Pentimento

13 Random Things You May Not Know

1. If you ever need to know who sits on the board of directors for a company, you can check They Rule. You might be surprised at who is making decisions, and how far-reaching their influence might be. The directors are ever changing, but the website is updated (so they say) annually.
2. Were these home-grown hackers, or Taliban hackers putting a hit on the U.S. power grid? We are under siege from all quarters. I don't think it is a case of major paranoia to say that more and more people worldwide are making efforts as quickly as possible to become as self-sufficient as possible.
3. There are no moose in western Washington. After a highly embarrassing post by me on iPentimento where I proclaimed one had been born here, I had to eat crow and disclose that they have not been here for hundreds of years. Mea Culpa. There was a moose on the loose in Spokane, WA yesterday....
4. Today is Google's 9th birthday. Happy Birthday Googlicious!
5. You may object to NASA trying to go back to the moon, but if another country gets there first, have you thought about what it could mean? On any provocation or whim, the country that "controls" the moon could knock out our satellites and all that they control. We aren't just talking about you missing the nightly news or your favorite soap opera!
6. Nerds in Pullman, WA are willing to trade their computer knowledge for a makeover. What a bunch of brave guys. This is all in an effort to get more women into the computer science programs at Washington State University.
7. Washington state does have a castle (of sorts), but not one to rival Fraser Castle as pictured on Alison Lodge's blog Eleanor and Me. The one here is called Thornewood Castle and was the setting for the Steven King movie "Rose Red". Still, it is worth a visit if you should be in the Lakewood, WA area. Rumor has it it's haunted!
8. We lived on Amelia Island, Florida from 1988 until 1992. Our home was about 1/4 mile from the beach, and on cool evenings after supper we would drive to the beach and have a nice walk in the warm water. Most people walk upright on beaches, but on this island (and other beaches in the area) you tend to walk stooped over because you are going to be looking for fossilized shark's teeth. To be specific, we were searching for "the big one"...Megalodon. I have two intact shark's teeth in somewhat good condition, and we have hundreds of much smaller ones we collected through the years. I also have a mammoth tooth I found on Amelia Island north of Main Beach. (The picture is not mine.)
9. Some of the first Black Angus cattle were brought to Texas from Scotland by my sister-in-law's Carstairs ancestors. Or so their family stories tell it. My own ancestor, George Poingdexter/Poindexter came from the Isle of Jersey in 1657, and some family historians state that he brought a Jersey cow with him. Who knows?
10. And four more makes 13....I am running out of time to write this before it becomes Friday!
11. Average Animal Gestation Periods
12. Male Duckbilled Platypus (Platypii?) have  venomous spurs on the male's hind feet are probably used for defense or to help in the capture of small prey such as frogs, but this is not certain. Females do not have the spur, and the specific use of these spurs is still a mystery.
13. Fenton Glass Staying In Business...For Now

Happy Thursday Thirteen!

Spirit Guides, Angels, and Passing Over

I am not sure what I believe about the topic of spirit guides or angels, but I know that when my mom was in her last days, she had a radiant smile on her face, and seemed to be seeing 'something' or 'someone' near the end of the bed. I have read a couple of Sylvia Brown's books, and she talks about there being another dimension or plane that is near to ours but not discernible.

The reason this is even on my mind is that my good friend Sheryl's husband's grandmother died last night here in Washington state, and he is off on a Navy ship somewhere that can't be named. So, she was just over to see her husband's grandmother on Tuesday of this week. She took Grandma a lap robe that I had crocheted when I was last at Sheryl's a few weeks ago. Sheryl's background is that her father is a minister, and even so, she is not a regular church attendee, but she still retains all of the knowledge of prayers, hymns, etc.

When she visited Grandma on Tuesday, she said that she prayed with her and sang a few hymns to her, which seemed to comfort her. Grandma had a caregiver who, as it turns out, professes to have "the sight". Not in a creepy way or anything, but it is just something she can do. Such as, seeing spirits. So, when the visit to Grandma was nearing the time for Sheryl's departure for my house, she asked this caregiver if she could see the angels around Grandma. She said she could. When we are close to crossing over, do you think that the spirits or angels appear and that the person dying can see them, even if we cannot? What are your beliefs?

Blogging To Fame And Technorati Rank

It's just a simple request, and one I am happy to comply with: mention Blog About Your Blog on your blog. As Matt's site hovers between 5000-6000, he is trying (with some help from his friends) to get it above the 5000 mark. Wanna help him? He always has some really helpful blogging tips, and I am happy to join the bloggers helping him reach his goal. Besides, there are some cool prizes for the lucky someone who wins (contest is over, but why not help anyway?).

You might want to grab the little gizmo that Engtech created for faves too. Check out my post "Are You Using Engtech's Technorati Faves Program?" and watch your Technorati links rise! Don't forget to fave Pentimento too!

Monetize Your Blog With PayPerPost

Are you new to blogging? Did you create a blog so you could perhaps make a little extra cash to defray the cost of running it? If you did, here is (as mentioned on Blog About Your Blog) an "opportunity you shouldn't miss". All you have to do is register for free, create a 200 word article about PayPerPost and their service and receive $20.

Not too bad for a quick $20, is it? If you would like to continue making money by writing posts for them, you can do that too. I joined PPP in January of this year and so far I have made about $1100. Looks to me like you have everything to gain, and nothing to lose, right?

Boycott Mattel This Christmas!

It is something my friends and family wonder all the time. How much is "enough"? How many billions do you need to make? And, how you make your products, and then sell them to the people in your own country (if, indeed, Mattel is owned by a U.S. company) knowing full well that they are dangerous and deadly, is a crime. But it is an obvious attempt to save your financial behinds to apologize to China. You owe everyone who buys Mattel products an apology.

And what I owe Mattel is my disdain which will be shown by never buying their products again. Greed got you nothing Mattel. Let's all vote with our pocketbooks and boycott this money-grubbing company until they clean up their products. Just say no to poisoned toys and games.

Have You Joined The Blog Rush?

If you are a blogger serious about getting more traffic to your site, then why are you not using Blog Rush? Already, millions of headlines are being posted on thousands of other blogs, why not make yours one of them? It is free to join, it is not a pyramid scheme as some seem to think, and if it gains you some new readers, what could it hurt? You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain. Click on this link and go get your own code right now!

Not So Itsy Bitsy Spider

Jim was working out in the yard tonight, just about dusk. Dark enough for the motion detector light to come on as I talked to him, and there she was in all her arachnid glory, Ms. Spidey who had instinctively built her meticulous web right in front of the light where she knew it was a good place to attract dinner insects. There were a few in the web too, even though I am pretty sure she just wove it today. What a smart little creature she is, and even though I hate it when they crawl on me, I appreciate that she and her kind will probably be around for a good long time, even after us dumb humans have gone the way of the do-do.

A New Moose On The Loose In WA

Please take a moment to click this link and see the article I posted about a new baby moose in WA state that was born just yesterday morning. It is so "cute" and we are so lucky to have some of our wildlife still thriving here.

Here is another link to the same article Bullwinkle Was Born Today In WA state

Thursday Thirteen - 13 Things That Keep Me Awake At Night

1. My neighbor's dogs barking at anything that moves or makes noise. Sheesh!
2. My own snoring.
3. Wondering if I paid all of my bills.
4. A wind storm. I hate it when the wind blows really hard. Thank goodness our neighbors cut down their big fir and cedar trees between our houses.
5. The cat jumping on and off the bed. Usually when he decides that I should get back up and feed him some more.
6. Late night phone calls with bad news. Those don't happen often, thank goodness.
7. My feet are cold, and I forgot to put any socks near the bed. Note to self: Put a pair of socks in bedside table.
8. Thunder and lightening. I live in the Pacific Northwest now, but when we visit Iowa or anywhere in the Midwest, I can't sleep through a severe storm.
9. An earthquake before I went to bed. I am always sure that even if it is a small quake that it is just the precursor to the "big one".
10. Helicopters flying over. Those are usually the Life Flight ones heading to Naval Hospital in Bremerton, or Harborview in Seattle. I always say a little prayer to keep the occupants safe and alive.
11. Fire trucks and ambulances. We live one street over from the route they take to get to the main highway.
12. A mosquito in the room. You know as soon as you fall asleep those little creeps are gonna get ya!
13. It is 900 degrees outside and there is no A/C or relief from the heat. Even the ceiling fan can't keep up.

Get BlogRush Title Help From Copyblogger

An email from BlogRush today indicates that bloggers need to make more interesting titles that will create more click-throughs, and more monetization for the blog owner. If you are having trouble writing magnetic subject lines, I would suggest you visit Brian Clark's blog Copyblogger for some really great advice on writing good copy. If you are serious about making money online, Brian and his contributing blog authors have a wealth of writing advice to share with you! As I re-read this post, perhaps I need to take a jaunt over to Copyblogger too.

Spy vs. Spy Circa 2007

Here we are, at almost the beginning of the 21st century, and nothing has really changed when it comes to intrigue and the spy game. While many of us are agonizing over the terrorists, I doubt that many are worried about the Chinese and Russians, but as you can see from this report, we should be.

China has the biggest army in the world, and just recently their navy was conducting joint war games in the Atlantic with Spain. My only hope is that if and when any Democrats get in the White House there will not be a reduction in troops and armament again. Now, more than ever, we need to be vigilant and on the alert for attack from all quarters.

Alternative Affordable Genealogy Sites From Family Tree

At the beginning of this year I got quite a shock when I found that Ancestry had renewed my full access to their site to the tune of around $300! Luckily, I had the money available at the time, but it was still a very large sum to shell out for just a hobby. I won't be doing the same thing next year, but I am always on the lookout for other ways to get genealogical information at an affordable (or free) price.

My newest issue of Family Tree magazine arrived a few days ago, and one of the article that caught my eye was 10 Great Little Subscription Web Sites.

Here is what FT magazine has to say on this topic:

Ancestry.com may be genealogy's biggest subscription Web site, but it's not the only game in town. We tried out the "little guys" and found 10 small commercial sites worth your money.  

By Rick Crume

• Accessible Archives
• American Civil War Research Database
• Footnote
• GenealogyBank
• Genealogy Today
• Godfrey Memorial Library
• National Genealogical Society
• New England Historic Genealogical Society
• New York Genealogical & Biographical Society
• World Vital Records

Also, you might want to download this very helpful file of weblinks mentioned in the current issue of Family Tree Magazine. I did.

Download weblinks.pdf

Manic Monday -Sept 17

                        Manic Monday for September 17, 2007                    

                  

If you could enter a racehorse in the Kentucky Derby, what would you name your horse?

"Always A Winner"

What famous person, whom many people find attractive, is most unappealing to you?

Paris Hilton. I think she looks like a skank.

Which foreign country are you least interested in visiting?

Um, that would be Iraq, Bob. (or Iran, or Afghanistan, Korea or China)

Open Letter To Northwest WA Settlers Regarding Bears

Bear Still Loose in Olalla After Attacking PO Man; Search Suspended Until Daylight

The short response to this is, "People are stupid". The somewhat longer one is, if you are going to move to Kitsap county, or anywhere there are bears (and where aren't there some?) then you need to have some common sense when it comes to venturing out into the wilderness. I am (again) furious that the bear is slated to be killed for being a bear in this incident. This man should not have been biking alone in the woods with two dogs who were not under his control. We live with nature and the accompanying animals here in Kitsap county, and if this man needed to get some exercise, he should do it responsibly. How about instead of biking he join a club to exercise indoors; or how about expending some energy to help some elderly person who needs some repairs to their home; volunteer at a soup kitchen or spend time gardening for a friend, or in your own yard? We need to stop acting like the bears are in "our" territory. We are in theirs. Respect nature, don't try to conquer it.

Show Your Vision With Personalized Bedding

Are you already thinking of a unique Christmas present for a young person in your family? Or is there someone just going off to college that would like a special kind of Teen Bedding to remind them of home? You may have seen this kind of Teen Bedding on VH 1 Reality TV or in the newspaper if you live in the Los Angeles area.

It just seems like a really great idea for a gift, or even to give to yourself.  Wouldn't it be neat to surprise your teen with some Skateboard Bedding or maybe with a photo taken from this summer's vacation trip. These are just a few of the ideas you can find at VisionBedding.com.

I just took a look at their site and many of their design choices are very affordable and sure to be a hit with anyone who receives it. As someone who does genealogy, this would be a great way to preserve some of those older photos as a very heartwarming keepsake.