I love the phrase, and it's a fun myth.  But, if people can rise from death and turn water into wine, why couldn't there be dragons?  A Baptist Church proposes the idea that Noah's sons rode flying dinosaurs to collect animals from far off places.  Creation Scientists are even spending millions of dollars to study fossils in connection to Noah, although please keep in mind that they also think the earth is ONLY 10,000 years old, so they are obviously not very scientific. (our planet is over 4 billion years old) 

But it made me think of the possibility of dragons, and why not?  How could they fly and throw fire at the same time?   They must have been made of helium or hydrogen or maybe hydrocarbon which I think is derived from methane gas(?) They probably at least breathed out hydrogen.  The Hindenberg was filled with it. 

I queried Google for "hydrogen dragons" and there were many, many results. People actually study this idea -- gotta love the internet! 

I've been watching a lot of movies lately, since I'm still unemployed.  I have the Netflix plan that lets me have one movie at a time - which is fine except for 2-disk movies!  They sent me disk 1 of 2!   I almost don't want to watch the DVD (Elizabeth I)

I read an interesting article today about a Catholic priest, Rev. Jay Scott Newman, who told his parishioners that they should refrain from receiving Holy Communion if they voted Democratic because the president-elect supports abortion, and supporting him "constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil."  Moreover, they are putting their souls at risk if they take Holy Communion before doing penance for their vote. 

Does this mean that you should refrain from receiving Holy Communion if your views are contrary to church teachings?   Using that logic, you are risking your immortal soul if you support anything that doesn't follow Church teachings -- where does it end?  

Morally wrong to have premarital sex, morally wrong to be homosexual, morally wrong to use a position of authority to sexually abuse children?  Morally wrong for everyone except the pedophile priests; 5,000 Catholic priests have sexually abused more than 12,000 children USA TODAY (Feb. 28, 2008). Many bishops, aware of the abuse, remained silent because they obviously thought the rules didn't apply to them.  

I'm not particularly religious, but I thought the church went too far to impose its own beliefs in "divine law" on the American people as a whole.  what do you think???  is it moral to politicize the Eucharist? 

I guess blogging at 3 am should be on my "do not" list right after making phone calls after a bottle of wine.  I sounded much more irate then I meant, which is not to imply that racism is something to be taken lightly.  I am glad that we, as a country, made the best choice.  To Obama I would like to say: Please don't disappoint us!

I've been unemployed for 3 weeks!  It's awful!  I have nothing to do all day except play with my cats and talk to IT recruiters.  I've had many phone interviews and 4 regular interviews.  I know that the economy is bad and there are more people then usual who find themselves unexpectedly unemployed.  It's a tough situation, and I feel especially bad for single parents. 

Here is a fun video - turn up your speakers -

It’s been a long time since I felt like writing, in large part because of the negative sentiment that began as a low murmur of malcontent and bigotry in the blogosphere and grew into an intolerable spew of blatant racism.  

It made me sad.

It made me sick.  

Then it made me angry. 

The subject of race in our country is historically complicated.  That is exactly how I thought about it – race – as a part of history.  I didn’t really understand how significantly it shapes our lives in ways that go unnoticed.  (The year in which I was born Jimmy Carter was elected President) 

I suppose it was naive of me to think that all Americans (at least my generation) saw what I saw when they looked at Barack Obama – a person who is fully qualified to be the Commander in Chief.

I am disgusted by the hatred, disappointed by the willful ignorance, and infuriated by those who would harm and promote violence against those considered “inferior”.   

I’ll try not to rant about this too much, as I’m sure that if you’re still reading this you already understand

I think I've encountered a phenomenon of Cubicle Calories.  Or Carbo-Cubicle Calories, is a more accurate description.   There is not a vending machine in my office, there is MUCH WORSE - a tray of candy of the vending machine variety.  I don't usually pick from it, but lately, I've been too busy to keep my own snacks, like fruit, on hand..  Last week I picked it clean of mini-pretzels.

It is also SO annoying that one of the guys who sits behind me snacks constantly from cellophane wrapped snacks all morning.

Maybe today I'll stop at the grocery store and stock up on fresh fruit.  I have to make a trip to the post office soon to mail my tax forms.

Love Mondays ;)

I heard that NBC had canceled The Office last year during the writer's strike.  I am SO thrilled that its back - set the DVR for Thursday at 9:30 on NBC!

Quite often I feel like my own office is a mix up of a Jerry Seinfeld episode and The Office.  I so want to blog about it, but I don't want to offend anyone - in the unlikely event that a colleague or co-worker might see it.  (Easy to find a friend on Live Spaces by searching for their email address).  Just picture a computer-techie-geek version of George Costanza who ends (almost) every sentence with the words 'basically' or 'actually' - or my personal favorite is when he says both. example: "Well, this is basically what happened, actually." 

:)

Recently, I wrote about my new Siamese cat, who I am still calling Greta (the rescue group was calling her Garbo).  Right after I got home with her, actually it was that same night, I noticed she had a bald spot on her forepaw, which turned out to be ringworm.  Despite the name, it is not a worm, it is pretty much the same fungus that causes athlete's foot. 

It is contagious, and I took great care to keep the cross contamination to a minimum, lots of hand washing, vacuuming, and I even took my comforter to the laundry-mat twice last month because it doesn't fit in my tiny washing machine.  Greta goes to the Vet for a medicated bath every Tuesday morning for the last three weeks, and her forepaw is  looking better. 

I think I may have caught it!!!  I have an itchy spot, about the size of a tic-tac on my friggin wrist.  ick!!  Although, it could just be dry skin from washing my hands a hundred times a day...

The last few weeks have been very busy in my office.  We had a temporary disruption in our work flow as a group (6 people in my IT group) and I've been barely keeping on schedule. 

Today, I am looking forward to doing nothing except relaxing at home and watching Lord of the Rings on TNT all day.

Stonehenge?  Maybe not as a vacation spot, but interesting in any case... 

Today, I read an article from the BBC about the next planned excavation inside the ring at Stonehenge. (yes, the joy of having free time at work on a Monday!~) 

Thinking about how old the world is always boggles my mind - I think this is partly because we, as American's, don't have very old things in our history, something so old that no one really know how or why its there.  I hope they have greater success excavating & dating (with modern tools), than previous efforts.  The article mentioned that the center stones have been matched to the exact spot from which they came - 250 km (@ 155 miles) away, which is pretty damn far to drag one of those stones.  They (the BBC) are filming the dig for a program airing this fall, it should be available On Demand!

Although I think this is interesting, it is not nearly as exciting as 3,500yr old Egyptian DNA.

I've been following the Discovery Channel's series SECRETS OF EGYPT’S LOST QUEEN since it first aired last summer.  I did not have much interest in the ancient Egyptians before then - but the science behind it is fascinating.  It is incredible that they are able to get useable DNA from a 3,500 year old mummy.  Eventually, they will be able to use similar methods to determine how close - or exactly where - on the evolutionary chart we are to Lucy and the first Europeans.   

I'll be lucky if I break even on my taxes this year, although I don't understand why..  Last year I worked as a independent consultant/contractor for FOUR months and a 1099-MISC form (1/3 of the year's taxes for which I am responsible).  The other EIGHT months I was a salaried W-2 employee, taxes deducted...

Naively, I thought the difference paid vs. unpaid tax dollars would be zero sum at worst, or a small return at best.

Silly me!!

In other news, my 31st birthday was on the 14th!  I lost the desire to celebrate birthdays after my 29th, so I didn't do anything spectacular this year.  I've been unfortunately preoccupied with my lack of (proactive) financial planning.  Thankfully, I am still on good terms with my EX, who's mother is a CPA.  She helped me file my taxes, and I am really very truly thankful that I wasn't working or living in Philly during the time I was an independent contractor - my local tax for last year was 1% compared to the 4.5% tax for Philly residents (3.5% if you live in but don't work in the city)

The good news is that I'll get the tax rebate and probably buy a dresser.  Although, I'm starting to think I might not need a dresser because I haven't had one since I moved to my new house in January. 

  In happier news, I adopted a new cat earlier this month!  She is an adorable Blue Point Siamese (blue point refers to the coloring, which is gray (not blue) on her head, legs, and tail).  I adopted her from a "rescue group" in northern New Jersey, which turned out to be a guy with 30 - 40 cats crammed into the basement of his home.  I definitely feel like I was the one doing the rescuing.  The unhappy news is my new cat - who doesn't really have a name yet - has a case of ringworm, which isn't a worm, it is a skin fungus.  yuck!  So far, it hasn't spread to anyone else.

I hope every one has a nice leap day.  It's very quite in the office today, I suppose it's not a day that most people will schedule meetings for, since 29 February only happens every 4 years. 

Although, since it so rarely happens, I think it should be celebrated!  Like a regular holiday!  Yes!  Next Leap Year I am going to take the day off.

maybe do some leaping....

(photo by Junku)

/* Style for IE6 Only */
* html #MyDiv {
margin : 5px 5px 5px 5px;
}

/* Style for IE7 Only */
*:first-child+html #MyDiv {
margin : 2px 2px 2px 2px;
}

Although, when we get the new version, I expect all the styles that worked before will still work.  IE7 was significantly more compliant, but what worked in 7 did not always work in IE6.  For this reason (among many others) FireFox is my favorite browser.

This morning, I was unable to get to my MSN email (now Windows Live Hotmail) as I'm sure many of you had the same issue.  I could login to Windows Live Messenger (joy) and saw the notification pop-up that I had 12 messages in my Inbox - but couldn't actually log in via web browser.  After much frustration, I sent a message to their technical support team.  By the time I got to my office, I was able to log in and get my email, most of which was junk.

I saw a news clip on www.live.com, which I have to say is my all time favorite RSS page, that stated there was indeed an outage.

Great, I knew that much.

What I didn't realize, was my contact info for my email account, should I have any problems, was very very ummm.. well I suppose I should give an alternate address if I have trouble with my @msn.com email

RE: SRX1059810684ID - Windows Live Hotmail:Sign In/Connection:Unable To Connect:Other

From: Microsoft Customer Support

Sent: Tue 2/26/08 4:20 PM

 

Hello Alison,

Thank you for writing to Windows Live Hotmail Technical Support. My name is Paul and I take that you cannot access your account. I understand how important it is for you to have your issue addressed immediately.

In reviewing the inquiry you submitted, I have noted that there was no alternate e-mail address indicated for our correspondence. In view of this, I have sent the appropriate response to this Windows Live Hotmail account.
There is currently an issue that is preventing customers from accessing their Windows Live Hotmail accounts. We apologize for any difficulties this may have caused you. Our team is currently working to resolve this issue as quickly as possible. We recommend that you wait at least four hours, and then try to sign in again.
We appreciate your continued support as we strive to provide you with the highest quality service available.  Thank you for using Windows Live Hotmail.

Sincerely,

Paul F.
Windows Live Hotmail Technical Support

Insert Homer Simpson's "Doh!"

I hope everyone had a nice President's Day weekend.  I love having off on Monday.  It is much better than having off on Friday.  Most people I know love Friday and dread Monday - unless it's a holiday weekend! 

I spent the weekend catching up on my list of To Do Sometime.  Like hanging the last panel curtain in the living room.  I decided that I could fit 3 if I was creative in the placement and let 2 sides overlap.  I am not particularly handy with a drill, but I know how to use one.  Sometime during the process of curtain hanging, the TV show I was watching ended, and I found myself listening to the next program, "Engineering Disasters".  I tried not to take it as a bad omen, and all ended well. 

I also spent time finishing a theme I created for WordPress blog platform.  My new job doesn't involve any web design or need for creativity, which I miss.  I have a few bits of functionality to add before I roll it out on my portfolio (which is also a work in progress).

Is there any way to apply a theme to Spaces other than the pre-packaged ones they offer? 

Roadmap of my life...

I used to think happiness was a place, a destination, an idea that everyone else understood and everyone else could plot their way, except me.  I tried to follow the lead of my family & friends in the "it's just what we do" list: graduate college, get a good job, a good car, get married, buy a home, have children... and ... then what?

That particular path never seemed to be mine.  It was, however, what everyone else wanted, or were what others wanted for me, so I thought I should want them, too.  Like the roadmap belonged to someone else, and had someone else's goals and happiness and idea of a life. 

Looking at my roadmap of life and the dot stating, "you are here"  never gets closer to where I want to be - the final push-pin.  Every time I continued down the road in pursuit of the next push-pin, it pushes farther away, like two same sided magnets chasing each other.  By the time I finally get to the destination (job, boyfriend, etc.) I realize that I am no longer happy with what I thought I would find there.  (grass is always greener...)  Maybe my expectations were too high, or I was unrealistic in thinking I could find the proverbial happily ever after..  I see where I want to be -- and then I see where I am, and they're two very different places (more likely -I had no clue what I really wanted)

Now, almost 31 yrs old, I finally feel like I can reach that last push-pin, and do one better- set in place the next push-pin.  That accomplishment makes the "you are here" enjoyable, not disappointing.  Its a nice spot to be in :)

I was elated to hear the news this morning that charges will be filed against Khalid Sheik Mohammed.  I was beginning to think he, and others, would be held indefinitely at Guantanamo.  He must not be of any use now, after all these years. 

I am not an advocate of capital punishment, and I may sound hypocritical when I say that I hope they charge them in a state that allows the death penalty (I'm not sure how military trials are conducted).  He, more than anyone else (in my opinion) deserves it.

The New York Times reported in Monday edition that the others are Mohammed al-Qahtani, the man officials have labeled the 20th hijacker; Ramzi bin al-Shibh, said to have been the main intermediary between the hijackers and leaders of Al Qaeda; Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, known as Ammar al-Baluchi, a nephew of Mr. Mohammed, who has been identified as Mr. Mohammed's lieutenant for the 2001 operation; Mr. al-Baluchi's assistant, Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi; and Walid bin Attash, a detainee known as Khallad, who investigators say selected and trained some of the hijackers.

"All six have been charged with conspiracy, murder in violation of the law of war, attacking civilians, attacking civilian objects, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, destruction of property in violation of the law of war, terrorism and material support of terrorism, said the general who is serving as legal adviser to the military commissions trying the detainees. Four of the suspects will also be charged with hijacking, he said."