A Blog about Everything

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Halloween: Trick or Treat! I've already been the recipient of a trick....when I arrived at work this morning, I found that my business email account was kaput. Fortunately, all the important messages go to my personal account. The vast majority of messages on my business account are spams for dubious on-line pharmacies.

The treat part of the day will be to see all the little kids in their costumes, panhandling for candy from door to door. Our neighborhood has scheduled 4 hrs for trick or treat. If past experience is a reasonable guide, my candy supply will be depleted in about 20 minutes. I estimated that I would need at least 27 bags of candy to stay open for business the entire time. That was more candy than should ever be in my house at one time. Amazingly enough, this year the candy lasted FIVE WHOLE DAYS in the house without being devoured.

Monday, October 30, 2006

The Earth's magnetic field is failing. That was the theme of the PBS show Nova that I watched the other evening. They put forth the hypothesis that at worse, this would lead to the earth becoing a barren wasteland like Mars. At best, it would lead to an upsurge in human cancer deaths. But on the plus side, the aurora displays would be fantastic! The reason for the failure of the magnetic field was related to movement of molten iron in the earth's core. This is one problem not caused by human activities. Unlike the destruction of the rain forests, the hole in the ozone layer, global warming, the demise of coral reefs, species extinctions, ect., we don't need a global summit to decide how to deal with this. It's beyond human control. The show concluded with the cheerful statement that no one watching would be alive when the magnetic field failed. That makes me feel much better. I was already bummed out about the fact that Count Chocula cereal has disappeared from my local grocery store shelf.

Monday, October 23, 2006

Physical fitness...the elusive. goal. It's that time of year again in the Midwest when the daylight hours decrease and the wind and rain replace mild sunny days. Outdoor exercise becomes less appealing, given the dark and damp conditions. The logical choice is to move the workouts indoors to the gym. The problem with indooor workouts is that, while physical fitness is improved, mental fitness still deteriorates. I use exercise to cope. I need the sunshine to ward off depression. The never-changing view from the treadmill compounds my sense of boredom. The solitary nature of strength training does not alleviate my feelings of detachment from the community in which I live.. My hope is that it's only six more months until spring.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Fiscal fitness....the elusive goal. Finally, I mailed in the last truck payment. Five years ago, I signed up for a vehicle loan. Did I comprehend how long five years of payments would seem? What was I thinking? It seems like a LONG time ago. That was 3 jobs and 3 addresses ago. Now, it's finally paid off. And there's the conventional wisdom that vehicles know when they're paid off, and promptly break down. What is that noise I hear? Is that oil on the parking lot from my truck? The warranty expired long ago. Vehicular paranoia sets in. Maybe I should buy a new vehicle, after all, this one is about worn out.
Next goal is to have my student loan paid off before I retire or break down, whichever comes first.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

The computer problem continues... The computer tech from dial-a-nerd came by today and declared that the problem was too complex to fix on-site and that he must take the the computer back to the shop. How will we pay bills, my husband asks in a perplexed tone. Apply a pen to a paper check, I reply. Being some what of cranky old lady, I refuse to do my banking on-line. Just because the banks promote it doesn't mean it is the best for me. It probably means it is the best way for them. In the meantime, we are still on dial-up, so my posts may be somewhat truncated as I fear the random disconnects that are part and parcel of this kind of internet service.

Monday, October 16, 2006

Technologically spoiled...that is what I am. The primary computer in our home, along with its high speed internet connection, crashed on Saturday. Now I am back to dial-up service and a small monitor. Oh, the humanity!!! Yes, we are so dependent on technology that we have to have a back-up system for internet acccess, just in case. How would I know what the weather forecast was? Would I have to turn on the TV (with high-def cable programming) and wait a few minutes? That's not acceptable.... I want my infomation RIGHT NOW.

Saturday, October 14, 2006

If the weather was "normal" for this time of year, I would be on a bike ride right now and not sitting at a computer. Even to speak of normal weather for Indiana is a joke, because the weather changes faster than you can keep track of it. But, today the conditions are too harsh for me...too cold, too windy. Yes, I am a wimp about riding in less than ideal weather. I will exercise later today, when the sun has warmed us from freezing cold to just refreshingly cool. In the meantime, I will be a mouse potato.

Yesterday I stated that this site is not about "blogging for Jesus". I should clarify....it's great that this relatively new medium of Web Logs give Christians a chance to share their faith, their thoughts on religion, even their questions about God. The issue I have are those persons who blog extensively about their profound faith and extensive church involvement, but who have questionable personal ethics. For example, if you claim to be a Christian, but your business ethics are Lie-Cheat-Steal, what kind of example is that? Perhaps someone is not involved with a church but is considering doing so in the future. That person looks to those who are church members to see how they live their daily lives, not just on Sunday, but also on the every other day of the week. This is not a new concept in Christianity, but the technology gives it a new twist.

Friday, October 13, 2006

Today is Friday the 13th....not that I'm superstitious or anything. But just to be extra-safe, I thought I'd wear a Celtic Cross today. It is a souvenir from my trip to Ireland, anything Irish has to bring good luck, right?

A little bit about me: I'm a middle-aged, mostly Caucasian female. I work in an environmental company I fondly refer to as "bizarro world". This blog will not be about my job, except on days when my frustration hits the over-load level. I'm a recreational athlete of very modest abilties but a great deal of perseverance. Despite having grown up in a fundamentalist church, I'm a Christian although I don't belong to a particular church. This site won't be about "blogging for Jesus" either.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

This is a new blog for blogspot, but not the blogosphere. My previous posts were on another website, until my profile was hacked into and I had to delete the entire profile, and with it, all my previous posts.

Some folks have blogs devoted to one thene, for example, their Christain faith or their triathlon training diaries. That is all good, but my blog is about those, plus anything else I feel compelled to expound upon on any given day.

Check back every few days to read my ramblings on a variety of topics.