance" Craig has had his Whine and Cheese party in Minnesota court and been denied the motion to retract his guilty plea. I'm laughing.

SCHIP has still been vetoed. Please check the post below and call your Congresscritters and tell them to get that override done.

The Cubs are one step away from the World Series. They will choke. You read it here first.

I really do need to find a "fabricaholics anonymous" group. Yes, I did. I got 6 yards of various blue and white fabrics. I have this idea.........................

I need a plumber. Who doesn't charge an arm and a leg and several major internal organs. To fix a leak. In the shower. Preferably with his clothes on, unless he is really cute and single, in which case I'll waive the last requirement.

Rabbits ate my rhubarb plant. I am thinking of hiring Elmer Fudd. I had thought it was the roofers, actually, but Carol at work told me it was rabbits.

When I got home last nite, the roofers were removing the dumpster unit from the driveway next to mine where nobody lives, and once it was on the truck, they swept the driveways, which was darn nice of them and all. Then I went into my back garden and saw that they had swept my whole patio, which was also darn nice - swept it even better than *I* usually do. Although they knocked over my Smokey Joe - but I can fix that easy enough. But then I looked at the plants to see if anything needed to be pruned or pulled out or anything - and MY RHUBARB IS GONE.

So I thought it was the darn roofers. But Carol says rabbits, and I believe her, so I shall go looking for an Elmer Fudd.

473 Days

Compassionate Conservatism

Matthew 25:41-46

Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

“The immediate goal is to make sure there are more people on private insurance plans. I mean, people have access to health care in America. After all, just go to an emergency room.“

Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

George Walker Bush has vetoed health insurance for the poorest of this country's children. Call your senators and representatives NOW. DEMAND this veto be overturned.
1 (800) 828 - 0498
1 (800) 459 - 1887
1 (800) 614 - 2803
1 (866) 340 - 9281
1 (866) 338 - 1015
1 (877) 851 - 6437

474 days

Dog Ears in the Wind

I see the most amusing things on my way to and from work every day.

Today the first thing was an SUV with a Dog Accessory hanging out the rear window. Not entirely certain what flavor of dog it was - IANTAKC - but it looked vaguely like an anorexic Labrador with unusually long floppy ears.

Unlike the dogs I grew up with who used to stick just their snouts, or their noses, or on rare occasions their whole head out the window, this canine critter had his whole neck and shoulders out as well. And he was LOVING it. The wind would turn his ears inside out and he'd wiggle around until they flopped down, then the wind would do it again. Happy pooch on a joyride.

Before someone makes a big deal about him being loose in the car - he wasn't really. He had a leash that kept him from jumping out - and I do think he would have jumped out given a chance. I know that it probably wasn't safe and all for him to be doing it, but the look of sheer joy on his face was priceless, and maybe we've legislated and "safetyed" our way out of a lot of joy in our lives.

About 2 miles further along I saw what has to be the stupidest vehicle I've seen since Lombard stopped painting everything lilac. A pink Hummvee. And not just a tasteful deep rose... oh no...

1970's Dennys Retro Vinyl Seat Cushion Pink. LOUD pink. IN YOUR FACE, THIS IS REALLY PINK, PINK.

I lol'ed. Somehow I could see Jaghdwulfe driving it... (now Lea will LOL)

475 days

Cleaning out the tags: Ketchup

So, folks have been kind enough to think of me and "tag" me with lists of questions to answer and I've been slacking and not doing them because I just really don't want to "tag" anyone else, so here's the deal. I'm gonna post my answers and all, and do everything EXCEPT tag anyone. If you WANT to take these and run with them and answer the questions on your blog - Blog On!! If not - just read what I have here and be a partypooper.

First off, The Magnificent Seven!

I know this has taken forever and a day and a few extra hours, but I've been tagged by John Good from "Left in Aboite" although mine probably should be called "The Mediocre Seven". . .

There were apparently four simple rules--

1. Each player starts with seven random facts/habits about themselves.

2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog post with their seven things as well as these rules.

3. You need to tag seven others and list their names on your blog. (I'm NOT gonna do this bit)

4. Remember to leave a comment for them letting them know they have been tagged and to read your blog. (See "3" above)

Seven Random Facts About Me

1-The rest of my house can be spotless, but if the carpet or floor is dirty, I cannot relax. The reverse is also true.

2-I haven't watched television other than sports or a rare PBS broadcast for over 15 years.

3-I resided in Colorado for 5 utterly miserable years. Note I do not say "lived".

4-I have an actual full-size Louisville Slugger that I got at "Bat Day" at Wrigley Field.

5-I've seen the Rolling Stones in concert 3 times. "Live" is relative, considering Keith Richards' current condition - I'm sure he was alive at the first 1 in 1974, not too sure the more recent 2. Personally I think he's dead but nobody told him to fall down yet.

6-My high-school class ring is in the cupboard where I keep the large iced-tea/lemonade drinking glasses and the everyday dishes. I have no idea why.

7-My "Best Friend" while growing up was named Carolyn. My current "Best Friend" with whom I am growing old is also named Carolyn. They are not the same woman. There was zero "overlap" - and only about 3 or 4 months between. (For those of you who are my dear friends who are not named "Carolyn", this is not a dig at you - I just spend more time with Carolyn than the rest of y'all. And some of you have graduated from "Friend" to "Sister with a different set of parents" - Sue and Lori most notably.)


Then there was this one from Babzy:

What does blogging mean to me?

Rules of this tag:

1. Name the person, with link, who tagged you.
This bit is easy - it was .... *drum roll* *dramatic pause*...... BABZY!!!!

2. Complete the questionnaire without changing the questions.

Q1. Are you happy/ satisfied with your blog, with its content and look?

The content - yes. It's me. I don't really much give a hoot about what anyone else thinks about it. This is MY spot. If I wanted it to be everybody else's spot, I'd have named it differently. As for the look - well, there are things I'd like to change and add - but I'm not about to spend hours and hours fardling around with it, so I'll just deal with what I've got for now.

Q2. Does your family know about your blog?

Some of them do.

Q3. Do you feel embarrassed to let your friends know about your blog or you just consider it as a private thing?

I don't mind if my friends know. There are certain members of my family that I'd rather didn't know, but if they do... *shrug* I kind of like it when my friends "comment" - especially folks like GradeSchoolBud and Visionary - people I've known for years and years, often in far different venues - and who know the "real me" behind the cranky curmudgeon who posts here.

Q4. Do blogs cause positive changes in your thoughts?

No. Blogs in and of themselves are neutral entities. I take personal responsibility for my own thoughts, actions and emotions. Sometimes I allow what someone else has written to anger me, which is a bad thing, but in general, I simply sit back and enjoy spending some "quality time" with strangers from around the world without having to actually get on an airplane or deal with the awkwardness of introductions or goodbyes.


Q5. Do you only open the blogs of those who comment on your blog or you love to go and discover more by yourself?

I follow links from links from other folks. I love blogs with posted blogrolls.

Q6. What does visitors counter mean to you? Do you care about putting it in your blog?

Bah. Just a little something to look at. Frankly, I don't give a rat's if anyone bothers to read or not.

Q7. Did you try to imagine your fellow bloggers and give them real pictures?

I know what several of my fellow bloggers look like in Real. Sometimes I'll get a mental image of someone based on their content - but usually I wait for them to post a piccy.

Q8. Do you think there is a real benefit for blogging?

Yes, but I don't flatter myself by thinking I know what the specific benefit is for any given person. I don't believe this is a "one size fits all" activity, and I don't think that anyone can say without a doubt that they have the answer for everyone who blogs.

Q9. Do you think that bloggers’ society is isolated from the real world or interacts with events?

I think this is a fairly stupid question. I think it was written by someone who didn't really KNOW about the diverse nature of the blogosphere. To lump someplace like "Crooks and Liars" or "Firedoglake" in the same grouping with somewhere like "Bloggin' Babzy" or "I am livid" is ludicrous. Lumping all blogs into one bundle is the same as lumping all the books in a library into one category "Book".

Stupid question.

Q10. Does criticism annoy you or do you feel it’s a normal thing?

Depends on the critic. I will give far more credence to someone like Visionary or Leandra who posts a critical comment than I ever will to someone like Mike the Drunk or "Vincio" the moron.


11. Do you fear some political blogs and avoid them?

I don't fear political blogs. This is another stupid question. I avoid some, not out of fear, but because the bloggers are such obvious retards that their blogs lower the average intelligence of the blogging public simply by their very existance. I would say a MUCH more accurate verb would be "loathe" - which I do a large number of blogs, but "religious" ones far more often than political ones.

Q12. Did you get shocked by the arrest of some bloggers?

Nope. News to me. Provide a link or STFU, noob.

Q13. Did you think about what will happen to your blog after you die?

Not until I got this question. Frankly, I hope that it stays available "forever" - I like the idea of future generations NOT being bound by the religious bullshit leanings of the archaeological community being able to see for themselves that we are NOT all drones who placidly drink the koolade and eat the cookies and do whatever the "priests" say.

Q14. What do you like to hear? What’s the song you might like to put a link to, in your blog?

I think blogs with imbeded music are lame. I wouldn't ever inflict my eclectic preferences on the rest of the world.

3. Tag people.

No.

And finally, there is this one from Croila:


Do you promote your blog?

Only in the sense that it is "promoted" by my putting the URL into the clickable portion of my nick when commenting on other people's blogs. Sometimes I don't even do that.

How often do you check hits?

Once a month or so maybe if I feel like it.

Do you stick to one topic?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
No.

Who knows that you have a blog?

Some friends, one family member (that I know of for certain), a couple of co-workers, some long-time internet pals - and everyone who is reading this.

How many blogs do you read?

Not a clue.

Are you a fast reader?

Oh hell yes.


Do you customise your blog or do anything technical?

Just an ickle lil' bit.


Do you blog anonymously?

Sorta. Not really. Kinda. Like - you won't find my RL name, address and phone in here, but if you already know all that then I'm probably not impossible to find.

To what extent do you censor yourself?

I try to keep things clean enough so Babzy won't yell at me. I often fail.

The best thing about blogging?

Being the Admin with the option to delete any comments that piss me off.

476 days

Mystery Quilt 2007 - Part 8

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Part 7

Ah, another week gone and here we go with another bit of assembly on our Mystery Quilt. This week we're going to be combining the remaining assembled strips. Grab up the 25 pieces with the "B" center squares, and the remaining 25 triangle-strips.

Remember those round-head pins? Grab them, we're going to need them now. There will be some tricky bits here, so you might want to read through before you start sewing.

Ok, we are going to sew together these 2 different types of rectangles, along one of the LONG ends - drawing below shows the resulting piece.

The thing about this bit is that you have 2 seams that need matching here. If you don't pin first, you will probably end up with a piece that has at LEAST one of the seam junctions off-kilter.

In order to minimize this problem (or even better, eliminate it!), I use pins to hold the seams together where I want them to meet, and "ease" the rest of the length of the strips to fit between them and on either side. I put one pin on each side of the seam I'm matching, as close to the seam as I can manage, thus keeping the "wiggle" while sewing across them to a minimum.

I leave the pins in until I have sewn OVER the seams. Sometimes if a seam seems to be particularly problematic, I will baste the seam allowance area first, either by hand or machine, then go back over and sew the entire seam. I'm an accountant. I get retentive about details. Sorry.

Just as with the problem of decapitated triangles, the problem of unmatched seams is something small, but annoyingly visible. You can live with a small variation, and I'll let YOU decide just how "small" of a variation you can handle.

Allrightey then. You now have 25 pieces that look like THIS:

And 25 pieces that look like THIS:

And you are getting to be an absolute wiz kid at matching those seams, so let's do ourselves one better. Turn the pieces 90 degrees and sew those 2 different rectangles to one another... like THIS:



Once you are finished, you will have 25 of these pieced squares with an "A" stripe along one side.

Aren't you feeling crafty right about now??? You should be!

Ok - that's enough for this week. Great job - see you again next week, same quilt time, same quilt channel.